Category: Fear (Page 1 of 2)

Where do I find peace?

March 2, 2015 / Mariane Doktor / 0 Comments

I stood in my kitchen reading on my phone when it was as if my body was filled with lead. 220 Assyrian Christians abducted by IS was the headline. The lead began to speak words in my mind I had not heard for years.

Why don’t you stop? What good is it for? You are useless, and no one loves you…why don’t you become like everyone else? Does God really exist, can you see him anywhere? Drink this cup of fear, then everything will be better. Deny, deny, deny. Say what they want to hear and you will save your life.

I lied down on my bed. My heart was restless, where could it find rest, peace?

Fifty Shades of Fear vs. True Love

February 9, 2015 / Mariane Doktor / 2 Comments

I read five sentences and thought this was poorly written. I read the whole page and I began to have an unpleasant feeling in my chest, I felt insecurity and fear. This book is supposed to be romantic.
The book I’m talking about is “Fifty Shades of Grey”. I remember when the book was launched some years ago, it was very popular in Denmark, but I didn’t pay much attention to the book. When I heard the book was dreadfully written and contained bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism, I decided the book was not worth of my money or time.
Now the book has been adapted into a movie, and I found it was important for me to take part in the discussion about the film. I had not read the book, but I found a free excerpt on the Internet and decided to read it, since I thought I should read some before coming to a judgment. The excerpt was 19 pages long, but I couldn’t endure more than three pages. I love reading and I am a writer myself, but these sentences were a pain to read. However, the quality of the text was not the worst part, the content was the worst. I read that one of the female protagonists Ana wakes up confused, doesn’t know where she is. When she sees Christian, the male protagonist, she has a strange feeling, she starts feeling like a 2 year-old, feels very small and whispers to Christian. He is described as a control freak, he hardly expresses any feelings, but seems cold, we are told he has stalked Ana, and she feels he scolds her. I get the impression that she’s afraid of him. I will also tell you that Ana is a 21-years-old virgin when she meets him.

A quote from the movie: “No, please. I can’t do this, not now. I need some time. Please.” “Oh Ana, don’t overthink this.”

How people choose to spice their marriage and sex life with role play, sadism and masochism is none of my business, but I’m concerned about the young people of our society. What does this book and movie teach young women (and young men) about love and relationships?

Meet your fears with faith: Guest post by Jayna Coppedge, a Woman Trusting God (Episode 3)

November 28, 2014 / Mariane Doktor / 3 Comments

This is the final episode of my series on fear. I’m very honored to host a fantastic testimony by Jayna Coppedge, who shares how her faith in God helps her endure fear. Please welcome her and write a comment to her.

“I have been following the news this week and praying for your daughter. I guess you are praying she will be moved out of there.”

“Thank you, so much for praying for her. Your prayers are probably one of the reasons Steve and I have no fears or worries about her. Although we do pray for her protection, we also pray she can stay.”

I am the second person in the dialogue. I have this conversation numerous times a week, especially now that the United States is sending in air strikes to fight terrorism. For security reasons, I must be vague. My single 29 year-old daughter serves with a faith-based organization in a country where tanks and soldiers with machine guns are normal. Following God’s call, she disciples national believers, explains the gospel in Arabic to the persons with whom she has a relationship, and meets the needs of the refugees that have flooded her country.

This story, though, is not about the young woman. This story is about the God who supplies peace beyond human understanding to me, her mother. Even though believers are martyred in my daughter’s country, I am not fearful.

To understand the magnitude of the miracle, I must give you some history. When I was in seventh grade, my mother worried over my safety so much, she insisted that I carried mace. By the time I was 21, my mother convinced me that I would be a crime statistic. On the nights my husband traveled, I was certain would be attacked if I slept. I laid in bed, clutching a brass candlestick, and reciting every Bible verse I knew. This was the early 1980’s, there were no cell phones, so when he was late coming home, I concluded that he was dead. Fear was my constant companion.

I was always aware of God; salvation came to me very naturally in first grade. Active in my church, I chose a career in the church. Although a minister, I did not believe unconditional love, joy or peace were possible before heaven. Studying diligently, I could teach about God’s love, but I did not feel loved. Satan took all the sermons and examples of God giving peace in the midst of suffering; then rearranged the words to say, “If you trust Jesus, God will make you pay your dues by causing you to suffer”.

Don’t fear fearing: 7 terrific tips to handle amygdala and listen to God (Episode 2)

November 27, 2014 / Mariane Doktor / 2 Comments

Do you have fears? Congratulations, you’re a human being! It’s perfectly normal to fear. Everyone has fears, I know I have a couple (or thousands) of them. We cannot avoid fear, but let’s investigate what fear is, and what we can do about it.

Let’s take an example of exposure of fear:

I see a bear; I panic and run away.

What actually happens is a cluster of nuclei, the amygdala, in my brain reacts to my sight (references: Anette Prehn and calmclinic.com). The amygdala stores all my experiences and emotions. It especially remembers unpleasant feelings, it remembers dangers and reacts on all dangers and all what resemble to those dangers. Amygdala causes a strong physical reaction and my instinct is to fight or flee. This is very useful when we meet actual dangers as dangerous animals, nature disasters, and violence.

Hey, wait a second. Let’s watch the bear again. It turns out the bear is a beetle! My amygdala thought the beetle was a bear, and therefore I panicked. When the amygdala reacts on “false” dangers, it’s not constructive. Fearing false dangers can stop you from following dreams, hopes and calling. Fear can stop you from living your life. That’s a good reason to be serious about fear and decrease fear factors, and what triggers your amygdala? Emotions or environmental impulses: thoughts, words, smell, sounds etc. Events that remind you of an unpleasant experience from your childhood trigger your amygdala. Changes, new people, exams, threats of unemployment, high expectations, noise, suppressed feelings and unexpected events trigger your amygdala. Stress triggers your amygdala.

You can’t avoid fear, so what can you do about it?

Fearing fear (Episode 1)

November 20, 2014 / Mariane Doktor / 0 Comments

This is a guest poem by Billy Charles Root

In order that I deal with my fears

I must put away my tough guy veneer
I will write them all down right here
before my God and peers

“The only thing we have to fear
is fear itself”

-FDR, 1932

I fear, fearing fear Fear
I fear fearing that which has no reason to be feared and not fearing that which does.

I fear what others think of me
How I look, what I wear, what I say and think, what, how and why I write.

I fear liking or even loving things that are a waste of said like and love
The babbling of crude jokes and cigarettes to smoke, fornicate TV
and I instead of we

I fear addiction to the mind control of men, having their minds controlled by men, having their minds controlled by the evil one

I fear never getting it right and failing with every sight day and night while pretending I’m alright

I fear sleeping,
Eye’s closed missing out , life passing by, not seeing the tomorrow come and the old become new

I fear dying, dying before I’ve done what I’ve been created to do, falling short, falling down and ending incomplete

I fear missing the point altogether and caring for perishable perishables

I fear forgetting, forgetting why and what for and where next, what time and how much may be left , names and faces and love

I fear anger, am I capable of going too far if someone hurts me or hurts me by hurting them

Above all I fear most arriving at the throne with no crown to lay down and hearing “I never knew you, depart from me you vile and wicked servant”

Follow Billy Charles Root on

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/BRootWrites

Blog: http://wcroot75.tumblr.com

Author Page: http://www.ctupublishinggroup.com/billy-charles-root.html

E-mail: wcroot75@gmail.com Pressing On

Category: Fear (Page 1 of 2)

Where do I find peace?

Fifty Shades of Fear vs. True Love

Meet your fears with faith: Guest post by Jayna Coppedge, a Woman Trusting God (Episode 3)

This story, though, is not about the young woman. This story is about the God who supplies peace beyond human understanding to me, her mother. Even though believers are martyred in my daughter’s country, I am not fearful.

Don’t fear fearing: 7 terrific tips to handle amygdala and listen to God (Episode 2)

You can’t avoid fear, so what can you do about it?

Fearing fear (Episode 1)

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