Welcome....

Earlier today I was having a conversation with a friend in chat. We'd been talking about our novels and finally the conversation meandered around to our personal lives as it was wont to do. Specifically it focussed on a task I needed to perform. A favor I needed to ask that I wasn't the most comfortable about. At my hesitation he asked me, "Have you done it yet?" (and please forgive me for paraphrasing because the significance of this didn't hit me until after I'd left the chat.)

Me: No. I was trying to identify this odd feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Him: Fear.
Me: Thanks. Now that I've named the knot in my belly I'll be sure to buy it a bowl and a collar and build a little house out for it in the yard.
Him: Only if you feed it.
Me: THAT shouldn't be a problem.

Then what was said truly struck me, long after the conversation was over. (And yes, the favor was asked - which wasn't as horrifying as I thought it would be).

Fear will only live with us so long as we do just that. Make a home for it. Build it a house within us and yes, feed it regularly.

The Bible teaches us that fear of the Lord is a good thing. But the other kind of fear traps us, keeps us from moving forward. It makes tasks seem a lot larger and more daunting than they ought to be, like the favor I needed to ask.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
~ Psalm 34:4

As I travel with you in the days and weeks to come I pray that I'll be able to lay aside what fear I have of placing my words out here in this public forum. It's a daunting task I have before me as I know from experience that while my words might touch a chord now and again, that occasionally someone might misunderstand what I'm trying to say.

Thankfully I'm not alone in doing it.

Welcome to my Blog. I'm glad you came.