I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Awake With You
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Dear Friends, Ever been unable to turn your mind off? The what ifs, the anxieties, the worry? It’s like a record left spinning long after the party’s over. It’s a merry-go-round that doesn’t seem to slow for long enough to step off. Anxiety can be truly disruptive. Let’s talk about it. But first, here are some lyrics I’m singing to Jesus today: You never sleep nor slumber Sometimes, when the day is over and the cacophony of work and schedules and kids quiet down, the hum of anxiety can amplify. What was a background presence becomes a siren that can no longer be ignored, and certainly not slept through. Night can be the worst. But there’s an attribute of God that convinces me He’s just what we need in these moments. Isaiah 40 tells us “The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, never faints nor is weary”. Psalm 121 tells us, “He will never slumber nor sleep”. Now, telling someone who is anxious not to be anxious is probably one of the least helpful things you can do. So I won’t. But what I will say is this: When you find yourself awake, staring into the dark, feeling worry swell in your mind, you are not alone: He is awake with you in the night. Yes, He does lift the weight. Sometimes He does it miraculously in a moment, it’s gone, and you’re sleeping like a baby. Sometimes it’s a process and takes time. But even right in this moment, before anything improves, He is with you. The God who thinks more thoughts of you than there are grains of sand on the earth (Psalm 139:18) is awake with you, present with you. He’s a generous Father who loves when we come to Him. He’s a gentle shepherd who won’t abandon His sheep. He’s a night watchman over your life, your future, your family, who won’t close His eyes for a moment. Take comfort. –Anna |
Anna Blanc
I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Hi Friends, As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul longs for you. This verse from Psalm 42 reads like poetry, but lives like utter desperation. Yes, this is a story about survival. When you are dying of thirst, you know exactly what you need. You pass up gold, opportunity, open doors, applause, all of it. It’s not even tempting. When you’re achingly thirsty, you will do anything to find the water. You check all the wells that have nourished you in the past, running from one to the...
Hi Friends, American writer Frederick L. Collins once said: There are two types of people — those who come into a room and say, “Well, here I am!” and those who come in and say, “Ah, there you are.” A “here I am” person walks into a room wrapped around themselves. How will I be received? How do I look? What impression will I make? A “there you are” person walks into a room with eyes to truly see the people in front of them. Their lives, their needs. My friend who works in the food industry...
Hi Friends, As the pastor shared from Exodus 32, painting the picture of the Israelites waiting nervously for Moses to return from his journey up the mountain, I began to see the scene in ways I hadn’t before. Here they are, in the middle of the wilderness. It has been weeks with no sign of their leader. Fear takes hold. They are distraught that God may have abandoned them. Left them for dead in the middle of this wasteland. They wake up in the morning, collect manna for the day’s...