For my family and friends who are fearful: Turn off the TV which is constantly streaming bad news and spreading fear. Then try these things: Put your faith into practice. Open your Bible and study. Pray. Ask God for strength to overcome your fear. Listen to praise and worship music. Remember Who God is, what He has done, and what He will do. Realize His mightiness. Speak aloud His promises. Sing those praise and worship songs. Put a bracelet on that reminds you of your commitment to having faith instead of fear. You will be just as fearful or faithful as you make your mind up to be. Self discipline your mind. As you pull a fear weed, plant some faith. Tend to it as often as needed and allow it to bear fruit. I did that for hyperemesis gravidarum, miscarriage, and stillbirth. I was not perfect in it, but I did not live in fear. I continued to function and go forward where God led even though I knew it would be challenging. If I can do that as flawed as I am, then you can do that also. If we can choose to give forgiveness and choose love over hate, then we can choose faith over fear. My love to all!
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After that was published, a lady, and now new friend, wrote me and stated she felt like I was yelling at her. After speaking with her for a couple of hours on the phone, she concluded "You are not at all like I thought!" For everyone else who may be thinking, I was being mean in the post: These suggestions are the same things I tell myself when I am battling. If you came to the same conclusion, maybe your psyche interpreted it as yelling, even with the absence of capital letters and exclamation points, because that is what you needed? Something to consider. My children will tell you that when I say these things to them it is with an encouraging voice. I get it though. When we have never personally sat down and visited with someone to learn their ways, it is hard to know how to take the written word. Ask. Work it out. You might learn you are right or you might learn differently. At least you will be moving beyond an assumption.
On to another topic. When I was typing the part about the news I thought, "Wouldn't watching the news with Jesus be exciting?!" When I hear bad news, I am motivated to take action. If all I can do is pray, I pray. Jesus watching the news could stop weather anomalies as they were reported. He could heal the sick and injured. He could punish the wicked. He could locate the missing person. In fact, He will do all of these things. He is going to reign for 1000 years!!!
We are learning something through our "earthly experience," something we will carry with us into eternity. It's something we had to be shown to fully understand. We are learning things we will never forget. One thing I clearly see: we can't do this on our own. We need God. We need Him. We are seeing now the results of humanity trying to go without Him. It's a mess!
On to another topic: Whenever I see the animal charities talking about poor/abusive conditions for animals, I think about our lives on this earth and how we needed to be rescued more than those poor creatures. Jesus came for us, and He is coming again. I hope you have repented of your sins, accepted His free gift of salvation, and have brought your life under his Lordship. If you are unsure of what that means, my email is in the header. My love to all!
