FROZEN WITH FEAR

"We've all felt fear, and we give it lots of different titles: apprehension, anxiety. There's a lot of fear out there. Having courage doesn't mean you've conquered every fear, but holding on to fear keeps us frozen in place. It keeps us from doing basic things to survive."

Chaplain Commander Doyle Dunn
A Greater Freedom: Stories of Faith From Operation Iraqi Freedom
Oliver North, Executive Editor/Stories by Sarah Horn
Broadman & Holman  2004
p. 80

I've known that fear and faith cannot co-exist. And, of course, I've known that fear is not helpful. I don't think I've ever thought of it keeping me from doing the basic things to survive. Yet, if I look back at some of my trials, I see myself immobilized, kind of like those dreams where someone is chasing you and you can't make your legs move. Frozen with fear . . . and begging for deliverance. Be it through His Word, others' prayers or my own, God has given me courage to take the first step. He has seen me "through." 

EverGrowing,
Lonnie

BURDEN OF "CHOICE"

"We do not always like the enormous freedom to choose that we actually possess. It frightens us. It makes us responsible."

Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend
It's Not My Fault
Integrity Publishers  2007
p. 12

Sometimes, we are so insistent on discovering God's will; especially with the big things of life: large purchases, job changes, relocating. Do we seek His will, at times, so that we have Someone to blame when it doesn't work out, or when the path isn't as smooth as we expected it to be? Just saying . . . think "I've" been there.

How about you?

EverGrowing,
Lonnie

LETTERS TO GOD

"All I do know is that when I write letters to God, no matter how mundane they are, God answers his mail . . . '

Henriette Anne Klauser
Write It Down, Make It Happen
Scribner eBook
p. 123/Nook

I love getting a good ways through a book, and discovering that the author may very well have a relationship with God. Whether written mail or voice mail, God answers . . .
EverGrowing,
Lonnie

WHY DO YOU SAY . . . "YES?"

"Saying yes is a favorite habit of the woman who always feels too busy . . . We have a thousand ways of saying yes, and lots of reasons for doing so. For one thing,

yes gets people off our backs.
It makes us feel omnipotent.
It boosts our self-esteem (temporarily).
It keeps us from being bored.
It saves us from having to be purposeful about what we choose to do.
And it flatters our ego because we're needed and viewed as capable.

"We may not be bored, but we're doing something uninteresting to us, and we're doing it without conviction.
 We beat ourselves up because we didn't have the courage to say no.
Or maybe we just got uncomfortable saying no and wanted to try a little yes on for size."

Linda Andersen
The Too Busy Book
Waterbrook Press   2004
p. 143

Why do YOU say yes?

EverGrowing,
Lonnie

CROW STORIES

KABOOM!

"A raven that heard repeated explosions being set off by a highway crew is reported afterwards to have shouted, "Three, two, one, KABOOM!"

COMPASSION OF . . . A CROW?

"Crows are known for their acts of kindness to injured and ailing members of their species. In one well-documented case, a mated male northwestern crow regularly brought food to an unmated female that was handicapped by deformities and partial blindness. The association lasted for at least 2 breeding seasons, even though the male was simultaneously pressed to feed young chicks in the nest.

"During 1635 minutes of observations by a precision-minded team of biologists, the male fed 

the young--66 times
deformed female--24 times
while his mate fed the young 89 times."

Candace Savage
Bird Brains
Sierra Club Books  1995
p. 80, 86

I know crows and ravens have their wicked side (as do we all), but I love crows. I love to watch them, hear them, and read about them.

Growing Is Fun,
Lonnie

"HOW" DOESN'T MATTER

"When Jesus encountered people who wanted His healing touch, He never questioned them about how they became sick."

Franklin Graham
The Name
Thomas Nelson Publishing  2002
p.169

What's more to say?

EverGrowing,
Lonnie

LITTLE TWIST TO THE RIGHT

"After hearing again and again that Jesus told his followers to forgive 70 x 7 (Matthew18:21-22), I finally pulled out my calculator one day. Unless my calculations are off, that's 490 times--and the highest I've ever gotten in practicing forgiveness was 3! If I still have 487 more times to forgive someone for my grievances against him or her, don't you think Jesus had a pretty good handle on how deep hurt can run . . . ?"

Kevin Leman
What Your Childhood Memories Say About You
Tyndale  2007
p144

Boy, I have to tell you, once I got past the fact that Leman had to use a calculator, I said, "That's a new twist; a little to the right, I think. And I love it!" I don't think I will ever see those well-known verses quite the same.

Jesus understands. He understands! Tell me the "picture" of that helps you as well.

Finishing Leman's quote helps still more. " . . . don't you think Jesus had a pretty good handle on how deep hurt can run and how many times we mess up in our relationships?

In other words, we ALL mess up. It's a little bit of the log and splinter thing. Yes, I'm hurt so deep that only God can reach and heal -- and He does. But, I'm not free of responsibility. I hurt others--maybe not the same ones who hurt me, but it's likely that someone is struggling to forgive me too. 

Would love to hear your thoughts on 70x7.

Growing to Love His Word More Every Day,
Lonnie