Anxiety | Laurie Coombs

Archive for the ‘Anxiety’ Category

“The Fall” – Excerpt from Letters from My Father’s Murderer

Posted on: July 22nd, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

The following is an excerpt taken from Letters from My Father’s Murderer: A Journey of Forgiveness (pages 36-38). The Fall “I don’t know how you do it, Laurie,” some would say. “You’ve been through so much. You’re such a strong person.” And in my heart, I’d think, I know. I am pretty amazing. These comments were intended to be compliments, words to encourage me, but they only fueled my growing pride. And, as they say, pride most certainly does come before the fall. I started noticing issues with my health little more than a year later. I was nauseous all the time, and I just didn’t feel quite right. “I think I’m pregnant,” I told Travis. “Really?” “Yeah, but the tests keep coming back negative. Do you think I should get a blood test?” Travis thought I was being silly, but I went to my doctor the next week anyway. He…

Where the Healing Begins

Posted on: July 8th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

I didn’t want to revisit my past, but I knew I needed to. I had already seen God move mightily on my behalf in the short time since giving my life to Christ, but I knew He wasn’t finished yet. Healing begins the moment we allow Jesus complete access to the darkness contained within our souls. Darkness must flee in the presence of light, in the presence of Jesus, but light cannot go where it is not permitted. Doors must be opened for light’s rays to touch our darkest dark. And at this point, I was flinging doors open left and right, begging, Come, Lord Jesus, come. Soon, I heard God’s gentle whisper––“It’s time to forgive.” I knew what God was calling me to. I knew I was being called to forgive Anthony, the man who murdered my dad. But quite honestly, I thought I had already done that. Yet…

This Wonderfully Messy World

Posted on: July 1st, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

I know some of you are familiar with my story, but some of you newer readers aren’t. And so with the release of my new book, Letters from My Father’s Murderer: A Journey of Forgiveness, I thought it would be a good idea to write a few articles to fill you in. I pray you are blessed. I had always thought the world was a wonderful place, full of beauty and love and light. Growing up, the life I imagined for myself looked more like a fairytale than I care to admit. I had plans for my life, big plans. But just as I was coming into my own, just as I was about to seize all life has to offer, my world unraveled when confronted by an evil I never imagined possible. My dad, who I love more than I can ever say, was murdered, and with that loss, all…

Letters from My Father’s Murderer is out today!!!

Posted on: June 27th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 1 Comment

Hi friends! Today’s the day Letters from My Father’s Murderer is released! I must say, it’s a bit surreal. This project has been in the works for three and a half years, and it’s finally out for the world to see! If you haven’t ordered a copy yet, you can grab it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble or wherever else you like to buy books. It’s available on Kindle and Nook as well, by the way (but not iBooks––whah, whah). If you’re still not convinced enough to pick up a copy, perhaps hearing what others are saying (outside of my friends and family) will give you the nudge you need: “Truthfully, I could not put the book down.” – Dan “Powerful! …This is a must read.” – Page “Been reading every spare minute…. I honestly had a hard time putting it down.” – Patty “Cannot put the book down! I started it last…

The Keys to Biblical Forgiveness

Posted on: June 17th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 4 Comments

My dad was murdered when I was twenty years old. It was a deliberate senseless act committed by a man whose selfish desires had left him blind. This man had taken my dad from me––stolen what was rightfully mine––and quite honestly, I hated him for that. Forgiveness was one of the first things God spoke over my life when I came to Christ nine years later, and though I was receptive to His leading, I was a bit confused. You see, I thought I had already forgiven that man. I honestly didn’t think about him very much at that point, and when I did think about him, I didn’t feel the hatred I had felt before. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like him one bit, but if he came to mind, I was able to keep my feelings in check. Still, I figured if God was calling…

Will God Fail Me?

Posted on: January 6th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 6 Comments

Will God fail me? I think if we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve all asked this question––either consciously or unconsciously––at one time or another. In fact, it may be this very question that underlies our inability to give ourselves fully to God and His purposes in our lives. We think, perhaps God doesn’t love me. Perhaps God is too busy or too majestic to care about one individual such as myself. Or even if He does love me, even if He cares, He certainly doesn’t care about each intricate detail of my life. Will God pull through? Doubts come. Questions arise. All of which are a part of the normal process of faith. But I think the real question behind all our doubts is: Does God really love me? This is the real doubt behind our unwillingness to surrender. It all comes back to love. We were created to be loved…

I Am Not a Victim

Posted on: November 17th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

The following is a repost of one of my most popular posts that I’ve edited and revised a bit. I believe it contains important truths for each of us to consider. What I’d like you to take away from this article more than anything else is this: we are not victims. “Victim” is not our identity. We may have been on the receiving end of evil, but that evil does not change our identity. Far too many people carrying the heavy label of victim around on their shoulders. Far too many of us are crushed beneath the weight of this false identity. It’s time to free ourselves. I never intended to be a victim. Shortly after my dad was murdered, my family and I were referred to the victim services department at the courthouse. It was the first time we were called victims, but I honestly didn’t consider myself to be…

Sometimes It’s Just Hard

Posted on: November 13th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs

I was following Jesus into the unknown––into my scary places. Places I did not want to go. He was calling me to walk on the water with Him––to do things I did not want to do––but I knew those very things would bring me to the place He intended, a place of blessing. Still, I was scared. It was hard, laying myself down like that. Ridiculously hard. I knew my God. I knew who He is. I knew His heart toward me. And I knew where I’d end up if I followed, but what I did not know is what that narrow rocky road would look like along the way, and quite honestly that scared me. “I feel like I’m falling apart,” I wrote in my prayer journal, sometime during this season. “[The girls and I] have been sick, my emotions are all over the board, I feel weighed down by…

Watch “Heaven: A New Message from Billy Graham!”

Posted on: November 6th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” – Isaiah 40:9 “Heaven” has been released! The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has done an incredible job with this powerful, thirty minute message, and I wanted to take a moment to share it with you. Quite honestly, I am still humbled to have been a part of this project. It’s unbelievable, really. Billy Graham has been an inspiration to me in my faith, as he has been to millions of others, since my early days as a new Christian. I remember reading his book, The Journey: Living by Faith in an Uncertain World (affiliate link), just about one year after coming to Christ. I was looking for answers, trying to figure out how to do…

What Does it Look Like to Keep Your Eyes on Jesus?

Posted on: October 28th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs 6 Comments

I’ve been writing a lot about keeping our eyes on Jesus, but when a girlfriends asked what that actually looks like, it struck me that the phrase “keep your eyes on Jesus” can be difficult to put into practice. It’s one of those things that many Christians say or hear but don’t know how to actually do. Fixing our eyes on Jesus is a concept found throughout scripture. Psalm 119:6 says, “Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all Your commandments” (ESV). Psalm 119:15 says, “I will meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways” (ESV). Psalm 141:8 says, “But my eyes are fixed on You, Sovereign Lord; in You I take refuge—do not give me over to death” (NIV). 2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is…