No, Missy. Ain't nothing wrong with being afraid—that's only human. But we need to give our fear to Massa Jesus instead of letting our imaginations run off with it.

Worry doesn't change a single thing. Just live.

combat worry, such as keeping a prayer journal and rereading it when I'm under attack.

Jesus told us to look at the birds; they don't worry about the future because our Heavenly Father feeds them. I think that's why they praise Him.

Ah, but that would require a spending time with God--more than an hour or two on Sunday, I suspect--getting to know Him, communing with Him, praising Him.

No, it's not wrong to need people. But some of our biggest disappointments in life are the result of expectations we have of others that they can't ever possibly meet. That's when the desire to connect becomes an unrealistic need. Unrealistic neediness is actually greediness in disguise.

Evaluation eliminates frustration. We should also evaluate unrealistic expectations. Unrealistic expectations become unmet expectations. And unmet expectations are like kindling wood-it only takes but a spark of frustration to set them ablaze and burn those involved.

Don't get so locked in to your overwhelming schedule that you haphazardly spend your soul.

I'd believe I had prayed about things, but in reality I'd only worried about them, talked to friends about them, and tried to figure out how to solve them myself.

Lord, what will fix this? What will take away this feeling that I'm going to be stuck in seasons of darkness the rest of my life?" Three words popped into my mind: Turn to Me.

Do not check in with the screaming demands of the world before you exchange whispers with God

He's into the slower rhythms of life, like abiding, delighting, and dwelling—all words that require us to trust Him with our place and our pace.