Give all your worries to him, because he cares about you. I Peter 5:7
I used to worry too much! Sometimes I would worry that I worry too much! It’ll make you sick if you let it go on. I have proved that in my own life over and over. Worrying had messed up my stomach, God healed it, I get in the nasty habit of worrying again, and then my stomach gets messed up again. We can’t put everything on God. Sure He will continue to heal, but it would be no different than placing your hand on the wood stove, asking God to heal it, then turning right around and placing your hand back on the stove. We would call that insane behavior! Worrying shows a lack of faith. It’s real simple either God can handle it or he can’t. I often think to myself, “sure He can handle it, I’m the one who can’t”, but the Holy Spirit is faithful to remind me that I never have to face anything in my own strength. I have to choose to use His strength. If I find myself saying or thinking “I just can’t handle it” that is a red flag that I have stopped looking to God! If we are worrying, that means we are trusting in ourselves, or others, our jobs, government, the economy, or even chance, instead of trusting in God. I have to choose to trust Him. Worry is not beneficial. Worry cannot change your circumstances. Worry robs you of sleep, peace and very precious time. God has been trying to get this deep in my heart, year after year; we chip away at this area in my life. I am so much better than I was, and sometimes am amazed at my lack of concern over some things that have happened. Sometimes things happen that just pull the rug out from under you. Then we get “spiritual Alzheimer’s” and forget to trust, forget our Word, forget the promises, and we worry! But if we continually rehearse God’s goodness, practice giving it all to him in prayer, it gets easier! Trust Him. Max Lucado wrote a book years ago on the subject; here is a short passage from his book “Traveling Light”.
“God has a great race for you to run. Under His care you will go where you’ve never been and serve in ways you’ve never dreamed. But you have to drop some stuff. How can you share grace if you are full of guilt? How can you offer comfort if you are disheartened? How can you lift someone else’s load if your arms are full with your own? For the sake of those you love, travel light. For the sake of the God you serve, travel light. For the sake of your own joy, travel light. There are certain weights in life you simply cannot carry. Your Lord is asking you to set them down and trust Him”
Tag Archives: God
First Chapter of “Mr. Topper’s Fabulous Funtown”
![vintage-merry-go-round[1]](https://authorjodiwoody.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/vintage-merry-go-round1.jpg)
Mr. Topper’s Fabulous Funtown
All that glisters is not gold;
Often have you heard that told:
Many a man his life hath sold
But my outside to behold:
Gilded tombs do worms enfold.
Had you been as wise as bold,
Young in limbs, in judgement old
Your answer had not been inscroll’d
Fare you well, your suit is cold.
~William Shakespear
Merchant of Venice
Chapter 1
All That Glitters is Not Gold
There was never a town like Funtown, and likely will never be again. It was every little boy and girl’s dream. Shiny, sparkly, noisy, flashy, extravagant and fabulous! Mr. Topper, the founder of Funtown was well spoken of in many a household. “What a marvelous man!”, some would say, “A genius!”, said others. After all he is the one who imagined Funtown, planned it, built it, paid for it, Mr. Topper was Funtown. Parents used the wonderful, beautiful town to bribe their children for weeks, months and sometime years. “You better be good, or you will not be invited to Funtown” threatened parents, or “If you are good, you may get an invitation from Mr. Popper.” So every child dreamed of Funtown, of that beautiful invitation, of lights and whirls of color, of the big merry-go-round with the music and horses, of the big top and the shows. They played ‘Funtown’ on recess, and if you listened closely, you would hear children discussing their desire to go.
“I want to live there,” said one especially young little one.
“Nobody lives in Funtown,” corrected an older little one.
“Who takes care of it?” asked another.
“Nobody takes care of it…its magic,” answered a voice filled with awe.
This was always met with “ooohs and aaaahs” by the others.
Mr. Topper knew about these outrageous stories and rumors. Of course he did, after all, he started them himself and went to great pains to make sure that they continued being told, were whispered into the ears of all little girls and boys. Sometimes he even began to believe it was magic. When things were going smoothly, when all was shiny and glittered in the night, lit by gas lamps and lights. He would walk through his town and forget about the work, the trouble, and the unpleasant tasks behind all of the sparkle. At those times, he saw himself as a friend, a benefactor to the people, a generous ‘Uncle’ to all who came to escape their dreary lives.
But there were some, a few, who knew who Mr. Topper really was, and what Funtown really was. For all that glitters is not gold…
Hope For Us
We as a whole are lacking in hope. We run through our lives busy as bees, but instead of working to bring life, we are working at self satisfaction. We see so many people who supposedly have it all, that are killing themselves with drugs, alcohol, and loose living. I have noticed over the past several years that there has been an increase in the media, books and movies about the paranormal and superheroes. My theory is that we lack heroes. I know there are plenty to be found, everyday, normal people to do extraordinary things for the good of others. But they are few and far between, at least from what we can see in the media. We have a need to know that there is someone out there who can fly in and save the world, who can free us from the evil that runs rampant.
I think for some of the same reasons we have seen an increase in the genre of paranormal. Sure some are just plain horror stories, that only frighten and horrify us, and I think those are part of the evil around us, but there are some that I think are a shadow of what we need and hope for as a society. When I read the ‘Twilight’ series, which I did enjoy, I thought about this at length. Edward, the vampire, considers himself a ‘monster’, his whole ‘family’ doesn’t behave like the other vampires, but live by a code of ethics that isn’t normal for their kind. They don’t harm humans and the father figure is a doctor. I think that if we look past the whole love triangle and the shallow parts that young girls adored, we see the need to know that even if we are ‘monsters’ we can be redeemed and loved. We had a huge amount of vampire stories stream into the media after the success of this one story, but they all lacked the background story of fighting against the evil in our own hearts and lives.
Why do I think we so need to hear that there is a superhero out there, or that we can overcome the evil inside of us? Because we have a hero, on the scale of super-super, that died for us so that the evil inside of us is made into something good and right. He swept in, not on a web, or with cape flying, but in a manger, as a man, in our weakness and our frailty, and fully depended on the un-ending love of His Father, to give him the strength to live supernaturally, and to free us from the chains of evil that bound us.
So, you know, I do love superhero movies, and stories like Twilight, to me they are a shadow of what is really happening. They show us that we can’t do it ourselves, that we need someone better than we are to help us and to show us the way. God can do that. He already did.