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Quote of the Day

"Does God love you? Behold the Cross, and behold your answer."

~Taken from Max Lucado's "It's Not About Me"

How He Loves

This song never gets old.

Doing Life Together

"Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment."

Proverbs 18:1

One of the biggest lessons I learned from seminary through experience and in the classroom is that you cannot do life alone. We need each other, we need to be in community. Being a shy and at times soft-spoken introvert, I have struggled most of my life with building and maintaining lasting friendships. I didn't have very many friends growing up; matter of fact I only had one friend throughout my entire high school career. So very few people actually knew who I was and I only shared part of myself with a selective few.

Growing up I was always afraid that if people really got to know me, they would think that I was weird or they would reject me and I would be back to where I started, alone. Heck, I even thought I was weird! All of these fears and insecurities led me to withdraw even more from people. Yes I may have been there physically, but mentally and emotionally I was somewhere else. I was not open and honest about my thoughts and feelings. I wasn't letting people see me, and I wasn't seeking out others either. Things got a little better in college. I met more people and began to come out of my shell just a little bit. I still wasn't too sure of myself and still had a lot of social awkwardness going on, but I was getting better. But I could not understand why I wasn't connecting with people the way I wanted. It was like I wanted to move closer, yet move away at the same time. I felt safer by myself.

But moving to Dallas for graduate school and being in seminary changed my life. It was there that I really started to understand the need for close relationships, the need to share life with others. I met so many wonderful godly people there. I experienced the closeness that I never had. I laughed and cried with my friends. I hugged them, prayed with and for them. I shared my fears and insecurities and felt so safe and loved. I felt accepted. I no longer isolated myself in my room. I got out and met people, experienced life with others. Shared their good times and bad times. It was amazing!

Life lived alone or life lived without authenticity and intimacy is unfulfilling. That's because we were not made to live alone! Husband and wife, parent and child, the body of Christ, all these relationships connect us to one another to do life together. We need to pray for one another, build each other up, hold each other accountable. We need to share our joys and sorrows, our hopes and dreams. The church is one place where we gather together to fellowship but we also need to extend that fellowship into our daily lives. We need to live in community on a day-to-day basis.

My church has what is called "Connect Groups" to help connect members to each other. I encourage you to join me and take advantage of the small groups and/or bible study groups in your church. Or you can even start a mini-one at your home. Get a group of friends together and sit down and talk about meaningful things. Laugh together, cry together, pray together. Share your struggles and victories, encourage one another. Let's stop living our lives in isolation and loneliness. Let's do life together.

Celebrate Freedom

Just wanted to continue this celebration of our Freedom in Christ!

Galatians 5:1, 13-14 "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery....For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Quote of the Day

"The other side of every fear is freedom."

Author Unknown

"The Superwoman Syndrome"

1. Are you so busy that you are exhausted by the time you get home from work/school and have no energy left for friends or family let alone yourself?
2. Are you stressed beyond words about all the obligations and commitments you have?
3. Do you feel guilty about saying no?
4. Does your life feel unbalanced?
5. Most importantly, are you experiencing health problems as a result of this extreme stress and exhaustion?

If you answer yes to any of these you may be suffering from the "Superwoman Syndrome," which has become a major issue in the lives of most women today. We are so stressed, busy, tired, and irritable because we have too much on our plates. And get this, we think we can do it ALL and we HAVE to do it ALL. I mean, if we don't swoop in and save the day with our cape and superpower abilities to cook, clean, help the kids with their homework and yell at the dog all at the same time, who's gonna do it? Matter of fact, how dare someone else to do it! Because we are...

I am guilty! Arrest me, lock me up, and throw away the key! It's crazy but I pride myself on being able to do so much. I even give myself a little pat on the back and say "You go girl!" There are times when I feel guilty for sitting still. Can you believe that? It's like I constantly have to do something. Crazy huh?

But is this the way we are supposed to live? Is this the way God wants His daughters to live? I honestly don't think so. So let's really start to evaluate our lives and how we are choosing to spend our time (because it is a choice). Let's stop being busy just to be busy. We don't have to do all and be all. We should enjoy life, relax, have fun! Then life will stop being as stressful and the people in our lives can feel blessed to be around us!