Careful it’s Contagious...fear

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

It’s all in the air, spreading across the east coast.  Off in the distance looms a storm, Florence The Monster Hurricane.  And who isn’t afraid of monsters.  Let me tell you who is for sure afraid, my daughter.  The stories and predictions of what this storm may do to our home have her gripped. 

Some may judge and say well, why is she watching the news?  Or MOM why are you allowing her access to this information.  Well I can say with confidents and some sadness hey it wasn’t me.  Talk on the playground has changed, kids are talking about presidents, walls being built and this week if they live on the east coast they are talking about Florence.

She came into explained that she had googled and had scene that we were in the path of the storm.  Ok that was three days ago, two days ago well maybe we were in the path, but that could change tomorrow.   With her wide beautiful brown eyes she looked at me for confirmation of peace and that there would be no destruction that would come to us.  You see I am her comforter, her peace giver and fear was spreading like wild fire through the school grape vine.  My first reaction, far from great parenting, “Girl we will be fine-calm down and go do your homework”

But wait now storm fear began to spread through my office at work, we had all gotten calls, from our loves ones…Were we ready, Were we evacuating, What was our plan.  Wait a minute now I was getting a bit scared too as well as many other grown folks.  Office grape vine is even faster than the playground and we have better search skills.  So we checked and emailed each other several different potential storm paths, none directly hit us but THEY ALL COULD!  Yeah fear was spinning out of control.

Then came The Peace Bringer, THE JOY GIVER, MY Daddy the lover of my soul.  Gently he tapped me, gently he reminded me.  I did not create in you a spirit of fear!  That means fear is not my creation.   Like fear hope and peace can be contagious.   Rebuke it and Rest in me.

So do I have flashlights… Yep.  Do I have water … Yep.  Gas in the tank…Yep!

And I HAVE PEACE…The peace that surpasses all understanding and instead of giving my daughter fear I give her peace and love…Be safe and have PEACE.

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

It’s all in the air, spreading across the east coast.  Off in the distance looms a storm, Florence The Monster Hurricane.  And who isn’t afraid of monsters.  Let me tell you who is for sure afraid, my daughter.  The stories and predictions of what this storm may do to our home have her gripped. 

Some may judge and say well, why is she watching the news?  Or MOM why are you allowing her access to this information.  Well I can say with confidents and some sadness hey it wasn’t me.  Talk on the playground has changed, kids are talking about presidents, walls being built and this week if they live on the east coast they are talking about Florence.

She came into explained that she had googled and had scene that we were in the path of the storm.  Ok that was three days ago, two days ago well maybe we were in the path, but that could change tomorrow.   With her wide beautiful brown eyes she looked at me for confirmation of peace and that there would be no destruction that would come to us.  You see I am her comforter, her peace giver and fear was spreading like wild fire through the school grape vine.  My first reaction, far from great parenting, “Girl we will be fine-calm down and go do your homework”

But wait now storm fear began to spread through my office at work, we had all gotten calls, from our loves ones…Were we ready, Were we evacuating, What was our plan.  Wait a minute now I was getting a bit scared too as well as many other grown folks.  Office grape vine is even faster than the playground and we have better search skills.  So we checked and emailed each other several different potential storm paths, none directly hit us but THEY ALL COULD!  Yeah fear was spinning out of control.

Then came The Peace Bringer, THE JOY GIVER, MY Daddy the lover of my soul.  Gently he tapped me, gently he reminded me.  I did not create in you a spirit of fear!  That means fear is not my creation.   Like fear hope and peace can be contagious.   Rebuke it and Rest in me.

So do I have flashlights… Yep.  Do I have water … Yep.  Gas in the tank…Yep!

And I HAVE PEACE…The peace that surpasses all understanding and instead of giving my daughter fear I give her peace and love…Be safe and have PEACE.

I don’t feel pretty but I know I am

Psalm 31:30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised

Someone said time waits for no man, but through technology we can freeze it in reflect.  Without directly saying my age – I can tell you I remember using Polaroid cameras, heck I remember wondering what the purpose of a camera on a phone is.  And yes I held on to my blackberry phone for longer than most, because it was efficient enough apparently not so smart though, cause I couldn’t play words with friends on it, so I had to go into the android world.  I’m not an apple person, though…Hang on let me explain, it’s because I am past the age of wanting to learn to rethink my entire cell phone skill set.

With all the ways to take pictures of ourselves some of us could likely, put a day by day picture book (wait do they still have picture albums) to see all of our changes.  

I was sending a video message over the phone and I saw ... me...my puffy eyes I was born with bags under my eyes, my silver flecks of hair mixed in with the brown and various other shades of brown and red hair dye.  Laugh lines look a little deeper too...I am not amused.  I wasn’t happy.  In looking at that image I thought who would like her, she's doesn't wear Mac.  She barely wears Wet and Wild make up.  Her youth is dwindling her lines are staying, she isn’t pretty.  I didn’t feel pretty.

But how could that be.  How could I not be beautiful, when people tell me my daughter is the spitting image of me and she’s beautiful. How could that be when I’m known for sharing some of my mother’s looks and she’s gorgeous.  How could it be when I reflect my sister’s smile and oh what a beautiful smile she has – she doesn’t have a gap like mine though (poor thing)

So I must be pretty, I know I am pretty, because those that came before me and through me are beautiful. 

Sometimes it’s not about what you see it’s all about what you know.

You are so beautiful to me

Fake or real…You can’t take it with you.

 

Matthew 25:21  His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’

As soon as I put my fingers to the keyboard to type this long overdue blog.  My daughter came in.  I don’t care what anyone says I’m 100% sure your children can sense telepathically when you are about to be focused and they enter…It’s a test LOL a test I often fail, this time I stayed true to the course, although I am sure I just agreed to candy for desert, just so I could get back to blogging.

My daughter did ask what I was going to write about.  I really didn’t know, I just felt moved to write.  Although her interruption annoying and distracting, there was surely some divine intervention involved as well, as she recommended “You should write about your goals for 2018!”  Then pranced off to get candy.  She’s right

2018 for me came fast, it came with relationship changes living changes job changes…lots of changes.  All the changes were great, but my goodness even good changes can be stressful.  All changes come with a new blue print that you have to revisit.  

Fake or real was the title before I knew where this was going…I was going to tell you about a treasure that was presented as real, but through pressing and stressing (there was a hammer involved) it was found to be fake. 

Enter God’s peace that surpasses all understanding.  I was angry and pitiful for a few seconds then I reflected on all that God had brought me through.  While I look at the twisted metal worth nothing on the floor, I couldn’t help but chuckle.  Although this worldly thing was fake, the lessons I learned that it symbolized were real.  The love that was poured over me like a waterfall of diamonds was real.  The kindness that swept through my life from strangers and friends was like a pure ribbon of gold.

The silver lining of the twisted metal was that God’s love, favor, direction and wisdom is real and shines bright throughout the ever ending descending and ascending spiral of my life.  And my Goal/Gold for 2018 is in the end to hear “Well done Nene, my sweet and faithful servant, well done!”

My point 2018 comes with brand new mercies, don’t get them dirty with old dust.  Point two in the words of a very fine woman, “pick out your own treasure”.