Last week we started our discussion of the topic “Dealing with the Unexpected Challenges of Life.”  If you did not read that introductory entry, please do that first before moving forward with today’s discussion. That background information will help you understand the premise of this series.

We left off last week with the statement that our God has a history of comforting His people. This truth is invaluable for us to stand upon, especially as we are faced with “unexpected” challenges.

Isaiah 43: 1-2 (ESV) But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel:  Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Those verses are some of my favorites! How assuring it is to know that my God promises to protect, comfort, strengthen, and ...

Some things occur in our lives that really aren’t that surprising. In truth, they are more like unwanted, possibly irritating “interruptions.”  We see the warning signs and eventually, the “challenge” is before us. For example, you see that other people are getting laid off at your place of employment. The company is cutting its losses and one morning you arrive at work to find your pink slip as well. Because of the “warning signs,” your layoff was not completely unexpected.

Another example might be that we all realize material things wear out over time. Once I owned a Buick Rendezvous SUV and around 240,000 miles she started to “slip” during acceleration. After listening to a few months of “noises,”  I knew my warning signs were telling me to trade before I had to deal with an “unexpected” transmission blow in rush hour traffic.

So these are a couple examples of life experiences that really aren’t that unexpected. Warning signs let us know that something is coming our way and we hav...

Today we will conclude our discussion on this topic of “No Anger Stew for Me!”  I pray this has been an enlightening conversation about the topic of anger for all of us.

Mothers of Nations, the truth about anger is this. It is a God-given emotion. In reality, the emotion of anger has both negative AND positive sides! Over the past two weeks we have looked at many facets of the negative side of anger.

Let’s conclude today’s entry and talk about some positive sides or values of this emotion. Have you considered any of these positive characteristics of anger?

• Anger can lead us to make changes. It can motivate us to intervene in the status quo or to set a boundary.
• Anger can lead us to recognize and understand our expectations and our unmet needs.
• Anger can give us the needed energy to deal with a problem or push us to deeper diligence in prayer.
• Anger can lead us to problem solving, searching for answers.
• Anger can be used to reveal to us our care about someone.

Yes, strange a...

Today we will continue with our discussion of the theme “No Anger Stew for Me!”  If you did not read last week’s introduction to this current topic, I suggest you do that first before moving on with today’s entry.

As we stated last week, the emotion of anger is almost always triggered by a situation or a cue that sets off negative thoughts in our mind. Let’s continue our theme and look at more of those triggers that could start creating an anger stew in our lives.

Imitation: At times we may be tempted to pick up someone else’s offense, thus imitating their emotions in our own hearts and minds. Picking up offenses is most certainly an ingredient that can be part of one’s anger stew. We are reminded of this in Proverbs 22: 24. “Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go.”

We must be aware that even our friends can try to pull us into their own offenses, and this is dangerous. Angry people can present as being calm when talking to you, but inside they can be...

We have all probably eaten stew at one time or another. We put meat and a variety of vegetables into a pot and let it simmer (or stew) for an extended time until it’s done. This dish is what cooks call a “stew.”

In the English language, the word “stew” is also used to describe anger. In this use, the dictionary defines “stew” as a state of being agitated or disturbed. For example:

He is “stewing” in his own juices.

She is “stewing” over an issue in her life.

In English we interestingly also use other cooking terms to describe our negative emotions.

• I’m steamed.
• He’s boiling mad.
• She’s brewing.
• Her mind is fried.
• I’m feeling like a pressure cooker.

Well the truth of the matter is that the devil’s goal is to push us into submitting to these negative emotions, to position us into an anger stew!

Mothers of Nations, I have decided that there will be No Anger Stew for me!

As we know that there are multiple ingredients in a recipe for creating a stew, what ingredients can we t...

Last week we started a discussion on the topic of Facing Conflict. If you did not read through last week’s entry, I would encourage you to do that first before you move on with today’s discussion.

Have you noticed that people react to conflict in diverse ways? Let’s look at six different responses to conflicts as they arise.

1.  Some people just give in to the conflict. This is actually compromise as they make peace with their enemy. Of course, this is not a good method to respond to conflict. Remember, the devil is never fair.
2.  Some people run from conflict. For example we see from the life of the prophet Elijah that he literally ran from Jezebel. He was tired and weary and felt he had no strength to face that Jezebel that was in his face. How about Jonah? He also ran from the Lord rather than facing the conflict in front of him.
3.  Some people look to other sources of help rather than looking to God. They may consult with witches, tarot cards, fortune tellers, or false gods. Obvious...

Mothers of Nations, we all know that conflicts are simply a normal part of our life’s journey. Let’s take some time to discuss this topic and see what God’s Word teaches us about conflicts and how we should manage them as followers of Christ.

First of all, what does the word “conflict” mean?

• To contend in warfare
• To show antagonism
• To disagree
• To experience emotional tension due to incapacity, war, collision, discord, disagreement, disharmony

Conflicts have taken place all throughout human history. We have experienced ourselves conflicts in our families and our businesses. We know there are conflicts between nations and rulers of nations. And of course we have experienced conflicts in our relationships with others.

The Bible is full of stories about conflict. All of us can quickly identify examples of some of the conflicts mentioned above both from God’s Word and from the world we live in.

• Adam and Eve – husband and wife
• Cain and Abel – brothers (sons of Adam and Eve)
• G
...

Today we will conclude our four-part discussion of the topic FEAR NOT! I encourage you to read the previous three blog entries if you have not done so yet. This topic is certainly applicable to all of us as we press on to our destinies in Christ Jesus!

Let’s begin today looking at two more examples from God’s Word of types of fear that can come against us.

Fear of war:  

In Psalm 27: 3-4 we read, “Though an army encamps against me, my heart shall not fear, though war rises against me, in this will I be confident. One thing I desired of the Lord and that will I seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”  These words of assurance are certainly important in the days in which we live today where we see wars and rumors of wars all over the world.

Fear of wealth:

I have actually known people who have become fearful when someone they know gains wealth. Yet, Luke 12:13-15 tells us one’s life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses. Worl...

As we continue our discussion of FEAR NOT! let me first share one of my own firsthand experiences with fear and how it affected my life. For years I was uncomfortable putting my hand over the edge of my bed. This fear developed from an experience where my roommate in college hid under the bed one night, and when I dropped my hand, she grabbed it. I jumped out of the bed extremely scared and confused. She laughed, but I lived with the memory of that fearful experience for many years later.

Children can be bitten by a dog and become fearful of animals. Some teachers are so harsh that children can live with a fear of displeasing their leaders or a fear of making a mistake for years to come. So many opportunities come our way as we walk through life where fear attempts to grip our heart.

Psychologists label some fears as phobias. There is an endless list of phobias, all traced back to the fear of death. Some of these include:

Acrophobia – fear of high places

Agoraphobia –fear of market...

Today we continue our discussion of the topic FEAR NOT! If you did not read last week’s entry where we introduced our theme, I would encourage you to do that first before moving on to today’s blog discussion.

Luke 21:25-26 reveals that a great season of fear will come to the earth. ²⁵ “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; ²⁶ men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” 

Fear will increase as sorrows and tribulations increase. False Christ’s and false prophets will arise giving people false hope.

We all realize that television, movies, radio, the internet, social media, and technology have increased the communication and transference of fear to our society. Trying to compete for ratings, these formats look for sensational news stories of human dilemma such as kidnapp...