I remember that I am small and God is vast. From ages past, His Word brought forth the unimaginable beauty of the universe, its glories teasing us with sprays of stars and globes of light, breathtaking in the raging fire of one and cold emptiness of the other.
When I see the moon,
playing coyly behind the clouds, shimmering about their edges, I smile as I would at a child peering behind his mothers skirt. Such a simple task, to paint the white with silver strokes. Yet a noble task to break the black with cratered smile and grant the world a bit of hope.
When I see the moon,
and all its faces, I think of how quickly life passes from one star lit scene to the next. Its cycles shift from silent dark to brilliant awe, and everything between, while earth beneath and sky above remain faithful, constant in their mystery.
When I see the moon,
I think of lovers, poets, and kings, all looking heavenward to view the same expanse. United in our differences, we melt into nothingness beneath its glimmering gaze. Oceans blue part lands of green, but people cannot be seen from its rocky ridges floating high.
When I see the moon,
I am reset by the knowledge that its Creator and I have a bond unbroken by tides, and seasons, throughout untold ages yet to come. The night whispers calm my anxious heart. The echoes of light illuminate a longing for a home just beyond my breath…
Instant oatmeal is a wonder of modern technology. Just add water, microwave, and breakfast is served. I never really considered this breakfast staple in any other fashion until I recently started opting for more whole food options rather than their processed counterparts. Do you know what I learned?
Oatmeal is good.
I mean, really good. It’s good sweet with brown sugar or savory with veggies and spices. Oatmeal in my home is no longer meally and chemically tasting, but hearty and delicious, equally suitable for breakfast and dinner.
It may be a silly example, but in my quest for better health I have seen multiple correlations regarding oatmeal and other good choices in my life.
Good choices are intentional.
“Fast food” is mindless. Just grab and go. Quality food takes time to prepare and enjoy. The same is true in life. When I take time to outline and write by hand, my content is better. It’s more real and honest. It’s cleaner and more on point. When I write on screen, the temptation to publish too quickly takes over. Quality is traded for the instant gratification of feedback.
The same can be seen in art. Designers tell customers they can have something done fast, cheap, or good, but you can only pick two. Writing, design, business, parenting—whatever your focus, remember that the default choices might be easy and convenient, but the best choices are intentional and require time.
Good choices multiply.
In this small change of choosing whole foods, I have also discovered new foods that I enjoy. I’ve tried kale, fresh mango, star fruit, quinoa, goat cheese, and a number of other things. I’ve tried new recipes and new tips for food preparation. I’ve also changed my cleaning supplies to all natural choices, and some beauty products as well.
Why? Because one area of life flows into the next. Everything is connected.
This also applies to bad choices. One Netflix video can easily become five and so on. Making sure that your choices are intentional will plant seeds in many areas in your life for positive change.
Knowledge really is power…for change.
I used to think that organic options and clean living products were gimmicks to try to get people to spend more at the grocery store. But then I started learning what actually happens to our bodies when we put things on our skin and eat without guidelines. The truth propelled me to change.
This echoes my last post about what happened when I learned about sex trafficking and modern day slavery. That knowledge completely shifted my focus and even changed my life direction. I no longer look for the cheapest products at stores because I am informed on how slave labor is used in developing many of those products. Often, saving a few dollars in America costs those overseas their freedom. It’s worth it to me to spend more money on products that are being sourced ethically than to get a good deal. Knowledge fueled that change. The more I learn, the more I allow that knowledge to shape my choices, the better I am as an individual and leader.
Small changes can make a big impact.
Am I 100% consistent in making wise choices? No. Sometimes the instant oatmeal way of life wins. But I am choosing the good over the easy more and more because I want to be a woman of quality, good health, and good conscience.
As an example, I was encouraged today by a post from Humans of New York. Currently, the photographer behind the internet sensation is in Pakistan recording the lives of the people in that country. He did a series of photos on the fate of the people working in brick kilns against their will. He told his followers about Fatima, a woman fighting against all odds to bring her fellow citizens freedom. In just three days, HONY followers raised nearly $2 million dollars to help Fatima fight bonded labor in her country. One guy with one camera chose to spend one month of his summer in a foreign place. Because of his influence, he has made a huge impact on the future of those trapped in horrific conditions that would otherwise never have a way out. Little things matter.
So tell me, have you had any life impacting realizations over breakfast? If so, I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.
Also, If you are interested in supporting my ministry or taking part in my writing process, please visit my Patreon page to learn more about how you can do so.
Thank you for stopping by today! Your readership and engagement means so much.
You know that girl that is always two (or five) years behind the trend? She excitedly tells you about this amazing group she just heard and you’re not sure if you should let her enjoy her discovery or tell her that the group’s third album just went platinum and ask her for the address of the rock she’s living under. That girl is normally me, but not this time!
Yesterday I stumbled across an America’s Got Talent audition video of the comedian @TheDrewLynch. Drew took the stage last week and brought the crowd to their feet. His performance granted him the coveted #GoldenBuzzer which sends a contestant straight to the live shows at Radio City Music Hall. His routine made me laugh, but his story made me cry…big, fat, messy tears.
Four years ago Drew was a normal, 19 year old kid until a softball accident injured nerves in his vocal chords. That injury gave him a severe stutter and dramatically changed his life. Today, Drew is preparing content for a live comedy show in New York City.
There are a few elements to Drew’s story that especially touched my heart and started the water works.
He Chose Humility Over Bitterness
While waiting for his audition, Drew fights strong emotion and tells the cameraman a bit of his story.
The person I was before would probably never hang out with who I am today. I thought people were lucky if they got to talk to me. That was…[I was] a jerk.
By his own admission, Drew thought a lot of himself before the accident and acted in ways that he is ashamed of today. This incident could have further pointed Drew down a bad road, turning him into an angry, bitter, backward-focused individual. Instead he chose humility. He channeled the bad into good, allowing the difficulty to refine him into a better person.
He Has a Loving Support System
Drew attributes much of his success to his girlfriend. In the midst of his anger, she encouraged him to work through his frustrations by talking about them on stage. She also works three jobs so that he can focus on becoming a comedian.
Her quiet faithfulness behind the scenes moves me because of the correlation I see to ministry and the church. Our goal for Infusion is to create a full-service network of women helping women so those who have no support system can have the resources and encouragement they need to become the people God intended for them to be. No one reaches their full potential alone.
He Turned Tragedy Into Triumph
Everyone loves a good comeback story.They give us hope and courage. Drew shares both on and off stage that his goal is to show others that “you can turn anything to a positive.” Howie Mandel, the judge who granted Drew his golden confetti moment, said it well in his summary of Drew’s performance.
What you did is you looked for the light at the end of the darkness. And that light is your comedy. I’m telling you I haven’t been moved by an act like this up until this moment.
Howie’s comments and subsequent award of the #GoldenBuzzer brought Drew to his knees. He covered his face and released tears of what I imagine were a mixture of joy, relief, hope, and gratitude. It was thrilling to watch, but that victorious moment was only possible because he chose to keep moving toward the light.
I encourage you to take a few minutes to watch Drew’s audition via the link below. When you’re through wiping your eyes and blowing your nose, come on back and share your comments below. And don’t forget…”you can turn anything into a positive!”
Yesterday I watched a video of a commercial in which the two entrance doors of a building were labeled “beautiful” and “average.” It records how the women felt after choosing one label over another. As soon as I saw the purpose of the doors I thought, “there should be a third door labeled fat for me.” I realized in that moment that this labeling had been increasing in my thoughts and language.
I thought of three times I jokingly referred to #FatGirlProblems in the past week. I wondered if I was the only one? No, Twitter reveals #FatGirlProblems to be a popular hashtag used by many beautiful women, thin and heavy alike. Common among them was not their dress size, but the way they talked to themselves and about themselves.
For as long as I can remember I’ve been the fat girl. In fourth grade, a classmate asked me if I was big boned or just fat. In sixth grade I weighed 160 pounds. I remember thinking many adults weighed close to that. If I could maintain that weight until adulthood I would be normal.
High school brought Spirit Week which meant costume contests. One year I dressed up as Miss America. I still remember the laughter of the popular girls. “Like she could ever be in a beauty pageant.”
College came and I found myself orchestrating a banquet. One of the guys carrying in a wicker bench stated it was on loan with a weight restriction of 200 pounds. After relaying the news, he looked a bit startled, turned to me, and said, “no offence.” I was too stunned to reply that I weighed 170 at the time.
After a tumultuous senior year and a move into my first full-time job my weight rose to 230 pounds. I joined a popular weight loss program, bought their pre-packaged food items, and went to the meetings. Ten weeks and four pounds later, I quit the program.
A few years later, my job became increasingly stressful and I found myself eating half of what I was accustomed to taking in. I fairly quickly dropped ten pounds. But as quickly as I lost the weight, I stopped losing the weight. I decided once again to try professional help.
I joined a gym and met with a personal trainer. I encouraged several other friends to come to the gym with me. I was having fun, getting stronger, and fitting into smaller clothes. I felt great, and for the first time in my life, I felt that I looked great too. After a year of hard work I had finally managed to dip beneath the 200 mark.
I was proud of my accomplishment, but a friend let me know that I was pretty and smart, but if I ever wanted to get married, I would have to lose more weight. Men are visual creatures after all. I argued on the outside, but inside I accepted that he was right.
Shortly after that I took a new job in a new state and decided to go back to school as well. Gone was my disposable income and time. I quickly gained back the 30 pounds I had struggled so hard to lose. I was discouraged and tired of trying. If all the weight returned the second I quit spending hours in the gym every week, how could I possibly live like that?
Since then I have tried new diets, and purchased my share of exercise DVD’s while begging God for answers and watching the numbers on the scale go up. In my research, I have discovered that there is a condition that explains my symptoms, but with very little hope for a positive resolution.
In some ways, having a label has helped. At least I know what I’m up against. But in the knowing I have realized that I have an even greater battle to face than the weight.
It’s a battle of the mind.
The hardest hurdle I face is my own opinion of myself. It colors everything I do. I question how someone like me can lead a ministry when I imagine others criticizing my obvious lack of self-control, laziness, and gluttony. I think of others passing by Forgetting the Fairy Tale as being irrelevant…the author obviously isn’t married because of weight issues so why should I listen to what she has to say?
I think often of the apostle Paul and his thorn in the flesh. He begged God for a reprieve to no avail. But in his weakness, God’s strength was put on display. Maybe my thorn in the flesh is just that…my ample flesh. I might never be the thin girl I hope to become. But maybe, just maybe, God wants to use me anyway. Maybe my willingness to teach and lead others regardless of how they receive me is a way to glorify God in my weakness. Maybe God can use my honest struggle to help someone else that feels they have no hope? Maybe God can take the five loaves and two fishes that is my body and and my desire to serve Him and use them to do the impossible?
And maybe He can use that thing that you hate about yourself to do the same.
Other people are drifting off to Never Land, but you’ve just gotten a fresh burst of energy. Your mind is racing with creative ideas. You eagerly begin jotting down notes and head to your computer only to catch a glimpse of the clock…
{sigh}
…it’s time for bed. In order to be somewhat human the next day you know you need a certain amount of sleep, and in order to get that you have to go to bed. You shut down your computer and pray that the inspiration you just received will linger until morning, knowing full well it’s hopping a red-eye flight to San Diego as you brush your pearly whites. As you set your three alarms and hope that you will be conscious enough to not shut them off in your sleep you wonder…
Can a night owl become a morning person?
Is it really possible? You know the internet is rife with articles that claim you can “trick yourself into becoming a morning person” and “anyone can be a morning person” given enough discipline and caffeine. Can it be true?
For all of you weary-eyed wonderers, I am here to set the record straight.
The answer is NO.
Oh sure, there are ways to reset your circadian clock with a strict schedule of eating, sleeping, and screen limitations. Theoretically, if you never work late, never sleep in on Saturdays, or basically never have a real life at all, you can adjust your bodies’ rhythm–but who wants to go through all of that?
Can there be an alternate solution to the three hour out-of-body experience every morning?
Thankfully, the answer to this question is YES!
A friend recently suggested I ease into the morning with music. I love music so this would normally be a good suggestion except that before 10:00 a.m. and a large serving of caffeine, this is me:
thanks to Jeff Dunham for making me laugh every time I hear this
However, I was willing to try just about anything to ease the pain that my alarm causes my sensibilities, so I gave it a try. Several weeks ago I set a Pandora Radio alarm to wake me with soft instrumental Christmas music. Today I graduated to reflective worship music.
The first song came through as an unidentifiable blur, but the second and third songs that played are two of my favorites. I can’t imagine a better way to start a Monday than with these words:
There’s a peace I’ve come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There’s an anchor for my soul
I can say “It is well”
Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles’ wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory.
I am happy to report that listening to God-honoring music in the morning has helped awaken my mind and my spirit, even on a Monday! It may take a little effort to resist the urge to return to silence, but if you allow the truths of God’s Word to wash over you–even at 6:40 a.m.–they will minister to your soul.
Are you a night owl with a tried and true method of making mornings easier? If so, share your secrets in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
