Revisiting My One Word

In January of this year, I wrote a blog post about a new approach I am taking to the old “New Year’s Resolution” tradition (you can read about it here).

Since we are officially halfway through 2011, I think it’s a good time to check-in and evaluate how the “My One Word” concept is going.

The word I chose to represent what I wanted (and what I think God wants) for my life this year is RELEASE. I remember praying about it, and ever so softly hearing the word being spoken into my soul.

I also remember being excited about it, eager to “let go and let God”, anticipating freely and easily letting go of things that for so long have held me in bondage. I had visions of surrender, freedom, peace.

As time has passed, I have come to find that RELEASE is a hard word. It’s a scary word. And most of all, it’s a necessary word.

RELEASE means

you have to let go of some things that you love,

because you know in your heart of hearts that they are not good for you

RELEASE means

you have to trust that God knows what He’s doing,

even when things seem to be crashing down around you

And ultimately RELEASE means that WHEN you TRUST...

WHEN you LET GO...

You will see it all begin to unfold…

Right when you think your heart is breaking into a million pieces, He is beside you lovingly picking up all the pieces, holding them in His hands, patiently waiting for you to look up and surrender.

And when you look up, you will see Him do something amazing.

He will open His hands that have been holding those shattered pieces, and HE will RELEASE your mended, whole, beautiful heart…free of all those things that once held you back.

So, yes…RELEASE is HARD; RELEASE is SCARY; RELEASE is NECESSARY; and in every sense of the word RELEASE is FREEDOM!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

~~2 Corinthians 3:17

November Things: Nov. 11, 2010

Because this is an important day...

A solemn and celebratory day all in one...

Because freedom isn't FREE...

Today I simply say

THANK YOU

to all those veterans of our military who have served us well, and have served bravely.

Things November: Nov. 9, 2010

Here are a few little nuggets I gathered for today. Enjoy!

Felix the Cat!
The Wonderful, Wonderful Cat!

In 1919, this amazing little kitty first appeared in a series of film shorts called “Feline Follies”. I can’t tell you how many afternoons I spent after school having a snack and watching this cartoon! Ahhh, good memories! He must be why I love black cats so much!

The Wall Came Tumblin', Tumblin

On this day in 1989, the Berlin Wall was opened. Built in 1961, it stood as a stark symbol of the Cold War. Subsequently, the tearing down of the wall has come to represent the collapse of Communism in East Europe.

Talk about ironic…
In 1998, Florida was hit by ten tornadoes while celebrating Hazardous Weather Awareness Week.

Beautiful and frightening all at once!

Things November: Nov. 6, 2010

Here in Texas, the November days are becoming quite beautiful. Warm sunshine and soft breezes were our delight today. The downtown Austin area was bustling and alive with people everywhere! It is good to be alive in the world at this time in history, in this place we call America.

Our forefathers weren't quite so fortunate when they landed here and it always amazes me that, according to stories I've read, many still considered themselves blessed, despite the harsh conditions in which they lived.

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.

- H. U. Westermayer

********************

Can you imagine boarding a ship with hundreds of other people, traveling in all manner of weather conditions for months, enduring sickness, death and overcrowded conditions - then landing in a foreign, wild land without even a place to lay your head? In my opinion, what the early settlers did is epically heroic.

What must their lives have been like in their home country for them to completely uproot themselves from everything that was familiar to them and endure the hardships they did?

I’m not an historian. I can’t quote you facts or dates. I can’t tell you who the leaders of the time were. I can only imagine from the point of view of humanity.

I close my eyes and try to picture how they might have felt. Maybe there was a sense of adventure, heading off to a new place - a place that held unimaginable potential for freedom. On the other hand, there had to be some trepidation in their hearts as well. Leaving behind family, friends and familiarity must have struck a certain amount of fear in their very soul.

How did they find thankfulness and gratitude among the illness; among the native attacks; amidst the harsh, cold winter; in the knowing that they are burying more than building? How?

Makes me feel pretty petty and selfish.

I look around me at everything I have – every material possession, every freedom – and often I still find myself  with something to complain about.

Is this what our forefathers envisioned for us? In some ways I suppose yes. We have freedoms that likely go far beyond anything they wished for. And yet, that seems to be our downfall as well. Freedom taken to extremes.

Even so, I am eternally grateful for those who braved the unknown so that many generations to come would develop and have those freedoms.  Their choices and actions set into motion the building of this country.  Even with it's many imperfections, it is still a wondrous place to be.

And like those in times before us, every action we take - every INaction - has consequences.  I urge you to be thoughtful about the choices you make.  Those choices are NOT yours alone.  Those choices will have an impact on many people, for many generations to come.

What unfamiliar territory are YOU willing to venture into so that future generations will benefit from it?  What legacy will you leave for them to carry on? 

Living an "Un" Life

I am having a serious case of the “uns” these days.

Unsatisfied.

Unfulfilled.

Undesirable.

You name it and I feel “un” it.

I’ve never had particularly high self-esteem, so when I start feeling even one of these things coming on, it seems like a whole slew of them rush right in and link themselves to one another, forming a mighty chain that holds me prisoner.

A speaker at my church recently said,

“Your perspective is your reality.”

I had to think about that for more than a minute.

She didn’t say your perspective IS reality…thank goodness for that.

She didn’t say that someone else’s perspective is reality (yours or otherwise)…thank goodness for that, too. I’ve had enough people in my life try to push their “reality” onto me of what I should/shouldn’t be or should/shouldn’t do.

She said YOUR perspective is YOUR reality…I’m not particularly thankful for that, but it helps explain a few things. Back to the “uns”.

I began to think about my perspective of life. What am I seeing in the mirror? And why is it nearly all negative? I couldn't really come up with anything earth-shattering, so I decided to take a look at the definitions some of my “uns” from their root word:

Satisfy – to please, to gratify, to be adequate.
I feel unsatisfied – I do not feel adequate.

Fulfill – to meet the requirements of; to measure up; to develop the full potentialities of.

I feel unfilled – I do not feel like I measure up or meet my full potential.

Desirable – having pleasing qualities; attractive; worth seeking.

I feel undesirable – I do not feel pleasing, attractive, worthy.

As I re-read those things, it makes me a little sad – but mostly it makes me really mad. It makes me mad at the people in my past (particularly when I was a child) who fed me those lies as if they were truth on a daily basis. And it makes me even madder at myself as an adult for continuing to buy into those lies, allowing myself to take to heart things that, according to my belief in and relationship with God, are simply not true.

That’s not to say that I can just turn off my feelings and turn off all those messages in my head that play over and over. I’m the first one to tell you that it’s just not that easy. And anyone who tells you it is…they are in a great deal of denial themselves. There are things that you don’t just “get over” with the snap of your fingers.

My personal source of truth is, of course, my Bible.

In order for me to successfully ward off all those lies, I have to dig in and seek the truth of who I am – of who God made me to be. I have to tell myself the truth every day…maybe even every hour. I have to counter the lies and make a new perspective for myself – a new reality.

So…

To the lie that I am unsatisfied…I will seek satisfaction in the things pleasing to God, not the things pleasing to man.

For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. - 1 Sam 16:7

To the lie that I am unfulfilled…I will stop comparing myself to other people and I will stop “settling for” when things get too hard. I have been created by God to be ME and to do MY own part in His plan.

But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? - 1 Cor 12:18-19

To the lie that I am undesirable…I will remember that God chose me; God made me in His image; and God sent His only Son to die for me – because He finds me worthy; because He loves me.

He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world - Eph 1:4

So God created man in His own image - Gen 1:27

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. - John 3:16



I recognize that we all have our own beliefs and our own methods of seeking truth. I also realize that it is all too easy to just give up and give in to the lies. Seeking truth and applying it is hard work. It’s often painful work. But in the end, we become better people for it…not just for ourselves, but for the hurting and broken world around us.

In the end, there IS one “un” that I am going to work diligently to attain and keep, and that is UNCHAINED.

What lies are you believing? Will you continue to let them keep you chained? If not, what are you willing to do to be free of them?

Free Speech - At What Cost?

 

A friend of mine posted on Facebook today about a billboard she saw while driving in town. It said:

“STILL A VIRGIN? CALL FOR HELP.”

And a toll free number was provided.

Now, I have yet to hear back from my friend to see if she called the number to see exactly what it was all about, but I have to admit that at first glance it’s pretty offensive.

And that got me to thinking….again (see, I told you I do that a lot).

When does the right to free speech become TOO free?

Is there such a thing as TOO free? After all, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right? There are things out there that are positive and good – but those are not the ones that are remembered well, are they?

I know that what is offensive to me might not be to someone else and vice versa. But really…isn’t there some kind of “mainstream” set of morals out there? Something that tells even the most callous person out there that there’s something not quite right? Apparently not.

It seems like there are all these things that have seeped into our culture that have become the norm. TV shows become increasingly more offensive. Clothing retailers have pushed to the very edge and nearly beyond the boundary between advertising and pornography. Commercials for feminine products and certain “couples” products are interwoven into prime-time television.

(If you are a mom interested in trying to help make a collective stand to put a stop to some of these things, click here.)

How much more will society allow in the name of free speech/freedom of expression? And if we censor one type of free speech, do we jeopardize it all? Where is the balance? Can there even BE a balance?

What do you think?