document.writeln('<b>Title: An Encircled Shield</b><p>Author: Elisabeth Elliot<p><P>Different phases of life have different sets of fears. A newborn baby demonstrates fear of falling and of loud noises. Swaddling clothes, used for thousands of years, are still wound tightly around the babies of the Quichua Indian tribe of Ecuador. As soon as a child is born his arms are bound to his sides, his legs straightened in a neat firm package. When this is removed the baby feels insecure and cries.');
document.writeln('<P>Adolescent fears about popularity, pimples, and peer pressure give way to adult anxieties about responsibility and life\'s major decisions.');
document.writeln('<P>As we grow old we are beset by the fear of aging, which may bring us weakness, pain, dependence on others, loneliness. We wake in the early dark and find ourselves the targets of many fiery darts of fear. We may think we are on guard, and suddenly a dart comes at us from an unexpected angle. We can\'t cover all the possibilities. We dodge and duck, but some of the fears get to us--unless we take refuge in the Lord. The psalmist calls Him \"my encircling shield, my glory.\" No need to stare into the darkness, allowing our imaginations to torment us with the \"what ifs\"--\"Now I can lie down and go to sleep and then awake, for the Lord has hold of me\" (Ps 3:3,5 JB).');
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