God and His Wacky Sense of Humor

People say this a lot: "Well, God has a sense of humor!" and it's never in response to a funny joke you just told them, like they're commenting on how God created us and our funnies. It's always stated in response to some weird thing you're dealing with, like how something crazy nutso is happening in your life and you're like, "What? And, also, why?" and that's when someone comes along (usually my mom) and she's all, "Well, God sure does have a sense of humor, right?"
So this:

FEAR.

When you ask someone what they are most afraid of, you will hear answers like spiders, snakes, sharks, the dark, water, heights etc. Most of the fears that people speak about are tangible. People aren't always quick to talk about the circumstantial fears.
When I think about my fears, my mind wanders to the unknown elements of my life. There are definitely tangible things that I don't like, but those are not what I most fear.
I am more afraid of the What if's?

What if I never get married?
What if I never have children?
What if I die young?
What if people don't like me?
What if I don't make a difference?
What if I don't fulfill my purpose?

Fear is a natural response to the unknown. So how do we deal with the fear?
Simple: ACT. The only way to get over any fear is to ACT. Some of my fears may never be resolved. Some of the What if's may never be fulfilled. ACT in spite of the fear. ACT as the spirit leads. ACT to make a difference.
ACT.

Is this it?

You ever feel uneasy? Antsy? Unsure for no reason?
Today is one of those days for me. I am anxious, ADD and antsy for no reason.
I can never pinpoint what it is.
What is different about the day or what causes the feeling?
It starts like a normal day but ends up a “not great” day.
I feel unproductive, anxiety-stricken and ready for a change.
I am a person who loves change, so I wonder if it is just the uneasiness of fearing my life will always be the same.
How do I change the feeling? Make it go away?
Can anyone relate?

Blasting the Competition

I'm a competitive person. I would like to win everything. Seriously.
I want to win board games, arguments, and even sports that I am terrible at.
So ... I get disappointed. A lot. Because there are some things I'm just not going to win.
I play tennis, and we have matches every weekend. And I'm good. But I'm not great. In fact, if someone else came along and said they were good, chances are that they're better than me.
I have to stifle my competitive nature when I'm playing tennis for several reasons. First, because I'm just not that good, so it's pointless to be so competitive. Second and possibly the most important reason is because I play doubles, so I just cannot do that to my partner. I can't let them feel pressured by me, and I can't pressure myself. If I give off even the hint of being competitive, they will feel enormous pressure and ... this leads us to the third reason...
Tennis is probably 90% a mental game. What is happening in the player's mind is even more important than what is happening with my arms and legs. If I'm distracted, or frustrated or excited - it will affect my game. For example, this past weekend I was getting really frustrated in my match, because I knew we were better than those girls. I KNEW IT. And I just wasn't playing well enough! So what started happening? Did this anger and frustration give me a leg up? Heck no! I started double faulting on top of everything else. (In my opinion, the double fault is an indicator of a mental breakdown in a player. Because it's ALL on the player. It has nothing to do with the opponent).
I do a pretty good job of not being competitive when I'm playing tennis, because it will lead to a lot of losses. I'm pretty sure that if you asked any of my partners if I'm competitive, they would say that I'm not more competitive than the average person. But if you asked one of my friends, like Jennie or Lori, if I'm competitive, they would give a heartfelt and unanimous YES!