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Don’t Borrow Trouble

Don’t Borrow Trouble

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Don't Borrow Trouble 1Are you a worrier?

Do you think nothing will get done unless you worry about it? If so, my friend, stop it! Don’t borrow trouble. You are causing yourself needless anxiety.

Several years ago, a baseball player offered a better approach. He declared, “Ain’t no need to worry!” (English teachers everywhere, please forgive the grammar. Pay attention instead to his philosophy.)

Worry neither prevents nor causes anything, except perhaps physical and emotional health problems.

  • If something’s going to happen, worry won’t stop it.
  • If it doesn’t happen, think of all the time you wasted.
  • Concentrate instead on what you can do.

We can make a difference if we:

  • Complete today’s work to the best of our ability.
  • Show love and kindness in all we do.
  • Thank God for each day’s opportunities.
  • Then, rest in the knowledge that our day was well lived.

I have to admit that worry still creeps into my life sometimes. Therefore, I have to continually tell myself not to borrow trouble. As is true of all my life, I remain a work in progress.

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” (Matthew 6:34, MSG).

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Excess Baggage

Excess Baggage

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Excess BaggageIf you have flown recently, you know the financial cost of an extra suitcase or too much weight. In addition, who wants the backaches, delayed connections, and short tempers caused by excess baggage?

Frequent travelers learn to pack nothing but the essentials.

They leave everything else at home.

If we only did the same with the emotional baggage we carry.

Just like an overstuffed suitcase, excess emotional baggage carries great cost. When we let our negative feelings regarding past wrongs, real or imagined, control our lives:

  • We may have trouble getting and keeping jobs.
  • We tend to take our feelings out on innocent people around us.
  • People often avoid us and our bad tempers.
  • We may have difficulty sleeping.
  • We may suffer eating disorders.
  • We lose our ability to concentrate clearly.
  • We remain miserable until we work through whatever holds us back.

If we can rid ourselves of excess emotional baggage on our own, that’s great. If we need help, we should seek that assistance without delay.

As a combat soldier in an old television program frequently said, “Let it go. Just let it go.”

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)

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Up a Creek without a Paddle

Up a Creek without a Paddle

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Up a Creek without a Paddle, kayak, Hongyan Li
Courtesy of Hongyan Li

During my childhood, our family loved to fish and swim. We lived near a creek that was ice cold on the hottest summer day. After hours of working outside, nothing felt better than jumping into that freezing water.

  • It took our breath.
  • We shivered from the shock.
  • Yet, what a wonderful, refreshing way to cool down.

We did most of our fishing from the banks (sides) of the creek. A few friends preferred fishing from boats. Most used motorboats, but some rowed with oars (paddles).

Circumstances sometimes left those boaters up a creek without a paddle.

The creek was narrow in most places. Therefore, they could usually reach the banks, if they dropped a paddle.

However, problems did occur:

  • Wide places left them far from the banks.
  • High water after a hard rain added to their danger.
  • Not all those boaters could swim.
  • Hardly anyone owned a life jacket.

Losing a paddle under those circumstances left boaters in trouble. They were up a creek without a paddle.

Life’s like that.

On most occasions we find solutions to our problems, but not always.

  • Difficult circumstances arise that we can’t fix on our own.
  • We see no way out.

We’re up a creek without a paddle.

How easily we forget that the One with the answers to all life’s hardships remains just a prayer away.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

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Blowing Off Steam

Blowing Off Steam

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Blowing Off Steam--Old FaithfulOld Faithful, the best known geyser in Yellowstone Park, blows off steam on a regular basis.

Park employees keep her schedule posted, so visitors know when to gather around her.

The “oohs” and “aahs” begin when that built-up thermal pressure blows. The height of her eruptions varies from 100-180 feet. You can watch Old Faithful blowing off steam by webcam at Old Faithful Live.

Some people blow off steam on a regular basis.

Anger wells up within them until they can hold it no longer. Then they explode.

We love to see Old Faithful blowing off steam, but not people.

Anger, an emotion we all share, is not necessarily a bad thing.

Jesus, who lived a perfect life, vented his anger when appropriate.However, we can carry anger to an extreme.

We need to control our anger rather than allowing it to control us.

  • Confront anger rather than letting it build.
  • Express anger in helpful rather than harmful ways.
  • Once we resolve the situation causing our anger, let the anger go.

“’In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Ephesians 4:26 NIV).

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On Top of the World

On Top of the World

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On Top of the World--eagle in tree top, Teton MtnsWe love to be on top of the world.

Yet, we don’t have to climb a mountain or fly a plane to get there. Think about:

  • Wedding vows
  • The birth of a child or grandchild
  • The first day of a long-awaited job

All these and more can make us feel on top of the world.

What if we could experience those emotions forever?

We would be exhausted – no good to ourselves or anyone else. We love grand moments. However, we cannot maintain that level of excitement forever.

Real living includes level ground.

  • Washing dishes
  • Changing diapers
  • Difficult days at work

Level ground keeps our families and our world functioning as they should.

Real living also includes valleys.

  • Relationship difficulties
  • Death
  • Financial crises

Valleys may not be fun. Yet, through them we grow stronger.

From the valleys, we look up.

For many, that is where we find our strength. Through the power of God’s love, we can stay on top of the world, regardless of our circumstances.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Psalm 46:1-3 NIV).

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Get to the Bottom of It

Get to the Bottom of It

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Get to the Bottom of ItTo get to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, we must travel by foot, mule, or raft. Be prepared! Hikers should carry plenty of water and food. We also need lots of sunscreen and appropriate shoes and clothing. To see firsthand what’s down there requires an investment of time, money, and effort.

To get to the bottom of anything, we’re seeking an answer or solving a problem.

We want the truth—to know exactly what’s going on. That takes work, regardless of the task. Some people declare they will get to the bottom of a situation “if it’s the last thing I ever do!”

Examples of those who get to the bottom of problems on a regular basis include:

  • Police investigating a crime
  • Parents questioning disobedient children
  • Counselors exploring individual or family difficulties
  • Executives seeking answers for business losses

Each of us needs to get to the bottom of our purpose in life.

We have only a few short years. Will we use them well? Will we continue to explore until we discover life’s greater meaning?

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 NIV).

Thanks to Emily Akin for suggesting this expression.

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Sharp as a Tack

Sharp as a Tack

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Sharp as a Tack -- a tackA few fortunate people are sharp as a tack.

They see, hear, or read information and understand it instantly. Because they are smarter than most, they have what it takes to do well in life.

Deciding what to do with this wonderful gift, however, makes all the difference.

  1. Some choose to help others.
  2. Some help only themselves.
  3. A few take advantage of people not so sharp.

Individuals in the last two groups prove that smart does not mean wise. They never become all they could be.

When not used properly, the point of a tack becomes dull.

When people fail to develop their potential, they lose their sharpness as well. Mental laziness leads to mental dullness.

Tacks grow crooked if not driven in the right direction.

They may then do more harm than good. The same is true of people’s minds. If people focus only on themselves or hurts others, they rob everyone of a life well lived.

What a waste when people throw away the potential God gave them.

Far better when they grow into all they can be – when they stay sharp as a tack.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:17 NIV).

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Let Go and Let God

Let Go and Let God

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Let Go and Let God

If we Google let go and let God, we receive about 37,400 results. This expression is probably best known as a slogan for Al-Anon, a support group for friends and family of people with addictions. Yet, its popularity goes much further. But what does it mean?

First, let’s look at what let go and let God does not mean.

It does not:

  • Justify neglect of responsibility
  • Equal apathy or laziness
  • Mean accepting defeat

God gave us a brain and physical abilities for a reason. He expects us to use them, under His guidance.

Let go and let God does mean we:

  • Realize we are not all knowing. God is.
  • Understand we are not all powerful. God is.
  • Accept we cannot be everywhere. God can.
  • Recognize we do not sees life’s big picture — past, present, and future. God does.
  • Confess our limitations in order to receive God’s unlimited power.
  • Let go of fear, jealousy, ego, worry, and other negative emotions.

Releasing control goes against our nature.

Some of us want to:

  • Fix any problem
  • Take responsibility for every solution
  • Manage everyone and everything

Yet, only by releasing our lives and those we love to God’s will can we experience true peace.

Like the child in the offering plate, we must give God all. God’s answers may not come in the way and at the time we expect. Nevertheless, they will come.

We have a choice.

Will we let go and let God or continue our self-defeating quest for control?

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

Thanks to Karen Atwood for the suggestion.

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Over the Hill

Over the Hill

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Over the Hill“You’re not over the hill yet, but my mom just went over the hill.” Those words came from an elementary-age girl whose mother had just celebrated her 35th birthday. The mother laughed. She remembered thinking the same thing about her mother at that age.

Young people often believe middle-age and older adults are over the hill.

They think they have reached their peak in life. In their opinion, anyone 35 or older:

  • Is out of touch with the latest fads, language, and styles
  • Stops having fun
  • Sets no more worthwhile goals
  • Loses their spirit of adventure

Wrong! The fun just begins, if we relax and enjoy the journey.

  • The need to impress, to fit in with the cool crowd, and to prove ourselves diminishes.
  • We learn to enjoy the moment for what it is, not what we wish.
  • That freedom exhilarates, and the future looks promising.

As Robert Browning said:

Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith ‘A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!’”

“I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live” (Psalm 104:33 NIV).

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Raining Cats and Dogs

Raining Cats and Dogs

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Raining Cats and Dogs“It’s raining cats and dogs” has been heard a lot recently. Because of rain:

  • Streets, roads, and parks closed.
  • Parts of roads and bridges washed away.
  • Basements flooded.
  • Fields turned into ponds.
  • People joked about the Bible’s story of Noah and their need to build an ark.

We have had rain and plenty of it!

People who enjoy the sound of rain when they sleep probably couldn’t keep their eyes open … unless thunder and lightning kept them awake.

Of course, grass, trees, and flowers look wonderful once the sun finally shines through those clouds. We also gaze in awe at a rainbow’s beauty.

Rain showers and rainbows remind us of God’s blessings.

God waits to shower us with joy, peace, hope, love, and more, if we turn to Him. Those showers continue, regardless of the weather outside.

“I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing” (Ezekiel 34:26, NIV)

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