As you can see, I have not kept up with my blog as often as I would like. However, since I have no obligations this summer, I would like to post once a day.
One goal of mine this summer is to be more diligent with my time in the Word each day. During the school year I often found excuses to neglect this. I have recently started reading Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. It seems that as a woman I tend to worry more than men. It also seems that society has deemed worry as an acceptable route to show one's concern. If you aren't worrying, you aren't concerned, right? Linda says, "Our anxiety should be used as a springboard to pray specifically. Our part in the process of learning to be content is a heart choice--a choice to pray rather than be anxious. Sadly, many of us reverse this and worry about everything, praying only as a last resort!" Unfortunately, I know that this last statement has been true of me. I am asking the Lord specifically to help me remember to go to Him first before trying to solve all my problems on my own. Sounds like a simple task, but that dang ole human nature has a way of creeping up on me.
The verse that I am committing to memory this week is Philippians 4:6. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." God doesn't really give us an option to worry. We are commanded not to do it. I was reminded of this a lot this last year. At the beginning of the year I was concerned about my job performance and about what other coworkers were saying about me. I also remember worrying about the my kids' scores on the TAKs test. Now remember this was after their test was taken and turned in. Really?!?!? Was my worrying going to alter the scores of the test? It sounds so silly to worry about things that we have absolutely no control over, but we do that so often. This verse was such a great reminder that God has given us another option besides worry. He tells us to give it over to Him. It sounds a lot more logical to give all my concerns to someone who can actually handle it. In hindsight, I sometimes just want to smack myself on the head and say, "DUH!"
Greetings....I've been a worrier all my life. So I decided to write a book about it to see if that would help....and it did. I wrote The Worrywart's Prayer Book, and while I'm not completely cured (I'm a work-in-progress), writing the book did help. I did learn that "God's in control," and, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Matthew 6:27), among other things.
ReplyDeleteI also have a blog....The Worrywart's Corner. Both of these may be of some comfort, but if not, no worries.