God's Answer to Anxiety

Have you ever been worried or anxious about something?

Maybe you've worried about taking a test, or getting a test back.

Maybe you've worried about problems going on with your family.

Maybe you've worried about friends who seem to be going through a hard time, or are making bad choices.

Maybe you've been worried about fitting in, and finding friends.

             There are way too many worries in this world. I will admit I am a self-proclaimed "worry wart." The annoying part of worry are the responses I've heard ... and truthfully have been guilty of giving to others myself...

             "Don't worry, it'll all be ok?"

             Seriously! First of all, who gives you the authority to say it'll be ok? Second off, by saying that, you clearly don't fully grasp the situation I'm worrying over!
           
              But there is one person who does in fact get it. Jesus teaches us multiple times that we shouldn't worry. God has it all under control.

Philippians 4:6-7: 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


            Presenting our requests to God might be something that you feel comfortable doing, but the rest needs constant practice. When we pray to God about things we worry over, there is more to it than just the words. Presenting our prayers with thanksgiving, means to truly be thankful for all that He has given us. 

            Personally, I got in the habit of beginning every prayer with a praise. I start with a thank you. Thank you Lord for my family, the life You've blessed us with, our health, friends etc. That typically draws be back into reality a little bit. When I worry I tend to over exaggerate the situation in my head and make it bigger than it really is. This helps me to focus on all the good God has given me, and puts my faith back where it should be, in Him.


        He goes on to say, "And the peace of Christ which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

         God isn't going to answer your prayer right that very second, the exact way you want Him to. We all know it's not magic, and He doesn't work that way. But if we truly put our faith in Him, He promises that He will answer us, in a manner that is best for us in accordance with His will (not specifically just what we want). There is an awesome peace that comes with putting all our cares on God. He tells us He's got it covered so there's no need for us to worry. We can kick back and relax now! What an amazing feeling?!

Hope House Day 1

What a blessing our day was at Hope House on Monday.

Hope House is a non-profit organization in our area which serves women and their children who are transitionally homeless. This isn't a home for abused women or those struggling with addiction. This is simply a stepping stone for women who find themselves temporarily homeless. Hope House provides them a place to stay for free for 6 months and assists them in finding employment, safe housing, financial planning etc. If you'd like more information on Hope House please check their website below.

http://www.hopehousefoundation.org

While we were there, we quickly realized that this could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship. We don't want to simply check "serve others" off our Christian To - Do list for the month and be done. I truly feel that building relationships are one of those special blessings that Jesus calls us to do, actually, offers us, better describes it.

The vision I have for Serving for Sallie, is a group of women who better themselves by serving others. 

God truly is guiding this vision and lead us straight to the right place!

The women of Hope House are in need of basic toiletry items, toilet paper and paper towels being the most needed. 

If you have any interest in donating supplies, please email me and I can send you a full list of items.

We are going to host a fun Eggstravaganza with the ladies and their children. We will share a delicious Easter Dinner together, followed by fun fellowship dying Easter Eggs. To surprise them we plan to leave "Easter Baskets," shower caddies, full of all kinds of needed toiletry items, and fun beauty supplies.

More information will be coming about this exciting event!

Serving for Sallie

For those who may not know, our beloved Pastor's wife, Sallie, was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. In a crazy turn of events, she was prepared for knee surgery one day, only to find there were much more pressing medical issues.

Sallie Lowrance is an amazing example of what Jesus calls us to be to the world. Sallie devotes herself to loving and serving others on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, due to "the poison" that Sallie is undoubtedly having a love-hate relationship with, she can't be out in our community serving.

This broke my heart! Not only are we all rooting for Sallie to kick cancer in the rear, but there is a void where her loving service once was.

So the idea of "Serving for Sallie" came about. (The name is credit to the beautiful, Brandy Cox!)
As Sallie is killing the cancer in her body, and regaining her strength, we are seeking to be out serving in her absence until she returns!

As this idea came to me, I realized just how much hurt there is in the world, especially in girls and women. I do not claim men are exempt from struggles and pain, far from it, however I felt God calling me to focus specifically on women.

As girls, we face self-esteem issues from a very young age. We search (generally in the wrong places) for our self worth. If we seek to find that self worth as the world defines it, we will ALWAYS come up short. We run in circles trying to find it and eventually just wear ourselves out!

But ...

Why can't we learn to love ourselves and find our self worth, as we seek to serve others?

Anyone who has ever volunteered or helped another person knows the wonderful feeling you experience. It truly feels so good to help others!

So ...

The idea came to be that "Serving for Sallie" would be a ministry of women learning to love and care for ourselves, as we served and loved on others.

I have no idea what God's plan is for this ministry. It could just be a wonderful time for a few of my friends and I to serve together, but I have this urgent feeling that God is about to accomplish Great Things!

The worldly model of service we are striving to embody is Mrs. Sallie Lowrance after all! For those who know and love her, you know that everything she touches becomes huge.

So with that, I ask that you pray for us as we embark on this journey together and I invite you to take a front row seat to witness the miracles that only our God can perform!

This morning a small group and myself are heading out to serve at Hope House and then we will take time to reflect on this experience as we love on ourselves and love on each other over lunch.

With lots of love and prayers,
Christine

The Way of the Cross

Mark 8:34 - 37

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life[b] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

When I was a little girl I wanted to a horse more than anything in the world. Now this was problematic because I was highly allergic to horses. I mean eyes swollen shut, inner ears, throat, and pretty much my whole body itching like crazy, kind of allergic. Then there was my sister, Amanda, who also shared this passion for horses. She, luckily, was not allergic to them in the least. She also happened to be very talented at riding, and handling these huge animals, even though she was very tiny. 

We were blessed to have parents who always highlighted our different gifts and encouraged us to pursue our dreams. I never became angry, jealous, or bitter that Amanda was able to ride and I wasn't. My parents had a gentle way of guiding us away from activities that we couldn't do (any animal related activity for me) and towards things we could do, like dancing. (No animals in the dance studio, so I was all set.)

But still, giving up my dream of riding horses was pretty difficult for me. I had stuffed animal horses, played horses with barbie, pretended my bike was a horse,truly lived, and dreamed about horses. But if I wanted to breathe and see, I had no choice but to give it up. I knew that as much as I loved horseback riding, I simply couldn't and shouldn't do it for my health.

This story reminds me of a lesson Jesus taught His disciples, during his time on Earth. "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it." 

I wanted the life of a horseback rider. I know that sounds silly but I wanted it. And granted my health was a major red flag, however the plans God had for me instead were way better. I realized that I was a pretty talented dancer, later cheerleader. I made lifelong friends through these activities that I am still friends with today. I learned lessons I wouldn't have, had I not been a performer. 

God has such a great plan for us, but sometimes we're stubborn and pursue a life that we think is best. That is why he calls us to deny ourselves, deny our selfish desires, because quite frankly, we don't know what's best for us.

Hmm? Ever heard your parents say that, "I know what's best for you." Yeah, yeah I know that's frustrating, but when God says it, it means so much more!

Y'all denying yourself is not easy! There are things, good things in fact, in our lives that we seek to do and be. He warns us however, to make sure that those plans and dreams line up with his plans and dreams for us. 

This really is great news! Try to remember these words the next time something doesn't  pan out the way you want it to. You might not make the team or get the role, but God has something better waiting. You might not get into your dream school or club, but God has something different, much better, planned. 

Reflect:

1) Is God calling you to give something up and go in a different direction? 

2) Are you upset over not getting something you thought you desperately wanted?

3) Take it all to God. Take your past dreams, your current dreams, everything, and ask God to direct your next steps. Deny yourself and follow him. I promise it's much greater than anything you could have imagined for yourself!