FEAR...

Does this look like a little girl who has any fear in life?? No way...I think that is why God says that we have to come to Him with the faith of a child- they just know that their mom's and dad's are going to take care of them, so they don't waste any of their precious time worrying and fretting about things that aren't within their control, anyways!

Lately I have been very convicted to start memorizing some scripture and hiding God's word in my heart. I've done it a few times in the past and I've always sort of approached it as something that I know I should do, but something that wasn't very "personal" or life changing for me. And, I feel like this time is totally different. Maybe because my life is crazier than it has been before, maybe because I've grown in the Lord and making more of an effort to have it change my life, or maybe I just need the verses that God has brought to me to memorize, but whatever the reason, I'm so thankful for the verses that I have been hiding in my heart the past few weeks. This weeks verse is 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God gave us not a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self control". This has been the perfect verse for me this wek! Korey left for Canada on Thursday and I never like being alone in the house at night and I repeated the verse to myself a lot early Thurs. morning and last night, when I was lying awake! When I first picked it I didn't think it would mean that to me- I picked it because I feel like I have been ruled a lot lately by what I think people think of me or what people may think of me, but not what God thinks of me. But, as I've worked on memorizing this verse and meditated on it, it has come to mean so much more than that! Last night, as I lay tossing and turning in my bed (that feels HUGE when I'm alone and super small when Korey's here...go figure!) I got to thinking about that second part and how truly it is my self control that I need to work on to conquer my fears! I need to just STOP focusing on my fears and put that energy onto something else. It takes self control to turn from the ungodly thoughts and fill my heart and mind with good thoughts and that is often where I lack. I just want God to wave a magical "nice thoughts" wand over me, so that I don't have to work at it, but it doesn't often work that way- actually, I can't think of a time that it ever worked that way- at least for me! So, as I continue working on memorizing this verse I pray that the Lord would continue to work in my heart and my mind- to transform me more and more into His image for me- so that I may become a woman of love and power and SELF CONTROL! Because just as the little kids song that I learned so long ago says, "self control is the very best way to control yourself!" :)