I try not to be that girl who shares EVERY single video/piece of work my husband does, but he’s just so daggum talented that I can’t help it. It’s like he married into a built-in publicity department. This latest video of his might be one of my favorites – ok, is definitely one of my favorites! He’s had the idea for this foreverrrr so it is really cool to see it come to light. And funny story – he was actually planning on publishing a different video but ran into a roadblock, so he put this entire video together in about 4 days – including filming, editing, voiceovers, and even merch (after you watch the video, go get yourself some free Pre-Blessed Food stickers and a Pre-Blessed Food t-shirt!)
Ready for some Monday inspiration my friends? I sure am. Mondays are the hardest day of the week for me to swallow, but today I found this quote on my sister-in-law’s Facebook profile and it’s excellent brain and heart food. If you’re a believer, I think you can agree that it’s so profoundly true, I want to read it everyday for motivation.
“To be a Christian is to live dangerously, honestly, freely — to step in the name of love as if you may land on nothing, yet to keep stepping because the something that sustains you no empire can give you and no empire can take away.”
“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
- Matthew 6:34
As a self-prescribed anxiety-addict, this little bit of wisdom really jumps out at me. I like the way it’s phrased, too – emphasizing the fact that whatever will be, will be, and wasting your precious energy by worrying about things will do absolutely no good. Sometimes you just have to LET GO (and as the popular phrase says… Let God).
For the past couple of months, our church has been working through a series called What & Why – identifying what we believe and why we believe it. While we’ve delved into some particularly juicy and thought-provoking themes, I get the feeling that many of us paid a bit closer attention this past Sunday and walked away feeling like the sermon had been directed towards each of us, individually. The subject matter was something we love to love and hate, wrestle with on a daily basis, and far too often, judge others by. The issue I am speaking of is sin.
Oh what a heavy word! I have to be honest, I was worried about posting this, but I realize that being afraid to share my beliefs or things that touch me personally is a ridiculous fear to have. I am aware that we’ve all got our opinions and preconceived notions about what it means, doesn’t mean, shouldn’t mean, etc. – but I personally wanted to post the scripture we were studying on Sunday because it resonated with me and I feel it could benefit many others.
Romans 7:14-24
“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?”
While that passage might read differently to each of you, one of the things I walked away feeling was relief that, despite each of us being born with a sinful nature, God loves us anyway. Hates sin, but loves us. Not a single one of us is perfect and pure – and I think most of us are overcome by pressure to be perfect and guilt from not being able to live up to those standards. It’s in our nature to disobey. It’s by no means an excuse, but as Joseph pointed out on Sunday, sin is not a failure, sin is rebellion. There is no simple solution to break this naughty-behavior cycle for good, but I think it starts with placing your trust and faith in someone other than yourself and your common man (because we do not have the answers), with a little repentance mixed in.
But I’m not here to preach or moralize, just to share. If you’re feeling up to it, you can find the entire podcast here.
I realize the topic of faith and religion is a touchy one for many. If reading about this angers you, please just look the other way instead of making any inappropriate remarks. While I welcome any and all feedback and commentary on my blog, faith is never up for debate.
For too many Americans, Martin Luther King, Jr. day yields not much more than an “Awesome! No work today.” First of all, I’m at work today, and second of all, it frightens me that we can become so numb to the legacy of someone who gave so much of himself, and ultimately his life, to fight for basic human rights.
Paul Raushenbush, religion editor for the Huffington Post, published a great piece today about whether or not the same kind of progress is possible today, and the importance of not ignoring King’s Christian faith when celebrating his great work. And I quote:
“Celebrating MLK day without acknowledging religion is as it is like admiring the exterior of the car without understanding the fuel and engine that makes it go. King was a Christian minister who had faith that God cared not only about the souls of the people but also cared about their bodies and the conditions in which they lived. King said: “The gospel at its best deals with the whole man. Not only his soul but his body, not only his spiritual well being but his material well-being. Any religion that professes to be concerned about the souls of men and is not concerned about the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion awaiting burial.”"
This is a man who had his heart in the right place, for all the right reasons. Please take some time today to read about his life and honor him by helping someone else.
Take a minute to read through – even if you’re not a Christian, it still puts King’s movement and the way he changed the world in perspective.
I don’t know about you, but Christmas is my favorite holiday, hands down. Yet year after year, without fail, I spend more time stressing over what gifts to get who, how I’m going to afford it all, how I’m going to ship it all, and how I can manage to squeeze every last drop of free time out of my vacation days. This year, I’m….
I am SO on the same page as the Advent Conspiracy folks, shifting our focus from gifts, shopping and (down the road) bills and to sloooowing down, spending time with our loved ones, REALLY giving back to those in need around the world and in your community, cherishing the season and really celebrating the TRUE meaning of the holiday.
See what I mean:
“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.”
-Hamilton Wright Mabie
There is a lot going on today, but I want to take a quick second to post something (and to help me keep things in perspective). I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, and though I’ve read a lot of things worthy of quoting, this really stood out as I was listening to Francis Chan’s Crazy Love on the way to work this morning.
“God exists outside of time, and since we are within time, there is no way we will ever totally grasp that concept. Not being able to fully understand God is frustrating, but it is ridiculous for us to think we have the right to limit God to something we’re capable of comprehending. What a stunted, insignificant God that would be. If my mind is the size of a soda can, and God is the size of all the oceans, it would be stupid for me to say that he is only the small amount of water I can scoop in to my little can. God is so much bigger, so far beyond our time-encased, air-food-sleep dependant lives.”
well hello
Wonderful, you found my blog! I'm Sarah, a writer, runner, RVT student, believer, lover of pretty things (and cats.) I'm also a newlywed, which I'm finding quite enjoyable. To learn more about me, just click here. I hope my blog brings you a little bit (or a lotta bit) of happiness today.
