Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Doing It Afraid

I'm in one of those seasons when God seems to be bringing a theme to my attention over and over. 

In blog posts, books, and Bible verses...I keep encountering the word "fear" and the idea of doing something even if you're afraid.

It has been fascinating (and scary) to notice how many times the topic has come up. When things like that happen, you know God is trying to get your attention.

This week I read one of the books that addressed the topic: Fearless: Free in Christ in an Age of Anxiety by Rachel Starr Thomson, Carolyn Currey, and Mercy Hope (1:11 Publishing, 2017)

I highly recommend it if you have any trouble at all with fear and anxiety holding you back from accomplishing the things you want to do in life.

Rachel and her friends explore the Parable of the Talents, as well as Bible characters like Joshua, Esther, Peter, and Gideon.

They admit that the dangers in life are real. We have no guarantees that something bad won't happen to us, but it's worth the risk to step out in faith.

Fear can be displaced by trust in God and by His love.

Here are a couple of quotes toward the end of the book to inspire you:

"We've been trying to open your eyes to the value you bring to the world, the call upon your life to be consecrated wholly to God, and the love God has for you. These truths are the reason to overcome fear, the reason to 'do it afraid.' 

It's all worth it, because God's purposes for you are more significant than you can imagine."

I love that last line. Too often I hold back because I'm afraid of what might happen if I try something new, but God has great purposes for me. Purposes more significant than I can imagine. I have a pretty good imagination, so it's exciting to wonder what God really has in store!

"Fear will do everything it can to stop you from realizing God's promises. It will try to surround your life with walls that keep you shut down and shut in, with your talents buried and your view of yourself limited to 'I am nothing but a grasshopper, and everyone else must know it.' It will create an alternate reality and wear you out with cares and the exhaustion that is a divided mind."

Do you feel shut in and surrounded by walls that keep you doing the same old things every day? The comfortable things? The easy things? I often do.

It's time to break free from those walls built by fear and step out in faith to new places.

We need to remember the foundation of a fearless life: The Lord Will Be with You (as summarized by Rachel, Carolyn, and Mercy).

If we remember that He is with us, we can do pretty much anything, even if we're afraid.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9 NIV)

Are your fears holding you back from fulfilling God's purposes for your life? How can focusing on God and His love for you help you to move forward and "do it afraid"?

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Book Reports

About a month ago, I told all of you I was jumping in and getting serious about writing a book. I had a plan to finish a rough first draft by June 2 (about 50,000 words, I figured).

Well, it's almost May 1. I'm not halfway done. The first two days after I told you about it, I wrote 1,000 words a day. But then all of you stopped praying for me and I stopped writing.

Just kidding! I'm sure you still prayed, but I stopped writing. To be fair, I got a little busier with volunteering at the daycare and some other tasks, but I still had some time and I just didn't use it to work on this project.

I started back in on April 19 and I've put my butt in the chair several times in the past couple of weeks. I may not be done by June 2, but I will keep plugging away until I'm finished. If I make time to write even just a little every few days, I'll have to finish eventually.

I can't remember who told me about a woman in a nursing home who decided to work on a quilt for ten minutes every day. The teller thought that seemed like such a small amount of time - she would never finish it. But she did!

I also heard of a man who wrote an entire novel by writing for twenty minutes in his pickup during his lunch break every day.

So I will keep writing. 

If I can stop reading.

I've been reading some great books by Rachel Starr Thomson lately. I'm on book 4 of the Oneness Series and I'm really enjoying it. Kind of reminds me of This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti.

I just recently discovered her writing and am so glad I did. You can check out her blog and more about her writing at rachelstarrthomson.com

Can't wait to move on to some of her other novels and nonfiction books.

 I also have stacks and stacks of books waiting to be read. So many books - so little time!

One of these weeks I'm going to give my full Focus Friday to my friend Shannon Popkin's book Control Girl. I've read the first few chapters and have found it so practical and wise. I sure have problems with wanting to maintain control and refusing to surrender. Shannon's book teaches us how to surrender control to God and become Jesus Girls instead of Control Girls. I'm thinking this might be a great Bible study for a group of us from church to do sometime in the near future.

Finally, I've been really wanting to get to A Trail of Crumbs by Susie Finkbeiner. It's the second in a series of three. I enjoyed meeting Pearl Spence in A Cup of Dust and I can't wait to see what happens in this next installment.

I feel so blessed to consider Susie Finkbeiner a friend after meeting her at Breathe Christian Writers Conference in Michigan. She's a great writer and one of my inspirations.

So there you have it. A "book report" about my book and some ideas for some books you may enjoy reading.

Keep praying for me and let me know if I can pray for you as you do a little bit at a time on your own project. If you do that, it will get done!

"All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." (Proverbs 14:23 NIV)

Is there anything you've been putting off but really want to complete? How can focusing on God help you to consistently do a little bit at a time until it gets done?