Sigh

For what it's worth...

50 Lessons Life Taught Me

By Regina Brett

1. 

Life isn't fair, but it's still good.


2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.


4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.


5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.


7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.


9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.


10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.


12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.


13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.


15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.


16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.


18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.


20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.


22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.


23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.


24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"


27. Always choose life.


28. Forgive everyone everything.


29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.


31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.


36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.


40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.


41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.


42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.


43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.


44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.


45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.


47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.


48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
49. Yield.


50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift...

This is so clique and exactly what every old person would have to say about life, but it doesn't hurt to read through some of these and remind yourself of the way you are living or want to live. It actually stopped me in my tracks and made me re-think some things immediately. I high-lighted the ones that struck a chord with me... let me know which stand out most to you :)

PS- this is a good moment to add in something else I have been trying to do more lately.
I love to establish a set of goals for myself- some short and some long term, just to ensure that I am always improving, not to mention it creates a sense of completion and confidence :)
But FYI- we are now halfway through 2011! So re-evaluate those New Years resolutions and get to work on some of them!
I set a few goals for the remainder of this year... some spiritual, some financial, some physical, some educational, etc... so I know that I am only improving myself, not standing still or moving backwards.

Until,
Sarah J <3

Midnight

This evening I decided to take my dog on a midnight stroll. Not the safest idea, but by far best decision I have made in a very long time.. there is something about feeling like the only person in the world that I tend to relish in. So, I am on this little trek of mine; the air is filled with the scent of honey suckle and the temperature is that cool, brisk, summer-time air that immediately sends me back to late night outdoor games at jr high camp, and all I can hear are crickets (or more likely cicadas) chirping. For a city girl, this scenery is rare, but I absolutely adore it when I take the time to enjoy it. I can't help but marvel at the nature created solely for our benefit.
So I am walking which is usually when I take the time to process, organize, analyze and reflect on my day but tonight my mind was flooded with all of these memories of intensely spiritual moments in my life. I won't give a rundown of every single one (because there are SO many ;) but I quickly realized that not a single one of them was inside a church and yet all of them were so meaningful to me that I was moved to tears just thinking about them again.
So why do we make spirituality so much about a service, congregation, denomination, or building?

Don't you think God is more interested in a one-on-one relationship with you?
I do. I think God still walks to "walk in the garden with us" but not in the way I've been taught to communicate with my Creator and Savior. See, I think the church has been programmed to think that God has to be riled up to show up. As in, we need to create the perfect environment for God to enter into.

I'm learning that your heart is the perfect environment, no matter what condition it is in. God desires to know YOU, to communicate with YOU, to reveal things to YOU, to confide in YOU, to listen to YOU. This is not a communal relationship God is after, it is individual.

Did you catch my "no matter what condition it is in"?
Call me crazy, but I have met some very imperfect people that God has done huge things through. And yes, there are plenty of examples in the bible, but I am talking real-life, right now people that churches quickly condemn and write off because of their mistakes.
Here's a bit of wisdom I heard in high school that has stuck with me ever since: people with the biggest callings for God often struggle with their flesh the most. As in, some people who are doing the greatest things for God, can also do some of the worst things to people.

I don't think I'm getting too far off-base to say that I believe God knows our hearts and intentions and is going to bless our passions, even if our flesh isn't 100% in line with our intentions. We are human, and I think the goal is to grow stronger in your spirit so that you can deny your flesh more often. The goal is not to never sin, it is to grow away from sin.

Peace.

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.."

It is good to be reminded of this when I feel like my heart has been everything but guarded.. Protected.
Sometimes I forget how desperately God loves us... I quickly forget at what length Christ will go to give us security, confidence, and peace.
If we let him. 

I also tend to forget what a gentleman my Savior is. That even though every part of Him wants to rescue us from pain and restore our souls and minds, He sits by and waits for us to ask for Him (I personally imagine him sitting on his hands, trying to contain his eagerness and be patient- although I am sure that is not quite the case). 

Maybe this is all coming from a girl who wants nothing more than to feel valued, adored, and spectacularly unique... But that in and of itself speaks so highly of God's character- that He will be exactly what you need Him to be when you decide you NEED Him. 

Whether it is a Savior, a Provider, Father, Counselor, Rock, Lion, Shield, Prince of Peace, Giver of Life- He IS that. 

I love the part of Philippians 4:7 that states "which transcends ALL understanding"
As in, when you can't comprehend how anyone could care about you or find value in you, God will show you your worth
As in, when you don't understand why everything is happening to way it is, God will show you the light at the end of the tunnel.

Because He adores us and only wants us to trust and rely on Him.

Alright! Love Post #2

My church family.

I wish I would have had a love month instead of a love week, because each and every person at my church is near and dear to me and essential at theSpring.
My pastor and his wife, Tim and Kim Rutledge, felt the need to plant themselves in Franklin, TN at the exact same time that I chose to leave my comfort zone behind and search for a new place to call "home".
To say that God's hand was on the situation is an incredible understatement.

The first week that theSpring team met, we took turns explaining how we ended up in the Vienna Coffee House in Cool Springs, TN at 11 AM on a Sunday morning. I have never encountered a group of people who were so confidently pursing God's will and risking everything to live it out.

Not only are they passionate about creating a church, each one is equally if not more passionate about reaching the people around us.
I know this small church will soon be a large church, not because of any one person, but because of the faith and the passion that our church feels.

Because of them I am a confident Christian, because of them I have a safe haven to commune with people and refresh each week.

Love Post #1

An old friend turned me onto Pastor Steven Furtick from Elevation Church a few years ago. I used to listen to his messages each week (And still try to catch it) but I became an even bigger fan of his daily blog. At the time I was aspiring to be a pastor's wife, so I figured I should probably listen even closer to his wife, Holly Furtick.

My aspirations have changed a tad, but I still read Holly Furtick's blog daily. She is so normal and yet so wise and godly (something to be admired). I love the little window into her life that she allows her readers to peek through.

Anyways, this week she started a "love post" and each day is dedicated to the people she loves most. So I am taking her example.

Today is about my mom. To say that she is a great mom is such an understatement. She is not only a great mom, she is a great woman and a great friend. She is by far the hardest working person I know and has accomplished so much- as I get older I realize just how much she done, for herself, her co-workers, her family, and the people she loves.

My mom is from a small town in West Virginia where very few speak correct English and most never leave their coal-mining towns begins. I am almost positive that rotary dial phones are still the main source of communication and satellite television is a "new" feature.
However, my mom is one of the most educated people I know and the woman has more connections than most politicians haha. (It comes in handy when I need a favor ;)
Not only does she know people, but I have yet to meet a person who didn't just love her. She is the most giving person I know and would do anything for someone in need.

She is also the strongest person I know. She has gotten out of bad situations, even at the risk of being unstable or insecure for a season. She has lived on her own and parented me single-handedly all these years.

I am so thankful for her guidance and her love. The older I get the more I respect her and the happier I am to have her around. I know I have been everything but easy to raise and she stuck around when anyone and everyone else has left me to fend for myself.

Happy Valentines Day Mom.. I am so proud of you and to be your daughter.

Life as a Soap Opera

There is something to be said for the cast of shows like Jersey Shore, The Hills, Laguna Beach, Real Housewives of *name that city*.
And here is what I have to say, "I am so glad that I am not you."

Call me crazy, but I would rather be bored out of my mind in a world of simple than to spend a day in the "he said, she said.. did you hear about ____?" world that so many girls, teenagers, and sadly to say grown women, find themselves in.

I found myself in a situation similar to the above recently and two days later I found myself driving with the radio off, shaking my head and thinking.. "what just happened and how did I get here?" 

And as I thought, I just got more and more disgusted with myself to the point where I decided that it was more important (and profitable) to have 2 or 3.. maybe even 1 great friend, then a whole group of friends who don't really act as friends.

That is a tough pill to swallow for someone who genuinely loves meeting new people, making new friends, and creating a connection and bond with each and every one of them. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it is literally biblical. How many men of the bible had hosts of friends that defended them and loved them deeply that they actually trusted?

Coming up pretty empty-handed? I did too.

So- consider this a challenge to myself and to you: Cultivate the great relationships you already have. Don't let those slip, because they are so rare. Instead of trying to please everyone and make some people like you even more, spend time with the people who already think you're great and don't make you work for a friendship.

It might not be reality TV-worthy, but it could be life-changing.