My Friends are blogging



My friend Alicia and I

 My friend Alicia has started writing a blog. I love when ever my friends write blogs... when I learn about them I seek them out and begin following.  My friend Alicia's blog is called "Be Still" and she has a post called "Be still and know that I am God". A phrase that comes from Psalm 46:10 a great passage that gets over looked a lot.

Alicia writes in her post...

"A few years ago I sat in an Easter Service at St. Paul's Cathedral in Boston, and the worship leader chanted this line for a solid ten minutes. Maybe it was longer than ten minutes. Either way, it felt long. My mind wondered to things that needed to get done, bills that needed to be paid, work, what I wanted to eat for dinner, etc. The focus was on my needs in the moment. I wasn't paying attention to the commandment to be still, to give God His time and listen, really listen, to what He needed to say to me in that moment."


How many times does that happen in our lives? For me a lot. I get so wrapped up in my problems or the things I have to do and I forget to remember He is God and He will take care of everything. Reading Psalm 46  really reminds me how much God has been there for us and will be there for us.
 

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging....
Come and see what the LORD has done,

the desolation he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields[d] with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalm 46:1-3 & 8-11
Alicia ends her post saying...

"Be still and know that I am God.

Be still and know that I am taking care of you.
Be still and know that I am with you.
Be still and know that you are loved unconditionally.
Be still and listen, really listen, to Me.
Be still and chill out. "
I know I personally need to be reminded of that daily.

I really hope lovely readers you will check out Alicia's blog. She is new to the blogging world and I want to wish her the best of luck.

How are you going to change the world?

When you enter college and even when you graduate college you are (or should be) inspired to change the world. No matter if you are going to solve world hunger, run for president, or if you are like me I wanted to change the world by writing great historical novels. Yep I wanted to change the world by making history more accessible and interesting (geeky to the core).

Soon you graduate and realize you can't change the world... or not as quickly as you thought. But you can still change it. My freshman year RA (resident assistant)  is now the state representative for his home town and district. So see you can make a difference you just have to think about what you want to do.

Found at Think Progress

I am not a politician so I am not saying you have to be in government to change the world. I think my sister and all mom's like her change the world by raising children and nurture them to be the best they can be. There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that is called "One heart beat at a time" that says it better than me...

That you, you are changing the world
one little heartbeat at a time

Making history with every touch and every smile

Oh you, you may not see it now

but I believe that time will tell

how you, you are changing the world

one little heartbeat at a time

I am not a mom but one day I would like to change the world in such a way. Right now I see my work at my church nursery as helping change the world because I help children know they are loved, they are special and when ever I can I like encouraging their imagination. 

I don't believe your job has to be they way you change the world it could be a hobby, past time or an interest that could make the biggest impact. I write this blog, sometimes hoping that something I say would resonate with people and maybe change the way they think about an issue. I also write it and through writing the post I change my out look on the situation. This may not change the world but I would like to think my life effects the people around me and if I change my out look maybe my opinions can ripple on to some one's life and then it ripples on to another person... and so on and so on. (Maybe I am just too idealistic.)

That was a long tangent to get to here... what I wanted to say. I was talking to a friend last night and he didn't seem that happy about his job. I asked what did he want to do? It seems like a basic question but every one rather they graduated college or not thinks "I would like to do this____(fill in blank)_____ for the rest of my life"  and I think the best thing to do is go out and pursue it. Now obviously I didn't encourage him to quit his job and pursue a dream of becoming a rock and roll star. I told him to maybe look for another job while he is still working. The job he wants would take more education so I told him (maybe bluntly) he should take classes while working, I am doing it. But one doesn't have to go to a fancy university to take classes one can go to a community college, places like University of Phoenix, or even random classes at a community center.

I just think the most important thing is to find something you want to do and do it.

I may not always like school and I get worn out but I love the fact that I am pursuing a dream of mine.

So to bring this post to conclusion I think we all have something in us (a passion or desire) that can help change the world, even if the world you change is your own little corner. We just have to pursue it. So pursue your dreams and that will change the world.

A thought on Peace?

The word in Hebrew is Shalom

My church (Reunion Christian Church) has been going through the book of Luke. This week we read the story of Jesus being anointed by the sinful woman. Luke 7:36-50 it is a great story about a woman who is known in town to be a sinful woman probably a prostitute and if you don't know about the culture context of the day that is like the lowest of the low. She hears that Jesus is having dinner in town with the Pharisees (religious rule almost dictators) and she comes in and uses her tears to wash Jesus' feet and kisses his feet. She realizes how deep her sin is and how much she needs to be forgiven. The pharisees cannot really believe Jesus is interacting with her and when Jesus confronts their gossip he tells them a parable about a two men who are in debt one owes 50 denarii* and the other owes 500 but there debts have been wiped clean and Jesus asks the Pharisees which one do you think would be more grateful. The Pharisees says the one who owed more. Jesus says that he is right. Jesus told the Pharisees that this woman realized how big of burden her sins were and she realized how much she needed to be forgiven. It is a great story but the sentence that struck me the most was verse 50...

Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

*-is about a days wage

I write this post about that phrase. Peace is an interesting word it has a lot of connotations. It could mean the absence of war or conflict (internally or externally). It could also mean "being at peace" a phrase common in Yoga classes. But at church (and the way I like to think about it is) Peace=Shalom. Not just the Hebrew hello but Shalom means completeness.



Woman washing Jesu's feet
Found at A White Stone

Can you imagine what it must have been like for her to hear "go in completeness." I kind of see it as go and define yourself no more by your past errors. I admit I might be reading to much into it but I don't think I am. Repeatedly the Bible says when you confess your errors (actions or mindset) it is removed from you meaning you are no longer judged by that error. Jesus didn't just say “your faith has saved you; go in peace” to that one woman he says it to everyone. But if you are like me I hold myself in guilt of those errors, wrong judgements, and bad thoughts. As you can read in my post A little road mapping I am my own worst critic.

To be honest I replay things a lot in my mind, mostly bad things I have done or arguments I have gotten into and they kind of haunt me. In that case I don't feel like I am letting things go and allowing Jesus to come in. I don't feel I am living in the completeness God has to offer. I feel like God is saying to me "go in peace" and I just don't because I can't erase memories. So what am I suppose to do?  I sometimes feel like I am holding myself hostage when God is setting me free.

I know that is a weird picture but sometimes I feel I am the second person still in the mold but trying to squirm free. I wish I could be like the fourth dancing in the sun.



Freedom is a fun word to look up on Pinterest



I wonder how much that woman's life changed after Jesus said that to her. I wonder if she felt complete.

Here is my little reminder to myself.

I think I should write that on my mirror. 

11/29 Update:

Last night during a quiet moment I was reading Proverbs and I on side bar it had men of faithfulness. it pointed to David, a man after God's own heart, and talked about even though he made mistakes he learned from them. I guess if David a man who has his ups and downs through out his faith is still considered a man after God's own heart I too can make mistakes and God will still love me and cherish me.

David in Prayer

for He guards the course of the just

and protects the way of his faithful ones.

Then you will understand what is right and just

and fair—every good path.
For wisdom will enter your heart,

and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

Discretion will protect you,

and understanding will guard you.

Proverbs 2: 8-11

 

I know this post was a little more "religious" but I use this blog as a journal and I wanted to let you know what I am going through. Please share your thoughts but please don't be hateful towards my faith.

Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING LOVELY READERS

Favorite Traditions...

1. Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

It was after Santa came into the square that we could really begin celebrating Christmas.

This year I put my Christmas music on after the parade... it was great.

2.Watching The National Dog Show... I am not sure how we started this tradition but my mom and I have watched it for years. (I guess my step dad watched football some place else.) A lot of people don't know what this is but it comes on right after the parade... how can you miss it.

3. After Thanksgiving sitting around watching White Christmas and eating Pecan Pie.

I know how this tradition as my mom as told me. When my Nana cancer was bad and we couldn't go out to the out door mall in Tulsa, OK to kick off the Christmas season we watched this movie. This year my first Christmas movie was Elf.

Favorite Memories...

One year when my mom and step dad were living in Huntsville, Alabama we went to a Christmas tree farm to chop down our own Christmas tree. Well there was a good group of us and my step dad was chopping down the tree and my sister was holding it up as is coming down, the rest of us were taking pictures. Then she sweetly yelled "can one of you come help me", I ran around and grabbed the top of tree. I don't know if I was much help I was mostly laughing.

Another one is that my mom didn't really like the idea of cooking on Thanksgiving because it was hours of prep for 15 minutes of eating and she wanted to go to a restaurant and my step dad wasn't very happy with that so he decided to make the meal. For weeks he recorded Emeril and other cooking shows to get prepared for the big day. I remember my mom and I sitting on the sofa watching TV and he came into the living room and asked "should I boil the potatoes now?" we asked "have you put the turkey in the oven?" he said "no" we told him to put the turkey in the oven before you do anything else. Now we all kind of do things for the feast.

Now I am happy to have wonderful friends that make Boston feel more and more like home and I get to spend time with them. Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving.

I am also happy to boast that I had another successful year of Pecan Pie making.