Christmas...
I'm sure if you browse the blog-world, or Facebook, you will find many posts about Christmas, especially the "war" on Christmas. I have not decided how I feel about this. It is very interesting in this secular culture how oppressed I have felt in my religion during Christmastime.
I work in retail and have been told time and time again that I dare not say the words "Merry Christmas" to patrons because I may offend them. Instead, I was to stick to "Happy Holidays!" I just nodded my head and obeyed. I would rather not deal with the wrath of my boss... it was easier to just go with the flow of Retail-mas. Last year, in Europe, I did not even think twice about saying Merry Christmas to people though. It was so refreshing. No one contradicted me, no one corrected me, no one felt offended - at least no one that I am aware of. We talked of Christmas in school and since I went to school with people from all around the world, we discussed how we celebrated it in our home countries.
Unfortunately, Americans have kind of a bad rapp in the rest of the world's eyes. When I would talk about Christmas, people would usually roll their eyes or get a little grin on their faces. It turns out that the rest of the world saw me as some materialistic, present hungry, over-spending, cotton-headed-ninny-muggins. Guilty. As. Charged.
This Christmas, back home, was pretty marvelous. We did not over-do it... there was no present exchange with the cousins or the need to rush out and purchase things for all of my friends. Instead, we focused on fellowship and it was wonderful. I think it's my new favorite Christmas tradition.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones.
In Him,
xx
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
An Early Resolution
Hello loves,
I am currently at my parents house to celebrate the birth of our glorious Savior! Well, my mother is a blog-fanatic and it reminded me how much I have neglected my blog. I offer my sincere apologies.
I have SO MUCH I need to get out and I honestly have no idea how I am going to manage it. There are so many topics that I want to write about and so many future events I want to encapsulate. So, this is my promise to you... starting January 1, 2012 - you can expect weekly blog updates from me!!! << woah - commitment.
I have said it before, but this time, I have God on my side and I know He is going to use this blog to reach out to others. This all being said, these posts will mostly be musings, interpretations, and just general awe about how amazing God is and pretty much just basking in His love and grace. I am constantly in awe of Him.
Now, off I go to write a quick list of things I cannot wait to tell you about - then bedtime! It is my wonderful mother's birthday tomorrow!! Then, Christ, my Savior's, birthday the following day!! So much to celebrate!!!!
Love in Him,
xx
I am currently at my parents house to celebrate the birth of our glorious Savior! Well, my mother is a blog-fanatic and it reminded me how much I have neglected my blog. I offer my sincere apologies.
I have SO MUCH I need to get out and I honestly have no idea how I am going to manage it. There are so many topics that I want to write about and so many future events I want to encapsulate. So, this is my promise to you... starting January 1, 2012 - you can expect weekly blog updates from me!!! << woah - commitment.
I have said it before, but this time, I have God on my side and I know He is going to use this blog to reach out to others. This all being said, these posts will mostly be musings, interpretations, and just general awe about how amazing God is and pretty much just basking in His love and grace. I am constantly in awe of Him.
Now, off I go to write a quick list of things I cannot wait to tell you about - then bedtime! It is my wonderful mother's birthday tomorrow!! Then, Christ, my Savior's, birthday the following day!! So much to celebrate!!!!
Love in Him,
xx
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Thanks, but No Thanks - Update!
Hello!!
I know it has been a while, but I wanted to give you an update on my "Thanks, but No Thanks" challenge. Well, I wish I could say that I had better news to report. However, I seem to have more of a hold-up than I had originally planned. I can honestly say that I have learned a lot!
I have been able to say No Thanks about twice in the past few weeks. It is sometimes difficult for me to remember to give it up to God. I am going to try harder, though. Now, onto a short revelation.
I had been praying about my schedule and this challenge. I was just asking the Lord to be with my decisions and guide my life in a way that would bring Him glory. It was quickly after that prayer that I had said "yes" to a few things without praying about them specifically. I did not really think much of it. However, I was blessed beyond belief with the things I agreed to go and do - a lunch/coffee date with a friend, an unexpected prayer session, and a phone call with a long-distance friend. So, I think I have gotten a better understanding as to what He was trying to teach me through this challenge.
He is not a micro manager of our lives. He knows all because He has gone before us! Instead, He wants us to knowingly and happily give our every day to Him! Maybe that sounds elementary to you, but to me (one of the greatest life micro-managers...ever!) it is a big deal to give up my control each and every day. Through this challenge, He is molding my heart to long for Him. It has been an intense few days, but I am so grateful that I had thought long and hard about this.
I hope that you are learning a lot through this challenge. Maybe He is showing you areas in your life that you need to let go of, areas that you may need to focus on, or maybe (like me) He is showing you that He is in control and His plan is greater than any of us can imagine!
Let me know what He is showing you!
Much love (and patience) in Christ!
xx
I know it has been a while, but I wanted to give you an update on my "Thanks, but No Thanks" challenge. Well, I wish I could say that I had better news to report. However, I seem to have more of a hold-up than I had originally planned. I can honestly say that I have learned a lot!
I have been able to say No Thanks about twice in the past few weeks. It is sometimes difficult for me to remember to give it up to God. I am going to try harder, though. Now, onto a short revelation.
I had been praying about my schedule and this challenge. I was just asking the Lord to be with my decisions and guide my life in a way that would bring Him glory. It was quickly after that prayer that I had said "yes" to a few things without praying about them specifically. I did not really think much of it. However, I was blessed beyond belief with the things I agreed to go and do - a lunch/coffee date with a friend, an unexpected prayer session, and a phone call with a long-distance friend. So, I think I have gotten a better understanding as to what He was trying to teach me through this challenge.
He is not a micro manager of our lives. He knows all because He has gone before us! Instead, He wants us to knowingly and happily give our every day to Him! Maybe that sounds elementary to you, but to me (one of the greatest life micro-managers...ever!) it is a big deal to give up my control each and every day. Through this challenge, He is molding my heart to long for Him. It has been an intense few days, but I am so grateful that I had thought long and hard about this.
I hope that you are learning a lot through this challenge. Maybe He is showing you areas in your life that you need to let go of, areas that you may need to focus on, or maybe (like me) He is showing you that He is in control and His plan is greater than any of us can imagine!
Let me know what He is showing you!
Much love (and patience) in Christ!
xx
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Thanks, but No Thanks...
Second post - so far, so good!
For those of you who are in college, who have been in college, or know what it is like to have absolutely no time... this post is for you!
Now, I could sit here and talk about all that I am involved in - or I can just assume that you either know me and know how busy I am, or that you can relate. I think we have all been in the position of feeling like you are scheduled every single second of every single day. This is how my life usually is, and it is definitely how I am currently feeling. With that out of the way... let's ask a question... What should we do about it?
Woah. Have you ever thought about that? I hadn't.
I was just down in Milwaukee for an interview for my first post-grad job and I was reviewing interview questions with my friend in the car ride down. She asked me, "What is your biggest opportunity?" In other words... what are my weaknesses? I quickly rattled off, "Well, I'm a perfectionist..." - typical college-grad answer. We then got to talking about what our weaknesses REALLY are... we both agreed - over-committing ourselves. Two months ago, I would have just accepted this and moved on. Not this time.
In my current Bible study, we discuss the ways Satan wiggles his way into our lives and makes us believe things are normal... white lies, feeling depressed, etc. So - how about over-committing myself?! Every time I say "yes" to something I am filling up my schedule. Sometimes I wake up, get ready, go to class, work, attend meetings, go for coffee with friends, come home, do homework, and go to bed completely exhausted without even cracking open my Bible. The devil REJOICES in this! That is not okay with me.
So, what should we do about this? We can't just stop doing things! Wrong.
I am challenging myself to pray about accepting things or saying "yes" from here on out. I give my big life decisions to God, why not give Him my small decisions? I challenge you to do the same thing. Let's look at a little example:
You get an e-mail early Monday morning asking if you would like to come to dinner on Wednesday with a group of people from class. (This would be the point where I would hit "Reply" and answer "Sure! I would LOVE to do that!") Instead of hitting "Reply" right away, you close your eyes and ask God where He wants you on Wednesday night. It could go something like this "God, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to spend time with John, Sue, and Bill on Wednesday night. Lord, if this is in your will - please allow me the openness in my schedule, if you require me to be elsewhere, please make this clear to me." Pretty simple, right? Then, listen. God wants to be a part of your life and every decision you make. If He wants you to spend more time with Him on Wednesday, He'll let you know. :)
The reason I am so interested in this is because last Wednesday, I had already made a plan to go to a club meeting. My friend called and asked me to go to a last-minute Bible study. I ended up going to the Bible study and got my world rocked. However, I felt bad about missing the meeting that I had previously committed to. Another example - I had committed to going to Chicago with a club, but hadn't really prayed about it. I just got a really bad feeling about going and ended up cancelling. I was then given the opportunity to attend a conference the weekend I would have been in Chicago. I am so excited to go to the conference, but I still felt bad about cancelling on my previous engagement.
So, instead of feeling bad about cancelling things or missing meetings - I want to be able to say "Thanks, but no thanks."
That's my challenge for you. I will update you on my progress and I would love to hear about yours!
Love in Christ Jesus!
xx
For those of you who are in college, who have been in college, or know what it is like to have absolutely no time... this post is for you!
Now, I could sit here and talk about all that I am involved in - or I can just assume that you either know me and know how busy I am, or that you can relate. I think we have all been in the position of feeling like you are scheduled every single second of every single day. This is how my life usually is, and it is definitely how I am currently feeling. With that out of the way... let's ask a question... What should we do about it?
Woah. Have you ever thought about that? I hadn't.
I was just down in Milwaukee for an interview for my first post-grad job and I was reviewing interview questions with my friend in the car ride down. She asked me, "What is your biggest opportunity?" In other words... what are my weaknesses? I quickly rattled off, "Well, I'm a perfectionist..." - typical college-grad answer. We then got to talking about what our weaknesses REALLY are... we both agreed - over-committing ourselves. Two months ago, I would have just accepted this and moved on. Not this time.
In my current Bible study, we discuss the ways Satan wiggles his way into our lives and makes us believe things are normal... white lies, feeling depressed, etc. So - how about over-committing myself?! Every time I say "yes" to something I am filling up my schedule. Sometimes I wake up, get ready, go to class, work, attend meetings, go for coffee with friends, come home, do homework, and go to bed completely exhausted without even cracking open my Bible. The devil REJOICES in this! That is not okay with me.
So, what should we do about this? We can't just stop doing things! Wrong.
I am challenging myself to pray about accepting things or saying "yes" from here on out. I give my big life decisions to God, why not give Him my small decisions? I challenge you to do the same thing. Let's look at a little example:
You get an e-mail early Monday morning asking if you would like to come to dinner on Wednesday with a group of people from class. (This would be the point where I would hit "Reply" and answer "Sure! I would LOVE to do that!") Instead of hitting "Reply" right away, you close your eyes and ask God where He wants you on Wednesday night. It could go something like this "God, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to spend time with John, Sue, and Bill on Wednesday night. Lord, if this is in your will - please allow me the openness in my schedule, if you require me to be elsewhere, please make this clear to me." Pretty simple, right? Then, listen. God wants to be a part of your life and every decision you make. If He wants you to spend more time with Him on Wednesday, He'll let you know. :)
The reason I am so interested in this is because last Wednesday, I had already made a plan to go to a club meeting. My friend called and asked me to go to a last-minute Bible study. I ended up going to the Bible study and got my world rocked. However, I felt bad about missing the meeting that I had previously committed to. Another example - I had committed to going to Chicago with a club, but hadn't really prayed about it. I just got a really bad feeling about going and ended up cancelling. I was then given the opportunity to attend a conference the weekend I would have been in Chicago. I am so excited to go to the conference, but I still felt bad about cancelling on my previous engagement.
So, instead of feeling bad about cancelling things or missing meetings - I want to be able to say "Thanks, but no thanks."
That's my challenge for you. I will update you on my progress and I would love to hear about yours!
Love in Christ Jesus!
xx
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Rebirth
Hello blog-world!
I have tried to write a couple of blogs... I'm still determined to finish one (about a trip to Europe) and one is on-going, that I post in occasionally. However, I am entering a new chapter in my life and thought that I would really like to challenge myself to keep a blog about how God is moving in my life. I am hoping this will make its way to others who are seeking Him.
I am basically an open book right now. My pages are pretty blank, waiting for His perfect wording. Therefore, I am not sure what this will turn into - maybe a diary of His works in my life, a journal of a journey to spiritual gifts, a map displaying my adventures He leads me on, or maybe just a forum for people to come and discuss how He has changed their lives as well.
I wanted to give my testimony on here first and foremost - but I was thinking about it and I am not sure what my testimony really is at this point. So, I am going to pray about it and work it out in Him. I will post it soon though, hopefully. For now, I will leave you with this little bit!!! ...
I chose to name the blog With Eyes Open Wide for a number of reasons. However, the most prominent being that I was called to start this blog while listening to Britt Nicole's song, "Say It." I am posting the lyrics below. I could not get past the line, "With eyes open wide, I'm taking You in." I honestly kept rewinding it to listen to it over and over. Listen to "Say It" by Britt Nicole
How often do we let life pass us by with our eyes wide open? I want to take in everything God has to offer me with my eyes WIDE open, with my hands in the air and praises to Him gracing my lips!
Love in Jesus,
xx
"Say It"
Okay, so I’m gonna say it
I’m not afraid to say it
The clocks on my wall keep ticking, the moments that I keep missing
Okay, so I must confess that
I’ve settled for so much less than
What You designed, I’m not taking my life one day at a time
‘Cause life is short and quickly passing by
Father, will You help me make the most of what is mine
With eyes open wide
I’m taking You in
Making the time mean all that it can
I don’t need a sign
I just need to begin, need to begin like this
With every second of every minute
I’m livin’ in it and that’s how I
Say it
Oh yeah, I’m gonna say it, oh yeah, yeah
That’s how I say it
Oh yeah I’m gonna say it, oh, oh
I got so much to discover
A hand I could lend another
A word that could bring some healing
Is there any better feeling?
Hold up, gotta see the beauty
Hold up, gotta let it move me
I wanna be, with You here in the now
I’m done missing out
Let me fall in Your arms
Resting here in Your arms, I found
A peace like I have never known, like I have never known
Counting every star
Nothing’s ever too far
With You here
I see it all so clear
I have tried to write a couple of blogs... I'm still determined to finish one (about a trip to Europe) and one is on-going, that I post in occasionally. However, I am entering a new chapter in my life and thought that I would really like to challenge myself to keep a blog about how God is moving in my life. I am hoping this will make its way to others who are seeking Him.
I am basically an open book right now. My pages are pretty blank, waiting for His perfect wording. Therefore, I am not sure what this will turn into - maybe a diary of His works in my life, a journal of a journey to spiritual gifts, a map displaying my adventures He leads me on, or maybe just a forum for people to come and discuss how He has changed their lives as well.
I wanted to give my testimony on here first and foremost - but I was thinking about it and I am not sure what my testimony really is at this point. So, I am going to pray about it and work it out in Him. I will post it soon though, hopefully. For now, I will leave you with this little bit!!! ...
I chose to name the blog With Eyes Open Wide for a number of reasons. However, the most prominent being that I was called to start this blog while listening to Britt Nicole's song, "Say It." I am posting the lyrics below. I could not get past the line, "With eyes open wide, I'm taking You in." I honestly kept rewinding it to listen to it over and over. Listen to "Say It" by Britt Nicole
How often do we let life pass us by with our eyes wide open? I want to take in everything God has to offer me with my eyes WIDE open, with my hands in the air and praises to Him gracing my lips!
Love in Jesus,
xx
"Say It"
Okay, so I’m gonna say it
I’m not afraid to say it
The clocks on my wall keep ticking, the moments that I keep missing
Okay, so I must confess that
I’ve settled for so much less than
What You designed, I’m not taking my life one day at a time
‘Cause life is short and quickly passing by
Father, will You help me make the most of what is mine
With eyes open wide
I’m taking You in
Making the time mean all that it can
I don’t need a sign
I just need to begin, need to begin like this
With every second of every minute
I’m livin’ in it and that’s how I
Say it
Oh yeah, I’m gonna say it, oh yeah, yeah
That’s how I say it
Oh yeah I’m gonna say it, oh, oh
I got so much to discover
A hand I could lend another
A word that could bring some healing
Is there any better feeling?
Hold up, gotta see the beauty
Hold up, gotta let it move me
I wanna be, with You here in the now
I’m done missing out
Let me fall in Your arms
Resting here in Your arms, I found
A peace like I have never known, like I have never known
Counting every star
Nothing’s ever too far
With You here
I see it all so clear
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