I know what you're thinking.
"I have to get that done."
"This has been on my list all week."
"They're really counting on me to finish that."
"I don't have time for this."
Stop.
Breathe.
Slow in, release out.
You are alive!!
Can you feel your heartbeat? What about the oxygen coming through your throat and filling your lungs? The nerves in your fingers. The slight cramp in your foot.
Take inventory. Just five minutes. What do you feel?
Do you feel alive yet?
Ladies and gents, you have been given the gift of life. You are alive today. And yes, being alive means you have a purpose. You have things to accomplish. But don't let the needs of your checklist overshadow your need to appreciate the beauty of the life God has given you. This body you're in: it is marvelous. Is it perfect? No. You may not look the way you want to, there may be parts of you that don't function as they should, or as they used to, but your body has done wondrous things nonetheless.
One of my favorite YouTube stars, Kid President, once said, "Being a person is hard sometimes. You should give people high fives for just getting out of bed." So here I am, giving you a high five. Maybe you didn't even get out of bed, I don't know. But I do know that you are alive. You are in the middle of this crazy, chaotic, occasionally crummy thing called life. You're living it!! You may be thinking, "I don't know how I will be able to manage this work schedule." Or maybe you're thinking, "I can't keep doing this." But I'll let you in on a secret....
You ready?
You already are. You're already doing it. You're already managing it to the best of your ability. No one expects you to handle things perfectly. Okay, you're right. Maybe you expect that. But you shouldn't. You're already doing so much. I promise, you're doing great. Keep up the good work!
I hereby formally give you permission to take five minutes today to simply feel life. Turn the phone off, no music or television, turn off the internet. Just five minutes! Recognize the silence. Appreciate stillness. Feel your breath- imagine the perfect creator who made that possible.
Just....
Breathe.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
"I Got This!" The Follow-Up -Kat
This follow-up is long awaited, I'm sure..
A few weeks ago, I posted my struggle with trusting God. I asked for prayers and advice on how to continue trusting when things don't make sense. What I got in response was..... not exactly what I was expecting. I got a lot of prayer, a lot of support, but I didn't get a whole lot of feedback. I'm not complaining! I don't know that any feedback really would've helped. But I thought if I asked for advice someone would have magical words of epiphanic proportions. (Spoiler alert: it didn't happen that way.)
So I continued praying and struggling and trying really hard to trust the God who promised not to let me down. I was feeling so lost. What was I supposed to do?
Then, it hit me. It was like a reenactment of David's stone hitting Goliath's forehead. How could I have missed it!?
In November, just after my baptism, I was gifted a CD with songs of worship and dedication on it. One song stuck out at me and upon the third time of hearing it I had one of the biggest epiphanies of my lifetime. The song talks about walking across oceans of faith. I sent this massive message to my best friend explaining to him how I'd finally found words to explain to him something I'd been trying to tell him all along. It went something like this:
"I know that we have repeatedly been over this and my answers to you never change. I'm always telling you that you're not alone and you say you know that but you're basically alone and I've told you several times that you're not. And I don't exactly think I've changed my position on that. But I have changed perspectives. I was given a mix CD and I heard one of the songs on there (a beautiful song) several times and I think it applies to what I was trying to tell you.
You remember when Peter was walking on the water to meet Jesus?(Matthew 14, it looks like) From our understanding, Peter always chased after life. He was always the first to jump to action. Impulsive, he always seemed to get himself into trouble eating his own words. But the thing is, He was impulsive because he trusted. Stepping out on that water, he trusted Jesus. And Jesus didn't let him sink because he trusted. It wasn't until he stopped trusting that he sank. Peter was alone. There wasn't anyone else on that water with him. So in that sense, you're right. You are alone. BUT Peter wasn't alone. Because he couldn't have done that on his own. It wasn't until he let himself think he was alone that he started to sink. The opening line of that song says, 'You call me out upon the waters, the great unknown where feet may fail.' God does call us to go out on our own, but not to be alone. He calls us to go out so we can realize we're not alone. He needs us to trust Him. 'Your sovereign hand Will be my guide Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me You've never failed and You won't start now.' 'Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders Let me walk upon the waters Wherever You would call me Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander And my faith will be made stronger In the presence of my Savior.' My prayer for you has always been that you would trust God. And that's what I'm continuing to pray. I pray you jump into the sea. I know you're really struggling with your decisions. But I believe the Spirit is jumping around in you trying to make you jump into action. I pray you let it guide you and know that you're not alone."
I sent that message about two months before I wrote "I've Got This." Maybe a week after writing that post, I was listening to a playlist on shuffle and the same song came up. It was like a flood of realization washing over me (or, like I said, David's stone hitting me square in the middle of my face). I realized that was exactly the advice I needed to hear and it all came from my own mouth about two months before.
I was freaking out because I felt like I was drowning. And truthfully, I was. I wasn't looking to Jesus to carry me, I was looking around at the water I shouldn't have been walking on and that's when I started to sink. I had stopped trusting God's guidance because I thought I needed to know, and plan, what I was doing with my life.
That's just not how it works.
You see, we really can't plan. We can't expect to know what we will get out of life. We can't expect to understand. We have to trust. And trusting God means nothing more than looking to Him. Things around us won't always make sense when God calls us out for His purpose. Do you think it made sense that Peter walked on liquid water? Did it make sense that Jesus literally stilled a raging storm with his voice? Did it make sense that the Christ, who had just been killed 3 days prior was no longer in his tomb?
It made no sense to us, but it made perfect sense to God. It still worked. So my advise to myself? Don't try to make sense of everything. Look to Jesus, not the water you're impossibly walking on. Trust that God's not going to drown you with the waters He's called you to. Know your Father, your Savior, has a far more beautiful plan for your life than you could ever imagine for yourself. Everything doesn't need an explanation, everything doesn't need to be in your control; what would you do with that control anyways?
I pray the same trust on the ladies who read this. I hope you're all learning to walk with God, to lean on Him and to do crazy, impossible things because He has made you able.
Love you sisters!
Kat
"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV)
A few weeks ago, I posted my struggle with trusting God. I asked for prayers and advice on how to continue trusting when things don't make sense. What I got in response was..... not exactly what I was expecting. I got a lot of prayer, a lot of support, but I didn't get a whole lot of feedback. I'm not complaining! I don't know that any feedback really would've helped. But I thought if I asked for advice someone would have magical words of epiphanic proportions. (Spoiler alert: it didn't happen that way.)
So I continued praying and struggling and trying really hard to trust the God who promised not to let me down. I was feeling so lost. What was I supposed to do?
Then, it hit me. It was like a reenactment of David's stone hitting Goliath's forehead. How could I have missed it!?
In November, just after my baptism, I was gifted a CD with songs of worship and dedication on it. One song stuck out at me and upon the third time of hearing it I had one of the biggest epiphanies of my lifetime. The song talks about walking across oceans of faith. I sent this massive message to my best friend explaining to him how I'd finally found words to explain to him something I'd been trying to tell him all along. It went something like this:
"I know that we have repeatedly been over this and my answers to you never change. I'm always telling you that you're not alone and you say you know that but you're basically alone and I've told you several times that you're not. And I don't exactly think I've changed my position on that. But I have changed perspectives. I was given a mix CD and I heard one of the songs on there (a beautiful song) several times and I think it applies to what I was trying to tell you.
You remember when Peter was walking on the water to meet Jesus?(Matthew 14, it looks like) From our understanding, Peter always chased after life. He was always the first to jump to action. Impulsive, he always seemed to get himself into trouble eating his own words. But the thing is, He was impulsive because he trusted. Stepping out on that water, he trusted Jesus. And Jesus didn't let him sink because he trusted. It wasn't until he stopped trusting that he sank. Peter was alone. There wasn't anyone else on that water with him. So in that sense, you're right. You are alone. BUT Peter wasn't alone. Because he couldn't have done that on his own. It wasn't until he let himself think he was alone that he started to sink. The opening line of that song says, 'You call me out upon the waters, the great unknown where feet may fail.' God does call us to go out on our own, but not to be alone. He calls us to go out so we can realize we're not alone. He needs us to trust Him. 'Your sovereign hand Will be my guide Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me You've never failed and You won't start now.' 'Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders Let me walk upon the waters Wherever You would call me Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander And my faith will be made stronger In the presence of my Savior.' My prayer for you has always been that you would trust God. And that's what I'm continuing to pray. I pray you jump into the sea. I know you're really struggling with your decisions. But I believe the Spirit is jumping around in you trying to make you jump into action. I pray you let it guide you and know that you're not alone."
I sent that message about two months before I wrote "I've Got This." Maybe a week after writing that post, I was listening to a playlist on shuffle and the same song came up. It was like a flood of realization washing over me (or, like I said, David's stone hitting me square in the middle of my face). I realized that was exactly the advice I needed to hear and it all came from my own mouth about two months before.
I was freaking out because I felt like I was drowning. And truthfully, I was. I wasn't looking to Jesus to carry me, I was looking around at the water I shouldn't have been walking on and that's when I started to sink. I had stopped trusting God's guidance because I thought I needed to know, and plan, what I was doing with my life.
That's just not how it works.
You see, we really can't plan. We can't expect to know what we will get out of life. We can't expect to understand. We have to trust. And trusting God means nothing more than looking to Him. Things around us won't always make sense when God calls us out for His purpose. Do you think it made sense that Peter walked on liquid water? Did it make sense that Jesus literally stilled a raging storm with his voice? Did it make sense that the Christ, who had just been killed 3 days prior was no longer in his tomb?
It made no sense to us, but it made perfect sense to God. It still worked. So my advise to myself? Don't try to make sense of everything. Look to Jesus, not the water you're impossibly walking on. Trust that God's not going to drown you with the waters He's called you to. Know your Father, your Savior, has a far more beautiful plan for your life than you could ever imagine for yourself. Everything doesn't need an explanation, everything doesn't need to be in your control; what would you do with that control anyways?
I pray the same trust on the ladies who read this. I hope you're all learning to walk with God, to lean on Him and to do crazy, impossible things because He has made you able.
Love you sisters!
Kat
"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV)
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
"I Got This!" -Kat
Beautiful, beautiful ladies!
I don't know about you, but I don't have much confidence in my physical abilities. I have always been the clumsy, trip over my big toe, cry about the splinter in my pinky kind of person. I'm not sure when that started exactly because I've always been pretty independent. There was this one time in elementary school my brother, sister and I were playing with the neighborhood kids and my little sister decided she didn't want the training wheels on her bike anymore. All of us kids decided to work together to get the wheels off and I distinctly told the boy from across the street that "Even though I'm a girl I am capable of taking these wheels off." And boy, I have never seen him as shocked as when I said that to him, haha!
See, I'm not exactly timid. I know I can do things. But when it comes to sports (even pick-up games), physical activities or possibly life-threatening situations, my instinct is to say, "Absolutely not! I can't handle that. It's impossible." Spending time outdoors is my love. There is literally nothing in this world (aside from the time I spend with God) that calms me more than a quiet, still moment beneath the trees. I don't even usually care if the grass is wet- if I'm outside that's where I'm sitting. But ask me to go on a hike. I dare ya. My immediate thought: "That sounds so amazing! But I don't think I can do it. I'm really out of shape, my body's not used to that. I'm gonna be embarrassed if we go for that hike." And what I tell you is, "Wow, that sounds awesome! But maybe another time would be better."
So, imagine my surprise a few months ago when I wound up on the rock-climbing wall. Yeah. "What happened!?" My social club went on a retreat a little while ago and we went to a rock-climbing fitness center. I swore up-and-down that I wasn't really interested in rock-climbing. Truth-be-told, I sort of wanted to try it! But I knew I wasn't going to be able to do it. It wasn't that I was scared, I just didn't believe in my ability to climb the wall. ("My arms are too weak for that. I weigh too much, I'm not going to be able to lift myself." Yada yada.)
Long story short, I found myself on that wall. I had the harness on, I was buckled in, and my friends were sending me all sorts of good vibes. This was what they told us when they gave us the harnesses: "It's not that hard, just follow the rocks with the colored sticker. When you get to the top you can just jump. These chords will hold you. You're not going to fall." And I really did trust them. I trusted that the rocks weren't out to get me, I trusted that the chord wouldn't drop me.
I got to work. Left hand goes on this rock, right hand on the next. Left foot-right foot... I felt sort of like a four-legged spider climbing up a wall. There was a system and I sort of had it! I knew the goal and I could see, pretty clearly, how to get there. So the whole way up, I was solid. I felt great! In the zone-nothing was going to stop me! Until I got about half-way up. I was pretty much right in the middle of the wall when it hit me. "I don't know which rock to grab next..." That's all it took and then panic-mode ensued. I started doubting myself again. At that point I knew I had to let go of the wall. This is the part where you trust the chord and just jump. But I was frozen. I couldn't do it! I knew it wouldn't drop me, logically speaking I really wasn't afraid. But if you'd asked the muscles in my body, they'd have told you they were preparing to hold on for days. For them, death was certainly waiting for me if I let go of that wall. It was so bad I couldn't jump right away. I tried to climb back down first! (Hint: You can't do that...) When I climbed down as far as I could, then I jumped. And guess what: surprise, surprise! I didn't die!!
My physical body and my mental body were in two completely different places as I climbed that wall. My mental body was so chill: it was just like, "Yeah, man! Look at us go! We're so on it! Woo hoo!!" But physically, my body was like, "Hold up. I don't know what that silly brain of yours says but we don't like this idea. Since we don't like it, we are voting on a veto and we've decided not to participate. Good luck!!" I truly believe this is how our trust in God works.
Spiritually, a lot of us are really ready! We are ready to trust Him, ready for Him to throw us out into the water, ready to be upheld by His hand. And physically, when we can see our path we are on fire! No distractions. We see God's plan and we go for it full-force! But when we reach the part where the road winds and we can't see what the next step is (or even better, we see the next step but don't believe we can reach it) we panic and we give up. Our spirits say, "I am a servant to the God almighty. All things are possible through Him- He is the maker of the universe and nothing could ever stop Him!!" But physically we say,"Actually, on second thought, this isn't possible at all. There's no way I can pull this off. That's great God can do all that stuff but I'm just gonna sit here and let Him do something if He wants to. He doesn't really need me. He's not actually going to use me, anyways. That's Old Testament-y stuff."
I'm about 98% certain I'm not qualified to be telling you ladies this right now. My trust in God's ability to guide my life has never, ever been as low as it is right this moment. As I'm sitting here typing this, I'm struggling more than ever with this. God has asked me to stop. Stop planning, stop working, stop doing, and just start being where He wants me to be. He is making me wait. Making me stop running, and start breathing. He doesn't want me working all day long to the point I can't even stop to take inventory. I love being that busy. I love being silent, but ask me to be still and I'm going to complain about it. And He has asked me to be still.
The truth is, I am far less ready to trust Him than I think I am. Most of the time, I will tell anybody who asks, "Trust God! He can and will make every situation into the best. There is nothing God can do better than turn a bad situation into a good one." But now that He's asked me to trust Him in the stillness I'm freaking out. I don't know how to listen to Him, all I know is I'm not happy with where He has put me. I'm a spiritual being, ready to take the world on as God pushes me forward, stuck in a physical world, not able to see what's going to happen in the future or what my "best choice of action" is. I have the uncanny ability to see all the possibilities and see the good and bad in whatever I choose-- but you ask me to choose and I freeze up because "I don't know which one is better."
How do we stop letting the physical world crush our spirits? I could post countless scriptures telling us to trust Him. Here are just a few:
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (Trust God even when you don't understand?)
Galatians 3:6, 9 "..just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'..So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith." (Who could ask to be more blessed than Abraham??)
Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Even right now??)
The songs we (I) grew up singing:
"Be still and know that God is real. He leads me beside the quiet waters; I am still and I know God is real."
"Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."
"I stand to praise you, but I fall to my knees. My spirit is willing but my flesh is so weak. Light the fire in my soul; fan the flames, make me whole. Lord, You know where I am so light the fire in my heart again."
"When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well with my soul."
I know all of these verses, all of these songs and I can truly say I believe them. My spirit is so strong, so willing, but my flesh is so so so week. How do we go about making this more than just a spiritual strength?
I pray that you ladies might be praying with me over this. I wouldn't normally be here reaching out for prayers. But if there's one place I can seek them, why not from you? After all, we are each other's support systems, are we not?
As always, I am praying over your weeks, sisters. I pray you see the lights at the end of your tunnels, the reasons for celebrations, and the opportunities to change your neighbors' lives. I love each and every one of you as much as I did when we first started on this blogging journey together.
God bless,
Kat
I don't know about you, but I don't have much confidence in my physical abilities. I have always been the clumsy, trip over my big toe, cry about the splinter in my pinky kind of person. I'm not sure when that started exactly because I've always been pretty independent. There was this one time in elementary school my brother, sister and I were playing with the neighborhood kids and my little sister decided she didn't want the training wheels on her bike anymore. All of us kids decided to work together to get the wheels off and I distinctly told the boy from across the street that "Even though I'm a girl I am capable of taking these wheels off." And boy, I have never seen him as shocked as when I said that to him, haha!
See, I'm not exactly timid. I know I can do things. But when it comes to sports (even pick-up games), physical activities or possibly life-threatening situations, my instinct is to say, "Absolutely not! I can't handle that. It's impossible." Spending time outdoors is my love. There is literally nothing in this world (aside from the time I spend with God) that calms me more than a quiet, still moment beneath the trees. I don't even usually care if the grass is wet- if I'm outside that's where I'm sitting. But ask me to go on a hike. I dare ya. My immediate thought: "That sounds so amazing! But I don't think I can do it. I'm really out of shape, my body's not used to that. I'm gonna be embarrassed if we go for that hike." And what I tell you is, "Wow, that sounds awesome! But maybe another time would be better."
So, imagine my surprise a few months ago when I wound up on the rock-climbing wall. Yeah. "What happened!?" My social club went on a retreat a little while ago and we went to a rock-climbing fitness center. I swore up-and-down that I wasn't really interested in rock-climbing. Truth-be-told, I sort of wanted to try it! But I knew I wasn't going to be able to do it. It wasn't that I was scared, I just didn't believe in my ability to climb the wall. ("My arms are too weak for that. I weigh too much, I'm not going to be able to lift myself." Yada yada.)
Long story short, I found myself on that wall. I had the harness on, I was buckled in, and my friends were sending me all sorts of good vibes. This was what they told us when they gave us the harnesses: "It's not that hard, just follow the rocks with the colored sticker. When you get to the top you can just jump. These chords will hold you. You're not going to fall." And I really did trust them. I trusted that the rocks weren't out to get me, I trusted that the chord wouldn't drop me.
I got to work. Left hand goes on this rock, right hand on the next. Left foot-right foot... I felt sort of like a four-legged spider climbing up a wall. There was a system and I sort of had it! I knew the goal and I could see, pretty clearly, how to get there. So the whole way up, I was solid. I felt great! In the zone-nothing was going to stop me! Until I got about half-way up. I was pretty much right in the middle of the wall when it hit me. "I don't know which rock to grab next..." That's all it took and then panic-mode ensued. I started doubting myself again. At that point I knew I had to let go of the wall. This is the part where you trust the chord and just jump. But I was frozen. I couldn't do it! I knew it wouldn't drop me, logically speaking I really wasn't afraid. But if you'd asked the muscles in my body, they'd have told you they were preparing to hold on for days. For them, death was certainly waiting for me if I let go of that wall. It was so bad I couldn't jump right away. I tried to climb back down first! (Hint: You can't do that...) When I climbed down as far as I could, then I jumped. And guess what: surprise, surprise! I didn't die!!
My physical body and my mental body were in two completely different places as I climbed that wall. My mental body was so chill: it was just like, "Yeah, man! Look at us go! We're so on it! Woo hoo!!" But physically, my body was like, "Hold up. I don't know what that silly brain of yours says but we don't like this idea. Since we don't like it, we are voting on a veto and we've decided not to participate. Good luck!!" I truly believe this is how our trust in God works.
Spiritually, a lot of us are really ready! We are ready to trust Him, ready for Him to throw us out into the water, ready to be upheld by His hand. And physically, when we can see our path we are on fire! No distractions. We see God's plan and we go for it full-force! But when we reach the part where the road winds and we can't see what the next step is (or even better, we see the next step but don't believe we can reach it) we panic and we give up. Our spirits say, "I am a servant to the God almighty. All things are possible through Him- He is the maker of the universe and nothing could ever stop Him!!" But physically we say,"Actually, on second thought, this isn't possible at all. There's no way I can pull this off. That's great God can do all that stuff but I'm just gonna sit here and let Him do something if He wants to. He doesn't really need me. He's not actually going to use me, anyways. That's Old Testament-y stuff."
I'm about 98% certain I'm not qualified to be telling you ladies this right now. My trust in God's ability to guide my life has never, ever been as low as it is right this moment. As I'm sitting here typing this, I'm struggling more than ever with this. God has asked me to stop. Stop planning, stop working, stop doing, and just start being where He wants me to be. He is making me wait. Making me stop running, and start breathing. He doesn't want me working all day long to the point I can't even stop to take inventory. I love being that busy. I love being silent, but ask me to be still and I'm going to complain about it. And He has asked me to be still.
The truth is, I am far less ready to trust Him than I think I am. Most of the time, I will tell anybody who asks, "Trust God! He can and will make every situation into the best. There is nothing God can do better than turn a bad situation into a good one." But now that He's asked me to trust Him in the stillness I'm freaking out. I don't know how to listen to Him, all I know is I'm not happy with where He has put me. I'm a spiritual being, ready to take the world on as God pushes me forward, stuck in a physical world, not able to see what's going to happen in the future or what my "best choice of action" is. I have the uncanny ability to see all the possibilities and see the good and bad in whatever I choose-- but you ask me to choose and I freeze up because "I don't know which one is better."
How do we stop letting the physical world crush our spirits? I could post countless scriptures telling us to trust Him. Here are just a few:
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (Trust God even when you don't understand?)
Galatians 3:6, 9 "..just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness'..So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith." (Who could ask to be more blessed than Abraham??)
Romans 8:28 "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Even right now??)
The songs we (I) grew up singing:
"Be still and know that God is real. He leads me beside the quiet waters; I am still and I know God is real."
"Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."
"I stand to praise you, but I fall to my knees. My spirit is willing but my flesh is so weak. Light the fire in my soul; fan the flames, make me whole. Lord, You know where I am so light the fire in my heart again."
"When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well with my soul."
I know all of these verses, all of these songs and I can truly say I believe them. My spirit is so strong, so willing, but my flesh is so so so week. How do we go about making this more than just a spiritual strength?
I pray that you ladies might be praying with me over this. I wouldn't normally be here reaching out for prayers. But if there's one place I can seek them, why not from you? After all, we are each other's support systems, are we not?
As always, I am praying over your weeks, sisters. I pray you see the lights at the end of your tunnels, the reasons for celebrations, and the opportunities to change your neighbors' lives. I love each and every one of you as much as I did when we first started on this blogging journey together.
God bless,
Kat
Monday, January 5, 2015
A New Year, A New You! Or Something.. -Kat
Ladies.. I've been so distant from this blog!
Do y'all remember the days when I posted every week? *sigh* Those, my friends, those were the good days! I remember sitting in front of my laptop screen, a Bible in my lap and a steaming cup of coffee in my hand. I miss it!
For me, writing is my thinking time. The busier I am, the more I need that time to think but as of late, I've had to find ways to think sans written word. That's been difficult for me. I've missed you all so much! I know, realistically there are maybe three of you. But hey! Let me have my moment, okay? ;)
So, it's the new year. Yay! Just as it is every year, all the marketing right now is aimed at "Creating a new you." Have you ever thought about how desperately we need a "new" self? I don't think I know a single person (at least, not personally) who wouldn't admit they're flawed. We all have our stuff, right?
Having a self-awareness is so important. We don't need to beat ourselves up all the time, but I think it's healthy to know where you're strong and where you're weak. This goes for health, attitude, social skills and spirituality. I could rattle off for you an extensive list of all the things I still have to work on but you know what? I can also list for you all the things I have worked on! I can tell you (quite proudly!) how far I've come. And I don't know which I'm more grateful for- the fact I have come so far or the fact I can recognize it! For years, my self-awareness was skewed: I had no idea what I was good at, all I could tell you was what needed work. So the simple fact I can recognize good in myself is something I couldn't be more thankful for!
The thing is, we need to be mindful that no matter what we work to fix, we know which things really matter. It's really spectacular that I've started working out (yoga counts, right??) and I believe I've gotten healthier because of it. It's awesome that I've learned how to spend time on my own without going into major freak out mode (social anxiety is fun...not.). But you know what I'm most proud of? I'm studying my Bible every day. I'm learning to pray. I'm learning to be thankful for every blessing of every day. I'm not anxious, I don't care much for material things, I'm training to be the woman God wants me to be.. My spirit's cup is overflowing!! Goodness, I can't wait to see where I will be a year from now! Truthfully, I am not capable of this much growth on my own..
"We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). Ladies, do you really believe that you can be a new person? Each New Year's resolution we make ends at some point, right? I think most of us have failed at trying to change at least one thing about ourselves... So can we really "walk in newness of life?"
My answer? Absolutely.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). If you've been baptized, you have been cleansed. You are a new person if Christ is your identity. The catch is, you have to let that new person come to life. The Spirit has been given to you so that it can work through you (Acts 2:38), but you have to let it! The beautiful thing is, if you give the Spirit a mile he pushes you ten. What I mean by that is, you give Him just a little bit and He will return to you more than you can possibly imagine.
Commit to being the new creation the Spirit will shape you to be. If you haven't already, talk to a mature Christian and find out about being baptized: study hard, find out what the commitment is about, and make the leap of faith. Let the "old you" pass along with the "old year," but know this is bigger than any New Year's resolution. It's a New Life's Resolution! You can be a whole new person starting now. I'm learning to let Him work through me. Will you?
I love you sisters! I look forward to talking to you all again soon!
Kat
Do y'all remember the days when I posted every week? *sigh* Those, my friends, those were the good days! I remember sitting in front of my laptop screen, a Bible in my lap and a steaming cup of coffee in my hand. I miss it!
For me, writing is my thinking time. The busier I am, the more I need that time to think but as of late, I've had to find ways to think sans written word. That's been difficult for me. I've missed you all so much! I know, realistically there are maybe three of you. But hey! Let me have my moment, okay? ;)
So, it's the new year. Yay! Just as it is every year, all the marketing right now is aimed at "Creating a new you." Have you ever thought about how desperately we need a "new" self? I don't think I know a single person (at least, not personally) who wouldn't admit they're flawed. We all have our stuff, right?
Having a self-awareness is so important. We don't need to beat ourselves up all the time, but I think it's healthy to know where you're strong and where you're weak. This goes for health, attitude, social skills and spirituality. I could rattle off for you an extensive list of all the things I still have to work on but you know what? I can also list for you all the things I have worked on! I can tell you (quite proudly!) how far I've come. And I don't know which I'm more grateful for- the fact I have come so far or the fact I can recognize it! For years, my self-awareness was skewed: I had no idea what I was good at, all I could tell you was what needed work. So the simple fact I can recognize good in myself is something I couldn't be more thankful for!
The thing is, we need to be mindful that no matter what we work to fix, we know which things really matter. It's really spectacular that I've started working out (yoga counts, right??) and I believe I've gotten healthier because of it. It's awesome that I've learned how to spend time on my own without going into major freak out mode (social anxiety is fun...not.). But you know what I'm most proud of? I'm studying my Bible every day. I'm learning to pray. I'm learning to be thankful for every blessing of every day. I'm not anxious, I don't care much for material things, I'm training to be the woman God wants me to be.. My spirit's cup is overflowing!! Goodness, I can't wait to see where I will be a year from now! Truthfully, I am not capable of this much growth on my own..
"We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). Ladies, do you really believe that you can be a new person? Each New Year's resolution we make ends at some point, right? I think most of us have failed at trying to change at least one thing about ourselves... So can we really "walk in newness of life?"
My answer? Absolutely.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). If you've been baptized, you have been cleansed. You are a new person if Christ is your identity. The catch is, you have to let that new person come to life. The Spirit has been given to you so that it can work through you (Acts 2:38), but you have to let it! The beautiful thing is, if you give the Spirit a mile he pushes you ten. What I mean by that is, you give Him just a little bit and He will return to you more than you can possibly imagine.
Commit to being the new creation the Spirit will shape you to be. If you haven't already, talk to a mature Christian and find out about being baptized: study hard, find out what the commitment is about, and make the leap of faith. Let the "old you" pass along with the "old year," but know this is bigger than any New Year's resolution. It's a New Life's Resolution! You can be a whole new person starting now. I'm learning to let Him work through me. Will you?
I love you sisters! I look forward to talking to you all again soon!
Kat
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)