Fear

Hello friends! 
I'm finally getting around to finishing and publishing this post! I've been working on it off and on for over two months-yikes! 

We are all afraid of something. Some things are big, some things are small. But in all of us there is something we fear. You will discover some of my fears as you read farther down :)

What is fear? 

'Fear: An unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat.'

Feelings describing fear: 'Terror, fright, horror, alarm, panic, trepidation, dread, distress, anxiety, worry, apprehensiveness, nervousness, foreboding.'

Fear, as I mentioned about anger in my post on  Trust, is an emotion given to us by God. 

Is it wrong?  I think it depends on the situation and the degree of fear present.

There are different forms of fear. One type can push us to action in a good way. If we are afraid that a certain plant or animal is poisonous, we will be persuaded to avoid that plant or animal at all costs and warn others when we feel they are in danger of it's affects. We avoid getting to close to a fire, touching a hot stovetop or boiling water, because we are afraid of the pain that it will cause. 
That kind of fear, I think is a healthy fear; a fear that is not wrong and displeasing to God. It is a feeling He has given us to warn us of danger.  

Another kind of fear is one that, again, I don't feel like is displeasing to God, but it is unnecessary, maybe silly, and can be overcome.  Fears for me that fall into this category might be these: talking on the phone and awkward silences. These fears are unnecessary and can be overcome with God's help, or, if it's an action, can at least be done despite that feeling. 

I will point out that if any of the above fears control us, then they are displeasing to God. The Bible says that we cannot serve two masters at the same time (Matt. 6:24). If we are controlled, or mastered, by fear, then we cannot be serving God simultaneously. 

A third kind of fear that I think is displeasing to God, would be fear resulting from a lack of trust. 

For me, fears falling into a this category would be these: Oppressive darkness, idioism that makes people do senseless,  evil things, death of someone I love. 

Near the beginning of this post, we were given a--the world's, at least--description of fear. What, then is trust? 

'Trust: Firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something; Allow someone to have, use, or look after (someone or something of importance or value) with confidence.'

Feelings describing trust: 'Confidence, belief, faith, certainty, assurance, conviction, credence; reliance.'

Why would this third type of fear be displeasing to God? Because we are told to trust God (Prov. 3:5; Ps. 37:3-5), and as I said before, this type of fear is usually resulting from a lack of trust. 

How do I know this? When we trust God we don't have anything to fear, because we trust who He is, and He is good and only does what is for our good as His children, and His glory as God (Rom. 8:28). We trust that He is sovereign and has control over every situation in our life (2 Chr. 20:6, Prov. 16:9, Ps. 115:3). We trust that He knows best and better than we do (Jer. 29:11; Rom. 8:28). We trust that He will protect us and guide us and carry us through tough situations (Ps. 66:10-12; Is. 46:4; Is. 63:9). We trust that no matter what happens in this life, He is always with us (Matt. 28:20; Is. 41:10) and if we are a child of God, we will be with Him in heaven forever (Jn. 3:16).   If we trust that God knows best, that He has control, that whatever happens is for our best--and that includes death for 'to live is Christ and to die is gain' (Phil. 1:21), is there any room for fear? I don't think so.  

What does the Bible say about fear?

'God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, and though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.' Ps. 46:1,2 
'When I am afraid, I will trust in You; in God (I will praise His word), in God, I have put my trust. What can man do to me?' Ps. 56:3-4
' The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army encamp around me, my heart shall not fear; though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident.' Ps. 27:1,2
'I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all of my fears.' Ps. 34:4
'Be strong and courageous; do fear, do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.' Josh. 1:9
'God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love and of power and of a sound mind.' 2 Tim. 1:7 
'So we may boldly say, the LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?' Heb. 13:6, Ps. 118:6
'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.' Ps. 23:4
"Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God: I will strengthen you; yes, I will help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness."~Is. 41:10

Some verses that have comforted me when I am afraid along with some of the above ones, have been these: 
"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Heb. 2:14,15 
While I am not afraid of death for myself, I am sure without a doubt of where I will go after I die, you might say that sometimes I was/am 'subject to bondage of fear of death' of others that I love. It has been really hard to let go and surrender those I love to the LORD. But they are WaY better off in God's hands than mine! It is a lesson that I still struggle with sometimes. 

"I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings shalt you trust: His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flies by day; Nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness; nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday." Ps. 91:2-6

"Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." Rom. 8:37


If you are afraid of the hard times that the Bible warns are coming with the end times (I'm not sure about you, but I often am), here is a verse pertaining to that: "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you in prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life." Rev. 2:10

So, let us not be afraid, rather let us stand strong, trust Christ, and walk forward with boldness.

I have to say, friends, that writing this post has been very good for me to process these things and realize that I need to and can trust Christ.  And it has actually helped me to maybe not be so afraid. I hope it has encouraged you, too!

I hope you have a blessed day :)

Julia <3


*The photos in this post are mine; please do not use without permission*

Pre-post to an upcoming one on the subject of fear :)

Hello friends! 

That's kind of a long title, isn't it? :) I feel like those people who write a summary of their book or essay etc. as the title of it :) 

I am working on a post on the subject of Fear. It is getting really long, and since this was going to be a sort of 'Rabbit Trail' and could probably be a whole separate post in itself, I thought that sharing it now would save some space on the upcoming one :) 

'Do not fear those that can kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him that can kill both body and soul in hell.' Matthew 10:28 
This verse has given me some trouble, because the root of three of my personal fears--opressive darkness, idiosim that makes people to evil, senseless things, and death of someone I love--are the enemy. The enemy is the root of death; John 8:44 says that he was a 'murderer from the beginning'. The enemy loves death. 
He is also the root of oppressive darkness. While I don't think the Bible directly says that 'Satan is darkness' like it says in 1 John 1:5 that "God is light and there is no darkness in Him," Satan is very often associated with darkness, and since God is Light and can have no darkness, and Satan seems to be the opposite of God, (God is truth, Satan is a liar; God brings life, Satan brings death; God forgives and loves, Satan says, 'Fight back; hurt those that have hurt you'; God says, 'Trust Me,' Satan says, 'Doubt God--can He really mean that?' These are some examples of the contrast between God and Satan), since Satan seems to be the opposite of God, and darkness is the opposite of light, than Satan must be darkness (by darkness, of course, I do not mean the physical darkness that comes with the night--that is God-created and God-given; I mean evil, spiritual darkness). There is a blog post that I read recently that was very encouraging regarding this. You can find it here.

In the verse above, Matt. 10:28, it says that we (those of us that are Christians) should not be afraid of those that can kill our physical bodies, but cannot kill our souls (the spiritual part of us). But we should instead fear the one (Satan) that can kill both our physical bodies and our soul in hell.  This verse seems to tell us to fear him.  But in this instance, I think that God is not saying to be afraid of the enemy physically. I mean to literally, physically be afraid of his presence. I think that in this verse He is warning us to be wary of him. To be on guard against his tactics, lies, the arrows that he tries to throw at us to sway us, to make us doubt God's goodness, honesty, sovereignty, love, wisdom and desire to give us only what is good and best for us. Satan did this in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, causing them to rebel against God's design and perfect plan, disobey Him and bring sin and the results of sin--death, suffering, separation from God, etc.--into the world. 

 To sum up, my interpretation of this verse is that we are not to fear those who can kill our physical bodies; for Christians, that would be a win win situation. To live is Christ, to die is gain (Phil. 1:21) If men do not kill our physical bodies, we get a chance to live longer on the earth, spread Christ's gospel, live for Him, grow in Him, and all the other blessings of physical life. If men do kill our bodies, we get the joy unspeakable of being with Christ, our Master, our Father and Friend. 
Rather, we should fear Satan--not his physical presence, because we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us, we have the light of Christ, and in His Light can be no darkness, we have God, the Light, as our refuge, our strength, our fortress and high-tower, who will carry us through and has promised never to leave or forsake us--rather we should 'fear' or beware of the tactics of the enemy to try to persuade us to forsake Christ and serve a master, any master--money, man, fear, addiction, you name it--that will be easy, follow the wide path, but lead to destruction (Matt. 7:13). While as Christians, we do have the power of Christ, and we are robed in His righteousness (Is. 61:10), the enemy is still a 'roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour' (1 Pet. 5:8). And we must beware of him for ourselves and others. 

I hope this post has been a blessing and encouragement to you.

Blessings,
Julia <3

Dinner Week Exception

Hello!

As I said in my last post, with the beginning of the week, the chores rotation changes.  So, last week, it was my brother's turn to make dinner for the family. BUTTT. . . . . . On one of the nights, he wasn't going to be home in time to make it. SOOO. . . . . I was recruited to fill in for him. 
I made Shepherds Pie--an excellent meal and pretty easy to make. 

Shepherds Pie usually goes pretty fast in our family. This time, I'm going to share the recipe. The version we use is GAPS diet and Dairy Free friendly, if you use cauli-tatoes (Cauliflower mashed potatoes) instead of regular ones. 

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:

*6 tablespoons of your favorite healthy fat, divided use

*1/2 cup of onion, chopped

*1-1/2 pounds ground beef

*3 cloves of garlic, crushed

*1 teaspoon salt

*1/2 teaspoon pepper

*3 green onions, sliced, optional

*4 cups green beans, 1/2" to 1-1/2" in length (2 cans)

*4 cups diced, stewed tomatoes (2 cans)

*6 potatoes or  *1 head of cauliflower 

If you use potatoes you will also need:

* Milk and or cream

* Butter

* Salt 

* Pepper

If you use cauliflower you will also need:

* Two eggs

Usually if we use cauliflower instead of potatoes, we also use the ingredients listed above for mashed potatoes. If you are dairy free, you can use milk alternatives--almond, hemp, rice, or coconut milks--and Earth Balance dairy-free butter or other butter alternatives. 

Insturctions:

1. Begin steaming the head of cauliflower or boiling the potatoes, whichever one you are using. Each will take about 20 minutes.

If using cauliflower: steam until fork tender. Be sure to steam the cauliflower well above the level of the water. This is very important as you do not want the cauliflower to be waterlogged. 

If using potatoes: boil until soft and skins are peeling slightly.

2.  Melt 2 Tablespoons fat in a skillet.

3. Add in onion and saute for 2-3 minutes.

4. Add in ground beef and crushed garlic.

5. Add in green onions. Cook the ground beef until it is completely done and minced into small pieces.

6. Add salt and pepper.

7. If there is excess fat, drain and reserve for later use.  

8. While ground beef is cooking, cook green beans until tender.

9. If using cauliflower: When done, remove cauliflower from the pan and allow to cool for about 5 minutes.

10. While still hot, place in a food processor.

11. Add in four tablespoons of fat--you may use the fat leftover from the hamburger, or other healthy fat--or butter. If using other dairy-related products, also add milk and/or cream, and process until smooth. 

12. Add in two eggs, pepper and salt to taste, and blend thoroughly.

9. If using potatoes: When done, place potatoes in food processor. 

10. Add in butter, milk and/or cream to taste and process until smooth.

11.  Add in salt and pepper to taste and blend thoroughly.

13. Preheat oven to 350*F. 

14. Liberally grease a 9x12 casserole dish.

15. If using cauliflower: Remove one cup of the blended cauliflower and egg mixture, beat the last egg and mix into 1 cup of cauliflower

16. Spread the above one cup of cauliflower or half of the mashed potatoes on the bottom of the casserole dish. Ladle on the hamburger, layer on the diced tomatoes and green beans. Finally drop blobs of the cauliflower and egg mixture or remaining half of the mashed potatoes on top and spread around carefully until the top is completely covered. 

17. Bake for 30 minutes. 

Enjoy!


Sorry that this is kind of a long and confusing recipe. I hope is wasn't TOO much so :) It really is very easy to make and not nearly half as hard as the length of the recipe implies :)

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you had a great one, and may you always remember the love that Christ has for you and His bride. <3 

Blessings,
Julia <3

Dinner week part 2

Hello again!

I hope you've had a spectacular day so far :D

And now it's time for the second post of dinner week.
Thursday night, I made one pot Chicken Alfredo and pasta with broccoli on top. It was really good!

Friday night, I made Chili, with carrots, chips and salsa on the side. 

Since only half the family was home on Friday to eat this meal, we had the leftovers Saturday night, and Sunday we had snack food--chips, salsa, homemade re-fried beans, celery, apples, cheese, crackers and cheese dip--you get the idea. I didn't get any pictures of it. 

So that completes Dinner Week! It is (obviously) a new week, and the chores rotation has changed. Now it's Dishes week for me, and I'm sure you wouldn't be interested in pictures of that :) So, until next month, Dinner Week is signing off.

Does your family do a chores rotation? 

"This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope: it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great it Thy faithfulness."~Lamentations 3:21-23

Blessings,
Julia <3

Dinner Week!

Hello folks!

The four oldest of us six kids switch off making dinner for a week at a time. I thought that maybe when it's my week to make dinner for the family, I should post pictures about what I made each night. Guess what? It's my dinner week! 

Warning: I'm not a very good photographer, and our camera doesn't take very good pictures inside the house. Therefore, the pics probably won't be all that great :) 

Monday night I made Taco Salad. It was scrumptious, but I didn't take any pictures. To bad, so sad :) :)

Yesterday, Tuesday I made a dish called Mongolian Beef. It was the first time we've ever made it and it turned out great! It was super easy, too--always a plus :) We also had spinach salad topped with Craisins, feta cheese (I love feta cheese on salad), sunflower seeds and mandarin oranges.

In these pictures the meat looks like kidney beans. It's not. It really is meat. And the lighter looking chunks look like potatoes. They're not. They are pineapple.

Tonight, Wednesday, I made pancakes with strawberries and bananas on top. We use a very easy pancake recipe that is an awesome go-to on nights when it's late or you don't know what to make. (That was not one of these nights; pancakes just sounded really good to most of us :))

Please let me know in the comments if you think this idea is a good one (Or if it's a boring one or anything else), and if you would like me to post recipes along with the meal posts, too. 

Do you make dinner for your family often? If so, what kind of things do you like to make?

Stay tuned for more posts to come! I have been working on writing a post this week, but it's kind of hard to write. So it's taken a little while. And I have other post-ideas popping up in my brain, too.  I hope you enjoyed this one!

"Oh taste and see that the LORD is good: Blessed is the man that trusts in Him."~Psalm 34:8

Have a wonderful rest of your week! :) :)

Julia :) 

Merry Christmas

Hello friends!

I hope you have had a very merry Christmas remembering our need for a Savior, celebrating the birth of that Savior, thinking of the death and then the Resurrection of our Savior, and now looking forward to the coming again of our Savior.

I hope you had a wonderful time celebrating the wonderful event with your family and friends, and please remember in your prayers those who have had to celebrate the holidays without a loved one this year because of death, those who have been affected by natural disasters (there was a tornado an hour away from where I live the day after Christmas),  and those soldiers and first responders who have had to serve on these days, too.

May God bless you this coming year with His peace in the midst of storms, and many good times and memories :)

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." ~ Luke 2:11

Blessings,

Julia <3

Christmas Truce

Hello friends!

This is a video our pastor showed us at our monthly youth group meeting. You may have already heard about it, (I hadn't); it is a British Chocolate commercial based off of a truce made on Christmas during World War 1.   It is very good and I encourage you to take 4 minutes and watch it. 

I think this video portrays well the humanness of the soldiers fighting in war. It seems like we often think of wars like that in massive numbers, and sometimes don't remember that each soldier was an actual human being that had feelings and courage and family and a desire for peace, maybe a longing just to have fun and a good time. 

It is amazing to me that these men could go back to fighting each other after this. But it's also amazing and encouraging to see that even in the midst of such horific pain and sorrow and tragedy, God can give moments of peace and love and joy like this. 

 Isn't that what He did in coming to this wretched earth as a human, to live and die among us; to rise again, three days after His death, conquering sin and defeating death, giving us wretched, sinful humans hope and forgiveness and and the joy of being at peace with Him? He came, a beacon of light and hope in the midst of a dark, miserable, sinful world. Now He is changing us, little by little into His perfect, beautiful Image. Again, the light of His character in us in the midst of our dark and miserable and wretched sinful nature. 

The following verse is about the birth of Christ:

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." ~Isaiah 9:2

I hope you enjoy(ed) this video! :)

Blessings,

Julia<3