Something Beautiful

There comes a single moment when you go bungy jumping where you have to make a decision. You either let go of everything and take the plunge, praying to God that the cord will hold, or you give up and turn around and step off the platform.  Let go or give up. That's what the decision boils down to.  Let go. Trust that there will be something to catch you. Believe that the outcome is worth the test. Have Faith in something outside of yourself.  Give up. The risk isn't worth it. The potential danger or pain is too much to bear. There has to be something better than this. I hate giving up, even if that is my natural inclination. When things start to get tough, I long to throw my hands up and give up, to move past this point with the thought that there has to be something better down the road. And I'm not saying that there isn't a place and time to give something up.  But letting go requires so much more of me because letting go isn't giving up on what is in f...

I love when God shows up in the every day things of life. When He shows up in an ordinary thing, I am suddenly so aware of it becoming so much more than ordinary. This is one of the things that I love so much about my job. I feel like every day I discover something new that gives me an even deeper understanding of God, His character and His Word.  I took a class a couple weeks ago (I guess it's maybe five weeks now) to learn Bowen, a massage therapy treatment. It is a really remarkable treatment that helps the body to heal itself and restores the body to normal functioning. It opens the pathways of the body to be able to communicate clearly and allows the body to change adapted habits that have unknowingly been taken on and are actually harming the body.  I love learning about the body because several times Paul refers to the church as a body, so learning about the body should teach us about the church. I also love learning about the body because I'm a nerd, but that's ...

Women, this post is for you. Men, feel free to read as well, but know that I am directly addressing women here. I'm in one of those moods where I feel like standing up on a soapbox and saying my piece even if no one agrees with me.  Several factors have contributed to this post, and it is something that has been stewing around in my mind for a while, so here is comes. I feel like I have license to say what I'm going to say because I am a woman, and as I already stated, I am specifically directing this at women. I apologize in advance if this post seems indelicate, but I am in a no-filter-say-what-you-mean kind of mood. I am sick to death of reading things about men's behavior. There's a whole range of them from the "How dare he hold the door open for me" type to the "Why aren't there any more gentlemen" type. I've seen them and read them. What I haven't read is anything addressing women's behavior. I am continually shocked by wh...

Happy Valentine's Day!!  Just a few thoughts on this day for you. I love Valentine's Day. I just love celebrating in general, so any excuse to have a celebration makes me happy. I was thinking this morning about this penchant I have for celebrations, and whenever I think about celebrating I always think about my Grandma Sylvester, a lady who celebrated every single holiday including flag day. I am so thankful for a legacy of celebration that has been passed down to me.  I'm going to be honest with you; I have not always loved Valentine's Day. In fact, there are several years, in the not-too-distant past where I would say that I hated Valentine's Day. As a single person on a "couple's holiday" I would just get very frustrated and depressed. But over the last several years, I have slowly been learning something not just about this holiday, but about love in general. Jesus said it is better to give than to receive, and I for one believe it. This is ...

Not all the time, but every once in a while, I get the opportunity to do something I have never done before, but secretly in the back of my head have always wanted to do. I had one such opportunity last night. I threw a dinner party. Now for those of you who know me, this is nothing new or unusual. However, last night was special because of the style of dinner party. It was a served, sit-down meal with seven courses. With the exception of the first course, I made the entire meal.  I got to make new dishes that I have never made before. I got to try my hand at several new things, as well as throwing in those old tried and true recipes. It was a delightful culinary challenge for me.  It wasn't until I was sitting down after the meal was over that I realized just how satisfied I was. I was satisfied because I had accomplished this task, but it was more than that. It was that feeling of having looked into the face of something that was challenging and conquering it.  An...

I was running the other day because it was a deliciously balmy day for January in Missouri, and I was especially struck by the trees. The trail that I was running on goes through a bunch of lovely trees and foliage and over a little creek. Just being in nature on such a day is pleasant, but running in nature gives me a chance to gain perspective.  I was thinking about the trees and how tall and strong and old they are, and it seemed impossible that such trees could come from a tiny seed, but each one did. Every growing thing in nature comes from a little, tiny seed, and they don't stop growing. They may stop for a season, but when Spring comes, they are right back at it. I'm sure this is why God gave us the instruction to rule and subdue the earth because otherwise we would be living in an overgrown forest.  Anyway, back to the trees. As I was struck by how such a big tree could grow out of such a small seed, I was reminded of how Jesus compared faith to a mustard seed. If...

Dear Body, I know that you aren't happy that we are training again. May I please direct you to Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. " Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." The end result is worth the discipline and training now, so bear up and run in such a way that you may obtain the glorious prize. Sincerely, Me  

I have found myself full of tears lately. This is by far one of the things I am most happy to be able to say about myself. I was talking to a dear friend who has shared this journey with me, and I realized that most people don't understand what a victory it is for me whenever I say that I cried about something.  I rarely used to cry. I grew up hearing that scraps and ouchies were a long way from my heart. I am a farm kid, and with that you just have to buck up and bear stuff. I don't remember exactly when or how it started, but somehow I took those things a little too much to heart, and I stopped allowing my heart to have a say in what I was feeling. I didn't stop feeling, but I buried my heart under layers and layers of hard protective coating.  It has been about 6 years since I first started realizing that I needed to let God soften my heart. I still struggle sometimes, but every time I cry simply because my heart is moved, I am reminded of the victorious power of Chr...

I am coming to discover that one of my favorite words in the Bible is submit. I know that this is one of those words that kind of gets a bad wrap in our culture, even to the point where it is on the level of a four-letter word. Let me give you an example: "Wives submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." Ephesians 5:22 Whoa. There it is in black and white, that little six-letter word. Submit. Why does this little word cause so much controversy? Why do we struggle so much with this idea? Maybe it is the fact that our human nature rebels against the idea of putting someone in authority over us. Maybe we think that because it tells the wife to submit it somehow makes her inferior or less than the husband as a person. The problem with that is that I know God better than that. God sees all people as equal in worth. He paid the same price for each of our lives. In fact, no one has done more to give worth and equality to women than Jesus did. So the question that I have to a...

I have been thinking about things that are popular to say to single girls to supposedly encourage them to pursue God while waiting for their prince charming to appear. As a girl who has been single my whole life, I have heard my fair share of these statements. And if I'm honest with myself, I have probably said a fair number of cliche things to encourage other girls in times past.  The other day, though, I really started to contemplate these things we say and why we say them. Why say: Give your heart to God and when it's time He will give it to the right man. Why say: Dance with God and when the right man comes along He will let him cut in.  I understand the premiss; the desire is to encourage the girl to pursue God, yet give her hope that her dream is out there. However, there is just something about this that doesn't sit right with me. Maybe it is because I have heard these statements one too many times. Maybe it is because I am sick of flippant, surface answers to de...