E. Stanley Jones writes:
"The most miserable people in this world are the people who are self-centered, who don't do anything for anyone except themselves. They are centers of misery with no exception...on the contrary, the happiest people are those that deliberately take on sorrows and troubles of others. Their hearts sing with a strange, wild joy, automatically and with no exceptions" (Disciplines of the Holy Spirit, p. 117).
Shane Claiborne writes:
"There are times I have been very frustrated with wealthy folks for hoarding their stuff. But now I know enough rich folks to know the loneliness that is all too familiar to many of them. I read a study comparing the health of a society with its economics, and one of the things it revealed is that wealthy countries like ours have the highest rates of depression, suicide, and loneliness. We are the richest and most miserable people in the world" (The Irresistible Revolution, p. 56).
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
How to go red in 4 easy steps
Step 1: Examine your front door and take note if it is ugly, plain, and white.
Step 2: Test a (preferably loud) color on the front of your door. Be sure and paint a big square right smack in the middle of your door just to be safe. This way there is no changing your mind; you are going to have to paint this door.
Step 3: If you start to feel dizzy from the oil based fumes, put on a pretty blue mask. Fight the urge to act out a scene from ER or House and continue painting.
Step 4: Stand back and look at what an amazing job you did painting your front door. Give yourself a pat on the back and drink a glass of wine to celebrate.
Step 2: Test a (preferably loud) color on the front of your door. Be sure and paint a big square right smack in the middle of your door just to be safe. This way there is no changing your mind; you are going to have to paint this door.
Step 3: If you start to feel dizzy from the oil based fumes, put on a pretty blue mask. Fight the urge to act out a scene from ER or House and continue painting.
Step 4: Stand back and look at what an amazing job you did painting your front door. Give yourself a pat on the back and drink a glass of wine to celebrate.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Happy birthday my heart!
My darling baby girl is no longer a baby. Brooke Evangelina turned two today. I can barely fathom that this little toddling ball of diapers will soon be skipping out the door to her first day of school. How fast this time has flown and how much my life has changed (for the better, I might add) in these past couple of years is remarkable to me still. Happy birthday my precious girl!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Myth: The best things in life are free
We have all heard the infamous saying "the best things in life are free", but I wholeheartedly and firmly disagree. It is my experience that tells me otherwise, and while I am not speaking in financial terms, the best things in life definitely do not come without great cost. In fact, the best things in life are what cost us the most- the most hard work, self-control, patience and sacrifice. If we are going to be quoting famous sayings, let's go with "anything worth having in life doesn't come easy". To prove this fact I want to briefly look at two main areas of my life.
Faith- Jesus became front and center in my life when I was sixteen. I had a couple of rocky years when I first hit the ground running; trying to live out Christianity as a high school student did not prove to be super smooth sailing for me. In college I began to realize the work I would have to put in to grow in my faith. It meant choosing some new friends who could encourage me in my walk. It meant daily obedience in studying God's word. It meant dying daily to my own flesh- and my flesh can be pretty tough to kill. It still means those same things today. I fall short many days and am thankful for His grace. Every time I fall, I get back up and continue walking in the light. Living out my faith is certainly not easy, but it's oh so worth it.
"I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God's heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:14
Health - Oh how I have been around the block a time or two battling my own self-image. I have gained weight, lost it, gained it again, and lost it once more (not counting pregnancy)! My best friend Sarah told me that she saw only slight differences in my weight from pictures where I weighed more (every girl needs a best friend like Sarah), but the struggle was very extreme for me in a psychological sense. I finally accepted that if being healthy is so important to me, I am going to have to put in hard work. Sometimes I don't want to say no to extra ice cream or wake up early to workout. Most of the time I really want seconds and thirds when it comes to dessert actually. But each day I try to remind myself that this body is not my own and therefor I need to take care of it like I care for anything else that belongs to someone else. It's a gift that I get to use for a short time and I need to put in the sweat (literally) in order to keep it in the best condition it can be.
These are just a couple of areas that require hard work, but they serve well in supporting the truth; the best things in life often cost us the most. The key is to look at it day by day and lean on the Lord for strength. I could not grow in my faith, stay healthy, or really do anything else for that matter without Jesus. I am nothing without the Lord, but thankfully
"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Phil 4:13
Faith- Jesus became front and center in my life when I was sixteen. I had a couple of rocky years when I first hit the ground running; trying to live out Christianity as a high school student did not prove to be super smooth sailing for me. In college I began to realize the work I would have to put in to grow in my faith. It meant choosing some new friends who could encourage me in my walk. It meant daily obedience in studying God's word. It meant dying daily to my own flesh- and my flesh can be pretty tough to kill. It still means those same things today. I fall short many days and am thankful for His grace. Every time I fall, I get back up and continue walking in the light. Living out my faith is certainly not easy, but it's oh so worth it.
"I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God's heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:14
Health - Oh how I have been around the block a time or two battling my own self-image. I have gained weight, lost it, gained it again, and lost it once more (not counting pregnancy)! My best friend Sarah told me that she saw only slight differences in my weight from pictures where I weighed more (every girl needs a best friend like Sarah), but the struggle was very extreme for me in a psychological sense. I finally accepted that if being healthy is so important to me, I am going to have to put in hard work. Sometimes I don't want to say no to extra ice cream or wake up early to workout. Most of the time I really want seconds and thirds when it comes to dessert actually. But each day I try to remind myself that this body is not my own and therefor I need to take care of it like I care for anything else that belongs to someone else. It's a gift that I get to use for a short time and I need to put in the sweat (literally) in order to keep it in the best condition it can be.
These are just a couple of areas that require hard work, but they serve well in supporting the truth; the best things in life often cost us the most. The key is to look at it day by day and lean on the Lord for strength. I could not grow in my faith, stay healthy, or really do anything else for that matter without Jesus. I am nothing without the Lord, but thankfully
"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Phil 4:13
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