The Swine Flu and Other Fears

While all the world awaits the latest news from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the Swine Flu (will it or will it not become a pandemic???), I am busy living my life and trusting in God. I know, I know...I should be cowering in a corner of my living room lit only with the glowing light of a 24 hour news channel that gives me a moment by moment update of the state of our economy and the possible annihilation of the human race by the dreaded swine flu. But I am not. I simply do not have time to worry, panic or otherwise freak out. Call me simple-minded or naive, but I figure if He could align the planets, keep Earth from creeping too close to the sun, and figure out how to get 23 feet of intestines into the human abdominal cavity, then I can only assume He can handle the state of the world today. I cannot, so I will just handle(with His help, of course) what He has put on my plate today and trust Him with the periphery. You should try it. It is better for you than bran flakes. And no pesky bloating.

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Abundance or Scarcity...Which Do You See?

I saw in the news this past week that another bank went under. Everywhere you look the media of our nation are placing the blackest of clouds to overshadow our landscape. And if I were to adopt the attitude that the mainstream media is propagating I would be in the midst of a downward mental spiral, as so many Americans actually are right now. The 'chicken littles' are squawking all around us and most people have run indoors to avoid the chunks of sky that must inevitably be headed their way.

I know I have touched on this before, but I cannot get over how quickly we Americans swallow the doom and gloom reports and embrace a scarcity mindset. Tim Sanders wrote about this in his blog yesterday and it was an excellent post on resisting such a mindset. As Christians, we have even more reason to embrace an abundance mindset. The Scriptures are full of His promises to His people of His great provision. Yes, we need to be wise as serpents but we need not ever cross over into being as scared as chickens. And I am not living in some insulated bubble of money that makes me blind to what is true about the state of our economy. We are feeling deeply the real effects of a real recession in our own home. But I am not willing to stop living and believing and enjoying my life. We all learned in economics class that an economy is cyclical...what goes around really does come around. The roller coaster has taken many of us into a low curve but rest assured, that coaster will head back up again and the key is choosing to enjoy the whole ride with an eye towards abundance and not scarcity.

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Branches and Roots

"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."
--Henry David Thoreau

The hot topic everywhere is the state of our economy and the overriding response from most people is fear. This is understandable. But it does not have to be. We learn in driver's ed class that we will navigate towards the object of our focus and it is true in every area of life. When the eyes of the heart are locked in on what is lacking, fear and dread are an inevitability. When pain looms front and center it becomes difficult to even breathe. The pregnant woman is taught that she should plan ahead to have a focal point when labor begins so that the pain will not overwhelm her and so that she can better control her breathing. And God has given us a focal point for the unavoidable pains of life...Philippians 4:6-9. Here is the Taylor paraphrase: "Do NOT be fearful, but rather talk to Me about your needs with a thankful heart and My peace will protect you. Dwell only on the good report."
While no one person can repair the economy, each of us can repair our response to the economy. I make light of hard things sometimes, such as in this post, because humor is how I cope. But most of us need to move past coping and start hoping. Coping hacks at the branches of fear while hoping strikes at the root. The passage in Philippians holds the key. What will you choose?

--embrace fear
--become too paralyzed to pray
--resent what is lacking
--focus on the negative reports (and they are everywhere)

OR

--resist fear
--tell God what you need and how you feel
--DAILY list what you do have and THANK HIM for it
--dwell on what is good and positive (especially in idle moments)

As for me? I will take "Resist Fear and Be Thankful" for five hundred, Alex.

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I WIll NEVER Do That!!

So, my husband and I were on a little road trip Saturday and we passed some billboards in Altanta that were extremely high, higher than the ones like you see in this picture. I was craning my neck to see the top of them, imagining myself atop the platforms in front where the workers do whatever it is they do to change them and I had this thought....if this were the LAST job on earth, I would just starve to death because there is no way in the world I would ever climb up there to earn a living. EVER. Sure, there are jobs that I find unappealing, like neutering or spaying animals, pest control, and proctology, but this aversion I have to extreme heights really isn't about preference. It is just plain, old, fall-to-your-knees-and-throw-up fear.
This subject of jobs is uppermost in my mind right now because, if our house in Florida doesn't sell soon, I am going to have to do something to bring in some extra money. Let me be clear and say that you would see the bank come and take back the Florida house from the Taylors if it all hinged on me being a billboard changer outer. Yes, I did just make up that title. What do you call that job anyway? Oh, I know, this is deep stuff I am writing about and you just wish you were this creative, this utterly and completely inspiring. But let's just face it...some people are not called to weave word tapestries as rich and beautiful as what you see here. I did hear of some job openings in the billboard changer outer office in Atlanta, though, if you are interested. So, what would you rather have your eyeballs gouged out than do for a living??

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Twenty-Four Hours In The Pit of Despair

Have you ever allowed yourself to mentally descend to the lowest place possible?  Have you ever given in to despairing thoughts and let all of the hope that usually wraps up your every day just go right down the toilet?  The past twenty-four hours have been that for me.  I don't even understand quite how it happens and so yesterday afternoon, when I found myself alone for a few hours, I gave myself a good talking to and reminded my heart that God WILL do what He said He would do. Regardless of how circumstances appear, He hasn't brought me to this place in my life to leave me and forsake me or the dreams that He has promised would come to pass.  If you are struggling with hopelessness or despair, I pray that you would find courage and hope in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and  hope."  I send this encouragement out to you, not from a high and lofty place of having it all together, but rather from the dusty road of pain and doubt and learning to live in the moment.  I am really glad that I am not all alone on this journey....love you, my bloggy friends!

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Where Is God?

It is difficult to live in the moment, staying steadily focused on today only. Entertaining our fears of what tomorrow holds never brings us closer to the heart of our Father. I believe the reason this is so is because He is nowhere to be found in tomorrow. Our thoughts and regrets of yesterday are also void of Him. His name is I Am (Ex 3:14), not "I Was" or "I Will Be". His touch, His grace for this journey, His deep abiding peace...all of this can only be found in today where He dwells. Why do we find it so hard to dwell with Him here and now? Psalm 73:28 says, "But as for me, the nearness of God is my good..." And that nearness can only be experienced today, now. I pray that today you will curl up in this moment, this blip in time, and find Him, knowing His nearness and His unending goodness.

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