Tag: Anxiety

It can happen to any of us at any time. We reach our limits. Of patience. Or money. Or hope.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” we may say to a friend. Or to ourselves. Or to God.

Our life may be good, at least from the outside, but disquiet nibbles away at our hearts.

That’s a lonely place to be.

Sometimes we also feel distant from God. We can’t seem to pray or feel connected to the Lord we love, whom we know loves us.

Then we have two choices: We can wrap ourselves up in our frustration and fretting–OR change the way we look at our life.

I hear you saying, “Talk is cheap. You don’t know how hard it is for me!”

No, I don’t. But I know how hard it is for me to climb out anytime I let myself get mired in that pit. Then I have to relearn an old lesson that I learned the hard way.

Call a halt!

By now I easily spot the red flag thinking that leads me into risky territory. It comes sounding harmless enough, just random phrases that stoke my fears or my pride, words like these:

What if ____ ?

Why doesn’t he–or she– ____ ?

Why must I always ____ ?

How long must I put up with this?

Where is God in all this?

Thoughts or words like this pull us down as surely as gravity makes the apple drop.

It took me awhile, but I finally learned to catch myself and say, “Stop!”

I don’t have a never-fail “system,” but usually I ask myself questions that run something like this:

Q: What if? A: Why tie myself up in knots about something that may or may not happen? IF or when the situation changes, I will deal with it then.

Q: Why don’t they care? A: Maybe they do. Each individual may be speaking and acting in ways that feel right to them.

Q: Why must I always ___? A: Stop with the “poor me” stuff! Is it really always? Think of times this other person gave in or came through, even when it cost them. Did I discount that simply because they didn’t react as I would?

Q: How long must I put up with this? A: Think. Am I really the only one “putting up with this”? Or does it work both ways? What’s a mutually fair way to handle this?

Q: Where is God in all this? Even those times I feel far from him, I can know that in Jesus Christ I am never alone and abandoned.

Over time I’ve learned that even though I’m the only one who hears it, when I restate the situation in a more balanced way it calms me and helps me think straight.

Fill your mental reservoir with the Good Stuff

I freely admit it took years of reading and praying–and trying and failing–before this finally became my way of thinking. I know now to make my mind switch over to what lifts my heart and eases the tension in my shoulders.

Many people advise using positive affirmations, but that doesn’t do it for me. I’ve tried repeating phrases like, “I am at peace with the world,” or “I am calm in every circumstance.”

Before long my inner nag taunts me with, “Oh yeah?”

I found it true for me that real peace comes when we connect with the Source:

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27

Other Bible verses to lift us up

When we feel swamped, it helps to repeat truths like these.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear …    –Psalm 46:1a

I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?   –Jeremiah 32:27

Cast all your anxiety upon him, because he cares for you. –-1 Peter 5:7

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. —Philippians 4:13

Put the Good Stuff in and gradually you’ll feel the heaviness in your spirit melting away. Even if everything about your life situation stays the same, you will be changed

And I know this for sure: That makes all the difference.

(I’m just passing on what I keep relearning)

Lenore

How to find peace when life feels overwhelming

April 25, 2026
Reasons to be anxious flood the news 24/7.

We listen. We sigh. We pray. We’re deluged with rumors and statistics and more. What person who’s breathing and has a brain wouldn’t be at least a bit anxious?

All this goes on while “The Experts” warn that anxiety and stress are bad for our health and could shorten our lives, so we need to remain calm.

Here’s some good news for a change

There is a way to drive out fear and find strength for each new day. Best of all, this remedy has been tested and tried countless times, with no ill effects. This “Happiness Medicine” is yours for the taking.

Directions for use: Take in at least once a day and think what each “ingredient” means to you. Repeat as needed.

Remind yourself who’s really in charge

Recount the ways God has blessed you in the past

Recall his promises to be with you

Remember who you are–and Whose you are

Relax and enjoy the life he has given you

This “medicine” is available all over the world, at no charge and has no age limits.

Parents will reap a side bonus because professionals agree: When parents are calm, their children are less likely to be uptight and fearful.

How could something so simple make any difference?

Think how light overcomes darkness. When life threatens to overwhelm us we turn inward. Our minds fill with our mistakes and fears and at least for awhile, we lose sight of what’s good in our lives.

Anyone with a smidgen of faith in God knows that negative mindset doesn’t come from our Friend and Redeemer Jesus Christ. Rather, it’s the work of that troublesome old foe: the devil.

Satan will never quit trying, but take heart. Jesus Christ sets us free from bondage. .

So Jesus said … “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the the truth will set you free. … So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” –John 8:31-32, 36 ESV

Any time you feel that old pull downward, be armed and ready for battle

Uplifting books you read and podcasts can be helpful, but better yet, have a stash of strength Bible verses stored in your memory. Or keep a list somewhere that’s easy to pull up, because repeating these treasures over and over to yourself will put lift your heat and put starch in your spine.

We need to put the Good Stuff in if we want to get the good stuff out. To get you started, here are three of my favorites.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” —Isaiah 41:10 ESV

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. –Psalm 23:4 ESV

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

No matter what may come up in the future, those of us who believe in Jesus as our Savior need not quake in fear. In every situation we are not left to cope just on our own.

I find it helps a lot to start my morning by thanking God for the day and reminding myself who I am in Christ. I have Help. So do you if you love Jesus as your Savior.

Help today. Help tomorrow. And for all your life.

Trusting, too,

Lenore
Find inner peace by watching your diet

March 19, 2026
Some of us know anxiety like the back of our hands, the low-level uneasiness that never settles down.

Take a nap, take a walk, take a pill, it's still there. Sometimes we blame it on current events or relationships or family situations. Other times we can't figure out a cause for the nagging sense that something "isn't right."

Could the root cause of our unrest be a matter of the soul?

Easter, when Jesus set things right between God and us

But first came Christmas and what the angels announced to the shepherds:

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

Jesus, true God and true man, was born as a human infant.

When Jesus was about thirty years old he began to teach and preach about God the Father and about the reason he was born.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Jesus gave his life for you and me, to pay the price for all the ways we fail to live the way God would have us live. That is, to live a perfect life in thought, word, or deed.

It cost Jesus everything. All it costs us is to let go of our easy skepticism and truly investigate God's written word.

Primary source material abounds. Just read the eyewitness accounts found in the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

The record doesn't stop there

Several respected historians of the time described the same events. One was Josephus, a well-researched and respected Jewish historian, who lived from 37-100 AD. He wrote "Jewish Antiquities" in 93 AD. Here are some excerpts from that book.

(Jesus) "a wise man … who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly … Pilate had condemned him to a cross … He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life, for the prophets of God had foretold these things and a thousand other marvels about him … And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared." –Book 18, Ch. 3, part 3.

Josephus, like all historians, recorded facts, names and places. These historical accounts prove it's no myth that a man called Jesus lived and died on the cross, then three days later, he rose again to life.

What then? After that the risen Jesus, fully alive, showed himself to believers (Acts 1:3). He wanted them to know for sure that he was not a spirit or a ghost, but truly a human being. They touched him and Jesus talked with them. He ate ordinary meals with them.

After forty days he ascended to Heaven to sit at the Father's right hand.

The cross was God's way out for you and me

Our loving God knew we human beings cannot live an absolutely holy life because we all fail, all the time, even with our best efforts. We can't even live up to our own good resolutions.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9

That's why Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth to willingly die in our place.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus died so we can live free from guilt and fear of punishment and hell.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24

He did it all for you and me, so we could have eternal life, life that never ends.

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

What now?

Once again we find the answers in the Bible.

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Romans 6:23

When we confess our sin to God, we hand over all our failures and mistakes and uncertainties. All of it. And we are to leave it there.

Because Jesus died in our place, our loving Father answers, "What sins? My only Son paid your debt in full. My dear child, I love you."

It's as if God looks at us through one of those lenses equipped with a filter and sees only his perfect Son.

We can swap anxiety for peace. For good

Jesus living within us means we are never left alone to fear what comes next. Not even death, because we know that's not the end of our story, either.

This is only the beginning of the good stuff.

So let the anxiety go. Take a deep breath and relax. Let yourself believe in Jesus as your Savior, knowing he will not deny you. Feel the peace of being loved and accepted by God, without any ifs, ands or buts.

Next time anxiety comes knocking, turn your mind to the chorus of the beautiful old hymn, "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus."

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.

Happy Easter! May you know the lasting the deep-down peace and joy of knowing and trusting Jesus Christ as your forever friend and Savior.

I'm praying for you, gentle reader,

Lenore

Swap Anxiety for Peace That Lasts

March 28, 2024
It's the season when it's way too easy to go overboard–and justify it–as we tell ourselves we "just want Christmas to be perfect."

Or we want to be sure our children have lots of happy memories of Christmas.

What does that mean, exactly? Whose standard are we trying to live up to?

However we answer, a lot of us keep trying–and feeling we're failing. Or almost getting it "right." When we fall behind we get the guilts. Then we try even harder.

Here's the problem: Even if we succeed in every detail–outwardly–this frenzy of "doing" can steal away what matters most: The heart of Christmas. The wonder and the joy of remembering again that Jesus is the reason for this happy season, just as it was foretold centuries before:

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

If you're a fellow stumbler, here's some food for thought

It's my variation on a familiar theme:

If I decorate every corner of my home with glittery baubles, strings of lights and evergreen roping, but have no love, I am just another interior decorator.

If I stay up until 2 am making fudge and bake 15 different kinds of Christmas cookies, if I fix gourmet meals that make me proud and serve them on a table fitted with burning candles and special china, but snarl at my family, I am just another cook.

If I gather toys for tots and canned goods for food baskets, help decorate the Christmas tree at church and always drop in a few dollars when I pass a Salvation Army red kettle, even write checks to every charity, without love it profits me nothing.

If I insist on a living Christmas tree decorated with "natural" materials instead of baubles, if I sing with the choir and loudly proclaim, "Merry Christmas!" to one and all, but forget that Christmas is all about Jesus Christ, I am empty.

Love smiles at the child whose mom is wrapped up in her cell phone and stoops to wish a Merry Christmas to the lonely individual in a wheelchair or walker.

Love waits patiently while the next customer and the checker chat endlessly, then smiles at the clerk.

Love does not remind her husband that the guy down the street once again wins the annual "Best House on the Block" contest.

Love looks at the teenager wearing earphones and tattered jeans with eyes that take the long view, offers a smile instead of scorn and focuses on potential yet to unfold.

Love stops to listen and to hug, even when there's no time.

Love does not complain about what's missing, but thanks God for what is.

Love gives without expecting a return. Love endures through whatever comes.

As for styles, they will change. This year's trendy best-seller will be next year's white elephant. Human knowledge will be disputed, disproven and surpassed. Today's new discovery will become tomorrow's joke.

Only faith, hope and love remain. But the greatest gift of all is love.

Based (loosely) on 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13

Maybe as you read through that listing you decided you really don't know how to love. Here's a bit of comfort: Most of us miss the mark.

Let's take another look at what Christmas means

New beginnings. For anyone. No matter what kind of "stuff" lies in our past.

That is possible only because Love that goes way beyond all human understanding was born that long-ago night in that Bethlehem stable.

Take time to read aloud the Gospel of Luke, chapter two, and read it thoughtfully. Let its beautiful words flow over you and comfort your spirit.

Gather your loved ones and go to church together. Sing familiar–and new–Christmas songs guaranteed to lift your heart.

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

   1 John 4, verse 9

As for a Christmas decorating theme, turn to the one that never grows old: Love

Why not give yourself a gift? Let go of trying to measure up. (Feel your shoulders relaxing?)

Let go of whatever gets in the way of giving yourself to the people you love.

Take time to listen–and to lift someone else's heart by letting them know they matter to you. All it takes is a sentence or two, sharing a memory or an overdue thank-you to one who showed you kindness. (Wouldn't you treasure such a note even more than the most beautiful commercial Christmas card?)

These are the raw materials that go into laying down memories of happy Christmases. The people. The love. The laughter. Trust me, these will live on way into the future.

May your home and your heart be flooded and filled to overflowing with fresh new love. May you rest in the love of Jesus, born so long ago, yet with us today. Love that never fails.

How is this possible?

We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

This is all we need to leave "frazzled" behind and be free!

Here's to merry getting ready to celebrate Christ-mas!

Growing still,

Lenore

If you’re feeling frazzled, get a lift here

December 11, 2021
Everybody wants it, but apparently not many of us can hang onto it.

That's strange, isn't it, when bookstores and libraries offer yards of books telling us how to find peace, not to mention Google's gazillion experts.

But we keep looking.

We pore over articles and books about mental health and happy living and serenity. Some are quirky and off-the-wall, easy to discard. Many others offer good advice and sound principles.

If you're like me you may have followed somebody's program a few times–and it worked. For awhile.

I found–and maybe you did, too–before long the "what ifs?" and "if onlys" slithered in again, invading my thoughts and churning my gut.

All the while I said I believed in Jesus–and I meant it.

Still, I often asked myself, What's your problem? Don't you know you are blessed?

I did. I do.

The breakthrough cometh

I finally got it through my granite skull that peace will never be found "out there someplace" and came back to what I've always said–and thought--I believed:

Only one wisdom source holds true over the centuries: God's word, the Bible.

What's more, it's not about finding peace.

Peace is an inside job, a matter of the heart and will. The Apostle Paul spelled out the secret in his letter to the Colossians:

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15 ESV

"Let," the little word with giant implications

After checking the definition on http://www.dictionary.com I came up with three questions based on the meanings given.

Will I allow Christ's peace into my heart?

Will I permit it to rule over the "stuff" that threatens to overwhelm me?

Will I grant his peace and calmness occupancy in my heart and mind?

Ouch. That confirms what I suspected. My biggest hindrance stares back at me from every mirror.

And yet he loves me anyway, even though I'm pocked with flaws in my perfect facade.

"Shalom"

This beautiful Hebrew word means peace of body, mind and spirit. A sense of completeness. Wholeness. Harmony.

It's a peace beyond our human understanding, the kind Jesus spoke about to his disciples:

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:27 ESV

Isn't that what we all long for?

Jesus died and rose again to fill us with new life and peace. Once we know him as our Savior he lives within us by his Spirit.

Not because we're good enough.

Not because of who we are or what we do.

Only–only–by grace, that is, the undeserved love and forgiveness we have through faith in Jesus.

No more worries, it's a done deal

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1 ESV

We have peace with God. Now. Forever.

I know, I know, it sounds too simple. We want some tangible proof that guarantees we'll never slip back into unrest.

If that's true how can my sense of peace slip away as if by gravity?

It's not gravity, it's that inner tormentor, a.k.a. the devil, who never stops trying to pull us back.

That "roaring lion" (1 Peter 5:8) tiptoes in like a pussycat and purrs, "Oh really?"

I've found I need to watch my thoughts and my words so I spot anxiety and negativity before they take hold.

That's the time to remind myself who I am in Jesus and read or repeat verses like those above.

Just as important: "And be thankful"

Did you notice those three words in Colossians 3:15?

The more we look for reasons to be thankful the more we find–even in the midst of trying times.

It's not a magic charm. When we thank God for what's good it changes our focus on ourselves. It turns our gaze on him and all the ways he blesses us, day in and day out.

Best of all it reminds us who we are in Jesus Christ: God's much-loved child.

Our moods and our times of feeling discouraged make no difference in this equation. It's not about meeting some elusive standard or "having the right stuff."

It's all about Jesus and believing he loves us.

Could there be a better key to inner peace?

Still learning,

Lenore
Inner peace is closer than you think

August 20, 2021
"I am up to here with warnings and arguments and scary stories on the news!" wails the young woman at the next table."

"Me, too," her friend answers. My kids keep pestering me with questions, but I have no answers. How do I know if school actually will start this fall? Or if we'll have to wear masks again and all that routine? Or if it's safe to walk or ride a bike around our town, what with people–and kids–being shot at by some stranger driving down the street?

"I just want to grab everybody I love and never let go. Maybe never leave home."

As the two young moms got ready to leave, I heard the younger one say, "Sometimes I think the only safe place is in a cave on some far away island!"

Remarks like this swirl around all of us. People are frightened and uneasy, wondering what will happen next. And to whom.

It seems the torrent of troubles never lets up.

Is there any good news to report?

Answer: Yes, but most of it goes unreported. Television reporters and newscasters and newspaper headlines almost always lead with crimes, tragedies and misdemeanors.

Trace it back to a standard slogan of the news business: "If it bleeds, it leads."

Statistics show that readership and TV viewership go up–way up–when they feature bad news and tales of people who assault or kill others. The more horrific the better. Then they get to add in speculations about motives and/or possible crimes.

They fill in the gaps with opinions on possible doom and destruction that may lurk just ahead.

This allows us the "privilege" of consuming a steady diet of this kind of stuff during every waking moment.

Is it any wonder so many of us feel anxiety that won't quit?

What if we made a better choice?

Here's the sobering truth. Nobody forces us to feed on the news 24/7–or several times a day.

It's like an addiction. Maybe someone should start a BNAA: Bad News Addiction Anonymous.

This startup could borrow the "Serenity Prayer," used by Alcoholics Anonymous and other self-help organizations. Here's one common version:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference.

Repeat aloud (or silently) as often as needed.

You see, whatever our age, our finances or our life situation, we need something solid to hang onto. We can choose to focus on God's faithfulness.

That never changes. Never lets us down.

Because God never changes.

Remember, God brought us to this day

My favorite grandmother, who died at age 101, never lost sight of that and considered every day a gift. The last time I saw her was two years before her death.

Grandma's beautiful, wrinkled face glowed as she said, "You know, Lenore, God is SO good. He never left me alone for a minute."

Ah, yes, Grandma. He never leaves any of His children alone for a minute.

Anytime. Anywhere.

So let's fill our minds and hearts with Bible promises like these:

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. Psalm 55:22

He (she) who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91:1-2

(Jesus said) "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."   John 14:27

How about a new slogan for our life? "If it feeds, it leads."

We could call it the "Good Stuff Diet."

Even a snack-size serving, day after day, can drive out fear and plant His peace in its place. The peace that passes all human understanding, remember?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Every day, no matter how dismal the news, we have a choice. Let's choose to see the joy in each day, because that's every bit as real as the bad news. We just have to look for it.

Lord, give us eyes to see!

Lenore

Keep your balance in the storm of bad news

July 20, 2021