A - C = P: Anxiety - Control = Peace

September 24, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. ‘Philippians 4:6-7 MSG

I was listening to a podcast when I heard a quote that brought so much clarity, I couldn’t get it out of my head. Here it is: “Anxiety results from wanting to control something God has not given us to control.” I didn’t remember the name of the person or why she was on the podcast, but what she said made so much practical sense. (I looked it up later. So, if you are interested, it was Joanna Weaver’s podcast, The Living Room, and the guest was Sharon Hodde Miller, author of The Cost of Control: Why We Crave It, the Anxiety It Gives Us, and the Real Power God Promises Us.) As I pondered her statement, a formula took shape in my brain, “A – C = P,” Anxiety – Control = Peace. Easy to remember and a goal worth aiming for.

Anxiety is something we all experience. Anxiety steals peace and commands focus. Whether it’s something personal about your family, or a job, or something broader like politics and the world situation, anxiety creeps up behind us, leaps upon us and gets us in a stranglehold. Ever feel that way?

Your brain goes in circles, trying to resolve something you are powerless to resolve. You can’t sleep and every waking moment is consumed with mental and practical fruitless attempts to solve the problem. Suddenly, it seems like nothing else is happening in your life. What started as a thought becomes a huge shadow. What do you do?

Do You Know What's Going on in There?

September 17, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. ' Psalms 139:1

There’s a lot going on in my life right now. What about you? We all have stuff happening, right? How are you feeling about all that you are experiencing? Do you really know?

The truth is that most of us don’t slow down enough to be in touch with our emotions. We serve others. We take care of our families. We work. We pursue personal goals. We keep so busy that we don’t have time to really feel anything. But all the emotions we don’t process still exist below the surface of our lives. Without realizing it, what we don’t know about our own emotions spills over and affects our relationships. Like a jar of salad dressing that is continually shaken, everything is all mixed together. You can’t notice the individual ingredients, but each ingredient flavors all the others. What happens when you stop shaking the jar? Some ingredients rise to the top and others sink to the bottom, right? As life slows down, those feelings that have been mixed in with everything else start to rise to the surface.

Maybe you are having trouble naming what you feel. Maybe you are unsure of how to process it. Maybe you are among the many who, as social media proves, are just continually busy. Part of the unconscious motivation for that is to keep the jar shaken up and push all those feelings back down.

What about you? How are you handling what is rising to the surface?

Resist The Resistance

September 10, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.” ‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3:12-14‬ ‭MSG‬‬

I’ll bet you wouldn’t peg me as a Star Wars fan. True, I am more partial to the original trilogy and have had a harder time warming up to the newer offerings. But if a Star Wars movie comes out I want to see it. I want to know what happens in that universe. I want to see how the story progresses. Let’s be honest here, as long as the Star Wars franchise is making money the story will never actually end. That’s okay with me. So, what is it that grabs me, and so many others, into spending a few dollars to watch this crowd of familiar and fresh faces flying through hyperspace? What catches us?

There’s a moment in The Last Jedi, one of the more recent Star Wars films (not a spinoff) that I think says it all. Finn and Rose (Don’t know who they are? Ok, “The good guys”) are on a mission to defeat the First Order (The bad guys) and they need help. They meet a few kids working in a stable and earn their favor with the acknowledgment “We’re with the Resistance.” The kids’ faces light up and they are in. There is something in all of us that wants to be with the Resistance, we want to be with the good guys defeating evil. That’s why we stand in line and buy tickets.

In Star Wars being with the resistance is a good thing. But resistance isn’t always good, is it? Sometimes resistance is the thing holding you back from accomplishing what you know God has called you to. Sometimes resistance is the force opposing you rather than the force opposing evil. So how do you handle that kind of resistance? What do you do when the resistance is fighting against you?

Accept the Unexpected: A YES Lesson from Mary

September 3, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38

Mary went through a lot in her lifetime, but we never get the sense that she strayed from her trust in God. The evidence of trust in the young girl who said, "Be it done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38) remains until the last mention of Mary in Scripture, gathering with the first group of believers in Jerusalem, praying and waiting for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 1:14). We can draw the conclusion that she was there and experienced the birth of the church with Peter and the others mentioned there.

So, what would be the secret to her staying power? How did she live the YES life through the ups and downs of so much change and challenge? Since Joseph is not mentioned past the time when, at twelve, Jesus was found in the temple talking with the teachers, it's likely she lost her husband at an early age. She witnessed her son straying from the normal life path for people of her community, becoming an itinerant preacher who gained a large following and stirred up strong opposition, until eventually, she stood at the foot of the cross and watched him die. And yet, if she was praying with the early believers she must have also accepted and experienced the joy of his resurrection. What was her secret? What can we learn from her about living the YES life?

In all these things Mary learned to accept the unexpected.

Setting Sail for the Next Leg of My Journey: Honoring My YES Adventure

August 27, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31 NIV

The YES Adventure. That’s the name of this website and blog. Following God becomes an adventure the moment we say YES to Him. When you say YES to God, He will take you places you never expected to go and enable you to do things you never expected to do. He will do more in you than you have ever expected and more through you than you ever imagined. My challenge to you: Discover YOUR more when you give God your YES. That has been my experience and it’s what I want for you.

This week my adventure included a milestone birthday. Milestones always inspire reflection for me. They are an opportunity to look back and celebrate how far I have come. But they are also an opportunity to dream about where I am going next. Do you do that?

As I have considered this milestone, I have wanted to honor the adventure God has taken me on. From my first YES, He has led me from a scared, self-centered girl to a confident, caring woman who spends her life serving others. My girlhood dream was to be a famous actress. My grown-up dream is to fulfill God's purposes for my life, which included becoming a minister and serving His people. That’s a journey I never expected to take! My life is so much more fulfilling and satisfying than I ever dreamed it could be. And at this juncture many people would be looking toward retirement, winding down. Tom and I are in the process of preparing to gear up for a new season of service and are training for new adventures. I shake my head. How did we get here? One YES at a time. YES by YES. And more to go!

Let's Pray!

August 20, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

Greetings, Dear Friend! Let’s pray some Scripture together!

Father, I am Yours. I will seek You and Your strength. I will seek Your presence continually. (Psalms 105:4, 1 Chronicles 16:11)

Lord, I thank You for being present and active in my life. Help me to acknowledge You in all my ways trusting You to direct my path. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Help me to listen for Your voice behind me saying, “This is the way. Walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)

Lord, I know that I am unable to fulfill Your purposes without Your power. Apart from You, I can do absolutely nothing. (John 15:5)

Do Your work in me so that You can do Your work through me. You give me the want-to and the ability to do what pleases You. (Philippians 2:13)

My Shepherd, And Yours

August 13, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

Psalm 23

Because the Lord Himself is my Shepherd. I will always have all that is essential for my life.

He brings me to places of abundance and peace. He soothes my inner struggles and renews the hope of my heart.

He leads me to walk in the paths that please Him. He guides me to go in the way that honors Him because He calls me His.

When my path unavoidably passes through the evils of earthly life and the darkness of death dims the way ahead, my heart is at rest because I know You are present in the pain. You comfort me with your correction. You lead me within the loving limits of Your long-proven pathways.

Celebration

August 6, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

Today, Lord, I celebrate You:

In the sun and the heat,
In the cold and the chill,
When the sun rises over the mountains,
When the sun sets beyond the ocean.

I celebrate You:

In the voices that I hear,
In the songs of the birds,
In the faces that I see,
In the colorful variety of flowers.

Legalism or Love?

July 30, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

'So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. ' Colossians 2:16-17

I recently had the privilege of bringing someone to take their driving test. They had already taken the written test and gotten in their practice hours. Now they just needed to convince the evaluator that they were not a threat on the road! They had to demonstrate a knowledge of the rules and the skill to keep them. Thankfully, they passed! Now they have the freedom and privilege of driving solo. It’s both a relief and a responsibility.

Imagine someone saying, “I don’t want to drive. There are too many rules! They won’t let me drive as fast as I want, and they won’t let me drive on the other side of the road. If I can’t drive my way, I don’t want to drive at all!” Sounds pretty foolish, doesn’t it? When someone is going for their driver’s license, they accept the noes as part of the package. They recognize that the noes are part of order and safety so that driving can be a useful and enjoyable experience for everyone. They focus on the freedom of driving, not the restrictions.

Why is it that Christianity has become known as a religion of noes?

Happily Ever After? Really?

July 23, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

I have loved you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3

I was 14. He was almost 18. It was my first "real" relationship. I remember the moment he said "I love you. And I've never said that to anyone before!" I believed him. He believed himself. We were happy. What else would we be?!

It lasted almost a year. An eternity as far as teenage relationships go! When it ended there was no amicable separation or catastrophic blowout. I saw him kissing someone else. He knew it and stopped calling. I was cast aside. His love for me had come to an end. Where was the happy ending every romantic movie, book, or fairy tale promised me? Was it my fault? Was I not lovable?

Romantic love. It seems like everyone wants it. It certainly is big business, but is it good business? Does it promise something it can’t deliver? Romantic love sells products, movies, and experiences. An entire TV channel is devoted to romantic movies! Every single one has a happy ending. But it doesn’t really happen, does it? You've been hurt by the fractured fairy tale, just as I have been. If we all know that "happily ever after" isn't reality, then what is it in us that cries out for love that lasts forever?

Experts recognize that the need to be loved is basic to every human being. If that is so, then there can only be one reason: We are God-wired for love. Why? Because you and I are made to be loved by Him. he has hard-wired us to want to be loved unconditionally, unceasingly, and unapologetically. The problem is that, as in so many other areas of life, we look for that need to be met in an earthly and natural way, rather than in a heavenly and supernatural way.