 |
|
December 13, 2010
Falling into joy...
Susie White
I've been thinking about happiness lately...where it comes from...how do we get more of it...and what is the relationship between happiness and joy??
Growing up in the church, I was taught that there's a difference between happiness and joy...here's how it went: "Happiness is something that depends on your circumstances, but joy comes from your relationship with God, so no matter what your circumstances, you can be joyful." I can understand the thought, on some level...but to be honest, I don't really see anything in scripture to support the premise, and I'm not so sure that it describes the human experience very well. I bring it up because I'd like to de-spiritualize the whole conversation for a moment, and talk about what it might take for us to live happier...more joyful lives.
There's little question in my mind that pleasant circumstances tend to make us happy...what's wrong with that? On the other hand, I have also come to believe that happiness can be created by our own choice. I read an article by Darren Hardy today, and I liked what he had to say about the subject:
"The bottom line is this: Happiness creates. It is not derived from the outside; it is only derived from within. Happiness is a state of mind, and you can continually choose to be happy. The best way I know to live in happiness is to live in gratitude."
The Old Testament reading in church yesterday morning came from Isaiah 35, and reads, in part, this way:
"They (the people of Israel) will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will be upon their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorry and sighing will flee away."
You know what I thought when I heard this passage read? I thought,
"God's endgame is joy. Whatever is going on right now...wherever we may be on the road of life, the destination is joy."
So...if God is the parent, and we're riding in the backseat of the family mini-van, the next question might be, "Are we there yet?" And...I think...I would even go so far as to say, I believe, that God has given us the tools for joy in the here and now...
But even if we struggle to live in a state of joy and happiness in our present-day lives, eventually, gladness and joy will overtake us, because that is God's ultimate destination for us.
If you've ever experienced what it's like for a child to joyfully run up behind you and jump on your back, you have a small foretaste of what it's like for gladness and joy to overtake you... There is a childlike abandon involved in the experience of joy...it requires that we give ourselves completely to what is happy in the present moment, without worry about what comes next...whether the laundry needs doing, or the car needs fixing...we just choose, for the moment...to be happy.
I've been very sad at various points in time over the past several months...very sad...so I say these things with a deep appreciation for what it means to grieve, to experience significant loss...and to be depressed. I do not disregard the fact that life can be very hard, and indeed, very painful...but in most of our life experiences, we have much to be joyful about...much to be grateful for...and we very much have the freedom and the capacity to choose our own happiness.
Falling in love can be one of life's most wonderful experiences...certainly a source of deep joy and happiness...but falling in love with someone requires that we choose to give ourselves to the person and to the process...we have to let go of control, and make our heart available to the wave of emotion that is love...
I'm wondering today if falling into joy is something that we can also choose to give ourselves to? Can I make a decision to trust joyfulness? Can I give myself over to happiness in this present moment...and then string some moments together into a happy day?
If I had to choose a way to get there from here...I might take Darren Hardy's advice, and start a gratitude list...in this moment...on December 13, 2010...what am I grateful for? If I make a list of what is good and happy in my life right now, and then sit and stare at it for a moment...would I experience a moment of joy? Would you?
And...if having experienced even a moment of joy and gratitude...could we perhaps string together a few more moments of joy...even an hour or two...? Having made a small start on the journey toward happiness, could we build the foundation for a more joyful life?
Remember, in the end, gladness and joy is going to overtake us all, so we might as well give into it now, and just enjoy the trip.
Posted December 13, 2010
|
View
(738 Views)
|
|
|
|
December 12, 2010
He knows that we are but dust...
Susie White
As I read the scripture passages for today's daily office, it occured to me that I should say as little as possible, and use the space to highlight this incredible Psalm...I hope you'll read it slowly, carefully, and with a heart that is open to its message...and meditate today on the character and compassion of the God we serve:
Praise the Lord, o my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, o my soul, and forget none of his benefits --
Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you
with love and compassion,
Who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
The Lord works righteousness and justice for all of the oppressed.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious; slow to anger, abounding in love. He does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to how we've messed up.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who honor him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a loving father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows that we are humans, he remembers that we are but dust.
There is much to be hoped for as we read this Psalm...and our hope has good roots, reliable roots that cannot be broken apart during times of difficulty and loss. Storms come, painful winds of loss blow across the landscapes of our lives, and yet our God remains.
He is more gracious than the most gracious person you know...he is more kind and compassionate than the kindest person you know. He doesn't treat you according to how you've messed up. He doesn't treat me according to how I've messed up.
He knows. He knows you are human, he knows the limits and the broken places in your heart...he knows. And he loves you.
Posted December 12, 2010
|
View
(754 Views)
|
|
|
|
December 11, 2010
We See Through a Glass Darkly...
Susie White
In today's gospel reading, Jesus tells Peter that he's going to be tested, but that Jesus has already prayed for him...that he will be restored, once the testing is over. Peter protests this prediction vehemently, and says to Jesus:
"Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death."
According to the historical record of the gospel, before sunrise of the following morning, Peter had denied even knowing Jesus on three separate occasions, the result of which was great emotional and spiritual torment for Peter...ultimately, as Jesus had prayed, Peter was restored and forgiven, and went on to be a leader in the early church.
I have a theory about how we see ourselves...or don't see ourselves. In the gospel story, it's clear that Peter did not see himself as he truly was, and didn't recognize in himself even the capacity to betray the person who was both close friend and spiritual mentor to him. Part of the human condition is a built-in challenge as it relates to self-perception...sometimes we see ourselves as better than we really are, sometimes we see ourselves as worse than we really are...either way, our view is skewed.
In the world of psychology, there is something called Body Dysmorphic Disorder, and according to the official diagnosis, the essential feature of the disorder is a preoccupation with a defect in appearance. The defect, if there even is a defect at all, is typically minimal in relation to the person's own imagination...nevertheless, the result of the preoccupation can be miserable for the person...intensely painful, even devasting to their emotional and physical well-being. Michael Jackson comes to mind as a person who likely struggled with this ailment, and because of his inability to see himself accurately, endured years of painful, and ultimately deforming surgeries.
At the other extreme is narcissism...a condition that is characterized by a skewed perspective of oneself on the positive end of the spectrum, without a realistic understanding of one's natural human shortcomings and faults.
As I think about this inability to see ourselves accurately, it occurs to me that we all suffer from a kind of spiritual dysmorphic disorder...born out of our need to feel good about ourselves, or at the very least, to feel like we're better than the next guy, we often fail to see our spiritual, relational, or emotional shortcomings. Or, in the converse, we expend enormous amounts of energy with guilt and shame...feeling as if we are bad people who will never measure up or be "good enough."
In his first letter to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul describes it this way:
"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
We do not see ourselves, or life in general, fully. We see only in part. Paul says that someday will will know fully, even as we are known, and in the meantime, the most important character traits to get us through the journey? Faith...Hope...and most of all...Love.
The question to consider, I believe, is how do you maintain a healthy perspective...a right perspective that can keep you well grounded in reality? Psalm 139 says, "O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely."
In our relationship with God, we have one who longs to enter into our daily life...one who can help us to see ourselves with a healthy and right perspective. Outside of our relationship with God, we have available to us another incredibly powerful gift that can help us to see ourselves and life more accurately: friends.
The writer of the Proverbs says this about friends:
"Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses."
Do you have friends who you trust to know you on an intimate level? Will you allow them to speak truth into your life when your perspective is skewed? Sometimes truth spoken by a friend can wound, but we need those outside voices to help keep us on track....to help us see ourselves more accurately.
Whatever your situation today, whether you're feeling like you've got the world by the tail, or whether you're feeling whipped by life...remember that what you're seeing isn't the full picture...and perhaps a more complete perspective will come when you seek God's input, as well as the input of a trusted friend.
Posted December 11, 2010
|
View
(732 Views)
|
|
|
|
December 10, 2010
Crawl into a box, and wrap yourself up...
Susie White
What if we could wrap a box of love, and put it under the Christmas tree? What would it look like? Would it rattle if you shook it? Would it be heavy or light?
I am woefully behind on my Christmas preparations this year...there's no Christmas tree in my front room...no Christmas candles around the house....no presents wrapped, or even waiting to be wrapped! What is wrong with me??
When I was a kid, my Dad sometimes traveled for work, and periodically, my Mom would let me sleep with her while he was away...on those nights, she would tell me stories from her childhood...and one that comes to mind is Christmas. When my Mom was a young girl in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Christmas festivities didn't really begin at all until the week between December 18 and 25. During this week, the general mercantile store would add a toy department, and for just that one week...the kids would ooh and ahh over all the toys in the display window. Christmas trees went up on Christmas Eve, and often came down on the day after Christmas. It was nothing like we know today. I'm sure there's not a right and wrong about how to do Christmas, but remembering my Mom's childhood experience reminds me that it's okay if I don't have a tree up in November, and if I wait to do my shopping until the week before Christmas...it might be a good thing!
On the subject of gifts, I've had a quote in my mind since yesterday afternoon, and I can't seem to shake it:
"Love is an action, an activity. Genuine love implies commitment and the exercise of wisdom. It is the will to extend yourself for the purpose of nurturing...another's spiritual well-being..." -M. Scott Peck
How can I wrap up my love and put it under the tree this year? Can I crawl into a big box...perhaps an empty dishwasher or refrigerator box...and wrap myself up? Didn't God crawl into the box of human experience and wrap himself up as a gift to us? His gift of himself is what theologians (people who study and write about God all the time) describe as the "atonement."
In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul said it this way:
"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for us. Very rarely will anyone die for a good man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Jesus left this legacy for the small group of friends that were his closest followers while he lived here on the earth...just before he died, he said this to them:
"My command is this: Love each other in the same way that I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
I don't know how these passages impact you, but to me, it seems like it would be alot easier to pick up an iTunes gift card and put that in the Christmas box. On any given day, I feel as if I'm nowhere near the kind of spiritual maturity it requires to give of myself in the way that Jesus describes...and yet...it is the calling of everyone who follows him.
Love...the ultimate gift...how far are we willing to extend ourselves for the spiritual well-being of another? Let's allow the question to roll around in the back of our minds as we wrap our Christmas gifts this year...
Posted December 10, 2010
|
View
(759 Views)
|
|
|
|
December 09, 2010
A God Who Intervenes
Susie White
Elizabeth Edwards passed away this week, after a long battle with cancer. I watched a newsclip yesterday...a montage of interviews with her, taken over the past year or two. I cried.
I cried because I found her story poignant...sad, and yet not without hope. Part of my sadness was for Elizabeth, and the difficulties she faced in life that I have never faced...part of my sadness was for her family, and her children particularly...but more than these, my heart was saddened by how her journey had shaped her perspective of God.
In this interview, she said that the God "she has", had to change. She could no longer have a God who intervenes...though she held on to the idea of a God who saves. Perhaps the perspective is simply indicative of one who has moved beyond their hope for this life, and whose focus has moved to the power of God to save us in the life to come. I don't know...the interview provided a window to her soul of just a few moments...nothing of what it would require to truly know a person, or their heart...
Still...I found that her comments raised questions in me...questions about the God "I have"....is the God I have the same God that you have? Is our understanding of God simply the outcome of our experiences in life...our perception of whether he intervenes in our affairs, or does not? In certain Christian communities, it is not uncommon to hear this phrase: "The God of the Bible..."
And yet, more and more these days, various faith communities debate the Bible itself...how to read it, understand it, interpret it...and we can once again be left with more questions than answers. Who is the God of the Bible? Who is God? What does it mean that God intervenes in the lives of men, and does he?
I feel sure that the children, family and friends of Elizabeth Edwards are unhappy with the circumstances surrounding the end of her life...I was very unhappy with the end of my Mom's life...and yes, I experienced a crisis of my faith during those days...what use was it to pray to a God who would not intervene for my Mom? I relate to Elizabeth's perspective more than I might like to admit.
Still, under the layers of disappointment and loss, I sensed in Elizabeth Edwards a kind of hope that I can also relate to...a core belief that even when we don't feel we have a God who intervenes, we have a God who saves. And for me at least, the place I go for answers to the questions, Who is God and what is he like?....is scripture.
All through the scriptures, the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament, God is described as loving, compassionate, faithful to keep his promises, and full of goodness. The Psalmist says it more beautifully than I ever could:
"The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
I believe in a God who intervenes. I believe in the biggest intervention of all: I believe in the incarnation.
I believe in Advent....when Jesus came to dwell with us...God became a man, to show us how to live, and then to become that life in us...I believe in Advent when he comes into my life each day, in ways big and small...and I believe in the Advent that still remains...that he will come again in glory. Therefore, I proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
He intervenes, and he saves. And in this, we have hope.
Posted December 09, 2010
|
View
(768 Views)
|
|
|
|
December 07, 2010
Drawing pictures in the dirt...
Susie White
This might be a hard saying today, and where to begin...?
The Old Testament reading is from Isaiah 6, and is a quite well-known passage to those of us who have grown up in the Christian church...
"Woe is me, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!"
A modernized translation of Isaiah's lament? "I am a mess, and all the people I live with are a mess, and I'm in no condition to see or be seen by a holy and perfect God."
Likewise, I begin this blog with an acknowledgement: I am a mess. I am imperfect, broken, and rarely, if ever, live up to the version of myself that I would like to be. All of the people I live with, work with, go to church with...? They too are a mess...an imperfect, broken mess. They are rarely the people I wish they would be...or that they themselves would hope to be...and yet, here we are...all of us, living in the presence of a holy and perfect God.
What are we to do with such a vast disconnect? A chasm between the perfect and the imperfected?
Fast forward with me to the Gospel reading for today, found in the 8th chapter of the Gospel of John. The story? The woman caught in adultery, brought to Jesus by the religious leaders of that time...to be made an example of...to be stoned.
Perhaps you've read the story, or maybe not...either way, it wouldn't be hard to imagine a reaction of outrage. How dare those people! What barbarians they must have been! Perhaps you're even given to thinking, "I would never do such a thing!" Really?
Consider for a moment, Jesus' response to the crowd:
"But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, 'If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.'"
Jesus did not say, "If any of you have not committed this same sin, let him be the first to throw a stone..." No. Please don't miss this, because it is so very important! He said:
"If any of you is w-i-t-h-o-u-t sin..." Any takers? There were none.
Unsurprisingly, the story ends with all of the accusers leaving the scene...not one person stayed...not one person threw a stone. Not one.
I heard a story today about religious leaders throwing stones...I became so angry upon hearing the story...I immediately picked up some stones (verbal ones) and started throwing. Woe is me, because I am a mess, and I live among a people who are a mess.
It seems to me that there's alot of stone throwing...inside the church, and outside the church. Except for one person. Did you notice? Jesus. He's not throwing any stones at all.
If he was here with us today, drawing pictures in the dirt...he would straighten up and say to us:
"If any of you is without sin, you go right ahead and throw those stones...you just go right ahead."
And I think...just maybe...we might have a moment of insight...we might realize that we're all a mess in our own individual way...and there might be alot less stone throwing.
Posted December 07, 2010
|
View
(803 Views)
|
|
|
|
December 07, 2010
When Christmas and Grief collide...
Susie White
As I read the scriptures for today, I found there wasn't anything that spoke to me...at least not in a way that would allow me to write a blog...I went to sleep in hopes that the morning would bring a new insight, a profound inspiration of some kind...nothing came.
This morning I have to take care of some legal issues involving the probate of my Mom's will, and this "errand" reminds me that I have one foot in the Christmas season, and one foot in the camp of the grieving. This is my first time to experience the holidays with the pain of such a loss so fresh on my emotions, but I know that people all around me are experiencing the collision of Christmas joy and personal grief, so it seems important to acknowledge the reality of it.
I attended a church service on Sunday evening, a "Hanging of the Green" service where Christmas wreaths are hung, and Christmas carols are played and sung. It was a wonderful evening, and yet I cried through much of it. The songs of Christmas that my Mom loved most, and the pastor's welcome comments that referenced families gathered around the piano to sing Christmas carols...both pulled open the door of my heart, and tears rolled out. I wouldn't change the fact that I went, or the fact that I cried for much of the evening...through the tears and sadness of missing my Mom I still found a deep sense of joy in the season, and in all the memories my Mom helped to create...
When grief comes, and especially when it comes at the holiday season, it is good to know that you don't have to choose grief over joy...or joy over grief...perhaps like the prophet Isaiah says about the Lion and the Lamb, grief and joy can lay down together...it is possible to honor both, to give voice to both.
If you're grieving a loss of any kind this season, be kind to yourself...give yourself time to heal and recover, and perhaps, if you're able to bear it, give space for a little bit of Christmas joy. Giving voice to your joy will in no way dishonor your grief...but it might soften the painful edges...which could be a good thing.
Posted December 07, 2010
|
View
(773 Views)
|
|
|
|
December 05, 2010
Running the race...
Susie White
I had the opportunity to work as a volunteer for the White Rock Marathon in Dallas yesterday morning. When we arrived at our "Water Station," they had hung a banner with one of my favorite scripture verses on it:
"Run with perserverance the race marked out for you." -Hebrews 12:1
Actually, the poster only included a partial quote of a short passage that I'd like to talk about, so I'll quote the entire thing here:
"Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." -Hebrews 12:1-3
During the sermon in church, this Hebrews passage kept rolling around in my mind, and I started thinking about something I heard said on Saturday about transformation...when we talk about our lives being transformed for the better, it seems to me that we need to be clear about the distinction between what our head knows, and what our heart believes. The one is informative, the latter, transformative.... But what is the process of transformation? What does it look like and how does it happen to me?
The longer I pondered the questions, the more I found myself drawn back to the passage from Hebrews. Where do I have my sights focused, and what difference could that make, or does that make? In our spiritual life, we think in terms of "fixing our eyes" on the life to come...very much in keeping with the anticipation of Advent. The writer to the Hebrews said that Jesus ran the race, and endured the hardships...for the joy that was set before him. We need something to look forward to!
There is, I believe, a way to look for Jesus to come into our lives on a daily basis...so that we live every day as Advent...the anticipation of his coming. Even more than this, I cannot get my mind off the question of where my eyes are focused. In our physical experience, we know that where we look determines where we go. Whether you're walking, running, biking, or driving, you will inevitably move in the direction where your eyes are focused...if you look right, you will pull right...left, and likewise, you will move to your left...
In the same way, your spiritual life will pull in the direction of your focus...where you look determines where you will go. It's not for me to say which direction any of you should go, or not go...but I'd like to share one last thing for your consideration...an idea that I read on a friend's blog last week, and that has made an impression on my daily thoughts and decisions
during the past few days:
If repeated 365 days in a row, will the decisions I make today take me where I want to go?
Decisions...little ones, big ones...all of them...and, our focus of attention...left, right or center...both are taking us somewhere...in a specific direction.
We have an incredible opportunity...each of us individually, to spend the next three weeks evaluating the current direction of our focus. We can also give thought to the seemingly small and insignificant choices that we are making on a daily basis...and we can evaluate both in the light of a brand new year. 365 freshly minted days will soon become available to us...days onto which we can fashion the life that we want to live in 2011. I leave to you then, the question: which direction do you want to go?
If repeated 365 days in a row, will the decisions I make today take me where I want to go? Posted December 05, 2010
|
View
(745 Views)
|
|
|
|
December 05, 2010
Red light....green light!
Susie White
Do you remember the game "Red light...green light.."? I was thinking about it as I put my thoughts together for today's blog. I heard a speaker talk about red lights at a conference today, and it put this idea in my head about my somewhat checkered history with traffic lights.
For some...a yellow light signals the need for caution...to slow down...prepare to stop. For others however, myself included, a yellow light usually means hurry, don't let the red light catch you! Red lights are a burr in my saddle...they slow me down...keep me from where I want to go...they are, in a word: annoying!
I have a very dear friend who has listened to me gripe about red lights for more than 25 years...and has patiently endured my lectures on how to get from "Point A" to "Point B" faster, and more efficiently. She laughs at my obsession with saving 10 seconds here, or 20 seconds there...and she is right to laugh...if I was forced to give a full account of why it is so important to save 10 seconds on my way to Wal-Mart, I feel sure that my rationale would be lacking, if not completely ridiculous.
Why am I in such a hurry? I honestly don't know the answer to that, but I heard something today that might be a help...
What if we began to see every red light around town as a metaphor for those moments in life when we need to stop long enough to learn something? If you run the light, as I'm often inclined to do, you miss the lesson that is found in the waiting. Perhaps there is a specific lesson to be learned in your life, or in mine...or perhaps the lesson to be learned is the act of waiting itself. I don't wait well...do you? I have much to learn in this department, and if this simple lesson about traffic lights can help me develop my capacity to wait, it will have been worth the effort.
When next you see a yellow light, welcome the event as an opportunity for spiritual practice! Be intentional about slowing down...preparing to stop...and wait. And while you're waiting, meditate on this thought:
The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Posted December 05, 2010
|
View
(727 Views)
|
|
|
|
December 04, 2010
Clackers and kites and other fun things...
Susie White
When I was still a child...simple at heart...here are some things I loved to do:
I loved 'clackers'. They were glass balls, hanging on a piece of heavy string (mine were purple glass)...and you 'clacked' them together. I don't even know how to explain them to you, but if you know what they are...you know what I mean. My Mom disliked my clackers...alot! They were noisy...and in her opinion, unsafe.
I loved to fly kites...my favorite were called "bat kites," and I guess you can probably figure out what they looked like, without a long description. Kites are fun...adults should fly kites more often, I think.
I loved to play kickball, football, soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis, ping-pong, billiards (pool), 4-square, tetherball...do you detect a theme? If the game involved an orb (or pigskin)that I could hit, throw, kick or otherwise play with in some manner, I loved it. I still do, and I try to play as often as I can...how about you? Are you still playing games that you love? Just wondering...
I loved to play with dolls, and Barbies, and stuffed animals, and Hot Wheels. Yes, I said Hot Wheels. MatchBox Cars were okay, but Hot Wheels! Hot Wheels were way cool! They came with bright orange race tracks, and my brother and I used to have sword fights with the pieces of track...very fun!
It's that time of year again. Is anyone else old enough to remember going through the Sears catalogue at Christmas, in order to make your list for Santa? What fun! The imagination can just run wild with all the possibilities of what Santa might bring...and an imagination run wild can be a very good thing.
How is your imagination doing these days? Do you cultivate it? Not too long ago, I was encouraged to make a 'vision board.' This involves buying a $0.39 piece of poster board (maybe it costs more than $0.39 these days, I don't know for sure)...getting together some magazines, and then cutting out pictures and words that depict what you'd like your life to look like...and pasting them to the board. I used an Elmer's glue stick...not the same as the Elmer's glue we used as kids, but it works!
Creating a vision board is an excellent exercise, in my humble opinion! There is no end of possibilities for how you can select words and phrases to create the message you want for your life...and the pictures...all kinds of pictures! It is so much fun...I highly recommend it!
My vision boards (I've made 2 of them recently) contain pictures and words and phrases that inspire me, make me laugh, and give me a vision of the future I want to live. You might think I'm being silly, and to be honest, I'm just a tad nervous that you will think I'm silly...but I'll share a few things from my vision board that have inspired me...maybe you'll be inspired to make your own vision board!
"Discover your inner tango." This is one of my favorites...and it can mean whatever I want it to mean, so don't ask!
"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or a day, or an hour, or a year, but eventually it subsides and something else takes its place. If you quit however, it lasts forever." -Lance Armstrong
I don't know what you think of Lance Armstrong, but I'll say this about him - he's been through cancer that was in at least 4 of his body systems/organs, so as far as I'm concerned, he gets to say something to me about dealing with pain...and about never quitting...life is hard sometimes, but don't quit! The pain, whatever it is...eventually subsides, and something else takes its place...so keep hanging on, even when things are hard.
"It's never too late to make a difference." This is my life theme right now. I write blogs to make a difference. So far, I know for certain that I have made a difference in the life of exactly oneperson...and that's enough!
The main thing to remember...for me...for you...it's never too late to make a difference. You matter. You're making a difference for someone, somehow...somewhere. Be inspired by this all important truth - you matter.
If you've read this far, you might think I skipped the readings from the Daily Office today...but you'd be wrong about that! I read all of the passages, and this one in Psalm 116 spoke to me...about how God loves me...the childlike me...and of course, he loves the childlike you as well!
The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.
Don't ever lose touch with the simple, childlike part of your heart...remember the things you loved to do as a child...remember what it feels like to enjoy unbridled imagination...and sometime soon, invest a few bucks and a few hours of your time, and make a vision board for your life in the new year! If you make one, I'd like to hear about it...and see it. It's fun! Posted December 04, 2010
|
View
(702 Views)
|
|
| |
|
|
|