Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

Pray More, Worry Less {Understanding}

Welcome and thanks for joining me!  I am so delighted that you are here.  I am so so so excited about this new Bible study!  In this study we are going to learn all we can about how to pray more and worry less.  Yeah, I’m pretty stoked about it too!

As I said before, this girl right here is a worrier by nature. Ugh, any of y’all with me on that one? It’s not one of my better qualities. I worry about paying the bills, about Joey driving, about my dog having arthritis, about Joe’s work, my family’s health, about my housework, about my business, blah blah blah on and on. My to-do lists keep me awake at night. Because clearly laying awake at night worrying will get my chores done, right? Questions like what if and should I have swirl around my mind, holding me hostage and keeping me chained to my worries and fears.
As we get started, let’s first take a look at a few definitions:

Worry – to think about problems or fears : to feel or show fear and concern because you think that something bad has happened or could happen.  It comes from an Old English word that means “to strangle”. 

Anxiety – an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs (as sweating, tension, and increased pulse), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one’s capacity to cope with it.  It’s basically an emotion caused by fearful thoughts.

Now that we know what worry and anxiety mean, let’s look at what God says about them.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Matthew 6:25-27

So why is worry wrong? Jesus gives us several reasons in the above verses.  

~ Worry causes us to lose sight of who we belong to.  God is more than capable of taking care of us.  We belong to a sovereign God.  The word sovereign means God has absolute control over everything, all the details of life.  God will take care of us and He knows just what we need at each point in our life.  And because God knows what we need, He will take care of His children. 

~ Worry is a sin. Would you categorize worry alongside lying, adultery or overindulging in alcohol? They are all sins. Sure, we can gloss over it, sweep it under the rug and call it a day. That’s easy to do, isn’t it? Or better yet, let’s rename it. That way we won’t feel guilty about it. Let’s call it stress, anxiety or just concern. Worry has taken on the form of a acceptable sin. We all do it…so, why even call it a sin?

We can’t trust God and then worry, those simply don’t go together. When we worry, it shows we don’t trust God. Period. Worrying is the absolute opposite of trusting God. Worry shows that we not only believe He isn’t capable of knowing our needs, but He doesn’t care. We all know neither of those are true. Worry really comes down to trusting Him.

~ Worry accomplishes nothing.  Honestly, worry is a waste.  It ruins your day, normally (if you’re like me) it ruins the day of everyone around you, it causes you health issues and it just plain stinks.  There is nothing productive about worry and it leads to no where.

When we worry, often times our health suffers.  It can cause ulcers, high blood pressure, heart problems, colon distress and headaches.  Let’s not forget one other thing worry causes…sass, grumbling, grouchiness and shortness.  We end up not sleeping well because of it. Which then adds to the sass and grouchiness. You know how God told us to be the light of the earth {Matthew 5:14}, worry will put that light out quicker than lightening.

When we replace worry with prayer, then we have trust. We need to faithfully turn to God in prayer. We are to give our worries to God in prayer, trusting Him with all our burdens and cares. As a result, we will receive in return the peace we long for. That feeling of doom will go away and a feeling of peace will wash over you.

Come back next week where we will take a closer look at how to trust God and give all our worries fully to Him.  This week, keep your eyes looking up 🙂

Kindness Matters

As we left the doctors office, I slipped my hand inside my husbands.  He is such an incredible man, my rock.  No matter what news we’re given, he always resounds with a hand squeeze and “it will all be okay babe”.  This visit was no different…chronic pain, nodules, testing, pain clinics…he still found the right words to comfort me.  It had been a rough day, no doubt.  But with him by my side, laughter in the air and a 4 hour drive ahead of us it was deemed a date day!  And we all know a date day isn’t complete without going out to dinner.

He pulled into one of my favorite restaurants.  As we started walking towards the door, I again slipped my hand inside his.  Time with him can turn any day around.  We were seated in a semi-private area.  Nearby I noticed a meeting going on with the restaurant managers.  One voice consistently stood out above the rest of them.  I tried to tune it out but the repeated sass and demeaning tone was rather obnoxious.  We did our best to ignore it and just enjoy our time together.

When we stood to leave, Joe dropped a pen on the floor.  He’s been having back/hip issues so I hurried to pick it up for him.  When I bent over, the obnoxious voice behind me erupted with the most ridiculous laughter.  When I turned to look, she covered her face and laughed so hard and loud, completely embarrassing everyone at the table.  Her point of laughter?  Me.

Why?  Why did she laugh?  Why? Why did she feel that was appropriate?  Why didn’t the others stop her?  Why was she so blatant?  Why didn’t she care?  If she had known the day I just had, would she still have laughed?  Question after question replayed in my mind.

Oh kindness, so powerful yet so underused. In today’s society, it’s so easy to come in contact with someone who is unkind. The person at the mall you hold the door open for, who walks right past you without saying thank you. The person you accidentally pulled out in front of who gives you an unkind gesture. Or the manager of a restaurant that blatantly and openly makes fun of you.


Kindness is honestly one of the greatest gifts you can give someone. As Christians, kindness is something He expects from us. It allows Christ’s love to shine through us. He doesn’t want us to be unkind, we are to be different.

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32

We need to learn to be tenderhearted. When we start being tenderhearted, it’s easy to be kind. Having a heart that is easily touched and sensitive doesn’t mean you’re weak. Although that’s what the world would say. If we are sensitive to those around us, we start seeing their needs instead of our own. Have a loving, tenderhearted, compassionate attitude and let it shine for everyone to see. 

Do to others as you would have them do to you 

Luke 6:31 



Acts of kindness don’t have to be huge, expensive, flashy ordeals. Smile at someone, hold the door for them, give them the 30 cents they are searching for their McDonald’s order, help them carry their bags to the car, hug them when you can see they need one, take time to talk to them and pray with them and for them.

You can change lives with your actions.  You can change a day with your smile.  You can change lives with your kindness. You can change lives by allowing Christ’s love to shine through you. You might be the one voice in their life at the moment that they need to hear. Your encouragement might be the one thing that keeps them going. Maybe you are the one who is to help them see Jesus.

Your actions, words, prayers and love matter. Your kindness matters. It matters to those who receive it and it matters to Him. You might not be able to help everyone, but you can help someone.

The Storm Inside {Book Review}

The Storm Inside
by Sheila Walsh
About the book:

No matter the storm, God knows, God cares, and He is always there. 

The chaos of life can be overwhelming, and women get a heavier dose than most. Each day comes with its own pressures, heartaches, and disappointments that slowly erode the joy, peace, and closeness to God every woman needs. Chaos always feels like the enemy as it rages around us and inside us. But there is hope! 

In The Storm Inside, best-selling author and Women of Faith speaker Sheila Walsh invites you into ten life-changing, hope-filled transformations where hurt and heartache are divinely redeemed into joy and faith. With insightful biblical teaching, intimate stories of her own storms and the chaos other women have faced and overcome, Walsh shows how:

  • Heartbreak can become strength
  • Shame can lead to love
  • Unforgiveness can find freedom
  • Restoration can undo rage
  • Courage overcomes insignificance
  • And so much more 

In The Storm Inside, you will find strength in the most profound truths—that you are always a child of God no matter how you feel. In these pages, you will learn to see yourself as God sees you, not as someone forever tossed by the waves but as a woman fully known, fully loved, and growing ever deeper in faith, hope, and love. 

It is time as daughters of God to take the chaos of how we feel, lay it at the feet of God, and stand strong in who we are in Him. This simple teaching will be the difference between a life of joy and one of despair. Sheila powerfully reminds us that God offers no guarantee of a life without storms, but He does provide the strength and grace to make it through them.

Throughout the last few years of my life, chaos has seemed to become a new member of this family. There were days where sun up to sun down felt drenched with chaos. And these last few months, ack, we won’t even go there. To say I’m an emotional person is an understatement. So a book that would help me deal with chaos and the emotions that go along with them? Yes, please!

I thought this book was a great read! There were times I laughed with her and a few times some tears were shed. It’s easy to get drawn into the conversation from the author. Each chapter addresses the storm topic and ends with a section on how to “stand through your storm” which included a few tips and a prayer. This is in no way a one-and-done book nor is our struggle. This is a book to read over and over, learning something new each time. This would be a great gift to someone you know is struggling.

This book was provided to me free of charge by Book Look in return for my honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.