Overwhelmed? Take it to God!

Blizzard of 2009

talk about overwhelming

1 Peter 5:7 (NIV), “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 

Overwhelmed

Have you ever been overwhelmed? Here lately my pain has overwhelmed me to the point of frustration and I don’t like that part of me, angry Joni.  The holiday took more out of me than I thought; I felt exhausted, tired and just totally done with the world. So what did I do, I took a time of rest! Something slashed me right across the face; maybe it was the 26 degrees below zero wind chilling temps?

While I love the cold I cannot and will not embrace extremely bitter, skin scarring, back biting cold. The winds alone feel like little shards of glass being plunged into your skin and any part of you that is exposed will surely freeze on impact and bleed when you thaw, so I stayed inside. While I consider myself somewhat of a recluse, the walls begin to close in on you and smother you in the bitterness of the season.

Top that off with a chronic pain and you have a recipe for disaster waiting to spin out of control and spit in the face of anyone that gets in your path. I try not to allow my pain to get that out of control and what is my saving grace? Well God of course. Prayerful meditation.

I realize that when people become so overwhelmed with say (snow) work, classes, bills, pain; their ability to fight is hidden and they shut down and give in to the ‘okay, you win’, worry and stressing about the overwhelming event, if you can call it that. It is what it is and that is LIFE. 

The only way that the events in life stop is if we die, and well, we don’t want that to happen, so what do we do? We deal with everything on a daily basis, sometimes by the seconds of the day and we need our prayerful meditations to just snuggle us tightly and get us through our life event. 

You know how people have huge walk-in-closets where they store everything but the kitchen sink? Yeah, I don’t have one of those. And then there are some smaller more reasonably sized closets; yeah I don’t have one of those either. Then there are the broom closets where you pack all of your junk in there until the walls are about to explode; yeah, I have one of those!

I’m telling you now, the bigger the closet the more problems of being overwhelmed you’ll encounter. People tend to hoard their life in a walk-in-closet when they only have a pantry size cupboard, that is when the overwhelming sneaks up on you and you burst. What to do? Take it to God and leave it in his mansion. He has plenty of room but you know what, He doesn’t store your problems or hide them or pile them back on top of you when you least expect it, nope He carries your junk effortlessly to the shores and places them by the sea. You see where I’m going with this? 

Have you ever watched waves crash on the shores? I remember when I was small we used to go to Ocean City, Maryland. I’d build sandcastles right close to the water but not too close for the waves to come and wash my beautiful creation away. By nightfall, the tide had moved in and my sandcastle became a part of the sea, no longer a part of me. 

That is what happens to our problems when we take them to God instead of storing them in our closets. He places them at the waters edge and it takes very little time for the hoarded problems to wash away. 

The other night I had a dream, one where our landlord came to the house for an inspection. The first thing he did was looked in our closets and started moving stuff around telling me that this closet needs to be organized. I woke with the overwhelming sensation of needing (no not cleaning out my closets!) but to organize my problems and prepare to load them up and take them to where God was standing and waiting for me to unload the accumulated junk in my life.(worries, problems, pain, stress) 

Sometimes we wait for a deadline to come upon us then turn to God when we should have been turning to God all along. We might think, ‘oh this is just a small problem (whether it is pain, bills, a dilemma) that we can handle on our own’, but we soon realize via the intensity, we’ve stuffed our closet to the max and there is no room. 

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve taken so much to God that I feel I overwhelm HIM and can handle the small things on my own. Boy, was I ever wrong! Like I said, He has a mansion the size of an ocean to store your problems, to Him they are but a grain of sand. Have you ever seen a grain of sand? To me, it is smaller than a grain of salt. To Him, my problems must be smaller than a grain of sand!

Don’t be afraid to take the small stuff to Him. Allow him to organize that closet to where your little pantry looks like a humongous walk-in closet upon opening and allow the sea breeze to swiftly wash over your face lifting your hair in a whoosh to carry your problems away.

It’s that simple, take your overwhelming worries to God. Don’t hoard the small stuff either, it just clutters the closet. ;) 

Matt. 6:6 “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

Poetry Sunday ~ My Father and Servant

Col. 3:15 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”

~My Father~

He strives to walk along the sand

With all his might he takes a stand

Raises up one swift hand

He smites the sea; he smites the land

He cowers not to you or me

Behold his love! Behold his glory!

Turn the page of inner fury

He rises up above the waves

Thrashing down the light that saves

Scanning all the open shore

The beacon shines forevermore

He is my Father strong and pure

The light that sits; awaits his call

Amid the storm to rise and fall

The lighthouse stands strong and tall

To guide one home through it all!

~The Servant ~

Be like children of marvelous wonder,

rise up and hear His call.

Be not fooled by raging thunder,

God has blessed us one and all.

Bow down your ear to hear His word.

Lift your voice in praise

Allow His truth in you be stirred

Put off corrupted lustful ways.

Rejoice in Him who saved your soul

To fellowship be kind

Unity becomes your goal

Then TRUTH is what you’ll find.

copyright © Joni Zipp

* a repost from November 23, 2008

The Season begins where we need to be thankful for all that we have, and thank the One who made it all possible. God Bless ~ Joni

Poetry Sunday ~ Seasons in the Sand

Matt. 19: 24 "And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

Seasons in the Sand

On wayward sand, I stretch my hand

as frothy water flows

on the solid Rock, I stand

relieved of passing woes.

The seasons of my mind are lit

with every wistful shower.

The Spirit’s here where I sit

to fill my every hour.

 Morning comes He breathes in me

the dawn of a new day.

He gives me sight so I can see

the path I went astray.

On wayward sand, I stretch my hand

granules in my clutch

I'm taken by the wavy band

the grains I dare not touch.

It's much easier for the camel

to pass through the needle's eye

Than you who’s merely mortal

to seek answers in the sky.

The seasons of my mind unfold

His Word for me to preach

As ribbons of the Truth be told

like footprints on the beach.

Poetry Sunday ~ Stardust Sand

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Job 38:7 “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

Stardust Sand

Friends often come and go

Acquaintances pass you by

Souls that meet on stardust sand

Will give you wings to fly.

Land is stiff yet supple

Footprints dot the path

Darting here and over there

Meeting raindrops wrath

God extends his hand to you

And pats you on your way

He never lets your fall 

Define who you are today

A friend is one you turn to

When soaring through the sky

You're souls that met on stardust sand

God gives you wings to fly.

Grains of Sand

Job. 6:3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.

Grains of Sand

Shards of glass, window broken

Words unsaid, never spoken

Lining up the grains of sand

I reach out to grasp a hand.

No one sees me standing there

Arms outstretched in deep despair.

Calls unheard, emotions dripping

Grains of sand, my fingers slipping.

Fragments of a former storm

Threads just barely keep me warm

I extend a trembling hand

Seeking out one grain of sand.

There along the barren shore

I am offered an open door.

Carried from this desolate land

Rainbows blink on grains of sand.

Prov. 27:3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.

 

 

Grain of Sand

Gen. 32: 12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

Grain of Sand

While some line up

On the bandwagon of sand

Rolling toward

the hearth to stand.

Warming hands

Beside the fire

All are mounting

The hearts desire.

Grain upon grain

I see the wad

Mounting up

Away from God.

Satan’s here

Always lurking

Finding ways

For evil working.

You jump in

Feet always first

You choose to see

In them their worst.

I praise the Lord

For the choice

To him be the Glory

Of my small voice.

While everyone looks

To the misguided flock.

I’ll stand upon

The Word, my Rock!

Matt. 7: 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

Poetry Sunday ~ Seasons in the Sand

Matt. 19: 24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Seasons in the Sand

On wayward sand I stretch my hand

as frothy water flows

on the solid Rock I stand

relieved of passing woes.

The seasons of my mind are lit

with every wistful shower.

The Spirit’s here where I sit

to fill my every hour

The morning comes He breathes in me

the dawn of a new day.

He gives me sight so I can see

the path you went astray.

On wayward sand I stretch my hand

granules in my clutch

You’re taken by the wavy band

the grains you dare not touch.

Tis easier for the camel

to pass through the needles eye

Than you who’s merely mammal

to seek answers in the sky.

The seasons of my mind unfold

His Word for me to preach.

As ribbons of the Truth be told

like footprints on the beach.

 

 

Poetry Sunday ~ Standing Strong through the Storm

Standing Strong through the Storm

***

The waves in life crash all around

I fall to my knees onto the ground

The Lord my God He keeps me warm

Standing strong through the storm.

I feel I walk in sinking sand

Judged for things in which I stand.

The waves they gush without a form

Standing strong through the storm.

I raise my head so I can be

A future bright for all to see.

A woman that shall not conform,

Standing strong through the storm.

I’m in a world where many sleep

A shepherds light for all lost sheep.

Before you you’ll see a woman transform

Standing strong through the storm.

My footprints I will leave behind

Fully sighted no longer blind.

The Lord my God will keep me warm,

Standing strong through the storm.

The Building of a Story

Matt: 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
***

At my Writers Village University hangout we are often in discussions of what it takes to build a story. Bob Hembree, the mastermind of WVU is an intelligent man who has brilliant articles on the matter of sentence structure, metaphors, and the philosophy behind the building of a story, word by word.

I’m a poet and as such I love metaphors. I love the idea of a hidden meaning somewhere in the makings of a story. Like a poem, a story needs to have a grander picture than what the reader is actually reading at face value.

Recently I read Animal Farm by George Orwell and while unimpressed with his style of writing, I was floored by the hidden meaning of a tale that is now listed as a classic. Like many classics, the meaning of the story transcends time and space.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is another story I read that held deep meaning in every page. I gather, from my interpretation, that man is a beast with struggles on many levels. In Animal Farm, men are pigs; in LOTF, man is a barbaric beast. So you see, this is just my take on the books while others would walk away with a philosophical explanation and may give deep levels of understanding. But we all walk away with something different.

What I’m getting at here is that stories can’t just be written to TELL the reader a story, there has to be intricate levels to your story to make it worthy of any publisher. They have to see that deeper hidden meaning, whether subtle or an in-your-face kind of meaning.

So how do we build a story? We take it brick by brick; layer upon layer, and give the novel shape. You can write twenty thousand words or eighty thousand words, if they have no shape, no structure, your tale will fall flat and on blind eyes, not one glance.

Here I go with the house metaphor again. You see a plot of ground (blank page) and you want to build on it (write a novel.) You are not going to just start building the walls, floor and roof are you? You’re going to check that the foundation (the meat of your story) is sound. This is where the outline becomes your best tool. The outline gives you a visual of how the story begins, all its ups and downs, riddled with conflicts, and a possible ending to your tale. Without an outline, you’re writing without a foundation.

You need to be the architect of your story. You shouldn’t write a tale, then decide, “Hey, I should have checked the foundation first.” You’ll find that after ten revisions, your story still isn’t grabbing the reader after the first chapter. What did you do wrong? You more than likely built your novel on sand and now will have to work extra harder in finding the solid ground it has to stand on in order to be published.

Lyrics: On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand; All other ground is sinking sand.

A whole lotta shaking going on...

Ps. 55: 19 God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.
***

Change...

Like sands through the hourglass...so are the days of our lives. I like that. But did you notice sand in an hourglass never changes? Never. The poor grains are caught up in a bottle on the brink of suffocation and all you can do is turn it upside down to get a different perspective of the granules, but they’re the same granules, same sand.

Can you imagine a life without change? I know a lot of people think change is a horrible aspect of their lives that they wish would just stop happening. Can you imagine a child without a changed diaper? A child who never made it past one?

Life is all about change and when it happens, you either embrace it, or get left behind in a stagnate mode, a funk where you become timid and anti-social almost unable to function in the world.

Last week we began f2k. It was the old site, our old rooms, our old fellowship. Then something happened. As with many site’s, it began its descent and people were having problems logging in, unable to post, they were frantically trying to gain access only to find, there was no access to be had.

So Bob Hembree, creator of f2k, created an entire NEW f2k site. It was in the works for a while but he wanted to run it through the testing phases before he used it. Well guess what happened last week? He placed the New F2K Social site up and we all had to migrate to the site or be left behind. (sounds like a book)

We marched into the social scene and started posting, we scrambled along like a herd of cattle being led into a pen. We migrated and changed. Tweaks were made, friends were requested, ‘like’s were going up like fireworks and we settled into our new digs like a butt in wet sand.

The new site is like facebook and it can be quite a frenzied day when you see numerous posts, trying to read and take it all in. I stick to my room. It keeps me out of trouble. You know how you have friends on FB, well on this site of 490 students, they friend request you. Go ahead, friend request me, I try to accept, but it doesn’t work. Glitches are inevitable too. I’m not trying to win a popularity contest which is what it feels like. Do all these people REALLY want to be my friend or just rack up their friends quota?

Imagine if on facebook, you had hundreds of friends all posting, and not one of them ‘hidden’. Kinda crazy, yes?

I’m open to change. Just ask me what happened eight years ago when the most massive change of my life happened. I didn’t hide from it, cower to it, run from it, I instead embraced it. And look at me now! All the better for the change.

F2k has taken on the change and the students are embracing it. It’s what writers do. We embrace change.