Each Sunday in November I will be spotlighting guest posts written by women who have blogs which inspire and encourage me. This week's Guest Blogger is:
I am thrilled and honored to be writing a guest post for Beckey today. When I opened my e-mail and read her request, I smiled from ear to ear!:-) Thanks Beckey!!
My name is Marci and I blog over at Life with Joys (www.lifewithjoys.blogspot.com). I am a mama of 3 blessings and a wife to my dear, sweet, extremely patient husband. I am a Jesus girl and I love to share Him with people. I am not legalistic by any means. I follow the Bible and the teachings of Jesus, not rules created by man. I did not grow up in a Jesus loving, Jesus following home. I did not discover His true love and redemption until I was an adult. I have been forgiven much and, therefore, I love much. I want my life to honor Him in a way that He gets all of the glory and spotlight. He is truly awesome! Worry....we have been best buds at times in my life. I practiced worry and became quite good at it. Let's just say, if worrying were an Olympic sport, I would be a gold medalist and few could come near my record. Yes, it has been that bad at times. Uggh! I shudder as I think of the times that worry and fear ruled me. I have been so worried before that I literally could not see straight.
My worry usually began, and still sometimes begins with "what if...."
What if my husband thinks someone is more beautiful than me....
What if he no longer finds me attractive....
What if no one likes me....
What if people are talking about me...
What if what I said sounded dumb...
What if something happens to my kids....
I have layed awake at night pondering all my made up endings. My husband teases that when I hear a problem (or make one up in my head) I go straight to Z. I don't even go down the line of possibilities. I head straight to the worst case scenario and camp on it. Actually, I do more than camp on it. I make it my home, decorations and all!
Matthew 6:25-27 Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? -Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Wow! The last question convicts my heart. My worrying does no good. The only thing I accomplish when I worry is pull myself away from God. The harsh reality is that when I worry I am telling God I really don’t trust Him. Ouch! That’s difficult to swallow.
Three things have helped me when the worry bug bites me:
1. Philippians 4:8-9…Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable-if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise-dwell on these things. Change my thinking. I have to consciously choose to think Jesus thoughts.
2. I can go through all of my worry and work myself up. However, if I remind myself that no matter what, Jesus is with me, I feel better. For example, If I worry that something will happen to one of my children I can say, “If ____________, then Jesus. He is with us through everything…even when it’s stinky stuff!
3. Replace the worry with the name Jesus. Instead of throwing things around in my mind, I just say, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…” as many times as I need to.
Girlfriend, worry will invade our minds at times. It can be a whisper, or it can be a scream. Regardless, we can make a decision to be held captive to it, or we can let Jesus set us free. When you feel helpless and hopeless, remember, NOTHING is impossible for Jesus. Peace is yours for the taking, all you have to do is ask. He will rush to you faster than you can even blink. His love for you is endless. Let’s choose to camp on that rather than the nasty practice of worry.
Much love to you my dear sisters in Christ.
