Powdered Donuts and Netflix

Hebrews 12:1-2 - Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Do you ever have those days where you just don’t feel motivated? Like, give me a friggin’ bag of powdered donuts and close that door because I’m saying peace out today—it can wait until tomorrow. What about those days you wake up and glare at your alarm and think to yourself, “I’m feeling bold, today….I’m going to quit life and become a professional cat lady, muumuu and all; no shame!” I highly doubt I’m alone in this and I feel like those feelings of being a professional furball lover grow stronger and stronger as our society continues to progress. It’s stressful out there, y’all! However, I think the only thing more embarrassing than admitting I’ve thought about eating an entire bag of donuts is admitting that I’ve let satan win too many of those battles.

In our moments of weakness, we can’t give up and become a professional hermit. We were created for one reason and that’s to worship God and lead those around us to the cross. Don’t make me break out the church lines on y’all, I’ll get that head bob rollin’ and might not be able to stop it! In all seriousness though, when we give up on our day, we give up on potential opportunities to witness, we give up on being an example to others, we give up on the power of Jesus and his sacrifice, we give up being a part of something huge, and that huge thing is God’s plan for our every day. Don’t get me wrong, even the disciples needed a day here and there to shut out everyone around them to recoup. That’s part of being human but we can’t let that be every day. When you feel like devouring an unhealthy amount of donuts instead of facing the world but you get up and push through with a smile on your face instead, you’ve grown just a little more. You’re now stronger than you were the day before. It’s like losing weight, you might not see a huge change every day or even notice it, but a ways down the road you’re going to look back and be like daaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnngggggggggg, Daniel, look at yo bad self!

Matthew 5:16 - In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

When we let the weight of the world steal our drive to push through this life and when we give up, that’s when we’ve let satan win the battle. He’s over there high-fiving his team, dumping Gatorade on his own head, livin’ it up while we’re over here moping, stuffing donuts in our mouth, watching reruns on Netflix like real losers. Hey, I can’t say that’s not the perfect picture of me a couple of nights a week (minus the moping) but the difference is, I wasn’t using that to avoid the entire meaning of my existence. I already went out and faced the day and my reward is a dang donut and the tube. When it turns us into losers is when we’re doing that instead of living the day God so graciously allowed us to be blessed with.

It’s hard, especially when it’s one thing after another. However, keep flexing that spiritual muscle and you’ll only be stronger for it. It might be hard now but one day, you will realize it’s not as hard as it used to be. Get up, turn off that alarm, put on that smile, and thank the sweet Lord Jesus for the new day because there’s work to be done.

Ephesians 2:10 - For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Watch Your Mouth...and Fingers

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

It is so easy to get annoyed and ticked off these days. It's pretty obvious that quite a few people forgot their manners over the past decade or so. Would it be strange if I walked around wagging my finger at people telling them to mind their manners? Don't answer that, I know, I know. I mean, the thought has crossed my mind every day for years now and I'm sure I'm not alone in this motherly instinct to want people to get along. If you see me in public struggling with an invisible foe, no worries, I haven't lost my mind, I'm just having an argument with my finger (maybe that constitutes me losing my mind…I don’t know). Thank goodness, the Lord has protected me from myself or I may have caused a riot with how sensitive this world is anymore. Since wagging my finger at people would be frowned upon (along with breathing and everything else that offends people these days) I feel like it's easy to get everything bottled up inside. This, in turn, makes us grumpy people at the drop of a hat who say/type harsh things just because we're basically given a free pass to do so.

Here is my metaphorical finger wag at you....yes, you (and myself...Lord knows I need this too). Watch your mouth and mind your manners! I'm going to throw this line out as well, "Just because they did something wrong, doesn't give you the right to do something wrong back." Do you feel like you're five yet? Isn't it sad that, as adults, the same one-liners our parents gave us still apply to our behavior, maybe even more so? 1 Corinthians 13:11 says, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me." It’s time for us to stop acting like spoiled children who didn’t get their way and start acting like the adults we are. No more silly arguments online with strangers; no more random outbursts because you got your feelings hurt. Carry yourself with grace, dignity, and as few words as possible. My dad has always said, “Less talk is better.” It’s a simple phrase that carries a lot of wisdom. Many situations would be diffused or never even start if we would just shut our mouths and turn of the spigot.

Colossians 4:6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Change is the Realest Real

Philippians 4:8 -  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

I’m one of those people that hates change. I honestly didn’t know how much change truly affected me until I got older and began really examining myself. People know that I can be dramatic when it comes to telling stories however, I don’t like drama when it comes to life in general. I like things to be simple. Schedule it, set it, do it, ignore rude people, and do the best you can in life. Go ahead, you can laugh. Life is rarely like this, am I right or am I right? I know I’m right because I had to learn that the hard way. Growing up, I thought life was a fairytale or that it could be that way, at least. If you were a nice person, treated animals like they were your best friend, and followed everything that God required of you the best you could, life would be like those Disney movies we grow up watching. The squirrels and birds would follow you wherever you went, prince charming would sweep you off your feet, and you would live happily ever after. HAHAHAHAHA! Hardly. The older you get, the more you understand why many elderly people are bitter or just want people to leave them alone. Life is heavy and change happens on a daily basis to where we have to adapt and learn to handle junk as it comes along. People aren’t as easy to handle as you thought they were when you were five and as we age, reality gets harsher and harsher. All of this is always summed up in one phrase, “That’s life.” Really, it’s that simple. Life isn’t a fairytale and change is going to happen and we have no choice but to find a way through whether we like it or not.

My twin sister is moving to Alaska in three weeks. Tomorrow we go on a one-day trip to celebrate our birthday that just occurred a few days ago. The family threw us a surprise party and it’s been one of the best birthdays we’ve had in a while. Despite all of the wonderful memories we’ve made on this birthday, I’m not ready to lose her; I feel like I just got her back. I’m going to throw out that cliché, “Cherish the people you love while you have them,” bit. We all know it’s true but none of us take it seriously until it’s too late. So, that trip I mentioned…I’ve been dreading it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m elated to go on a trip with my twin but it feels like once the trip is over, the finality will set in at 100%. Change has this way of turning me into a sleepless zombie that could cry at the drop of a hat over nothing. I’m terrible at misplacing emotion and it’s like my brain dances all around the problem and refuses to address it. However, knowing myself, even if I think I’m handling it, I’m not. When my actions start to become tense and sporadic, I know that I need to slow down and address the fact that there’s something bothering me that I’m suppressing. That realization hit me this morning after another night of no sleep and a day that feels wasted/failed. After yet another small outburst of impatience at something trivial, I knew I needed to sift through my brain fog and pinpoint my fear. It was easy to find. It was easy to start letting the tears flow from the pain, fear, acceptance….the reality that I couldn’t do anything to change it. If you know me at all, I’m a fixer. If I see a problem, I find a way to tackle it and fix it. Starting from a very young age, I’ve never been good at handling things I can’t do anything to change. The only way I know how to handle anything is by doing something to change it. I grew up being told, “If you don’t like something, do something about it,” I was taught to not just sit there and wallow in pity or defeat but to rise above it; face my fears, face the challenges, and defeat them. Sometimes, though, you have to let the hard things happen. You can’t act, you just have to watch it and in those moments I feel so defeated.

I’m a person who has crazy thought sifting moments. You know, where you start at one negative thought or false notion and make it through all the steps to reach the positive ending that’s the correct one. This usually happens in seconds and it’s probably pretty funny to watch as it occurs on my face. I know all the right things I should be doing or saying but actually acting them out is not so fluid. The one thing I have learned to handle are my raging thoughts (unless I need to sleep and then my brain refuses to go away). So, as I’m realizing all this junk that’s affecting my mood and sleeping patterns, the negative aspect of all of it is, of course, the first thing that comes to my mind. I begin my thought sifting moment and eventually make it around to this conclusion…she’s not dying. Yes, Alaska is days away but I will see my sister again and with technology at our fingertips, she will always be a phone call or text away.

No, life isn’t a fairytale in that it’s always perfect. However, what we always forget is that fairytales aren’t flawless; the attitude of the hero or heroine is what makes it feel that way. Snow White had some rough stuff happen to her. I mean, for goodness sakes, she was living in a tiny hut with seven strange little dudes with her death being planned. Her positivity is what carried her through to the happy ending. She experienced life as we did (maybe worse than some of us) but the movie as a whole feels so unreal because of the positivity and strength she carries herself with. My point….life isn’t always sunshine, bubbles, and birds chirping our praise. Life can be dark but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a fairytale. My sister moving hurts; it’s the dark part. However, instead of turning into a tyrant due to my fear of the major change I’m facing, I need to tap into that strength and positivity Christ has equipped me with. I need to recognize and accept that it hurts, there’s nothing wrong with that, but I also need to do something with that emotion. I had been allowing that emotion to show in negative ways. However, just because we feel emotion that’s sad doesn’t mean we should allow it to manifest in negative ways. Use that emotion in a positive way. MAKE your dark moment a fairytale moment by choosing something that most likely goes against what your mind is trying to tell you to do. My mind was telling me to be grumpy and to avoid the issue which clearly was only resulting in a worse day. No, instead of feeling like a failure, I’m going to choose strength and positivity and I’m going to one up little miss Snow White. I’m going to talk to my animals and pretend they understand me (that doesn’t sound psycho at all) and I’m going to smile this day through. I’m going to jump for joy when my sister says “I do,” and I’m going to enjoy every second of this mini trip. I’m going to come home to my prince charming once it’s all over and guess what….I’m going to live happily ever after and so will you. God promised it so know it, accept it, and choose the fairytale life!

Isaiah 40:29-31 - He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.