Work, Play and Big Words

It's Monday and I'm posting this blog. I'm going to warn you...this blog has nothing to do with anything. I'm going to start typing and see what happens. I hope you embark on this journey with me because my soul is overflowing and I'm not sure what's going to take place. So...here we go.

I remember a time when I would read big words and feel very small. Like the word itself contained more letters in it then I had years in my life. I would surely be overtaken by its vastness. There would be no surviving against such curvatures of sound and I would be lost in the eloquence of language. Then I learned that most people do not understand the words that are bigger then the years of my life and things got easier. Fear turned into being intrigued and I started to pursue a love of words, letters and sounds.

Then such a pursuit became a chore when I entered my first real English class. It was as if though someone took a needle to my ever inflating hot air balloon of ink. Words melted off pages like butter on a hot summers day and I stopped loving them. I stopped caring about their curves and the way their sounds formed melodies of meaning. My fascination with words ceased to exist. But why?

The world had told me that my love of words was no longer something to pursue out of passion, but something to pursue out of scholarly advancement. Without a complex vocabulary, my steps in life would be altered in a way that would hold me back from 'opportunity'. But how many times do we do this to the things we once loved? Where will I end up if my love of learning such words has disappeared with the ashes labor and scrutiny? I am no longer free to fail at pronunciations and entanglements. I am judged for my passion and persecuted for my adventure. This is where I realized,
Our fascinations become our obligations.
Our passions become our duties.
Our love becomes our life.

So how do we gain back that spark of romance we once had with the ink blots that twisted into sentences and sent images into our minds? We remember why we once loved them. How must we change our perspective?
Our obligations become our fascinations.
Our duties become our passions.
Our life becomes our love.

Work and play. A saying that has captured the idealistic American life for decades has never before been so mangled in a society and I say...for the better. People strive to hold a job in something they love. And then there are times that we lose that love because it has become our job. But wouldn't the opposite be true if we truly wanted it? To love words again even though I was forced to learn them? If we change our minds, we can then change our hearts. And if we once loved words we can love words again.

I'm not sure where any of this came from or how you might apply it to your life. I just feel that someone out there needed to read this and it's probably you. I guess the moral of the story is to do everything in your power to not lose something you love because it becomes work. It's one of the hardest things to accomplish in life, but frankly we were meant to accomplish it.

Where do you go at the fork in the road?

There comes a moment in everyones life that they realize that they can't possibly go on without God intervening. A moment when we absolutely have no idea where to go from here...

This is the part where we feel like we've finally gotten to a spot in our lives where we have made every right turn and every good choice. But now there's a fork in the road and a catch.

Some of the roads to the left look familiar. You've been part way down that road before but never past a certain point. The road on the right is completely new. So what do you do? Both have unknown destinations and both seem to be where God would lead.

I've learned that God aligns paths perfectly to cross and intersect. He's intricate in the way He winds our lives together to a perfect T. But I've also learned that sometimes going down a completely new road is the only way. So what to do? Go with what you know now and let it lead you or go with what you don't know and pray for the best?

There is no right answer unfortunately. It's all God and His plan. If you don't know what to do don't do anything. My Grandpa used to say that. He was right. Riding the winds of God's glory isn't a bad thing. It means that the puzzle pieces fall into place without you so much as lifting a finger. But the trick is living a life that seeks God first and foremost. Besides He's all we need.

Jeremiah 29:11

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ 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."

It's scary sometimes, hanging on the edge of reason and faith. But God doesn't always call us to be 'reasonable' ...sometimes He called us to just be faithful. Patient and with eyes looking up. The answers in His hands. Last minute decisions maybe in order but He will make it perfectly clear believe me.

God won't let you sleep at night laying on a bed of a bad decision. On the other hand when you've made the right decision it will be the best sleep you've ever had.

So I'm not saying to go with your gut, but I am saying that God makes things pretty darn clear. And when He gives you an answer, be faithful, don't second guess. Stay in Truth and be in God's love.

It's 11:21, do hard things in life.

So it's 11:21 at night and I should be sleeping but God decided to tell me to write this blog post. I haven't updated in almost two weeks and I'm sorry if you've missed my brain juice :(

I've had a lot going on these past two weeks that have caused me to doubt, become discouraged, and scream like a maniac at my ceiling. I found myself over-thinking, over-working, and wishing every time that clock hit 11:11. Your probably wondering why, well I'll tell you.

So these past two weeks I had: A nervous breakdown about camp, youth group and relationships, upsetting then not upsetting health news, boy issues, and stress leaking out of my ears. To top it all off I started getting nostalgic which is never, ever a good thing.

But God didn't call us to a life of ease. He called us to a life of purpose. I realized this week that if I'm going to chose to live a life different from the norm., I'm going to have to do hard things.

Ask yourself: When I look back on my life in 10 years, will I be satisfied with the view from the hill.?

The view from the hill is the view that everyone sees. Most peoples lives only consist of making it to the top of the hill and then enjoying the view until they pass on. These are the people who watch the others climb their way up the mountain next to the hill.

Those of us to chose to climb the mountain chose a very hard road. A road of persecution for not being 'normal' and for obeying Gods plan no matter how difficult. We stand on the top of the mountain and see everything. We see the view from the hill and beyond. We experience God's power.

So if we chose to take the hard road, what are some things we can do to balance out our lives and make sure we are climbing to the best of our abilities? Once you've even been half way up the mountain, it's hard to go back to the hill. Try explaining a breathtaking view to some people who doesn't understand you at all.

Don't leave the mountain. Press on through the hard things. The reward is far greater and God won't let you fail. And learn to manage your stress and difficulties by letting God take the reigns. Sometimes letting go of something is the hardest thing. Sometimes it's hanging on to something. Ask God, He knows.