Today, Evyn and I made some pretzels for snack week at her school and for a woman's Bible study group I'm hosting tonight.
This week's topic is anxiety. A topic that I am all-too familiar with. One verse that struck me the most was Philippians 4:6-7; where we are given a practical command for power over anxiety: Be anxious about nothing, be in prayer about everything, and thankful in all things (reference Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, p. 40).
I thought about that all day - in particular, the thankful part. I have found, that no matter what circumstance I find myself in despair about, that amidst all of it I still have a huge number of blessings that are somehow eclipsed by my anxiety: awesome kids, supportive friends, two parents who love me, my HEALTH, an income, a very dear and patient husband, and a God who hasn't failed me yet.
*********
As Evyn and I carefully dipped the pretzels in white chocolate, I couldn't help smiling at the dozens of heart shapes scattered about the wax paper...a perfectly charming picture that mirrored my own thoughts today as I counted the million little things to love about my life.
Hi Crystal. Just saying hi from New Zealand. Love your blog. Love the scripture usage, love the patterns,love your photos! Just love it all.
Off to make some oven mitts and luggage tags. Heaps of blessings to you all!
Posted by: JOh | 10/05/2009 at 05:27 PM
Great post! I love that passage of Scripture. It has helped me countless times. I'm so glad that Evyn had an integral part with you in that moment of reflection, and I hope your Bible study went well.
Posted by: Dayna | 10/01/2009 at 12:11 PM
beautiful picture and beautiful post. the reminder of all the things to be thankful for makes me weepy, especially "a God who hasn't failed me yet." He is so good. thanks for sharing. :)
Posted by: Erin | 09/30/2009 at 07:17 AM
Beautiful and inspiring picture of your pretty pretzels...I think overcoming anxiety is a life-long battle for the mind. I recently got a copy of the book you referenced and have had a tough time getting into it, but I think I'll pick it up again tonight to give it another go. Thanks for this post.
Posted by: Julie | 09/29/2009 at 06:51 PM
What a beautiful thought! It coincided with a blog post I wrote today, though your is much more eloquent.
I stumbled across your blog and have been blessed by it. Thank you for your thoughts and your practical approach to life. It's inspiring!
Posted by: Liz | 09/29/2009 at 05:03 PM