Showing posts with label do not worry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label do not worry. Show all posts
Monday, March 8, 2010
A New Year by Joyce Schafer
As I start this New Year I have a lot of the same hopes and dreams I have had in the past. I want peace in my family, in my country and in the world. I want to eat healthier and exercise more. I want to work hard and play harder. I want to spend more time with my family and friends. I want to celebrate more and complain less. I want to stop making so many lists and start living more in the moment. I want to be a person who is respected and loved. I want to be less concerned about my outside appearance and more concerned about what is on the inside. I want to give more and not expect anything in return. I want to stand up for my beliefs and not worry what anyone thinks. Above all I want to be the person God wants me to be........
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Commitments not Resolutions by Joyce Schafer
My dictionary defines resolution as “a formal proposal” while the definition for commitment is “a pledge.” This year I am making commitments to God.
Commitment #1 Pray first then act I have a tendency to act first and then only after I make a mess of things ask God for help. This year I am going to consciously try to pray first before I do and say the things that get me into trouble.
Commitment #2 Let Go and Let God I am a control freak. I keep forgetting I am not the one in control. God is. I need to let go and let God take control of my life. I know he can do a much better job than I can.
Commitment #3 Worry Less I waste too much time and energy worrying about the "what ifs and should haves" in my life. This year I am going to give God my worries and try not to keep taking them back.
Commitment#4 My body is God's temple and I should treat it accordingly My First Place group teaches placing God first in all areas of our lives-spiritually, mentally and physically. I will commit to studying God's word, exercising and eating healthy. I will not allow anyone -especially myself-to dishonor God's temple.
Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.
Commitment #1 Pray first then act I have a tendency to act first and then only after I make a mess of things ask God for help. This year I am going to consciously try to pray first before I do and say the things that get me into trouble.
Commitment #2 Let Go and Let God I am a control freak. I keep forgetting I am not the one in control. God is. I need to let go and let God take control of my life. I know he can do a much better job than I can.
Commitment #3 Worry Less I waste too much time and energy worrying about the "what ifs and should haves" in my life. This year I am going to give God my worries and try not to keep taking them back.
Commitment#4 My body is God's temple and I should treat it accordingly My First Place group teaches placing God first in all areas of our lives-spiritually, mentally and physically. I will commit to studying God's word, exercising and eating healthy. I will not allow anyone -especially myself-to dishonor God's temple.
Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
God is in Control! by Theresa Zuber
Daniel 2:20-21 (The Message) says
"Blessed be the name of God,
forever and ever.
He knows all, does all:
He changes the seasons and guides history,
He raises up kings and also brings them down,"
I have to say that I am concerned about where our world is headed. Regardless of who won the election, our nation has gotten itself in a disastrous situation with disregard for human life, deteriorating morals and has adopted a completely self-centered focus.
That said, I still claim the promise that God knows all and that he raises up kings and brings them down. Therefore, I may be concerned, but I'm not worried. I don't fret over what's going to happen, because I know that God is in control of it all! It helps me have the hope that it's all going to work out.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
"Blessed be the name of God,
forever and ever.
He knows all, does all:
He changes the seasons and guides history,
He raises up kings and also brings them down,"
I have to say that I am concerned about where our world is headed. Regardless of who won the election, our nation has gotten itself in a disastrous situation with disregard for human life, deteriorating morals and has adopted a completely self-centered focus.
That said, I still claim the promise that God knows all and that he raises up kings and brings them down. Therefore, I may be concerned, but I'm not worried. I don't fret over what's going to happen, because I know that God is in control of it all! It helps me have the hope that it's all going to work out.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Monday, April 28, 2008
What If by Glenna Shryock
It 5:30 a.m. Friday, April 18, 2008. I’ve been up since rudely awakened by my shaking bed and trembling house and contents. EARTHQUAKE! I quickly got Matt and Leah out of their beds and under the doorway of Leah’s bedroom.
Randy has been working nights so he had a different experience of alarms going off at the refinery where he works. They initially thought that something had exploded and were headed for their bomb shelters. He was pretty excited when he called to quickly check in.
The internet news tells me it was centered at West Salem and registered a 5.4.
I tried to lay down afterward. My body was tight and stiff as a stretched drum and wouldn’t relax enough to let me go back to sleep. I thanked God my family was safe and my home seemed to be intact. My usual sense of mis-directed pride was congratulating myself that I so quickly reacted in the proper way in that I knew what was happening and what to do about it. But then I started thinking about the WHAT IF’s. WHAT IF if I hadn’t been at home with my kids? I wouldn’t have been here to protect them. WHAT IF the house would have twisted and turned and torn apart? Did I have them in an area where they would have been protected? I should have taken them outside. WHAT IF they would have been sleeping in the basement, as they sometimes do if friends are staying over? Would I have been able to get to them to get them out? I’m always shuddering at the site of Leah’s room, which is a cluttered obstacle course. WHAT IF some of the vases and books and picture frames would have vibrated off her bookshelf fell onto her head as she lay in her bed? WHAT IF the picture above Matt’s bed would have fell on him? Lord, I’ve been WHAT IF-ing most of my life as a mother. I sometimes drive my family crazy when voicing my WHAT-IF’s. Matt calls me "crazy-pyscho mom" in his attempt to dismiss my fears for their safety.
Lord, this morning has again reminded me that these children are in Your hands. I am powerless to protect them from all the world’s evil. They are best protected by You, not me. Thank You for the precious gift of my children, but help me to always remember they are in Your hands, the most wonderful place of all. Guide me, Lord, in their care and guide my thoughts to You and away from the WHAT-IF’s.
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 "Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6: 25-34)
The WHAT-IF’s are worry and my worrying does nothing to protect them. Forgive me, Lord, for my lack of trust in You.
Randy has been working nights so he had a different experience of alarms going off at the refinery where he works. They initially thought that something had exploded and were headed for their bomb shelters. He was pretty excited when he called to quickly check in.
The internet news tells me it was centered at West Salem and registered a 5.4.
I tried to lay down afterward. My body was tight and stiff as a stretched drum and wouldn’t relax enough to let me go back to sleep. I thanked God my family was safe and my home seemed to be intact. My usual sense of mis-directed pride was congratulating myself that I so quickly reacted in the proper way in that I knew what was happening and what to do about it. But then I started thinking about the WHAT IF’s. WHAT IF if I hadn’t been at home with my kids? I wouldn’t have been here to protect them. WHAT IF the house would have twisted and turned and torn apart? Did I have them in an area where they would have been protected? I should have taken them outside. WHAT IF they would have been sleeping in the basement, as they sometimes do if friends are staying over? Would I have been able to get to them to get them out? I’m always shuddering at the site of Leah’s room, which is a cluttered obstacle course. WHAT IF some of the vases and books and picture frames would have vibrated off her bookshelf fell onto her head as she lay in her bed? WHAT IF the picture above Matt’s bed would have fell on him? Lord, I’ve been WHAT IF-ing most of my life as a mother. I sometimes drive my family crazy when voicing my WHAT-IF’s. Matt calls me "crazy-pyscho mom" in his attempt to dismiss my fears for their safety.
Lord, this morning has again reminded me that these children are in Your hands. I am powerless to protect them from all the world’s evil. They are best protected by You, not me. Thank You for the precious gift of my children, but help me to always remember they are in Your hands, the most wonderful place of all. Guide me, Lord, in their care and guide my thoughts to You and away from the WHAT-IF’s.
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 "Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6: 25-34)
The WHAT-IF’s are worry and my worrying does nothing to protect them. Forgive me, Lord, for my lack of trust in You.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)