2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

I've always (since I can remember) been afraid of horses. I think they are one of the most beautiful creatures EVER, but coming close to them gives me the most unsettled feeling ever. I didn't fall off of one as a child, or have any sort of traumatic horse-related experiences (unless I did and my mother never told me...MOM....) Kidding. I really didn't. It's a completely irrational fear that came from nowhere.
That is why I admire people like Leah who climbs ONTO them, and jumps OVER things with them. What. Ridiculous.
That being said, I feel as though this season of my life is one in which I am out to conquer my fears.
In no particular order, the ones that come to mind are:
1)That God isn't going to provide for us.
2)That my artsy hobbies like photography and other crafty things are going to be rejected by the general public.
3)That I am not capable of breaking bad habits.
4)That I am not going to be a good wife or mother.
5)....
......
174)......and on and on...

I don't walk around thinking about these things. Seriously. They are just ones that I encounter at various times and don't really think about or deal with.

So basically, God provided for us in the form of making finances appear out of thin air from the start of our marriage until now. Then he provided Chris with a gajillion interviews and finally the perfect job for him.

So basically, I went out on a limb and started displaying my photography. And then I started getting all kinds of great feedback. And then I came to the even greater conclusion that I don't really care WHO likes my art because I DO.

I went out and took some stinkin' pictures of a HORSE. Take that. My heart beat at a significantly high rate the whole time. There was a fence in between us. Baby steps.




These are all just little examples. But they are also little victories.

I want to live without fear. I want to own my desires and passions as I know that they were given to me when I was created. I want to take risks and push myself beyond a life of comfort. And for when all of these words I have just said fly out the window and I am faced again with my fears, I have this:

Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 56:3-4
When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?

Matthew 10:26
Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

2 Corinthians 4:7-11
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.