"Some people just need a high five.. in the face.. with a chair."
Ok, I'm not really that cruel, but I can't say I didn't laugh when I first read that. Having attended a Russian church most of my childhood and teen years, I can truly only recall two sermons that have fastened to my heart throughout my adult life (both from the same speaker) to which I find myself looking back on and thinking "ain't that the truth?!".. One of those sermons was spoken on a boring Wednesday night service when I was about 15 or 16 years old. There weren't many people in the audience, but blessed were those that heard the sermon named "distraction," for the message was not ancient, but indeed ahead of its time, because in the years following that Wednesday night, distractions have taken on one of the biggest roles in our culture. When I was listening to that sermon in which the message was simple "The Devil needs but one tool to win over your soul and that is distraction", I was thinking about the distractions in my life. Boys. 'Days of our lives.' Instant messaging/chat, there were just so many that I needed to get under control! {Enter smart ass smirk emoticon} because the days since then have become so much more evil. I'm sure a lot of you can relate; you go to a service where the message spoken reminds you of the 'end times' and you start to feel a bit uneasy. You watch a movie where the end of the world is upon us and suddenly the things that you found so exigent, merely hours ago, no longer seem to hold any value. Your heart is gripped by an urgency and you get that eerie, uneasy feeling in your gut and you know that you just can't go on living the comfortable life you start every day with your morning latte, because the bigger picture has been opened to you! You want to roll down your windows and yell it to all who will listen "People! We've been blinded for so long.. our lives have become too comfortable, we're freakishly okay with where we are at, it's time to wake up and step in some mud, get dirty for a change!" Yeah.. that was refreshing. Good night. Good morning. You pour your coffee while checking the latest feed on your choice of social networking and suddenly you realize how out of line and kooky you were last night. Pfft! Everything is okay, I clearly overreacted! The world was as is, you see? It's not all so scary and urgent as it seemed for a minute there.
That's the scariest thing of all. Eternity tugs at our hearts and without much thought, we brush it off as a vexatious feeling and unknowingly look for comfort in the little things that are so frivolous! So yes people, sometimes we need a high five in the face, with a freaking chair! Me being the first, because I get caught up all too often with things that, in the big picture that God has painted for us, simply don't matter. It's wonderful to enjoy this life with all of the senses that God granted us, but it's just not okay as a believer to give them so much precedence in our lives. I wish more people cared about the VOTD (verse of the day) over what they are draping over their skin and bones. Am I being too forward? I mean, I care about how I look-- not that you would know if you saw me on a daily basis-- but I mean, I don't want to wear a potato sack and call it good. I want to have hobbies and brunches and go on dates, I want all of that. I guess the way I want to see it is that eternity is my workday and the rest is my lunch break rather than the other way around. I hope I haven't offended anyone, but this is my blog and these are my thoughts. They are mostly for me, but I'm learning to do what God puts on my heart, so there it is. If we truly want to be the hands and feet of Jesus, sometimes we gotta take off those stilettos and walk barefoot in the rain.
UPDATE FROM LAST MONTHS GOALS;
1) Being nicer to my husband. This is a bit tricky as he left town two weeks after I posted, and in a long distance marriage, there isn't much time for bickering! I think that I definitely tried to force myself to drop things that just lead to drama and appreciate the good man that I have! I feel that sometimes when things are too good, I like to shake it up a bit and now I'm thinking "ahh, betta not."
2) Spend time with the Lord daily. Failed. Miserably. Thank you Lord for loving me always and never giving up on me.
3) Worrying less and trusting more. This has been a rocky path for me as worrying comes so naturally, but God just stands behind me and tells me to fall into His arms, He will catch me. I've let go a few times, and He's always faithful. Even when I've held on, He lovingly reminded me that my worrying is about as useful as dictionary is to Snooki. wah wah.
