Anger Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Tabetha’s Devotions

September 19, 2017

T.H.I.N.K.

Ephesians 4:29

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Some days I just wish I could unload a verbal assault!

The anger burns inside because someone has said something whether it is behind my back or to my face. Maybe I read some stupid comment or post on social media. It could be about me, my kids, my students, my family, my friends or maybe it is just some different political or ideological viewpoint. It doesn’t really matter, I am steamed and ready to blow.

Today was one of those days.

Have you ever been here? Standing on a cliff and ready to jump in with both feet without thinking first. All you know and care about is you have been wronged someway, somehow and now you are out for revenge.

I have been here one too many times. I recently read a book by Karen Ehman called Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All. It was a fantastic book. She taught me how to ask an important question when I get so angry.

Is what I am about to say going to be helpful?

Sometimes, when I am upset, I really do need to say something. The person I am upset at may not even know they upset me. It may have been a misunderstanding. However, if what I have to say and the way I say it are only going to make the matter worse is it really helpful to say it? Do I need to step back, take a breath, and consider the best way to approach the situation?

Or perhaps I don’t need to say anything at all because it really isn’t going to make a difference. Just like today.

No matter how I choose to handle the situation today or tomorrow, I do know what God expects of me.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ~Ephesians 4:29

September 12, 2017

Give Me A Pen!

Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I need a pen
Give me a pen
I must write
My soul is swirling
My thoughts are jumbled

I am a complete mess
Nothing makes sense
My nerves are raw
My body is jittery
I am overwhelmed

I can’t control this feeling
The darkness haunts me
It is coming fast
I can’t stay ahead of it
How long will this last

I have the shakes
I want to pick a fight
A blood thirst some would call it
I need to calm down
I need to take a breath

I need a pen
Give me a pen
I must put my thoughts down.

~Tabetha Frick

Yesterday was a strong day for my depression. I felt it creeping up on me. Stalking me like a lion. I pleaded with God to take it away. I didn’t want to walk down that path again. I was afraid to walk down that path again. I am always afraid I won’t find my way back.

Satan loves to play with me that way. He loves to use my fears against me. He loves to make the darkness swirl around me and try to strangle me. He likes to try and snuff out all my hope. My joy. My peace. He drives me to the one place he never wants to find me. Writing!

People ask me why I write. I write because I have to. God has placed this need inside of me. It is my escape hatch from the darkness. I fall on my knees and pray. I grab a pen and just write. Some of my darkest and yet most beautiful poetry has come out of these horrible places.

It is there in that desolate place I find joy and peace as I learn to trust in the God of hope. It is in that deserted place I begin to overflow with hope because of the power of the Holy Spirit.

I write because I need to leave a piece of me as a map for those who travel behind me. I need to let them know they are not alone and that I pray over them constantly,

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

September 1, 2017

WWJD

Deuteronomy 31:8

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

The WWJD movement is so cliche now that it is almost cliche to say that it is cliche. That made so much more sense in my head ;o)

What would Jesus do is a question or phrase we often pass around when we don’t know what else to say. How often do we REALLY ask that question and expect an answer or seek an answer?

Have you found yourself in a painful situation and seriously stopped and asked what would Jesus do if he were in my shoes right now? Well, let me tell you what he would do.

He would feel pain (John 19:1 & 2)

He would feel sorrow (John 11:35)

He would feel betrayal (Luke 22:48)

He would feel fear (Luke 22:44)

He would feel anger (Matthew 21:12)

He would feel alone (Matthew27:46)

What do all of these things have in common? He would FEEL! It is Ok to go through something and feel pain, sorrow, betrayal, fear, anger or alone. Jesus felt these things also.

Today, he is feeling them with you. He is going before you. He is walking along beside you. He is not going to leave you and he certainly will not forsake you. Feel your feelings. Walk through them. Don’t be afraid of them and don’t get discouraged with yourself.

Next time you are going through a rough patch in your life, ask yourself what would Jesus do. Then remember what he would do. He would feel and keep on moving!

August 24, 2017

But I Don’t Wanna!

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.

But I don’t wanna do that!

How many times have you heard someone say something similar? If you have kids, I can guarantee you have heard it at least ten times today. As a teacher, I can tell you I can multiply that number by thirty and some days even more.

How many times have you caught yourself saying or thinking I don’t want to do that? Hmmm…yeah for me probably ten times a day again might just be accurate.

I really hate it when I get stuck in one of those moods where I start thinking negatively about everything. I mean I get pretty darn close to a full on temper tantrum. Reality check, some days it isn’t close. Some days I go straight to the temper tantrum.

Recently I was having one of those days when I stumbled upon Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

Talk about OUCH!

Once the burn started to subside, I realized there were lots of things in life I didn’t necessarily want to do. There are times when doing said things are very inconvenient. Sorry, I will never enjoy doing laundry, dishes or cleaning a bathroom. Some days I really want to stay in my pj’s and not go to work. Somedays I just don’t want to adult anymore!

It is in those times, I have to remember it isn’t all about me. Someone has to get these things done. I really enjoy pleasing the Lord. So, when I get my focus off of me and onto him, it does make the task doable.

I won’t lie. They still are not things that make me happy. However, I can concentrate on trying to make God smile.

Besides, I am definitely happy when they are done!

August 21, 2017

Go With The Flow

Proverbs 4:23
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Did you ever notice just how busy we really are all the time?

Let’s be real here. We are all extremely busy people. I am not sure we even know how to slow down. Even our vacations seem to get packed with must see’s or must do’s let alone everything it takes to get ready for a vacation. Oh, and don’t forget all the stuff waiting for us when we get back.

Recently, my husband and I went up to Wisconsin for my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary. It was a weekend getaway. Easy right? One would think so. Just grab a few things and get out of the house. However, when I got home from work Friday night I still needed to pack and my work schedule that day seemed overwhelming. So, I felt frantic.

When I walked in the door I was met with a frantic husband. He had been home that day making sure the house was cleaned up and animals all taken care of for our house sitter. Only thing was life had gotten in the way of all of his plans as well. So, meet Mr. & Mrs. Frantic.

I should mention right now that we decided to take our not quite two-year-old granddaughter with us. This was her first five-hour road trip. No one was quite sure what to expect. I certainly didn’t expect to learn a very valuable lesson from her.

God tells us clearly to guard our hearts because everything flows from it. Getting tired and overwhelmed is not good for our flow. When we don’t learn to recharge our bodies and our minds that nice quiet flow can turn into raging rapids.

You could say my husband and I were trapped in one of those raging rapids by the time we hit the road. Then, I saw my granddaughter.

During our trip, she laughed, pointed out the cows, the windmills and waved hi at everyone who passed. She played with her toes and sang her ABC’s. Then every once in a while she would yell Mawmaw! Mawmaw! To jibber jabber about something that caught her attention. She was taking the time to enjoy the ride.

Five hours later, we pulled into our hotel. My husband and I were exhausted but she continued to smile. We got to our hallway and ran into cousins she had never even met and she began sharing her cookies and laughing with them all. After a long ride, she played hostess and made sure everyone got some love.

We walked into the room and she ran to one of the beds laying claim by putting baby and blanket promptly on top. I got her and I ready for bed and she climbed in, turned around, and flopped in the middle of all the pillows. She pulled the fluffy comforter up to her chin. She snuggled deep down and let out a great big mmmmmmmm!

My little baby bop didn’t let life dampen her adventure. She didn’t let five hours trapped in a car seat get her upset. She didn’t hesitate to share love and joy with everyone around her. And at the end of the day, she sank in and let herself get swallowed up in the comfort of a great big fluffy bed. Without realizing it she was guarding her heart and love was flowing out.

For the rest of the trip, my husband and I took the time to just go with the flow. It is amazing the new tricks a not quite two-year-old can teach these two old dogs!

August 17, 2017

Let There Be Light…the End

Psalms 97:11
Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.

So I began this journey talking about PTSD, anxiety, and depression. I then moved on to my seizures and two wonderful pups that were placed in my life. How do I connect all of this together? That is easy, God!

Only one of my seizure ever came back as epileptic. For many years, I was told my seizure activity was made up. The official term was pseudo-seizures. I had several doctors who truly made me feel like I was making it all up for attention. It wasn’t really their fault. Little was known about seizures at the time.

A few years ago, some new studies came out that linked pseudo-seizures with stress levels much in the same way they link migraines. As a matter of fact, I also suffer from migraines and my doctor said very often instead of coming out as a headache, sometimes my migraines were coming out as seizures.

These stressors can come in many different packages. I have environmental ones like certain foods I am allergic to as well as seasonal allergies. My body getting run down because of being sick or lack of sleep can become a trigger. Then there is the biggest one of all, life!

Annie was very good at noticing when I was getting stressed. She would often walk up to me and get me to pet her to take my mind off things. It was very calming and I can’t tell you how many seizures she helped me avoid by just calming me down. However, when those really difficult moments came and my PTSD kicked in I would get lost in the darkness. Even Annie struggled with how to bring me back.

I don’t know if it was because of the life he endured or if God just decided to equip him with a little extra light, but Meshach knows exactly what to do. Meshach runs to my side when he feels those anxieties creeping up inside me. When I am so frightened, reliving each and every moment of torment, he doesn’t let me walk alone. He cuddles me. He licks me. He simply stays right by my side and never takes his eyes off me. Just like when we first met.

God sends him to light the path for me. He is there to let me know I am not alone and we will get through this together. In the military, it is often referred to as “he’s got my six.” The really cool thing is I have his too. There are times when he leans into me when we are in a big crowd. I reach down, place my hand on his head and he looks up at me with those big brown eyes and I remind him, we are in this together. He lets out a slow breath, stands a little taller and we go on.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds my future. Right now God has chosen to show me his love and light through four big paws and a very wet nose.

August 16, 2017

Let There Be Light Part 3

Job 22:28
What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.

We met at a shelter.

When he escaped the man who was trying to put him back in his cage and came and sat in front of me, I knew we had a destiny. I heard several different variations of his back story. None of them were very nice. All of them ended with him being at the shelter nearly starved to death at only 4 months old. He was now 7 months old, very sweet, but he was very timid and didn’t trust people. As a matter of fact, everyone was just as shocked as I that he came up and just sat in front of me the way he did.

The nice young man came and got him, apologizing to me. He gently pushed the puppy into his cage and shut the door. I walked past and then back again. It was like watching one of those paintings that seem to follow you everywhere. He would not take his big brown eyes off of me.

My husband thought I was joking and tried walking by to see if he would look at him instead. All the little pup did was turn his head to try and view around my husband to get another look at me. I was his world and the exact person he had been waiting for.

We got him back out and played with him for a while. We even took him out to romp in the yard. He took me to all his favorite spots, stopping every few steps to make sure I was following him. He brought me various toys and responded with sits and waiting patiently as I looked over each gift.

I left him at the shelter that day because we had several other dogs to look at but I have to say I felt just like him. With every dog we went to see, I would look around them to see the vision I still had of that cute little boy etched in my mind.

I spent the next morning going over the three dogs we had narrowed it down to. I explained each one to my mom as we went for our daily walk. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I really wasn’t giving her much detail about the other two. As a matter of fact, I would make a comment about them and then say something to compare them to that cute little boy.

I remember my mom looking at me when I was done and saying, “I think you made up your mind and will be heading back to the shelter when we are done here.” Did I ever tell you my mom is a very wise woman?

I took the paperwork and called my husband on the way to the shelter to let him know I was going to pick the puppy up. When I got there everything fell into place like God himself had already laid out every step and was shining his light on the path.

What normally takes a couple of days to get approved, took me a couple of hours. When they brought him out he sat across the room and smiled at me and wagged his tail in delight but he would not come to me at first. I called him by his name they had given him but he stayed put.

Once again the Holy Spirit intervened with a loving but well-placed thump to my head. He lovingly reminded me how we always said if we ever got a boy dog we would name him Meshach. So, I looked into his big brown eyes across the waiting room and smiled and said, “Hi, Meshach!” He broke free from his handler and ran top speed right into my arms.

So about now I am guessing you are wondering about the seizures. Well, if you remember I had been walking with my mom that morning and we had put in six miles. I had not eaten much for breakfast and it was now nearly one in the afternoon. Needless to say, my sugar levels were dropping.

I was sitting on the floor in a little room with Meshach while they finalized the paperwork. He was entertaining himself by watching the kittens through the glass. He stopped all of a sudden and walked over to me and put his paws on my shoulders and went nose to nose with me. I started to shake all over and he just sat on top of me and started licking my face. Once again God had equipped a dog with the power to know when my seizures were coming and how to best handle me.

What I didn’t know was God had equipped him with so much more!

August 10, 2017

Who Can Compete With Me?

Galatians 6:4

Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else

John Lennon sang a song called Imagine. In one of the verses, he sings:

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace, you

Basically, he is saying what if we could get rid of all of our differences and have no competition. Now, he also goes on to say he realizes he is just a dreamer, but he hopes more people have this dream too.

Competition and differences are a part of life. As you read this, I am competing for your time. I mean there are million other things you could be doing, right?

So what does the bible say about competing or competition? Well I found a couple of references

1 Corinthians 9:25
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

2 Timothy 2:5
Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules.

and then there, of course, are some on running a race

2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

1 Corinthians 9:24
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Then there is my favorite

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us

I love this verse because for me one of the biggest hinders is the competition itself. I want to compare myself to everyone around me.

I was a marathon runner and one thing I learned early on was to quit comparing myself to everyone else and work on my own personal best. When I concentrated on what everyone else around me was doing I would just get frustrated and angry because I couldn’t match their abilities. When I concentrated on competing with myself I would find victories over time I ran just a little faster or longer.

My competing with everyone around me became a hindrance that led to a sin of jealousy and envy. I began to get angry and others. It is so easy to fall into that entanglement and the world does not help with this. Just turn on the TV, log on to social media or open a magazine and you will see some beautiful woman who has it all together. All of a sudden you look at yourself and you are too short, too tall, too fat, too thin. Your kids aren’t perfect enough. Your spouse doesn’t love you enough. Your house isn’t fancy and way too messy. You need more money for a new car or fancy vacation. There are millions of other comparisons you can make.

Let’s take a moment with John Lennon and imagine there is a place where we don’t compare ourselves to others. Instead, we just work on competing with ourselves. We take each day to make it a little brighter than the day before. We move a few steps closer to a goal we have set. We celebrate our victories each night when we realize even if the day wasn’t perfect, we survived it and are going to get up tomorrow and try again.

Let’s test our own actions. Then we can take pride in ourselves alone, without comparing ourselves to someone else. (Galatians 6:4)

August 4, 2017

Storm Alert!

Psalms 119:33&34

³⁴ Give me understanding [a teachable heart and the ability to learn], that I may keep Your law; And observe it with all my heart.
³⁵ Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.

Have you ever had to pray, “Lord, make me willing to be willing”? I know for me there are some days that is all I have in me to give. I am not in a place to even be willing to do the right thing. No way! No how! It is usually because I am so frustrated, angry or hurt at the moment that my inner rebellious little tantrum throwing child is screaming out in pure agony.

Just ask any of my children or my hubby and they will tell you I am very good at the hands on hips, foot tapping, laser eyes, and tightly drawn lips. Shoot I even add the jaws clenched and teeth grinding some days. It is in those moments I really need a heavenly attitude adjustment.

I know it.

Everyone around me knows it.

But I! Don’! Want! To! (Please insert stomping foot for full effect!)

I want to hand on to my anger and hurt. I mean, it was obviously someone else’s fault that I am in this mess. Somebody did something to me. I would never choose to be acting like this; would I? Or would I? Is that somebody really making me act this way? Do they have so much control that they pull my strings and I perform?

Well, let me tell you, last time I checked Pinocchio and I could sing a duet.

I’ve got no strings
To hold me down
To make me fret, or make me frown
I had strings
But now I’m free
There are no strings on me

I am sorry to say, there is no one making you or I DO anything.

Now please pause with me here just one moment. I am not saying we never have a reason to feel hurt or angry. What I am saying is we can choose not to hit DEFCON 1 and let your Mt Vesuvius spew everywhere, while balancing on an earthquake during a hurricane. Oh come on, you know you have all been there. I am not just being a drama queen here.

When those weather patterns start circling and I feel my temperature rising, I have to choose to step back. Somedays I have packed all the right gear and can avoid the storm altogether. Other days it rushes up on you out of what seems like nowhere and I have to start with just being willing to be willing.

When I step up and say, God, I am willing to ask to be willing, I can almost hear see him slap and rub His hands together and say, “OK, Challenge accepted!”

I think that is why I love the amplified version of Psalms 119:34 & 35. In those moments I am reaching out to God and saying my heart is pretty hard right now. Please give me understanding, soften my heart teachable and make it teachable. God, I am willing to put one foot in front of the other but please MAKE me walk in Your path. I know in the end gray skies are gonna clear up and I will put on a happy face.

So the next time the weather alerts to possible storms ahead, grab your rain coat to show God you are at least willing to be willing and He will handle the rest.
Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

Tag: Anger

T.H.I.N.K.

Like this:

Give Me A Pen!

Like this:

WWJD

Like this:

But I Don’t Wanna!

Like this:

Go With The Flow

Like this:

Let There Be Light…the End

Like this:

Let There Be Light Part 3

Like this:

Who Can Compete With Me?

Like this:

Storm Alert!

Like this:

Thanks For Sharing!

Like this:

Thanks For Sharing!

Like this:

Thanks For Sharing!

Like this:

Thanks For Sharing!

Like this:

Thanks For Sharing!

Like this:

Thanks For Sharing!

Like this:

Thanks For Sharing!

Like this:

Thanks For Sharing!

Like this:

Thanks For Sharing!

Like this: