God, I Feel ScaredSample

### The Music of Our Lives In this world, it would be easy to live in a near-constant state of worry and fear. With 24/7 news and instant Internet access, we are bombarded with bad news from around the world and close to home. Threats come at us from every angle and in every size. And there’s no end to the what-ifs we can imagine. It’s no wonder that anxiety is at an all-time high, both for us as adults and for our littles. Unless we actively turn our worries and fears over to God, they can become like the background music of our lives—all jarring notes and out-of-tune melodies. But that isn’t the music God has planned for our lives. He doesn’t want us to live afraid. So He invites us to give all those worries and fears—every last one of them—to Him. If you’re thinking that sounds far too simple to actually work, consider this: When we give our worries and fears to God, we’re not just tossing them away and pretending that they don’t exist. This isn’t about sticking our head in the sand. Instead, it’s trusting God to take control of those fears rather than allowing those fears control us. And like the Master Musician that He is, God steps into our lives, takes up those jarring notes, and smooths them out into a melody of comfort and courage, peace and strength—transforming the music of our lives into the beautiful symphony of His perfect plan (Romans 8:28). For Little Ones: Did you know you can give a special kind of gift to God? Yes! You can give Him all your worries and fears. That sounds like a strange gift to us, doesn’t it? But God loves it. Because it shows that you trust Him to help you and take care of you. Let’s practice together. We’ll each close our eyes and think of something that scares us just a little bit. Now, imagine putting that scary thing in a box. It can be a treasure box with a great big lock. It can be a shoebox. It can even be a box with polka-dots! Is your scary thing in the box? Okay. Pretend to hold the box in your hands and lift it up to God. He’ll always be there to take it, and He’s big enough and strong enough to handle even your biggest worries and fears! In moments of worry or fear: * Play a few different snippets of songs—some happy, others sad and exciting. Talk to your child about how each kind of music makes them feel. It can even cheer us up and encourage us when we feel worried or afraid. * Create a playlist of your child’s favorite, upbeat praise songs—and maybe one for yourself too! (There’s a God, I Feel Scared playlist on Spotify to get you started.) * The next time your child is worried or afraid, play the playlist. And because movement helps shake off worries and fears too, get up and dance along!