Don't Worry ~ Sing Carols !

There has been so much senseless evil and tragedy in the news. It is difficult not to become anxious and fearful. Yet here I am decorating my home and planning special meals and treats for those I love, because as Christians we celebrate the birth of Jesus this month, and I am forgetting He is the very reason I should not be fearful. When I feel the old familiar darkness of fear slithering into my thoughts and spewing the infection of anxiety throughout my being, I know the cure. " Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you." Psalm 55:22

"An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up." Proverbs 12:25

" Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength - carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength." Corrie Ten Boom

"Nothing is permanent in this wicked world - not even our troubles. " Charlie Chaplin

 

"Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged , it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained." Arthur Somers Roche

 

Time to put on the Christmas carols , bake my sugar cookies and sing loudly ( and off key ) JOY TO THE WORLD the Lord has come !

 

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Hold Fast & Remember...

Hold fast and remember "whether you are on the upper side or the underside of a storm...God will make a way. " R. Morgan

"Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. " Philippians 4 : 6,7 "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." Psalm 50:15

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all." Psalm 34:19 "When God does not deliver overtly ( through a miracle) or covertly ( by providence) , He will deliver mysteriously with a deeper level of intervention than we can discern; in the end it will be better for us, though for a time we may be perplexed." Robert Morgan "..your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men but on the power of God."I Corinthians 2:5

DUCK ! The Sky Is Falling !

~~~"DUCK !!!! The sky is falling, the sky is falling !" Oh dear, the ducks are ducking. What can the matter be ? Ducks...what is the matter ? "We heard a rumor, quack, quack ! Henny Penny said the economy has collapsed, there will be a global meltdown, crime is up...jobs are lost, the election spells disaster...war and rumors of war..QUACK ! And the sky is falling !" I guess I'd better check things out.~~~Hmmmm, well, there are some storm clouds looming on the horizon, but the sky seems to hanging in up there. " Let us be of good cheer, remembering that the misfortunes hardest to bear are those which will never happen." James Russell Lowell ~ I think I will see where this Henny Penny is and what is going on .~~~

~~~" Quack, quack. Thanks for taking care of us. Let us know when we have to duck....we'll be under the bird feeder cleaning up all the seed the birds drop."~ "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more worthy than they ?" Matthew 6:26 ~~~Annabelle, have you seen a Henny Penny around ? " Cluck,squawk ! You mean that feather flapping hen that runs around like a chicken with her head cut off ? The one screaming about the sky falling ? The one who yelled we would all be ruined and starving and homeless ?" Yes, I think that is the one. " I don't know where she is, and good riddance to her, causing all us hens so much stress we almost didn't lay our eggs today. We did enjoy our morning feed though, and after a nap we laid a few eggs for you." Oh, thanks...I guess I'll gather up the day's eggs. "~"For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat , or what you shall drink, " Matthew 6:25

~~~Wow, you all did a fine job of laying eggs today. Thank-you! " Do not be anxious then, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink ?'or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves?' Matthew 25:31

~~~Doves, have you seen a hen called Henny Penny around here ? " You mean that little biddy that shouted 'the sky is falling and your baby will starve, and the ..." , yeah, I mean that one ! "Yup, coo, coo....but we don't have time to talk, coo, coo...our baby is waiting for her meal...coo, coo.....thank-you for our daily seed. Cooo......."~ " Fear can keep us up all night long, but faith makes one fine pillow." Philip Guiloy ~~~Ahh, your little one is growing quickly. She is a pretty dove, and soon will be on her own !~ "Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of it's joy." Leo Buscaglia ~~~Valkyrie, have you seen a frantic little hen called Henny Penny ? " You mean the one screaming the sky is falling and the world is coming to an end and it is all a big conspiracy and...?" Yes, that's the one. " She ran off toward the neighbors'....you know, the ones with the really big dogs....the dogs that ate our ducks a few years ago...and by the way, could you give me some more alfalfa ? I am feeling like a mid-afternoon snack, that alfalfa is really good. Baaaaa.." Oh dear. I think the little hen is in for a more immediate crisis. I can't be traipsing all over the place today, I have cooking and cleaning and spinning and laundry to do. The little clucker will have to fend for herself. ~~~Candy Cat ! Have you seen... " Meow. I saw the little Henny Penny. The dogs next door invited her over to their place to tell the world about impending doom. They said something about CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, sending their newsmen to interview her. She's clucking and squawking up a feather storm right now. I think...purrr........meow, I will have a cat nap. " Candy Cat , aren't you worried ? "Meow. I have cat food in my bowl, a warm place to nap, and YOU to take care of me. I am not going to worry today...purr..........." "For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the world." Author Unknown ~~~Well, the sky is in the heavens, I have paid the bills this month, I have food for awhile and a place to sleep....and all anyone really has is today. Thank-you God for Your many blessings.~~ "Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden." Corrie Ten Boom

~~~"And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span?...Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own." Matthew 6 34 ~~~ ~~~"Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway." Mary C. Crowley

Oh Me of Little Faith ( Spot of Doubt)

~~~~~Today some old acquaintances of mine paid a visit. They are not very nice, and usually bring bad things, but I keep letting them visit. I even offer them great chunks of my time, and let them alter my plans for the day. What is wrong with me ? Why do I let fear and worry in ? They do nothing but cause my stomach to churn, and they bring their friends , anxiety , doubt, depression~~~~~really though, how can you not be fearful and anxious in these times ? The news seems to be bad, food and gas prices are high, the housing market is just terrible and the war, and the personal worries about our loved ones~~I forgot. I forgot who I was, I am a daughter of the One who said " Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say ,rejoice! Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. ( and here are the best words) Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let you requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7

~~~~~This fear and anxiety are just another way of showing my lack of trust and faith in God. Then I went to the post office and received my 'Voice of the Martyrs' monthly magazine and I was ashamed. The many accounts of the people all over the world who are being persecuted and tortured terribly in this day and age simply for standing for Christ. That is all. I won't describe the atrocities being suffered, I would cry again, but these people count it joy to suffer for Jesus !~~~~~

~~~~~I will relay one little excerpt from a book written by Richard Wurmbrand, a Jewish Christian who suffered more than 14 years in a Romanian prison, being starved of food and human companionship, and tortured. Years after his release he and his wife founded the Voice of the Martyrs. He writes this " A Christian once asked an atheist, with whom he took a walk through the meadows, " Who made all these beautiful flowers ?" "Forget it!" was the answer."Do not come again with your stupid talk about God. The flowers only exist by themselves." The Christian did not persist. After a few days, he was visited by the same friend in his home. In his sitting room he had a beautiful picture representing the flowers. The atheist asked him,"Who painted this?" The Christian said,"Do not begin with this rubbish! Nobody painted these flowers. They came into the painting by themselves. Nature made the carved frame. Then by itself the picture jumped up on the wall, onto a nail which just happened to be there, driven by nobody. And that is all." The atheist took the joke badly. But then the Christian asked, " Is it logical to believe that these three flowers in the picture , which have no fragrance and no life, must have been created by somebody, while believing that the millions of living flowers with their heady perfume in the valleys and on the hills have no creator ?' ~~~~~

~~~~~"And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life's span? And why are you anxious about clothing ? Observe the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil, nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass of the field , which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, Oh men of little faith?" Matthew 6; 27 - 30