"W" = WISE WORTHY WORDS!

My emotions are a mess! From hyper-sensitivity, jumble & a library, in my grief to total numbness, I'm an emotional assemblage that defies reason. 

W (s) flood my mental library. Whines need to turn to Worship. Wrap Weeping in Hope. More worship than worry needed! Worry is waste. Wise words come from His Word!

This morning I awakened remembering my disconcerting medical news.

May medical diagnosis not fuel fears. I know the Great physician and my times are in His hands. 

Whether he takes me sooner rather than later, I need His transendent "peace to guard my heart and mind." (Philippians 4:6-7)

Wise & Worthy Words! Amen!!

MONDAY IN PSALMS, MATTHEW & 1PETER!

Today my cloudy, anxious thoughts are multiplying (Psalm 94:19) with aging, death of a friend, medical problems = one more portal and a password I'll forget, whining, political madness and all else I can't control in this worried and weary world! Fatigue reigns and I am out of strength.

Help my hopes outnumber my fears! (Psalm 43:5)

Matthew 6:25

The answer is TRUST! (1 Peter 5:7)

May I TRUST Him more and fixate less on "fixing" life's problems as I pour my morning cuppa anxie-TEA down the drain!

LEFT HANGING!

Ever been in a lurch?! A vulnerable and unsupported position.

Think……….left hanging!    Dangling!!

Even worse......hanging upside down for almost 30 minutes! 

It can happen anytime. Anywhere! (Even peeing and vomiting) It doesn't have to be on a broken 10 story high pendulum ride at Oaks Park amusement park  in Oregon.

Precarious pendulum dubbed AtmosFEAR had commentators' catastrophic remarks loudly calling out, "Oh my God...." and "Jesus Christ."

I prayed for safety of the riders along with hopes that the commentator who used the personal pronoun "my" for God, truly knew Him. Who do people call out to in distressing, uncertain times? We all know the "correct" answer. 

But God.....puts answers in His Word.* During stress, those might come quickly or maybe relegated to one word. "Help."

But God won't leave you hanging!

*Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” - (Isaiah 41:10)

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” - (Joshua 1:9)

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble....(Psalm 46:1)

He asks us to take our fears, worries, and anxieties to Him because He cares about us and wants good things for our lives (1 Peter 5:7).

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

I am asked, at church at the gym and in my neighborhood---"what are you reading?". Hm-m-m---that must mean I'm a reader. A reader whom they can trust. That's a big responsibility.

Here are 2  "real" books on my shelf. My other book is an e-book---not my favorite choice but it
is the only access I had to Dear Mr. Knightley! I'm only 65% through the story but it already is in my 4 star category. It's a "reader's" delight as it has many classic book references in the text!

Timothy Keller is always a good read for me when I'm seeking insight.  Following the Intro of Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering, I have used the Table of Contents a lot.  It's often the way I "read" non-fiction. For me. the third part of the book provided the most practical material. From the crushed in Spirit to those in the fiery furnace, the author offers hope, within the reality of suffering, through Scripture. I appreciate that Keller is a reader and appropriately quotes from a variety of backgrounds, e,g. Shakespeare and Patchett to Lloyd-Jones and C.S. Lewis. 

A few take-aways for me: Suffering puts its fingers on good things that have become too important to us (me). (p.308) Human beings are hoped-shaped creatures. The way you live now is controlled by what you believe about your future. (p.334)

For fiction, Elizabeth Musser's books have long been a favorite. She had me hooked with Swan House, the first on I read.  Hopefully, I will soon be able to borrow her latest one, When I Close My Eyes. Two take-aways from The Long Highway Home deal with courage and faith. The book highlights the terror and horror of refugees as they flee their homelands.   

Courage is fear that has said its prayers. (p. 334)

Faith has changed my perspectives on things. My wants and needs and desires. (p.369)

Books, both fiction and non-fiction, change me as I read with my spiritual insight lenses intact. 

As I age, more and more of my books are audio---hearing those words give me vision as clearly as the printed text.

Sight without vision. Sight beyond vision. Think periscope. Periscopic. Seeing things that are out of sight but spiritually intact. Close by. Sounds like faith to me.

What are you reading?

FRISSON OF FEAR

Frisson of fear is what happened to me as I waited for the latest biopsy results. 
Fear the antithesis of trust.

I  didn't scream out to others for prayer but I turned inward somewhat, though not exactly in a spiritual way. 

It was like a pall hanging over me---a dark pall of worry. 

Worry the antithesis of contentment & peace. (Philippians 4:6-7)*
Source of fear is NOT from the Lord. (2 Timothy 1:7)**
Discouragement can follow fear and dismay is close behind. (Isaiah 41:10)***

A bedside reminder from a dear friend and MAC mentor.

But God....in His love, mercy and great love reminded me of those truths from His Word. (Ephesians 2:4)

The biopsy was benign......but the diagnosis requires ongoing observation and treatment. Recently I had "bragged" to a friend that I now no longer had to go to doc every 6 months.
Lesson learned. No more bragging assumptions from me---I am not in control! 
"I am not in control" is a praise because I know the One who is sovereign.

Frisson of Fear be gone.

*For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

**So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

***Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with   thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

CHOOSE: LITTLE PINK PAD

Cancer Center.

Choose the little pink pad. Sounds simple enough.

But.....how do you choose the Pink Pad without also choosing anxiety, dread for the procedure without fear of the outcome?

So....how does one choose reality of a hard place moment without exacerbating the situation with negative emotions? Here's my list.

• Battle those fearful thoughts with the Sword of the Spirit. (Ephesians 6:17)
• Know that the spirit of fear is not from God. (2 Timothy 1:7)
• Remember God’s goodness in a past cancer journey or difficulty and tell others. (Psalm 145:4)
• Recall God’s omnipresent promise. (Isaiah 41:10)

Give up the “what if it’s cancer” tremors and exchange it for “even if it’s cancer,” I know God can use it for good. (Move from “what if” to “even if” thinking---a tip I learned from Carol Kent)

Choosing the little Pink Pad was something to lead me to results I had no control over so........"when I am afraid," it's wise to put my trust in the hands of the One who is truly in control. (Psalm 56:3)

CHOOSE: CORRECT MULTIPLICAND

In calculation, one gets a "product" (answer ) when one chooses the multiplicand that is to be multiplied. Multiplicand x Multiplier = Product

To me, in my spiritual life, this is somewhat of a warning. Those mathematical terms might be a stretch for all the thoughts that multiply in my head but God is showing me that anxious thoughts multiplied indicate I need more of Him or I will get a quantity obtained by multiplication, which I don't want. (Psalm 94:19)

As Chuck Swindoll states in the "anxiety" chapter 3, Christ at the Crossroads, (my) problems,  "multiply" when I insert "my" solutions, try to work them out by "myself "or allow "my" own "fear" of inadequacy to creep in. The product from the multiplication of those problems is an answer I don't like. I become "afraid."

Clearly the answer for the multiplying of anxious thoughts is fear.  "Fear with inadequacy." 

Multiplying anxious thoughts becomes a deep-seeded fear much too heavy for me to carry around----so I choose thought multiplicands of love & truth, given by God. For He has not given us "fear but power, love and a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7) I'll take those "products" any day. 

CHOOSE: COURAGE

In the midst of the pain and suffering, choose courage. (Psalm 27:14)

Choosing courage is much easier to type than it is to experience, especially when times "feel" hopeless. 

REMEMBER---Courage is not the absence of fear. 

I love it when courage "trumps" fear---
-- even if it is just in a Scrabble game.

REMEMBER---Fear is our recognition of needing God during these particularly "hard" times. 

Anxiety results when we try to deal with our fear without God. Times of soul wounding and buckets of tears. (Psalm 42:1-5) 

REMEMBER---Salt from tears CAN provoke our deepest thirst for God. (Jeff Schulte, 9/18/16)

REMEMBER---Thirst gives us the courage to choose to turn to Him with renewed hope.

Know that I am preaching to the choir here---one with no vocal ability, who is trying to quietly choose courage.

"Out, Out"...Inadequacy BLOT

Mental BLOTS are dark and they can stain one's psyche----the center of his thoughts & feelings.

I have a blot of inadequacy that tends to blotch my confidence when it comes to "publicly" teaching spiritual things that seem "too hard for me."

I know "nothing is too hard for God"(Jeremiah 32:27) so why don't I refocus and "look up" as soon as the blot appears! Before it completely smudges my thinking!

I need to "move" those scriptures, which I know to be truth, from my head to my heart.

For nothing will be impossible with God. ~ Luke 1:37

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. ~ Philippians 4:13

My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me....2 Corinthians 12:9-10

How can one feel inadequate when her adequacy is in Him. Grateful for the quote from, 100 Things God Loves About You, a recent birthday gift from Buddy & Charlotte, because #6 in the book reminded me to, 'throw your hands up to Him and say, "I can't do this by myself!' Because when you reach up, He loves to reach down, lift you up, and carry you close to His heart. (Isaiah 40:11)

That  "reach up" pithy grabber coupled with 1 Timothy 1:12 erased my inadequacy blot and replaced it with a clear sense of thankfulness knowing the the Lord Jesus Christ is the One who gives me strength "because He judged me faithful appointing me to His service."
As His appointee, He will make me adequate, equipped for every good work of His. (2 Timothy 3:17)

PANIC PRAYERS

Anxiety can be a real "panic prayer" inducer,

Earlier blog entries show that I have been sipping from this cuppa of anxiety far too often through the years.

11/22/10 and 6/16/13. Yet, I omitted a cuppa anxie-TEA in 2014 when I wrote 366 "tea" entries. Maybe it's because that year was a "call" to blog daily and I had to trust the One who called me! He was my "focus" and the blog entries were an overflow of that relationship. Even if anxiety was mentioned in an entry, the cuppa chosen for "focus" was NOT anxie-TEA!

So why am I seemingly back to square one---my humanity, filled too often with worry and fear.

Sadly, once again, I am one of those "fretful folks" Pastor Cole alluded to a few weeks ago, as he described living in a catastrophe culture. Daily we "panicky people" tend to live in a state of emergency. Even our news describes emergency alerts as though each viewer can do something about each event. As if there was an element of control for which we are responsible.

Globally, I am disturbed but realize my limitations. On the other hand, personally, anxious thoughts can still consume me---holding me captive, over people and health and events which I cannot control.

So what's one to do with these consuming fears and apprehensions?

REFOCUS!
PRAY---Don't panic!!

Shrink that cuppa! Lay it all at His feet.

Claim victory. (Romans 8:37)

FEARLESS

The fearless have courage.  They are the brave ones.
I am more likely to possess that trait in the daylight hours.

The "fearful" talk that I  hear in my head between 2 and 4 am seems to come down from the ceiling---similar to a night in a ER hospital room when I heard announcements for a doctor, or a code blue.
A jolt of words that seem to "rattle" me and stay with me. Hard to get out of my head.

I, like a few other folks, need to fear less and trust more especially during the night watch. Those hours when the thoughts in one's head can resurrect fear.
More often than not, they are thoughts of which I have no control over the outcome---think worry. (Philippians 4: 6-7)

To be fearless in the wee hours, I need to fear less of those things which I cannot control and trust more in the One who controls everything.

Tonight's bedtime story will be the twenty-third psalm---

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

Understanding Equations

 Maybe a better blog title would be misunderstanding equations especially those with variables on both sides. Therefore I simplified.
However, there are some equations of excellence----those number sentences which make sense to Christians. The helpful ones in times of struggle. I came across these in my 10/16/13 journal entry. (H2H source unknown).

In all the variables of life, believers must factor in God's Presence. 

Focusing on His Presence  turns misunderstandings into equations of excellence.

Mindful Queries

I have a field on my mind that needs plowing. (Anne Wilkes Tucker) 

Do you have weeds in you mind that need to be "pitched?" How does one plow under weeds of fear?

Lately my "mind field" feels more volatile than weeds---more of a "minefield." 
Unseen hazards but they are there. Explosive. Fearful dreadful thoughts waiting to erupt. An area planted with explosive mines, that need to be tempered by God's truth. Too often the war of fear wages on.

In yesterday's Jesus Calling, Sarah Young wrote that the mind is the last bastion of rebellion. Rebellion! I'm fighting with myself---I didn't see it as fighting against God. But God has a way of opening my eyes to my misunderstandings.

...but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6b)

GOD's Word has the answer!

Chance or Condfidence

"Human pride loathes the suggestion that God orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything." (John MacArthur) Fate or chance defines the theology of the prideful.

I, along with many others, find confidence in God's sovereignty/

Battlefield "tea-ology" : a Re-Brew

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law
(Joshua 1:7, NIV)

Marching orders were  given to Joshua. (3x in v. 6-9)

Be courageous.

Be careful.

But God.....doesn't leave Joshua and his people there alone. He reiterates time and time again----"I will be with you; I will never leave your nor forsake you. (Joshua 1:5, 9)

Recent sermon by son, Buddy, on the leader, Joshua, pointed out that God's most repeated command in scripture is, "Do not fear, or don't be afraid or to be courageous, the inverse of fear." Obviously the Lord realized how much fear would factor in to the lives of all humanity. Knowing how vulnerable mankind, even His own people, would be to fear,  His "don't fear-type" commands number 366, more than any other command in the Bible. That's one for each day of the year, even if there's a Leap Year. Thus, promises of His Presence and the reassurances that He would never forsake His own, seem to go hand in hand with those commands. Promises that do more than assuage their fear, are available for all who trust the Lord.

"To fear is to be human---but God says, trust me." (B. Liles, 3/2/14)

Courageous faith with careful obedience. That requires a constant cuppa trust.

"shor-TEA-ning"

The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. (Ecclesiastes 12:10, NIV)

Shor-TEA-ning was the only "tea" word I could create to get across this idea of finding just the right words---and the right number of words. Less is more. Simplicity over verbosi-TEA.

I needed to pare down the words of my lesson on fear from Psalms 23, 27 & 46, before teaching it to the night class, which has a shorter timeframe. Thus, shor-TEA-ning is needed. What do I cut out? What MUST be left in?

Somewhat like my morning cuppa---if I want a more robust tea due to my time constraints, I brew a half a cup----but my tea is stronger. I use loose tea because it gives the strongest flavor in half the time BUT I only allow myself half a cup because I don't need extra energy from the caffeine. I just need the right amount for the time allotted---without skimping on the flavor. 

 Pithy with a punch. Just like my cuppa "shor-TEA-ning."

Questions and Answers: Fear & Insecurity

2/7/13 Friends and blog readers, concerned about our home break-in/burglary have inquired, "How are you doing?' One that I loved was, "Are you back to sharpening pencils? 

Yes, is the answer. I returned to pencil sharpening.
Hubby provided me with a "handy-dandy" hand held pencil sharpener to use on the go. No electricity needed. Though I do LOVE my oft-used electric one (I'm surprised it still works), it's not always convenient.

During this go-round of battling anxiety, I even included tidying up my tea cabinet---a helpful mindless activity. Like alphabetizing Claudia's pasta. 

Funny how one wants to "do" or "fix" something when life situations are so "disturbing" and totally out of one's control. Mind-numbing activities like pencil sharpening and tea tidying can work for me.....when I am "haunted by apprehension"....until God gets me back in His grip. Why do I ever pull away?

As Oswald Chambers states (My Utmost for His Highest, 11/13) "fear comes from not nourishing ourselves in our faith."

So...after days of anxious thoughts and nights of not night sleeping well:

• Faith nourishing began.....I'm grateful for time at His feet to read and reflect on His Word. (Jeremiah 15:16)
• I'm grateful also to remember that God is not sleeping so I can rest well. (Psalm 121:3)

Thanks for asking.

Dalton Ghetti has taken pencil sharpening to a new level.

TEMPER THE HEAT

5/10/12 Each morning Mother always made her tea for the day. Right in the glass pitcher. She taught me  to make perfect tea by adding the sugar while the water was hot. (We never called it "sweet tea," it just always was.) To keep the glass from breaking, she always put a table knife in the pitcher and would pour the water so that it hit the knife first. I guess that somehow dispelled the heat.

I was reminded of this today as I read a “keep your spoon in the cup” incident described by the author in Surprised by Oxford, as her former professor was encouraging her, a “new” believer.

Keeping the spoon in the cup keeps the china from cracking under the heat, she explained…..The metal of the spoon becomes a conductor, protecting the delicate china from extreme in temperature.

You need to keep the spoon in the cup, Caro….especially when things get hot. God lifts us up, but He also grounds us. Fear will get into the cracks; fear ultimately is what breaks us apart. (Weber, 289)

I mulled my mother’s teaching with Weber’s analogy and some needed “fear” related verses. Mulling, Joshua 1:9, Psalm 16:8, Psalm 27:1-3, Isaiah 41:10, John 14:27, II Timothy 1:7 & Hebrews 13:6, as I drank my English tea in my Hadley stoneware mug from KY. What a combo!

Dispelled. Dispersed. Diffused. All good action words for tempering heat. Heat that comes from struggles and fear. Fear that will crack us wide open if we don’t allow the truth from God’s word to infuse us and thus diffuse the heat that can break us.

Burden Bearing

3/21/11 Alone in a dark parking lot at 5:30 am. Overcome with a wave of nausea and cold sweats---I was scared. So.........

I unloaded my burdens today at work----maybe out of fear. Maybe out of necessity. But I have willing, caring, listening burden bearers at Houston and I felt safe. I do believe there is a time to bear our fears/cares/struggles in solitude. Sometimes I have to work through things and have a good cry before I’m ready to share. Sometimes I go right to my prayer partners. It takes wisdom to know which avenue to follow.

This past week I have felt burdened beyond belief as I have watched loved ones suffer and have felt helpless. Emotionally I have struggled. Physically I have struggled. I am wiped out. 

Tonight I’m taking my burden to THE Burden Bearer. I know that He gives to His beloved even in their sleep.(Psalm 127:2)

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matt. 11:28-30)