Love Wins

This evening Rob Bell (author of Velvet Elvis, Sex God, and my personal favorite Drops Like Stars) did a live stream about his new book Love Wins. Luckily I was on Facebook at the right time and noticed a friend had posted a link about it. I want to reflect on the interview and the controversy that seems to have followed the book.

First, he talked a lot about Heaven, Hell, and Salvation. Most of what he said challenged me to think and a lot of his responses I agreed with. He asked the question about Heaven “How do we bring ‘there’ here?” (ie Heaven on Earth). This is one thing I wonder often, why are people so cruel, why can’t we be nice to one another and be in Heaven now? He also talked about a “human ache” for something better. We strive for a longing of change, that this (the world) isn’t it. He said this ache is part of what creates art. I think this ache also gets people to change. Great movements were started because something bad was happening. The Civil Rights Movement started because people were angry they were being treated unfairly. Water has been provided to countries that previously did not have clean water because someone got angry that people would be without such a necessity.

Second, was his response to works vs faith. He asked the question “Do you actually think this is a great story?” I believe that if you actually believe the story of Jesus that the question of works vs faith doesn’t matter because if you believe the story, you will live the story.

A few other bullets that I am not going to respond to but for you to think about…
He responded to a question about Matthew 7:13-14 and I thought explained it beautifully, putting it in layman’s terms. He basically said life is hard and we have to work at it everyday. The example he gave was marriage and that you are deeply in love with this person and yet everyday there is something that could hurt it, marriage is hard and you have to be intentional to make it successful.

Another question was about getting to heaven (the exact question, I don’t remember) and Bell said “He (Jesus) is very exclusive and yet fantastically inclusive.” How many times in the Bible are we shocked by something Jesus does? This answer touches on that.
One thing Bell did say that I don’t agree with is “God gives us what we want.” I was so distracted that he said this that I did not completely hear his explanation but I still do not believe this. There are several things I want that I don’t have. There are many things I don’t have that I think it is probably good I don’t have. Maybe his explanation would have given me more insight into why he said this because I think he, like most anyone has enough life experience to know “you don’t always get what you want.”

I love that the last question fit so perfectly with it being the end of the interview. I also love that Rob Bell challenged people to read their Bible and ask yourself what God are you serving. Are you serving a God that needs Child Protective Services called on him or are you serving a God that loves you and there is nothing you can do that would make Him love you less.

I believe the latter.

My likes and dislikes

I have been inspired by several people to make changes to my lifestyle. I am pretty happy with who I am as a person but there is always room to grow. This year I have been inspired by my mom to lose weight and exercise more, inspired by Luis to eat healthier and know what I am putting in my body, inspired by my brother Dakota to look deeper at the world around me, and inspired by Donald Miller to think about how my life can tell a great story.
I have begun exercising more, eating healthier, slowing down, and trying to tell a better story but feel I could do better. Recently Donald Miller wrote a blog about knowing your likes and dislikes and how he uses this to guide his decisions. I have decided to follow his lead and made my own list of likes and dislikes from the past year. I was honestly surprised how many more likes I had than dislikes but I think that means I am already going in the right direction and it will be easier to make changes. So, here is my list...

Things I liked about last year
1. Being with family (After Holidays trip, Dakota’s grad, Thanksgiving, September trip)
2. Being with friends (Lander!, hiking, concerts, birthday, Denver)
3. Taking the dogs on walks
4. Hiking, snowshoeing
5. Seeing wildlife (in the wild or not)
6. New friends
7. Being a Godmother!
8. Drinking good coffee
9. Training my dogs
10. Advancing in my job
11. Road trips (Lander, Missouri, Utah)
12. Having friends with babies to spoil
13. Discovering new things (Sushi, peaceful drives, music, local restaurants)
14. Making things (wreaths, dream catchers, jewelry)
15. Seeing local bands
16. Biking (mountains or the green belt)
17. Canning (pickling)
18. Fixing things/being handy (Rock River church, anything involving my drill)
19. Farmers Market!!!
20. Quitting online games (big step for me)
21. Seeing people change their life or hearing stories of changed lives
22. Helping friends
23. Having a clean house (I <3 Vacuuming!)
24. Reading
25. Going to church
26. Organizing, downsizing


Things I disliked about last year
1. Working Sundays
2. Eating at fast food
3. Not getting enough sleep
4. Being sick
5. Feeling like I have disappointed my dad
6. Hiding who I am
7. Being hung-over (eg goldschlager)
8. Holding back from fear of what others think
9. Not visiting friends that live within 50 miles more often
10. Losing friends (mostly distance)
11. Procrastinating

Prayers needed

The degree of separation is quite a bit but (my brother) Dakota's best friend, Keenan's sister and her fiance were involved in a terrible tragedy. Kate and Jesus were recently engaged and were in Puerto Rico meeting his family. They were at a family gathering when Jesus' uncle torched the family with gasoline. Four people have died because of the injuries, including Jesus. Kate has been flown to Miami and is in a medically induced coma and does not know Jesus has died.

I can only imagine what this family is going through and what they will go through. I have never met Kate or Jesus but when I learned of Jesus' death I cried and my heart aches each time I think about it. I slept horribly last night and woke up early and I immediately logged on to facebook to see if there was anymore news. If I am this upset by this tragedy, how much pain must the family be feeling? There have been many news stories and videos. This one is telling of their love for each other and how hard it will be for Kate when she wakes up to hear the news.

So a couple things... Please pray for the families involved. Pray for Kate, that if she lives that she will find comfort after such a great loss and traumatic experience. Also, give thanks for what you have because at any moment, life can change. Pray.

New Years Resolution

It seems a bit cliche for my first post of 2011 to be my new years resolution but I think this is important to let the world know and help hold me accountable to.

My new year resolution is to let go of my inhibitions without getting drunk.

I don't get drunk often, probably bi-yearly but when I do it always seems like I have a blast doing whatever it is I am doing and I think it is because I don't hold back. I am a shy person, I always have been. When I drink though I let that go, I am unafraid. I want to be able to do that without alcohol because the next day sucks... wouldn't it be nice if I had fun the night before and the next morning felt great?

What I need you to do... remind me the world isn't looking at me and to enjoy the moment. Remind me I don't need to drink a bottle of wine to have a blast.

Let's have fun in 2011!

Part of the Crisis

What am I doing with my life? That is a typical quarter life crisis question and I find myself asking myself that question more and more. I feel like I am just floating, waiting, wasting time. What am I doing with my life? I work a lot, I like what I do, but what am I actually doing? Ah yes, I do a good job, my boss tells me every day but shouldn't I think I am doing a good job?
Now, I am confusing myself. I do think I am doing a good job but not at what I think I should be doing a good job with. Not only do I do everything I should and more but people trust me and rely on me. I know I am worth something where I work... but I want to mean something to the kids I go to work for, not my coworkers, not my boss.
I took the last year off school because I felt like I was wasting money not knowing what I was doing. Now, I think I have finally decided on Elementary Education. I have thought a lot about this and am excited to go back to school. The break has been nice and I think has helped me refocus my life, what I want to do in my future.
Another part of the crisis is that I question my inadequacies to maintain a relationship. Not only do I struggle with maintaining but acquiring. I can't even tell you how many friends I have that have gotten engaged or married this year. What about me? I know I have asked this before but the question hasn't been answered.
I pretty much hate having quarter life crisis because it sucks. I would like to stop thinking about why my life sucks and move on.

Without Sarah

The thought of Sarah leaving is terrifying to me. For those that don't know, Sarah needs a full-time job and has been looking since April. If she can't find one soon, she will have to move back to Casper to live with her parents. There are several reasons this makes me sad. One, she is the last of my close friends who still live close. B, we have lived together since Summer of 2007 and get along swimmingly. Third, she balances me. Like I have all these crazy thoughts and spill them out to her and she, in her way, slaps me across the face and helps me refocus.
If she leaves, I will be alone. As you know, if you follow this blog, I don't do well alone. I know I have asked several of you to pray for her to find a job... but if she doesn't find one, I ask that you pray for me and that I don't go crazy.

Working with Men

I work with teenage boys, so naturally, most of my coworkers have been men. There are many pros and cons to having men as coworkers. Biggest pro, no drama. Biggest con, men don't notice nice things about you... or they don't express they do.
I was thinking about this today. I have had my natural hair color for about a year now. I have changed my hair color a lot, my poor mother asked me in October, "so is this your natural color?" Haha!!! Well, I dyed it last night... dark brown from my reddish blond. Guess who said something? Not my male coworkers. This makes me sad. Not that I am there to impress them but I see them every week... do you see me?
Pros to my male coworkers; there is no drama which is awesome. They are protective of me when the boys are aggressive. They are also just hilarious!
Anyway boys! It sure would be nice if you could compliment me, whether on my new hair color or on my nice outfit. Thanks!