Hi Everyone!

Susie Larson here...

I've missed connecting with you all.

A big THANKS to my wonderful author friends who posted in my place. Bless you, big time!

And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way.

Before I get into my topic, I want to mention that I will be giving away a $10.00 Caribou gift card to one of you in January. Like coffee, smoothies, green tea? Post a time or two this month and share what God is doing in your life! Your name might be drawn for a sweet treat!

When my boys were young and adventurous, they wanted to try every adrenaline sport available. From skateboarding to snowboarding, from bike jumping to cliff jumping; I prayed for their safety and worked to keep healthy boundaries in place while allowing them to take a few risks once in a while.

During one of their outings, I looked around at the kids who were "regulars" to a particular sport. I watched how they talked with their friends, how they responded when someone got hurt, and how they treated the newbies.

It didn't take long for me to decided that this was not going to be a mainstay for my kids. They loved this particular sport, but they loved a lot of other experiences too.

So with prayerful wisdom, and unbeknownst to them, I gently steered them away from one activity and provided a way for them to actively pursue a different one that I knew they were equipped to handle.

I think God does the same thing for us.

He knows how transient we are. He understands the areas of our lives that are weak and still in need of maturity, and He guides us in the best path for us.

So when I'm tempted to worry about my own weaknesses or areas of vulnerabilities, I must remember that just as I, with understanding love, guided my boys to places where I knew they were equipped to stand, God does the same for us, and so much more besides.

I don't know if you ever do this, but I often fret over my own character flaws. More than anything I don't want others to stumble over my weaknesses. I don't want to dishonor the Lord because of my own foibles.

One particular day during prayer, God whispered to my heart, "Fear is the weakness; worry is the weakness; much more than the yet-to-be-developed areas in your character, the choice to worry about such things is the very thing that leaves you vulnerable to the wiles of the enemy..."