WWJD or WWIWMDTD?

What kinds of questions do people ask themselves when trying to make hard decisions in life? Is there one you ask yourself? The most common I can think of is, "What would Jesus do?" For me, when I ask myself WWJD, an image of Jesus with His disciples in early AD fashion comes to mind. I totally get the quote, and think it's a good thing, don't get me wrong, but it just doesn't have quite the relevant effect it should for me personally.

The question that I ask myself (only when I want to know the real answer) is, "What would I want my daughters to do?" Sounds like a weird question, but the truth is other than my husband, there is no one on this earth that I love more. I would literally die for them.

"Let her sleep for when she wakes, she will move mountains." That is an amazing quote that I truly believe within the depths of my soul for both of my daughters. God will move mountains through these girls, and He plans to do the same through me.

What would I want my daughters to do when they are my age if they were faced with the same decision?

What question do you ask yourself?

What are Your Dreams?

What are your dreams?

Dreams are such because they are outside the realm of our reality. If it is reality, it's not a dream. Dreams come true, when we proactively go against all odds and pursue them. Pursue your dreams, they will not pursue you. You have to start by running toward them. You will never feel ready! It's in your hands, stop waiting, and make your dreams a reality!

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." Ephesians 4:20

"Dirty" Conversations with Youth

We have been having a lot of "dirty" conversations during Elevate (northviewcc.com's youth group) over the last week!! Now get your mind out of the gutter people!!!! :) We are talking Matthew 13:1-9 & 18-23 soil here!!! Yep, I know that the only reason you are reading this blog was because you weren't thinking actual soil!! ;)

Okay, really, we have been taking an in depth look at "The Sower and the Seed" parable. Click here to read it for yourself.

First of all, we have to remember that Jesus himself actually gave this message, so it must be worth taking a look at. We read his words, and then, during our small groups, asked each other "What soil are you?" and "Where do you want to be spiritually?" It was amazingly refreshing to hear the honest answers of these students. They allowed themselves to be so vulnerable to God and each other. We also asked questions like, "What is choking your spiritual life?" and "What are ways that you can get from where you are to where you want to be spiritually?"

My answers, sparked this post. Here they are:

What soil are you? I feel like I am the good soil. I am growing spiritually, reading my Bible, constantly asking for guidance, BUT....there's always a but... I definitely have thorny soil tendencies!!!

What is choking your spiritual life? My spiritual life tends to drift because of, well mostly, TIME!!! I want to do sooooo much, and there are only so many hours in a day. The overwhelming feeling of trying to conquer the world, combined with the chaos life seems to bring, can really be suffocating to one's spiritual life!!

How can you get from where you are to where you want to be? My answer is FOCUS. First things first, I need to do some weeding. I always fall in this trap of wanting to be all things to all people, and to be honest, I suck at it. For example, it is so hard for me to "go black" because people might need me right away, and I tend to say "yes" to way too much because I sincerely want to help!! When I do say "no," I still find myself worrying that I've upset the person I've said "no" to. Urg, I think this is a battle that I will face my entire life, but it's one worth fighting!!

The second part of my answer to this question is that I connect with God through journaling and writing. I am pretty disciplined when it comes to reading The Word, but when it comes to reflecting and connecting, it's hit or miss for me. He speaks to me through a pen. Seriously, I'm not kooky here people!! Okay, that might be debatable!! :) I'm not only talking about writing my thoughts and prayers out to him, I mean, I feel like he is opening up my mind and showing me things as I am writing this blog. Any visions or dreams that have come to light, from him through me, have been spilled out onto paper through my pen (or keyboard) first.

So....in all of this "dirty" talk, here is what I am challenging myself to do:
-journal every day
-blog twice a week (or more)
-write out my priorities, passions & dreams
-write out a plan to put those priorities, passions, & dreams into action
-put that plan into action

Alright, enough "dirty talk!"

Is My Focus Solely Lateral?

I've been reading "The Story" and it strikes me particularly at how much God uses generations of families to tell His Story! It is so important to invest in our families because it will impact future generations!

I think that when most people feel a calling to positively impact people, we tend to look at our purpose and the world so laterally (the present), but by investing in your own personal family, you are making a huge vertical impact on hundreds and thousands of people ahead, in the future.

It's also cool to see how God used the most messed up families possible! When you start shaking your head at your back-stabbing, murderous, cheating brother, remember the grace that God had on murderers like David and Moses. Not only did He have grace, but He fulfilled His purpose in miraculous ways through their lives.

So, I need to figure out if I am doing everything I can for those that I love and influence the very most in this world!! My family!!!

"Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz..."

So...why did I start this blog in the first place? I think I started it more out of frustration than anything else. I am always on the move, I was literally stuck in my chair because of my broken ankle with no outlet. This blog was a creative outlet I needed to get through that time in my life.

So...here I am again, finding myself frustrated. My foot is not literally propped up anymore, but I can feel that squirmy or unsettled feeling in the depths of my soul that my "foot is propped up!" I'm really wanting to get up off that couch!! The problem is, I don't know what couch I'm on, and how, when, or where I'm supposed to get up and go if I come to a standing position.

So...all of that to say that I think these unsettled feelings disguise themselves as frustration because I have no way to express them. I'm lonely in my ideas and thoughts. What I'm hoping, is that by creatively expressing myself, I'll be able to figure things out in a creative and positive way.

So...I really don't care if this is even read by another human being, it just feels good to throw up on my computer monitor, and heck, maybe someone will read this and understand what I mean. Maybe, just maybe, I am not completely crazy and someone else gets me!! Bonus!!!

So...Over the next few days and weeks, I am going to throw up on this screen and figure things out. All of these thoughts that are constantly swimming in my brain will be puked on my computer monitor.

And...My prayer and hope is that I'll be singing "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is" at the top of my lungs at some point in this blogging journey!!!