Overwhelming fear? This phone call from God levels chaos

You fear what lies ahead.  Why?  I am here with you now, and I am with you always.  How do you know?  The sky, air, light, and creatures mirror my presence.

God wipes out fear
Phone call from God at Lake Athens, November 2019/©Steve Blaising

I formed all of these and surround you every day, calling out to you.  Yes, I can manage your cares.  Bring them to me.  Allow me to help you.  Name them and talk with me about each one.  Follow me no matter how hard your trials.  I love you, and I will lead you through all of them.  I will set your feet upon a rock.  Let me lift you out of the slimy pit.  I will put a new song in your heart. Trust me.

Fear reliever #1: Morning prayer

Rise with me each morning.  Lay each day in my keep.  Allow me to protect you.  Permit me to light your path.  I know what lies in darkness.  Light dwells with me.  Step into my presence and watch your anxiety melt away.  Lay any burden on me.  Let me carry it.  I take care of each worry.  I will counsel and hold you.  Simply share your concerns with me, because I have the wisdom and power to overcome them.

Fear reliever #2: Powerful presence

Do not believe I am absent from your world.  I am not far.  I didn’t bring you into this world to abandon you.  Remember this: I brought you here to flourish in all seasons of life.  I love you with an everlasting love.  How do you know?  I knew the consequences of free will before I chose to exercise it.  So, there is evil in the world as well as goodness.  You are angry about this?  Come talk to me about it.  Despite evil and suffering, I am near and will help if you let me.  There is a way through all of the sorrow and the loss if you let me help you.

Fear reliever #3: Future promise

As you blossom and grow toward your dreams, share them with me.  Your future is a beautiful garden, and I want to see your gifts bless the world.  Let me shine on your work.  Let me water your relationships.  Let me spread your influence to make the world a kingdom of peace, love, and light.  Your future is secure.  Trust me, and I will show you the way.  Listen to me, and I will tell you how.

“But now, this is what the Lord says…’Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God…your Savior.'” Isaiah 43

Overwhelming fear? This phone call from God levels chaos

Why Paper Girl’s World Is This Year’s Most Uplifting Book Discovery

This year’s Book of the Year, Paper Girl’s World, is lighting up happiness everywhere.

Paper Girl's World book

Crack open Judy Williamson’s 400-page masterpiece, and joy pours out like sunshine through a window you didn’t know was there. One page sends you off to a Mach 2 happy hour on the Concorde. Next, you’re face-to-face with the mist of Iguazu Falls. Then, romance drifts in at three miles an hour on a French canal barge, where even the clocks seem to take a break.

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Why Paper Girl’s World Is This Year’s Most Uplifting Book Discovery

How Grief Unlocks Hidden Doors to Peace and Growth

I never expected grief to open the door to such magical visitations after I buried my parents.

I’m not superstitious.  But, I believe the supernatural pokes into the everyday world in a wide variety of forms and places.

An unexpected visitor surprised me at my mother’s grave nine years ago.

Grief and magical places
Grief can land us in magical places/Steve Blaising/Parents’ gravestone, December 2016

But a very different visitor appeared to me days after my father died, the one whose image you see to the left on my parents’ gravestone.

I captured this moment on video.

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How Grief Unlocks Hidden Doors to Peace and Growth