Worry...........you WILL tap out

I was doing a mini self spiritual exam last night. Yeah.....dumb idea huh :)? And while I readily admit that there are MANY areas in which I fall short, I am confident my biggest weakness is WORRY. I come from a long line of worriers actually. As far back as I can remember, I have worried. Now I fully understand that a LITTLE worry is normal and possibly even healthy. But I tend to take normal worry and multiply to ridiculous BROCK LESNAR sized proportions. EX: A common cold in a child can easily become a serious case of deadly Ebola in my mind….no kidding. I am trying REALLY hard to figure out why I act this way and I am trying really hard to correct it.
I KNOW these things that you are about to read. But I am writing them to try and make them stick in this slippery brain of mine:

1. Worrying is Not Good for You.
Worrying is destructive to us in many ways. It has often made me physically sick even! It becomes a mental burden that can eventually cause bodies to break down like a Josh McDaniel’s offense.
PROV 12:25 Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.

2. Worrying Accomplishes Absolutely Nothing.
Time is at a premium in my simple life. And worrying is a waste of very precious time. I know worrying won't help me solve a problem or bring about a solution:
Matthew 6:27-29 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.

3.Worrying is the Opposite of Trusting God.
Confession time: I worry WAY more than I pray most of the time.
Matthew 6:30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
Philippians 4:6-7 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

4.Worrying Puts Your Focus in the Wrong Direction.
When we keep our eyes focused on God, we remember his love for us and we realize we truly have nothing to worry about. I am fully aware of this. I believe God has a wonderful plan for my life, and part of that plan includes taking care of us. I know God will take care of our every need.
Matthew 6:25 That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life-whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing?
Matthew 6:31-33 So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
I am fully aware, as a follower of Christ, that worry is NOT to be something in my “arsenal of garbage”.

I truly believe in God's divine providence and that He will never fail me…..but when my buddy Mr. Worry decides to visit, I struggle to remember such things. Over the span of my lifetime, worrying accounts for hours and hours of invaluable time that I'll never get back. And I am literally tired of it…weary in fact. Today I am making as public stance against this jerk called worry. I am done with it! So I am asking my few blog readers for advice…..what, besides drugs helps you? :)

Priorities

Recently two events in the sporting world “rocked my world”. Many of you have already expressed your sympathies :) My favorite football team pulled a crazy move and traded my favorite player away. A player who just came off of an all star season and broke all kinds of team records. It was very sad to see him go.
Then, the very next day news hit that my favorite College basketball team, one I had been following and in love with since I was 5 years old, had just lost their coach to another program. Along with it, he took 5 of the best recruits in the country and set the program back some 10 years!

These were bad news in my silly world! I was really upset over them. I actually felt worried and thought about it A LOT. But guess what happened over the next few days????? NOTHING! My life carried on as usual. The sun still shone. The stars did not fall from the sky, and my heart still beat :) Apparently, life is about more than hobbies and sports. Go figure ?

It was as if God was sending me a personal message: “You’re putting WAY too much priority on sports”. It seemed like He was warning me that I was teetering on the edge of idolatry. It really made me think. What things in our lives do we seem to place greater importance on than our faith? What do others think that I hold important?

So many times we find that schedules keep us busier than we like. We complain about it, but hey, “it is what it is” we say. My fear though is that sometimes we let things like schedules, jobs, sports, relationships, etc. take priority in our lives over our faith and relationship with God.

I think we need to stop every now and then and do a “priority inventory”. We need to ask questions like “What do I attend more than church?” “Where does my money go?” “What do I spend more time doing than reading the Bible or praying”?

As God’s children, our greatest calling is to take His light to the world. We are being watched. And the things that we place at the top of lives often speak more about who we are than the words we share. Let us make sure that we place our relationships with God at the top of every list we ever make!

Poetry

a Brian Pannell original for your reading pleasure:

When Faith and Logic Collide

Sometimes it’s hard to understand just what I’m supposed to think
When the knowledge of your water is simply much too deep to drink
When I look at the world, and when I see its’ hurt and pain
There’s a battle that is raging between my heart and brain

Did the earth ever really flood? Are dinosaurs real?
Should the dating of a rock change the way I feel?
Is the Bible to be taken literal? Is it all analogy?
Did the death of a Jewish teacher really change eternity?

These are questions that I’ve heard. A few that I’ve considered
But through it all, your love abounds and my belief in you grows bigger

Most kids of this world can’t even eat, and in America they all grow fat
I struggle to explain the justice in a God who works like that.
And when I listen to the cries, and the tears flood in like rain
Still a battle’s raging between my heart and my brain

Was this all created in 7 actual days? Did a serpent really speak?
What am I to learn from the washing of the feet?
Did a virgin give birth? Did her son really die?
And did he truly ascend right from that hill into the cloudy sky?

These are questions that I’ve heard. A few that I’ve considered
But through it all, your love abounds and my belief in you grows bigger

Try and try I may, but I’ll never understand
For my vision is so limited and I am just a man
As for me, I choose to serve you God
As for me I’ll choose to trust
And maybe one day it’ll all be clear when my body’s returned to dust

For I could talk myself in circles, I could argue all day long
But still I can’t deny this feeling stirring like a song
That your justice WILL be served
That your grace WILL abound
And for all that makes no sense to me….. no answer may be found

These are questions that I’ve heard. A few that I’ve considered
But through it all, your love abounds and my belief in you grows bigger

Crop Circles

Last week was one of the hardest I can remember in my short 34 years. I want to share it with you, not in an effort to capture your pity (though that may be nice too), but to share what maybe I have learned from it.

It’s been a tough year for us. It’s just been a lot of separation, loss, and general stresses of life, coupled with pregnancy and a big move. And then came last week…….. My wife and I were scheduled to fly to LA and drive to Malibu Tuesday morning for the Pepperdine lectureships. It was a trip we had looked forward to for a LONG time. Jessie had been feeling bad for a few days, and each day it got worse. By Monday night she was so ill we knew she could not go. The struggle was wrestling with whether I should go or not. We decided that it would be good for my soul and ministry, and besides Jessie’s mom was already in town to help with the kids, so I should go. I got to the airport at 6:15 am. I quickly found out at the counter that my license had expired some 7 days earlier (unbeknownst to me). So after pleading they decided I could fly but would have to undergo “extra security”…fun fun :). But, I remembered the rental car I was to get in LA. I called the company and they would NOT let me get the car. So, I had to move my flight back until 4:30 that afternoon and go spend time at the DMV….always a pleasure. Not a great way to start out.

But I got that out. Shortly later, both of my pregnant sisters went to the Dr. and/or hospital with possible serious complications. One found out she had a bad infection, and the baby was measuring WAY bigger than she should, so diabetes is a concern. The other had been on strict bed rest and things were getting worse….she actually was showing signs of labor and was put in the hospital for a few hours for more intense testing. So, there was some stress there.

Several things happened on the house we were to be moving into on Saturday (3 hrs after we were to fly back in from Malibu), including finding out that a contractor had dropped the ball and we would be getting NO kitchen on time. Jessie was getting worse and went to the Dr. to find out she was having some preggo issues coupled with stress and flu. Still, I decided to fly…….not feeling very confident in it at all.

The flight left on time and was good. I just felt weird, like I shouldn’t be there. I wanted Jessie with me. I wanted my family to be okay. I just wanted some peace. But, I landed on time and even got to finish reading a book on the plane. The luggage was there immediately and I caught a quick ride to the rental car agency. My car was ready and perfect and I hit the crazy roads outside of LAX. Much to my surprise, finding Peperdine was a CINCH and I got there in about 40 minutes. Things were looking up at last!

I got checked in at about 7:45(I had never been there before…WOW it was nice!) and was feeling better. I ran out for some dinner and called the Jay, our pulpit minister from church that was also there. I decided to meet him in a class at 9 p.m. that sounded quite interesting.

The class was great! I was finally getting excited about the rest of the week. About 12 minutes into the class my phone rang and was it was Jessie at home. I went to the hall and answered it. My wife was crying, sounding terrible and surely in a mild panic. Now, it seemed my son Jude was being taken to the ER with some serious bladder problem and pain. WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!?!?!? He was not doing well, and Jessie was depleted. She asked me to come home.

Stressed and shaken I ran back to the dorm and started making calls. I was able to get a flight out at 9:00 the next morning. So….long story short…..just some 12 hrs after getting there I was checking back into the airport to come home. It cost a lot of money and turmoil.

The flight back home was heavy. It was a pity party. Why are we having all these trials? What are you doing God? Why am I facing this garbage? I had SO many questions! What I wanted to know most was this…. “WHAT IS IT YOU ARE TRYING TO TEACH ME.? PLEASE MAKE IT CLEAR SO THAT I CAN LEARN THIS LESSON AND GET ON WITH THINGS!!!!”

One verse kept playing over and over in my mind….John 16:33 “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE,”… and this is the part that was playing over and over …but TAKE HEART! I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD!!” Like I said…those words were swimming in my head all over the place. But so far, they were in my head only.

As I was going through this thought process, I was looking out the window. Have you ever been in a plane and seem the plots of land below? They look so cool from way up high. They are perfectly formed into awesome patterns. Crops have clear borders and colors. They are organized into squares and circles. Cities too. From 10,000 feet it all looks laid out perfectly. They look like the perfect organized grids with NO problems in getting around. Funny thing is though; at ground level…it looks totally different! You would never know that you were in an “organized system”. Traffic, trees, etc…they blur that vision and what we see is chaos and busyness. Only when we can separate ourselves from it all and fly way above, can we clearly see how it all works and how it all works out perfectly as planned.



It hit me then and there. This is what I am going through right now! I am “on ground level” and it seems like chaos. Life is blurring the line of vision and NOTHING looks or seems organized at all. But, if I can have the trust, faith and discipline to put my life in the hands of the Father and let him “lift me above” this all, I can clearly see that it is all going to be okay, and that it is part of a huge and perfectly laid out system. All I have to do is find the way to fly so that I can believe this. Life is going to be okay! God laid it out perfectly long ago. Yeah, wrecks, power outages, construction etc will mess up travels and directions briefly, but they will always be worked out in time.

“Take heart! I have overcome this world” began to leave my head and sink in to my heart. I believe that Jesus is with me. I believe that God is in control. I am trying to learn. I am trying to listen.

Celebrity Faith

Not sure I give a crud what these so called "celebrities" think, but it may be interesting to read. Check out the story:

here