Kelly: And Martin Freeman is not Bilbo Baggins.
Benedict Cumberbatch is not Sherlock Holmes.
Also...Benedict Cumberbatch is off the market and happily married....LADIES.
Get over it!
It had to be said. It just had to. One of my biggest pet peeves is the way some people post things about actors/actresses and they don't even use their real names. Case and point the above of this post. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, but in a way it seems disrespectful to me when people do that. Today in church our pastor was talking about the fact that our self-worth is not measured up by how useful we are. So what would happen if Emma Watson never took on the role of Hermione Granger? Would people even recognize her or pass her a second thought? It's uncertain of me to say, but I hope it makes you think. Jesus loves us all so much and thinks that we are priceless; so priceless that He died for us! It doesn't matter if we're famous or just the other every day Average Joe. God doesn't see me as the psych nurse, or Holly as the non-profit worker, or Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug the Dragon. No! He sees each and every one of us as His precious children whom He loves very much and created in His own image.
And I've been guilty of it too; following what the fans say when things pop up on the Internet. But lately I've been known to bite my tongue and remember "ok, they're regular people like us before they're actors." But even above THAT they're children of Christ. We all are. So how about we start showing some respect for everyone in who we really are in Him and not who we are or were in the past. I'm not going to be a psych nurse forever. Holly isn't going to be a VISTA forever. The Harry Potter movie franchise is done, but not forgotten. Try to take the time to see each other as God sees us.
Holly: It's no surprise that Kelly and I are die-hard fans of for KING & COUNTRY (If you've been following us for a while and you haven't managed to listen to them yet, please do yourselves a favor!). One of the many reasons we're fans of them is because of what they stand up for. They have a "campaign", if you will; Respect & Honor. Today during church I was reminded of why I wear my Respect & Honor wristband every day, and the sermon and above thoughts from both Kelly and I really drove the point home for me. In fact, I held it in my hands during the invitation as a reminder. And it goes something like this: I love God. God loves me, and everyone else. Therefore we ought to remember our worth the way God sees it, and that is that we are PRICELESS to Him! We were all created in His image, made to be like Him. Think about that for a second. If we all adopted that mindset, every single person in the world viewing every other person in the world through God's eyes, it could literally change the world!
Kelly and I are also regular Pinteresters, and we have a board for Sherlock, and naturally, since it's a popular show we've drawn a lot of followers. But some of the comments I see with accompanying pictures are, quite frankly, disgusting sometimes. I'll admit that I find both Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman attractive. But when we look at them through God's eyes...they are so much more than pretty faces. So let me add a finale to this:
Emma Watson is not Hermione Granger.
Martin Freeman is not Bilbo Baggins.
Benedict Cumberbatch is not Sherlock Holmes.
They are ALL children of God. And so are we!
Showing posts with label sermons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sermons. Show all posts
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Somebody else's responsibility and not sure who's responsible for what and so what you're not coming back?
Holly: Yes, the title is a mouthful. And we are erring a bit on the silly side, but it all boils down to one thing: accountability. I think we lack none nowadays. Seriously. No one is held accountable for their actions anymore, it seems. Or lack of actions.
I'll give an example that is also a wee bit of a pet peeve: Something that really drives me crazy about churches is that we are often told "We should pray more" or "We should read the Bible more". Well....great. I won't disagree with you. But how? There's usually no follow-through, and we're left to our own devices, which usually turns into a never-ending mental battle of "doing it right" versus "doing it wrong". As someone who has been a follower for a few years now, I am STILL struggling to find out what works for me. Here's another example: when someone decides to leave a church or a small group (we ran into this back when we participated in BCM); there was a bit of persuading to try to stay, and then after it was all said and done, that was it. Basically all forms of contact were cut off. ALL. There was no "Hey, how are you doing?" after we left. There was nothing.
If we really are the hands and feet of Jesus, if we are brothers and sisters in Christ, shouldn't we be looking out for one another...really looking out for one another? As I mentioned in our small group discussion this morning, I would much rather have someone take me aside and tell me I was going down the wrong path, versus being left alone in the assumptions that everything was hunky-dory. At what point do we stop saying "someone else will take care of it?" and just take up the gauntlet ourselves? Now, I'm not saying I am an expert in this. Trust me, I have A LOT to learn from all of this as well. I've thought of several potentially difficult conversations that I should be having, most of them with myself. I hope that we as Christians, or just decent human beings, if Jesus isn't a part of your life, take responsibility for our actions and how we truly, really, wholeheartedly, interact with each other.
Kelly: In light of recent events, our church will soon be discussing how to fill a vacancy that has since March been empty, and God has called some wonderful volunteers to attempt to fill this vacancy whilst a decision is being made. I know that sentence seemed like a lot of garbled gobble-dee-goop, but it hones in on what this post is about. Throughout the years I've been attending church, many programs, groups and once active and thriving ministries have fallen off the wayside because in my opinion there's no accountability. Some of thought "well, nobody cares about this anymore" or "the need is being met elsewhere in the church" or the most common one I've heard "well, a piece of it is covered so as a whole this area is being taken care of." Not necessarily heard by me, but by other members that I am close to and trust. It's quite sad, to be honest. When this meeting rolls around, I don't know if I'll have anything to say, but if I do, I hope it's from my heart and that I feel led by God to share. I think instead of asking "who's going to do something" let's maybe perhaps ask "what can we all do as a body of unity and a body of believers?" Having said that, I'm going to share a story.
When I was in college, Holly and I joined BCM. We went regularly for about 2 years and on and off for about a year. I went more often than Holly, as she was busy doing RA stuff, which was no big deal. So I came and went for a while, but my schedule was starting to become busy and I made the decision that I was going to have to devote more time for my nursing work and explore other means to grow in my faith. I presented my thoughts to several members at the time, and I guess there's no way to say it, but in a way I was shunned. I stopped receiving invites to attend when I could, no one checked in with me regularly, and then the time came for the end of the year party. I actually was invited to attend, and I did. It was like walking into a completely different atmosphere. At that point I realized this was not a place for me to grow in my faith and my walk with Christ. That warm, welcoming, open and accepting environment was gone and replaced with favoritism, unwelcoming and feeling lonely. Now please do not misunderstand me. I have quite a few very fond and powerful memories from my time that I spent and will cherish the friendships I had. I'm not saying don't ever do a college BCM program, because that's not what I'm saying at all. All I am saying is this; at what point should we stop asking "who" and start asking "what." Instead of chastising for forgetting your Bible, greet one another and genuinely say "I'm glad you're here. We're happy to help you in any way we can." (Bible chastising c/o church camp). I am so happy and blessed that I am currently in a small group where I feel safe to share my needs and know that I am going to have follow-up with it or them, and I do my best to do the same. It honestly takes a little bit of an extra effort to hold someone accountable, but to me it's worth it. I think it can make the difference between someone staying in a church/small group and someone leaving it.
I'll give an example that is also a wee bit of a pet peeve: Something that really drives me crazy about churches is that we are often told "We should pray more" or "We should read the Bible more". Well....great. I won't disagree with you. But how? There's usually no follow-through, and we're left to our own devices, which usually turns into a never-ending mental battle of "doing it right" versus "doing it wrong". As someone who has been a follower for a few years now, I am STILL struggling to find out what works for me. Here's another example: when someone decides to leave a church or a small group (we ran into this back when we participated in BCM); there was a bit of persuading to try to stay, and then after it was all said and done, that was it. Basically all forms of contact were cut off. ALL. There was no "Hey, how are you doing?" after we left. There was nothing.
If we really are the hands and feet of Jesus, if we are brothers and sisters in Christ, shouldn't we be looking out for one another...really looking out for one another? As I mentioned in our small group discussion this morning, I would much rather have someone take me aside and tell me I was going down the wrong path, versus being left alone in the assumptions that everything was hunky-dory. At what point do we stop saying "someone else will take care of it?" and just take up the gauntlet ourselves? Now, I'm not saying I am an expert in this. Trust me, I have A LOT to learn from all of this as well. I've thought of several potentially difficult conversations that I should be having, most of them with myself. I hope that we as Christians, or just decent human beings, if Jesus isn't a part of your life, take responsibility for our actions and how we truly, really, wholeheartedly, interact with each other.
Kelly: In light of recent events, our church will soon be discussing how to fill a vacancy that has since March been empty, and God has called some wonderful volunteers to attempt to fill this vacancy whilst a decision is being made. I know that sentence seemed like a lot of garbled gobble-dee-goop, but it hones in on what this post is about. Throughout the years I've been attending church, many programs, groups and once active and thriving ministries have fallen off the wayside because in my opinion there's no accountability. Some of thought "well, nobody cares about this anymore" or "the need is being met elsewhere in the church" or the most common one I've heard "well, a piece of it is covered so as a whole this area is being taken care of." Not necessarily heard by me, but by other members that I am close to and trust. It's quite sad, to be honest. When this meeting rolls around, I don't know if I'll have anything to say, but if I do, I hope it's from my heart and that I feel led by God to share. I think instead of asking "who's going to do something" let's maybe perhaps ask "what can we all do as a body of unity and a body of believers?" Having said that, I'm going to share a story.
When I was in college, Holly and I joined BCM. We went regularly for about 2 years and on and off for about a year. I went more often than Holly, as she was busy doing RA stuff, which was no big deal. So I came and went for a while, but my schedule was starting to become busy and I made the decision that I was going to have to devote more time for my nursing work and explore other means to grow in my faith. I presented my thoughts to several members at the time, and I guess there's no way to say it, but in a way I was shunned. I stopped receiving invites to attend when I could, no one checked in with me regularly, and then the time came for the end of the year party. I actually was invited to attend, and I did. It was like walking into a completely different atmosphere. At that point I realized this was not a place for me to grow in my faith and my walk with Christ. That warm, welcoming, open and accepting environment was gone and replaced with favoritism, unwelcoming and feeling lonely. Now please do not misunderstand me. I have quite a few very fond and powerful memories from my time that I spent and will cherish the friendships I had. I'm not saying don't ever do a college BCM program, because that's not what I'm saying at all. All I am saying is this; at what point should we stop asking "who" and start asking "what." Instead of chastising for forgetting your Bible, greet one another and genuinely say "I'm glad you're here. We're happy to help you in any way we can." (Bible chastising c/o church camp). I am so happy and blessed that I am currently in a small group where I feel safe to share my needs and know that I am going to have follow-up with it or them, and I do my best to do the same. It honestly takes a little bit of an extra effort to hold someone accountable, but to me it's worth it. I think it can make the difference between someone staying in a church/small group and someone leaving it.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Living life with no desire, not a flame but a fire.
Kelly: This morning, the two of us were presented with an opportunity to possibly fill a need in our church that several of us feel has not been met. For quite some time now, it's been under the assumption that this need has been "taken care of" and that others are doing something about it. In other words, there really isn't a clear direction. Anyway, more on that later, but that's what's been going on. What inspired this tidbit of possibly new direction was this morning at church. In today's day and age, we are all circling in our own orbits of day after day life, wondering how we're going to live for ourselves. Seriously, it's true. Even I myself am guilty of it. But how often do we think about those around us? I know that even in my line of work, when I walk out the door my mind is wondering of how I'm going to spend my next few days off.
It's no secret that we love helping people. I've dabbled into different volunteer opportunities for a while, but after a short amount of time found it wasn't my niche or the other volunteers were often gossiping about things not getting done or were sometimes judgmental towards those who came in. I witnessed this while at a food bank as a volunteer, and removed myself from there because it was a place I felt I did not or should not be mixed into. Hard to show the love of God when the majority are acting in ways that are the complete opposite of such. I have been praying for a while to find ways to use my time off in other ways other than myself; tired of being selfish let's just say. And then this opportunity came up. I don't know what kind of fruit this will produce; hopefully good but again, all in God's will and in His perfect plan. The title of today's post is derived from the words of a song by Matthew West titled "Do Something." Listen to it if you want a good encouraging message and a reminder of our duty as Christians. It's up to us; nobody else is going to take care of it. If not us then who? If not now then when?
Holly: I read a status on Facebook a while back from a young mother, claiming that she hated every single thing about being a parent, yet she loved her child (I really wish I was making this up). Part of this rationale was that this person believed that we as humans were entitled to being selfish. I could not disagree with this more.
I might get some flack for this statement, but I believe it to be true, completely regardless of whether or not you are a Christian: Life is not about you. There. I said it. I think, as a Christian, or even as a decent human being, we ought to be seeking out ways to serve others, instead of attempting to fulfill our own desires. Guys, I am far from a pristine example of this. I still am learning, but it is only by the grace of God that I can keep trying. Something that struck me especially from the sermon today (which we've heard before) is that we waste so much time on trivial, meaningless things. We compartmentalize ourselves, turn ourselves into islands with our Netflix and our iPhones and we just completely miss the point. Again, Guilty. As. Charged. Things are just that....things. Things don't last. Period. One of my favorite passages of Scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 4: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
As Kelly mentioned, we have an opportunity at our feet that, right now, we aren't sure of much. It's still in the planning stages, but we are praying for God's will and direction, confirmation that this is what He wants to do. He knows our hearts and our desires. At least for me, one of the goals is that we will reach out to those in need, that we will open our homes and our hearts, and that we will bring them to Jesus. That's the main goal: Jesus. Because I still think life isn't about us.
If not us, then who?
If not me and you right now, it's time for us to do something!
If not now, then when?
Will we see an end to all this pain?
It's not enough to do nothing. It's time for us to do something!
We are the salt of the earth, we are a city on a hill
We're never going to change the world by standing still
It's no secret that we love helping people. I've dabbled into different volunteer opportunities for a while, but after a short amount of time found it wasn't my niche or the other volunteers were often gossiping about things not getting done or were sometimes judgmental towards those who came in. I witnessed this while at a food bank as a volunteer, and removed myself from there because it was a place I felt I did not or should not be mixed into. Hard to show the love of God when the majority are acting in ways that are the complete opposite of such. I have been praying for a while to find ways to use my time off in other ways other than myself; tired of being selfish let's just say. And then this opportunity came up. I don't know what kind of fruit this will produce; hopefully good but again, all in God's will and in His perfect plan. The title of today's post is derived from the words of a song by Matthew West titled "Do Something." Listen to it if you want a good encouraging message and a reminder of our duty as Christians. It's up to us; nobody else is going to take care of it. If not us then who? If not now then when?
Holly: I read a status on Facebook a while back from a young mother, claiming that she hated every single thing about being a parent, yet she loved her child (I really wish I was making this up). Part of this rationale was that this person believed that we as humans were entitled to being selfish. I could not disagree with this more.
I might get some flack for this statement, but I believe it to be true, completely regardless of whether or not you are a Christian: Life is not about you. There. I said it. I think, as a Christian, or even as a decent human being, we ought to be seeking out ways to serve others, instead of attempting to fulfill our own desires. Guys, I am far from a pristine example of this. I still am learning, but it is only by the grace of God that I can keep trying. Something that struck me especially from the sermon today (which we've heard before) is that we waste so much time on trivial, meaningless things. We compartmentalize ourselves, turn ourselves into islands with our Netflix and our iPhones and we just completely miss the point. Again, Guilty. As. Charged. Things are just that....things. Things don't last. Period. One of my favorite passages of Scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 4: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
As Kelly mentioned, we have an opportunity at our feet that, right now, we aren't sure of much. It's still in the planning stages, but we are praying for God's will and direction, confirmation that this is what He wants to do. He knows our hearts and our desires. At least for me, one of the goals is that we will reach out to those in need, that we will open our homes and our hearts, and that we will bring them to Jesus. That's the main goal: Jesus. Because I still think life isn't about us.
If not us, then who?
If not me and you right now, it's time for us to do something!
If not now, then when?
Will we see an end to all this pain?
It's not enough to do nothing. It's time for us to do something!
We are the salt of the earth, we are a city on a hill
We're never going to change the world by standing still
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Empty pages and open books
Holly: I'm challenged by the message I heard today at church. To sum it up in very, very basic terms, we as Christians are called to act. Early on, we were asked that if we had our "book of Acts" written out, what would it look like? Would it be worth reading? (referring to the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament). I believe mine would look something like this:
Chapter 1: Holly starts going to church with her family. Gets baptized when she's 10 years old.
Chapter 2: Holly goes to a different church with her family.
Chapter 3: Holly goes to church on Sunday and youth group on Wednesday. This continues for several years.
Chapter 4: Holly goes on a mission trip to Nicaragua, and her mind and eyes are opened, her heart is full, and her spirit and faith are renewed.
Chapter 5: Holly goes to church on Sunday and youth group on Wednesday. Decides Berea College is THE place to be.
Chapter 6: Holly survives her first few weeks of college, but then realizes that something is just not quite right with her and God. After a long October night, and a long conversation between her, her sister, and God, she decides to start over with God.
Chapter 7: In May of 2009, Holly and her sister rededicate their lives to Christ, in front of their new church family.
Chapter 8: The years pass. Times are great, times are hard, and Holly's faith journey is an up and down tirade of events, lessons, truths, prayers, introductions to Lord of the Rings and other things and people that strengthen her faith, etc, etc, etc. But through that, she has grown with a church family that loves her, built relationships with numerous individuals, tried many different avenues for quiet time, and has done a lot of journaling...among many other things. She realizes she has such a long way to go, but also recognizes how far God has brought her.
Chapter 9: ???
And that's where I am now. I know that I am called to act, but to be honest, I don't know where to go from here. Every day is a step of faith that I must take, trusting that God will walk with me and give me the discernment to make godly decisions and act in accordance with Him. I don't know what my future holds. But I thank God that He does!
The title of this post is "Empty pages and open books". I'm continuing to write my "Acts" on empty pages, because there are so many possibilities out there. The bible says that with God, all things are possible. Walking with God is an adventure, and when He extends his unrelenting grace at the start of every day, He is opening His books of possibilities and choices for us.
Kelly: I came up with the title of today's blog based off a song in which the first line of the chorus goes "I'm an empty page. I'm an open book." God is ultimately the author of our stories and He writes our story. In my experience, mine has been full of uncertainty, tremendous joys and successes as well as darkness and despair. If I could title my story, it would be called "But God..." In my college days in the gospel choir we sang in our director, who was full of life and the Spirit, would often say "BUT GOD!" when a student shared a struggle or when we all got together in prayer and prayed for whatever was laid on our hearts. My role as a chaplain in that choir often had that two word phrase resonating in my head not as doubt but as hope. The word "but" usually precedes the "bad news" or something that isn't quite certain. In this case, it was a simple reminder for me to just stop and think "look at what God is bringing me through and what He brought me through." But God.
My story holds no powerful revelations. God hasn't spoken to me through burning bushes. I've never led thousands of people out of slavery, brought a dead man back to life, or calmed a storm with my hands. But God, that SAME God has written me a story that is like no other. My personality is God and only God; the joy of the Lord creeping up when needed. The truth is, I don't know what the rest of my story holds, but I know who's holding the pen, or at least I'm doing my best to get to know Him more and more. So should someone ever read my story, I'm not sure if it would be "interesting" or if anyone would actually want to read it. But that's the beauty of knowing other brothers and sisters; their stories are all different because we all serve the same God and He's made all of our stories different. I have seen God work in wonderful and mysterious ways not only in my life but in those around me. I've turned away from God and wanted to hold onto friendships that weren't meant to be, wanted to hear from jobs on my time, and say yes or no to whatever I wanted. But God welcomed me back each and every time, no questions asked. Ya'll, I'm not a perfect person, far from it. But when you get a not perfect person who is matched up with the perfect God who made her very existence here possible, that equals the greatest acts of faith, hope and love that nothing can buy. That to me is a story worth reading.
Chapter 1: Holly starts going to church with her family. Gets baptized when she's 10 years old.
Chapter 2: Holly goes to a different church with her family.
Chapter 3: Holly goes to church on Sunday and youth group on Wednesday. This continues for several years.
Chapter 4: Holly goes on a mission trip to Nicaragua, and her mind and eyes are opened, her heart is full, and her spirit and faith are renewed.
Chapter 5: Holly goes to church on Sunday and youth group on Wednesday. Decides Berea College is THE place to be.
Chapter 6: Holly survives her first few weeks of college, but then realizes that something is just not quite right with her and God. After a long October night, and a long conversation between her, her sister, and God, she decides to start over with God.
Chapter 7: In May of 2009, Holly and her sister rededicate their lives to Christ, in front of their new church family.
Chapter 8: The years pass. Times are great, times are hard, and Holly's faith journey is an up and down tirade of events, lessons, truths, prayers, introductions to Lord of the Rings and other things and people that strengthen her faith, etc, etc, etc. But through that, she has grown with a church family that loves her, built relationships with numerous individuals, tried many different avenues for quiet time, and has done a lot of journaling...among many other things. She realizes she has such a long way to go, but also recognizes how far God has brought her.
Chapter 9: ???
And that's where I am now. I know that I am called to act, but to be honest, I don't know where to go from here. Every day is a step of faith that I must take, trusting that God will walk with me and give me the discernment to make godly decisions and act in accordance with Him. I don't know what my future holds. But I thank God that He does!
The title of this post is "Empty pages and open books". I'm continuing to write my "Acts" on empty pages, because there are so many possibilities out there. The bible says that with God, all things are possible. Walking with God is an adventure, and when He extends his unrelenting grace at the start of every day, He is opening His books of possibilities and choices for us.
Kelly: I came up with the title of today's blog based off a song in which the first line of the chorus goes "I'm an empty page. I'm an open book." God is ultimately the author of our stories and He writes our story. In my experience, mine has been full of uncertainty, tremendous joys and successes as well as darkness and despair. If I could title my story, it would be called "But God..." In my college days in the gospel choir we sang in our director, who was full of life and the Spirit, would often say "BUT GOD!" when a student shared a struggle or when we all got together in prayer and prayed for whatever was laid on our hearts. My role as a chaplain in that choir often had that two word phrase resonating in my head not as doubt but as hope. The word "but" usually precedes the "bad news" or something that isn't quite certain. In this case, it was a simple reminder for me to just stop and think "look at what God is bringing me through and what He brought me through." But God.
My story holds no powerful revelations. God hasn't spoken to me through burning bushes. I've never led thousands of people out of slavery, brought a dead man back to life, or calmed a storm with my hands. But God, that SAME God has written me a story that is like no other. My personality is God and only God; the joy of the Lord creeping up when needed. The truth is, I don't know what the rest of my story holds, but I know who's holding the pen, or at least I'm doing my best to get to know Him more and more. So should someone ever read my story, I'm not sure if it would be "interesting" or if anyone would actually want to read it. But that's the beauty of knowing other brothers and sisters; their stories are all different because we all serve the same God and He's made all of our stories different. I have seen God work in wonderful and mysterious ways not only in my life but in those around me. I've turned away from God and wanted to hold onto friendships that weren't meant to be, wanted to hear from jobs on my time, and say yes or no to whatever I wanted. But God welcomed me back each and every time, no questions asked. Ya'll, I'm not a perfect person, far from it. But when you get a not perfect person who is matched up with the perfect God who made her very existence here possible, that equals the greatest acts of faith, hope and love that nothing can buy. That to me is a story worth reading.
Monday, February 24, 2014
The "not (insert whatever) enoughs" don't measure up: Two young women trying to measure up to God's worth
Holly: We've listened to a fair share of sermons over the 5+ years we've been at Berea Baptist, but this one sort of hit us upside the head today. Maybe it's what I need. Maybe it's what we all need, but there's one message that I feel so compelled to share, so...yeah. It's going out there, and I apologize if I offend anyone, but in a society that is so bent on dictating what we as humans should act, feel, do, etc, well yeah, I want to say something about that.
The sermon today was about pride. Yep, pride. Something we ALL struggle with, and if you say otherwise, you're full of it. Most of us have a pretty good idea of what pride looks like, but there was another aspect of it that I hadn't thought of before, and that's what I'm going to share today: We live in a society where nothing measures up. Women my age (and younger and younger, sadly) are not pretty enough, smart enough, skinny enough, successful enough, you name it. But one of the points in the sermon this morning was that when we "beat ourselves up" for our flaws, we are committing a form of pride. One of the definitions given for pride, in this context anyway, was "an unwillingness to see oneself in correct relation to God." Guys, God loves us so much. He sees us as his precious children, his beloved son and daughter, his treasure, the apple of His eye. He created us to be just that: us. That's why I make it a point to not get so hung up over my flaws...because I feel like in a way I'm (and I hate to use the harsh terms) smacking God in the face. And when I see my peers ashamed, frustrated, disappointed with themselves, it breaks my heart. You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed about. Now I'm not saying I've completely abandoned the self-bashing; trust me, I haven't. I'm working on it too. But instead of wishing for something better, let's try to thank God for what we do have. I got out of bed this morning. I'm breathing freely. I had sushi for lunch. I listened to some beautiful songs from the Doctor Who soundtrack. I was able to clap my hands and sing during church. Turns out we are a lot more blessed than we realize.
Kelly: Having missed church last week, I was really glad to be back. And after a pretty crazy work week, I was very happy to hear this sermon. Not that I'm ever disappointed, but this. This was a take on an age old issue that I had never heard before. But pride; I knew in the back of my head that when it started that this was something I struggled with. Like Holly, the same part that stuck with her stuck with me too. I had never really thought of "beating ourselves up" in that way before...being prideful. The sermon said though that a healthy love for oneself is not sinful, but I think that when it starts getting out of hand is when it becomes so. And I think it doesn't have to be a healthy oneself for it to be prideful, but it can be an unhealthy detest too. But as for me, I have high expectations for myself. Lord knows I goof up and mess up...constantly. I find myself beating myself up when things don't work out or when something happens on my watch at work and on and on and on and on. Before I found my job, I would feel despondent at times and not want to do anything because I was just really down. I felt guilty for feeling the way I did, but I told myself it was normal. I felt guilty at the end of the day and told myself I should have kept looking for jobs. I asked myself why I wasn't getting hired; what was wrong with me?
Turned out God had a bigger plan than what I expected. He has reminded me time after time; that even though I am not perfect I am perfect in His image. This is easier said than done, because I understand that sometimes things or situations or people just really get you down. But I am speaking for experience when I take the focus off myself and turn it around back to God, the day, the moments and the every day wear and grind of whatever goes by so much easier. I pray every time I go into to work. Often I ask God to get me out of the way so that others would see Him instead of me. I was created by God and for God, and His word is the final word. Period. This is a challenge I am going to try for myself; to remember that God is God and I am not. I do not measure up to anyone else, even myself. Especially myself. I hope our other Christ following readers will be challenged and encouraged as well.
The sermon today was about pride. Yep, pride. Something we ALL struggle with, and if you say otherwise, you're full of it. Most of us have a pretty good idea of what pride looks like, but there was another aspect of it that I hadn't thought of before, and that's what I'm going to share today: We live in a society where nothing measures up. Women my age (and younger and younger, sadly) are not pretty enough, smart enough, skinny enough, successful enough, you name it. But one of the points in the sermon this morning was that when we "beat ourselves up" for our flaws, we are committing a form of pride. One of the definitions given for pride, in this context anyway, was "an unwillingness to see oneself in correct relation to God." Guys, God loves us so much. He sees us as his precious children, his beloved son and daughter, his treasure, the apple of His eye. He created us to be just that: us. That's why I make it a point to not get so hung up over my flaws...because I feel like in a way I'm (and I hate to use the harsh terms) smacking God in the face. And when I see my peers ashamed, frustrated, disappointed with themselves, it breaks my heart. You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed about. Now I'm not saying I've completely abandoned the self-bashing; trust me, I haven't. I'm working on it too. But instead of wishing for something better, let's try to thank God for what we do have. I got out of bed this morning. I'm breathing freely. I had sushi for lunch. I listened to some beautiful songs from the Doctor Who soundtrack. I was able to clap my hands and sing during church. Turns out we are a lot more blessed than we realize.
Kelly: Having missed church last week, I was really glad to be back. And after a pretty crazy work week, I was very happy to hear this sermon. Not that I'm ever disappointed, but this. This was a take on an age old issue that I had never heard before. But pride; I knew in the back of my head that when it started that this was something I struggled with. Like Holly, the same part that stuck with her stuck with me too. I had never really thought of "beating ourselves up" in that way before...being prideful. The sermon said though that a healthy love for oneself is not sinful, but I think that when it starts getting out of hand is when it becomes so. And I think it doesn't have to be a healthy oneself for it to be prideful, but it can be an unhealthy detest too. But as for me, I have high expectations for myself. Lord knows I goof up and mess up...constantly. I find myself beating myself up when things don't work out or when something happens on my watch at work and on and on and on and on. Before I found my job, I would feel despondent at times and not want to do anything because I was just really down. I felt guilty for feeling the way I did, but I told myself it was normal. I felt guilty at the end of the day and told myself I should have kept looking for jobs. I asked myself why I wasn't getting hired; what was wrong with me?
Turned out God had a bigger plan than what I expected. He has reminded me time after time; that even though I am not perfect I am perfect in His image. This is easier said than done, because I understand that sometimes things or situations or people just really get you down. But I am speaking for experience when I take the focus off myself and turn it around back to God, the day, the moments and the every day wear and grind of whatever goes by so much easier. I pray every time I go into to work. Often I ask God to get me out of the way so that others would see Him instead of me. I was created by God and for God, and His word is the final word. Period. This is a challenge I am going to try for myself; to remember that God is God and I am not. I do not measure up to anyone else, even myself. Especially myself. I hope our other Christ following readers will be challenged and encouraged as well.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Get up all "in your face" or just live like Jesus.
Kelly: A few weeks ago, Holly and I touched on the subject on the two greatest commandments that we are to obey as Christians (Here is the post we are referring to). Today's is not necessarily a follow up of that post, but it is something similar, or at least I think it is. xtyz (oops, Yoda got a hold of the keyboard again). I feel though that in light of some recent conversation, comments, the sermon today and whatnot, I am going to throw out a disclaimer right now: the topic at hand we are discussing today has multiple sides, and we acknowledge and are aware of them. However, today, we are choosing to focus on just a few of the sides on this multi-faceted topic of discussion. This morning in Sunday School our discussion was about being more intentional about who we come in contact with. The Scripture we referenced was when Jesus met with the Samaritan Woman. The consensus we reached was that He didn't bump into her on purpose; He knew her story and He knew she'd be there at the time that He was there too. One of the questions that was asked was what are some of the most ineffective ways to tell others about Jesus. I gave the example of someone knocking on your door and getting all in your face, seemingly shouting "excuse me, do you have a moment to talk about Jesus?" or "Hey, I'm here right now to tell you about Jesus!" Now PLEASE do not misunderstand me; I am not against those means of evangelizing. I'm just saying, they have not worked for me. It made me uncomfortable, a bit uneasy, and obliged to initiate a response. Once they left, that was it. There was no room to get to know the actual person. I felt like just another check mark on their list of people to reach. We were then asked what were some of the most effective ways of telling others about Jesus. Holly said just being real with people. I followed up and said that Jesus got into the heart and soul of everyone He met, like Zaccheaus, the Pharisee and the Samaritan Woman. He knew their stories, and if He didn't, He learned them. He didn't intimidate them or scare them. No. He was real with them.
This leads into the next part of my portion. Today's sermon was about respecting humanity. The main point that was driven home was simple: it DOES NOT MATTER where any person, ANY PERSON, has come from, what they look like, who they love, where they're from, we as Christ's body are to give them, ALL of them the love and respect that they not only need but deserve. Did I stutter?
Holly: There was a story about Union Church (a non-denominational church in town) on the news a couple of nights ago. If there are any of you non-Bereans who are reading this, one of the things that stands out about this church is that right out front there's a very large banner with a rainbow flag that says something to the degree of "ALL are welcome! No kidding! No exceptions!" We posted the video below- please take the time to watch it if you feel led to do so.
This leads into the next part of my portion. Today's sermon was about respecting humanity. The main point that was driven home was simple: it DOES NOT MATTER where any person, ANY PERSON, has come from, what they look like, who they love, where they're from, we as Christ's body are to give them, ALL of them the love and respect that they not only need but deserve. Did I stutter?
Holly: There was a story about Union Church (a non-denominational church in town) on the news a couple of nights ago. If there are any of you non-Bereans who are reading this, one of the things that stands out about this church is that right out front there's a very large banner with a rainbow flag that says something to the degree of "ALL are welcome! No kidding! No exceptions!" We posted the video below- please take the time to watch it if you feel led to do so.
What really gets me (and this was said this morning in the sermon) is that so many of us, including Christians, totally forget or disregard the second part of the greatest commandment, which is "love your neighbor as yourself." It's simple concepts, really: Show compassion to others. Treat others the way you want to be treated. Freaking BE NICE to people. And yet somewhere along the way the lines get blurred. I've stated my views on love and acceptance and respect many times before, so I won't share them again. But one of the ways we do that is by relating to people. Just sharing life with others! Being the hands and feet of Jesus by reaching out to those who are already on the outside looking in. Heck, even those that aren't. I feel that regular, every day conversations can turn into the spiritual, meaningful ones over time if we relate to people on all areas of their lives. For me, like Kelly said, that doesn't involve loudly proclaiming "HEY YOU NEED JESUS RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS!" The truth is, we ALL need Jesus. There's a quote that says "You may be the only Bible that someone ever reads." We ought to be sharing messages of love, acceptance, and hope; something this society so desperately needs. I posted on my Twitter today that the message at Berea Baptist is one that needs to be preached but probably isn't. Let's live like Jesus with our lives and words. Let's reach out to ALL people. No exceptions.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Car Talk
Kelly: Today Holly and I were talking about this past week and what has gone on. These conversations occurred driving home from church as we headed out to dog sit for a couple from church who were out of town this weekend. Anyway, this past week has had a few bumps for me. On Tuesday as I was heading out the door to church choir, I received a phone call I was not expecting. To make a long story short, because of some nursing skills I had failed to not complete yet (the day I originally intended to complete them I was sick. Boo), I was pulled out of clinicals until I completed them. (I'm completing them this week and will be returning on site this Thursday.) Anyway, this news upset me. I became angry, threw my phone, said a few choice words, cried a little, but still went to church choir like nothing happened. Prayed a lot to God that night, cried myself to sleep that night, was questioning why this was happening. I woke up Wednesday morning, eyes sore and not ready to face what was coming. But by the end of the day, my mindset had completely changed. Funny how that works, isn't it?
As I continue my walk with the Lord, one of my hang-ups I'm still trying to work on is control. I tend to let myself get out of control when things...don't really go as planned. I was talking to Holly about this regarding what happened Tuesday evening. I told her now that that has happened I realized that now I acted and said things that did not reflect that God is in control. Yet I have the audacity to claim that I follow a God who controls my life and everything about it, yet I let myself go out of control when something I wasn't expecting happens. Then I think....well I shouldn't have done that or said what I did. Smack. But as we continued to talk, we both came to a realization. These things happen. A few bumps are going to happen. God allows these things to happen and it's up to us to figure out what to do. He gives us the freedom to choose whether or not to scream, cry, throw things or to lift up our hands and say "God, take it. I'm giving it to you because I don't want to depend on anyone but you." I'll admit; sometimes it's hard to make that choice because I think in the moment we WANT to be angry, hurt, frustrated, upset, or sad. And I'm not saying that's bad. But I think that if we continue to let those feelings grow and hold them in, then that becomes bad.
I'll close with this; today Pastor Kevin talked about the two greatest commandments in the Bible (Matthew 22:37-40 for an FYI). We are to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. Something that he said....just put everything into a new lens to look at. "You can fail at your education. You can fail at your business. You can fail at your financial goals. But if you love God with all that you are and love your neighbor as yourself, then you have done what you have been called on Earth to do." Or something close to that. All I can say is sometimes things happen that we don't expect. But if we claim to carry the name Christ, we can't let the love and joy He's given us ruin that! It's something I'm trying to work on. Challenge accepted.
Holly: One of the big questions that was asked was "Do you ever feel like a failure?" I think, without even hesitating, Kelly and I answered "Yes". Because, from the outside looking in, I'm not accomplishing much with my life. I'm almost a year out of graduating from Berea. The longest I've held a job (to date) is six months. Since losing that job I have yet to find another job that has anything to do with my major (Biology, for those of you living under a rock). That was in November of 2012. It is now almost March of 2013. So what am I doing now? I work at Old Navy. I'm lucky to get three shifts a week. Yep, this Biology major graduate from Berea College is working in retail. Folks, I have to admit that in more instances than I care to admit, sometimes I drive up and I wonder aloud "What in the WORLD am I doing? Why am I doing this with my life? How has my life ended up in this way?"
But there is so much more to life than this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And today reminded me of that.
Honestly, my life have gone in directions that I couldn't have even anticipated, and yet, I finally feel like things are coming together. I sincerely do my best to share love with others; be accepting instead of refuting, laughing with my co-workers who come from such different walks of life than I do, offering a smile to a stranger. And God has been way too good to me to not love Him! It's God. It's all God! And I'm doing my best to have faith in Him and to trust in Him despite my circumstances. I'm not saying that all days are cake, but it definitely does change my perspective on the way I view hardships and things that come my way.
I know some of you out there are questioning as to whether your life has meaning, purpose. Let me close with this: Toward the end of the message this morning, Kevin said that you are either good soil or bad soil; meaning: Has your walk with Christ changed because of someone you know, and vice versa? Please know that I GUARANTEE that you have influenced my life in one way or another, and I just wanted to say thank you. I sincerely pray that I will influence someone's life just by me being in it. It's time for our society to be selfLESS, not selfISH. :)
As I continue my walk with the Lord, one of my hang-ups I'm still trying to work on is control. I tend to let myself get out of control when things...don't really go as planned. I was talking to Holly about this regarding what happened Tuesday evening. I told her now that that has happened I realized that now I acted and said things that did not reflect that God is in control. Yet I have the audacity to claim that I follow a God who controls my life and everything about it, yet I let myself go out of control when something I wasn't expecting happens. Then I think....well I shouldn't have done that or said what I did. Smack. But as we continued to talk, we both came to a realization. These things happen. A few bumps are going to happen. God allows these things to happen and it's up to us to figure out what to do. He gives us the freedom to choose whether or not to scream, cry, throw things or to lift up our hands and say "God, take it. I'm giving it to you because I don't want to depend on anyone but you." I'll admit; sometimes it's hard to make that choice because I think in the moment we WANT to be angry, hurt, frustrated, upset, or sad. And I'm not saying that's bad. But I think that if we continue to let those feelings grow and hold them in, then that becomes bad.
I'll close with this; today Pastor Kevin talked about the two greatest commandments in the Bible (Matthew 22:37-40 for an FYI). We are to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. Something that he said....just put everything into a new lens to look at. "You can fail at your education. You can fail at your business. You can fail at your financial goals. But if you love God with all that you are and love your neighbor as yourself, then you have done what you have been called on Earth to do." Or something close to that. All I can say is sometimes things happen that we don't expect. But if we claim to carry the name Christ, we can't let the love and joy He's given us ruin that! It's something I'm trying to work on. Challenge accepted.
Holly: One of the big questions that was asked was "Do you ever feel like a failure?" I think, without even hesitating, Kelly and I answered "Yes". Because, from the outside looking in, I'm not accomplishing much with my life. I'm almost a year out of graduating from Berea. The longest I've held a job (to date) is six months. Since losing that job I have yet to find another job that has anything to do with my major (Biology, for those of you living under a rock). That was in November of 2012. It is now almost March of 2013. So what am I doing now? I work at Old Navy. I'm lucky to get three shifts a week. Yep, this Biology major graduate from Berea College is working in retail. Folks, I have to admit that in more instances than I care to admit, sometimes I drive up and I wonder aloud "What in the WORLD am I doing? Why am I doing this with my life? How has my life ended up in this way?"
But there is so much more to life than this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And today reminded me of that.
Honestly, my life have gone in directions that I couldn't have even anticipated, and yet, I finally feel like things are coming together. I sincerely do my best to share love with others; be accepting instead of refuting, laughing with my co-workers who come from such different walks of life than I do, offering a smile to a stranger. And God has been way too good to me to not love Him! It's God. It's all God! And I'm doing my best to have faith in Him and to trust in Him despite my circumstances. I'm not saying that all days are cake, but it definitely does change my perspective on the way I view hardships and things that come my way.
I know some of you out there are questioning as to whether your life has meaning, purpose. Let me close with this: Toward the end of the message this morning, Kevin said that you are either good soil or bad soil; meaning: Has your walk with Christ changed because of someone you know, and vice versa? Please know that I GUARANTEE that you have influenced my life in one way or another, and I just wanted to say thank you. I sincerely pray that I will influence someone's life just by me being in it. It's time for our society to be selfLESS, not selfISH. :)
Friday, February 1, 2013
"God loves to do big things through little people with big hearts."
Holly: Those were the closing lines of yet another inspiring sermon I heard this past Sunday. Throughout the 45-minute message a recurring theme played over and over in my head.....more like a question: What makes a hero? I'm sure many of you are familiar with the story of Moses. What many people don't know is prior to his divine calling he was a convicted felon (I myself did not remember this part of the story). In addition to this he was far from a public speaker, stricken with a speech impediment. During the burning bush scenario he even BEGS God to use someone else to save his people;. Yet Moses was singlehandedly responsible for one of the greatest people revolutions in history. God saw something in Moses that he didn't see in himself. And let's not forget Paul (started out persecuting Christians but later became a huge part of the New Testament), Rahab (a prostitute), Jesus' mother Mary (a teenager!!!), Peter (kind of a big doof...denied Jesus several times but later is the leader of the church in Ephesus)...I don't really think I need to continue any further.
After church I was talking to Kevin (the pastor) and I told him that I couldn't help but think of The Hobbit/LoTR. Think about it: in The Hobbit, you have Bilbo, who is very comfortable with his food, his life, his things, and out of seemingly nowhere Gandalf shows up and whisks him away on this quest with 13 grotesque, loud, boisterous burping and food-gorging dwarves in order to reclaim their lost homeland. It drags Bilbo WAY out of his comfort zone and even has the dwarves questioning why Gandalf chose this home-loving little person for such a dangerous and unpredictable quest. In LoTR, there's Frodo: a meek young hobbit who voluntarily sends himself into danger's horrendous arms, at the mercy of a powerful little golden ring and an evil eye watching him at all times. Never mind Samwise Gamgee, who decides to go with him. Also, Aragorn: for the better part of the series he's running away from his destiny, taking the form of a ranger from the north instead of the long-awaited king of Gondor. But what you see recurring in these stories is heart. Their hearts outweigh any danger they get themselves into, that despite their sizes, they wholeheartedly strive to do right and make right in the crazy worlds they live in.
Then there's me: I fold clothes at Old Navy. I'm 22 years old, single, living with my sister and another with 2 cats, a Bachelor's degree, and little else. But I speak with the utmost of confidence when I say that I have a BIG heart! I love people so much sometimes it hurts. God sees something in me, in all of us, that we don't, and He knows what he's doing. Gandalf saw something in Bilbo, and perhaps Aragorn and Frodo too. My point in all of this is keep your heart in check, keep it full of love and life, and you never know where life will take you. The Gandalf of your life could come knocking on your door whenever you least expect it.
Kelly: I instantly think of the movie Facing the Giants. One of the football players, David, is a kicker on the team and is a small guy. Throughout the movie he often doubts his performances, isn't very confident in himself and constantly wonders why he was even allowed to be on the team. His father, who can't walk and is wheelchair bound, often tries to tell him to trust God and helps him put things into perspective. But...well I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it; just watch the movie and see what happens because he definitely redeems himself. I see a lot of David in myself. I too am a very small person. God has richly blessed me with a lot of things, but one of them was not height and that's ok. I've been in nursing school for a number of years now and am about to finish.
Things are...to be honest sort of rough right now for me. Juggling 240 clinical hours to complete, working 15 hours a week, homework and other things have put me on edge a bit. Yesterday was a particularly hard day clinical wise (read my blog about it) and I won't lie and say that we've struggled a time or two to make ends meet. But hey, who hasn't? Yet I thank God for what I do have and all He has done and all He will do, even when I'm between a rock and a hard place. Then I think of the places I've been. This time 3 years ago I was in New Orleans on a mission trip. I met all sorts of wonderful people going through different walks of life who had hearts that were just on fire for God! And these were just ordinary people who felt that God was going to do mighty things with them. And that's where I stand. I don't see it yet, I don't know it yet, but God is going to do great things to me and to those who least expect it. For all I know I could wake up tomorrow and get hit by a bus, because to be honest we never know where this life will take us as Holly said. But if we keep our eyes fixed on God, our mind open to receive what comes our way and if we trust God to give him the "bad" things, then who knows? Faith as small as a mustard seed armed with a little bit of compassion, trust and love for others could go a long way.
After church I was talking to Kevin (the pastor) and I told him that I couldn't help but think of The Hobbit/LoTR. Think about it: in The Hobbit, you have Bilbo, who is very comfortable with his food, his life, his things, and out of seemingly nowhere Gandalf shows up and whisks him away on this quest with 13 grotesque, loud, boisterous burping and food-gorging dwarves in order to reclaim their lost homeland. It drags Bilbo WAY out of his comfort zone and even has the dwarves questioning why Gandalf chose this home-loving little person for such a dangerous and unpredictable quest. In LoTR, there's Frodo: a meek young hobbit who voluntarily sends himself into danger's horrendous arms, at the mercy of a powerful little golden ring and an evil eye watching him at all times. Never mind Samwise Gamgee, who decides to go with him. Also, Aragorn: for the better part of the series he's running away from his destiny, taking the form of a ranger from the north instead of the long-awaited king of Gondor. But what you see recurring in these stories is heart. Their hearts outweigh any danger they get themselves into, that despite their sizes, they wholeheartedly strive to do right and make right in the crazy worlds they live in.
Then there's me: I fold clothes at Old Navy. I'm 22 years old, single, living with my sister and another with 2 cats, a Bachelor's degree, and little else. But I speak with the utmost of confidence when I say that I have a BIG heart! I love people so much sometimes it hurts. God sees something in me, in all of us, that we don't, and He knows what he's doing. Gandalf saw something in Bilbo, and perhaps Aragorn and Frodo too. My point in all of this is keep your heart in check, keep it full of love and life, and you never know where life will take you. The Gandalf of your life could come knocking on your door whenever you least expect it.
Kelly: I instantly think of the movie Facing the Giants. One of the football players, David, is a kicker on the team and is a small guy. Throughout the movie he often doubts his performances, isn't very confident in himself and constantly wonders why he was even allowed to be on the team. His father, who can't walk and is wheelchair bound, often tries to tell him to trust God and helps him put things into perspective. But...well I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it; just watch the movie and see what happens because he definitely redeems himself. I see a lot of David in myself. I too am a very small person. God has richly blessed me with a lot of things, but one of them was not height and that's ok. I've been in nursing school for a number of years now and am about to finish.
Things are...to be honest sort of rough right now for me. Juggling 240 clinical hours to complete, working 15 hours a week, homework and other things have put me on edge a bit. Yesterday was a particularly hard day clinical wise (read my blog about it) and I won't lie and say that we've struggled a time or two to make ends meet. But hey, who hasn't? Yet I thank God for what I do have and all He has done and all He will do, even when I'm between a rock and a hard place. Then I think of the places I've been. This time 3 years ago I was in New Orleans on a mission trip. I met all sorts of wonderful people going through different walks of life who had hearts that were just on fire for God! And these were just ordinary people who felt that God was going to do mighty things with them. And that's where I stand. I don't see it yet, I don't know it yet, but God is going to do great things to me and to those who least expect it. For all I know I could wake up tomorrow and get hit by a bus, because to be honest we never know where this life will take us as Holly said. But if we keep our eyes fixed on God, our mind open to receive what comes our way and if we trust God to give him the "bad" things, then who knows? Faith as small as a mustard seed armed with a little bit of compassion, trust and love for others could go a long way.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Who's kidding who?
Kelly: Hey look, here's a random funny, especially if you're a fan of The Hobbit and The Office (the British one...)
The Office: An Unexpected Journey
Now that we've gotten out of the way, we're going to delve into the purpose of this post. There are many that I know that carry the name Christian, myself included. However, there are those that I know that carry that name and the way they act/speak do not reflect that. Having said that, I'm going to share a story. I was on my way home with my clinical group and two of my classmates were in the front seat. For about 10 minutes they were talking about another classmate and her current relationship. What they were saying...were some of the most judgmental remarks I had ever heard. I had my headphones in and was listening to my iPod, but finally I had to put an end to it; it was getting ridiculous. I took my headphones out and said "could you please just stop?" And that was that. I didn't say a word the rest of the ride home.
It makes me wonder; do we ever think about what we say or do or do we just do/say it and forget who hears or sees? I catch myself thinking about that a lot. And it has made me think if I am guilty of the same thing. Are my actions building people up or tearing them down? Are the words I'm saying about others, whether or not they even know it, those of love instead of hate or judgment? So as a result, I'm trying to be more consciously aware of what I say/do around others. I want my words and my actions to resemble that of love and kindness instead of the opposite. It's our Christian duty to build people up with what we say AND do. So if I have ever said or done anything that has not been reflective of that, please tell me. IF I say or do something that is not reflective of that, call me out on it. I don't want to just throw words out there; I want to BE better. I think we should all try to be better. Having been a victim of bullying, words...really do hurt.
Holly: When I heard our pastor preaching those words this past Sunday, all I could keep thinking was "Dear God, that used to be me." The going-through-the-motions, catty, lukewarm, stagnant Christian who only showed up for church on Sunday and youth group on Wednesday. Other than that, you really couldn't tell much else. After that Sunday I vowed that I would NEVER go back to that place. Kelly brought up the fact that by me saying I would never go back, that I was already moving forward. Also, when I heard our pastor preaching those words this past Sunday, all I could think was "I sincerely pray that I am not like that."
To be completely honest, because I too, sadly, know many Christians who do not act as such, it does not surprise me the number of people, particularly those in my age group, who are either leaving the church or are not interested in it at all. I can't help but think of (and please pardon my extreme example) Westboro Baptist Church...a CHURCH, no less, who claim to carry God's message but instead are infecting the nation with their blatant and sickening hate and ignorance of those different from themselves. That is NOT the way to go! Period. While God is vengeful (I mean, have you read the Old Testament??) and definitely powerful, I am captivated by His neverending love and mercy for all of His people, and ultimately that's what keeps me running to Him again and again. I too am also trying to BE better. The next time we see someone slandering, gossiping, or being downright spiteful...what are we going to do about it? Let it slide, or speak up for those who may not have a voice? I detest spitefulness and meanness...I think there is too much of it and it has to stop. Words really do hurt people.
Bottom line: I am here to live like Christ. Please make sure to tell me if I'm not.
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters...Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and truth. ~1 John 3: 16, 18
Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it. ~Albus Dumbledore
The Office: An Unexpected Journey
Now that we've gotten out of the way, we're going to delve into the purpose of this post. There are many that I know that carry the name Christian, myself included. However, there are those that I know that carry that name and the way they act/speak do not reflect that. Having said that, I'm going to share a story. I was on my way home with my clinical group and two of my classmates were in the front seat. For about 10 minutes they were talking about another classmate and her current relationship. What they were saying...were some of the most judgmental remarks I had ever heard. I had my headphones in and was listening to my iPod, but finally I had to put an end to it; it was getting ridiculous. I took my headphones out and said "could you please just stop?" And that was that. I didn't say a word the rest of the ride home.
It makes me wonder; do we ever think about what we say or do or do we just do/say it and forget who hears or sees? I catch myself thinking about that a lot. And it has made me think if I am guilty of the same thing. Are my actions building people up or tearing them down? Are the words I'm saying about others, whether or not they even know it, those of love instead of hate or judgment? So as a result, I'm trying to be more consciously aware of what I say/do around others. I want my words and my actions to resemble that of love and kindness instead of the opposite. It's our Christian duty to build people up with what we say AND do. So if I have ever said or done anything that has not been reflective of that, please tell me. IF I say or do something that is not reflective of that, call me out on it. I don't want to just throw words out there; I want to BE better. I think we should all try to be better. Having been a victim of bullying, words...really do hurt.
Holly: When I heard our pastor preaching those words this past Sunday, all I could keep thinking was "Dear God, that used to be me." The going-through-the-motions, catty, lukewarm, stagnant Christian who only showed up for church on Sunday and youth group on Wednesday. Other than that, you really couldn't tell much else. After that Sunday I vowed that I would NEVER go back to that place. Kelly brought up the fact that by me saying I would never go back, that I was already moving forward. Also, when I heard our pastor preaching those words this past Sunday, all I could think was "I sincerely pray that I am not like that."
To be completely honest, because I too, sadly, know many Christians who do not act as such, it does not surprise me the number of people, particularly those in my age group, who are either leaving the church or are not interested in it at all. I can't help but think of (and please pardon my extreme example) Westboro Baptist Church...a CHURCH, no less, who claim to carry God's message but instead are infecting the nation with their blatant and sickening hate and ignorance of those different from themselves. That is NOT the way to go! Period. While God is vengeful (I mean, have you read the Old Testament??) and definitely powerful, I am captivated by His neverending love and mercy for all of His people, and ultimately that's what keeps me running to Him again and again. I too am also trying to BE better. The next time we see someone slandering, gossiping, or being downright spiteful...what are we going to do about it? Let it slide, or speak up for those who may not have a voice? I detest spitefulness and meanness...I think there is too much of it and it has to stop. Words really do hurt people.
Bottom line: I am here to live like Christ. Please make sure to tell me if I'm not.
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters...Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and truth. ~1 John 3: 16, 18
Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it. ~Albus Dumbledore
Sunday, December 2, 2012
You see, but you do not observe
Kelly: This phrase has been a topic of discussion for quite some time now between Holly and I. I first heard this phrase for the first time in an episode of Sherlock in which many question how he reaches his many conclusions based on his deductions. His reply: "I observe. You see but you do not observe." The more I think about this phrase the more I try to go throughout my day observing rather than just seeing.
Now what do I mean by that? Today in church the topic of discussion was focused on seeing God's plan as a big picture. We may not see the whole picture rather maybe just a piece of the puzzle. We cry out for God to change one small part of our life but completely disregard what else is going on in our lives. Then we miss it. We've missed the bigger picture right there. We focused on one part (seeing) but like I said just forgot what else He has in store for us (observing). So my mini challenge for a while is this; observe. Observe what goes on around us. Yes, we have eyes that see wonders anew. But it's not our role as Christians to simply watch the world go by and be passive. It's not our role to assume that others will "pick up the slack" so to speak while once again we stand on the sidelines and "pray for the will to be done." Observing takes time, effort and patience. It's not a light switch; it won't happen overnight. But in order to observe what is going on around us one has to make a conscious effort to do so. I like what I see on a daily basis; imagine where God could take us if we LET Him open our eyes wider for observations!
Holly: I narrow down "seeing and observing" into two simple words: pay attention! I think seeing is just a conceptual thing...something you do with your eyes. "I see you" is a classic example. Observations go beyond what our eyes see: making a note to do something and then actually following through with it, remembering tasks that go on in your daily lives, being outside and taking in not just the sights but the sounds, smells, textures. If you just "see" one thing, then I think you completely miss the big picture. You miss it.
An example from my life: My last semester of college (and I'm certain many of you up-and-coming grads can also attest to this), my mantra was "I cannot WAIT to graduate! I cannot WAIT to be done!!!" Yes, college was challenging. But it was my last semester, and I greatly treasured my memories of my time at Berea and I vowed to do my best to make every moment count. I did more, saw more, laughed more, made more memories, all because I chose to go beyond the scope of the small of it all. **I would also like to point out that now that I'm almost 7 months out from graduation, I terribly miss Berea. All of it. So be careful what you wish for.**
Observe. Take in everything, not just what you can immediately see.
Now what do I mean by that? Today in church the topic of discussion was focused on seeing God's plan as a big picture. We may not see the whole picture rather maybe just a piece of the puzzle. We cry out for God to change one small part of our life but completely disregard what else is going on in our lives. Then we miss it. We've missed the bigger picture right there. We focused on one part (seeing) but like I said just forgot what else He has in store for us (observing). So my mini challenge for a while is this; observe. Observe what goes on around us. Yes, we have eyes that see wonders anew. But it's not our role as Christians to simply watch the world go by and be passive. It's not our role to assume that others will "pick up the slack" so to speak while once again we stand on the sidelines and "pray for the will to be done." Observing takes time, effort and patience. It's not a light switch; it won't happen overnight. But in order to observe what is going on around us one has to make a conscious effort to do so. I like what I see on a daily basis; imagine where God could take us if we LET Him open our eyes wider for observations!
Holly: I narrow down "seeing and observing" into two simple words: pay attention! I think seeing is just a conceptual thing...something you do with your eyes. "I see you" is a classic example. Observations go beyond what our eyes see: making a note to do something and then actually following through with it, remembering tasks that go on in your daily lives, being outside and taking in not just the sights but the sounds, smells, textures. If you just "see" one thing, then I think you completely miss the big picture. You miss it.
An example from my life: My last semester of college (and I'm certain many of you up-and-coming grads can also attest to this), my mantra was "I cannot WAIT to graduate! I cannot WAIT to be done!!!" Yes, college was challenging. But it was my last semester, and I greatly treasured my memories of my time at Berea and I vowed to do my best to make every moment count. I did more, saw more, laughed more, made more memories, all because I chose to go beyond the scope of the small of it all. **I would also like to point out that now that I'm almost 7 months out from graduation, I terribly miss Berea. All of it. So be careful what you wish for.**
Observe. Take in everything, not just what you can immediately see.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
What's your appleseed?
Kelly: There is a reason for the crazy title that will be explained in a little bit. Anyway, the topic for this blog today is regarding fear. What in the world are we so afraid of? I could rattle off a few things, such as snakes, falling off really high places, and stinging bugs. Yeah. But if there was something that REALLY got me bone-chilling afraid...it'd be this.
Pain. Never knowing again what not having pain feels like. Yes, I am talking about my ankle...again. Now before you automatically disregard this, please don't. I've been thinking about how to describe what I'm so afraid of for a while, but after today at church I finally understand. I am afraid that I will never be pain-free again. It's not a phobia, but yeah. It does scare me. I have felt on numerous occasions that I will be the way I am for the rest of my life. And I haven't accepted that yet...because I'm afraid to. See where all the fear is coming from? But today, I've thought of something different. Something in a way that I haven't heard before.
Hope.
There is. There always is. And God...my God...is so much bigger than your fears. Than my fears. Than all my pain and worry about never knowing no pain. And that gives me hope. That is what has fueled me in all the areas in my life; that hope that God is so much bigger than all my junk that He has erased and freed me from! It is not His will for us to live in fear; to live in bondage of this and that and then some. But...it's a choice. I am trusting Him, or at least learning to trust Him more. It hasn't been easy. Some days it's easy to trust God; some days, most days, it's really hard. But I make a choice. Daily. So now I ask this; what are you afraid of? What are you doing about it? Are you ok with living in fear or is today the day you're going to decide that you don't have to? That it's not your will to do so? Yes. I'm still in pain. But God is bigger than pain.
Holly: The title comes from the sermon today: our pastor mistaking a bed bug in his 2-year-old daughter's bedroom for a mere appleseed (the story is much more humorous than I'm letting on). But what I'm getting at is this: why do we WORRY???????????? All. The. Time? qwvgbsegbf (attack of the Yoda...sorry)
We get so bent out of shape with worry and fear that it distorts reality...we see things that simply are not there. We get crazy ideas planted in our head, we have visions of crazy things that could, should, might happen. And then what happens, 9 times out of 10, is that we worry over absolutely NOTHING. Kelly used to get herself physically sick over worrying; kid you not.
The challenge from today was what if Christians, PEOPLE, lived in simple faith and not fear? That doesn't mean that us as Christians are going to have hard times and struggle. But the difference is that we can choose to trust in the One who knows all, sees all, created all, and dealt with it all whenever we have a hard time. Whenever we feel that age-old fear creeping up again. It's a choice, like Kelly said. We can either choose to continue to let fear cripple us to the point of distorting reality, or we can do something about it. If you know that something in your life is causing you worry, pray about it. TRUST that God will see you through it, and REFLECT on all the things that God has already carried you through, and then IMAGINE all the things that God is going to carry you through in the future!!!!
How's that for making an appleseed into an apple tree?
Pain. Never knowing again what not having pain feels like. Yes, I am talking about my ankle...again. Now before you automatically disregard this, please don't. I've been thinking about how to describe what I'm so afraid of for a while, but after today at church I finally understand. I am afraid that I will never be pain-free again. It's not a phobia, but yeah. It does scare me. I have felt on numerous occasions that I will be the way I am for the rest of my life. And I haven't accepted that yet...because I'm afraid to. See where all the fear is coming from? But today, I've thought of something different. Something in a way that I haven't heard before.
Hope.
There is. There always is. And God...my God...is so much bigger than your fears. Than my fears. Than all my pain and worry about never knowing no pain. And that gives me hope. That is what has fueled me in all the areas in my life; that hope that God is so much bigger than all my junk that He has erased and freed me from! It is not His will for us to live in fear; to live in bondage of this and that and then some. But...it's a choice. I am trusting Him, or at least learning to trust Him more. It hasn't been easy. Some days it's easy to trust God; some days, most days, it's really hard. But I make a choice. Daily. So now I ask this; what are you afraid of? What are you doing about it? Are you ok with living in fear or is today the day you're going to decide that you don't have to? That it's not your will to do so? Yes. I'm still in pain. But God is bigger than pain.
Holly: The title comes from the sermon today: our pastor mistaking a bed bug in his 2-year-old daughter's bedroom for a mere appleseed (the story is much more humorous than I'm letting on). But what I'm getting at is this: why do we WORRY???????????? All. The. Time? qwvgbsegbf (attack of the Yoda...sorry)
We get so bent out of shape with worry and fear that it distorts reality...we see things that simply are not there. We get crazy ideas planted in our head, we have visions of crazy things that could, should, might happen. And then what happens, 9 times out of 10, is that we worry over absolutely NOTHING. Kelly used to get herself physically sick over worrying; kid you not.
The challenge from today was what if Christians, PEOPLE, lived in simple faith and not fear? That doesn't mean that us as Christians are going to have hard times and struggle. But the difference is that we can choose to trust in the One who knows all, sees all, created all, and dealt with it all whenever we have a hard time. Whenever we feel that age-old fear creeping up again. It's a choice, like Kelly said. We can either choose to continue to let fear cripple us to the point of distorting reality, or we can do something about it. If you know that something in your life is causing you worry, pray about it. TRUST that God will see you through it, and REFLECT on all the things that God has already carried you through, and then IMAGINE all the things that God is going to carry you through in the future!!!!
How's that for making an appleseed into an apple tree?
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Some days you're the gun...some days you're the smiley face on the wall...
Kelly:
In case you're wondering about the title of the blog...well, the above video describes it. I'm sure you've all heard the phrase (or something similar) "some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield." The title of today's blog post is that same analogy, except I added a Sherlockian twist. Today has definitely been one of those days. Today I am definitely the smiley face.
Yesterday our water heater sprung a leak. A pretty big leak. Catherine noticed it yesterday, so for all we know it could have been running and running for days...which is sort of a scary thought. Apologies...hard to type with hang nails on BOTH of your ring fingers. >.< Anyway, so after church I ran out and called our water company on the way home. The guy basically said it wasn't his problem and told us to call the landlord...which we did. While at the grocery store, our landlord called me and said he'd be there within the hour. Long story short so I can get to the point, some valve needs replaced and will be fixed on Wednesday. Hurrah!
Anyway, coming to the point of this post. Today at church there were a few eye-opening moments. The ending theme was about being wealthy. My pastor asked the congregation if we considered ourselves wealthy. Thinking to myself...I said no. No I really didn't. Then some things were said and my thinking changed. Perspective. That's what it's about. Really. Again...felt like the smiley face on the wall. To be honest, if you REALLY think about it, we are pretty wealthy. Now that I've left church I consider myself pretty wealthy all things considering. Even if we have to survive without hot water for a few days. We've got it pretty well made. I'm listening to this song right now called "Good to be Alive." The song speaks for itself.
I wanna live like there's no tomorrow
Love like I'm on borrowed time
It's good to be alive.
Holly: Something to think about the next time you drive to work, go to your kitchen, or sit down with your family at dinner:
8% of the world's population owns a car.
1 billion people don't have access to clean water.
800 million people won't eat today. 300 million of those will be children.
In order to provide basic nutrition, water, and resources to those who don't already have them it would cost roughly $20 billion. In the grand scheme of things that doesn't sound like much, but that amount is roughly what Americans spend on ice cream each year.
Talk about counting your blessings. Definitely a smiley-face-in-the-wall moment for me. Our culture is so skewed in terms of perspective: our gotta-have-it-all-right-this-very-second, bigger, better, best, I-have-more-stuff-than-you attitude is just really crappy, bottom line. Even in my barely moved-into apartment I STILL feel like I have too much stuff. And in the grand scheme of things, I do. I know I do, and I try my best to downsize. But over the years, especially in college, I've come to realize just how pointless stuff really is.
Every day I'm trying to thank God for the things I do have, and also thanking God for when people pull through. Like today. I'm trying to be thankful for the things that matter in my life: my friends, my family, my church, people I work with. We just become so attached to our things, our money, that we completely lose sight of what's important. That is such a dangerous cycle. But I find that when I put my focus on God, everything else just falls into place.
Use things, not people. Love people, not things.
Yesterday our water heater sprung a leak. A pretty big leak. Catherine noticed it yesterday, so for all we know it could have been running and running for days...which is sort of a scary thought. Apologies...hard to type with hang nails on BOTH of your ring fingers. >.< Anyway, so after church I ran out and called our water company on the way home. The guy basically said it wasn't his problem and told us to call the landlord...which we did. While at the grocery store, our landlord called me and said he'd be there within the hour. Long story short so I can get to the point, some valve needs replaced and will be fixed on Wednesday. Hurrah!
Anyway, coming to the point of this post. Today at church there were a few eye-opening moments. The ending theme was about being wealthy. My pastor asked the congregation if we considered ourselves wealthy. Thinking to myself...I said no. No I really didn't. Then some things were said and my thinking changed. Perspective. That's what it's about. Really. Again...felt like the smiley face on the wall. To be honest, if you REALLY think about it, we are pretty wealthy. Now that I've left church I consider myself pretty wealthy all things considering. Even if we have to survive without hot water for a few days. We've got it pretty well made. I'm listening to this song right now called "Good to be Alive." The song speaks for itself.
I wanna live like there's no tomorrow
Love like I'm on borrowed time
It's good to be alive.
Holly: Something to think about the next time you drive to work, go to your kitchen, or sit down with your family at dinner:
8% of the world's population owns a car.
1 billion people don't have access to clean water.
800 million people won't eat today. 300 million of those will be children.
In order to provide basic nutrition, water, and resources to those who don't already have them it would cost roughly $20 billion. In the grand scheme of things that doesn't sound like much, but that amount is roughly what Americans spend on ice cream each year.
Talk about counting your blessings. Definitely a smiley-face-in-the-wall moment for me. Our culture is so skewed in terms of perspective: our gotta-have-it-all-right-this-very-second, bigger, better, best, I-have-more-stuff-than-you attitude is just really crappy, bottom line. Even in my barely moved-into apartment I STILL feel like I have too much stuff. And in the grand scheme of things, I do. I know I do, and I try my best to downsize. But over the years, especially in college, I've come to realize just how pointless stuff really is.
Every day I'm trying to thank God for the things I do have, and also thanking God for when people pull through. Like today. I'm trying to be thankful for the things that matter in my life: my friends, my family, my church, people I work with. We just become so attached to our things, our money, that we completely lose sight of what's important. That is such a dangerous cycle. But I find that when I put my focus on God, everything else just falls into place.
Use things, not people. Love people, not things.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Happiness and Joy: trying to reclaim them both.
Kelly: Earlier today, Holly and I were driving to get our electric bill straightened out. Not to worry...just a wee bit of confusion, but all is well now. Anyway, while we were in the car, we started talking about church yesterday and the sermon. Though its entirety was quite excellent, there was one particular part about it that we talked about, which talked about reclaiming the joy in our lives. For me it required a bit of thinking: where is the joy in my life? What makes me happy?
So I started thinking about it. There are A LOT of things that make me happy, but the joy in life comes from having God in my life. This morning I woke up, still dead tired but I uttered half-asleep but half awake "God. Thank you that I woke up this morning to live another day." Simple. And despite hearing some rather frightening news, I've been ok. I got out of bed happier and was not grumpy today. At all. Not even a bit. Well...no. No I wasn't. And that was God. That was all God and nothing else. Now I'm not trying to preach, but it's really true. I think that finding joy in your life involves making choices. Some choices will be big, others just small and subtle. But if you really think about it, in my opinion it really isn't that hard. You can choose the minute you wake up what your attitude is going to be like. If you wake up grumpy and pissy, then you're going to be grumpy and pissy until either the day ends or you eventually snap out of it. Harsh truth, I know. I'm not trying to be harsh, just genuine. So anyway, there actually is a point to all of this. For me, I think about things or people that make me happy and focus on them. There's too much negativity in the world as it is, and I'm trying to not let the weight of it bring me down. So far I think it's working. And trust me, people DO notice. Sometimes not right away, but they do. I cannot tell you how many times people have told me that I am a joyful person. Someone once said Holly and I have "contagious" personalities...interpret that however you wish.
One of my favorite movies is "The Bucket List." If you have not seen it, please do. Anyway, one of the last spoken lines is actually a letter that was written. One of the lines read says this simple phrase: find the joy in your life. Simple? Yes, actually it is. Another favorite movie of mine is Amazing Grace. Again, definitely worth a look. One of my favorite parts in the entire movie is when William Wilberforce is sitting on the dewy grass in his backyard, despite the fact he has a busy day. Anyway, he's about to start a prayer when he is interrupted by his butler or cook. He asks if he's ok, and Wilberforce's response is this:
It's God. I have 10,000 engagements of state today but I would rather prefer to spend the day out here getting a wet arse, studying dandelions and marveling at...bloody spider's webs. His butler then replies "You found God?" Wilberforce replies "I think He found me." Joy. Joy from the simple things even if you have a crazy day ahead of you. My challenge for me is to let God find me so that I may get lost in the joy of life and the little things around me.
Holly: "My challenge for me is to let God find me so that I may get lost in the joy of life and the little things around me." I could not have said that better myself.
It's suffice to say that Kelly and I have A LOT of apartment-related issues/things not getting taken care of. Aka absolutely nothing to do with us and entirely out of our hands and control. While on our short drive Kelly and I were debating on what we think the difference is between joy and happiness. To me, happiness is sort of just a feeling. Like I see stuff that makes me laugh, or a dog at work licks my arm...oh, that makes me happy. But joy is more of a choice. I was saying that it's a choice...DESPITE all the ^%@#$%^& going on, I'm choosing to have joy because the joy of God is my strength. I also gave us a new mindset challenge: to look at every day as if it is a miracle...because....if you really get down to the nitty-gritty of it, IT IS!! Back at Berea when Kelly and I were in our gospel choir (we've blogged about it many times), our learless feader/phenomenal woman of God would always say that we have to look at each day as if it is precious, because somebody went to bed last night and didn't wake up to see the new day. Somebody didn't wake up this morning. Somebody didn't make it home from work this afternoon. Some little kid didn't make it home from school. That's just the sad reality of it.
Earlier today I learned that a dear friend, mentor, and mother figure of mine had a heart attack last night. I had just spoken to her yesterday morning at church. My heart stopped, and it made me realize that life is way too freaking short and precious to have a bad attitude all the time. And it all comes back to joy. And people do notice. It sets you apart from everyone else. You become a light in such a dark world, and people reach out for just a glimpse of that light. Make sure to not burn it out!
I have a challenge for you: Have joy. Yes, I have absolutely no idea what is going on in your life, and I won't bore you with the details of mine. But I urge you to look at each day, and thank God/whomever you thank. Look to each sunrise and say "Thank you for a new day, a new start. I'm still HERE!" :)
We're still here.
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." -Thorin Oakenshield, "The Hobbit"
So I started thinking about it. There are A LOT of things that make me happy, but the joy in life comes from having God in my life. This morning I woke up, still dead tired but I uttered half-asleep but half awake "God. Thank you that I woke up this morning to live another day." Simple. And despite hearing some rather frightening news, I've been ok. I got out of bed happier and was not grumpy today. At all. Not even a bit. Well...no. No I wasn't. And that was God. That was all God and nothing else. Now I'm not trying to preach, but it's really true. I think that finding joy in your life involves making choices. Some choices will be big, others just small and subtle. But if you really think about it, in my opinion it really isn't that hard. You can choose the minute you wake up what your attitude is going to be like. If you wake up grumpy and pissy, then you're going to be grumpy and pissy until either the day ends or you eventually snap out of it. Harsh truth, I know. I'm not trying to be harsh, just genuine. So anyway, there actually is a point to all of this. For me, I think about things or people that make me happy and focus on them. There's too much negativity in the world as it is, and I'm trying to not let the weight of it bring me down. So far I think it's working. And trust me, people DO notice. Sometimes not right away, but they do. I cannot tell you how many times people have told me that I am a joyful person. Someone once said Holly and I have "contagious" personalities...interpret that however you wish.
One of my favorite movies is "The Bucket List." If you have not seen it, please do. Anyway, one of the last spoken lines is actually a letter that was written. One of the lines read says this simple phrase: find the joy in your life. Simple? Yes, actually it is. Another favorite movie of mine is Amazing Grace. Again, definitely worth a look. One of my favorite parts in the entire movie is when William Wilberforce is sitting on the dewy grass in his backyard, despite the fact he has a busy day. Anyway, he's about to start a prayer when he is interrupted by his butler or cook. He asks if he's ok, and Wilberforce's response is this:
It's God. I have 10,000 engagements of state today but I would rather prefer to spend the day out here getting a wet arse, studying dandelions and marveling at...bloody spider's webs. His butler then replies "You found God?" Wilberforce replies "I think He found me." Joy. Joy from the simple things even if you have a crazy day ahead of you. My challenge for me is to let God find me so that I may get lost in the joy of life and the little things around me.
Holly: "My challenge for me is to let God find me so that I may get lost in the joy of life and the little things around me." I could not have said that better myself.
It's suffice to say that Kelly and I have A LOT of apartment-related issues/things not getting taken care of. Aka absolutely nothing to do with us and entirely out of our hands and control. While on our short drive Kelly and I were debating on what we think the difference is between joy and happiness. To me, happiness is sort of just a feeling. Like I see stuff that makes me laugh, or a dog at work licks my arm...oh, that makes me happy. But joy is more of a choice. I was saying that it's a choice...DESPITE all the ^%@#$%^& going on, I'm choosing to have joy because the joy of God is my strength. I also gave us a new mindset challenge: to look at every day as if it is a miracle...because....if you really get down to the nitty-gritty of it, IT IS!! Back at Berea when Kelly and I were in our gospel choir (we've blogged about it many times), our learless feader/phenomenal woman of God would always say that we have to look at each day as if it is precious, because somebody went to bed last night and didn't wake up to see the new day. Somebody didn't wake up this morning. Somebody didn't make it home from work this afternoon. Some little kid didn't make it home from school. That's just the sad reality of it.
Earlier today I learned that a dear friend, mentor, and mother figure of mine had a heart attack last night. I had just spoken to her yesterday morning at church. My heart stopped, and it made me realize that life is way too freaking short and precious to have a bad attitude all the time. And it all comes back to joy. And people do notice. It sets you apart from everyone else. You become a light in such a dark world, and people reach out for just a glimpse of that light. Make sure to not burn it out!
I have a challenge for you: Have joy. Yes, I have absolutely no idea what is going on in your life, and I won't bore you with the details of mine. But I urge you to look at each day, and thank God/whomever you thank. Look to each sunrise and say "Thank you for a new day, a new start. I'm still HERE!" :)
We're still here.
"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." -Thorin Oakenshield, "The Hobbit"
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Potpurri post #4
The message at church today was titled "Remember the Light." This one today was probably one of my favorite sermons. I need to start keeping a list; I've got about 3-5 just blown out of the park sermons that I need to remember. This one was another one. I have had a pretty crappy end of the week. Long story short, I'm seeing an orthopedic surgeon sometime this upcoming week, probably Wednesday or Thursday. All weekend I have been thinking about what I need to do since this is now becoming a very real option. Finding another job, taking time off, and being prepared to be dependent on others. Which...is really hard for me to do because I'm the complete opposite. Ok, enough commercial break but anyway my pastor was telling a story about "being in the dark." And after the story was told, I suddenly remembered how I got to Berea. My dad didn't have a job, so naturally my sister and I made the financial cut. A year later he did get a job. Needless to say if we were to apply this year or any other year we probably would not get in anymore. And we would have missed this. ALL of this. All the blessings and people that I have grown to love and care for. And those who have had to put up with me. Once I started thinking about that I thought of those who have carried Holly and I through everything. It's a long list. But wow. Sometimes I really forget how blessed I am. Sometimes I really forget how awesome God is. I'll close with this: When you are in the dark, remember what you learned in the light.
Holly: So...I really don't have much to say. Which is a rarity for me too. I have to agree with my sis on the church thing. Normally I enjoy all the sermons, but these past few have just been over the top...wow!
During church today, in the back row I saw a familiar face. It was one of my best friends from Berea, Tim. He came through Berea during the week and met up with Kelly; apparently she knew he was coming to church and they didn't tell me about it! Losers. Naah, just messing. Anyway, it was a very nice surprise. We had lunch and he filled us in about Ichthus (which, if you don't know what it is, I highly suggest you read up...an AMAZING God-filled weekend of rock out loud music, people loving on each other, and thought-provoking and challenging speakers!). Very sad that we missed out, but we will be making it up there next year! fo sho!
Something that I'm hopefully going to be starting soon in this blog is little posts called "Jesus and ER". It's when I take an episode of ER and apply scripture and Christian themes to it, sort of to bring me closer to my faith. I did it a couple times while in college and it really blew me away at how God can take something that I enjoy so much and have me thinking about how it ties in with things that are taught in scripture. So be keeping an eye out for that, pretty excited!
Anyway, Wiley is lying on top of "The Hobbit"...which I need to keep reading. Still on chapter 6. Also, enjoy this video of Smokey, a kitty that purrs really loud. :)
Be blessed! :)
Smokey the loud purring kitty
Sunday, June 10, 2012
In ________ we trust?
Holly: Trust is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot. What does it mean to "completely" trust someone? Are we too trusting, and what does that make of us?
To say that I had trust issues as a teen is a pretty fair statement. I mean, they weren't to the point that I couldn't even function in society, but more often than not I found myself wondering to myself about the hidden agendas of other people. I suppose that being bullied was a contribution to that. There were also some family issues going on that I'd rather not disclose. Even as a kid though, I was very shy (believe it or not). At times I was even called "too trusting" of other people, which, back then, was frowned upon. Insert the terms "naive" or "gullible" here...
So where do I stand today? I have to admit that I'm a little too cautious for my own good. I always lock my car at work (and I work in the middle of nowhere) and we always make sure the apartment doors are locked (even when we're all home). As Kevin said this morning in his sermon, we have become a society of suspicion...we are ALWAYS suspicious of what's going on around us. I have warmed up around people now, much more so than when I was younger, but I am always exercising caution in unfamiliar places.
To play the faith and follower in Christ card, lately I've been struggling with trusting God too. I suppose that being on your own and losing any and all forms of security (i.e. a regular, stable income, convenient food, and a place to live that you don't have to pay for) post-graduation from college will do that to you. Just the other day I made another phone call to home asking for money. I HATE worrying about money. I really do. That night I went to bed and wondered in my mind to God how we were going to make it through to our next pay day. Yesterday I received the card from home and inside it was WAY more $$ than what I had asked for! I asked God for a handful and He gave me an armful!
When will I learn to trust? I'm still learning. But today's sermon was a great reminder of such: I must trust God. I have been praised in the past for always being strong in my faith and I intend to continue down that path. It hasn't been easy. But God is still proving faithful. TRUST.
Kelly: Again I walked away deeply challenged. Like I posted on my facebook, I don't know what it has been about these past few weeks. Not that I'm saying the sermons in the past have been bad by any means...but these past few have been ESPECIALLY good!! Like Holly said, I used to have trust issues with people. Especially people who hurt me. Every now and then something strikes in me where I am caught thinking about "what if I did this/say that?" I never held grudges, but secretly distrusting others was in a way doing just that.
As it was said in church, you can't trust everybody. It's a sad truth. I remember growing up not even locking our house or the cars; we lived out in the middle of nowhere. It was something we never had to worry about. Then our house got broken into. Ever since then all the doors and windows locked, all the cars locked. And we live out in the middle of nowhere. I would be lying if I didn't say that when we were at home alone, I would watch an on-going car to make sure it didn't stop in the road. Much truth was said at church; our society trains us to be suspicious. Can't trust anybody.
Having said that, there are those I can always trust, no matter what. I will now use an example from Lord of the Rings. Yes, we recently became fans; I don't want to hear it!!!! We lived in the middle of nowhere! There was a scene in which Sam and Frodo were on their way to Mordor to destroy the ring, and they were led by Gullum...a hobbit-like creature. The ring, which he referred to as "The Precious," caused him to have a split personality and caused him to become a very disturbed individual. Smeagol, his friendlier personality, would often fight with Gullum. Anyway, because of a minor twisting of the truth, Frodo eventually left Sam and continued on with Gullum/Smeagol. However, Frodo eventually discovered Sam was right; Gullum wanted the ring for himself. It just amazed me how much the truth can be twisted by only a few words. And people believe it...ALL THE TIME. So it leaves with the question; who can we trust? I know my answer. Sometimes I don't always behave in a way that is pleasing to God, but I do my best. It's not easy. Just worth it.
In the meantime, what shall we do? What can we do about overcoming a distrusting world? The answer is simple; know yourself. Other than God, you know yourself better than anybody. Ask yourself; is this REALLY true? If you don't know, ask the source. It's better to put out the flames than continue to fuel them. Holly and I were talking about this last night. Second, find someone you can trust. If it isn't God, then I pray you will/do have someone you can trust. I will leave with this. Also, LOVE. In a song I know, one of the lines is "You can never love too strong." I find this to be very much true. If you can love others, then they will love you in return. If they love you, they can trust you. But you have to love and trust yourself too.
"Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:7
To say that I had trust issues as a teen is a pretty fair statement. I mean, they weren't to the point that I couldn't even function in society, but more often than not I found myself wondering to myself about the hidden agendas of other people. I suppose that being bullied was a contribution to that. There were also some family issues going on that I'd rather not disclose. Even as a kid though, I was very shy (believe it or not). At times I was even called "too trusting" of other people, which, back then, was frowned upon. Insert the terms "naive" or "gullible" here...
So where do I stand today? I have to admit that I'm a little too cautious for my own good. I always lock my car at work (and I work in the middle of nowhere) and we always make sure the apartment doors are locked (even when we're all home). As Kevin said this morning in his sermon, we have become a society of suspicion...we are ALWAYS suspicious of what's going on around us. I have warmed up around people now, much more so than when I was younger, but I am always exercising caution in unfamiliar places.
To play the faith and follower in Christ card, lately I've been struggling with trusting God too. I suppose that being on your own and losing any and all forms of security (i.e. a regular, stable income, convenient food, and a place to live that you don't have to pay for) post-graduation from college will do that to you. Just the other day I made another phone call to home asking for money. I HATE worrying about money. I really do. That night I went to bed and wondered in my mind to God how we were going to make it through to our next pay day. Yesterday I received the card from home and inside it was WAY more $$ than what I had asked for! I asked God for a handful and He gave me an armful!
When will I learn to trust? I'm still learning. But today's sermon was a great reminder of such: I must trust God. I have been praised in the past for always being strong in my faith and I intend to continue down that path. It hasn't been easy. But God is still proving faithful. TRUST.
Kelly: Again I walked away deeply challenged. Like I posted on my facebook, I don't know what it has been about these past few weeks. Not that I'm saying the sermons in the past have been bad by any means...but these past few have been ESPECIALLY good!! Like Holly said, I used to have trust issues with people. Especially people who hurt me. Every now and then something strikes in me where I am caught thinking about "what if I did this/say that?" I never held grudges, but secretly distrusting others was in a way doing just that.
As it was said in church, you can't trust everybody. It's a sad truth. I remember growing up not even locking our house or the cars; we lived out in the middle of nowhere. It was something we never had to worry about. Then our house got broken into. Ever since then all the doors and windows locked, all the cars locked. And we live out in the middle of nowhere. I would be lying if I didn't say that when we were at home alone, I would watch an on-going car to make sure it didn't stop in the road. Much truth was said at church; our society trains us to be suspicious. Can't trust anybody.
Having said that, there are those I can always trust, no matter what. I will now use an example from Lord of the Rings. Yes, we recently became fans; I don't want to hear it!!!! We lived in the middle of nowhere! There was a scene in which Sam and Frodo were on their way to Mordor to destroy the ring, and they were led by Gullum...a hobbit-like creature. The ring, which he referred to as "The Precious," caused him to have a split personality and caused him to become a very disturbed individual. Smeagol, his friendlier personality, would often fight with Gullum. Anyway, because of a minor twisting of the truth, Frodo eventually left Sam and continued on with Gullum/Smeagol. However, Frodo eventually discovered Sam was right; Gullum wanted the ring for himself. It just amazed me how much the truth can be twisted by only a few words. And people believe it...ALL THE TIME. So it leaves with the question; who can we trust? I know my answer. Sometimes I don't always behave in a way that is pleasing to God, but I do my best. It's not easy. Just worth it.
In the meantime, what shall we do? What can we do about overcoming a distrusting world? The answer is simple; know yourself. Other than God, you know yourself better than anybody. Ask yourself; is this REALLY true? If you don't know, ask the source. It's better to put out the flames than continue to fuel them. Holly and I were talking about this last night. Second, find someone you can trust. If it isn't God, then I pray you will/do have someone you can trust. I will leave with this. Also, LOVE. In a song I know, one of the lines is "You can never love too strong." I find this to be very much true. If you can love others, then they will love you in return. If they love you, they can trust you. But you have to love and trust yourself too.
"Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:7
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Connecting in church, Berea, food, family...everywhere!!
Sundays are probably my favorite days of the week, primarily because I am able to be a part of something so awesome that, most times, I can't stop thinking about it. Like today. Now, I've heard many of Pastor Kevin's sermons in my almost three years of attending Berea Baptist, but what really gets me about him and his sermons is that he's not on a pedestal preaching to people below him: he's preaching to himself too! That level of humility is something that so many people strive for, yet so few achieve (I myself still struggle with this and probably always will). The sermon today was titled "Things That Last Forever." I won't get into the nitty-gritty details, but basically, the main idea was to focus our human mindset onto the fact that here (earth) is not our permanent home, and that the vast majority of the things we accumulate will not matter once we reach eternity with Jesus! Towards the end, he asked "If you knew you only had a few hours to live, what would you do?" Really struck a cord with me today, especially since, in the college world, we still have that mindset of trying to see how much "stuff" one another has...which is stupid, because if I see a Berea student with an iPad or driving a Mustang convertible I'm forced to do a double take! So I'm going to try my best to shift my perspective (which will NOT be easy, so stay tuned).
The absolute highlight of the day was a visit from our mom's cousin and her family, whom we haven't seen probably since we were about 7 or 8; they were driving back to Ohio from Asheville, North Carolina, and decided to pay Kelly and I a visit. We gave them a (very) brief tour of Berea's campus and then...ate more yummy food!! Yes, twice in one day, but...seriously, cannot pass it up! The visit was lovely and we had a great time catching up with family we hadn't seen in a while!
Going back to the sermon, there was also an emphasis on relationships. That could not have come at a more perfect day, if I say so myself. :)
Readers, we've got a problem.
Those were just some of the statistics mentioned in church this morning. Shocking? Yes. Sad? Incredibly. But what as Christians and humans can we do? Simple; count your blessings. Granted, we may not have the "best" or the "nicest" possessions, but you know. Compared to those individuals who don't have a car, clean water or a stable income, we've simply got it MADE. Definitely going to change my thinking and definitely going to be extra thankful for what I already have....or don't have.
Anyway, onward. Holly forgot to mention an additional highlight of the day which happened while we were eating lunch this afternoon. Our pastor happened to be there with his family and was eating lunch with another couple from our church. My friends left and so Holly, me and my roomie were talking to them for a while just because it has been such a long time since we've actually....just talked. And of course, their adorable 15-month old was the spotlight of attention. She later on was serenading us in "Three Blind Mice." I don't know if we have any pictures or not....anyway, adorable. Absolutely adorable. Garsh, I am so blessed to have found this wonderful church. I talk a lot about church, in case you haven't noticed. In addition, two girls in our Sunday School class became members today!!! *big grin* At my church if you're a college student you can do what's called a "dual membership" in which if you belong to your home church then you can also become a member at BBC too! Great, huh? Yes, I am a dual member and have been since May of 2009 (read the previous blog post about how we got started and all the mayhem we've been involved in!). Good times, and I wouldn't change a thing! That's about all to report today. Hope all you fine readers have a fantabulous week. Will post more later on. Cheers!
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