My Blog-iversary (I think I just made that word up...
but I like it better than saying "Blog Anniversary"...
welcome to my messed-up mind...)
was in August.
Yeah, I COMPLETELY missed that.
This Roller-Coaster Life has been absolutely NUTS
the last few months.
I knew I was going to get caught up
and miss SOMETHING, and well, I did.
At least it was something TERRIBLY important...
Could've been a lot worse.
Like if I had forgotten a photo shoot or something...
YIKES!!!!
So anyway, even though my Six Month Blog-iversary was August 26,
I'm going to "celebrate" it now with a "scary story" post.
I fully realize this seems like an oxymoron,
but honestly, having the courage to tell my scary stories
is what this blog is all about...
SSSSOOOO...
please enjoy
"In a Fog".
If you live in Central, Illinois
(like I do),
you woke up to a thick, soupy fog
outside your window this morning
(Driving to work in that at 6:30am was fun...).
When I stepped out my front door,
a random thought popped into my head,
"Everything looks strange and distorted in a fog".
Now, this may not seem like a terribly original thought.
I'm sure someone somewhere has had it in their heads before.
But it resonated inside me
and I haven't been able to get away from it.
I've had and still have some foggy moments in my life.
Moments when I'm not at my best.
Moments when I DEFINITELY am not on top of my game!
For me, these foggy moments come
when I am discouraged about something,
or when I am feeling particularly overwhelmed
at the mundane-ness of my life.
Or simply when the Roller-Coaster is surging ahead full speed
and I can't seem to find two seconds to catch my breath.
But most often though, I find myself in a fog
when some tragedy has struck
and shaken me to my very core.
When some horrible occurrence has taken place in my life,
unrelated doubts and fears begin to assail me like a hurricane.
It's not enough that I'm already dealing with a tragic situation,
now I've got old hurts from the past rearing their ugly heads
and MAJOR feelings of shame and insecurity whirling around me.
In these moments, I feel almost numb
but like I'm radiating hurt at the same time.
I feel lost inside my own head
and I can't define who I am anymore.
Everything I know about being a child of the King remains true,
but it's like I lose the ability to convince myself of it.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt
that I am not alone in this.
Bad things happen to good people all the time.
Pain and tragedy are a part of life.
It rains on the just and on the unjust.
It's just the way it is.
And I'm sure you've struggled with the same question
I struggle with in times of storm and fog:
"Is there a purpose for all of this and am I going to live to figure it out?"
May I offer you a bit of hope?
Now currently standing in the clarity of sunny day,
I have an answer to that question.
I now see and recognize these foggy moments for what they truly are:
A very powerful weapon of Satan.
Satan is constantly on the look out
to inject doubts and fears into our lives.
He loves to take a bad situation and make it worse!
He is the ultimate "Agent of Chaos"
( and yes, I realize I just compared Satan to the Joker...
but it is the truth...)
He loves to fog up our minds with old hurts and frustrations
that should've been long forgiven and forgotten.
Satan seeks to distort and cast a different light
onto facts that we as Christians already know
(such as: I am His for I have been bought with a price - 1 Corinthians 6:20).
If he can create just a drop of doubt in our minds,
his job is done.
When I'm faced with tragedy and despair,
and old wounds from my past start creeping up,
I know I have a decision to make.
I can "take the bait" of Satan's distraction
and willingly walk my mind and emotions into a fog.
Or I can stand firm upon what I know
and do what I know to do.
And what I know to do is this:
In the Name of Jesus, send that spirit of distraction
back to the Pit where it came from!
Then douse myself in prayer and His Word
until my mind and emotions are completely guarded
against the attack of the adversary.
I don't mean to make this sound like an easy fix.
While it is a simple solution to the problem,
it's NOT an easy fix.
It could take some time and energy.
But if the result is a clear mind versus a foggy one,
then I would say the hard work is worth it.
This isn't a commercial,
and I'm DEFINITELY not being compensated for promoting this,
but if you would like some more encouragement
on dealing with spiritual and emotion fog and storms,
you should check out Max Lucado's book,
In the Eye of the Storm.
I personally have read this book through several times
and never cease to be uplifted by it.
Specifically, the chapter called
"Seeing God Through Shattered Glass"
helps clarify my foggy mind in times of distress.
Thank you so much for reading today's post.
It's never an easy thing for me to share a scary story,
but knowing that the readers are my family and friends
who love and support me no matter what
gives me the courage to keep writing.
Please visit again soon!
Got some great posts planned for the new few weeks!
This Roller-Coaster Life has been absolutely NUTS
the last few months.
I knew I was going to get caught up
and miss SOMETHING, and well, I did.
At least it was something TERRIBLY important...
Could've been a lot worse.
Like if I had forgotten a photo shoot or something...
YIKES!!!!
So anyway, even though my Six Month Blog-iversary was August 26,
I'm going to "celebrate" it now with a "scary story" post.
I fully realize this seems like an oxymoron,
but honestly, having the courage to tell my scary stories
is what this blog is all about...
SSSSOOOO...
please enjoy
"In a Fog".
If you live in Central, Illinois
(like I do),
you woke up to a thick, soupy fog
outside your window this morning
(Driving to work in that at 6:30am was fun...).
When I stepped out my front door,
a random thought popped into my head,
"Everything looks strange and distorted in a fog".
Now, this may not seem like a terribly original thought.
I'm sure someone somewhere has had it in their heads before.
But it resonated inside me
and I haven't been able to get away from it.
I've had and still have some foggy moments in my life.
Moments when I'm not at my best.
Moments when I DEFINITELY am not on top of my game!
For me, these foggy moments come
when I am discouraged about something,
or when I am feeling particularly overwhelmed
at the mundane-ness of my life.
Or simply when the Roller-Coaster is surging ahead full speed
and I can't seem to find two seconds to catch my breath.
But most often though, I find myself in a fog
when some tragedy has struck
and shaken me to my very core.
When some horrible occurrence has taken place in my life,
unrelated doubts and fears begin to assail me like a hurricane.
It's not enough that I'm already dealing with a tragic situation,
now I've got old hurts from the past rearing their ugly heads
and MAJOR feelings of shame and insecurity whirling around me.
In these moments, I feel almost numb
but like I'm radiating hurt at the same time.
I feel lost inside my own head
and I can't define who I am anymore.
Everything I know about being a child of the King remains true,
but it's like I lose the ability to convince myself of it.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt
that I am not alone in this.
Bad things happen to good people all the time.
Pain and tragedy are a part of life.
It rains on the just and on the unjust.
It's just the way it is.
And I'm sure you've struggled with the same question
I struggle with in times of storm and fog:
"Is there a purpose for all of this and am I going to live to figure it out?"
May I offer you a bit of hope?
Now currently standing in the clarity of sunny day,
I have an answer to that question.
I now see and recognize these foggy moments for what they truly are:
A very powerful weapon of Satan.
Satan is constantly on the look out
to inject doubts and fears into our lives.
He loves to take a bad situation and make it worse!
He is the ultimate "Agent of Chaos"
( and yes, I realize I just compared Satan to the Joker...
but it is the truth...)
He loves to fog up our minds with old hurts and frustrations
that should've been long forgiven and forgotten.
Satan seeks to distort and cast a different light
onto facts that we as Christians already know
(such as: I am His for I have been bought with a price - 1 Corinthians 6:20).
If he can create just a drop of doubt in our minds,
his job is done.
When I'm faced with tragedy and despair,
and old wounds from my past start creeping up,
I know I have a decision to make.
I can "take the bait" of Satan's distraction
and willingly walk my mind and emotions into a fog.
Or I can stand firm upon what I know
and do what I know to do.
And what I know to do is this:
In the Name of Jesus, send that spirit of distraction
back to the Pit where it came from!
Then douse myself in prayer and His Word
until my mind and emotions are completely guarded
against the attack of the adversary.
I don't mean to make this sound like an easy fix.
While it is a simple solution to the problem,
it's NOT an easy fix.
It could take some time and energy.
But if the result is a clear mind versus a foggy one,
then I would say the hard work is worth it.
This isn't a commercial,
and I'm DEFINITELY not being compensated for promoting this,
but if you would like some more encouragement
on dealing with spiritual and emotion fog and storms,
you should check out Max Lucado's book,
In the Eye of the Storm.
I personally have read this book through several times
and never cease to be uplifted by it.
Specifically, the chapter called
"Seeing God Through Shattered Glass"
helps clarify my foggy mind in times of distress.
Thank you so much for reading today's post.
It's never an easy thing for me to share a scary story,
but knowing that the readers are my family and friends
who love and support me no matter what
gives me the courage to keep writing.
Please visit again soon!
Got some great posts planned for the new few weeks!
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