Look at the picture above. That’s me. My name is Christa, and I’m Beth K. Vogt’s daughter! I hope you guys don’t mind me writing this post today.
As a 15-year-old girl going through high school, fear is not an uncommon thing. Fear of messing up on a test. Fear of not having that cute boy like me back.
Fear of that girl harassing me — just like she has for the past two years.
Yeah. Haha. It’s been tough. My mom and I call her “bad kitty” — because sometimes you just have to joke about things, you know? Some days, I was so scared of what she might do to ruin my day — and it didn’t take much. When I woke up in the morning, I’d come up with a million different scenarios of what she could do.
Most of you reading this are probably out of high school, with your own defined lives. Careers. Families. But I bet most of you have a “bad kitty” that you’re afraid of too.
And I don’t know about you, but I get sick of being scared. I never want to be paralyzed by fear, afraid to walk into school every morning. I’m one of those weird kids who actually likes school!
But when it gets bad because I’ve dealt with this situation for months and I just can’t get up in the morning and go through the same routine — that’s when I remember who I belong to. God is with me when I’m shaking in my boots.
Satan is the king of lies. He’s always trying to scare us.
Most of the scenarios I pictured with “bad kitty” never happened. They probably never will, to be honest.
God is the King of Truth. He is always right next to us when we’re faced with everything that scares us. We’re His children, guys. And we can do anything.
Listen up.
You can do anything — no matter what is in your way. Don’t get frightened by the “what ifs”. Our God won’t let us be overcome. Don’t listen to the lies. Listen to God’s love. That is bigger than anything or anyone we face.
In Others’ Words: You can only imagine how special it is for me to have my daughter Christa share on the blog today. Her honesty and her faith amaze me. And she’s right: we all face our own “bad kitty” — people or things that the enemy uses to throw lies at us. How have you fought back against those lies with the Truth?
[Tweet “In Others’ Words: “Fear is a Liar” #InOthersWords #lifequotes #fear”] [Tweet “Conquering Fear’s Lies with the Truth #quotes #encouragement #faith”]
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Comments 20
Christa, WELCOME to the publishing world. This and you are so great. I’m proud of you. You pack a solid knock-out punch and will always be a force to reckon with–which I’ve known for some time. Friends tell me when you surprise bears in the forest (if they don’t have young with them) the best protection is to make noise and run toward them–like God led David to do with Goliath. I know some friends who’ve actually done this, and it worked. After giving his army battle strategies, Julius Caesar had a joke writer share something hilarious with his troops and THEN gave the signal to run forward into battle while roaring with laughter. History says that more than half the time, the enemy fled rather than engaging in conflict. There’s something to be said for that. Again, you’re great! Keep it up & God bless you lots. With love,
Thank you so much, Aunt D! I can’t imagine running towards a bear like that, or facing of with a giant, but you’re right. God does always lead us.
Love you, Christa-girl! You have heart and are brave. And a wonderful example of Christ in you. I’m proud of you and the courage you’ve had in the face of the hard. So much fun to have you posting here today!!
Thanks Casey! I was really glad I had the chance to write this. It had been on my heart, because I had been planning a devotion for a volleyball camp on this whole story.
I do believe I see another Vogt writer! Christa, take comfort in knowing that God wastes nothing. The very least thing you will take away from this is learning how to deal with the bullies in this world. The best thing? I don’t know, but God does and he will show it to you.
I agree wholeheartedly, Ms. Bradley! Even though I haven’t exactly enjoyed this whole scenario, it has strengthened my relationship with God. I’m waiting and trusting that he will end it in an amazing fashion.
BAM! Mic drop!!!!
CHRISTA!!!!!! YAY YOU!!!! Oh, my goodness. This is amazing. And you are amazing for writing it.
Thank you for inspiring us to be brave. I know you have a great teacher. 🙂 And yes, God is always with us.
Keep on being awesome. xoxo
Thanks, Mrs. West! I loved writing this! When my mom agreed to let me write a blog post for her, I was so excited and started thinking on topics right away. Stay awesome yourself. xo
Thank you for this timely post. I needed to hear this today. May the Lord bless you and keep you!
I’m glad it could help, Mrs. Payne. What always helped me was remembering that I’m a daughter of God. So you should remember it too. You’re a vibrant daughter of God, okay? Thanks for reading.
This is so well written, but I’m not surprised, Christa, you are your mother’s daughter. And since she’s my Velveteen Rabbit [Beth knows what that means], I’m so proud of you. Christa, I especially love the spiritual wisdom you’ve shared. But what I like most? Your transparency and your faith in God. And yes…at my age, I still feel fear. Thank you for the reminder that fear is a liar.
Thanks, Scoti! I’ve only just begun sharing this story with groups of people this week, and it can be scary. But like we’ve already established, there’s no purpose in spending time in fear, right?
WHOA!! Hello, fireball! I am SO impressed! It takes a TONNE of courage to go on the interwebs and say what you just did. God never whispers fear and doubt to us, and to KNOW this at 15? Girl, that is awesome.
And somewhere out there, there’s a girl aching for a friend like you. A mentor to help her through her own time of trial.
You are that girl.
Well done, Christa.
well done.
Aw! Thank you, Mrs. Major! I don’t know what else to say! This really encourages me. I appreciate this so much!
The apple clearly has not fallen far from the tree. Great job, Christa.
My take on fear is that while there are things of which one should rightly be very afraid, that fear has to be controlled to enable one to continue on in one’s duty to one’s fellows, and to God.
Thank you, Mr. Budek-Shmeisser! I agree! Sometimes being cautious of things is a sign of wisdom, and is better than being over-confident.
Christa, such wisdom you share here! To understand (at 15, no less) that you belong to God and to walk in this truth is HUGE. It took me much longer to understand this. And you’re right, so much of what we fear never actually happens. I love Philippians 4:8 that tells us where our thoughts should be. The thing I learned years ago, is that “What if…” never leads to a true thought. And the first thing we’re supposed to think on is what is true. I’ve been praying for you, and I’ll continue to. May you continue to walk in the grace and knowledge of Jesus! 🙂
Thanks, Mrs. Takenaka! I love Philipians 4:8, and it’s the verse my mom repeats to me when I need help clearing my head.
Christa, I am so proud of you! Not only for writing an article for your mom’s blog, but also for figuring out how to apply your faith in such a brave way. It takes guts to choose God’s truth over Satan’s lies, especially when those “bad kitties” come out to play… or torment. You go, girl!
One “bad kitty” in my life has been a deep-rooted fear of water (with good reason, considering I’ve almost drowned at two different times in my life). But God has helped me overcome this fear, and He continues to help me overcome the aftereffects of it too. Like this week, when my sister and I had the pleasure of swimming in a lake. I’m not one to do lakes or docks very well, but this time I decided to take a risk and trust my God to see me through it. All I felt was peace and joy. Oh, isn’t our God brilliant!
Blessings,
Andrea
What a great and true blog post, Christa. I loved it and needed to hear your 15-year-old wisdom about Fear. Next time I’m afraid, this dog lover is naming it “bad kitty” and telling it to go on. 🙂