faith | Heartstone Journey

4 Ways To Begin Living A Worry Free Life

Do you get a sense that most people (including you) are worried about something these days?

Some worry about grades in school, job interviews, approaching deadlines, bills and expenses, rising gas prices, insurance costs and endless taxes. Some worry about current events such as; ebola, wars, hurricanes, earthquakes and floods, economy, health care, immigration, NSA surveillance programs, data breaches (Target, iCloud, Home Depot, Chase), unemployment, elections, immigration, fuel prices, riots, nuclear threat, ISIS, world-wide terrorism, rising police state, Israel-Hamas conflict, VA medical care controversy, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, stock markets, wild fires, turmoil in the Ukraine, missing airplanes…I could go on and on!

We all deal with worry in some form and left unchecked, it can become a crippling force in our lives. Worry can keep us from taking risk, from becoming the person God wants us to become, can destroy our ability to build relationships and can have an adverse effect on our bodies.

Some find ways to escape the reality of worry and some move into anxiety. Some of us numb ourselves from our circumstances, some medicate themselves with drugs, alcohol, achievement (this was me), the internet…fill in the blank ______.

Over the span of our lifetime, worrying accounts for hours and hours of invaluable time that you will never get back and it’s just not good for you.

Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.

—Proverbs 12:25 (NLT)

I haven’t perfected being completely worry free, but here are some ways that help me move closer in that direction.

Under God’s Training

He guarded him…like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions. The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him. (Deuteronomy 32:10-12)

Our almighty God is like a parent who delights in leading the tender children in His care to the very edge of a precipice and then shoving them off the cliff into nothing but air. He does this so they may learn that they already possess an as-yet-unrealized power of flight that can forever add to the pleasure and comfort of their lives. Yet if, in their attempt to fly, they are exposed to some extraordinary peril, He is prepared to swoop beneath them and carry them skyward on His mighty wings. When God brings any of His children into a position of unparalleled difficulty, they may always count on Him to deliver them.
from The Song of Victory

When God places a burden upon you, He places His arms underneath you.

There once was a little plant that was small and whose growth was stunted, for it lived under the shade of a giant oak tree. The little plant valued the shade that covered it and highly regarded the quiet rest that its noble friend provided. Yet there was a greater blessing prepared for this little plant.

What Does Walter Mitty And A Fire Pit Have To Do With Finishing Strong?

I just finished watching “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” a story that highlights the transformation of a man and the unsettling power of the human imagination. IMDb summarizes the movie like this. A day-dreamer escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, he takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.

As the ending credit began to scroll by and the music played in the background, I began to daydream about my journey up to the mountain where God revealed the heartstone. Here is a snippet from that adventure.

The Spirit of God moves with a mystery we cannot understand. He influences whatever He wants, where, when, on whom, and in what measure and degree, He pleases. His soft winds led me to the base of Mt. Lafayette, my own Mount Horeb, to once again make the ascent to the mountaintop to encounter the living God. His soft winds guided my steps again to the large rock hidden on the mountain. His soft winds led me to the heartstone that God had placed within the walls of the hotel ruin. Four years ago, He led me to discover four stones. Today, He has led me to find one:—His heartstone.

The imagery was awesome and the life narrative still echoes today, “Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it!”

Coming off the mountaintop from my daydream I remembered all the adventures I have been on and something in me ached for more. Life seems to role in like a thick fog bank at times and somehow we get pulled back out of the imagination into the mundane. Then something in us begins to fade.

Are you tracking with me? Lets see.

Billy Graham

Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.

What Does A Carpenter Know About Fishing And Hiking?

I love Luke’s telling of the story of the meet up with Jesus and Peter. As we step into the scene down by the Sea of Galilee, we find Jesus preaching in a boat and a band of fishermen tending to their nets. After a long night of fishing these guys’ were cleaning, stretching, drying, rolling up and storing their nets to get ready for another go round. While they were tending to their nets, removing the seaweed and other goodies dredged up from the water, they were listening to what Jesus had to say.

Standing in the boat belonging to Simon (Peter), Jesus asks him to put out a little from the land. Jesus continues teaching.

Peter is working and listening, working and listening.

When Jesus stops speaking, He said to Peter, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Jesus basically says, “Hey Peter, let’s go fishing!”

How do you respond to a question like that?

4 Ways To Begin Living A Worry Free Life

Under God’s Training

What Does Walter Mitty And A Fire Pit Have To Do With Finishing Strong?

Billy Graham

What Does A Carpenter Know About Fishing And Hiking?

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Cool Scripture

Never Out Of The Fight!

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