Hi Phil! Amen! I agree with you. You know, it's always those who have 
never experienced anxiety, who try and tell us how to deal with it. I 
loved your comments! Keep up the excellent articles and comments!

Thanks so much for sharing with us.

Blessings,

Pat Ferguson



At 12:37 PM 2/24/2008, you wrote:
>I spent a little more time developing my comments on this article and
>thought I would post it again so I could try and make you even madder than
>the first time.
>
>Followup Commentary On The Dumbest Article I've Ever Read.
>
>
>By Phil Scovell
>
>
>Subject: LIMITING ANXIOUS FEELINGS.
>
>      The Author said, When I'm facing such situations, I try to
>follow  the six steps  described below to limit  my anxious
>feelings.
>
>      First, state the problem. A problem well stated is half
>solved. In  anxious states of mind, people can't see the forest
>for the trees.  Put the problem in perspective. Will it matter for
>eternity? The  danger at this juncture is to seek ungodly counsel.
>The world is  glutted with magicians and sorcerers who  will
>promise incredible results. Their appearance may be striking.
>Their personality may be charming. But they are bankrupt of
>character. Avoid them. (Psalm 1:1).
>
>Step Number One Comments.
>
>      What if you don't know the identity of the problem or what is
>even causing  it in the first place?  What if you are lost in the
>middle of an endless  ocean of mixed emotions instead a forest of
>trees as he suggests?  If a tree falls in the forest and you
>aren't there to hear it, does it make a noise?  I hope he isn't
>suggesting we confess the problem rather than Jesus as the Solver
>of all problems.
>
>      He said, Second, separate the facts from the assumptions.
>Since we don't  know what's going to happen tomorrow, we make
>assumptions, and we usually assume the worst.  If the assumption
>is accepted as truth, it will drive your mind to its anxiety
>limits. Therefore, you must separate assumptions from facts.
>
>Step Number Two Comments.
>
>      What if you don't know the facts about what you face and you
>are unawares of  how to determine the facts?  Does this mean your
>mind has therefore been stretched to the outer limits of anxiety
>and so you now must be mentally ill?
>
>      He said, Third, determine what you have the right or ability
>to control.  You are responsible for that which you can control,
>and you are not responsible for that which you can't. Don't try to
>cast your responsibility onto Christ; He will throw it back.
>
>Step Number Three Comments.
>
>      Meanie Jesus.  Tossing back what you cannot bear?  This ain't
>no Heavenly ball game we are playing; it's life.  Control?  How
>can you  control uncontrollable circumstances that slam into you
>without warning?  How about the sudden death of a loved one for
>example?  Did he ever think of that?  How about a loved one who
>has cancer and has been given six months to live?  What if you get
>a call in the middle of the night and your son, who was on his way
>to visit his sister in Wichita, was changing a flat tire and was
>struck and instantly killed by a passing vehicle?  What if you are
>12 years old and just found out you have no father, to speak of,
>and the one who is your real father is living the rest of his life
>in the state prison?  What if you can't control even your own
>thoughts?  This guy obviously has never had that experience or he
>wouldn't say such a stupid thing.  Where is Jesus when you need
>Him the most?  This guy certainly doesn't know.
>
>      He said, Fourth, list everything you can do which is related
>to the  situation that is under your responsibility. When people
>don't assume their  responsibility, they turn to temporary cures
>for their anxiety, like eating, TV, sex or drugs.
>
>Step Number Four Comments.
>
>      What he means is, you aren't worth spit as far as God is
>concerned because  you won't take responsibility for your own
>problems.  In short, God doesn't  care if you are trapped by the
>anxiety that you should be able to handle on  your own in the
>first damn place.  Besides, he left out eating chocolate and TV
>dinners.
>
>      He said, Fifth, once you are sure you have fulfilled your
>responsibility, see if there is any way you can help others.
>Turning your attention away from your  own self-absorption and
>onto helping people around you is not only the loving thing to do,
>but it also brings a special inner  peace.
>
>Step Number Five Comments.
>
>      This is the old standard come back, everybody else is worse
>off than you.  So run right out into the traffic, find a freaking
>volunteer job, help  others, and it will make you feel so much
>better, you'll forget all about  your fears and anxieties which
>God isn't interested in helping you with in  the first place,
>dummy.
>
>      Finally, he said, Sixth, the rest is God's responsibility,
>except for  your prayer, according to Philippians 4:6-8. So assume
>your responsibility, but cast your anxiety on Christ.
>
>Step Number Six Comments.
>
>      The rest is up to who?  You just were told in five, and
>possibly six, steps,  how to manage your own freaking anxiety
>problems without God's help at all.  Why  would you now even think
>to pray if you don't need God to help you in the  first place.
>Where did Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible go in these  six
>steps in the first place?  I'm just glad he didn't have 10 steps,
>or 47 steps, or 685 steps.  Maybe that's the holy version and this
>is just the practical, and secular, 6 steps version.
>
>This has been a slightly cynical response to one of the dumbest
>Christian  advice articles I have read in years.  By the way, in
>my 50 years plus walk with the Lord, I have tried every single one
>of these things many times and they don't freaking work so get a
>life and stop showing everybody how little you know about anxiety
>of any kind.
>
>Phil, Know It all, Scovell.
>
>
>It Sounds Like God To Me.
>www.SafePlaceFellowship.com