Be still and Know

Alone in the valley, I cry for you to fill me with your peace.So when the lightening strikes, the thunder rolls around me, still I live in peace.

You ask that I "be still and know You are God. Be still and know you are God. " You are God.

When the fires rage and the storms surround me, still I live in peace. Though the mountains fall, crash into the ocean, still I live in peace.

You ask that I "Be still and know You are God. Be still and know you are God. " 

                       "Be still and know You are God. Be still and know you are God. " You are God.

You lead me through the valleys. You lead me by the streams. You restore me and draw me to You, God. To You , I lift my soul, to You who makes me whole. Gently, You hold me close to You.~Close to You

                        "Be still and know You are God. Be still and know you are God. " 

                        "Be still and know You are God. Be still and know you are God. " 

                        "Be still and know You are God. Be still and know you are God. " 

                        "Be still and know You are God. Be still and know you are God. "  You are God. You are God.

You lead me, You love me, You hold me, You reach me,You still me, You move me,You draw me to You, God.

You lead me, You love me, You hold me, You reach me,You still me, You move me,You draw me to You, God.

                          You are God. 

                          You are God.

Let the fires rage. Still I live in peace. 

                          You are God.

~Rebecca St. James

You will keep Him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.~Isaiah 26:3

The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. ~ Romans 16:20

The things which you learned and recieved and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.~ Phillipians 4:9

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body: and be thankful. ~ Colossians 3:15

The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.~ Psalm 29:11

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives youdo I give it to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ~ John 14:27

For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind~ 2Timothy 1:7

Great peace have those who love Your law and nothing causes them to stumble. ~ Psalm 119:165

Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. ~ Psalm 55:22

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths~Proverbs 3:5~6

Facebook | My Photos - Profile Pictures

Facebook | My Photos - Profile Pictures

Helping Hands

   In my efforts to overcoming my anxiety and to yield to my calling to help others, I have volunteered as a tutor for a sixth grade young man working through my church family. This afternoon, nervous as can be, I drove over to the school and met the young man. He loves to talk , but he, like me I think was a little unsure what to say. With each other's help, we got the ball rolling, though. He appears to be a little ladie's man. All of the friends he spoke of were young women whom he spoke of teasing. I believe his biggest struggle may be his focus, based on the fact he says he frequently gets in trouble for talking to these girls during Social Studies and Reading. He appears to enjoy his other classes. P.E. is his favorite as he was a football player last year and hopes to play basketball next year. He says he also enjoys Science class~loves to experiment and "blow things up". :) He is also learning to play the trombone for the school band. He preferred the tuba , but the band director believes he is a better trombone player. 

    I think I was more nervous than he was. It was a very uplifting day. I am looking forward to being a positive influence in this young man's life and helping him to lift his math grades. At the same time, I believe he will help me to relinquish some of my anxiety and help me start in the right direction to fulfill my calling to help others, although he will most likely never realize this. A child is an awesome gift from God and I earnestly pray that through our Lord, we will lift each other up as we grow together..

~God bless all of you on your many paths through this life!  ~ Jennifer  :)

Fearless~Chapter2~Fear of Not Mattering~Max Lucado Study

"So do not be afraid. You are worth MUCH MORE than many sparrows."~Matt. 10:31
If God takes care of the sparrows, will He not take care of you?

One of our deepest fears is that no one cares about us because we feel we are not worth being cared about.
This causes us to :
~Crave the attention of our spouse or the affirmation of our boss{I relate here. Like many of us, I need other's approval or attention to feel worthy}
~We put silicone in our breasts {or simply won't leave home without make~up on, in my case}
~We add important names to our conversations
~We spend 1/2 of our check on the latest style of jeans~Then,to our dismay,the fad passes & the styles change
~We have children to make ourselves feel significant{I relate here~I never felt needed until I had Emily}

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are numbered. So do NOT be afraid; you are worth MUCH MORE than many sparrows." ~Matt. 10:29~31
"Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And NOT ONE OF THEM is forgotten before God."~Luke 12:6
~We are worth more than sparrows and God does not leave one sparrow forgotten. So imagine His thoughts toward us!! He has even numbered the hairs on our heads.Besides that, you could buy four sparrows and get the 5th one free.~
Society still holds it's share of 5th/free "sparrows":
~Those who feel "dispensable,disposable, & worth less than a penny":
   ~Some drive in carpools & or work in cubicles
   ~Some sleep on sidewalks or beneath cardboard
   ~Some sleep beneath comforters in the suburbs
   ~Some are in orphanages like those in China for the deaf & mute~these children are told they were born          "broken"

The fear that you do not matter will become a self~fullfilling prophecy & ruin your life.
~You work a simple job. It pays the bills and nothing more. You see an ad for a better paying job and call and get an interview,but end up backing out for fear of failure. {This was me. God has now made me realize I serve a purpose and I CAN do it. So I am enrolling back in school and WILL do it.}
~A girl is asked out by an attractive guy. She feels she is not good enough. So in efforts to get him to "like" her more or not get bored quickly she sleeps with him on the first date only leaving herself still feeling disposable.

"Fear of insignificance creates the result it dreads,arrives @ the destination it tries to avoid, & facilitates the scenario it disdains."~ Max Lucado

If you tell yourself you will never make a difference, you won't. Plus, you are disagreeing with God and questioning His judgement. God says:
~You were "Skillfully wrought"~Psalm 139:15
~You were "Fearfully and wonderfully made"~Psalm139:14
His thoughts of you are "More in number than the sand"~Psalm 139:18

You ask why He loves you so much? He created you.
"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago."~Ephesians 2:10

Let everyone else continue to play silly games, but we have found something better.

My Rant~

" The Voice of Truth tells me a different story. The Voice of Truth says 'Do not be afraid'. The Voice of Truth says'This is for My glory'. Of all the voices calling out to me, I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth"~ Casting Crowns

Stop wallowing in self~pity & LISTEN TO THE LORD. He WILL lift you up. He is the REAL DEAL. Look at the work He has done in my life & is still improving me each second.through His mercy & grace. Don't just trust me; step out on the limb and TRUST HIM. He WILL NOT let you down. Even if you cannot trust yourself, YOU CAN ALWAYS TRUST GOD. What have you got to lose? Really?

Fear and Sin

  As I was praying this morning, the Lord convicted me. As we said in our study on the book Fearless, fear itself is not a sin but it can and usually does lead to sin. I did not realize how much sin my anxiety was the leader of in my life. I have had angry outbursts and have been an awful control freak. I have been asking God to help me with these things, and now He has helped me realize the root of the problem.I am greatful to Him and can't believe I did not see it myself. Now it is time for me to work harder at laying it down on Him and stepping outside of my comfort zone so God can work His miracles once again. Blessed be His name!!
  God pulled me from a pit of adultery, drugs, and selfishness to a faithful, God~fearing, giving wife. Now it is time for me to let Him mature me and help me to completely let go and give it ALL to Him. I am so controlling of my husband. Now I know it is from my anxiety~what if he is unfaithful ? What if he grows tired of my problems and weariness and leaves? What if...? I , without realizing at the moment, try to control my friends and sometimes me co~workers and my mood becomes unstable when things don't go my way because_____might happen if we don't do things this way...
   It is time to learn to give it to God~He does not make mistakes. Look how far He has gotten me already~  :)

Fear not~"For God has not given us a spirit of fear"~ @ Tim 1:7

God bless you all!
  

Study on Fearless By Max Lucado

I am reading Max Lucado's book Fearless and taking many notes as I hope to apply his Biblical principles to my life as I suffer with an anxiety disorder. I encourage anyone who believes they might benefit to follow my notes or read my blogs on blogger or YourAvon.Com/JenniferHand and if you can, buy the book. :)

  Imagine your life w/o fear~ Chapter 1~ Why are we afraid?~ "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"~ Matt. 8:26

Each sunrise seems to bring us new reasons for fear~lay-offs,slow~downs in the economy,flare~ups in the Middle East...a strain of swine flu crossing our border. Max says the plague of our day is terrorism which begins with the word "terror". Our generation depends on more mood altering drugs than any generation before us. 

Fear is unwilling to share the heart, especially for anything positive like happiness. For all of the space it encompasses and noise it makes, fear sure does little good. Max says it "herds us into a prison and slams the door"

Fear corrodes our confidence in God's goodness. It gives us temporary amnesia. We forget how good God is and what He has done for us~{He got me off of narcotic drugs, drew from homeless and needy to become a cheerful giver, He turned my suicidal tendencies to an overwhelming joy~a thankfullness and realization of who He really is and what He has done! I tend to be less angered by certain sin and more hurt for the sinner who is clueless}~but when we are anxious, we "forget" these small miracles

Fear unleashes a swarm of doubts often angry doubts~why is God doing this?

Fear turns us into control freaks. We feel backed into a corner and the only way we know to get out is to control the people and things around us.

Jesus does not want us to fear. The Bible contains at least 15 imperatives not to fear most of them coming directly from the mouth of our Savior:

1~"Do not be afraid. You are worth much more than many sparrows." ~ Matt. 10:33

2~"Take courage, son;your sins are forgiven"~Matt.9:2

3~"I tell you not to worry about everyday life;whether you have enough."~Matt.6:25

4~"But when Jesus heard it, He answered him,saying,Fear not:believe only,& she shall be made whole"~Luke 8:50

5~"But straightway Jesus spake to them saying,Be of good cheer;it is I;be not afraid."~Matt. 14:27

6~"And be not afraid of them who kill the body,but are not able to kill the soul"~Matt. 10:28A

7~"Fear not, little flock;for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."~Luke 12:32

8~"Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God;believe also in me."~John 14:1

9~"And if I go and prepare a place for you,I come again,& will receive you unto myself;that where I am, you may be also."~ John 14:3

10~"Peace I leave with you;my peace I give unto you:not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled or let it be            fearful."~ John 14:27

11~"And He said to them, why are you troubled? Wherefore do questionings arise in your heart?"~ Luke 24:38

12~"And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars;see that you are not troubled:for these things must come to pass; but the end is not           yet."~Matt. 24:6

13~"And Jesus came and touched them and said Arise, and be not afraid."~Matt.17:7

14~"For God has not given us a spirit of fear"~ 2Tim. 1:7

15~"Why are you fearful,O you of little faith?"~Matt. 8:26

Getting on board with Christ can mean getting soaked. Disciples should expect rough seas and stout winds.~

"In the world, you WILL have tribulation."~ John 16:33

It is not the absence of storms that sets christians apart~it is who we discover in the storm~"an unstirred Christ" ~ 

"And behold, there was a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the boat was covered with waves: but He {Christ} was asleep."

   ~Matt 8:24~

"And He Himself was in the stern, asleep on a cushion..."~Mark 4:38

Fear itself is not a sin, but it can lead to sin. If we medicate our fear with angry outbursts,drinking binges, sullen withdrawals, self~starvation, or vise~like control we are eliminating God from the solution & therefore, worsen the problem. Hysteria is not from God. He does not want us to fear. Fear may fill our world, but we do not have to let it fill our hearts. The promise of Christ is simple:

We can fear less tomorrow than we do today. Simply put:Trust the Lord.

In the words of His disciples " What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him." ~ Matt. 8:27