http://www.anxietytribe.comAnxietyTribe.com http://www.anxietytribe.com/rss.php?header=blogs&id=18947 http://www.anxietytribe.com/rss.php?header=blogs&id=18947 I have been working on a Blog to share with you for a while. I have prayed and written things down that have come to mind. My friends we live in a shipwrecked world. One does not have to look very far to see things are just not going right and have not for a long long time. - We hear so much gloomy news these days - But I am not writing this to proclaim bad news - We hear that enough, and really - there is good in the world to be found. I am writing this to sort out things in my own mind, but also in the hope that if it helps even one person, then it was worth while. If the world was perfect, we would all be sailing on a beautiful boat on calm seas and the sun would be shining. - But it is not that way. - Our ship has capsized and we are all floating in a rough, dark ocean. Not just us here in the tribe, but really the whole world. This Ocean we are floating in is sin and we are ALL up to our necks in it. - We are reaching and grabbing for anything we can find to hold onto in this life so that we do not go under. In my life - I reached for everything I could find to stay afloat. And then I found the Rock, The Rock of Jesus Christ . It is an immovable rock that does not sway or shift with the tide. It will never sink below the waves. I am still in this ocean of sin with everyone else, but I have a solid rock to hold onto and the good news is that there is room for everyone to grab on. ANYONE who comes to this Rock will not be pushed away. Anyone can hold on with me and we can weather this stormy sea together. This news is more wonderful that I can ever tell you with words. - If you will reach out to God - He will pull you to this Rock and we will make it through this storm. - The waves will still hit our backs, we will fail sometimes, we will not have all the answers to all the questions. we will feel pain and sorrow, but through it all - Jesus will be there - the Rock that never moves or falters. And this rock forgives us of all of our sins - Although we are broken and in sin - we will be forgiven. In the end, this Rock will deliver us. We will be lifted out of this ocean of sin to be with our Heavenly Father. - I pray this blog helps someone - it has helped me to write it. Fri, 7 Jan 2011 14:01:09 -0600 http://www.anxietytribe.com/rss.php?header=blogs&id=18894 http://www.anxietytribe.com/rss.php?header=blogs&id=18894 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness" (1 John 1:8–9 NLT). What is the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives today?" Answer: Of all the gifts given to mankind by God, there is none greater than the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has many functions, roles, and activities. First, He does a work in the hearts of all people everywhere. Jesus told the disciples that He would send the Spirit into the world to “convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:7-11). Everyone has a “God consciousness,” whether or not they admit it. The Spirit applies the truths of God to minds of men to convince them by fair and sufficient arguments that they are sinners. Responding to that conviction brings men to salvation. Once we are saved and belong to God, the Spirit takes up residence in our hearts forever, sealing us with the confirming, certifying, and assuring pledge of our eternal state as His children. Jesus said He would send the Spirit to us to be our Helper, Comforter, and Guide. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever” (John 14:16). The Greek word translated here “Counselor” means “one who is called alongside” and has the idea of someone who encourages and exhorts. The Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in the hearts of believers (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 12:13). Jesus gave the Spirit as a “compensation” for His absence, to perform the functions toward us which He would have done if He had remained personally with us. Among those functions is that of revealer of truth. The Spirit’s presence within us enables us to understand and interpret God’s Word. Jesus told His disciples that “when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). He reveals to our minds the whole counsel of God as it relates to worship, doctrine, and Christian living. He is the ultimate guide, going before, leading the way, removing obstructions, opening the understanding, and making all things plain and clear. He leads in the way we should go in all spiritual things. Without such a guide, we would be apt to fall into error. A crucial part of the truth He reveals is that Jesus is who He said He is (John 15:26; 1 Corinthians 12:3). The Spirit convinces us of Christ’s deity and incarnation, His being the Messiah, His suffering and death, His resurrection and ascension, His exaltation at the right hand of God, and His role as the judge of all. He gives glory to Christ in all things (John 16:14). Another one of the Holy Spirit’s roles is that of gift-giver. First Corinthians 12 describes the spiritual gifts given to believers in order that we may function as the body of Christ on earth. All these gifts, both great and small, are given by the Spirit so that we may be His ambassadors to the world, showing forth His grace and glorifying Him. The Spirit also functions as fruit-producer in our lives. When He indwells us, He begins the work of harvesting His fruit in our lives—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). These are not works of our flesh, which is incapable of producing such fruit, but they are products of the Spirit’s presence in our lives. The knowledge that the Holy Spirit of God has taken up residence in our lives, that He performs all these miraculous functions, that He dwells with us forever, and that He will never leave or forsake us is cause for great joy and comfort. Thank God for this precious gift—the Holy Spirit and His work in our lives! Wed, 5 Jan 2011 08:01:55 -0600 http://www.anxietytribe.com/rss.php?header=blogs&id=18398 http://www.anxietytribe.com/rss.php?header=blogs&id=18398 ASKING GOD - THANKING GOD. This is my Testimony of how i was saved by Jesus Christ. - I have thought and prayed and thought and prayed some more about how to best write what God has done for me. I was so lost and desperate and now looking back, I can see clearly how the Evil in this world blinded me to the Light of Gods forgiveness and Love. - In Second Corinthians, it says - "Let the Light Shine out of Darkness"   I found that I did not want to step into that light - I wanted to try everything else to fulfill my internal needs  - Everything except God. I thank God every now and then for my Anxiety and Depression. - That may sound strange - But for me - It brought me to my knees and humbled me. - I still have both - God did not cure me of this when I accepted Christ as my savior. - But He gave me a joy that I cannot describe. - It did not come right away - It came slowly but I have it now as surely as I sit here and write this. It is not dependent on worldly things that come and go - that loose their luster after a while. Jesus did not give this joy to me as the world gives. - It was not a new car or new house or raise or anything like that. It was not even relief from anxiety - It was something more pure and wonderful. - It was an inner peace and Joy of knowing Christ and that I am forgiven of my sins and that I will be with Him in heaven - in paradise some day. It was something that anyone can have because it is from God - All you have to do is receive it by accepting Christ as your savior - he does the work.    I remember thinking - Well I did not do anything wrong - Why should I confess anything. I am not as bad as that guy down the street. - But to God - We are all sinful and guilty.  Not one in all the world is justified before a Holy God. But Jesus died for us - For our sins - For the sins of the world. And when you accept His GIFT of salvation, believe in Him, repent of your sins and turn to HIm, He will forgive us and give us our gift of salvation - that can never be taken away from us. This is what happened to me - This is how I came to believe, know and Love Jesus Christ and some things I have learned since reading the Bible. I hope this helps someone. I still have battles, anxiety, defeats, failures, heart ache, etc. - But I wanted to tell my story in hopes that even if one person is helped, than it was worth it. Wed, 24 Nov 2010 09:11:53 -0600 http://www.anxietytribe.com/rss.php?header=blogs&id=15584 http://www.anxietytribe.com/rss.php?header=blogs&id=15584 I have had a couple of weeks already with a constant awareness that my panic attack/depression is not far off. Like a pit in my stomach just waiting to set it into motion. I gets hard to concentrate at work.     I have been putting together in my mind some of the defense strategies that I come to learn over the years. - I have been at this for 27 years. Despite getting beat down to the ground by this more times than I can count, I remain relatively optimistic and I want to tell you why.    I have depression and anxiety so I am talking about both. What has helped me out tremendously is "How" I think about my condition.  I separated it from myself. - This Problem I have is NOT me. I have turned them out - They are no longer me - But something that is attacking me, hunting me, stalking me. - When I think of who I am - I think of some of my happiest times in my life. I keep them in my mind and this is the person who I am. - And that Happy person is being attacked by something external. You see - If you do this - Then you will stop blaming yourself - You will stop beating yourself up, You will stop attacking yourself.  All these things are fuel for the monster that stalks us.  STOP FEEDING IT!!! I know this is hard to do - It is going to be very hard at first, and you are going to tell yourself that it is silly, There is going to be a strong urge to return to self remorse.   As I guess most of you can tell from my screen name, I have a very strong belief and Faith in Jesus.  But I started doing this before I found God. But what is amazing is that God showed me what this monster really is.  You may not believe in Evil and the Devil - But I sure do.      Realize that there is a good person and a good heart in there trying to win this fight. Give yourself ever bit of GOOD ammunition to fight it. Tell yourself in your mind that you are going to win - You are not going to let the Depr./Anxiety beat you. Think of the good things in your life, The blessing, the fact that we have a Loving God who forgives our sins if we will let Him. Think of these things and keep them in your mind. Hold onto them when it get hard.   I did not give up, I did not let this monster claim me. There is a beautiful light at the end of this tunnel. FIGHT!!!  Pray to God. Feed yourself that which is good - Dispel anything that is hurtful to you. I hope this helps someone, if just one it would be worth it. Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:04:19 -0500 http://www.anxietytribe.com/rss.php?header=blogs&id=15194 http://www.anxietytribe.com/rss.php?header=blogs&id=15194 I have wanted to write to you for some time. But I thought it better to pray first. I prayed at home, at work, and in front of the Altar for wisdom from God. -Wisdom of what to say. - What to say to my beautiful friends here in our Tribe. God's word is so precious. so deserving of my best reverence and respect. So what I say to you I say with the most humble and loving heart I can have. n     Fear, anxiety, depression, low self esteem used to define who I was. - Like a dog on a leash, I was lead around by it. IT decided what I would do, Where I would go, When I would speak,  How I would feel about myself, what I deserved. - It punished me daily with guilt. "I was a rotten person and I deserve this." "I must have done something wrong" "Nobody could ever like someone like me" - "No one wants to be around me' "I don't want to bring everyone else down?  etc n  It was a cage and I was thrown in it and the keys thrown away. - At least that is how I saw it. n My friends, God lifted me out of that pit. He broke open that cage. He lifted me out of the soup of self punishment. He got into my very heart and soul and showed me that I was worth something. I am telling you the absolute truth. He showed me what it was that was waring against me. He identified the enemy and gave me the weapons to fight back. n  God is real. I am as sure of it as the nose on my face. God met me on my own turf. He came to where I was. n There is always hope, no matter who you are. There is a dark presence in this world that does not want you to see Gods presence. It wants to keep you in chains blaming yourself, being afraid, keeping you in fear and torment. It wants you to blame yourself. It wants to keep the light of God from shining through the darkness. - I was in that darkness and now I am in His light and I can see clearly. - I still have attacks - God did not take them away. But in it all I have a tremendous peace and real Joy. He gave it to me. I did nothing to make it happen. And He holds me when my fear overtakes my faith.He catches me when I am sinking. n I wanted to tell you about my hope. Maybe it will help you in some way. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:03:36 -0600 http://www.anxietytribe.com/rss.php?header=blogs&id=14979 http://www.anxietytribe.com/rss.php?header=blogs&id=14979   There is nothing really special about me - Im a face in the crowd. But what is amazing is that I was suffering in a dark pit of doom and I was rescued. - I was not religious and I still am not. Many religions are made by man. (Read about the Pharisees) -What I do have is a Loving, Powerful, Direct relationship with God. He did not take my panic away. But He used it as a pathway to bring a stubborn me to Him. Although I have not paniced in a while - It is still there. - I think as a reminder of where I was without Him. - I am here to tell you that there is a wonderful and beautiful light, peace and joy with Jesus Christ. Your fear and anxiety opens your ears and eyes to Him. With your suffering, you are closer to God than so many who are living the Big Life. Has your fear not humbled you - I was on my knees trembling in agony. I have learned that when you are suffering - This is where you are the MOST prepared to meet Jesus. Please talk to me - I want to Share my hope with you - No matter who you are or what you have done or what you do or do not believe. - God loves you and wants to wrap His loving arms around you. I am not here to judge anyone. I am on my knees thanking God over and over - Who can I judge when I am on my knees in gratitude Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:02:08 -0600