All posts tagged: faith

In The No: “Out”

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Besides the time everyone stood at the edge of “a bridge” and decided to jump while you opted to turn around and take the stairs down instead, how often are you in the no? It’s so tempting to be in the know, aware of all that’s happening, not missing anything… Like when you were a kid and didn’t want to fall asleep while others were up around you. Being involved in the cyclic conversation about The Little Rascals that you’d had 132x before seemed necessary at the time; your friends wouldn’t joke about you being a “sleepyhead”; you didn’t get toothpaste on your face; but you had to beg your mom to stay home instead of waking for church the next morning… and since she wasn’t going for it, you struggled to keep your eyes open until snack time at children’s church. How much different is it now, as an adult? I’ve struggled a million times with being on the scene or not, and what each symbolized and truly meant to me. I enjoy music, I love …

11.23.14

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Dear Lord, Thank you, again, for another day, awakened and alive in you. Thank you for opportunity, for love, for friendship, for all the gifts you bless us with each day, those noticed and overlooked. This week, Americans express thanks and spend increased time with family and loved ones; it’s beautiful. I want to pray, tonight, that we carry this spirit of thanksgiving throughout the year. Please allow us to be aware of all that is working in our lives. Allow us to acknowledge these things and use them to encourage those around us. Our stories are unique to us, but can also help others facing similar challenges. Please allow us to push beyond our fear of sharing the most vulnerable parts of ourselves; may we pay it forward! Most of us have had someone to share their story; whether we’ve taken heed immediately, or required extended time to understand the lessons taught, it helps. We don’t wish to be selfish beings. For what good is it to experience you in all of your goodness …

Ready or not, here I come!

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You remember being a kid, rushing through the count to 10 just to say these words… You didn’t want to be at a disadvantage; you never gave the “hiders” a chance to get ready before shouting “HERE I COME!” That’s how you got out of the “seekers” chair, by throwing someone else off their game, by beating them to the punch, by taking away their chance to prepare! Life has a funny way of working; it throws you challenges and cheat codes, God gives favor, life seems unfair, there is sometimes mercy in the most merciless(seeming) situations. In life, we dangle somewhere between failure or success, so society says. Besides God, there are no constants. Life may count to ten sometimes, it may even count to 100, but it may also stop at 1. Either way you look at it, for anyone reading this, no matter what it seemed, life has continued working, ready or not. I am always planning ahead for something – birthdays, vacations, graduation(s), occupation(s), events, a hopeful wedding… most of us are. As we …

Blackbird.

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So, I went to see “Beyond the Lights” with my sister this weekend (Hey Bri!). LOVED IT! I’m a sap, clearly… but the movie tells a story far beyond love; don’t worry, I won’t tell the movie, though I do suggest you go see it! “I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth. Then I ask myself the same question.” – Harun Yahya Why would I let my dreams stay fantasies? If I can do anything in the world, why would I ever stop learning, growing?… Routine. Complacency. Fear of failure.  When we are young, we are taught that it’s “best” to get good grades in school so that we can get accepted into a good college, where we’ll get good grades, and find a job that will pay us fairly well… We’ll try to move up the ladder, and people will call it “loyalty”, while we boast good job security. When, however, do we question what else the world has to offer, and what …

11.16.14

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Dear Heavenly Father, As I come to you this evening, I want to remember in every prayer to thank you. I have lived another day! Even as the day had turbulence, there was productivity and love found in it. Thank you, for raising the sun on the same day that you poured rain on us. Thank you for your grace, that has allowed me to journey another week and begin a new venture doing something I love. You have given me an abundance of opportunities to use the gifts you’ve given me, but I haven’t always answered your call. I want to hear your voice when you speak, and know that it’s you. I want your relationship to be the only one I cannot live without. Thank you for second and third and fourth chances. Thank you for allowing me to love even those people who don’t love me back. Thank you for creativity, for laughter, for friendships… and thank you for you. I know that I am not perfect and recognize, also, that I …

Living Single x Tony Evans

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OH! To speak of conviction! This book was just what I  needed. 25 & Single doesn’t have great appeal. It is often looked down upon, as evidenced by the “when are you going to get married?” and “Who’s your +1?” type of questions I hear all the time. I’ve found myself daydreaming about my future, faceless husband, and our “black*ish” kids playing frisbee in our apparently well-groomed, green fenced in backyard!… Ok, it’s never gone that far until just now… but let’s be real. As a woman, there is pressure to become a wife, to be swept off your feet by a knight in shining Ferragamo cap toes, a Skinny Burberry Tie, and a tailored suit to match. Maybe it’s completely different for a man; I mean, how do you “prove” your masculinity in a fallen world? I’ll leave you to answer that. POINT IS, THIS BOOK IS AMAZING! It gives the CHRISTIAN perspective on singlehood, its advantages, and just how to do it the way God intends it to be done. [Thanks to JNC for …

Life’s a Beach, if you let it be.

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We’ve all heard the expression “Life’s a Beach,” but let’s be honest, it isn’t… not unless you believe and work to make it as such. When I turn on the News at night, I’m left with nightmares, photographic memory haunts me at night as I try to conceive things my mind just will not. Life seems to be a desert, thirsty for hope but being fed disappointment. How can we stand in amphitheaters full of people, and still be all alone? Have you placed a seed? Have you watered it, so that it does not dwindle and die like all the other sultry plants around it? Have you loved it, as you might wish that your planter loved you? I challenge you to be better than what the world has to offer, I challenge you to make a difference. Speak to your neighbors. Wait for a response when you ask “how are you”… LISTEN! Have FAITH that things can be different, and work toward it. “There is no greater destruction to the world than the …