Saturday morning scriptures and stuff.... "What Women Fear"

Good morning friends.... I'm LOVIN' this beautiful fall weather we are having here in TN.  The air is cool, the leaves are starting to have a hint of color to them, football has started, and I'm in heaven.  I can't tell you how much this time of year makes me energized after the long hot summer has taken it's toll on me.  Thank you Lord for autumn!! 

Another thing that I'm excited about this fall is my new women's bible study group that has just started.  After a little discussion, we decided that our first "study" would be to read the new book by Angie Smith, "What Women Fear". 

I showed this to my ex-husband, Jeff the other day as he was dropping off Sam.  He laughed and said, "There's probably just a big picture of ME in there."  I have scanned through the book, and so far, no Jeff sightings in there.   You're safe Jeff.....  for now.  LOL

I would love to invite anyone else out there to pick up a copy of this book and join us while we read through it over the next 5 weeks.  I ordered our books right here and got them in 2 days.  Some of the chapters ahead are:

1.  The fear of  "What if..."
2.  The fear of  "Rejection, Abandonment, and Betrayal"
3.  The fear of  "Being Found Out"
4.  The fear of  "Failure"
5.  The fear of  "Death"
6.  The fear of  "My Past Catching Up to Me'
7.  The fear of  "Not being significant"
8.  The fear of  "God's plan for my life"
9.  The fear that "God isn't Real"
10.The fear of  "God"

I think we can all relate to most of those fears.  I know I can.  This morning I read through the "Introduction" of the book and she uses an analogy of us trying to balance ourselves in the light of the truth of God, as if we are holding on to a balancing pole, walking across a tightrope. 

Angie writes:
"I have heard it said that God is like the net in this example; that He will catch us if we fall, that He is our safe place, that we need not fear because we always have that waiting if things get bad enough.  I don't disagree, but I think that many of us have put our emphasis on the net rather than the pole in our hands.  We have access to Him here, in the moment, in every situation that arises.  The more we tap into a life balanced by Christ, grounded in knowing Him and His Word, the less we have to worry about falling off.  It's still scary up here, no question, but if we can get a firm grip on that which steadies us, it will look different.


Have you been living life with Jesus as the net?  I know for many seasons of life, I have.  He's there if I really need Him, but at the moment I just need to figure out how to get myself straightened and keep moving."


I can SOOOO relate to that.  Instead of making a concentrated effort to use Jesus as my steadying "pole", I run into things that make me fall off balance, and then rely on Jesus to be my net.  Yes, He's always there as the net, and I think He's glad to BE the net, however, He would MUCH rather be our pole, for our OWN benefits.  Our lives will be better.  More stable.  Not nearly as scary.  I want to learn how to stay balanced in Him, and not let my fears run my life, where I make bad, unstable judgements and fall off the rope... over, and over, and over. 

What about you guys?  Do you use Jesus as your net?   Or have you learned how to rely on Him to be your pole?   --- and if so, what helps you stay balanced in Him?