⁷Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. I Peter 5:7

When I was in high school, after an incident with drugs, anxiety attacks forced me to sleep with my mom for 3 weeks and left me with a deep depression, they’ve caused me to call people in the middle of the night for comfort, and even caused me to call 911 one time because I thought I was going to die.

They are not fun. They leave in you in a constant state of fear and worry. There have been periods when I’d have anxiety attacks every night for weeks.  I got to a point of desperation where I was willing to do whatever it took to get free from the prison these attacks had created. Over the period of a few months – I got free.

When it came down to it, it was a combination of things that helped me get free from the prison of anxiety. One was having people that loved me unconditionally that I could be honest and open with. There were two people who were there for me whenever I was experiencing an attack. For them, I’m eternally grateful.

Above that I listened to Larry Hutton’s Healing Scripture CD often, Keith Moore’s Message “God Loves You” almost every night, and the thing that really set me free is Keith Moore’s series called “Free from All Fears“. These were the main scriptures I stood on every night:

⁴I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. -Psalms 34:4

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. -Phillipians 4:6

⁷ For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. -II Tim. 1:7

I listened to these things over and over again and confessed these scriptures over my life over and over again until I was fully persuaded that God loves me, that I could cast ALL my cares on Him, and that He HAS FREED ME FROM ALL MY FEARS. Once I was persuaded of this in my heart, I was free from anxiety and haven’t had an attack since.

Anxiety, fear, and worry can be a scary thing, but it doesn’t have to be permanent. The best way to get free from all of those is to give them all to God. God loves you more than you could ever imagine and the Bible says we can cast ALL OF OUR CARES UPON HIM FOR HE CARES FOR US.

When you KNOW in your heart that the Word says God loves you and He’s freed you from all your fears. A confidence will come over you that will make you invincible!

I hope this post helps those who struggle with anxiety as I did. If you are struggling and would like to talk about this, e-mail me at douglasasmith53@gmail.com and I’d love to encourage you and go into greater depth.

Thoughts?

“The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not do.”   Mark Twain

Growing up, I was always overweight. I got picked on a lot as a kid, and some of that has stuck with me. I still get insecure about taking off my shirt at the pool! As far as my physical fitness is concerned, I’ve always had one goal: To look good with my shirt off! Even though I workout 6 days a week, I’ve run marathons, and I am pretty active,
I’ve never been able to get there!

I’ve been doing P90X for about a year now. I thought I was in the best shape of my life and I was excited to take off my shirt at the pool! Well, I got my opportunity in front of some of my family. I thought they were going to stand in awe of my fantastic physique! Little did I know, I was in for a reality check!

The next day, one of the people that was with me, who I respect very much, confronted me. He said, “Bubba, one area you need accountability in is what you eat, because you don’t look so great!” After a little self evaluation, I recognized that he was right, I wasn’t anywhere near where I wanted to be. That conversation was a catalyst to change in my life.

My theory before that was I could eat whatever I wanted because I worked out that day. Not true! You really only burn off about half a meal while working out! I started tracking my calories and came to the conclusion that I was consuming 4,000-5,000 calories a day while only burning 300-600!

After studying out the P90X diet plan, I’ve come to the following conclusions:

Working Out + Bad Eating Habits = No Results (Look like Crap)

Working Out + Good Eating Habits = Results City (Look awesome)

It’s about developing healthy eating habits. It requires discipline, but they payoff is awesome! It’s been a little over a month of me tracking calories, following a strict diet, and working hard, and I’m starting to see some great results!

I’m so glad someone was willing to speak the truth in love to me. I’ve now made a healthy lifestyle change.

If you struggle with weight issues or are looking to get in better shape, I’d encourage you to get educated on the BeachBody Forums – great information on here about working out, nutrition, etc.

Hope this helps you get physically fit!

Thoughts?

My big sister, Christy Steidel, got married this past weekend. It was such an incredible wedding! I can’t wait to see where God takes Matt and Christy! They’re such an amazing couple and I can’t wait to go through life with them!

I’ll post some more video’s and pictures as they come, but I thought I’d share some of the experience with you now!

Video and Pictures Compliments of: Eric Schiemer.

This is by far my favorite picture of Matt and Christy! I’m so happy for them!

This is one of my favorite pictures ever! Father of the Bride!!

Hitched!

Here they come!

Christy, Laura and I at the rehearsal dinner! I’m a blessed man!