In less than two weeks, I will have the joy of being with the women of Living Water Community Church again. Last year, I shared my “standard” retreat with them, but this time we are going to be tackling the topic of FEAR. Here’s the thing: I continue to struggle with anxiety and fear! So I’m really wondering if we could all just gather around loud speakers during their event and listen to Timothy Keller’s sermon on fear (sermon number 25 in this podcast list) because MAN! He is just so wise! And boy does he love Jesus. A lot. Assuming such a plan would be a no-go with Mrs.…

With many thanks to my friend Jessie Y. for sending me the links, I am SO pleased to share with you three messages that Andree Seu gave at John Piper’s church on the topics of trust and fear: Trusting God in the Midst of Fear by Andree Seu I pretty much immediately started in on the first message and can’t wait to hear them all. What a wise and winsome woman! Wisdom birthed throughout a life with much suffering, I know. But oh! We are the blessed recipients of the Holy Spirit’s perfect work in her oft’ painful life.   Thank you, Andree Seu! (And Jessie too!) And most of…

Tomorrow morning, I will have the joy of again being interviewed on WBCL’s Mid-morning Connection with Lynne Ford. Here are the specs in case you’d like to listen in: Date: Thursday, June 30 from 10:00AM – 11:00AM (Eastern) Show: WBCL’s Mid-morning Connection with Lynne Ford Topic: My new women’s retreat, “Fear Not!”   Thanks for any prayers you care to send my way! This is my first time being interviewed on the radio on the content for my new retreat, so I am really praying that I will serve well. You can join in the fun and hear the broadcast at www.wbcl.org if you’re interested! G’nite and God bless, Tara…

CCEF put up an oldie but a goodie series of posts by Dr. Mike Emlet that I encourage you to read: Counseling and Physiology Class: Psychiatry To tempt you to click on through, I’ll give you just a few lines from the top of the first post: – What role do genetics play in the onset/development of psychiatric issues? – What role, if any, should we grant to evil spirits/the demonic in the approach to mental illness? – What relative weight should we give to relational and situational factors in both the onset and treatment of disordered mood and cognition? – How reliable are psychiatric diagnoses? – What help does…

Earlier this week I left for an appointment wherein I was seeking someone’s counsel. The strange thing was, as I drove closer and closer to the location, I started getting more and more scared. I couldn’t really figure out what was going on at first. I trust this person. I really wanted her advice. So why the fear? Ah. Then I realized it: At some deep level, I thought I had to have it all figured out before I sought her counsel. That I had to go to this appointment with a game plan in hand—and the whole point was, I was stymied. I didn’t have a game plan. I…

Z pointed to a great read: Talking Freely About Depression and Anxiety  

Ed Welch’s Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest and Elyse Fitzpatrick’s Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Anxiety are both treasure troves of biblical encouragement re: fear. Consider just a few of my notes from reading these excellent books. (These excerpts are a mish-mash of direct quotes and my own paraphrased reminders.) Elyse Fitzpatrick: ‘Fear affects your body and your behavior … If you generally feel stressed about your responsibilities or fearful about your life, you won’t feel comfortable relaxing and you probably won’t take the time to eat properly or exercise. The inability to relax or sleep soundly will heighten your sensitivity to alarm and danger, causing more…

I read this quote in Elyse Fitzpatrick’s (excellent!) book, Overcoming Fear, Worry and Anxiety: ” … Many of God’s people are constantly under apprehensions of calamities which will never occur to them; they suffer far more in merely dreading them than they would have to endure if they actually came upon them. In their imaginations, there are rivers in their way, and they are anxious to know how they shall wade through them or swim across them. There ARE no such rivers in existence … but they are agitated and distressed about them. These timid people are continually crossing bridges that only exist in their FANCIES. They stab themselves with…

I’m beginning to scope out my new retreat on fear and I’m pretty sure I’m going to teach all of the way through 1 Peter in order to cover the material. It’s all still in the planning stages, but I’m thinking we might end up somewhere in the vicinity of the following schedule. What do you guys think? I’d love to hear your counsel and suggestions … Fear Not: Finding God’s Comfort for My Fearful Soul DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH Peace and rest are great concepts in the abstract—biblical, Christ-centered, even pleasant and healthy. But if we are honest, most Christian women do not experience much peace in their day-to-day lives. We…