Fearlessly Living Afraid

Everyone has something they're afraid of.  Some common fears I can list are being scared of heights, big crowds, driving in fast traffic, flying, speaking in public...etc.  They tend to make your heart beat just a bit faster and your palms sweat, bearing witness to your anxiousness.  It is normal to have a fear of something; something that would stretch you beyond your limits.

These are obvious fears, each has his own...I know mine, you know yours.

What about the things that you don't know your afraid of though, or maybe not admitted that you are afraid of?

These are deeply embedded fears,  Fears that control your life,  your thoughts, and your decisions.  They are hidden, maybe you don't even realize that you have them stored away.

I went to a Christian Writers Conference called She Speaks a few weeks back.  Two of my dearest friends ventured with me on a long drive across several states to meet up with like-minded women with a passion and fervor to write & speak for the glory of God.  It was something I had been looking forward to for almost a year.

While traveling down the road with the best girls, listening to my favorite tunes, & heading to the opportunity of a lifetime...I hear a question pop into my heart.

"Why are you afraid, Amy?"

Huh!  Where did that come from??  "I'm not afraid," I thought back.

"Yes, you are."

I was stumped into silence.  "Lord, what am I afraid of?"

I knew it was Him.  Only He would pose a question to me like that at a time when I thought I could conquer the world.

"Why do you home-school?" (I have kept my daughter home from public school for 5 years)

Well, I had many answers to that question, so I started pitching them all out.

"First off...it's better.  I mean, she doesn't have to conform to the world this way.  She is free to learn at her own pace.  It creates a longer presence of innocence.  I can focus on spiritual teachings and help develop her relationship with you.  It limits secularism...."  On and on, I fed Him my rap list of all the right answers.

Blah
Blah
Blah....is actually what it probably sounded like.

"That sounds good Amy, but your lying."

What! No....how could I have been lying.  I started to check my heart, I don't want to lie.  What am I missing here?

He posed the first question to me again...
"What are you afraid of?"

Something broke open inside of my heart.  My spirit resonated that there was in fact something I was afraid of and wasn't admitting.

I carefully whispered through my thoughts back to Him,
"I am afraid she will get hurt."
My eyes welled up.  My chest felt heavy and tight, I knew that He was exposing something deeper in me that I had hid away.

"I am afraid that you won't keep her safe Lord."

And there it was.. the nail was hit on the head!  Truth exposed!  I didn't trust God to take care of her for me.

Graciously the conversation continued on and instead of leaving me to wallow in my wretchedness, He spoke again.

"Do you believe I created you for a reason?"
"Yes, Lord."

"Do you believe I created her for a reason?"
"Of course, Lord."

"They why wont you trust that the purpose I have for her is good?"
 "Why wont you let me use her?"

The decision for us to home-school her was great in the beginning.  It was enriching and we have enjoyed her being home.  In the past, I may or may not have done it for the right reasons, but this year, He showed me that I had based my entire decision on fear instead of truth.

The choice to school her at home this year was not based on what was best for her, but instead it was based on what was best for my heart.

What a mighty stop sign fear can be!

It can put God's plans for your life to a complete halt.  Fear has the ability to freeze you in place when you are supposed to move.  It encourages you to be comfortable when God wants you to rely on His strength and do something different, daring, or dynamic!

The inner fears that stop you from God's purpose are an enemy to your existence.  They snuff out the good things God wants you to approach, and you miss out on life altogether.

There is always something that will speed up your beats per minute...but living fearlessly while still being afraid, allows you to feel scared while relying deeply on God to sustain you.

It's OK to be afraid, but it is not OK to position yourself as a stalemate and not move at all!

Right now examine yourself...ask Him, "What is it that I am afraid of?  What fears do you have that prevent you from being used by God?"

At the She Speaks conference, the Lord revealed to me an entire web of fear that I had tucked away.  He showed me what I was truly afraid of and how it was disabling my life.  I came home a different person; a different mother.

Today I walked her into her first day of class.
My mind was petrified, my heart was still...and God is with her.
I say to my fears..."I trust my God!"

And with that, I know her purpose will be great, because the God who created her is just that...Great!

An InLinkz Link-up

Why I Love the Planned Parenthood Videos + Link Up #6

I've seen the videos..the information..the evidence.
You have seen them also.

There is no denying what has happened, still happening.  It cannot be denied what Planned Parenthood participates in by the information we now have.

News reports have been out for years, articles of conspiracy and contradiction, portraying their agenda as wicked & ugly.  We all know, admitted or not, that they highly support abortion.  Most organizations that support a cause/right/case like they support Roe vs. Wade, do so with a agenda far beyond caring for others.  What I mean by that is, it should be no shock that they were not supporting abortion for the "rights of the women", they were supporting it because THEY benefit from it.

Evidence is leaking all over America about the greed and prosperity people seek on the backs of others.  Just as a sympathetic appearing PP worker can look at a desperate mother and lie, many other people, companies, government officials, do this every single day.  It's a wolf in sheep's clothing stage presentation, if I may say.

When I first saw the video, I laughed.  I know that sounds incredibly insensitive, especially as a Christ believer and follower.  Please let me explain.

As a mother of 5 living children and 11 failed pregnancies, PP has always been a rival enemy to my heart!  I support nothing that they stand for.  I don't buy into their, "women's rights" theme, as many of the children that are murdered under their counsel are little girls that would make a great impact in our world.

I would never send someone to them for their free counseling or pregnancy tests, as I know the great detriment they have caused.  I have looked at their site online and it infuriates me that they have influence over, not only adult women, but teenage girls.  They partner with organizations to influence our children at an even earlier age, which I can hardly bear to talk about without feeling justified rage.

What is even harder for me to comprehend is the mindset of the women who fall for this grand scheme.  It breaks my heart to know that they BELIEVE what they are told by sympathetic words and pretty graphics on the PP site.  How did we get to be so swayed from truth?  Why would these girls...women choose to eliminate their own lineage over the challenge of raising a baby?

Here are some quotes that I have heard women say...
"What I would give to hear my baby's heartbeat again..."
"There is not a day that goes by that I don't miss my baby..."
"It was the worst day of my life...I will never forget..."

As a mother of miscarried babies, and Co-Founder of Faith N Fertility, you would assume that these quotes came from mothers of children who suffered from pregnancy loss.  But they are not...they are from the hearts of women who have had abortions.

Why I love the PP videos...
Why it made me laugh...

Because Jesus is who He says He is.  He is doing what He said He would do.
He brings into light every hidden thing..HE EXPOSES THEM.
Now, there is nothing we can deny.  It's not in written form, where many people have failed to read the statistics, or chose to not ingest the details of how they murder children.

Now it is viral.  The whole world knows what we do to our young, and how there is a profit made on it.  They see the severed arms and legs of a 11 wk baby, that has been named "fetus" or "blob"

They see.
We see.
Jesus sees.

I don't find this funny AT ALL!!  My reaction of laughing was simply focused towards God's enemy.  It was a response to Jesus bringing into truth, what the enemy of God wanted to keep hidden.  It just struck me funny, that once again the enemy was found out!

Caught! Captured! Defeated! 

 

It was a victory smile that says, I am so glad that the Lord put a face and a camera to what they were doing.

And because of this, we have a great responsibility to not support it.  Many say, "I don't support PP."  But do they??

If you look at the list on the link below you will see that many of your everyday products are made and produced by companies that not only support PP, but offer their employees a match in donation.  Make yourself aware; but please understand this, once you see this list, you will be responsible.

Before I knew...I just wasn't aware.  Now that I do...my actions have to be in line with my beliefs.
It is not easy to eliminate these things out of my life but it IS a necessity.  I refuse to have blood on my hands, in my kitchen cabinets, or in my food... I choose to not purchase these items any longer and to continue becoming more aware of aligning what I say & what I do with the truth God reveals.

For your benefit, I have listed several articles you may want to read.  Please educate yourself on this matter.  These children need you to be their voice.

http://www.numberofabortions.com/  *As I write this it's not even noon, and over 1500 boys & girls have died today.

http://dailysignal.com/2015/07/21/meet-the-41-companies-that-donate-directly-to-planned-parenthood/  *38 Companies that support Planned Parenthood

http://www.monicaboyer.com/planned-slaughterhood/?utm_content=bufferc500d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer   *Educational video & article on the reality of what has happened.

http://www.lifenews.com/2014/02/19/girl-scouts-ties-to-planned-parenthood-date-back-to-the-1970s/  *The Girl Scouts participation with PP has been a debate, there are several articles that point strongly to their involvement.

   

An InLinkz Link-up