Surviving or Living? July 1, 2008

I decided to take the girls to see the movie Wall-E today.  It was a good little flick with some cute lines.  One of my favorite lines in the movie was made by the captain when he decides to bring the humans back home to Earth.  They had grown accustomed to every day being exactly the same, day in and day out.  When the captain figures out that life on Earth is really much more exciting than their current existence, he says, “It’s not just about surviving, it’s about living.” 

Some days I feel like I’m surviving, but not really living.  A lot of times I find myself getting caught up in the things I need to do as a mom and begin to feel overwhelmed…keeping up with the never-ending piles of laundry, grocery shopping, keeping a semi-clean house, making time for the kids, exercising, making time for Barry…the list goes on and on.  Sometimes I will look back on my day and think, “What did I really do to make a difference today?”  “Did I spend enought time with each of my children?”  “Did I make an effort to reach out to someone in need?”

I don’t think God wants me to live my life feeling overwhelmed or bored with my existence.  In fact, He says here that He wants me to live an ABUNDANT life.  I believe He wants me to live abundantly in every area of my life…as a sister, daughter, friend, wife, and yes, even a mom!  (That last one is the role I’m struggling with living abundantly today!) 

I’m glad God sent me this reminder today.  He really does want me to live, not just survive!

Missed Opportunities June 1, 2008

I’ve been thinking about Byron’s message a lot today. He spoke about seeing people as Jesus saw them…harassed and helpless (Matthew 9:36).  I had been thinking about this a lot this week, even before I knew what he was going to speak about.

The other night I was at Target with my mom.  It was late, close to closing time and we were just about to check out.  We put all of our stuff on the belt and I noticed the lady in front of me was crying and very upset.  She turned to me and we made eye contact.  I wasn’t sure why she was so upset, but I was assuming it had something to do with her not being able to pay for her items.  I asked her if I could please help her and she said, “No, but thank you.” 

As she walked away, all I could think was, I have to get to her.  I didn’t know how I could help, but I felt like I needed to do something.  The cashier told me that it was the lady’s daughter’s birthday and she had spent more than she could afford and that was why she was so upset.  I gathered my items and ran out to the parking lot only to find her pulling out, going the opposite direction from where I was standing.  I was too late.

I’ve thought about that lady all week.  I don’t know her story, but I know she was hurting.  It made me realize…everybody has a story.  We don’t always know what’s going on in peoples’ lives, but God does and He cares.  Just as Jesus looked at the crowds and had compassion on them, I want to have that same compassion.  It doesn’t come naturally for me to just go up to someone and start a conversation, but I want to be intentional about looking for needs around me so that I don’t have any more missed opportunities to show the love of Christ.  There are so many needs around me and I know that I can only do so much, but this is my prayer…that I would see people as Jesus saw them, harrassed and helpless, and that I would make the most of every opportunity.

I love the chorus of a song we sang this morning:

There are things yet to come,

And there are things that are still to be done

In this city.

It was a reminder to me that there are needs ALL around me, every day, everywhere…even at Target on a Thursday night at closing time.

 

Clearing out the Clutter May 28, 2008

Yesterday Barry and I took on the dreaded task of cleaning out our garage.  It seems like we attempt this often, only to kind of push all the junk to the sides so that we can park our cars in there.  Very rarely do we actually go through what’s on the shelves and clear out the things we haven’t used in the last five years.  So, yesterday we did it.  We purged old paint cans, made a pile of things we’ll take to goodwill, we even found some things we can take back to Home Depot that had never been used…still in the bag!  Made me realize how wasteful we really are.

It also made me realize that I’m guilty of doing this not just with the junk in our garage but with the junk in my life.  I know there are things in my life that I need to purge…bad habits, activities that waste time, things that I allow to consume my thoughts.  Sometimes I’ll even admit to myself that I’ve already dealt with the junk…only for it to rear it’s ugly head once again.   Sometimes it’s easier to just push all the ”junk” to the side and ignore it.  Maybe it’s time to confront some of the junk head on, take it to the curb and leave it there! 

Most of the junk doesn’t need to be revisited.  It doesn’t deserve my time.  There’s no point in going back to it again and again and again once I’ve cleared it out.  It’s done.  Over.  Forgiven. 

Psalm 103 

12 as far as the east is from the west,
       so far has he removed our transgressions from us

I am thankful for this reminder that God gave me yesterday…even if it took cleaning out the garage for me to get it!

It’s me, it’s me! May 24, 2008

So, I finally did it.  I jumped on the bandwagon of the blogging world.  Everybody else was doing it, so I figured, why not?  My husband has been blogging for about a year now but lately has been in a blogging “funk”.  I’ve been giving him a hard time about it until I realized I really don’t have much room to talk since I don’t even have a blog of my own.  So, here I am!

A lot of my friends have started their own blogs in the last few months.  I always enjoy reading other people’s thoughts.  Sometimes funny, sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes helpful, their blogs always give me a little insight into their lives.  Hopefully I will do the same for you.

You may not find everything I have to say as entertaining or thought-provoking as I might…but I’m just sayin’…that’s all!