Candidly Christian

Real Women. Real Life. Real Faith.

Anxiety

8 Tangible Ways to Cast Your Cares on Jesus

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Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7 NIV

Has anyone ever offered you comfort with a reminder to “cast your cares?” After you agreed to follow such wise counsel, what did you do? 

You know Jesus cares for you and He wants to take your burden. But do you know how to cast your cares upon Jesus?

Candid Confession:  As I struggled with anxiety for years, 1 Peter 5:7 was a nauseating, eyes rolling to the back of my head, fingernails on the chalkboard verse. 

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4 Steps to Trust God When You’re Anxious

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Jesus said that “among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). As a writer, I am inspired knowing that John was born to deliver one message: 

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” 

Mark 1:15

The greatest prophet of all time came to tell us how to prepare for the promise: Turn from your sinful ways and walk in belief in the good news of Jesus. 

After a recent sermon on Mark 1:15, I obeyed the Holy Spirit’s prompting to look up the word “believe”. He used the word study to render the sting of conviction to my anxious heart. 

I had to repent of the sins that fuel my anxiety.

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3 Ways To Relieve Christmas Anxiety

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I have a confession that I hesitate to make even in this safe space, because I know I will shock and disappoint a few of you.

I also know I’m not the only one, even though I feel alone. So, at the risk of letting some of you down, I share my sad little secret hoping to come alongside to encourage and support anyone who can relate.

So here it goes and please forgive me…

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Looking to Jesus & Resting In His Embrace

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“No Worries,” the text read.

I was clueless, so of course, my first thought was, should I be worried?

My husband and I had been texting, but I had a massive migraine. It wasn’t the first time that day that I had forgotten what was going on. At some point that morning my head hurt so bad I laid down to take a nap… I don’t know when. I know I ate breakfast and took a shower, but I don’t remember in what order or if I did anything else.

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Fear Is A Bully (But God Is Stronger)

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A few nights ago my daughter and I started talking about the future—our hopes, possible plans, and our fears. Late at night isn’t my best time for this type of conversation, but there we were. I was already tired and a little emotional and I found myself getting stuck on the fears. I felt it when it started—the tight feeling in my chest and tears threatening to spill, and I knew I had to interrupt my thoughts.

We decided to call it a night and get ready for bed. Sometimes a change in activity or topic of conversation is all it takes to change the mind’s focus. But oftentimes, it’s not that easy.

I reminded myself that while what I feared was possible and could happen someday, it wasn’t imminent. As far as I knew, it wasn’t likely to happen, in the near future… or at all.

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6 Ways To Be Fully Confident When Facing Fears

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I was at dinner a few weeks ago with some friends and we were talking about dresses and high heels. We were all saying that when we wear heels, we feel more confident. This is something that I have considered often and there have been times that I have purposefully worn heels to help me overcome fear.

Last week, I had to do something really hard. I realized I have not forgiven someone close to me who had hurt me deeply 20 years ago. I knew that I would be seeing her regularly soon, and every time I thought about it, my anxiety would rise. I knew it wouldn’t be healthy to continue like this, because anxiety would be an even more regular part of my life.

I needed to forgive. But how? And what would I do? Do I request to meet with her? Do I just suck it up, and continue to bury my feelings? What?

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3 Things To Remember In The Storm

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It was a beautiful summer day. Weather reports said there was a chance of a severe thunderstorm, but we took our chances and went on my parent’s boat with the kids. Like usual we went to the island so the kids could play in the sand, but when we got there, there were nasty looking clouds coming at us.

We watched to see if the storm was coming directly at us, and we began to see bolts of lightning light up the clouds. Plain and simple. We waited too long to leave the island.

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4 Ways to Fight Anxiety With Faith and Prayer

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“Should I move back home to Hawaii or should I stay in San Francisco?” this question kept me up at night and then when I did fall asleep it leaked in and crowded my dreams.  

I was in my first semester of college when I faced my personal Goliath. Out of state fees were wild and the financial aid I received wasn’t enough so I couldn’t afford another semester at San Francisco State University.

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3 Lessons In Trusting God (even when you cannot see)

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In a previous blog post I told the story of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that shook Alaska (and to some extent, my faith) last November. As I write this, I have the benefit of hindsight. Our home hasn’t been repaired yet, but we are in the process of securing a long-term disaster loan that was one of many answers to prayer along the way. In a sense, I’m in the light, but it wasn’t always this way.

Not long after the earthquake, it was a very dark time for my husband and me, as we looked the possibility of foreclosure square in the eye and a couple of our family members struggled with stress and anxiety about remaining in the house during literally hundreds of aftershocks in the weeks after the quake.

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