Potty Prayers

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. — 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

This is so awesome I just had to share! It’s not about me, and I hope Heather will not mind me sharing

In my previous post Fear of what others think, I had shared some examples of fears we might let control us. Heather told me the part about not inviting people over because the house is messy so spoke to her. Heather is aways encouraging to me in regards to my writings and telling me how much they mean to her. This means a great deal to me — not because it validates me in any way, shape or form — but because I know God’s working through me to share with at least one person. To see what God’s doing in Heather’s life is truly amazing to watch from where I’m sitting and I’m so thankful God’s let me be a part of her life!

Today Heather shared with me that she had a house full of people yesterday, and they had a really good time. I absolutely love what she said next:

I think there were so many people here that you couldn’t see the imperfections.

How truly awesome and insightful is that!?!? She was not worried at all about what she perceived as imperfections in her home or herself. She opened her heart and her home to this group of people and she had a wonderful time! God wants us to fellowship with other believers. He wants us to have that friendship, but even more importantly, support from other Christians. If you don’t take the first step and put yourself out there, you’ll never realize some of the blessings God has in store for you!

Prayer: Lord I just want to thank you and praise you right now for the great and awesome blessings you are laying on Heather. I pray that you reach down to each and every one of your children, give us a spirit of power, love and a sound mind. Help us to overcome our fears so we might help others overcome their fears as well. Thank you for helping me over my fear of writing. Use it to bless every single person who reads it.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. — 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

When I wrote the post the other day entitled “Fear of ____” my mind was literally racing with all kinds of things that I’m afraid of — fear of failing (what if I think I can write and I really can’t?); fear of sharing my faith with others (what if they don’t believe what I believe?); fear of having friends over for dinner (yeah, right! my house is a mess!).

When I really started looking at all of these fears, I realized they all boil down to just 1 fear — the fear of what others think. Who decides whether or not I can really write? There will always be people who don’t like what I write. What happens when others don’t believe what I believe? Nothing. I keep on loving them and sharing with them as God leads me. After all, they aren’t rejecting me, they’re rejecting God. What happens if I have friends over and there are toys all over the den floor? My friends might just see how much I love my daughter and spend more time with her than I do cleaning everything to perfection.

Seriously take a minute and look at your fear(s). How many of them can essentially be reduced to worrying about what others think? We need to be more worried about what God thinks about what we are doing than what others think. God thinks I can write, so I write. I don’t have a clue who’s going to read it or the lives it will touch, but that’s in God’s control — not mine. God thinks I should tell others what great and wonderful things He’s done for me. God thinks I should reach out to my friends — especially the ones who don’t believe like I do — because they are hurting and need support.

So what are your fears?

Prayer: Lord, please help me to realize I don’t need to be concerned with what others think. Help me to only be concerned with what You think. Lord I want to fit in so badly that sometimes it doesn’t matter what I fit into. Help me to know without a doubt that I fit into Your family — that I am a child of God. Help me not to have a spirit of cowardice or fear. Give me strength to accomplish the things You think are important.

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. — 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)

Fear has been on my mind a great deal lately. I’m sure you have something (if not quite a few things) you can fill in the blank with. I’ve been familiar with this verse for a long time. I know fear is not of the Lord, and I often feel guilty when I have a fear of something. Is my faith not strong enough? Am I not walking close enough to God? What’s wrong with me that I’m fearing when I shouldn’t be?

Whenever I want to study some scripture, I go to a set of commentaries we have written by J. Vernon McGee. I love the way he puts things in a way I can understand and relate to. I love what he’s written about this verse. He explains that fear is a natural thing. He uses the example of a lion. If you saw a lion loose, fear would cause you to find a really good hiding place. This would be a good thing, because who would want to be eaten by a lion?

However, Paul is speaking not of a good kind of fear, but of cowardice. Paul is saying, “God hath not given us the spirit of cowardice; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

“A sound mind” means discipline. In other words, God does not intend that defeat should be the norm of Christian living. We should be disciplined Christians rather than slaves to our emotions. We are all moved by our emotions. That is why people will send money to organizations that advertise with the picture of a poor, hungry, little orphan. But Christians are not to be motivated by their emotions. Our emotions are not to master us. We are to be disciplined.

How does this apply to the question of fear? Is it wrong for me to have a fear of flying? No. It would be wrong for me to stay at home. You see, If I am a disciplined Christian, I am going to grit my teeth, go down and get that ticket, and take that trip because God has called me to an itinerant teaching ministry. Overcoming emotions means not letting your emotions stop you from doing something you should be doing. When you have a fear of flying, you discipline yourself to fly anyway. But you still live with your emotions. — J. Vernon McGee from “Thru the Bible”

He said all that way better than I could! It’s really made me stop and think. What fears have I let control my life? What is God calling me to do that I’m afraid of? What am I afraid will happen? I’ll be looking specifically at some fears of mine this week. If you have any that you’d like to share, let me know. I’ll write about them as well.

Prayer: Lord, please help me to remember not to let my emotions rule my decisions and actions. I want You to control me and give me a sound mind. You know how badly I need a sound mind! Help me to distinguish between the good fear and the areas I need to be self-disciplined in. Thank you Lord that Your Word is so applicable to my life today — thousands of years later.

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. — Philipians 4:13 (KJV and NIV combined)

I have to confess. I am sick of being bombarded with “self-help” messages. They come in the form of junk emails (take this medicine to please your spouse). They come in the form of tv shows (Oprah and Dr. Phil). There are even a ton of Christian sites that propose to help you to help yourself.

Believe in yourself. Love yourself. Think positive thoughts. Blah. Blah. Blah. All rubbish if you ask me.

I don’t want to believe in myself. I fail all the time. I can’t do anything unless I let God work through me. That’s just a simple fact I’ve come to accept. Occasionally I forget, try to take over handling something in my life, only to go back to God when I screw everything up. I don’t want to believe in myself. I want to believe in my God because He’s always there. He’s always right, just and loving. He never fails. If I get “myself” out of the way and let God work through me, then there is nothing I can’t do.

Make the choice to let God work through you. You will be amazed at the miracles that happen when you do.

Prayer: Lord, help me not to get caught up in the lies of this world. I know I can do anything through Your will because You will give me strength to do it. Help me to make the choice to let You work through me each and every day of my life. Thank You for the amazing things You’ve already done for me.

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. — John 19:30 (NIV)

It’s been awhile since I’ve written. It bothers me that it’s been awhile since I’ve written. I have been doing stuff. Just not writing. When I told my husband I was going to start a devotional site, he just kinda shook his head. I asked if he thought it was a bad idea, to which he replied, “no, it’s just another thing you’re jumping to.” He knows me all too well. I have started many a project, thought up many ideas, and cannot name one thing I’ve finished. I’ll start “the next cool thing” but when I get in the middle of it, I either freeze or get distracted with another “the next cool thing.”

Throughout this month, in celebrating Easter, these 3 little words stood out for me — they ring in my ears. “It is finished.” It amazes me that Jesus finished everything He started. He did everything He was supposed to do according to His father’s will. Oh how I wish I could say the same thing! Not to feel accomplished, or to take credit for anything that is finished, but to just not live with the guilt of all the unfinished projects, the good intentions, the good ideas never worked on.

I went to a wonderful women’s conference this past weekend. One of the breakout sessions was on Perfectionism. I learned this is me. I’m so worried about doing it perfectly, or doing it as perfectly as I think it should be done, that often times I don’t even get started — or freeze right in the middle of a project. I’ve hated the wallpaper in my kitchen for the 10.5 years we’ve lived here. I’m worried about choosing the wrong color to paint. How crazy is that? It’s just paint. If I pick a color and don’t like it, I can paint over it. But it still feels like a huge hurdle to get over. Will this be yet another project I start and don’t finish?

Prayer: Lord, I know you are working on me. It’s a process. It’s going to be a long process. Help me to get over these little humps, so I can fully be what you desire for me. Help me to see that there is no wrong color for my kitchen; that it’s no big deal if I mess up; that the important thing is to just do it. Work through me and help me to be able to say “it is finished.”