• Anyone can find your home address on a free people search site in seconds. Then Zillow hands them a blueprint of every room, entry point and camera angle.
• Home invasions targeting everyday people are surging. Physical attacks on homeowners nearly doubled last year.

The 10-minute lockdown: Remove your photos from Zillow, Redfin and Realtor. Blur your house on Google Street View.

🔒 Take it down in 10 minutes

These steps can look a little different depending on your device, app version or browser. If it’s not exact, poke around. The option is there.

Zillow: Sign in at zillow.com. Click your profile icon > Your Home. Search your address, claim it, then go to Edit Facts and hide or delete the photos. Hit Save. Redfin: Sign in at redfin.com. Go to Owner Dashboard. Select your home > Edit Photos > Hide listing photos > Save. Realtor: Go to realtor.com/myhome. Claim your home, then select it under My Home > Remove Photos > Yes, Remove All Photos. Google Street View: Open Google Maps on a computer. Search your address, drop into Street View, then click “Report a problem” (bottom right). Position the red box over your home. Under Request blurring, select “My home.” Submit. FYI, once it’s blurred, it’s permanent.

Pro tip: Ask your old listing agent to pull photos from the MLS. Once they’re gone from MLS, the feeder sites eventually follow.

If you’re not selling, there’s zero reason for the internet to have a virtual tour of your home. Take it down today.

I guess you could say Zillow gives everyone an open house. Problem is, you never sent the invitations.

• 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Mix all ingredients.
2. Serve 1 tablespoon of herb mix with 1 tablespoon olive oil with bread for dipping.

It seems there’s always something to worry about: natural disasters, current (and potential) wars, shaky finances, relational brokenness, unmet expectations, political/cultural/racial divisions, senseless violence, our kids, our jobs, our health, and more—much more. But many of the things we fear are largely out of our control.

We can’t always control what happens to us, but we can choose our response.

You can constantly be worried, negative, anxious, fearful, critical, and bitter. Or, you can be known for seeing the good in people, choosing joy, offering encouragement, looking for God’s fingerprints, and always finding something to be grateful for. In either case, the cycle feeds itself.

Like hummingbirds are attracted to sweet things while vultures scour the earth for dead things, we will always find what we are looking for. Why? Because darkness and light both exist. Good and evil are everyday realities. And we must decide who we’ll trust, and how we’ll spend our lives.

There are plenty of scary things happening in the world, but—because of Jesus—there is always good.

Even on our darkest days, Jesus is the light of the world. He’s already carrying the weight of the world on His shoulders, which means we don’t have to. He has already made a way where there was no way, which means we can follow the path He has blazed. The Holy Spirit is already compelling us and leading us and teaching us and comforting us, which means we’re not alone.

The hope we have in Christ isn’t just wishful thinking or positive vibes. It’s hope that’s based on truth—on facts and faith.

So what can we do? The Bible says:

“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”

Proverbs 12:25 NIV

We can fight anxiousness with hope.

We can ward off worry with truth-filled encouragement.

We can resist fear by offering life-giving words.

We can refuse to settle for living scared.

We can expose the darkness to light.

So the next time you feel anxiety and fear weighing down your heart, ask God for help and encouragement. Remember, He is closer than a prayer away.

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total: 1 hour 25 minutes
Serves 6

• 3 pounds russet potatoes
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 leek, white and light green part, diced (or 1/2 of a medium onion, diced)
• 1 rib celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon paste
• 2 cups whole milk or heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper, more to taste
• 1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese, plus extra for topping

Toppings:

• Sour Cream
• Diced Fresh Chives

Bake Potatoes: Add potatoes to a large baking tray and poke a few times with a knife or tines of a fork. Coat in a drizzle of oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees F for 1 hour, or until fork tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Shred cheese and allow to sit at room temp while you prepare the soup.

Finish Potatoes: Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half, lengthwise. Scoop out potato flesh and place potato skins on baking sheet.

Drizzle skins with more olive oil, a little more salt and pepper and broil for a few minutes, until crispy.

Cook Bacon: When potatoes are halfway through cooking, add bacon to a large soup pot over medium heat and cook until the fat is rendered and bacon is crispy (8 to 10 minutes). Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Remove some bacon grease.

Sauté Veggies: Add butter to pan and allow to melt, then add leek and celery. Sauté until tender. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Sprinkle in flour and stir to combine, for 1 minute. Slowly add chicken broth and chicken bouillon paste, while stirring.

Scoop potato flesh into soup pot, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. Add milk and season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes until warmed through.

Finish Soup: Use an immersion blender to gently puree about half of the soup until you get the texture you want. Don’t overdo it—you don’t want the potatoes to get “gluey” in texture. Remove from heat and stir in cheddar cheese.

Serve topped with extra shredded cheddar cheese, a big spoonful of bacon, sour cream, and a sprinkle of chives. Serve with crisp potato skins for dipping.