Category Archives: Thought Shots

Picturing Peace

 

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

I Peter 5:7

 

I’ve been reading in the Old Testament more than I used to, and I’m enjoying all of the imagery.  In particular, I just read the section in Job where he describes his search for wisdom with a powerful, beautiful description of mining. (This is in Job 28 in case you’re interested—Job was a guy who surely knew a lot about anxiety!).

Pondering these verses made me remember my days in therapy for clinical anxiety, and the relaxation techniques recommended by my counselor.  She was not a Christian, so I always took her ideas and seasoned them with prayer and God’s presence.

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The Me I Want to Win

 “He has only human strength, but we have Yahweh our God to help us and to fight our battles.”

II Chronicles 32:8

 

Recently I came upon my youngest, Oliver, playing a game of Klask by himself. (If you’re unfamiliar with Klask, think of it as a small air hockey or fuse ball table.) There he was, sitting on the side of the game table, with one hand playing each side.

 

“Look, Mom!” he called out. “I’m playing against myself, and the Me that I want to win is winning!”

I laughed and thought, Of course you are! Your little hands are in control, and you can swing the points to any side you choose. Then I was brought up short by my own thought.

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Why I’m Cutting Back on Social Media

Be still before the Lord
    and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
    do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed,
    but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

Psalm 37:7-9

 

Since I started this ministry back in 2011, I know that I’ve been doing social media all wrong.

I made a “business page” on Facebook because I heard that you weren’t supposed to use a personal page for a sole proprietor business (or ministry, in this case). Wrong! I eventually had to make a personal page just so I could use the existing business page, which is confusing to some who want to “friend” me.

And I post the “wrong” things on Facebook, including doing a terrible job of sharing other people’s stuff. In fact, according to social media folks, I do a terrible job of sharing my own stuff. I absolutely know they’re right.

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The Myth of the Gentle and Quiet Spirit

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

1 Peter 3:3-4

 

As I write this, it’s pouring down rain on the construction site/trash pit that is my lawn.

It’s a very, very long story, but let’s just say that the “simple” covered deck project we commissioned, the one that we believed would be completed in 5 to 7 days, is about 30% completed—and well into Week 4.

My heart is not feeling gentle or quiet—it’s way too cluttered with anxious thoughts.

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Our Kids Don’t Need a “Before and After”

We all love to see “before and after” photos. Dowdy to beautiful make-overs, overweight to healthy dieters, and of course, messy to neat organizing. Photos like these are inspiring!  (I usually forget to take the “before” photos, but even the “after” photos make me happy—hence the picture of my make-up drawer.)

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How to Claim Truth from Sarcasm

The inscription of the charge written against Him was: The King of the Jews.

Mark 15:26

 

Today I was turning to a passage in my new Bible when something caught my eye. In Mark 15, the words “The King of the Jews” are pulled out, put in all caps, and bolded, like this:

 

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

 

I was right in the middle of another train of thought, but these words leapt out at me and stopped me with these thoughts:

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Living in the Pocket

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,

as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

I Peter 4:10

 

I went to a Dave Matthews Band concert this summer, and I had many thoughts while I was there. Since the band tends to go on long instrumental riffs, there was a lot of time to think…

I thought about how I’m getting older. When I went to my first Dave concert in college, “Ants Marching” was big. This time, there was a teenage girl sitting next to me who said, “Well, I’ve never heard of Dave Matthews Band, but my dad says I’ll like it.” Wow.

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Need To Know Basis

For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose.

Philippians 2:13 (HCSB)

 

Lately I’ve been getting pretty frustrated with TV shows and movies that feature characters who are being left in the dark about what’s going on around them. “I can’t tell you that now,” their fellow characters say. “You’re on a need-to-know basis.” Or, “I can’t explain now, we don’t have time. We’ve got to go!”

As my husband will attest, I often look up from my crochet project and yell, “Just tell them already!”

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“Sing it in Chinese”

Today I want to share with you these words that I wrote a couple of months ago with a really heavy heart. I wasn’t sure I was going to post it… it’s a little longer than my normal post, a story within a story, but I think the end is worth it.  Already Jesus is healing my soul, and I feel better than I did when I wrote this.  But I’m still asking for the song…

 

One of my dreams died today. Not with a big bang, but with the small “Pfhut” of a candle being blown out by a soft breath. My spirit is cluttered with disappointment and heartache.

But before I get into that, let me tell you a cute little story. (I always try to be positive.)

I like to entertain Oliver while I do boring things, like wipe the kitchen counters or run errands with him, by singing. Now that he’s reached the wise old age of 6, he’s becoming less than enthused about this. Recently I decided to impress him by singing one of his favorite songs with a lot of gusto, really belting it out and hamming it up as he ate his lunch and I folded laundry on our kitchen table.

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We Still Have Jesus

For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Colossians 1:16-17

 

Have you ever opened your fridge, so sure of what you’re about to eat, and found that the food you’re looking for was eaten by someone else?

I hate that.

Not only am I the kind of girl who really doesn’t like for her plans to be thwarted, I’m a picky eater who finds it difficult to make substitutions—especially when I’ve made a “healthy eating” plan for my day. If what I thought I was going to eat isn’t there… well, chocolate looks even better.

Yesterday I went to cupboard to grab my favorite kind of breakfast bar, but it wasn’t there.

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