Replacing Fear with Faith

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On the night before Jesus died for us, He predicted that His chosen twelve apostles would abandon Him. They let fear control them rather than allowing faith to give them peace. As we remember our Savior’s death, let’s take courage, remembering what He continues to do for us every day. Let’s not give in to fear, but replace fear with faith in the One who overcame the world.

Behold, an hour is coming,
and has already come, for you to be scattered,
each to his own home,
and to leave Me alone;
and yet I am not alone,
because the Father is with Me.
These things I have spoken to you,
so that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation,
but take courage; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33

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First I want to share some precious memories and then tell you about a fun opportunity.

Sweet were the days when our children John, Bethany, and Mary Evelyn gathered on the couch in the basement of our little house in Urbana, Illinois, to listen to their own Ma read aloud about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her family. My husband Ray read the books as a child, but the books were as new to me as they were to our children. Day after day the children and I learned about the Ingalls’ simple lives, and I tried to take to heart the mama lessons I was learning from Ma.

You know what? These safer-at-home measures we are taking right now wouldn’t seem nearly as strange to them as they do to us. They spent lots of time at home with only one another for companions.

Almost a year ago, I wrote the following thoughts about Laura and shared these pictures:

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Laura Ingalls Wilder said, “Home is the nicest word there is.” Pa, Ma, Mary, Laura, Carrie, and Grace Ingalls moved often and lived in several states. Whether they were in a log cabin in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, . . .

. . . a little board house in Kansas, . . .

. . . a dugout on the banks of Plum Creek in Minnesota, . . .

. . . or a claim shanty in South Dakota, . . .

. . . Charles and Caroline Ingalls always gave their girls a safe place called home.

When the red-checked tablecloth was on the table, the china shepherdess was on the shelf, and Pa was playing his fiddle in the twilight, the Ingalls family was at home. The girls lived securely in the knowledge that their strong Pa would feed and defend them while their gentle Ma would care for them and train them. They knew that Pa and Ma would always love each other and love their girls.

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I have an exciting announcement. Our son John has been working for several years on a wonderful new program: “The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder in Story and Song.” Ray and I were supposed to be at his first presentation of it a few weeks ago, but like so many activities, it was cancelled because of safer-at-home concerns. We were so disappointed. However, we got to see John present it online a few days ago, and it is simply fantastic!

John plans to present the program online this coming Monday. The program is free and we hope you will join us. This is how John describes the program:

The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder in Story and Song

Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) left a lasting impact on American literature with her Little House series of books. In this presentation, John Notgrass takes you on a virtual tour of the places Laura lived, shares stories that didn’t make it into her books, and performs songs that the Ingalls family enjoyed.

Join us Monday, April, 13, at 3:00 pm Central for this interactive online presentation. If you miss the live experience, you can watch a replay using the same link.

I plan to be online watching it on Monday afternoon. I hope you can join us. Bring the children, too. It is a blessing for the whole family. Sign up here.

I believe we are learning many valuable lessons while we practice “safer-at-home.” Every child deserves to be safer at home than they are anywhere else. This is a good time to evaluate just how much of the world we want to bring into our homes and exactly how we want to interact with the world when we are able to do so again.

Therefore I urge you, brethren,
by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, 
acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
so that you may prove
what the will of God is,
that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1

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