Excitement and Anxiety

Happy Tuesday everyone! In just 24 days SugarBear and I will be the proud owners of our first home. I am so excited. With all the excitement does come some drawback. First, how much I don't want to move because I am going to miss living with my in laws. Second, my anxiety. Yes I am sadly one of those people who suffers from severe anxiety and the occasional panic attack. I know what you are thinking, "Why would you have so much anxiety over something so awesome?" Trust me I asked myself that question already..many times. For me though, no matter how excited I may be about some things there is an underlying fear of "waiting for the other shoe to drop." When everything is going so very well and you are wondering what could possibly go wrong and then your brain explains to you in great detail every possible thing that could. I know some of you can relate. It can be hard when you just want to enjoy life but you have a little voice telling you all the terrible reasons you can't. Trusting God isn't always easy. But let me tell you it is worth it! The truth is worrying and having anxiety is not the problem. It is what we do with that worry and doubt that determines our faith. When you recognize worry and anxiety for what it is you can channel all that negative energy into a positive result. Prayer does wonders. It is in my most anxious moments that I find such great comfort in Jesus. Knowing I have a God who is completely in control of everything is the biggest way I calm my anxiety. If you are finding yourself in a constant state of "wait for it" then take a moment and pray. Call on God to calm your fears. Give Him control of your life. This means accepting the outcome whether you like it or not but knowing that no matter the outcome God has got this. This can be scary because when your faced with an either or and you don't like the or it isn't really "fun" to let God take care of it because we think to ourselves "what if His will is for the one I don't like to happen?" I know I've thought it before. However, that is when I pray even harder and tell the devil to stop clouding my judgment and making me question God. When we are following God we are going to run into trails and tribulations. God never promised an easy life for us. If anything Paul and the apostles stressed the opposite. The key is to understand that when we are seeking the Lord's will for our lives no matter what happens we can rest assured that God has got us. We can face even the things we don't want knowing that God will get us through it. The biggest fear I have is losing my loved ones. My husband, my in laws, grandparents, etc. Purposefully waking up each morning and entrusting them to the Lord is the greatest way to calm that fear. My personality is to "be in control" and if you are the same way then you know how crazy it makes you when you have absolutely zero control over anything. Learning to trust God with my inherent need to be in control has been a battle. But I want to encourage you to not give up on that battle. It is such a relief to know that i don't have to be in control. God is. To know I don't have to worry and stress about the outcomes. God will provide. To know that moving into a new house will bring it's issues but it will also brings its joys just like everything that we entrust to God. I am so excited about my new house. I am so very excited to start painting and fixing and designing and so on. I am also so blessed to know that as long as I am walking in faith God will see us through everything. 

Whether you are excited about something but worrying about the what if or if you are just struggling with anxiety. Take a moment. Breath. Pray. and trust the God will see you through.

"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

Matthew 6:26

Don't forget February is right around the corner! I can't wait to start my series "Finding Normal" and I am so looking forward to you joining me on this journey. Make sure you subscribe and follow me to get updates sent straight to your inbox. Like my facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/thegoodwifesblog/ ) as well to see new things on your news feed. You can also follow me on twitter ( https://twitter.com/goodwifesblog) and instagram (https://www.instagram.com/annapartlow20/?hl=en). 
Comment below to let me know if you will be joining my series or email me at maryannapartlow@gmail.com Thank you all for your wonderful support! 

Christmas is Coming!

One holiday down one more to go! It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at my house. We've got the tree up and little decorations starting to pop up around the living room. Since our space is limited I am trying to keep it simple. However, that isn't going to prevent me from decking the halls. I am finding the easiest way to decorate when you have limited space is to us little things like tiny ornaments that you can stick between things to add a touch décor (see picture below). I am also trying to take advantage of wall space. If you are able to try hang stuff it makes it easy because you can use any blank space you have then put something festive but simple. Don't over crowd your space and make it look cluttered though. Ry-bear and I are hoping to finish our Christmas decorating this week so I will put up more pictures when we have it all done but here are a few of what we've accomplished so far. What are your Christmas decorating tricks for small spaces? Feel free to leave pictures in the comments with your holiday décor!

See the little Christmas balls? I am going to add some lights or garland to the bottom half as well since it is so vacant looking.

Tape looks kind of ugly but I used what I had on hand :P lol

You can do this over ANY window. I have a second curtain rod I put it on but you can do it without the curtain rod as well. Just tape it over the window sill where you can't see it.

 The Christmas tree and finished product (well on that half the room anyway). More pictures to come say tuned.

Emotions are NOT sinful

Oh my gosh I am so excited! Thanksgiving is right around the corner! My humble little abode is finally coming together. My husband and I spent several hours last night going through stuff. We are putting up the shelves in the closet today and I am going to finish up the laundry and other little knickknack items to finish off the house. Yes I know it seems like a small accomplishment for some but for me it is a big deal. If you have difficulty keep up with house work and cooking and "normal" wife chores than I am sure you can relate. For me it is not just an accomplishment to have a clean house but it finally lets me be able to prove to my mother in law I am not a complete failure as a housewife. For those following the house buying drama everything is currently at a stand still. As happy as I am that Thanksgiving is coming around the bend I am also starting to get anxiety about how fast time is going. If you have been following me for a while you may remember me saying that my husband and I are facing some very life altering events. As it gets closer to discovering the conclusion of that event I get more and more anxious about. It will never cease to amaze me how the devil can worm his way in at every opportunity. If you find yourself in similar life altering or even just minor life changing situations it is always important to remember that God is in control. It can be so easy to forget when we get so wrapped up in anxiety and worry. I suffer from sever anxiety  to begin with so that already doesn't help. Iit doesn't take much to get me worked up and into a panic attack. Because of that I know that the devil is constantly pounding on that door to try and get into my head and make me lose focus on God and His plan. As Christian's especially it can be difficult because we feel like we are bad people if we get anxious about something. Like how can we say we are strong good Christians when we are worried about events of life. Here is the thing though, having anxiety is not a sin. Being worried or scared is not a sin. Emotions are not sinful. What we do and how we respond to those emotions are what create an either sinful or godly response. You see harboring that fear, anxiety and worry and letting it over take us is what makes anxiety sinful. But when we cast our cares upon the Lord, that's when we take those emotions and use them as a way to glorify God by trusting Him. That is when those emotions get turned into a godly example. I know some people think that if you are worried about anything then you clearly aren't following God. But Jesus had anxiety and fear when facing the cross. What He did with those emotions though is what is important. He cast those fears and emotions on the Father. He trusted that even though He was scared and wanted for this burden to pass He ultimately wanted the Lord's will to be done. Trusting God doesn't mean everything will work out as we want. It does mean that everything will work out to God's glory and that is the real reason we are here on this earth. If anxiety is overtaking you don't feel guilty or sinful for having emotions. Take those emotions and show the devil that even at your worst point you will glorify God. Trust the Lord to see you through and everything will turn out for the glory of God.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)