Parents worry a lot. They worry about their children's future. They worry about their children's education, health, and behavior. They worry about finances. Well there's good news for worriers. We can rely on our faith in Christ to take the burden of worry from us so we can lead a more peaceful life. This is the message in Gary Zimak's new book Give Up Worry for Lent. With Lent just around the corner we decided to share this great resource with our readers. Even though Give Up Worry for Lent is not written specifically for parents, all parents -- especially parents of special-needs children -- will find it very useful. It is written for anyone struggling with worry and anxiety. It is a 40-day Lenten program that will help you put your worries behind you and deepen your relationship with God too. The book is set up around a short scripture passage for each day in Lent. Each passage is followed by reflection, response and prayer. These help us develop greater trust in God as a way to decrease our worry. We all need that! For instance, Day 7 deals with handling the worrier's tendency to ask "What if ..." and then dwell on all the possible and imagined negative outcomes. However, Mr. Zimak gives us a passage from Jeremiah as an antidote. It says, "For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." He reflects on how God is speaking to us today with the same promise. This is followed by our response, which as Zimak tells us is to live in the present moment and let God handle the future. Day 7 ends with a short prayer to God to help us with our fear of uncertainty and to trust in his plans instead. What a wonderful lesson and a great way for us to learn it! The book is chock-full of similar easy to follow lessons for each day of Lent. We think Give Up Worry for Lent can help everyone worry less, especially parents of children with special needs. Lent is just around the corner. Let this be the Lent when you give up worry for good. Courtesy of Gary Zimak. All rights reserved. Used with permission.[/caption]

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Copyright 2019 Dave and Mercedes Rizzo

About the Author

David and Mercedes Rizzo

David and Mercedes Rizzo

David and Mercedes write and speak from a faith perspective as parents of a child with autism. They are available to speak, and have appeared on radio and other media. Visit DavidAndMercedesRizzo.com to learn more. Follow them on Facebook at Autism With The Rizzos. Authors of Praying For Your Special Needs Child, (Word Among Us Press) and Spiritually Able and The Adaptive First Eucharist Preparation Kit (Loyola Press).