Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58

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Saturday, January 4, 2014

A Large, Man-eating Spider (Or how Perception can turn you bald)

The other night, I was taking a bath, minding my own business. My kids were asleep. The husband was asleep. It was about 12:30 at night (because that's the only time I can take a bath without someone barging in ;) ).

I had gotten some new washcloths for Christmas. So, I was laying down with one of them laying on my stomach (you don't have to picture that if you don't want... this does have a point.. ;) )


Okay, so it's late, I'm alone..... I look down, and there is the MASSIVE spider on my stomach!

I didn't see the entire spider... I just saw it's leg, and it's leg was huge!



Not wanting to freak the spider out and have it bite my head off, I just laid there, looking at the spider's leg, trying not to breathe too deeply and startle the massive giant.

The more I got to looking, the more I noticed, "Hey, this feller's not moving."

I was happy about it at first because... well, it wasn't moving. My internal organs were safe! Huzzah!

Then, I got worried that the spider might be calculating its move and would, in fact, jump on my face and suck out my brains.


Don't think I laid there until the water got cold thinking all of this... It took maybe ten seconds, but you know how time slows when you are terrified.

Then I looked.... REALLY looked at my gigantic spider foes massively long leg.

Then I looked up at the bathroom light over the sink.

Then I looked down on a string from the washcloth on my tummy.

Then I turned a funny shade of red and let out a big ole breath.


My gigantic spider.... was a thread and a shadow. The lights made a shadow on the thread, making it look like a big spider leg and my imagination did the rest.

Once I was glad no one saw my antics, I thought Hey! That's how life is! I need to blog about it! (my honest thoughts at 12:30 am...)

(perception... or photoshop?)

There are things that seem so big to us, so scary, so horrible that we don't want to either see them or go through them. And some things are. There are some things in life that are horrific.







And then there are threads on washcloths.

Our perception of problems can sometimes make our problems bigger. Our minds tend to jump to the
worst possible scenarios (our minds and 'Dr. Google'). Our perception is often skewed by our fears and the 'what ifs' in life.

Psalm 147:5         
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.


Have you ever done those mind tricks? You know, the one where a dancer is spinning one way... and if you REALLY concentrate you can make her spin the other way. It all has to do with perception and how we see something.

How we see an issue...

What if we saw everything smaller than they really are? OR for what they actually are? What if we stopped letting fear control our perception of the world, of our marriages, of our friendships, of our jobs, of church, of the internet, of life?

What if we saw our giants as just a small ant?

What if we saw things that aggravate us as 'not' the end of the world?

Well, I suppose if we did that (if *I* did that), we'd have a lot less gray hair ;)

~Kelly
 





 

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

A Time For Anxiety

I never really thought that I had anxiety. I mean, I know a worry... a lot. I stress... a  lot. I hate talking in person... a lot (because what if I say the wrong thing... which I tend to do? Isn't it better to just be quiet than say the wrong thing? Hmmm....)

Free Stock Photos: Natural Beauty 7 Picture. Image: 195218But a few days ago, I read a post about Anxiety. It sort of fit me to a tee.

About a week ago, my husband's cousin died of complications from H1N1. He was just 36. He was a preacher and had a wife and 2 small girls. That sort of gets you thinking. If you can die of the flu, how safe are you in the world?

Now, I'm not stupid. I know you can die at any time. A car crash. A house fire. A flippin' meteor can fall on your head.

I get that.

But the flu?

Really?

Thus started the 'Do I need a flu shot?' debate in my head. This post isn't about that. It's your personal opinion if you get one or not. Some people do. Some can't. I've never had one.

The fear of the unknown. I think that's what leads to my personal anxiety. I like knowing where I'm going. I like knowing specifics. I'm kind of like my six year old that way. She freaks out if she doesn't know what's coming next. I guess she got it from me (yay... she didn't get my eye color, but got my anxiety. Poor kid...)

A lot of times, I feel like a failure because I don't know what to do. Like being a mother. If there was a handbook, I'd be all over it ;) Some people seem like a natural. I feel like I just make kids cry. Ever have days like that? They aren't pleasant.

I knew I wanted my first post of 2014 to be about anxiety because, like always, there is so much we don't know. A war could break out tomorrow for all we know (now you are worrying about it, aren't you? Admit it ;) )

Psalm 139:23-- Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

I'm guessing God doesn't have to search me too thoroughly to know my anxious thoughts ;) They are pretty apparent (well, to me anyway. My husband says I'm hard to read...)

Philippians 4:6-- Don't worry about anything: instead; pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

I don't know about you, but that seems pretty good to me.

What I get out of this? Two things:
ONE: There is no use in worrying. Things will happen like they are going to happen anyway.

TWO: There is no use in worrying. Things will happen like they are going to happen anyway.


I watched an episode of ER the other night (Yes... yes I did). There was this lady who was afraid to get out of her house. The therapist finally convinced her to do it, and all these terrible things happened. Was it a coincidence or would it have happened anyway? I'm thinking it would have happened anyway.

There is no since worrying about the future because the future will be what it'll be. That's both comforting and scary. We can change certain things: we can NOT drink and drive. we can NOT over eat. We can wash our hands after meals so we don't get sick.

But we can't control others. We can't make them NOT drink and drive. We can't NOT make our spouse live healthy. We can't force our preacher to use germx and spread germs.

There are things in life we can't control, and that's scary.

But it also makes every day a miracle.

Yesterday is gone. Have a fight with your spouse. Okay, let it go. It's over. You can't take it back, but you can learn from it today.

Tomorrow may never come. It's a scary thought, but it's true. There is no use in worrying. Things will happen like they are going to happen anyway.

Focus on today. How can you live today to make life better for those around you? Will worrying about tomorrow hamper your happiness today?

Has any of this helped me? I don't know. I still worry. I think all parents worry whether we want to or not. When you have people who depend on you, it happens.

But that doesn't mean we should let it control us.

There are such things as accidents. You can't control everything. We have to understand that.

My verse for this week...
Philippians 4:6-- Don't worry about anything: instead; pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
 
~Kelly

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