Fear & Worry

Last night we had a Church Ladies Fellowship meeting at my house and I really enjoyed it. Our Pastor's wife talked to us about worry and fear, yes I have a lot of both. And she made a very direct point that hit home and hit hard. That if we are worrying and we have fears, we're submitting to satan....NOT God as we should be. And when she said that and it hit me, deep down I became panicked because I NEVER want to submit to satan. Intentionally or by accident. Okay, I don't know how I would "accidentally" submit to satan, but you get my point.

I tried to validate and tried to make some of my fears "okay", but it didn't work. Like I have a severe fear of fire. I can deal with fire, but you cant tell that my heart is racing and I could probably have a nervous breakdown when I'm around fire. My reasoning....I've had a lot of family members die in fires. And when I was a baby the furnace at our house blew up and caught the house on fire. My crib/room was right beside it. I have a fear of dieing and leaving my kids too soon. My reasoning...my Dad's parents were both killed when he was young. And I've seen how hard it was for him to deal with that.

After everyone left, I prayed, did my devotion, read my Bible and I couldn't come up with any reasonable explanation to hold onto those fears. Of course I'm still afraid of fire just because it's dangerous, but I'm trying and praying alot to let go of the reason I have for fear of fire.

As a human with sin nature, like we all are. I honestly will never completely stop worrying. I'm a Mom, Daughter, Aunt, Cousin, Friend, etc. so it's natural for me to worry. But when I do start worrying or fearing something, I have to remember to always, always, always, give it to God. And you know, after you do that you feel a whole lot better because you don't have that heavy weight of burden weighing you down.

I hope my Pastor's wife doesn't mind but here's some verses (along with the short notes I took) to help you with worry and fear, that she shared with us last night. I've seen them all before but it's a good reminder and pick me up.

Ephesians 5:21, 22....submit
James 4:7...if you have worry or fear, you're submitting to satan instead of God.
-resist fear and worry
I Corinthians 11:3...submit to God, give fears and worries to who they belong to, God.
I John 4:18...God = Love = cast out all our fears
Psalm 23:4...fear no evil
Joshua 1:9...be not afraid, have strength and courage
II Timothy 1:7,8...spirit of fear = satan, not from God. fear is never from God.
Philippians 4:6,7...don't worry about anything, pray about it and give it to God.
Matthew 6:34...don't worry about tomorrow
Philippians 4:13..I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me.
Psalm 55:22...cast your burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.

Try to enjoy a worry free day! God bless ya'll!

I'm A Bad Mean Mom

I'm a bad mean Mom....so I'm told by my dear sweet kids. Yeah, I'm mean alright. Just like my Mom was mean. And still is. When my Mom reads this, she won't go into shock or horror about me saying that because she knows exactly how mean she is.

I'm a bad mean Mom because I make sure I know where my kids are 24/7. I'm mean because I make my kids wear their seat belts at all times when they're in a moving vehicle. I'm mean because any friends my kids have...I have to meet them, I need their parents names, their address, their phone number and cell number. I'm mean because my kids aren't allowed to sit on the computer all day or play on those game systems. They're allowed 1 hour a day on the computer and we don't own any of those TV game systems. Just to be honest my daughter does have a DS, but that's it. And we limit her time on that and yes you guessed it, I'm mean because of that too. I'm mean because they have to stay active from sun up till bed time. Except for when they're sick. No sitting around watching T.V.

I'm a mean Mom because their rooms are to be kept clean at all times, their bathroom must be kept clean. I'm mean because they're in charge of fixing one supper per week....with my supervision of course. I'm also mean because I make them go to church every week, I make them do youth activities every week. I'm mean because there's no question of whether we go to church....they simply know, we go to church. Just to be fair on this count too, they love going to church now since our new Pastor came. So I'm not as mean as I used to be on that part.

I'm a mean Mom because I'm very involved in my kids lives. I talk to them each day and see what's going on in their lives. I talk to them about everything and they're welcome to ask questions. I'm very mean because I'm too nosey. And I'm mean because in all their activities, I'm right there cheering them on or supporting them. I'm a mean Mom because if my kids are late for curfew, for every 15 minutes they're late. They have to be home 30 minutes early the next time. I'm really mean for that one.

I'm also mean because we sit at the table for our meals as a family. Some of my sons friends families don't do that, so I'm mean because that's embarrassing. I'm really mean because I make my kids eat healthy meals and I make them try every food at least once. Except for liver, my Mom didn't make us try that either. I'm mean because I want both my kids to know how to cook and to wash clothes so when they grow up and move out on their own, they're capable of doing that.

I'm really mean because when I ask my son who he's talking to on the phone and/or texting...I want an honest answer. I'm mean because my kids know I will call whoever to verify if they're telling the truth, if I feel the need to. I'm really mean because I don't take any crap from anyone when it comes to my kids. I'm mean because sometimes that embarrasses them. I'm mean because I love them too much and I'm too overprotective....so I'm told. Yeah, my Mom was real mean that way too.

So I'm mean, but my kids know I love them and one day....they'll be mean parents too, just as my parents were mean. Love you Mom and Dad!