This week’s God-sized Dream writing prompt from Holley Gerth made me laugh out loud! Here it is below:

“Fear hangs out right next to whatever it is you’re most called to do. That means the closer you get to your calling, the louder fear sounds. Keep going–fear is a chihuahua that sounds like a Doberman.” —You’re Made for a God-sized Dream, Chapter Five

Your prompt from last week: It’s time to have a little talk with the fear in your life. Write a letter that starts out, “Dear Chihuahua of Fear, I have some things I’d like to say to you…” {Is this kinda silly? Um, yes, but that’s the point. Fear always tries to make us take it more seriously than we should.} Link up your letter below. Extra credit if you can make us laugh out loud.

Dear Chihuahua of Fear,

I have some things I’d like to say to you.

You’ve been barking at me for far too long.

Honestly, I wasn’t gifted with compassion for loud rat shaped miniature dogs (sorry, if you were) and I’ve honestly wanted to kick you since I first heard your yap.

But I have refrained because I didn’t want anyone to see me boot you from here to China.  It’d sort of be disgraceful, you know?

But the truth is your annoying little bark is responsible for whispering things that devalue my worth as a daughter of Christ.

Maybe you do deserve a good swift kick.

You see, Chihuahua of Fear, you’re written about in the bible (although the writer refers you to you as a lion… such an overrated title).

The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
There is a lion in the streets!” Proverbs 26:13

So let me tell you something.  You can sit in the middle of my path an yap away at me all you want.  I refuse to listen (well, except sometimes… when I’m weak and haven’t yet appealed to the Lion of Judah, the real Lion).  I don’t think I’ll kick you either because that would be wasting time and energy better suited to faithfully working toward the God-sized dream in my heart.

You know what else, Chihuahua?  I’m not going to let my friends pay any attention to your posturings in the middle of their streets either.  I will sit here and encourage through the bad days and point to Christ.  I will tell myself and anyone who needs to hear that the only way to ignore the chihuahua of fear is to press into  the Maker of Love.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4:18

If I’m going to be punished if success (as I or you measure it) never occurs, then, yep, I really ought to fear you, Chihuahua.  But that’s not exactly how things work.

The problem is that you’re barking up the wrong tree; you know you don’t want to mess with the daughter of the one nailed to that cross tree.  Yeah, I didn’t think so.  You might want to quit barking at that cross… the One who bore it has power over death.

But what’s more, Chihuahua of fear, the Conqueror of the death tree you’re barking me against defines success differently than you do.  He defines success as obedience motivated by love and disobedience followed by sweet repentance.  And there’s no room for you in perfect love.

So move over, Chihuahua of Fear, I’m going to to keep loving and seeking the One who loved me first by His grace.  I’m going to keep following that perfect love right into the heart of my God-sized dream.  And when you get too savage, my Savior will carry me right over you.

Hasta la Vista, Little Yip Yap.

Signed,
a daughter of the King whose Name is Love