Month: May 2023

No Fear! (Diet for Dreamers)

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One of the biggest hindrances to success is the fear of failure. While certain natural fears are healthy and beneficial — the ones that keep us out of trouble by warning us NOT to do something really stupid — this particular fear can be paralyzing. It can keep us from taking the next big step in the pursuit of our goals. It prompts us NOT to take chances, and instead, to make excuses, to be complacent, and to accept defeat before we even try!

In his daily devotional, The Word for You Today, evangelist Bob Gass once stated that researchers conducted an experiment in which “frogs were placed in separate glass jars covered with lids to prevent them from escaping. At first the frogs kept jumping, trying to escape, but each time they’d hit their heads on the lid. After thirty days of doing this, something amazing happened. When the lids were removed … the frogs never jumped out even though they could easily have done so. Why? Because they had formed a belief system that the top of the jar was as high as they could go….”

That describes a lot of us. At some level, we tried to go higher but we failed. And now we’ve stopped trying. We’ve stalled in the pursuit of goals, believing we can’t go any further. We’re reluctant to even try, because the taste of defeat  is bitter, indeed, and we don’t want to experience it again. So we tell ourselves, “I’m satisfied where I am. I’ve climbed high enough. I don’t need to rise any higher. Maybe I don’t deserve any better than this. Besides, I wouldn’t succeed anyway.”

If we allow this fear to rule our lives, we grow stagnant in every area. Playing it safe becomes our guiding principle in life. We’ll only do the right thing as long as it’s SAFE to do so. We’ll stop investing our money, our time, our talents, our love — because there’s a risk to every endeavor. There’s always a chance we can be hurt or suffer a loss.

No risks, no deep relationships, no chances on anything except the tried and true. Is this playing it safe? Or is it bondage? Are we free to take chances, or slaves to our fear?

Jesus Christ repeatedly admonishes us “to not be afraid.” In the Gospels alone there are dozens of warnings concerning FEAR. Our Lord came to free us — especially from bondage to fear: fear of not being worthy; fear of being rejected; fear of saying “No!” to unreasonable requests; fear of not living up to expectations; fear of failure; fear of being too young or too old or not qualified or over-qualified or too late or too early or not the right gender or ethnicity. To quote U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” And we needn’t fear that one either, because “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” (John 4:18 ESV) God’s love is perfect. So be FREE! Take confidence, strength and joy from the love, acceptance, and grace of God.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT)

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The Cookie Jar (Angel in the Kitchen)

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Do you have a cookie jar in your kitchen?

Cookie jars were first used in England toward the end of the 18th century — only they were called biscuit barrels. These containers were usually simple glass jars with metal lids. However, tea biscuits were frequently sold in metal containers and these “biscuit tins” were often saved and reused.

For some reason, cookie jars started becoming popular in the United States during the Great Depression (1929). (Perhaps people were feeling these common household containers were a safer place to stash their hard-earned nickels and dimes!) Around this time, cylindrical-shaped stoneware cookie jars, many of which were decorated with a floral pattern, began to replace the simpler, plain glass jars.

Vintage biscuit tin.

A few years later, the Brush Pottery Company of Ohio produced the first cookie jars made of ceramic, a material which allowed the containers to be molded into a variety of shapes, such as fruits, vegetables, animals or comical figures. Suddenly people were collecting cookie jars, and several companies decided to encourage the craze by offering a seemingly endless array of designs — ushering in a “golden age” of American Cookie jar production, from 1940 until the early 1970s.

We have a beautiful “birdhouse” cookie jar on our kitchen counter — because we LOVE birds! — and we store our Pepperidge Farms Milano cookies inside it. We buy these delicious cookies to keep on hand in case any guests drop by unexpectedly; we want to always have a treat to serve to them with their coffee. So we don’t usually pilfer the cookie jar. In fact, we keep the bag of Milano cookies sealed until we need them. (We only eat them ourselves if they’re close to going out of date, after we’ve replaced them with a fresh pack.) We’re good like that!

Wish we could say the same were true for us when we were kids! Both of us were frequently “caught with our hand in the cookie jar”! Wilma’s mom had a Mother Goose cookie jar. Tom’s mother had a teddy bear cookie jar. Both jars were kept well stocked. Both jars were an endless source of red-faced shame: there’s something embarrassing about being caught standing tippy-toed on a kitchen chair with one hand fishing around inside the “brain” of a brown ceramic bear! BUSTED!

The phrase “caught with your hand in the cookie jar” means: to be discovered taking something you’re not entitled to. When it comes to cookies, there may be several reasons we’re not entitled to a cookie: we’re saving the cookies for guests; we’re dieting and don’t need a cookie; we’ve already had our fair share of cookies; it’s close to dinner and we’ll spoil our appetites! Phooey! When you’re a kid, none of this seems fair. We just want a cookie!

“Hand in the cookie jar” has another, informal meaning: to take advantage of one’s unique position by accepting favors. For instance, “That politician has his hand in the cookie jar!”

As believers, we have a unique position in Jesus Christ: we are the sons and daughters of God — His children — and we’re also the Lord’s ambassadors here on earth. And know what? In His “celestial kitchen,” our Heavenly Father has His own “cookie jar”! It’s shaped like a “lamb without spot or wrinkle,” and it’s called God’s abundant life and blessings. He keeps it well stocked, and we never have to fear being caught with our hand in the cookie jar, because His blessings are there especially for us — not just for special guests! Anyone can reach in and grab an “abundant life biscuit” or indulge in a “double stuff” blessing.

Our Heavenly Father is always generous with His cookie jar, and He wants us to help ourselves to as many cookies as we want. “[God] withholds no good thing from those who have integrity.” (Psalm 84:11 NET Bible) His supply of blessings never runs out, and besides, He trusts us to share whatever we receive — instead of acting like the Cookie Monster! “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits.” (Psalm 68:19 KJ 2000)

Cookies whenever we want one? Hey, our Heavenly Father is not just an “eat your vegetables” God. He wants us to enjoy our days, so He always keeps the cookie jar in easy reach, 24/7 — 365 days a year. So have ANOTHER cookie!

Jesus said, “…If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” (Matthew 7:11 NLT)

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