Never Going Back to OK

Have you ever been at a place in your life where everything is going good? When all things are going the way you plan them? I'm sure you have. The mountaintop. The high. The "I'm going to make it" feeling. These times help you to feel comfortable with your life. You feel calm. At ease.

But, I've noticed something. I hardly ever grow...whether it be spiritually, mentally, or emotionally...during these periods in my life.

I grow when I start to lean on God because I have no other choice. I grow when I don't make decisions based on my own desires. I grow when I've got no other option but to choose to follow the light out of the darkness.

In the "all is well" periods of my life, I become complacent. Nonchalant. Lukewarm. Which, according to the Bible, is not good.

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."

-Revelation 3:15-16

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be "spit out" of anyone's mouth, much less God's. To Him, there is nothing worse than (wait for it) not caring. At the very least, be cold. Care enough to not care...if that makes sense. But better yet, be hot. Be on fire. Don't settle for being cold or lukewarm.

When you're not on the mountaintop (which is 9 times out of 10 if we're honest), choose to care. Choose to fight you're way out with God's help. Once you catch that fire, you'll realize that you never want to go back to being ok.

Borrowing from Pete Wilson

Today, I'm going to piggyback off a post I read from one of my favorite bloggers...Pete Wilson. Pete is a pastor of a church in Nashville, Cross Point. He is also the author of Plan B, an incredible book that I am currently absorbed in reading.

Pete wrote about monotony today. You know...what you do everyday, over and over, repeatedly. Like washing the dishes by hand (no dishwasher in the Hardiman household). Or cooking dinner every night. Feeding my kitties and cleaning up after them (they are some dirty felines). More generally: my "chores."

These things, while they get boring, are essential in maintaining a clean and healthy household. They are little, but important and necessary actions that I need to do if I want to be happy inside my house. It would drive me crazy if there were dishes everywhere. It would make Caleb angry if we had take-out every night (not to mention the toll it would take on our waistlines). And let's not even consider the filthiness that would come from neglecting my sweet purring babies.

You may see where I'm going with this. Monotony can be important. Monotony can be necessary. So today, choose to look pass the everyday occurrences in your life and embrace the joy that you can find in them.

What do you consider monotonous that is also a necessary part of your life?

Come As You Are

You don't have to wear designer clothes. You don't have to listen to Christian music.

You don't have to have a nice house or a nice car. You don't have to be "good."

There are no requirements...you just have to accept.

That's the beauty of being in a relationship with God. You just say yes.

You come just as you are...He takes you in and loves you. He extends his love and mercy to you. And, a funny thing happens when you accept this grace. You start to WANT to change. You want to be more like him. You want to make him happy. You want to imitate this love that you have received and extend it to others. It's a beautiful thing.

Come just as you are...

I Got Nothing

Seriously...I can't think of anything to write about.
Writer's block (well I'm not a writer but I have dreams).
I knew it would happen eventually after writing in this blog for awhile.

I'm trying to be ok with this fact. There will be days when I just don't know what to write about. (There are days now when I don't know what to THINK about...much less write.) I guess part of my perfectionist tendency is to want to have something witty, sarcastic, and moving each and every time I log on to my blog. I want to impact somebody who reads this with the words that I write. So I guess I feel guilty when I don't put something worthy of being written on here. I feel like I'm letting my readers down (whoever they may be), and I don't like that feeling...at all.

So I'm sorry if you came here looking for an answer or something good. I'm afraid I just don't have it in me today. I guess I could have written about how my grandmother is having surgery today and how terrifying that is for me/my family or about how it stinks that I can't find a job right now (boy, that doesn't sound like anything else I've written now, does it?). But I couldn't make those blog entries good enough. Granted, having everyone pray for my grandmother would have been beneficial (please do this anyway), but I know some of you would check out and maybe never come back. And I don't want that at all. Frankly, I'm pretty sure my Nana doesn't want me to write that much about her...she's pretty darn humble. So, I didn't write about her.

I had writer's block...

Anything is Possible

It's common knowledge to my close friends and family that I'm kind of a nerd...especially when it comes to space. I love to watch the NASA channel (especially when they replay the video of the shuttle launch from the view of the SRBs). I love the Space and Rocket Center. I love Kennedy Space Center. And, as I recently learned, I love to watch shuttle launches in person.

(my photo of STS 135-Atlantis's last flight)

What we have accomplished in space is nothing short of amazing. When President Kennedy declared that we were going to the moon, most people thought it was impossible. They thought he was crazy. They thought it couldn't be done. But, it was done. We did it. We not only fulfilled Kennedy's dream, but we went way beyond (I think there might be a pun in there somewhere). We accomplished the impossible. There are so many lessons to be learned from this. But, I think there are 3 important notions that can't be overlooked about how anything is possible:

1. Dare to dream. Somebody had to dream about what space was like. Somebody somewhere thought, "Hey, I wonder what's up there in the sky. We should go up there sometime." This dreaming became contagious, and other people started to dream along with said person. This is applicable to our own lives. You may have a hint of a dream that scares the heck out of you. If you really think about what it is you want to do, you run. You flee. Don't do that. Dream about it. Consider it. Contemplate it. Talk about it with your spouse, family, and friends.
2. Make a plan. Do you think NASA just randomly decided to engineer a vehicle to go into space? Do you think they just started grabbing parts in the assembly building to put together? Of course not. They're NASA! They put together a detailed plan. They tested unmanned rockets first (great decision by the way). Once they kind of got that figured out (it took them awhile, but more on that later), they started working on a new plan. It was methodical. My husband makes fun of me because I write to-do lists like nobody's business. Sometimes I put "breathe" on there, just so I can mark it off (slightly exaggerating here). I love to know what I have to do, so that I can do it. Plans are good. They allow you to see where you are, where you want to go, and what steps you need to take to get there.
3. Follow through. Ok back to that part where I said it took them awhile to figure out about the rockets. I saw a video of the first rockets that NASA tested on the launch pad when I visited Kennedy Space Center earlier this month. The number of times when it blew up on the pad was unbelievable. Thankfully, these were unmanned. Sometimes the top part of the rocket blew up. Sometimes it blew up in the middle. At one point, the rocket looked like it would take off, but then it just fell over! How disappointing. But...they didn't give up. They stuck to the plan. And it paid off. We went into space. We got to the moon, several times. We went on to develop a new vehicle, a shuttle, to go many more times. And we look forward to the next step in space adventure. All because they had a dream, made a plan, and followed through with it. 

What are you dreaming about?

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Funny thing just happened...I changed what my blog topic would be. I'm saving the other one for tomorrow, so I don't want to add a spoiler here. I had every intention on writing tonight about said subject. I couldn't believe when I just opened up this page to write and got inspired to write on this topic instead. It's kind of been...how shall I say this...bugging me lately. I'm talking about the "dot, dot, dot" that comes in various situations. The waiting.

"The waiting is the hardest part

Every day you see one more card

You take it on faith

You take it to the heart

Yeah, the waiting is the hardest part."

-Tom Petty

One of my favorite philosophers, if you will, Tom Petty (sidebar: quick shout to my mum for getting me hooked on this guy) explains waiting pretty dang well. He says that you may see a little development from your waiting, but you still have to keep the faith and have a heart. (I know, it's not the deepest of lyrics to try to decipher...but I thought Bon Jovi would be too much for this blog)

Isaiah puts it this way:

"But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." -Isaiah 40:31

Currently, I am waiting on something important. A job. But today, I realized that there is other stuff in the future that I am also waiting on...kids, grad school, a better job (I want to be a principal), a good coaching situation (I want to coach girl's basketball), my husband's business to expand, etc.

All of that stuff is part of my "plan." A sort of general outline of what I want to accomplish in my life. I was looking at grad schools today because I almost can't wait to start that (crazy, right?). But I know that we can't afford that, so it will have to wait. (Gonna pay off the school debt now, then accumulate more later on!) Kids are also high on the "I want it now" list. Not only can we not afford them (have you SEEN how much money it takes to raise a kid?), but I don't think we are ready to be parents yet. I still have stuff I want to do before kids. So I may have to wait awhile for this one. And you know what?

THAT'S OK! We are promised strength and endurance and energy when we wait upon the Lord. It's just that...

the waiting is the hardest part.

More

"I wish I had a big house like _________. I wish I had a new car like ___________. I wish I had a great job like __________."

Ahhhh, a glimpse into my head. Seriously. I am the world's worst at comparing myself to others. Maybe it's because I have a touch of perfectionism and wish to have the perfect...everything. I always find something else that I want to have because someone else has it. It's an endless cycle. There is no satisfaction in it.

We are so blessed here in the United States to have the consumerism and technology that we do. But, sometimes it prevents us from being satisfied with what we have. We always want more. I know that having stuff is not bad, but loving our stuff can be detrimental to our relationship with God. Letting our material things rule our life is bad. Just plain old bad. It takes our attention away from Him and our loved ones. I can't tell you how many nights I have "listened" while hubby tells me a story from work...all the while I'm browsing on my phone. Not very good communication skills on my part. I'm trying to change that (ok, I admit...the Verizon crackdown on data rates might have been a catalyst).

So...just try one thing this week to reduce your connection to your stuff. It might just make a difference.

Taking a Page from George Bailey's Book

One of my favorite Christmas movies is "It's a Wonderful Life." It was a yearly tradition at my house to watch it whenever it would come on NBC at the first of December. Needless to say, I found it rather shocking when I got married and found out my husband had never even HEARD of it. (I made him watch it last year and he fell asleep...kids these days) I think the reason it is so enjoyable to me is because it makes me feel good. (This is also why I liked "Larry Crowne" but that's a different story for a different day) One of my favorite scenes is when George Bailey tells his guardian angel that he wishes he'd never been born. The angel (Clarence) grants him an opportunity that most people never have. He gets to see what his life would be like if he'd never been born.

I have always been fascinated with this scene. You see, it's not anything big that George did...it was the little things that made a difference. It was when he grabbed his brother out of the frozen lake. It was when he befriended Mary and eventually went on to marry her. It was when he switched the pills back at the drug store because his boss was old and couldn't read the correct labels. All of these things made a difference. And when George saw that he'd never been born...his brother didn't survive the drowning...Mary became an old maid...his boss was fired for killing somebody.

The little things make a difference. So whenever you feel like you're just going through the motions, not changing a thing in this world...take a page from George Bailey's book and remember all the small things you do that matter.

I'm Not Gonna Fight You Anymore

Welcome back to the Recreational Word-Slinger...after a brief hiatus (due to travel and rest required after travel), I've got another post for you.

You know that team-building exercise where someone crosses their arms, closes their arms, and falls backwards into their teammates arms. Who always catches them. Right? Unless you are the Hulk and you are falling into TinkerBell, you will probably be caught. I've never not been caught (calm down grammar police...I know that's a double negative, but it gets the point across). The whole point of this exercise is to get you to trust your partner. Trust...

Learning to trust someone might be the most intimate portion of a relationship. You have to trust them to not make fun of you. You have to trust them to support your dreams and ideas. You have to trust them to let them drive you around and eat with them (this excludes a whole bunch of people). Romantically speaking, you have to trust them to not break your heart. This is so hard for so many people. Why? Because somebody mistreated them and broke their trust before. So they are timid to give away their trust so easily. I've been there...trust me. ;)

As hard as it is to trust someone here on Earth, how much harder is it for you to trust someone that you can't see or talk to physically? Even though this person loves us and orchestrates our lives for good, I fight and fight because I don't trust Him enough. There's a song that I love by a great songwriter, Brandon Heath...

"I'm not gonna fight you anymore

I'm not gonna try and lock the door

You took Your life and gave me Yours

There's no good reason why

I shouldn't trust you with mine"

Pretty powerful lyrics. Don't try to lock Him out. Don't shut Him out of your life. Trust him. There's no good reason not to.

The Art of Rest

One thing that is strange about summer for a student or a teacher is the Fourth of July holiday. You've already been out of school for about a month, so you have this whole routine of "goofing off" down to a tee. Then all of a sudden, there's this holiday for the other people (those who don't get out for summer...crazy people) where they get a day off. For some, this may be a welcome change. To have someone to share the day with. For others, this may be the worst thing ever. Someone is going to impose on your already planned schedule. They might not want to watch those TV shows that you usually indulge in every day. They might not want to head out of the house for an errand, be it fun or a chore. They might...GASP...just want to rest.

Resting has always been a foreign concept to me. I'm not talking about the kind of rest that occurs when you sleep (although this is often foreign to me as well). I'm talking about the nothingness, the peacefulness, the restfulness that comes with rest. I love routines, schedules, itineraries, etc. I love them. I thrive on them. So when a holiday or a summer break comes around, my life is turned upside down for awhile until I find my new routine. To just throw a random holiday in my new routine can often prove to be lethal to anyone around me. Because I'm out of my element.

Usually having somewhere to go can help calm me down, but yesterday I had no such plans. We had done all of our celebrating the day before. I woke up yesterday not knowing how my schedule-loving self would react to the day off with my husband there to share it with me. I did make a trip to the grocery store, but other than that I didn't have anything scheduled. I'm proud to say that I came through like a champ. We ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. We never do that. Except on Sundays. It was awesome. We both took naps, although I didn't need one since I had slept in. We just laid on the couch watching The History Channel and "The Waltons." It was an unbelievably restful day. One that I haven't had in awhile. I am thankful that I finally got a handle on the art of rest.

(Jodi...I ran the 5K in 46:57...not my best, but ok considering the heat!)

Take Off the Blinders

I'm going to be brutally honest with myself here. I have been in a "funk." Things have not been clicking the way I like them to. It takes a little bit more effort to get a smile out of me. I've been too preoccupied with what I am not accomplishing that I have not seen outside my failure. My blinders are on.

I know what the problem is: I can't fix it. I have absolutely no control over what is happening right now. And it is driving me absolutely crazy. I've exhausted myself with trying to fix it. It's not working. You'd thinking I would have given up trying to make it work, right? Well, you see, I'm kind of...stubborn. (My husband and family would like to debate the "kind of" piece of that statement!) Once I have a goal in mind, it is hard for me to not achieve it. This has proven to be a positive thing for most of my life. But, there comes a time when I need to take a step back and acknowledge that at this particular moment...I can do NOTHING about it.

Sooooo...what should I do? Well, I'm going to focus on the present. This weekend is going to be awesome. Because I'm taking a break from freaking out. I'm doing a 5K, then my awesome little sister's birthday party. Some tennis with the hubby. A fireworks/grill out with my in-laws, who are a lot of fun. And a movie on Monday. I want to be fully focused on what I have going on around me this weekend. I don't want to be apprehensive about what might or might not happen. I want to be with the ones that I love. I want to take off the blinders...