Don't Worry ~ Be Joyous!

Good morning everyone! Today is Wild Wacky Wonderful Whimsical Wednesday . . . I pray my post today helps someone somewhere <3

Recently, I had a fellow student write to me and ask how on earth I manage to get everything done that needs to be done in a day. When I read it, I was honestly in the midst of my own panic attack concerning my lack of enough time in the day and thinking to myself, “Get everything done?!?” That is truly humorous because there is never a day that goes by that I manage to check off every single item on my to do list!

The truth of the matter is, when it comes to making it through each day, I have a checklist of must do’s, need to do’s, and want to do’s. I also apply self discipline telling myself each day that I can play once all my work is done. Some days I don’t play at all!

I will be honest in saying that even though I have a plan in place, I still find myself swimming in the midst of anxiety at various moments; especially as the end of the day approaches while tasks on my must do list are still looming ahead!

I have found when it comes to chaos, anxiety, fear, panic, waves of overwhelmingness, it is God’s promises that calm my heart and settle me down. It has taken me years to learn that I am truly not in control of much! The rest I must give to God. So let me share what I tell my friends when they are in the midst of their own individual “Turmoil Tornado”.

(1) I ask them if they know what Jesus had to say when it came to the subject of worry?

I usually get a blank stare if this is the first time we have talked about it. I then smile and say something like, ‘He actually asked what one of us could do something as simple (SIMPLE!) as adding an hour to our own lives! Like adding an hour to your life is simple! He basically asked us why do we worry over anything when our own limitations to perform the tiniest of miracles are so blatantly obvious.

“And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?” ~ Luke 12:25-26 (NASB)

I also go on to share with them that God’s mercy and grace are sufficient each day. I remind them that we need to live in the here and now not in yesterday or tomorrow. That is a trick of the evil one to keep us tied up in our inner turmoil; shaming us with the guilt of yesterday and worrying us about the events of tomorrow. God’s word advises us to live each day accordingly.

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ~ Matthew 6:34 (NASB)

Even with me being a student of the Word, even with me seeking His input daily, I find myself in various spiritual battles. Some so intense I often pull out a devotional or turn up the music on K-Love. As revealed in a chapter out of my latest book, sometimes I even use chocolate as part of my defense!

I don’t think one of us out there has the perfect life full of perfect days. We all face various trials and tribulations. It is the weaponry that we use that differentiates how the battle ends!

Hopefully this has helped someone somewhere with their own anxiety and worry. If you are not a student of the Word, I highly suggest you open up the book of John and learn about Christ. It is my prayer that your eyes are opened to the Truth, The Way and the Life in such a way that you dive fully into the River of Living Water and find yourself refreshed each and every day! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

Wendy, Mom of Many, walks with God

© Wendy Glidden 2020

Anxiety . . . Is it Ruling Your Life?

Anxiety, worry, fretting; it really is all pointless. Name one instance in your life that spending time caught up in dread of what may come paid off.

Even if your greatest fear does come to pass, reflect upon how much time you wasted contemplating how things would or could play out. This is truly how most of society is being held from living an abundant life.

If you are thinking, "Great. How do I  make my brain stop playing out various scenerios of my future?"

For me, that answer is simple, but that was not always the case. I spent decades almost 3 as a matter of fact being a little bit of a control freak. Today though, I have for the most part learned to roll with the punches. For me that is a good thing because the punches come often!

What is the secret to my success? First and foremost, words of wisdom passed onto me by my heavenly Father, combined with understanding what or rather who fills me with trepidation.

First I remind myself of this truth:

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34, NASB)

Next, I go to God about it all . . . often I go to Him with something like this:

Father, I want to thank you for all you have done for me, all the ways you have shown me favor, moved mountains, introduced me to people and most of all for teaching me how to live abundantly come what may. Honestly, my life rocks. You always have my back which is why it's crazy that I can't keep myself from going round and round in my mind. Please help me raise my shield of faith, fill me with confidence, remind me of all you have done in the past so that the fiery arrows being launched in my direction fall uselessly to the ground. Help guard my mind from negative thoughts, help guard my heart from fear. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

You see, the reason most of humanity struggles with worry is because they don't realize they are in the midst of a spiritual battle. They also don't realize they have a mighty foe. He is shrewd, clever, conniving, and often uses partial truths to speak lies into our lives. These days he's winning the war. People are taking their own lives every day. We must wake up and begin to fight back. Earthly weapons of war are useless. All we need to be successful can be found in the Book of Ephesians, Chapter 6, specifically verses 10-20 . . . 

I've done an in depth study of this full suit of armor and if you have read my trilogy, You are Worthy Too: the Proof is in the Pudding,  you know that Satan had me in a full head on crocodile roll in the midst of writing part II of that book. 

Even if you are someone who doubts in the existence of Satan, you are not exempted from this spiritual war. You are either a pawn or a mighty warrior because while you are busy denying the existence of him, he is busy doing what he does best, using the unaware as pawns. He is the prowling lion, always looking for someone to devour. 

If you deal with any form of anxiety, my main question to you is this . . . what do you have to lose by learning about this form of spiritual armor? 

We all know the definition of insanity is repeating the same behavior while expecting a different result. Isn't your peace of mind worth the gamble of seeking out the truths that are in all resources? 

For those of you on the sidelines in this argument, I encourage you to begin your research by reading my true life trilogy: You are Worthy Too: the Proof is in the Pudding. . . Throughout it, I remove the veil and you can clearly see how I was manipulated by the hater of humanity. Think of this book as a guide that helps open your eyes to ways in which you can win in this life. Until we cross paths again my friend, be blessed in all you do.

Father, thank you for my life, for my blessings and for so much more than I could ever imagine my life to be. Thank you for your promise of an abundant life free of anxiety. How incredible it is to rest in the midst of all life's storms. Today I simply ask that many of my brothers and sisters pick up a copy of the book you called me forth to write. May their eyes and hearts be opened to countless truths. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Wendy, Mom of Many, girl who walks with God!

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Turmoil Tornados

I started this week out in a panic. The children are off on spring break I signed up for two more college classes that both began this Monday! By day one I was overwhelmed by all of the reading and assignments that were looming ahead. On top of that, we moved to the other side of the RV park and it turns out that the WIFI doesn’t work over here yet. Talk about making life a little harder when it comes to online classes, not to mention blogging and marketing on Social Media!

I am grateful that my classes are focused on the Word of God so that in the midst of my personal panic, I have to fill my mind with the LORD’s words! As the week progressed, my anxiety levels decreased. It is funny what happens as you renew your mind with life breathing words. Yesterday I even managed to stay ahead of the game concerning school and have now completed every assignment with the exception of one paper that is due on Sunday and here I sit today calm as a cucumber sharing a post!

I had a fellow student ask me how on earth I manage to get everything done that needs to be done in a day. I still need to go back and answer her on that one. When I read it, I was honestly in the midst of my panic and thinking to myself, “Get everything done?!?” That is truly humorous because there is never a day that goes by that I manage to check off every single item on my to do list!

The truth of the matter is, when it comes to making it through each day, I have a checklist of must do’s, need to do’s, and want to do’s. I also apply self discipline telling myself each day that I can play once all my work is done. Some days I don’t play at all!

I will be honest in saying that even though I have a plan in place, I still find myself swimming in the midst of anxiety at various moments; especially as the end of the day approaches while tasks on my must do list are still looming ahead!

I have found when it comes to chaos, anxiety, fear, panic, waves of overwhelmingness, it is God’s promises that calm my heart and settle me down. It has taken me years to learn that I am truly not in control of much! The rest I must give to God. So let me share what I tell my friends when they are in the midst of their own individual “Turmoil Tornado”.

(1) I ask them if they know what Jesus had to say when it came to the subject of worry?

I usually get a blank stare if this is the first time we have talked about it. I then smile and say something like, ‘He actually asked what one of us could do something as simple (SIMPLE!) as adding an hour to our own lives! Like adding an hour to your life is simple! He basically asked us why do we worry over anything when our own limitations to perform the tiniest of miracles are so blatantly obvious.

“And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?” ~ Luke 12:25-26 (NASB)

I also go on to share with them that God’s mercy and grace are sufficient each day. I remind them that we need to live in the here and now not in yesterday or tomorrow. That is a trick of the evil one to keep us tied up in our inner turmoil; shaming us with the guilt of yesterday and worrying us about the events of tomorrow. God’s word advises us to live each day accordingly.

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ~ Matthew 6:34 (NASB)

Even with me being a student of the Word, even with me seeking His input daily, I find myself in various spiritual battles. Some so intense I often pull out a devotional or turn up the music on K-Love. As revealed in a chapter out of my latest book, sometimes I even use chocolate as part of my defense!

I don’t think one of us out there has the perfect life full of perfect days. We all face various trials and tribulations. It is the weaponry that we use that differentiates how the battle ends! If you don’t know all the armor God has provided you with, I invite you to read past posts of mine regarding the subject. I will leave a couple of links at the end of this post for you to check out!

Hopefully this has helped someone somewhere with their own anxiety and worry. If you are not a student of the Word, I highly suggest you open up the book of John and learn about Christ. It is my prayer that your eyes are opened to the Truth, The Way and the Life in such a way that you dive fully into the River of Living Water and find yourself refreshed each and every day! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

Wendy, Mom of Many, walks with God

http://youareworthytoo.blogspot.com/2013/10/are-you-dressed-for-daily-battle.html

http://youareworthytoo.blogspot.com/2013/07/take-up-shield-of-faith.html

May you find yourself better dressed for battle by reading these two posts. May you find yourself blessed in sharing them with others in need of armor!

Your sister in Christ, Wendy

© Wendy Glidden 2015

Breaking Chains!

Today is fantastically fun filled friends and family Friday. I named it friends and family so that my focus would be on everyone. I have friends that don’t see themselves as my brother or sister in Christ. In my mind they just haven’t had their eyes opened to the truth yet. This world is loud. It is so overwhelming and fast and full of crap in all reality that most of us have never sat still long enough to have heard God speak to them, yet He speaks to all of us in one way or another.

No one is without excuse we are told within God’s word. He chases us. He has given us daily evidence of his existence, yet so many refuse to acknowledge him on a daily basis and many refuse to acknowledge him at all! I prefer to show where in God’s word I find such things. This truth can be found in the Book of Romans in the New Testament:

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities ~ his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. Romans 1:20 (NIV)

Once we come to know who we are in Christ, we should feel compelled to share the gospel, this gift of pure freedom, with everyone we come across. We need to share the love of God with the world, allowing His light to shine through us as we are also advised to do in God’s Word:

No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. ~ 1 John 4:12 (NLT)

God gave us the greatest gift a father could give His children. He allotted us free will. FREE WILL. This means we are FREE to choose how we want to live. I think a lot of people run from the Word of God because they don’t want to live according to the instructions laid out in His Word.

In religion, much like the Pharisees in the past, our teachers pound the law in hopes of changing the behavior of their followers. Christ taught by example. He lived the law. He also expounded the law and the so called teachers hated him for it. Why you may ask? Well because they enjoyed their positions. They enjoyed their power. Power can be quite a dangerous thing. I am certain all of us have witnessed those in authoritive positions that abuse their power.

What I love about reading God’s Word is that I understand that there is nothing I can do or say that will save me. It is not by works that I am saved, it is by grace through faith! Nothing more!

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith ~ and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God ~ not by works, so that no one can boast. ~ Ephesians 2:8-9

This morning on my way to an artist friend I met in jail, I was praying over several friends, binding the powers of Satan under the authority of Christ. I was mentally breaking chains and fervently praying in the Spirit. Visually I saw a hand that was cuffed to a chain, much like one would be found if they were in shackles and I was waving the sword of the spirit. The vision was so bold I questioned if I was to draw it and I even went as far as to ask God if he was going to give me another talent! When I shared this vision with the friend I was going to see, she said, “Get out of here!” She had just drawn something close to what I described to her!

I know without a doubt that she has been placed in my life for a purpose. Tracy is someone I met during my infamous 17 days in jail. She is also the one I mentioned in a previous blog and as of today she is who I have asked to be my maid of honor when Mike and I officially tie the knot in the eyes of the world.

I have called Mike my husband ever since we said our vows in front of only God. We had been together for one year and I was actually still legally married to someone else who had left me for another woman. I actually went to God and sought His blessing. This is the one and only person I have ever gone to God over when it comes to the matters of the heart. It is why I have gone to God over my relationship with Mike again and again.

Recently I became a member of New Hope Ministries. I desperately want to go back into the jail and minister to women. However, New Hope requires those in leadership positions to walk the VERY Narrow road. This brings me to Mike and I. While I consider him my husband in every way, the government and the world would not see it that way. Much like getting baptized after you accept Christ is a signal to the world that you are dedicated to the Lord, getting officially married under man’s laws will signal to the world where Mike and I stand in regards to one another.

I am not sure when the wedding will take place as we have talked about doing this literally for years but have never made the next step. I promise to keep you all in the loop. As I know, you will know. Honestly, I don’t know where I will be from day to day. That is part of what makes life an adventure!

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14 (NIV)

While we can make plans, for the most part, we are not to worry about tomorrow. We are just meant to live each moment to the fullest. Be blessed my friends and my sisters and brothers in Christ and remember to be a blessing to all that cross your path!

Wendy, walks with God, Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden 2015

Today Has Enough Trouble of It's Own!

Last Tuesday night, December 10, 2013, was the final night we HAD to spend in the RV this winter! What a crazy week this last one has been. We had counted down the last thirty days until we were going to move in to our new apartment which Jeffrey calls 'The Castle'. He cracks me up. I have explained to him that we will only be living in a tiny section of the castle. His excitement has not been phased.

Monday morning, December 9, 2013, I had called over to verify my time for my walk through and to make sure they'd gotten confirmation of my renters insurance and the fact that the utilities were in my name. All was going smoothly and we set my appointment at 11:30.

At three that afternoon, I received a phone call letting me know there was a slight problem with my new apartment. Sometime between Sunday night and Monday afternoon, a water pipe had burst and there was so much water on the floor that they were going to have to replace the carpet and padding in the bedrooms and the flooring in the 2nd bathroom where the leak had happened.

They told me it would be completed by Friday. I admit I was a bit sad. I had seen the weather forecast for the week and it was not pretty. We have been below freezing for over a week now and it was only going to get colder over the next couple of days.

Towards the end of the day, I saw a post asking for help with a chain saw crew being called to give a helping hand in Texas where they had been hit by a massive ice storm. I knew Mike would be great help so I quickly got in touch with him and asked if he'd be interested. Seeing how we weren't going to be moving now until Friday, the biggest need for Mike to be home was taken care of. Our money is really tight this month and we both agreed that him helping out would be a beautiful way to tithe. I gave him Rusty's number and Mike was the final man they needed to be able to go.

They were heading out Very early in the morning so we set our alarm for 4:20 AM and the next day we headed out before the sun came up to get Mike to one of the meetup locations on time. Once he was dropped off I made my way to work.

At eleven that afternoon, the apartment complex called me with great news. They were ahead of schedule and as it turned out if I wanted to, I could begin moving in anytime after 4:00 pm on Wednesday! The irony did not escape me! I was super thrilled that we would be in the new place right before the coldest night of this winter arrived.

With Mike being gone, I knew I could only do so much as far as moving everything was concerned so Tuesday night I packed up the majority of food, all our dirty clothes, all of our clean linens as well as the entire bathroom including all of our clean towels! All I could think was, 'I get to do laundry IN my home and everyone can take a shower!'. It truly is the little things in life that make me the happiest.

Wednesday came and after work I headed over to the apartment complex to sign my new lease. I thought I had help lined up to move the three beds I had been given along with a few odds and ends. As it turned out, my moving help was a no show and we ended up sleeping on the floor the first night! Thank goodness I had thought to grab the one cot with the 1" foam mattress and a really thick sleeping bag.

The funniest part of our first night was when I had two children in the two tubs only to realize I had nothing clean to put them in when they got out. I quickly went through all the dirty clothes and picked out things for everyone to change into and got my first load of laundry going.

Bonus things I did not know came with my apartment. A microwave above the stove, a dishwasher and an ice maker! Life is good!!

Thursday night, my help arrived and I got the few things I had been given moved into the apartment and placed in their spots. Jean, one of my many sisters in Christ, kept the children for me while another sister in Christ, Ana, helped me get the items I had been gifted into place.

When we arrived back to Jean's we discovered she had made dinner for all of us. We ate, joked that we should take a picture to post to Facebook with the a note about how all that was missing was our Pastor and his wife for our old Thursday night Bible study. Weirdly we have not gotten together since the night Ana and I were baptized. We were left hanging in the midst of Acts.

Friday night in the midst of the approaching winter storm, the chain saw crew made it safely back. I picked up Mike and we headed home. We caught each other up on all that had transpired.

The gist of this post originally began to show that the best laid plans are often disrupted. I was being led to blog on the verse regarding the fact that each day has enough trouble of it's own. Allow me to share that here, from Matthew, Chapter 6, verse 34:

So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of it's own.

The entire chapter has wonderful wisdom. I love reminding myself of this final thought for I have found it to be so very true. There is no sense in getting all wrapped up in tomorrow.

As my mind often does, while I was typing the above sentence, I recalled something I heard on Moody radio the other day. It was on a Friday around 5 PM and they were playing a series of voice mails that people had left. One of them stuck out more than the rest to me and it was about 'I Am.' In a gist the guy was talking about how you shouldn't focus on the past for God has said His name is I Am and while He is in the past and the future, it was never the past and the future when we found Him on any given day, for His name is always in the present and that was where we should be ourselves. That's not exactly how it was phrased. In all honesty, it was stated in a much more impactful way. Regardless, this has seemed to be the lesson I was being taught this past week. Stay in the here and now for this is the moment we are living.

I pray that this rambling blog has lifted your spirits, given you something to smile about or perhaps even caused you to seek a little more from the word of God Himself.

Father, I come before you today singing your praises and giving thanks for what a wonderful Father you truly are. You never cease to amaze me with your ways. I love living this life of mine under your terms. No longer do I feel the need to control everything for the illusion of me being in control of anything has long gone! Thank you for that!! I love where you have placed me. Close to work and home and surrounded by many brothers and sisters in Christ. How blessed I truly am. Thank you for loving us and always being faithful. My life is so colorful and bright and I truly look forward to each day. I pray that I continue to grow spiritually. I pray you lead me in the direction I am designed to go in. I pray I am able to see and hear all you have for me to see and hear each day. I pray that my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ grow closer to you as well. May this season that we celebrate the birth of Christ in be full of your love. May more and more and more of us come to see the Glory of God. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Wendy, walks with God,
Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden 2013

Feel Free to Give Up Your Burdens, Help Has Arrived!

Good morning! I hope my blog finds you in a good place. If not, well, perhaps this message is just what the doctor ordered! Today's "Daily Bread" blog in based on the verse listed under the letter "C", courtesy of my Alphabet Picture! The verse itself comes from The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 11, Verse 28. My New Living Translation, 2nd addition, reads like this:

Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest."

I don't know about you but there are days I need the world to be lifted off my shoulders. I long for someone else to take my troubles on. I am here to proclaim the Good News to you. Jesus, God's only begotten son, came here to do just that!

My sisters and brothers, I am here to tell you, I took on the world without turning to God for too many years. That is not to say that I ever lost my belief in God. Heck, even Satan and all his minions Believe in God! Sadly, I lost my Faith in God rooting for me somewhere along my life's journey. I allowed the Evil one entrance into my head. 

I allowed myself to be tricked, deceived, lied to. You see, the evil one is a shrewd character. He understands that we have inside of us the desire to please our Heavenly Father. He uses the things we beat ourselves up over to his advantage. He knows our "shames". He throws them in our face and tells us how unworthy we are of God's Love. Satan is an ABSOLUTE Liar! Read your Holy Bible my friends. It overflows with proof of God's Love for YOU. 

While growing up, many of us learned all about Sin and the Pit of Hell. Sunday after Sunday some of us heard lessons talking about a God to be feared. If you were like me, you knew some things you did were down right wrong and you beat yourself up more than needed. You have to come completely clean of these shames. You see, God already knew you would sin... Ironically he knows all of your sins. He's waiting patiently for your to come to terms with these things yourself. If you take a long hard look, you'll see his work in your life. Some people refer to these things as signs. Our Father knew we couldn't make it without some help . . . a LOT of help! It's the reason He was willing to sacrifice His Own Son . . . His ONLY Begotten Son. If you are a parent already, can you wrap your head around that Truth? It's Huge! On a sidenote here, Jesus was aware of this plan of sacrifice. . . everytime he talks about his upcoming sacrifice he immediately gives the good news that He will return; ie: I lay my life down and I will pick it back up.(John 10:17)

Anyway, if you don't open your closet and come clean with God, you are only giving the Devil all he needs to destroy who God intended for you to be.

I feel the need to share the rest of what Jesus said in this chapter:

"Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light."

I think the yoke he is referring to here is sharing the Truth and in sharing we will always reveal the Glory and Grace of God. I know you have all heard the saying, "The Truth shall set you Free." Pardon the pun, but there is a lot of Truth to that statement!

Now that I have come forward and openly admitted my wrongs to not only myself and God but to others as well, I have reduced the Devil's power over me. Nothing in the world feels as good as that! Just like an abusive partner that tries to seclude you from your friends, the Evil one attempts to do the same. If he can convince us that we are not worthy, we are liars, sinners, fakes and frauds, undeserving of goodness, he wins. Do not ALLOW him to rule your life. He came here to destroy you . . . I ask, "Are you willing to let him win?"

Satan is Evil I shout out loud

Declare your Shames, Make your father proud

Not a thing you have done or could ever do

Could keep your Heavenly Father from Loving YOU

Oh the evil one He’s so so shrewd

Using your sins, He’s so so crude

He takes your shames and he places blames

His only goal is to keep you from your work

I promise you the Devil’s a vicious jerk

He is cruel, he’s so unkind

With negativity he invades your mind

But you have so much light deep inside

Lay down your ego, put down your pride

Not one of us is perfect, we all fall flat

But you see Your Father, He knew all that

Step out of the shadows and walk in the light

Give Glory to God as you win the fight!

It is my prayer for you today that you begin to open yourself up to the Love of God. I pray that if you have never given the Word of God the time of day, you begin to do so. I pray you seek out others who are leading the fight to spiritual freedom. I pray that God helps you find them. I pray if you are lost, lonely or hopeless that you are able to recognize the signs that God sends you. In Jesus name, Amen.

Love,

Wendy, Mom of Many



Copyright © 2013 [ Wendy L Glidden ] All Rights Reserved.