We Can Win The War of Fear

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In my last post, I shared “My Story” of dealing with the virus of 2020/2021. (Click here if you need to read and catch up.) I do know that 2021 is not over and only the Lord knows what is in store for each and every one of us during this crazy upside down time of life. I told you in my last post that I would share my thoughts on how to win the war of fear that is involved with the “pandemic.” You do know that I’m not a medical doctor, right? Oh, I’m not a counselor either. I’m just a regular person who got the virus. I can’t even tell you how fearful of this virus I was. I don’t now how to describe it to share with you how scared I was. The crazy thing about it is…I didn’t know I was as scared as I turned out to be. I thought I had it all together. I had my sprays, my disinfectant wipes, I stayed home, I ordered groceries online, I made my husband change clothes in the garage when he came in from work…….yes, I did that. Did you not do that? I thought everyone was doing that and I thought it was perfectly normal. I’ve come to find out, not so much. I was consumed with the news in trying to hear all the latest and what we were supposed to do and not do, until, I realized how political and not so trustworthy the main stream media was. I was a mess and I crashed hard.

I have thought long and hard how I could have handled things differently. We know now that I had other issues going on from the past that I hadn’t dealt with so I had all that to deal with at the same time so it made my crash doubly bad. Someone told me it was the “Perfect Storm” for me and why I went down hard.

Back to my thinking how I would have handled it differently if I would have known what I know now.

Are you ready for it?

Putting all my trust in my Savior for everything and anything that was to come my way.

I know! Sounds so simple doesn’t it.

See, I had been doing that since I was 14 years old. The day I put my faith and trust in Jesus, I depended on Him for everything. I read the scriptures on fear, faith and trust. I tried to memorize them. I wrote them down and put them places I could see constantly. So why did I not remember to trust when all the craziness in our country and world broke lose? I know why, but, that is for another post soon.

I lost my way. I lost my self worth and my confidence in who I was as a child of God. I was a perfect set up for someone who was about to go down hard. Each day got worse and worse. I wasn’t listening to my Savior, I was listening to the enemy. I was scared. I couldn’t catch my breath enough to calm down and slap myself into reality.

Thankfully, I finally got back up and I fought like crazy to get back to where I should be. I had the help of a couple of people and then some friends who prayed for me and encouraged me each and every day! It took everything I had in me to get there. Guess who was waiting for me the entire time? My Savior! He picked me up, brushed me off and said “You are gong to be okay!”

I was sailing along, working everyday to get my mind back to where it should be and then BAM! The virus! I struggled and thought, “Why? I can’t do this! The thing I feared the most and I was doing so good and now I have it? Is this it? Am I going to go through the horrible things I’ve heard about? I don’t want to!”

So, I’m going to make a little list of some things that I did and what I wish I would have done to win the war on fear of the virus!

*Empty yourself before the Lord, give Him your fears, your anxiousness and your questions.

*Be still and quiet. Listen for His voice. Go to your Bible and go to those scriptures that speak on fear and comfort.

*Turn off the news for awhile. Be very selective in what you listen to. Fill your mind with good and happy things. Stay busy with things you love to do.

*Take care of your health. Eat as healthy as possible. Limit sugar! Begin a good regimen of vitamins. I was told to take, Vitamin C, D, Zinc and a Pro-Biotic. I also take a multi and a few other things for immunity building. I would talk to an expert or do some serious research and get a plan together.

*I was also told to take a small dose of aspirin each day. That is to prevent blood clotting which seems to be a serious issue going on.

*While I was sick, I did not want to get pneumonia. It seems you hear of that a lot. So, I made sure I stretched everyday as much as possible and walked. I moved my arms continuously. I tried hard not to lay in bed forever which was a hard one. I didn’t feel like doing anything. My husband also tapped like karate chops on my back each day to loosen up anything that might go wrong in the lungs.

*Calm yourself with deep breathing. When resting, I put my left hand on my tummy and my right hand on my heart and I took a deep slow breath through my nose with mouth closed and let my tummy fill with air to the count of 6 or 8, then I held it for about 4 counts and blew slowly out of my mouth to the count of 6 or 8. I would do this several times until I felt calm and could get my breath.

*The mind is a powerful thing. The breathing exercises helped me to calm down and focus on good things. Someone told me they would breathe in the goodness of God and blow out the fear. You don’t want to lose control of your thoughts and let fear win. You do whatever it takes.

*In order to go to battle, we must be strong spiritually, mentally and physically. That physically part is a hard one for me. Exercise is not my favorite thing to do. But, we need to be fit. Whatever it takes to get there, we must do. Any habits that hinder our health, we need to correct it.

*Scripture is important to me. I have a card case with scriptures on trusting God and not having fear. I had them by my side and read them over and over. When I had a really hard time, I actually held the scripture card and claimed it for myself. Bible study will keep you grounded and close to our Heavenly Father.

*Journaling is huge for me. I now have my journals during that season and it is very interesting to read over and see how the Lord comforted me and the answer to prayers. Not only that, just to get my thoughts on paper and out of my head is very good for me.

*Be prepared for the worst. Have a plan for treatment if you get sick. Remember I’m not a doctor, but, for me, I decided to get a protocol that many doctors are using to treat the virus. I follow and read after a group and they had a listing of doctors that you could do a teleconference with and they would prescribe a protocol for you to take if you need to. We have our protocol and we have it in a bag just in case anything were to happen. It’s a comfort to have a plan and to know what symptoms are before they ever happen. *Its almost like we were just sitting ducks, didn’t know what to expect, where to go, what to do, etc. We were just told to wear a mask, don’t go anywhere, don’t get around any one and if you get sick, chances are you are done for. I believe that we were handed a bundle of fear and told to take it and don’t ask questions. I also believe that is wrong. We are to be responsible for ourselves and our family, do research and be prepared for even the worst so you know what to expect. The unknown is what causes fear. We now know so much more and we also have the choice to listen to others besides the political figures and main stream media who obviously have an agenda. We also should do our own research and be wise in who we listen to.

*Then it gets back to the trust again. It’s a choice. Faith or Fear. They are two separate roads….we have to pick one. You can’t have both; they just don’t work together. The good thing is, God knows our fears and He understands. He wants us to be free from fear. Let Him take it from you. But, you have to give it to Him.

I hope that helps a little. Feel free to leave a comment or email any questions or thoughts. I only know what I know and I can steer you to someone much smarter than me if possible.

Can I pray with you?

Heavenly Father,

Thank you so much for loving us like you do! How thankful I am that I put my faith in you as a young teen. I thank you for each person reading the blog today and oh, how I pray that they know you personally! You know who each one is and I ask that you put your arms of comfort around them, let them know how much you love and care for them.

Lord, we are a fearful people when we don’t put our trust in you. Forgive us for putting our trust in those that don’t have our best interest. We trust you and we are giving you our fears and our anxiousness. We don’t understand all that is going on, but, you do! You know exactly how this is all going to end and we put our hand in yours and we know you will guide and protect us.

Lord, whatever you have in store for each of us, may we humbly and graciously accept it as your will. I pray for a peace that only you can give. I pray for joy that only you can give. We don’t understand all that is going on in our country and in our world, but, we want to walk through it with peace and joy.

We ask for wisdom and discernment to handle all the many voices we hear today and to understand what is right and what is wrong. Help us, Lord!

I ask for healing for those that are reading the blog today that are suffering either with the virus or with that awful thing called fear! Some of us have loved ones that are going through it and we are asking for a miraculous healing for each and everyone of them. You want us to walk in strong faith and courage. You want us to remember that every breath we take is because of your grace and mercy. You also want us to trust you in what is best for each one of us. Lord, whatever comes our way and however you choose for it to all play out, may we accept it with grace and humility.

How grateful I am for your healing of my mind and my body! I know many of the readers can testify to your goodness in their lives. May we be forever thankful and share with others all that you have done for us.

Lord, there may be someone reading this that has never put their faith in you. I pray that whoever it is, they would give their heart to you and you would save them and forgive them of all their sin, just like you did for me and so many others that are reading the blog today.

In Jesus Name,

Amen!

IF….you want to know more about putting your faith and trust in Christ, click here.

My Story …

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I’ve had some questions about what it was like when I came down with the virus last October/November. I thought I’d go ahead and share to document what I went through and maybe it will be a help to someone that has some questions or possibly some fear in dealing with all the unknowns of it.

To begin with, if you have kept up with my journey from last year, you know that I was on the tail end of the anxiety issues that I was struggling with when the virus hit. So, my emotions were very heavy as in understanding why I was having to deal with this unknown scary virus while trying to heal my mind from the fear that had consumed me for the past several months. What a journey! Again, in a million years, I would have never thought I would have gone through what I did. I still question it and all I can come up with right now is to deal with things that I pushed down for years and then use what I learned to possibly help someone else. If you haven’t ever gone through something like that, I don’t think you can even imagine the struggle and turmoil you can suffer from it all. Okay…enough of that…let’s talk about the virus!

Last October (2020) on the 30th, we were at our get away home in the Texas Hill Country. Our daughter, son-in -law and all the cutie pies were coming over for a get together. I worked most of the day getting games together, running to the grocery for last minute items and setting up a chocolate fountain with all the treats. I was having fun, but, I had a slight headache. I brushed it off as allergies. I usually don’t struggle with allergies, but I was telling myself it was allergies. I took some Advil and moved on. The evening came and what fun it was. My headache was getting worse. I also had zero appetite….which is good sign something isn’t clicking with me. Everyone left and I cleaned up and I then had a cough. I went to bed and coughed through the night. Every time I coughed, my head felt like it was going to burst open. I would hold my head to cough to ease the pain. I was a bit worried… but, still kept saying it was allergies. I stayed in bed most of the next day. I missed the big party with the kids that night and couldn’t decide if I was more sad about that or the fear that something was up. After all, I had worked hard to get my I Love Lucy costume ready and now it was a bust….no Lucy and Ricky this year! I began taking my temperature that afternoon and I was running a low temp of 99.

I was like you, probably. I had been staying home as much as possible. I ordered my groceries 95% of the time. I can count on one hand how many times I went to the store or anywhere. I had sanitizing wipes with me 24/7. I wiped everything down. I wore my mask everywhere! I’m the queen of germ fighting!

Back to my story…

During that first day, I would have moments where I felt pretty good. I would get up and try to do something around the house, but, within a few minutes I felt horrible again. Back to bed. The next day we had some friends that were in the area and they were coming to visit for the afternoon and the guys were going to golf. I had told them how I was feeling but thought it was “allergies” or something. The guys golfed and I visited with my friend. I felt okay, but not great. I stayed far from her. We picked up lunch and I didn’t touch anything that was hers. In the back of my mind I was scared. After they left late that afternoon, back to bed I went. I began taking some immune builder supplements and I took Tylenol cold and flu to sleep.

We drove back to west Texas the next day. I kept feeling like I couldn’t breathe. I was struggling with more fear. The fear that I had worked so hard on. I was trusting the Lord and at the same time, my mind was telling me that I was going down and I wasn’t going to be able to breathe. Jim knew I was scared and he would assure me I was okay. That 5 hour drive home was hard as I put the air vents on my face and concentrated on breathing. During my time of anxiety and when I got choked during a meal, which is another crazy story, the fear of not being able to breathe was one of the main things that I couldn’t shake!

We made it home and back to bed I went. My temperature would get up to 102 and then go back down. I was a wreck……mainly due to my mind. All the pictures I had seen on television constantly went through my mind. My cough wasn’t too bad, but enough to know it wasn’t normal. I also had a spot in my back that hurt terribly. This went on for the next couple of days. I began telling myself it was a cold, so I hung on not wanting to go get tested. Then Thursday afternoon came.

I got up and took my immune builder and by the way, it tastes and smells pretty bad. When I crawled back in bed I had the thought. “I didn’t taste that tablet I just took and it usually tastes terrible.” I went back to the kitchen and opened up the bottle and took a sniff of the terrible smelling and tasting tablets. I didn’t smell a thing. I had always heard that peanut butter is a smell you don’t want to lose, so I went to the pantry, opened up the jar and took a big sniff. Nothing! That’s when I thought, “okay, this is serious.” Losing taste and smell was one of the symptoms that I heard was part of the “virus.” Our doctors office was a pretty good drive away and I heard that people were going to a clinic in our neighborhood area. So I called them and they said if I came right then they could get me in before they closed at 5. Jim ran me up there. I could hardly hold my head up as I felt awful. I had to stay in the car until they came and got me. Finally, it was my turn. I was terrified. If you keep up with me, you know I have another one of those fears…doctors! I have never really gone to a doctor unless I had too and this past year, I have seen my share of doctors to make up for the 60 years of not having to go. Anyway, they were so nice and kind and they knew I was scared out of my mind. I know, I’m terrible! They did the little test. They used a long Q Tip type thing that is as long as my face. I thought they were going to just swab the nostril a bit and we’d move on. Oh, NO! She told me to lean my head back and the thing went up to my eyeballs. I was so glad when it was over. Then she said, “now for the other side!” I said, “are you serous?” She said, “Yes, lean your head back!” Lord have mercy. I was so glad when that was over. I had to wait a few minutes for the results. When she came in and said, “Positive,” my mind was going 90 miles a minute wondering what was going to happen. All I could see in my mind were those videos on the news of the over run hospitals and people on ventilators and body bags stacked in the hallways. I asked her what I was supposed to do. She said, “Well, nothing. Go home and rest and I will give you something for your cough, other than that, you might take some Vitamin C, D, Zinc and a Pro-Biotic” I said I was taking most of those and she said, “Good, you will have a head start on it all then.” She also told me that since I had my symptoms for almost a week now, I may be through the worst of it. That made me feel better. She also told me my lungs sounded good and strong. That helped a bit, too. I thought, if this is it, I can handle this. Then as I was leaving she said, “If you can’t breathe, go to the emergency room immediately.” I heard those words over and over in my head for the next three weeks. It took everything in me and with the Lord’s grace and mercy to not think the worst.

My cough was barely there after a couple of days. I didn’t take the cough medication hardly at all. I made sure I exercised and moved around a lot. I didn’t want anything to go wrong with my lungs. I took my supplements faithfully and when my nose got stuffy I would boil water and put peppermint essential oils in the water and breathe in as much as possible. If you do that, close your eyes, trust me. (it will burn your eyes) It helped tremendously. When my nose would get stuffy in both nostrils was when I had a tendency to panic, so I stayed on top of that big time. After a week and a half of dealing with that and with the fever up and down, I finally felt so much better. Just tired was my main complaint. I eventually got my energy back and all was well. I am extremely grateful!

Except for…

It has been 8 months and my smell is still messed up. Most things smell normal. The strange thing is the smells that I loved before, smell terrible right now. The only perfume I’ve ever been able to wear is Pleasures by Estee Lauder. Oh me, it smells terrible. My shampoo and bath gel are hard for me to tolerate. I loved cleaning with Pine-Sol. I always joked that I would wear Pine-Sol as perfume….but….when I smell it now, I get sick to my stomach. Jim’s coffee in the morning smells horrendous. Oh, and the sad one is…Jim’s cologne that I loved….it’s a no! One more weird thing, is I loved drinking a coke every now and then….okay, more than I should. It has the weirdest taste to it that has a smell with it. I can’t even! Which is really a good thing. I did discover that Dr. Pepper doesn’t do that…..which is a bad thing! If you know what I mean!

I know you will think I’m crazy when I say this….which you may already think that but, here it goes….

With my fear and anxiety issue from last summer and into the fall…..the fear of getting the virus was a big part of it. I honestly think the Lord allowed me to get it and get it over with. For the life of me, we can’t figure out where I got it from and no one got it from me. I was around the entire family the day I got sick. Jim didn’t even get it. Very strange. That’s just my thought. He was very merciful to me and for that I am very grateful. I have had the flu a few times and this wasn’t as bad as a couple of flu bugs I’ve had. For me, it was the fear of the unknown. Towards the end, the thing that helped me mentally was talking with a friend who lives far away that was going through the same thing. Her symptoms sounded a lot like mine and it was a comfort to know as I knew I was going to make it by what all she shared. So, all this to say, the FEAR that is spread with this is worse than anything. I’ve been sick many times in my life and you deal with it and you move on. This time it was different due to the information that is out there. I believe most of it is to scare the daylights out of us and keep us in fear! The unknown is scary.

My next post, I will share my thoughts on how to win the war of fear for the “virus.” If I can do it….anyone can! At least I made it anyway. I have a few things to share that I wish I would have known when all this happened. We don’t know what any day holds for us. If we get the virus, we don’t know for sure how it will end up. From what I see and know now….you chances are 99.98 percent that you will be okay and make it through. Those are pretty good odds, don’t you think? I don’t even gamble, but, I know those are good odds! I also know that we can win the war of fear!

I was around a few people a while back and they were talking about all the horrors of the virus and who had it bad. I raised my hand and said, “I had it!” Someone then said, “Yes, but, you didn’t have it that bad!” I just smiled and thought…..”as usual, it doesn’t count if you survived.” We don’t want to hear the good, just the bad! Since I lived, that means I didn’t have it bad? I wish I would have known it wasn’t bad when I was going through it. The damage that has been done to people’s mental health through this is very scary and very sad. It has to end! We need to hear the good and how to survive all the craziness and not bow down to the fears that are being thrown at us every single day.

Well, that’s my story…..I hope it helps relieve some of the unknown fears. If I had to sum it up and if it weren’t 2020 and I had these same symptoms, I would have said, “I”m going to bed with this horrible head cold….maybe a light flu…not sure!” But, since we have been bombarded with horrible disease, death 24/7, etc. etc…..it makes it a horrible thing to go through!

Trusting you are well and will stay well and put all your care and trust in your Savior! He’s right there beside you no matter what you are going through. Put your hand in His and let Him take care of you!

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” I Peter 5:6-8

Fear or Faith…..the choice is ours! Which will you choose?

Until next time,

Is Your Faith Strong?

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Did you set a goal or some goals for yourself for 2017?  I did!  I’m a goal setter anyway and the first of the year makes it that much more exciting. I love the start of a new month and even the first of the week is an energizer for me.  I keep a journal with all kinds of lists going all through the year.

I wanted to share one thing with you today that is on my list of goals and that is, to be more grounded in my Faith.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

I felt it important to share that with you in hopes that you will make that one of your goals as well.

To be honest with you, there are some crazy teachings going on out there in the world and yes, even in churches across our country.  Social media brings it all out even more.  Articles are passed around by people that we don’t have any idea who they are, but yet, we will read and actually believe what they are writing even when it contradicts the Word of God.

Recently, a very popular author shared her thoughts on some issues that totally didn’t line up to God’s Word.  Granted there are many people that do this, but what I was most amazed at were the comments I heard and read by people that you would think would know better.  The sad thing is they don’t, because they don’t know their Bible.  Since then, I do not read comments anymore on articles on controversial subjects or in the political world. I get too bogged down and waste my time reading people’s comments that don’t have a clue or want to have a clue.  I just move on. Don’t let the negativity and the nay-sayers waver your faith.  Surround yourself with wise people who strive to glorify God in their daily lives.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

I don’t want to be like a leaf floating in the wind; whichever way the wind blows, I’ll go.  No, I want roots planted deep and I want to stand tall and strong in my faith and my beliefs!   I don’t want to be swept away by the latest craze of style of belief or whatever.  The only way I can prevent that is by staying in God’s Word for myself.  That is how my faith grows.  Also, reading and listening after people that I know their teaching lines up with the Word of God.  You may say, how do you know that they line up with the Word of God.  Because, I know His Word.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  John 1:1

All that to say, I want to be strong in my faith.  I don’t want to waver  when I hear someone belittle or poke fun at who God is.  I will stand firm on my beliefs because my faith is strong.  Having a strong faith doesn’t come by accident.  You grow your faith by spending time with Him.  If you read after, study and listen to people who are confused and struggle in their walk, then you will too.  If you read after, study and listen to people who don’t even believe in God, you won’t either.

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What will it take for you to be stronger in your faith?  Whatever your answer is……START TODAY.

Begin by reading your Bible. (If you don’t have a Bible, let me know, I will get you one) Just start.  Begin in the Gospel of Luke to get started and find out who Jesus is.   Each day I do my best to read a Proverb, a Psalm, a chapter in one of the 4 gospels and then I read a chapter in  the Old and New Testament.  There are so many ways you can get started in reading daily.   If you need ideas, let me know.

Get in a Bible study on a subject you need to grow stronger in.  You don’t have to do it in a group if you aren’t able; study on your own.  Ask God to give you wisdom and discernment as you study, read and grow.  Hopefully, you have a good church to go to and are being fed strong serious Godly teaching.  If not, find one!

Have a great 2017 and may this be the year our Faith will become stronger than ever.

If you are thinking, “what in the world is she talking about?”  Click here to read more about how you can know the One who changed my life!

Happy Goal Setting!

Happy New Year!

“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” I Corinthians 16:13