Something Beautiful

My generation seems to struggle with the idea of getting married. There are usually two extremes. There are the ones who are so terrified of commitment that they will do everything including living together to avoid actually making a lasting commitment with someone. Then there is the opposite end of that spectrum where you have the people who want so badly to get married that they will end up making bad decisions and getting married just to get married. And of course there is the whole spectrum in between, but for the most part the people in my generation tend to error either on the side of "I'm never getting married" or "I'm getting married as soon as possible."  Even within the church we have this tension about marriage. We just make it sound different, holier, more God focused if you will. "Well, I'm not sure that God has called me to be married." "I think I'm called to be single for God." "I'm definitely called to b...

Most people will probably be shocked by this next sentence. I'm thankful for the snow and cold weather we have been having. And I'm being completely honest and genuine in saying that. I really am thankful.  I'm thankful because it reminds me to rest. Winter is meant to be the season of rest and preparing to be busy again in the spring and summer. But all too often we continue to rush around caught up in the busy-ness of our lives and forgetting that we are supposed to be resting.  This never used to be the case, but technological advancement has dramatically changed the world we live in. We don't go to sleep earlier in the winter because we have electricity, so we can have light all the time. We don't stay home when the weather is cold because we have heated cars instead of wagons.  Snow tends to make people stop. It makes you take more time. Snow reminds us to take a break. If you are ever outside during a snow storm, stop for a minute and just listen. Everything i...

I decided this year to not make resolutions. Let me tell you why. Change doesn't happen in big grand gestures. Change happens a little bit at a time through little decisions we make every day. So instead of making big decisions about what I want to accomplish this year, I decided to make little decisions every day to move in the direction I want to go.  This year I learned a lot about friendships, what they are, what they aren't, and most importantly who in my life are real and true friends. I am so very grateful for each one of them because they are in large part the reason I made it through this last year. I'm trying to be more intentional in those friendships. Letting those people know that I appreciate them and care for them, that this friendship thing isn't just a one way street. I know there are going to be some days where I fail pretty miserably at being there for those people, but I am sure going to try to get better at it every day. This last year really ...