Let’s face it – girls aren’t always made of sugar and spice and everything nice. In fact, sometimes we can be downright mean. Other times we find ourselves caught up in competition with one another, being judgmental, bitter feelings, jealousy and insecurity. We Christian girls are good at hiding our hate, though. We wrap ourselves up in a nice Sunday bow, all while battling with broads in our brains. And, I truly believe we don’t want to be this way and we do our best to fight it, but we don’t have the tools to properly dig ourselves out. It is exhausting.
Continue reading “Lessons I Learned On Changing My Mind About Her”Tag Archives: front
Lessons I Learned on Hope
I heard about this experiment once, where two groups of people were asked to submerge their hands into ice water. One group was given an end time. They knew they needed to last for 5 minutes. The other group was not given any time – just hold on as long as you can.
Any guesses which group lasted the longest? You’d be right if you thought it might be the group given the amount of time they had to persevere. Not a single one lasted even close to 5 minutes from the other group.
This was an experiment on hope.
You see, when we are going through something uncomfortable, unenjoyable…even painful, we can make it through with the help of hope – that, “this too shall pass” and we know when that finish line is. When we are walking through darkness, we can keep going when there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
You guys, I’ve been feeling a little hopeless lately. There doesn’t seem to be any light at the end of this tunnel called Covid-19. My kids keep asking when they can hang out with their friends, go out for pizza…even go back to school, and my answer is always the same three words: I don’t know. And then, last night I saw it. I should have never looked and investigated (and these posts should be banned!), but I did. It was a post on Facebook claiming that according to all the news and research out there, this could be YEARS long. Yes, up to TWO YEARS (I am choosing not to believe this, BTW). I’m not even sure if I can do this another two weeks. It all feels so hopeless.
I haven’t been sleeping well. My mind keeps racing and I can’t shut it off. So, this morning, I began to journal and pray, asking God to send some hope. And you know what He told me? He said, “I already did.”
Jesus has already come for us, folks. He is our light at the end of this tunnel. And, better than that – He is going with us through the tunnel. We have hope, because we have Jesus. Suddenly, I pictured that image I so often have seen, especially surrounding Easter, of Jesus’ tomb, cracked open, with a ray of light shining through. Jesus is our ray of light. He conquered the grave, and He can conquer this. He is the hope we have in a hopeless world.
My husband reminded me the other day – when there are lots of unknowns, we cling to what we do know – we know that God tells us the truth (and not to take news outlets and FB posts as gospel truth), and that He keeps his promises. The files in my mind immediately brought me to this promise:
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11
And so, I can hold on. I’ll let Him hold my hand and warm it with His touch, during this dark, icy season. I will believe that if He can breathe life back into Himself, He can breath life into me and into this world.
So, Jesus, we need you. We always have – maybe we’re just realizing it a bit more now. Come be our hope in a seemingly hopeless time. Help us run and not grow weary, help us walk and not be faint. Lead us towards you – you are the light at the end of this tunnel, and in the midst of it.
“Those who hope in The Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run an not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” -Isaiah 40:31
Lessons I learned from my Pottery Barn couch
I learned a lot from my couch.
Yes, it’s true. That awful, ginormous hunk of ugly that is my overly expensive Pottery Barn couch. It’s the color of poop and it sits in my living room as my daily reminder that the things of this world will never satisfy…and will often disappoint.Continue reading “Lessons I learned from my Pottery Barn couch”
Lessons I learned from my gritty side steps (From Salt to Sand)
I must confess. I’m a bit of a neat freak. Well, what I really meant to say is that I can become a bit of a freak…and freak out on my children… when they ruin my “neat”. I’ll admit that my least shining mothering moments have been when the kids tear up the joint I just spent a whole day spic and spanning – in a matter of nanoseconds. It’s not pretty – the messy house, or my reaction to the messy house.Continue reading “Lessons I learned from my gritty side steps (From Salt to Sand)”
Lessons I Learned from the Hallmark Channel
Hey girls, don’t you think there’s a major shortage of wholesome Romance Movies these days!? Yes, me too! Fifty Shades and Magic Mike have taken over the big screen, and it truly stinks! Continue reading “Lessons I Learned from the Hallmark Channel”
Lessons I Learned on Watching and Listening
Lessons I Learned on Failing Forward
I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. Continue reading “Lessons I Learned on Failing Forward”
Lessons I Learned on Rejection
Rejection. It’s right up there with betrayal. There aren’t too many other more painful vibes that you can feel from people, other than their rejection. I dealt with that pain recently – not rejected by one person, but multiple people. It stings. It causes me to think “Is it me? Am I a loser? Am I unloveable? Does anyone even care?”
Continue reading “Lessons I Learned on Rejection”Lessons I Learned at the Cafeteria Table
My oldest boy had a terrible – I mean, loathsome first week of school. He transitioned to Middle School – the most traumatizing school years, according to my American friends (and Greg Heffley). Continue reading “Lessons I Learned at the Cafeteria Table”
Lessons I Learned From My Mom Fails
“Failure is success in progress” – Albert Einstein
Mom guilt is a legit thing – even when you’re doing everything right. I can literally feel guilty for both letting my children play outside in the cold (because, I’d be the worst mother ever for making them shiver) and making them stay inside in the warmth (because they aren’t getting “fresh air”). I am continually re-evaluating “Am I being too loose-goosey, or am I being too much of a helicopter mom? Which am I!? Someone tell me how to get this right!” No matter what decision we make, it seems to come right along with an addict’s dose of guilt. Mom guilt can be off the charts when we make a mistake. But listen, ladies – we will never be the perfect mom. Not even close. But, there’s someone quite capable who makes up for our deficiencies.