A quote from Brené Brown in her book, Rising Strong, has really sunk into my soul. She said, “I am slowly learning how to straddle the tension that comes with understanding that I am tough and tender, brave and afraid, strong and struggling—all of these things, all of the time. I’m working on letting go of having to be one or the other and embracing the wholeness of wholeheartedness.”
1 Comment
One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is sitting around the table together for a long period of time. No rushing, no having to clean-up immediately. Thanksgiving is a meal you get to sit down, savor, and eat slow. Thanksgiving usually means traveling to family and communing together, and stuffing our face with delicious food.
I have to admit Thanksgiving meal wasn't my favorite meal of the year growing up. (sorry mom)The canned cranberries, and pumpkin pie were not what I looked forward too. The TEXTURE of the pumpkin pie still gives me the creeps a bit. But when I started hosting my own thanksgivings, first for sad secret service agents who had to work over the holidays,(One of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes actually comes from one of those agents), (then for my extended family, since our house was the halfway point), I started to really love the meal itself. It was overwhelming at first to cook ALL those dishes, we borrowed neighbors ovens and cooked what seemed like all day and all night. After several years of borrowing different people's recipes, using neighbor's ovens, and planning a bit better we have found the GREATEST menu. Not so healthy, but so delicious and worth it in moderation. Think visions of sour cream, cheesy garlic mashed potatoes, delicious stuffing, the perfect pumpkin pie for Grant, yummy buttery rolls, green bean casserole from Paula Deen. AND THEN the allergies and intolerances hit...the illnesses took over our perfected Thanksgiving menu, and we had to REDO everything. No more gluten, hardly any sugar, no dairy, no corn. So all the recipes I had perfected and carefully written down, half of my family can no longer have. So we had to start all over, so we can still have a delicious thanksgiving without making our sweet allergic to gluten, dairy, corn and a variety of other things (pepper, olive oil, tomatoes, strawberries) family feel left out. I wanted to put together some recipes for those of you who might be having your first thanksgiving gluten or dairy-free. Because no one has time to scour the internets the night before to find something to make, because you probably wouldn't have the ingredients if you waited that long anyway. So here are a few I have found. I have not used all of them. MAIN: Turkey duh! (that's an easy one). Although pre-dairy allergy we used to load that turkey cavity with butter and herbs. Now just the herbs! Organic Ham from Whole Foods SIDES: Rice Stuffing with bacon, apples and herbs All Against Grain, Stuffing Garlic mashed potatoes Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Cinnamon Butternut Squash, Pecans, and Cranberries 3 cups Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed, yellow leaves removed 3 tablespoons olive oil Salt, to taste Roasted Butternut Squash: 1 and ½ pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed into 1-inch cubes (Yields about 4 cups of uncooked cubed butternut squash) 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 tablespoons maple syrup ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon Other Ingredients: 2 cups pecan halves 1 cup dried cranberries 2-4 tablespoons maple syrup (optional) DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 400 F. Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease the foil-lined baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Make sure Brussels sprouts have trimmed ends and yellow leaves are removed. Then, slice all Brussels sprouts in half. In a medium bowl, combine halved Brussels sprouts, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt (to taste), and toss to combine. Place onto a foil-lined baking sheet, cut side down, and roast in the oven at 400 F for about 20-25 minutes. During the last 5-10 minutes of roasting, turn them over for even browning, the cut sides should be nicely and partially charred but not blackened. Roasted butternut squash: Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease the foil-lined baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. In a medium bowl, combine cubed butternut squash (peeled and seeded),1 tablespoon of olive oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon, and toss to mix. Place butternut squash in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning once half-way through baking, until softened. _Note:_You can roast both Brussels sprouts and butternut squash on 2 separate baking sheets at the same time, on the same rack in the oven – that’s what I did. Assembly: In a large bowl, combine roasted Brussels sprouts, roasted butternut squash, pecans, and cranberries, and mix to combine. (OPTIONAL): For more sweetness, add 2 or 4 tablespoons of maple syrup, if desired – do not add all maple syrup at once, start with 2 tablespoons, then add more, if desired, and toss with the salad ingredients to combine *Cranberry Relish, a Family favorite. (I PROMISE, it is nothing like the canned cranberries) MAKE IT DAY BEFORE. 1lb of cranberries 2 large cans of mandarin oranges 1/4 cup raisins (run them through food processor) 1 1/2 cups of sugar (HOLY MOLY) 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp nutmeg orange zest Directions: Finely chop cranberries and one can of mandarin oranges in food processor add raisins, sugar, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg and orange zest and rest of whole orange sections. (Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight) BREAD: Anna's Baked Breads (good when you add your own herbs to it) DESSERT: Salted Caramel Pecan Pie Pumpkin pie recipe Pumpkin Pie Recipe from All Against Grain I hope you enjoy these. Let me know if you have any that you would add to the list. Most of us do a few of the same things. We eat, sleep, think, workout, or don't workout, walk, run to name some. We do lots of things daily, and most of the time it is just normal routine for us. We do most of these things, talking, walking, eating, reading, thinking, with little to no thought. We don't see the beauty or amazement in forming a complete sentence, or running down the sidewalk with our kids. I don't appreciate every time I get to move heavy weights around, or swing around on the pull-up bar. I am usually just griping to my workout partners in between breaths about how this is REALLY heavy or how this work out really blows. We do the-what-seems normal activity because we can. It's second nature to us. Nothing extravagant, nothing spectacular. But when those "normal," activities are taken from you or someone you know, you start to put a different value on the things you can do and the choices you make. When you see others who have been affected by illness, disease, freak accidents, and their normal is no longer easy or available to them , you start to realize how many actions we take for granted. I know I do.... I gain perspective, when I see the blind widow who by memory walks on our sidewalk everyday, or the veteran who is now confined to a wheelchair or when I see others dear to me struggling to speak or make sense of regular conversation. Today I was reminded how the "normal" things I GET to do are a joy and blessing. They are pretty spectacular and should be full of amazement. It gives me a new motivation to take care of the body and mind God has given me in this season of life. Nourishing my body, enjoying and honoring it with what I put into it, and how I use it. The motivation to continue to feed my mind on a daily basis, soaking up learning opportunities, letting God's word permeate me, and serving with all my heart. It doesn't mean stressing about how to eat, what to eat, how many calories, or what I learn, how I learn, and all the other questions that keep us from starting a healthy journey. Many times it means starting by not eating a Dairy Queen, REESES PB cup blizzard with extra hot fudge everyday. (Thank you Dairy Queen for not being in my city). Most of us, when we really think about it know how we can start the healthy lifestyle of mind, body, spirit. We pro-ba-bly know what we need to eliminate in our lives, whether it be toxic food or toxic relationships. We also pro-ba-bly know what should go in it's place. Our bodies are temporary. What many of us have now, our functioning minds and bodies, we may not always have. Be grateful for them now, by honoring them. Learn, grow, be passionate, be healthy, care about the inside and outside because it's a gift. And what better way to say thank you to the giver, by taking care of what has be given to us. Image compliments of Starbucks
I wanted to give this story no attention whatsoever—because there should be no more attention brought to it. This weekend I read from smaller news sources about “Christians” who are outraged about the new RED Starbucks cups. Starbucks apparently hates all things Christmas because they didn’t put snowflakes on their cups this year. You would think with all the media attention that they just broke out black cups that said, “I hate Jesus,” but they do not. As I ranted to Grant about how ridiculous this was, I thought, it won’t get much play. Real believers in Christ cannot really be “outraged” about a red cup from a company that has never been a Christian organization or pretended to be. There are so many other hurts in our world to be outraged about. But, then this morning I saw the same quotes and stories on the Today Show, CNN, MSN, and most major news sources. And it was like my shoulders just slumped. This makes me sad and frustrated. Sad because I have non-Christian friends who will see the story and think this is what Christians are really outraged about. This is the only reason I write something. I am distraught to think those who don’t believe in Jesus will see this craziness and think this represents those who love Jesus. That the article on Breitbart.com that says, "the red cups are now an anti-Christmas symbol," that every news outlet tends to regugitate speaks for us. Or the guy who did his" prank" on Starbucks by falsely telling the barista his name was Merry Christmas, so he can start a movement of embarrassing baristas, is the voice of us. Let’s be clear, they are NOT. Things like this divide us. Starbucks cups are red, who cares? A commercial symbol of Christmas like a snowflake or snowman from a secular company, on a coffee cup, will not bring others to understand the beautiful story of Christmas. A secular company should not be held responsible to tell the story of Christmas. We are RESPONSIBLE. We, as believers, are the ones to tell this beautiful story of Jesus coming down as a humble baby in a manger—one who was born, lived for all, the sinner, the saint, the homeless, the rejected, the unlovable, and died to give us life. Every last one of us. We are the ones who tell the story of Christmas. So dear believers, with a humble heart I ask you to not be sucked into this, let the cups go and let our actions of Christ love for others be the relevant story. How about instead of embarrassing the barista at Starbucks with a prank, we encourage and ask them how their day is? And if they give us great service we recognize it. How about we see past the “red” cups and open our eyes to others who hurt in this season, who have lost someone close to them, who stress about the gifts they cannot buy for their loved ones, or who feel lonely when December 1 hits? Or better yet, how about we buy someone who is standing on the corner in the bitter cold one of those red cups of coffee? How about we change this story? Let’s help the media write a different one. One that expresses the majority, and not the few. Let’s use our time and energy to truly express Christmas. With love, Kristi I recently ran into an acquaintance at the grocery store, and our conversation has been playing in my mind for the past couple of weeks. A word she said, as we were talking about our work (she is a registered dietitian, me a fitness-health coach) was the word SETTLED. It’s a word I usually don’t like the meaning of, but when we kept talking, this word brought new meaning to heart.
We were talking about our mutual passion to help people live a full life of wholeness through taking care of their bodies. For us, it is not so much about the perfect chiseled abs, or the beautiful sculpted legs, or the way we look in a bikini. It is so much more than this. It is so much more than the chase of the perfect body we dream of. Those things are temporary. We, quite frankly will not ALWAYS have the body we desire, for reasons we can or cannot control; old age, multiple babies, illness, surgery. But health, fitness, this terminology of the word wholeness, I use so often, is something deeper. It's not just a physical transformation, which does happens when we take care of ourselves and is confidence building, but, something deeper than JUST the physical. To me, it is about a body AND soul change. And that is the transformation we are after. As I was chatting with my new friend she said this word that now makes so much sense to me. The word SETTLED pierced something in me and has stuck with me. Settled is when we feel comfortable in our own skin: saggy, droopy, tight, young, or old. Whether we have a six pack or love handles. We feel settled- content-confident. Taking care of your body from a soul’s perspective makes us feel settled. It doesn’t mean we let ourselves go, eat fast food, never exercise, and say, “Well, I feel settled in my state.” That’s not healthy or the settled feeling I am talking about. Settle in the dictionary means a variety of things. I like it best as a verb. To be settled can mean to come to rest, to take up residence, to be calm or composed. Settled to me means: content in your skin, your body, your dreams, your mind. To be who you are without any apologies or buffers. I want to come to rest, to be calm and composed with myself. To fully take up residence in being me. The me that God designed for a purpose 36 years ago. I want to fully reside in that place and purpose. I write this piece on being settled not because I function in this place all the time. This is what it looks like when I am not "settled." *I get a picture on my TIME HOP from a year ago and I think, “Wow, I was much thinner there.” And then I go into the mirror and start to analyze myself, and bring my husband in to ask if I look different than last year. (TIP: Don’t ever ask your husband, they will never tell the truth for fear of couch sleeping.) *Sometimes I don’t feel settled in this season. The dreams and hopes I have can feel derailed in the mundane chores of life. Where is my personal assistant that does all the things I don’t wanna? *Sometimes I don’t feel settled as a spouse or mom. I feel as if I haven’t done enough to love my family. The constant laundry piling up shows I am not organized or cannot handle all facets of life well. I desire to function in a place of being settled. If someone looked at me, they would say. "She is completely settled in her true self. She is content in who she is with no apologies. She’s not perfect, but she doesn’t pretend to be. Her worth does not come from her workouts, her body, her accomplishments. Her worth and identity come from something inside her, a peace so deep that exudes from her core, even when all hell breaks lose in her life. Not a fake peace or fake “keep it together act,” but a real peace of mind. A confidence that only God can place inside of her. Something that she couldn’t be on her own." So I never thought I would say this. But I am ready to SETTLE. How about you? What would it look like in your life to be settled? There is something magical about getting friends together (old and new) to “break bread together”, as the old saying goes. I guess if you are gluten free you can break something else like gluten free baguettes or skip the bread all together. But having a family style dinner around a table, passing plates, hearing different conversations, laughing, and serving each other is one of my favorite kinds of nights. Maybe because I am getting older, I am starting to understand the importance of having others in my home. As I sat on the couch during dessert and listened to two cancer survivors share their stories, I was amazed at how powerful shared relationships can be. The sad thing is, these dinners or conversations in our homes doesn’t happen enough or sometimes ever. There are lots of reasons for this; for example, maybe the busyness of life or the insecurity of having others over in our humble homes keep us from asking others to join us. Questions like:
Sometimes these questions and the insecure answers we may come up with keep us from having the most memorable times with the people who can be some of our most treasured friends. We just have to give an opportunity and place for this to happen. After reading Jen Hatmaker’s book, “For The Love”, I was inspired to start a supper club just like she has done. Invite some friends we know well, invite some I would love to get to know, and just eat dinner around a table (NO KIDS). Because I mean really how much grown up talking is going down when little’s are present? Leave those conversations: “don’t eat that, please finish your veggies, drink the water, oh, no we spilled,” for another night. For this night eat, talk, laugh, and spend time. That’s it! For my personality having a dinner party is my super bowl. It gives this girl who loves to decorate, a good reason to do it. I don’t have to make up things to decorate or give excuses (when my husband asks why for the 100th time this week) as to why I am redoing our table. I will dream about what my table will look like for days (this is just the way my brain works). I will Pinterest the crap out of “fall tablescapes,” and figure out how to mismatch different types of fabric and textures. For some, this is pure torture and can be intimidating. For me, it is pure delight!! However, the problem with dinner club for me, is that I can’t just HAVE a pretty table! I also have to MAKE dinner (hence the name “Dinner Club”J). So, I usually leave that part to someone else. I call someone really good at cooking and ask them exactly what I should do. Recipes, measurements and all. I hold to Richard Branson’s quote: “It’s OK not to know how to do everything. Bring people on board whose strengths play to your weaknesses." This month’s supper club deets: I wanted to do fall veggies, because I am so ready for fall and I love simple herbs and seasonings. I have had to learn how to go simple, even though that is a word that I would hardly associate myself with. Most of the time I am actually asking people to EDIT me. Sometimes simple is the best. Most of the time actually. SIMPLE: not elaborate or ARTIFICIAL. My definition for simple would be REAL, JUST RIGHT. (Because all of my time was taken up getting flowers, rearranging the tablecloths and place settings…I knew, from past experience that I would need a one dish meal. Something I could make a head of time and throw in the oven, while I continue to mess with my table.) MENU: SALAD: Arugula Watercress Sweet onion Apples Goat cheese Spiced pecans Bacon MAIN COURSE: CHICKEN AND VEGGIES: Bread from local bakery DESSERT: Paleo Apple Cobbler Chop 4-5 apples in casserole dish, sprinkle with cinnamon TOPPING: 1 cup of almond meal 2 TBS of honey or syrup ¼ cup crushed pecans Melt roasted toasty coconut oil add enough to give it a wet-ish consistency when mixed with other ingredients. Sprinkle on top of apples and bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. DÉCOR
Each month someone else will host and be in charge of dinner. My dinners will probably be easy, but my table will be pretty because I love it. But some days it could look like delivery pizza and a football game or crockpot meals. Sometimes will will even have meals on paper plates. Gasp. It doesn’t matter what you have or what it looks like, it really just matters about being together. My people could care less if I have cute cuts of rosemary branches on their table. They would be just as happy with paper products, but it’s what I love to do! It’s my love language, so even though the guys may look at my table with confusion, they go with it. A couple things I would encourage you to think about when having others over:
P.S. Most those who have pretty houses on the inside (decorated etc…) have 100 junk drawers. Find solace in this! Funny side story: I have friend who is starting an organizing business. She wanted to practice on me. Which is music to my ears. She couldn’t believe that my drawers and cabinets were so messy. She assumed that since the outside was pretty and put together the insides would also be put together and wouldn’t need her help. I laughed. I thought to myself what a great lesson. Sometimes people have no idea the messes we hide. Stop hiding it! She couldn’t believe I was comfortable with her seeing my mess. A couple of years earlier I would have been. But now I have come to terms that though I may be good at some things, I am not good at others. And need those people who are, to come in my life (messy and all) and help me sort my shiz out. I need those peeps in every area of my life (Side story over). Remember we are all creative souls in our own way. Embrace your creativity; your small, big, messy, clean, decorated, 100-junk drawer home, …embrace your hosting skills. Don’t apologize for your dinner, your messes, your hostess mishaps, your paper plates, or your burnt meal! Remember everyone just wants a kind place to sit, a place to be themselves, and an opportunity to do life with others. Provide that place you own imperfectly perfect way. And share some of your dinner menus (or come cook mine and I’ll do your table). I am all about the swaps! I have been thinking about survivors a lot lately. What does it mean to survive something? What does a survivor look like? We all know someone in our life who has been affected by something and survived to tell about it. It could be surviving a loved one's death, an illness, heartbreak, disease. Sometimes we are living in survival mode—when we feel like we just can't put one foot in front of the other because of a disappointment or heartbreak so bad, we can barely breathe. Some of us are in this exact place right now.
Some of us are fighting for our lives, our relationships, our family, for others, or we know someone who is. This month is NATIONAL HEALTHY LUNG month, and I had would like to share the story of a lung cancer survivor. I have had the opportunity to correspond with Heather Von St. James. When Heather was a little girl, her father was exposed to asbestos, and the fibers of his jacket carried it, which in turn exposed her. Heather was diagnosed as an adult with mesothelioma, after experiencing odd symptoms after the birth of her daughter; she was told she had maybe 15 MONTHS to live without treatment. I can't even imagine hearing this diagnosis. Heather's left lung was removed, and with the help of chemotherapy, she is now a survivor. Heather is not just a survivor but is using her story to be a voice for others. Heather is a blogger and advocate and is working with the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance to spread awareness of lung disease and cancer prevention. Asbestos is still not banned in the U.S. or Canada, and thousands of people are being diagnosed with this disease each year. Please take the time to read Heather's story it is powerful and inspiring. At some point in life, we most likely all will face this place of surviving something. There will be no warnings and no permission asked ahead of time. I understand not all survival stories are the same. Some can feel bigger and worse than others, but all of us are fighting a battle now or will at some point in our life. This is when we need others more than ever--to come along side us and hold us up from time to time. To help us breathe, to fight with us and for us, and just sit with us in the hard, with no judgment or critique. If you are just surviving, find your people to hold you up. And if you know someone who is going through their own survival story, reach out and lend a hand. Some ways to protect your lungs:
Lettering by Sean McCabe
I say this to my peeps all the time in regards to health and fitness. If you are not enjoying the journey, the way you get to the destination (goals), whatever that be for you, it will feel like a chore. If your goal is a marathon, but you hate running, most likely after you pass the finish line of the marathon you are never going to run again, if you even get to that start line. I say, life is too short to do something you don't enjoy. Most likely you won't stick to your goals, and it won't become a lifestyle. The journey is where the magic happens. And this is coming from someone who really doesn't love the journey. I want the finished product, the crushing of goals, the destination, like, yesterday. I wear a bracelet that says, "Enjoy the Journey." But most days I look at it with disdain, even though I know there is such truth in what it says. The journey in health and fitness is the day-in and day-out training our body and our mind to do the hard when it's not so easy, when you don't see immediate results and the scale isn't moving. Those are the days that really matter. That is the journey worth fighting for. The destination will be so much sweeter when you enjoy how you get there. So find a good group of friends who challenge, support and celebrate your goals. Surround yourself with those who won't give up when they have an off day. And find something you love that motivates you and inspires you. Focus and enjoy the journey and don't worry so much about the destination. You will get there, I promise, but it will be such a sweeter ride. These past months we have seen some excruciating images of those across the world: losing everything, dying, living in fear and hopelessness. It's hard to look at the images, read and hear the stories without feeling a pit in your stomach. The need to want to help can be overwhelming. The anger that pulses through my body, of why this is happening, can get the best of me. How can we, thousands of miles away, help those hurting in a way we can't even fathom? My heart has burst wide open for these people I have never met; I am grieving for those who will never hold their children or their spouse in their arms again. And everything in me wants to do SOMETHING! I am not the President; I don't hold an important position. I am not an author or social media guru, but I feel like God has called us to be the "REPAIRER of BROKEN DOWN WALLS," and "REBUILDER of LIVABLE STREETS," no matter who we are or what circumstance we find ourselves in. (Isaiah 58:12) We get to do this . . . we get to be the grace givers and the hope bearers. We get to be the voice for those who are voiceless in our own way, wherever we are. Here are some ways I think we can help... 1. DO NOT PASS OVER THESE STORIES AND IMAGES Read, educate, share with others. I had a conversation with someone awhile back, who said something like:
"It's a very disturbing photo, but I think we should be offended that children are washing up dead on our beaches because of the failure of our politicians to provide safe passage . . . rather than by the photo itself." Peter Bouckaert 2. PRAY This can feel so easy, and yet so hard. Many times I think, what is prayer going to do? Here I am sitting in my comfy house, with my coffee, just praying . . . it can feel like it's small and sometimes less than. However, I have seen firsthand the power of prayer. And I know my Savior is just that, a Savior of hope and healing. And right now, at this moment, he is asking me to be a voice for the voiceless by crying out in prayer for one daily. So that is what I will do. I will pray for one to be rescued, freed, and found. We have started a Facebook group with others to pray at noon each day. If you would like to join our group you can click here. 3. GIVE TO THOSE WHO ARE HELPING ON THE GROUND I have a friend I used to work with who has partnered with a refugee organization for years. This organization is in Lebanon, and they provide trauma centers, schools, and overall hope for those who have been displaced by war. We hear of lots of different places to give, but I feel confident giving to a place I know has changed hundreds of lives firsthand. CLICK here to check out HEART FOR LEBANON. "Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them." Let's partner with those who are doing this on the ground. Isaiah 58:7 4. TALK WITH YOUR KIDS
I talked with some moms today about how we should talk to our kids about this or about crisis anywhere. Our kids here are privileged with a CAPITAL P and many don't even realize it. I don't think we need to show our little ones these pictures or graphic scenes. But I think it is good to let your kids know what is on God's heart and what is on your heart. I don't know the magic formula for talking to kids about this, different ages, different chats. Tonight I told my kids (7 and 3) we were going to pray for the refugee, when they asked who that was, I explained in simple terms: those who have had to flee their homes and country and seek shelter and life other places. A good bible story to weave in, is the Good Samaritan. We prayed for their safety, their hearts or "harts" as sissy says, and for those to open their homes and lives. I told Holden who we would be donating too, and I will show him the website of Heart for Lebanon and the pictures of the kids they help. 5. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD Others are signing this petition to let our government and President know we will not stand to sit idly by while this is happening. Not on our watch. Sign petition here. May we cry out for those who can no longer cry out . . . may we be the voice for the voiceless, may we be change agents to rebuild the broken down walls and repair livable streets. Isaiah 58:12 Also check out Ann Voskamps blog on more ways to help...love her. I loved this quote I saw recently. It made me think of all the ways we can be BRAVE in our own way. For some it means taking risks, getting out of our comfort zone, going after a dream, or serving others with a fearless heart. Many times when we think of "bravery," we think of someone doing something BOLD and RADICAL. But what if your brave meant being faithful right now? What if being brave just meant being completely YOU?
You see my brave looks a bit different this season. It doesn't feel brave; it feels stuck and not full of purpose to be honest. I love the bravery definition most of us think of: getting out of my comfort zone, risking, going after a dream or passion, jumping off that big unknown cliff. I tell peeps to do this all the time. It's what I love! But it is much harder for me to be brave in the way that God is calling me right now. I would rather jump off the cliff, chase after a dream or passion, hustle and go after the hard--that doesn't scare me. And it doesn't mean I won't do that again, soon, I hope, but as of this season, it's looking a bit different. Living simply, taking care of the ones right in front of me, putting my desires on hold to be there for family and extended family that needs special care right now, that is my brave right now--this is my season. There is more background to this season, but it doesn't need to be said. It's just what it is, and I need to embrace it. It won't be forever my season, but it is for now. Circumstances that we didn't know have come our way, and I need to lean into it. It may not seem daunting or spectacular, but to me, it is harder than hard. It's out of my comfort zone times 1,000,000. definition of brave: endure or face (unpleasant conditions or behavior) without showing fear. We are all on a different brave ladder--maybe you need to risk and get out of your safe place--maybe you need to go after something, and be scared and do it anyways. Maybe God is asking you to do something great for him--write, start a business, go back to school, pursue a calling. Or maybe you're like me, who needs to be Brave by embracing the simple. Maybe you just need to show "you" to others. All of you! Some of you might be fighting a disease that has unfairly smacked you or the one you love in the face, and when you want to throw in the towel, you let your brave take over. The brave and courage that God can only give. Some of you may need to be brave in your marriage or relationships. Maybe, being brave is loving and serving unconditionally, not always worried about what we get in return. Whatever it is, let's come along side one another and encourage each other's bravery. We may be scared out of our minds, but we do it anyways. The beautiful thing is we don't have to compare; we don't have to covet someone else's brave moment. Because everyone's brave is different. Everyone is in a different season, and different circumstances warrant different courage. But what I do know is that all of our bravery needs each other. Some of us who love to jump and get out of our comfort zone need to spur our safe friends to risk. And some of us who feel un-brave because we don't feel like we are "doing" the BIG brave thing, need to be encouraged that what you are doing "right now" matters. Because everyone's brave looks different. And everyone needs a little pat on the behind that's says, "you got this." #beyou #bravery #bebrave |
past posts
August 2016
Categories
All
|