When you are stressed out about something, what do you do? I’m not asking for the right answer. I’m interested in reality. What do you really do? If you’re anything like me, you probably have a couple of go-to’s. My first is a classic. “I think I’ll spend significant time worrying about this problem and maybe even let it ruin my day/week/month. Perhaps I can even take it a step further and count up all the other times I’ve encountered a similar problem and remember how badly it turned out those times. Yes, that’ll help, for sure!”

I want to live an experiential spirituality. I want to feel the ancient God of the Bible, present within me in the kitchen, in the car, here at Starbucks as I write. But it’s not a feeling that I’m after, actually. It’s a tender, reciprocal relationship. I have some. But I want more. Much more. All too often I brush it aside, push right past, in a busy, distracted life. I want to know the eternal God the way He knows me. Spoiler alert. I don’t.

I know I’ve been spending too much time in the media (social and otherwise) when I’m starting to feel overwhelmed by all that’s wrong in the world. Political turmoil, immigration crisis, another church scandal. Failing education system, failing trust in absolutely anything. Genocide in one country, famine in another. Help, I’m drowning in bad news!

I’m learning something important right now, and I’d love to share it with you… There’s plenty of pain, devastation, and misery to see around us. And I’m not recommending sticking our heads in the sand. But if you allow the negative to become your focus, your consuming thought, well… it will happily CONSUME you!