The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy

Wow. God never ceases to amaze me. He hears me, he watches me, he speaks to me. Check out this awesome story about some mountains......

I was reading my Bible this morning and my heart was stirred to read Hebrews 12:18-28. I didn't mean to stumble upon this chapter, I was actually going to read James. When I got to James, my page flicked back from a breeze and my eyes were drawn to this whole mountain story. I think the main thing that caught my eye was the Mountain of "Fear" since I recently confessed my great "fear of abandonment" as well as the fact that fear had been taking an ugly place in my new life that Christ has given me.

So I started reading....

The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy

 ¹⁸ You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; ¹⁹ to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, ²⁰ because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”^{[c] 21} The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”^{[d]  22} But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³ to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴ to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
 ²⁵ See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? ²⁶ At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”^{[e] 27} The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
 ²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹ for our “God is a consuming fire.”^[f]

I read this section a few times and prayed that God would help me understand what He wanted me to learn. It was clear as day. The only options for me, a woman from a broken family with many wounds, are FEAR or JOY. It is as simple as that.

So, option 1. The Mountain of Fear. Hmm.. This mountain is a terrifying place to be because "they could not bear what was commanded" at this mountain. It was too much. There is a great FEAR reigning on this mountain. Fear of inadequecy, fear of rejection, fear of failure. Perhaps the most terrifying thing about this mountain is that it "can be touched" meaning we as humans, can mess it up and screw it all up. Left up to our human failings, we find FEAR here because it is a mountain based on a performance level that we can not possibly "bear what is commanded" here.

For me, the Mountain of Fear is a place where I reside when I look at what is in front of me and then look at my own self and just think, "There is no way I can do this." This has been the place I have been in lately as I look at this amazing, Godly man set before me from God Himself, and then I look at myself.
It has been the place I retreat to when I feel the sting of rejection from my childhood that I thought was already gone. When little things happen to me in life that bring up feelings of rejection, I embrace it all too easily. I also retreat to this Mountain of Fear when something happens that for me triggers fear of abandonment. There is a great INSECURITY in this mountain. (If I screw something up, it will be over forever.)

Option 2. The Mountain of Joy. This mountain is where the Living God resides. It is where He wants you and I to reside with Him. There is JOY filling this mountain and overflowing. There is SECURITY on this mountain because the joy given to us is exactly that, it's GIVEN. We are learning how to receive on this mountain. We are receiving many blessings. We also find security in the fact that our names our written in the Book of Life. This mountain is God's for when you reside on this mountain, "you have come to the Living God". There is a newness on this mountain that reveals a new covenant to us that dispels all fear. There is a "better word" of hope that comes from living on this mountain. The best part of this mountain is that it "cannot be shaken". And because this mountain cannot be shaken: We are therefore thankful and at peace (secure), now able to worship God by trusting in Him as we show reverence and awe. We are now filled with security, peace, love, joy, trust, reverence, and awe. We are now pleasing to God as we live on this mountain of joy. For only then can we "worship God acceptably". 

 Funny how we get it backwards and think we should live on the mountain of Fear and strive to be good enough by trying hard in our own strength.

We may desire to be the perfect wife, friend, daughter, mother or sister and yet we may fail miserably. We must decide to live and reside on the Mountain of Joy and allow His sacrifice to cover us and therefore bring us security, peace, joy, love, trust, reverence and awe. When you first allow Jesus to be your joy and you have a reverent attitude out of a thankful heart for what HE has done for you, I assure you that you will be one step closer to living in freedom.

**This picture at the top was given to me today by one of my students right after God spoke all of this to me. My student said, "This is for you since you are getting married!" The students pointed to the black line and said, "That's the mountain you live on and that's your house." Wow. How much more could God be saying to me, "My daughter, here is my unshakable promise to you: you will live on my mountain of Joy with your husband and family and you will have NO FEAR but instead JOY and LOVE forever." I about lost it... God speaks so clearly!!!

 My prayer for you is that you will walk in the truth.... a Godly, woman has NO FEAR.

Proverbs 31:25 -  "She can laugh at the days to come."

Are you a loner??? Connecting With Others: WHY it's Crucial!

Are you a loner?

Connecting With Others: Why It's Crucial

Are you connecting with others? Or are you isolating yourself? WHY do I ask? Well, most everyone I know who is successful in life, are connected with OTHERS. This may seem easy, but there are many people, like myself, who has a tendency to isolate. I struggled with this for many years...


Why did I isolate myself you ask.... simply because I have been hurt and felt the sting of rejection, and didn't want to open myself up to that kind of pain ever again. After a childhood full of painful memories, I wanted to take control of my life as an adult and not allow myself to feel that same sadness. However, I locked myself inside of my own world, and I was not able to make connections with others, or pursue my dreams. I had a small group of friends I would open up to, but that was it. If they ever hurt me, I would put my guards up for a few months, and let them know that I will not tolerate that. I had no sense of true forgiveness. I expected everyone who was close to me to never fail me. In essence, I set myself up for disappointment, and my friends up for failure.

After I was hurt really bad from some of my friends, I ended up closing myself off completely. I remember enjoying shallow conversations more than anything real. I preferred a laugh over a cry. My heart started to become hard to protect myself....

...months later only to find myself bursting at the seams with sadness. I was all alone. The worst part was, I chose this for myself. I started to feel the pain of rejected others and isolating myself and knew that it was effecting me. I knew I only had one choice... I had to connect to others.


So, I did what was hard. I did what I did not want to do. I left my comfort zone and made some new friends. I opened up to them, a little at a time. I felt so relieved by taking that first step. Although it was going to take work on my part to have healthy relationships in my life, I knew it was worth it....

So much good has happened since then. I have grown more into the woman God has made me to be. I have chosen to take risks. I stopped letting fear of rejection control my relationships. I didn't let the past tell me who I am. I started declaring and believing who Christ says I am ...a new creation, pure in His sight, beautiful and beloved, Holy and sanctified, and forgiven.

As I became closer to the people in my life, I started to trust again. I started to give LOVE again and BE LOVED.

This is true life. I hope that you are experiencing this in your own life today. If not, here is a prayer below to help you:


"Lord, we need you. Now more than ever. We have experienced so many hurts and pains in this world. We have had to face trials that were at times too difficult to understand. We became hard and bitter through it all. Today, I want to be free. I want to forgive those who have sinned against me. I choose to lay it all at Your feet, knowing You are in control. Help me Father to ALLOW people into my life again. Help me to open my heart up to you God, and to others. I need you Jesus. I thank you for all you did on the cross to give me true life, and I claim it. In Your Name, Amen."

Got Dreams???

Does FEAR have the best of you???

What holds you back from taking that leap? Is it FEAR???

My desire as an educator and as a person who has come from great difficulties in the pursuit of my own dreams is to encourage children and youth to dream and then to do!!!

I kept my dreams in a bottle for years, tucked deep inside my heart.

I was afraid to TALK about them for fear they would never happen.

I was afraid to SPEAK them into words, for fear they would just be words. 

My dreams and my heart are one. 

There is a deeper purpose to your dreams than you think. 

You were created uniquely and only YOU can do what you were created to do. 

There is not one single person on this planet that can fulfill your dreams.

Please, do it afraid, do it alone, do it passionately, do it boldly, do it fearlessly, and do it with all of your heart. 

Don’t do it carefully. Don’t wait. The time is now. The time is here. The time is when you take your first step!

“Of all the people I have ever known, those who have pursued their dreams and failed have lived a much more fulfilling life than those who have put their dreams on a shelf for fear of failure.” –Author Unknown

In January 2011, I started my own children's organization called Dream Big, Do Big! It has been such a blessing being able to inspire kids to chase their dreams!

God is LOVE.

"And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me." 

Matthew 18:5

www.dreambigdobig.org