New Things in 2010

The year 2010 was something completely new for me. I had already graduate college, moved out of my parent's house, and managed to live four hours away from my family without exploding. So, I thought I would sit down and compile a list of new things I learned, did, saw or explored in 2010. Note, all of my lists are rarely all-inclusive, and they are never in order of importance.

1. I lived all by myself. Up until November, I had a roommate, and that was pretty sweet. But, I must divulge that I love living on my own. I do what I want, when I want. And my sleeping habits reflect only my perceived belief of how many hours of sleep I need.
2. I got my license. I know, I am a twenty something who has never had a license before this year? Yeah, you're telling me. But, I did it :).
3. I got my first ever car. And, I didn't pay for it. I experienced God's radical love and provisional spirit when someone at my church anonymously purchased me a 2004 grand am.
4. I went to a midnight showing of a movie. And it was Harry Potter. And it was in costume. And I was Tonks.
5. I became a Lead Teacher in my daycare ministry. 
6. I saw a year pass in a job that I really love.
7. I sang in the first ever Christmas Choir at my church.
8. I drove to Kentucky all by myself.
9. I read books that made me laugh, and completed a series of books.
10. I decided that I really need to commit to writing and using my talents FOR God, rather than hiding them like I don't have any.
11. I became one of the many Droid owners of the world.
12. I put up and decorated my own Christmas tree.
13. I openly admitted my love for things that I rarely have ever told anyone about.
14. I learned that I really like me a whole lot more than I previously thought.
15. I found out that real friendships are solid. They don't get rocked.
16. I fell even more in love with my Savior, Jesus Christ. I encountered him through people, through situations, and through regular times of prayer and Scripture reading. I learned that his love does not run out, even when I have no more strength.

What about you?

What was new for you in 2010?

Things I Love

Yesterday was spent with two girls that I find completely and utterly fabulous. We ran around singing silly songs, laying on the floor coloring dinosaur pictures, and heated up a frozen pizza for dinner. When we ate our grapes we pretended they were eyeballs and when we had Twizzlers we pretended to be zombies. There's nothing more exciting than spending a day hanging out with a three year old and a five year old. 

Since I spent yesterday doing a wide variety of things that bring me joy, I thought I would take a few minutes to sit down and think about the things that I love.

• My relationship with Christ. God has never been beyond speaking to me and with me in a way that caters to my in-that-moment need for growth and development. He loves me so much just as I am, but desires to not let me stay this way forever.
• My mother who never fails to make me laugh and smile. She's such a strong woman, determined to keep going until she doesn't go anymore.
• My brother, because he's always going to have my back.
• Dinosaurs. Who doesn't love them?
• Owls. Knock, knock. Who's there? Owls. Owls who? Yes, they do.
• The color orange. It is crazy, loud and fun. *Cough, cough* Just like me.
• Polka dots. 
• Fuzzy slipper socks.
• 75 degree apartment.
• Working with children. Because I get paid to do what I love. If you don't? Fix that, seriously, best move of my life.
• My friends. They are my anchors. 

This is not an all inclusive list, but things I've been thinking a bunch about lately. 

Doer of the Word

Today I read:  In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; 

   in the morning I lay my requests before you 

   and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:3)

And then I said:

Well, not always.

And so, I have made the first and possibly only New Year's Resolution. (Okay, before I go anywhere, go ahead and insert all of my ranting and raving about how most resolutions are never kept..) But, in all truthfulness, this is a resolve that I need to have, starting now and ending never.

I need to become a doer of the Word.  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22). I need to get over whatever it is that allows me to apathetically sift through my Bible and ignore the commands and charges that lie within. I am missing out on a huge chunk spiritually by not challenging myself to DO the Word of God.

Will you join me? I am going to commit to memorizing Scripture. I am not going to limit myself or number how many I memorize. The goal is simply to put my nose to the grind and start knowing God's Word by heart. Secondly, it is to take what is memorized and live it out. That's a huge claim in Psalm 5:3. Laying my requests before God? Easy peasy. Waiting in expectation, fully knowing that God has a reply of some sort? Not so much.

Are you in?

Sacred and the Secular

My best friend and I were talking theology recently. The last movie we went to see was Tangled. Now I can hear you all laughing and snickering at my choice of movies to watch, but hear me out. 

There's nothing more exciting to me than going into a movie, expecting a laugh, and walking away with tears on my cheeks because I found the redemption story in another movie. 

What is it about movies that have good and evil with good triumphing that draws us so much? Simple. That's our story. We are wedged in between the pages of Acts and Revelation. We are living in that time frame. The first church has long been gone, but we are before the end times. So what kind of story are we writing? 

We are writing the plot, dialog, and character development before the ending. Why aren't we writing the ending? Because we know it! In the end, Jesus and His followers stand upon victory, and the Enemy is the loser. We get the option of fighting for the side that we already know has won.

So why did I tear up at a children's movie? Every time I find myself watching a movie such as Tangled, I begin looking for the Biblical parallels. There are times when it can seem like a stretch, but there are other times when it isn't much effort to see how it tells the story of sacrifice, redemption, and victory for Christ's followers. 

When is the last time that the story of redemption brought you to tears? What does your redemption story look like? Do you object to movies considered secular, music considered secular? Are you the sort that accepts the spiritual within the secular and discards the lies?

Introduction

I am proud of the fact that if my life were to ever be fashioned into a movie, it would have plenty of adventure scenes to keep the audience intrigued. I have spent many years wondering if I have ever done anything significant, and have reached a point in my life where I am comfortable with who I am and what has been achieved. This is by no means, a claim to apathy, contentment, or comfort with my work in the Kingdom, because I will always find an urge to do more, and to discover more of myself in Christ. But, it is nice to prop up my feet at the end of the night and feel like I am reaching out and up for more and more each and every day.

So why a blog? The question hangs around like a very annoying fly. Why would I, one more person, need to contribute to the chaos of the internet? A lot of it deals with my unavoidable acceptance that, in life, I have things that I know are meant to be shared with more than just my immediate circle of friends. There are truths that need to be trumpeted and proclaimed across a greater audience than what I have control of right around me. So, this is the beginning of my platform.

Who I am will, without a doubt, begin to unfold as time progresses, but while you are here, sit back and enjoy the crazy, chaotic ride.