I am blessed to have the opportunity to be the hostess for this week's Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge.

One of the songs that I have been listening to lately is by JJ Heller called HAVE MERCY ON ME. There is a line in the song that says… “I’m tired of being afraid…” It made me think about the topic of fear. Last week my daughters and I experienced FEAR as we tried to get a possum out of our garage. I had just gone to bed when I heard a terrifying scream. I jumped out of bed when I heard the scream and went to see what was wrong. My daughters had been going outside to my oldest daughter’s truck. They had opened the door between the garage and the house and turned on the light. There inches away from their feet was a possum that hissed at them. I armed myself with a broom, while my daughters grabbed a stick and a golf club and we went into the garage to make sure our unwanted guest left. When that was done, the adrenaline was rushing through my body and it was hard to fall back to sleep.

What are you afraid of?

Some fears come from our past experiences. When I was little we lived in an apartment that had tarantula spiders that climbed over the doorways and they would drop on you when you opened the door. When I was in high school I had a black widow spider in my hair. I was also bit by a brown recluse spider. When I see spiders, I know in my mind that I am bigger than they are, I am stronger than they are and I can kill them, but I am still afraid of them. Note to self don’t watch the old movie Arachnaphobia.

What happens when little ordinary fears become so big that they become the focus of our lives? Fear in the extreme we call phobias. I looked on the internet at a list of phobias. The list was too long to even count. Some of them sounded kind of funny to me. Neophobia – fear of something new. Koniophobia – fear of dust (if any of you have this fear don’t visit my house) and the one I thought I might try with my family is Mageirocophobia – the fear of cooking. (I can just see it now… I think we will have to go out to eat I have Mageirocophobia!) I am sure to those who suffer from these phobias it is not a laughing matter.

I did a computer search (King James Version) and the phrase “FEAR NOT” was used 68 times.



This is the verse that I picked to share with you today:



2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind



I can’t even find the words to describe what an awesome gift this is. I often say this verse at night when I am struggling with my fears. It seems like the middle of the night is when Satan like to wage battle, using my fears against me.



There are a few more verses that go along with the one I picked.



Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.



Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends, all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.



John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.



My challenge to you this week is to try something that you may have been afraid to do before…a new technique, a new color combo, a new sketch, a new style…





Our sponsor this week is Paper Fashions Etc.



For my card I tried a new technique, (inspired by my sister in Christ, Linda) called resist. I also went with a CAS style.

Check out what my Stampin' Sisters in Christ have created:

Kris Linda Miesje Pegggysue Rebekka Teresa Traci