Trying Not to Be Anxious

This week is turning out to be an exercise in trusting God and not giving in to worry. I'll be extra-vulnerable today and share some of my worries:

*Thursday night we were the victims of a phishing scam. We just found out on Sunday evening that the very detailed info we provided online to what we thought was the IRS turned out to be a scam to get our bank info. So, no, we aren't getting a big refund from the IRS but instead will be frantically cancelling our debit cards and watching our credit report like crazy because of the fact that it is now quite likely King Jo's info has been stolen. The e-mail looked and sounded so real and the website it connected us to looked exactly like the real irs.gov site we have visited in the past to print tax forms from. I hope you all will be smarter than we were about things like this!

*There seem to be absolutely zero rentals available in our town and any that happen to come up are usually about double what we can afford. Our landlords recently raised our rent $125 more a month which is an outlandish price for the size of our apartment but they did it because they can since there are virtually no rentals in this town. Will we be stuck in this over-priced shoebox forever?

*My unsaved brother is going on a roadtrip to a dangerous, sin-filled city this week. I wish he was saved.

*Though a rather small worry, Jeremiah has had a rash (MCV) for many months that is not going away but is now spreading. There doesn't seem to be a cure for it unless we go to the doctor and have the bumps frozen off again (which doesn't go over well with an almost-two-year old!)

*My neck has been giving me major troubles and yet frequent chiropractic visits just aren't affordable for us right now.


In spite of all these things weighing on the brain, I hear that still small voice whispering in my soul. "Do you trust ME? Am I sovereign over all? Am I sovereign even over the internet sphere? Can I deliver you from an enemy you don't even know and can't even see? Am I truly your provider? Aren't MY plans perfect even if your plans for your life get changed somehow?"

I'm reminded to be thankful. It's not easy when trials come but the Word says,
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everthing 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." Phil. 4:6-7 (emphasis mine)

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:19

So I am thankful that today my mind is focused on utter dependance on Jesus instead of on the usual merely good things I'm focused on. I'm thankful for the hope of Heaven, my true home, as I live in a world right now where there are always hardships and obstacles to overcome. I'm thankful for the unity my husband and I could have in prayer throughout the day as we pled for God's help and protection in our identity theft trial. I'm thankful that God is using these circumstances to build our trust in Him and glorify Himself as we share answered prayers with our children and unsaved friends and neighbors. I'm thankful that God has so blessed us and cared for us in the past as a loving Father that we can trust that He will act and work out all of these situations. (Nearly every time I sit in that beautiful minivan I'm reminded how tangibly God answers prayer!) I'm thankful for the Body of believers who can share our burdens and pray for us.

If you would, please pray with us today that this whole identity thing will be resolved swiftly. Pray that God would open up the right rental in the right timing and give us patience to wait, pray that my youngest brother would come to Christ, and pray for Jeremiah's bumps and my neck. And if there is anything you are worrying over that you would like us to pray for, please let me know in the comments.