Sounds weird, right? Because who really wants to be a troll? But I do. I want to be a troll. Not just any troll. The pink troll from the Trolls movie. We haven't seen the movie yet, but because I have a toddler, we have seen every trailer and song from the movie roughly 876 times. One of the songs is called "Get Back Up Again." In the video for this song, the pink troll comes across obstacle after obstacle. She ends up puffing up like a balloon and getting so wrapped up in a web of junk that she looks like she's in a cocoon. And she's still singing, "I will get back up again."
I want to be that troll. I feel like I generally have the "get back up again" attitude. I don't tend to wallow around in the more of what I have going on. I am pretty consistent in trying to grow and change. What I'm missing that this troll has is the joyful demeanor throughout the journey. When I get knocked down by the troubles of this world, I want to get out, but I tend to complain first. And I tend to continue until I begin to SEE the forward progress and the change. I don't find joy in the journey until I'm far enough in that I believe that I will make it.
I want to be that troll who starts out on the journey with a joyful confidence. I should have a joyful confidence, knowing that I can depend on God to guide me through any journey that he sets before me. But most of the time I don't. Most of the time I start out the journey with a "why me" attitude and part way through the journey, I look back and see all the times that God helped me through the journey and THEN I find my joyful confidence. So basically, I'm a bit slow on the uptake.
Right now I'm starting out on a new journey and I want to start it out right. I am recovering from my peroneal tendon repair surgery and it's time to begin the rehab process. I have been so frustrated by being so inactive for so long, but I can't let that steal my joy. I need to look forward. My doctor said that it would be a "good goal" to be up for CrossFit and/or running in about six months. Six months is a LONG time to avoid doing the only fitness activities that have ever helped me lose weight, but it is what it is. So I'm looking forward to trying out some new things to try to fill that time and still get back to being active. I've never been a great swimmer, but not being able to do much else will give me a great excuse to get better at it and to keep my eyes on God from the start rather than on the distance I have to cover.
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Sunday, March 19, 2017
A Church Like That
I want a different kind of church. I want to BE a different kind of church. Let me rephrase that - I know that it's not what I want that is important. I believe that GOD wants a different kind of church. So many churches have become SO focused on programs that they've stopped seeing the people who are part of those programs. But if you look at the early church, the one described in the book of Acts, there were no programs, just people. People who knew each other. People who cared for one another. People who loved and were loved.
This is the community that the Bible described. Acts chapter 2 describes a community in which people shared meals together and cared for one another's needs. Did this happen because there were programs in place to take care of people's needs? Or did it happen because people knew each other well enough to just KNOW each other's needs? Based on the information we have, I would be inclined to believe that they we in relationship with one another every day and therefore knew what was happening in each others' lives.
What would it take for the church (meaning the general church, not a specific church) to get back to that? How much more effective would the church be if the relationships within the church body modeled the loving and serving lifestyle that we are called to have outside of the church as well?
Since I've been with Josh, we've been attending larger churches and I always feel like what I'm missing is the relationships. All of the programs seem to just keep people in their cozy cocoons. People don't have to be vulnerable or build friendships in order to serve and be served because there's a program for that. In a large church environment with lots of programs they depend fully on "small groups" to establish relationships, but with the body as a whole looking so much like a business, it is sometimes difficult to find small groups that go deeper. It also limits how much one can be cared for in a time of need. Acts 2:44-45 says, "And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need." This specifically says that all who believed were together NOT divided up into small groups. They cared for those among them not just through the groups meeting and eating in homes, but as a complete body.
What would it look like to be a church like that? I'd really like to find out. I pray for the opportunity to love and serve like they did in the Acts church.
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Farewell Normal - A Womanly Welcome
I wrote an essay back in September for Real Simple Magazine's Life Lessons Essay Contest and I have been holding off sharing it on my blog on the off chance I actually won something. The results were supposed to be posted to their website after the 14th and as of yet, still nothing, but at this point I'm pretty sure that it's safe to assume that I did not win anything.
Farewell Normal – A Womanly Welcome
I was thirty years old, but in many ways still a child when my mom was admitted to the hospital for a “simple” case of pneumonia. I was five years past the age at which I had expected to be married. My friends were all married or getting married and some of them had begun having kids already. All had moved forward in life while I remained perpetually single and resentful. In my loneliness, I had come to rely heavily on my parents to distract me and entertain me.
The night my mom was admitted to the hospital, we stayed with her until she was situated in a room, then I went home with my dad for a few hours of sleep before visiting hours began again in the morning. After a brief respite, as we were on our way back into town, my dad received news that my mom was not getting enough oxygen. The rapid response team had been called and they needed his permission to sedate my mom and put her on a ventilator to help her get the oxygen she needed. When we arrived, we were told that she had been moved to the Critical Care Unit, I remember thinking that things were more serious than I had initially thought, but I was confident that she would be fine in a week or so.
In the Critical Care Unit, my mom was only allowed to have two visitors at a time. My dad, my brother and I took turns visiting her, along with various other family members and friends who had come to offer support. Late in the morning, my sister-in-law and I were standing at my mom’s bedside, talking to her as we normally would, making jokes and light-hearted conversation despite the alarming labyrinth of cords and tubes that encapsulated her. The tube coming from her mouth stretched perilously for the ventilator that was pressing air into her lungs. We could see her chest rising and falling with the rhythm of the machine – a rhythm that was far more abrupt and robotic than the flowing rise and fall of the chest I had laid my head on for comfort so many times as a child.
Our banter was interrupted by a loud beep from the machine monitoring her vitals. My eyes darted toward the screen and saw her heart rate slowly but steadily declining. Simultaneously my heart rate skyrocketed in fear. Because I was a Discovery Health junkie, I knew that if her heart rate got down to 30, they would call a code to prepare for cardiac arrest. As it hit 35, the nurses in her room leapt to action, shoving my sister-in-law and me out of the way. One of them turned to us and in a brusque tone, said, “You need to get out.”
I went completely numb as I stumbled toward the exit of the Critical Care Unit, barely able to catch a breath. Just before I reached the door, I heard them call a code blue to my mom’s room. I staggered out to the waiting room and collapsed onto the floor crying so hard I felt as though my lungs would burst. My dad and aunt asked what was happening, but I couldn’t speak. It wasn’t until a nurse came out a few minutes later that they were plunged into the fear and pain I was feeling.
My mom had experienced a cardiac arrest. Her heart rate had come back up with the help of some drugs but it would likely be at least an hour before she was stabilized. In that moment, the reality that my mom might never leave the hospital pounded within me. I had never considered that possibility. Even the night before, as the doctor had discussed with her the importance of an “advanced directive” or a “living will,” I had shrugged it off as the neurosis of an overly dramatic doctor. I had assumed that things would go back to “normal” in just a couple of days.
As we waited for the nurse to return with an update and to be allowed back into my mom’s room, I came face to face with my own selfishness. The past several years of conversations I’d had with her flashed through my mind like a slideshow of my narcissism. As my mom cooked me dinner, helped me clean, went shopping with me, the conversation was the same. “Why doesn’t anybody love me?” “Why doesn’t anybody have time for me?” “Nobody even cares about me.” It was an endless cycle – Why? Why? Why? Me… Me… Me… I had wasted so much time COMPLAINING. To her, to my friends, to my co-workers, to anybody who would would listen. Even my blog was filled with complaining. And suddenly, as the possibility of losing my mom, my best friend, loomed overhead, I realized that in comparison, NONE of the things I’d been complaining about actually mattered at all.
I was thirty years old, but emotionally I finally transformed from a girl to a woman in that waiting room. I stopped being so selfish and started to focus on those around me. I took up my cross and began to walk as a Godly woman. Over the next 24 days as my mom remained in the hospital battling for her life, then slipping away, I learned to call upon the friends God had blessed me with to help me carry my burden so that I could take on the burdens of my family. I made it a point to not cry in front of my family, particularly my dad. I needed him to know that he could lean on me and I would not break. I took on the responsibility of leading the family conversations in our meetings with the doctors regarding my mother’s care so that he wouldn’t have to. It was what my mom would do, and so it became what I would do.
After several weeks in the hospital, my mom’s body had been making good progress toward recovery, but even after being taken off of all sedatives, she was not waking up. An MRI found that she had suffered a “storm” of mini-strokes. Her brain was riddled with blood clots and reflected no activity. She could be kept alive on a ventilator, but she was essentially an empty shell. My mom had always said that she would not want to live if only a machine was keeping her alive, and so we prepared to say goodbye. We spent an agonizing six days essentially just waiting for her to die. I sometimes wanted to run away like the selfish child I had been before. Other times I wondered if we’d made the right decision, but that was selfishness, too. We had chosen to honor the wishes she had expressed during her life and I reminded myself that God was big enough to overcome that decision if it was His will to do so.
A week after we turned off the life support, my mom passed away. I immediately threw myself into the process of planning a memorial service. I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew that I NEEDED to honor her, to serve her memory with as much care as she had served me for so long. Much of my family was busy mourning while I was fighting to keep her alive for this last little while. They showed their love for her in different ways. I wanted to make the celebration of her life GRAND - partly because I felt that I had failed her by not marrying and giving her grandchildren while she was still alive - but mostly because I really wanted to serve her the way she had always served me. I wrote her obituary with the utmost of care. I pored through every photo album trying to find pictures for the program and the photo board. I dug through recipe books for her favorite foods because in life my mom had mostly cooked foods that others liked though she wouldn't eat most of them. So for her service, I would honor her by serving only HER favorites.
At the service, my uncle and I sang a song that my mother had sung to me as a child and I sang another one of her favorites on my own. When the time came for my solo song, I stepped up in front of the gathering of friends and family and with a trembling voice sang out the words that spoke so true in that moment, “Que será será, whatever will be will be…”
Over the next several months, those words continued to play in my head as I accepted the “will be” and began to step into my future, each part of that tragic month contributing a piece to the woman I was becoming.
The time I spent helping my dad with the things my mom had always done helped to prepare me for the day I became a wife.
The sleepless nights I spent at the hospital and the planning I did for the memorial service has helped me to be more confident in motherhood.
And the lessons I learned about thankfulness in the face of difficulty have helped me to be a less selfish and more empathetic wife, mother, daughter, friend, co-worker, neighbor, leader and follower.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Generation F (as in fantasy)
Today while I was sitting watching cartoons with Linnea, I saw one of the most disturbing commercials I have ever seen. Not disturbing in the graphic or violet sort of way but disturbing in the values it was promoting. It featured a little girl who was really excited because she had graduated preschool and so her parents were taking her on vacation to Walt Disney World to celebrate her graduation... from PRESCHOOL! What?! The commercial then proceeded to call this trip a "kindermoon." What?!
There is a popular and nasty ongoing conversation about millennials and how they are the generation of participation trophies and entitlement. The reality is that there are people like this in every generation. But that really isn't the point. The point is that it seems that as a society we're trying to create a generation of SUPER MILLENIALS. Forget the participation trophy - that's not good enough any more. Instead you must be rewarded for doing EXACTLY what all other children your age are doing.
I pray that Josh and I can do better for our daughter (and any future kids we may have) - that we can teach her to be a responsible citizen who loves God and loves others. I pray that she can learn the value of working hard and experiencing disappointment now and then. I pray that she can learn to appreciate the value of even the small things. And I pray that she doesn't expect to go to Disney World for a "kindermoon."
There is a popular and nasty ongoing conversation about millennials and how they are the generation of participation trophies and entitlement. The reality is that there are people like this in every generation. But that really isn't the point. The point is that it seems that as a society we're trying to create a generation of SUPER MILLENIALS. Forget the participation trophy - that's not good enough any more. Instead you must be rewarded for doing EXACTLY what all other children your age are doing.
I pray that Josh and I can do better for our daughter (and any future kids we may have) - that we can teach her to be a responsible citizen who loves God and loves others. I pray that she can learn the value of working hard and experiencing disappointment now and then. I pray that she can learn to appreciate the value of even the small things. And I pray that she doesn't expect to go to Disney World for a "kindermoon."
Sunday, March 12, 2017
The Earth Keeps Shaking
It recently dawned on me that my life has been a bit unstable, constantly changing without settling for the last 7 years since my mom passed away. The first couple of years without her were a journey of discovery - recreating myself as an individual, or perhaps I should say God recreating me into a new and stronger version of myself. That fall I ran my first 10K as part of the process. In 2011, I started Weight Watchers and CrossFit and by 2012 I had lost 50 pounds and was in the best shape of my life. I was building credit to try to buy a condo and for the first time in my life I was fully content exactly where I was.
Of course that meant everything had to change. Just as I was growing comfortable living as a strong and single woman, I found myself in my first serious relationship in 13 years. After just a few months together, I was taking a trip with his family, and as you probably already know, we got married a little over a year after that.
As much as life changed in my last three years of singlehood, it was nothing compared to the first three and a half years of married life to this point. Once we started our marriage journey, we made no effort to prevent pregnancy because I had been told that due to my P.C.O.S. it would be very difficult for me to get pregnant. With that in mind, we didn't want to delay that possibility so we left it in God's hands to bless us with a child if and when he decided it was time. Imagine my shock, amazement and excitement when I discovered I was pregnant just four months after we got married. In order to save for baby expenses, I gave up CrossFit. I still kick myself every day for that decision, but what is done is done. And in spite of that choice we are still incredibly blessed.
One week after our first anniversary, we got to meet our beautiful daughter for the first time. The first few months of her life were surreal. I had barely adapted to being married and living with my husband, let alone being a mother. On top of that, learning to be a mother without MY mother was a a different kind of challenge. After the first few weeks, Linnea struggled at every feeding. I ended up leaving work to care for her because we knew that no daycare was going to spend an hour feeding her every time she needed a bottle. I was blessed to have been able to do that when I neede to, but it was also one of the most difficult changes. I had always been so independent and this left me completely financially dependent on my husband which was a hard pill to swallow.
Over time I grew to love my role staying home with Linnea and taking care of the home. I grew more comfortable taking her grocery shopping and getting things done while she played in her play yard. And just as I started to grow comfortable in that role, God opened the door for yet another change. We visited a friend in Idaho and through that visit, we found ourselves being led to move away from everything we'd ever known to a place where we knew just one family. Linnea was just about to turn one when we moved away from the city where Josh and I were both born and raised.
Thinking back, that is a TON of change in five years time. And it doesn't stop there.
In October of 2015, as we settled into our new home, it was time for me to return to work. Linnea was thriving so much better on whole milk and solid foods. So when she was 14 months old, she went to daycare for the first time. Honestly, she loved it from the start. As for me? Not so much. It was terrifying getting used to somebody else caring for my child all day. I know that it's a common experience- still a big change for me.
Since then, most of the changes have been more subtle and gradual, but also more scary. Being in a new place, we have struggled to make connections and build friendships. One of the hardest parts about this is that I desperately want Linnea to have some friends we can have play dates with. The absolute hardest part is that in this season of isolation, when I need God desperately, I struggle to find him. I know that he is there and has been faithful - my husband and daughter are proof of that - but when it comes to the day to day ordinary things, I sometimes feel like he's missing.
The most recent change, or perhaps I should say challenge, was my foot surgery. It was such a huge contrast from the first surgery I ever had ten years earlier. For that one, my mom was by my side. I stayed with my parents and they took care of me while I healed. I had friends visit me in the hospital right after and at my parents house later. I spent two weeks relaxing and healing and went back to work feeling refreshed. But this time was much different.
I went through the process at work to be approved to work at home in preparation for my surgery because I knew it would be difficult getting around. I planned on being able to work from home when the doctor released me after my first two weeks of recovery. Those two weeks were a blur filled with hours on the couch serving as a human jungle gym for a toddler. When it was time to go back to work, my equipment for working at home had not arrived and so I had to roll my happy butt into the office on my knee scooter. (BTW - the equipment STILL hasn't come.). In spite of all of that, Josh has been a champion taking care of me by himself while I heal.
After my foot is done healing, I'm ready for the earth to stop moving for a little while. I am ready to settle in and enjoy this beautiful family that God has created. I'm ready to rest in his peace - until he decides to shake things up again!
Of course that meant everything had to change. Just as I was growing comfortable living as a strong and single woman, I found myself in my first serious relationship in 13 years. After just a few months together, I was taking a trip with his family, and as you probably already know, we got married a little over a year after that.
As much as life changed in my last three years of singlehood, it was nothing compared to the first three and a half years of married life to this point. Once we started our marriage journey, we made no effort to prevent pregnancy because I had been told that due to my P.C.O.S. it would be very difficult for me to get pregnant. With that in mind, we didn't want to delay that possibility so we left it in God's hands to bless us with a child if and when he decided it was time. Imagine my shock, amazement and excitement when I discovered I was pregnant just four months after we got married. In order to save for baby expenses, I gave up CrossFit. I still kick myself every day for that decision, but what is done is done. And in spite of that choice we are still incredibly blessed.
One week after our first anniversary, we got to meet our beautiful daughter for the first time. The first few months of her life were surreal. I had barely adapted to being married and living with my husband, let alone being a mother. On top of that, learning to be a mother without MY mother was a a different kind of challenge. After the first few weeks, Linnea struggled at every feeding. I ended up leaving work to care for her because we knew that no daycare was going to spend an hour feeding her every time she needed a bottle. I was blessed to have been able to do that when I neede to, but it was also one of the most difficult changes. I had always been so independent and this left me completely financially dependent on my husband which was a hard pill to swallow.
Over time I grew to love my role staying home with Linnea and taking care of the home. I grew more comfortable taking her grocery shopping and getting things done while she played in her play yard. And just as I started to grow comfortable in that role, God opened the door for yet another change. We visited a friend in Idaho and through that visit, we found ourselves being led to move away from everything we'd ever known to a place where we knew just one family. Linnea was just about to turn one when we moved away from the city where Josh and I were both born and raised.
Thinking back, that is a TON of change in five years time. And it doesn't stop there.
In October of 2015, as we settled into our new home, it was time for me to return to work. Linnea was thriving so much better on whole milk and solid foods. So when she was 14 months old, she went to daycare for the first time. Honestly, she loved it from the start. As for me? Not so much. It was terrifying getting used to somebody else caring for my child all day. I know that it's a common experience- still a big change for me.
Since then, most of the changes have been more subtle and gradual, but also more scary. Being in a new place, we have struggled to make connections and build friendships. One of the hardest parts about this is that I desperately want Linnea to have some friends we can have play dates with. The absolute hardest part is that in this season of isolation, when I need God desperately, I struggle to find him. I know that he is there and has been faithful - my husband and daughter are proof of that - but when it comes to the day to day ordinary things, I sometimes feel like he's missing.
The most recent change, or perhaps I should say challenge, was my foot surgery. It was such a huge contrast from the first surgery I ever had ten years earlier. For that one, my mom was by my side. I stayed with my parents and they took care of me while I healed. I had friends visit me in the hospital right after and at my parents house later. I spent two weeks relaxing and healing and went back to work feeling refreshed. But this time was much different.
I went through the process at work to be approved to work at home in preparation for my surgery because I knew it would be difficult getting around. I planned on being able to work from home when the doctor released me after my first two weeks of recovery. Those two weeks were a blur filled with hours on the couch serving as a human jungle gym for a toddler. When it was time to go back to work, my equipment for working at home had not arrived and so I had to roll my happy butt into the office on my knee scooter. (BTW - the equipment STILL hasn't come.). In spite of all of that, Josh has been a champion taking care of me by himself while I heal.
After my foot is done healing, I'm ready for the earth to stop moving for a little while. I am ready to settle in and enjoy this beautiful family that God has created. I'm ready to rest in his peace - until he decides to shake things up again!
Thursday, March 09, 2017
Men are Not the Enemy
Yesterday I wrote a little about why I was not a fan of the activities on Inernational Women's Day. Today I want to expand. The biggest problem I have with the current "women's movement " is that for many women it is creating an "us vs them" mindset toward men. As a Christ follower, it is my belief we are one body and should not be constantly competing against one another. How productive would a body be if the hand was constantly fighting the foot? If the hand wanted to do what the foot is supposed to do? The two parts were created for different purposes, neither more or less important, just different. This is very similar to the differences between men and women. There are certain things that each of us were biologically built for. We should not be enemies, we should not be opponents. We work best when we work together and love one another.
When I began following Jesus at age 21, I was very angry at men. My first real boyfriend had tried to force me into intercourse and I wound up feeling used. And right after that my next boyfriend used me as a "rebound" before going back to his previous girlfriend. He also didn't take me seriously when I told him I was depressed and struggling with life. He blew me off. After those experiences, I decided that all men were idiots and I did consider them to be the enemy. I had been hurt and by blaming the hurts on men in general instead of the individuals involved, I thought it was for my own protection, but the only thing I was protecting was my fear. I had allowed "victim" to become part of my identity instead of part of my history.
In the two years following my second boyfriend up until a few months after I started following Jesus, I became a connoisseur of stupid man jokes. I had books filled with the jokes. I told them every chance I got. I had a collection of keychains with anti-man jokes. I thought it was hilarious. Part of me truly believed it and believed that men could not be trusted (except my dad, of course.) And another part of me deep down still wanted to be loved.
During the spring semester of my first senior year of college (yeah, so what - it took me 6 years) I was reading the book Faith on the Edge, which was extremely popular that year, and something in that book convicted me that I was holding a grudge against men who had doe nothing wrong. By carrying those keychains and telling those jokes, I was devaluing a large part of God's creation. I immediately removed the keychains and gave them away. I prayed for God to change my heart toward men and to learn to trust them again. And God blessed me with some amazing men who I called friends for that season of my life.
I had plenty of reason to be hesitant to trust men. I had plenty excuses for saying many unkind things about men because of what had been done to me - and yet none of that could change what I had experienced and none of it brought me closer to God. Actually it kept me away, and once I trusted and repented, I grew closer to God through the friendships he gave me, many with men, It also opened the door for my first time falling in love. I learned so much from that experience and God has used every bit of what I learned through that time of my life for his good.
Many years have passed since that and I cannot say that I haven't struggled to find my role in this world and within the church as a woman. There have been many times that I have felt less valuable because I am a woman. But this is part of the curse of living in a fallen world. The men we wind up with may be FAR from perfect, but guess what? The women they ended up with are also far from perfect! I am a woman and I say MEN ARE NOT THE ENEMY. We have a much bigger enemy, one who wants us to be so wrapped up in men's rights vs women's rights that we don't notice him creeping in and taking over. Our enemy is sneaky and he thrives on division.
I pray that someday we can come together, men and women, side by side to stares unique aspects of men and women down our true enemy. I pray that we can learn to be thankful for the unique qualities in each of us rather than being resentful. And I pray that we could recognize and appreciate the blessings each of us have and that we would continuously examine ourselves and our own hearts to be sure that no bitterness takes root.
When I began following Jesus at age 21, I was very angry at men. My first real boyfriend had tried to force me into intercourse and I wound up feeling used. And right after that my next boyfriend used me as a "rebound" before going back to his previous girlfriend. He also didn't take me seriously when I told him I was depressed and struggling with life. He blew me off. After those experiences, I decided that all men were idiots and I did consider them to be the enemy. I had been hurt and by blaming the hurts on men in general instead of the individuals involved, I thought it was for my own protection, but the only thing I was protecting was my fear. I had allowed "victim" to become part of my identity instead of part of my history.
In the two years following my second boyfriend up until a few months after I started following Jesus, I became a connoisseur of stupid man jokes. I had books filled with the jokes. I told them every chance I got. I had a collection of keychains with anti-man jokes. I thought it was hilarious. Part of me truly believed it and believed that men could not be trusted (except my dad, of course.) And another part of me deep down still wanted to be loved.
During the spring semester of my first senior year of college (yeah, so what - it took me 6 years) I was reading the book Faith on the Edge, which was extremely popular that year, and something in that book convicted me that I was holding a grudge against men who had doe nothing wrong. By carrying those keychains and telling those jokes, I was devaluing a large part of God's creation. I immediately removed the keychains and gave them away. I prayed for God to change my heart toward men and to learn to trust them again. And God blessed me with some amazing men who I called friends for that season of my life.
I had plenty of reason to be hesitant to trust men. I had plenty excuses for saying many unkind things about men because of what had been done to me - and yet none of that could change what I had experienced and none of it brought me closer to God. Actually it kept me away, and once I trusted and repented, I grew closer to God through the friendships he gave me, many with men, It also opened the door for my first time falling in love. I learned so much from that experience and God has used every bit of what I learned through that time of my life for his good.
Many years have passed since that and I cannot say that I haven't struggled to find my role in this world and within the church as a woman. There have been many times that I have felt less valuable because I am a woman. But this is part of the curse of living in a fallen world. The men we wind up with may be FAR from perfect, but guess what? The women they ended up with are also far from perfect! I am a woman and I say MEN ARE NOT THE ENEMY. We have a much bigger enemy, one who wants us to be so wrapped up in men's rights vs women's rights that we don't notice him creeping in and taking over. Our enemy is sneaky and he thrives on division.
I pray that someday we can come together, men and women, side by side to stares unique aspects of men and women down our true enemy. I pray that we can learn to be thankful for the unique qualities in each of us rather than being resentful. And I pray that we could recognize and appreciate the blessings each of us have and that we would continuously examine ourselves and our own hearts to be sure that no bitterness takes root.
Wednesday, March 08, 2017
I am Woman, Hear Me... Yawn...
So today was apparently International Women's Day. I'm not a big fan of having a "Day" for everything. It doesn't upset me or offend me, I just don't understand the logic behind it. In my mind, the Bible's instructions to love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31) make things pretty simple. We should love all people on all days, even when we don't necessarily like them. We should show love to our spouses every day, not just on Valentine's Day. We should celebrate our mothers year round, not just on Mother's Day. And we should celebrate the value of women and their accomplishments every day, too. Oh, and the value of men? Let's celebrate that, too. Every day.
This may be a controversial mindset since I am a woman, but I just don't get it. Especially the "Day without women" protest that was happening today. I'm not denying that there are situations in which women are treated unfairly. I have often found myself explaining to my husband how difficult it is being a woman sometimes, especially within the church, because church tradition puts women in the background even though they were valuable to Jesus and his ministry. That being said, I don't understand what can be accomplished by this sort of movement. It reflects poorly on all women, making us look whiny and entitled. I personally do not subscribe to the belief system that says "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" but instead try to live in the knowledge that we all "reap what we sow."
The other big issue I have with the whole thing is that the women I've seen most vocally promoting this event have been outright attacking women who dare to question them. It is completely illogical that the women who are fighting so hard for their "rights" are attacking other women for exercising their "rights" because they don't agree. Maybe women would make more progress in their careers if they would stop being so darn mean. Because if that's how they're treating other women who are supposed to be their allies, how do you think they're treating men? To be completely honest, there have been times in my life that I have been ashamed to be a woman because many women out in the world are just SO MEAN - catty, and judgmental and gossipy and MEAN.
I understand that it's partly a need to feel in control that drives that meanness, but it ends up undermining everything the protesting women are fighting for. This "Mean Girls" attitude demonstrates a lack of teamwork. So if a woman has the same SKILLS as a man but she cannot stop gossiping and doesn't work well with the team, then why should she be paid the same as a male counterpart who does the same work without the drama?
At the end of the day, I am proud to be the woman God made me to be. So rather than protesting which would only draw attention to me and puff me up, I choose to just reflect on what I can do to improve myself with God's help. After all, I cannot change the attitudes others have toward me - I am only responsible for myself and my own attitude.
This may be a controversial mindset since I am a woman, but I just don't get it. Especially the "Day without women" protest that was happening today. I'm not denying that there are situations in which women are treated unfairly. I have often found myself explaining to my husband how difficult it is being a woman sometimes, especially within the church, because church tradition puts women in the background even though they were valuable to Jesus and his ministry. That being said, I don't understand what can be accomplished by this sort of movement. It reflects poorly on all women, making us look whiny and entitled. I personally do not subscribe to the belief system that says "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" but instead try to live in the knowledge that we all "reap what we sow."
The other big issue I have with the whole thing is that the women I've seen most vocally promoting this event have been outright attacking women who dare to question them. It is completely illogical that the women who are fighting so hard for their "rights" are attacking other women for exercising their "rights" because they don't agree. Maybe women would make more progress in their careers if they would stop being so darn mean. Because if that's how they're treating other women who are supposed to be their allies, how do you think they're treating men? To be completely honest, there have been times in my life that I have been ashamed to be a woman because many women out in the world are just SO MEAN - catty, and judgmental and gossipy and MEAN.
I understand that it's partly a need to feel in control that drives that meanness, but it ends up undermining everything the protesting women are fighting for. This "Mean Girls" attitude demonstrates a lack of teamwork. So if a woman has the same SKILLS as a man but she cannot stop gossiping and doesn't work well with the team, then why should she be paid the same as a male counterpart who does the same work without the drama?
At the end of the day, I am proud to be the woman God made me to be. So rather than protesting which would only draw attention to me and puff me up, I choose to just reflect on what I can do to improve myself with God's help. After all, I cannot change the attitudes others have toward me - I am only responsible for myself and my own attitude.
Monday, March 06, 2017
Pocket Change
As part of my journey to find a community of believers here in Idaho that I can immerse myself in, I went to a women's conference this past Saturday. In the past I have never been a huge fan of women's events because many of the events that I have attended have been heavily focused on women's roles as homemakers and not as strong individuals who have a lot to offer both inside and outside of the church. This can especially be demonstrated by when women's events or groups are held in most churches. It is rare to find a group that doesn't not meet during the day on a weekday- which leave no room for any woman who is not a stay at home wife/mom.
Despite all bad past experiences with women's events, I decided to go to this conference and I am extremely glad I did. Rather than a bunch of stay at home moms who were married at 21 and had never known real hardship, the 3 speakers had a wealth of life experience to share and were more than willing to admit their faults in front of a room full of women. It was refreshing and yet so different to hear such raw honesty from Christian women at a women's event.
Of the three speakers, the third one impacted me the most. She incorporated many great stories and metaphors into her talk, but there was one thing that she said that shook me up and got me motivated to start digging myself out of the pit I've been in and to get back on track with life. She was speaking on the subject of how to remain near to God and she said that so many people only give God a few minute here and a few minutes there whenever we can squeeze it in, but God wants more from us than just pocket change. He wants us to INVEST in him because pocket change is not enough to build and sustain a relationship.
As I reflected on this, God took this metaphor even further for me. Because Josh and I would like to be able to buy a home at some point over the next few years but we have a lot of things to take care of before then, God made the metaphor more personal. What I heard was imagine trying to save up for a house with just whatever pocket change you are able to set aside. Would you ever be able to save enough? If something is that important you should be willing to sacrifice in order to invest as much as you can. Likewise you are trying to build a relationship with God with pocket change - with the few spare minutes at the end of a busy day.
That point pierced me through the soul as though it was intended specifically for me. In my loneliness, I had been so focused on how to connect with other people that I had nearly stopped connecting with God. After investing all of my free time and energy into building relationships with other people, I only had pocket change left to spend on my relationship with God. I was just dropping in a few pennies worth of time here and there - just enough to say I had done SOMETHING.
Praise God that he loves me even when I only give him pocket change and I pray that he will give me the discipline to invest in him substantially moving forward - even in my loneliness and heartache.
Despite all bad past experiences with women's events, I decided to go to this conference and I am extremely glad I did. Rather than a bunch of stay at home moms who were married at 21 and had never known real hardship, the 3 speakers had a wealth of life experience to share and were more than willing to admit their faults in front of a room full of women. It was refreshing and yet so different to hear such raw honesty from Christian women at a women's event.
Of the three speakers, the third one impacted me the most. She incorporated many great stories and metaphors into her talk, but there was one thing that she said that shook me up and got me motivated to start digging myself out of the pit I've been in and to get back on track with life. She was speaking on the subject of how to remain near to God and she said that so many people only give God a few minute here and a few minutes there whenever we can squeeze it in, but God wants more from us than just pocket change. He wants us to INVEST in him because pocket change is not enough to build and sustain a relationship.
As I reflected on this, God took this metaphor even further for me. Because Josh and I would like to be able to buy a home at some point over the next few years but we have a lot of things to take care of before then, God made the metaphor more personal. What I heard was imagine trying to save up for a house with just whatever pocket change you are able to set aside. Would you ever be able to save enough? If something is that important you should be willing to sacrifice in order to invest as much as you can. Likewise you are trying to build a relationship with God with pocket change - with the few spare minutes at the end of a busy day.
That point pierced me through the soul as though it was intended specifically for me. In my loneliness, I had been so focused on how to connect with other people that I had nearly stopped connecting with God. After investing all of my free time and energy into building relationships with other people, I only had pocket change left to spend on my relationship with God. I was just dropping in a few pennies worth of time here and there - just enough to say I had done SOMETHING.
Praise God that he loves me even when I only give him pocket change and I pray that he will give me the discipline to invest in him substantially moving forward - even in my loneliness and heartache.
Sunday, March 05, 2017
Dusting Myself Off
If you didn't already know, life has been a bit rough lately. I feel as though Josh and I have been in a bit of a wilderness season since we moved to Idaho. We moved here without really knowing anybody but we felt that God had been clear in his guidance when we moved here. We were excited and full of faith about what he might have for us here. But our excitement quickly faded as we struggled to find a church home where we could build a spiritual family. We still loved our new home but we struggled with feelings of isolation and loneliness as we drifted in and out of church each week with no personal relationships to help us through the weeks.
I cannot speak for Josh, but for me, the more isolated and alone I felt, the further I felt from God and the less time I gave him. Finally, last fall it seemed like things might begin improving. I was attending a mom's group on Wednesday night while Josh served with the youth. I was hoping to FINALLY make some connections that would extend beyond those four walls. I was enjoying the time on Wednesdays discussing life with other moms from a variety of home situations.
And then I made a mistake. I was asked to help with the infant/toddler room on Wednesday nights and I reluctantly agreed. I justified it thinking that I could build relationship with whomever I would be serving with, but I never felt good about the choice. Some part of me knew that I only said yes because I was afraid that saying no would cause the person asking to not like me. Wow. I thought I had grown past that? Hadn't I already learned to say no once before? But the conditions had been ripe for it - I had found myself in a position once again where I desperately wanted people's approval.
I didn't realize how much my mistake had cost me until about a month ago when I had to have surgery to repair the tendon in my foot. I realized that I didn't have anybody here that I felt comfortable asking for prayer. I still had my Reno friends and friends all over the country that I'm connected to on Facebook, but not one friend here that I could ask for some face to face prayer time before I went under the knife. I didn't even feel comfortable asking the moms' group since I hadn't been there for months. Even worse, because I had sacrificed my chance to build relationships, I didn't know anybody to ask for help when I needed it in the time that Josh was gone after my surgery.
The last month has been a struggle, but God has been faithful even as I have struggled to call on him or trust him because I have felt so let down. I had almost given up on trying to connect with people but God reminds me daily that he never gave up on me, so I have no place to give up on anyone. I have picked myself back up and though I am weak and wounded (both physically and spiritually) I am ready to start again. I have been back to the mom's group for two weeks. I also attended a women's conference this weekend (more on this tomorrow).
So here I am, dusting myself off, trying to find my way back to the woman God created me to be. I am reclaiming my faith, I am reclaiming my friendships and I am reclaiming this blog.
I cannot speak for Josh, but for me, the more isolated and alone I felt, the further I felt from God and the less time I gave him. Finally, last fall it seemed like things might begin improving. I was attending a mom's group on Wednesday night while Josh served with the youth. I was hoping to FINALLY make some connections that would extend beyond those four walls. I was enjoying the time on Wednesdays discussing life with other moms from a variety of home situations.
And then I made a mistake. I was asked to help with the infant/toddler room on Wednesday nights and I reluctantly agreed. I justified it thinking that I could build relationship with whomever I would be serving with, but I never felt good about the choice. Some part of me knew that I only said yes because I was afraid that saying no would cause the person asking to not like me. Wow. I thought I had grown past that? Hadn't I already learned to say no once before? But the conditions had been ripe for it - I had found myself in a position once again where I desperately wanted people's approval.
I didn't realize how much my mistake had cost me until about a month ago when I had to have surgery to repair the tendon in my foot. I realized that I didn't have anybody here that I felt comfortable asking for prayer. I still had my Reno friends and friends all over the country that I'm connected to on Facebook, but not one friend here that I could ask for some face to face prayer time before I went under the knife. I didn't even feel comfortable asking the moms' group since I hadn't been there for months. Even worse, because I had sacrificed my chance to build relationships, I didn't know anybody to ask for help when I needed it in the time that Josh was gone after my surgery.
The last month has been a struggle, but God has been faithful even as I have struggled to call on him or trust him because I have felt so let down. I had almost given up on trying to connect with people but God reminds me daily that he never gave up on me, so I have no place to give up on anyone. I have picked myself back up and though I am weak and wounded (both physically and spiritually) I am ready to start again. I have been back to the mom's group for two weeks. I also attended a women's conference this weekend (more on this tomorrow).
So here I am, dusting myself off, trying to find my way back to the woman God created me to be. I am reclaiming my faith, I am reclaiming my friendships and I am reclaiming this blog.
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