Loving Friends Despite…

Is it wrong to sever ties with a “friend” who no longer fulfills the role of a friend? Is it possible to still love that person yet not be friends? What would Jesus do? The Bible talks about loving everyone, especially your enemies…What good is it if a man only loves those who love him…The Bible suggests that it is easy to love those who love us but very difficult to love those who do not love us. I am learning more and more how true that is. 

I used to think that I didn’t have enemies. I thought enemies came in the form of people who were blatantly against you…People who would desire the worst for you…People who were against your very being. But I realized that enemies don’t come dressed as scary monsters that we sometimes think of. Enemies can grow up right in your back yard…Or even in your own house…They come dressed as siblings, friends, mothers, fathers, spouses, family members and church members. They are the people you least suspect…The people you give your all too…And they are the people who often hurt you the most. So the question of the day is, how do you love them when they don’t love you…Or seemingly don’t love you…If I had the scary monster enemies, that would be easy…BUT they are so far removed from my life that I don’t even know they exist. But those people in my back yard…The ones I see all the time…How do you love them despite their lack of love?

Empty Amens

The preacher preached a good sermon today…I told him that it was a great message…He said, “don’t let it be great and not apply it…Because it becomes nothing if it is great but we do nothing…” I can only imagine how that must be the bane of many a preachers…Studying, researching, preaching and teaching their hearts and souls out so they can encourage and edify the church…Yet time after time, we hear folks bellow a hearty amen, a rowdy applause, and a “well done brother preacher…” But see little if any changes. I can only imagine how heart breaking that is to a preacher…

Same blog….NEW LOOK!!!

I am super happy to reveal the new look of my blog. With the help of my girl Kristal, and her excellent teaching skills, my blog has a new look and feel that is so me. I was joking with her and telling her that my blog looked like a kindergartner designed it! Now, I feel so proud of it, I want to show it off to the world! It is now a blog I can be proud of. YAAAY!!! THANK YOU Kristal!!! You are just so special to me!

Kristal so willingly and graciously offered to teach me a few blogging tricks. She came over Friday night and said that it would probably take a couple hours…FIVE hours later, this was revealed! Unfortunately, Kristal did not know that I used to ride the special bus for school...I am a slow learner who catches on fast! Lol. There is still a lot to learn, do and change…But for now I am MOST content with my pink and brown design theme. I can’t wait to learn more tricks of the trade, but I will have to give Kris a few months to recover from this latest teaching gig! 

Being True to Your Relationships

An overwhelming feeling of sadness came upon me today as acknowledged to myself and my husband that I have not been true to my close relationships. Little by little, thing by thing, day by day, I allowed personal hurts to be swept under the rug with one relationship or another. I know it…I am conscious of it…I know it’s not like me to “avoid conflict.” But I am…and I have…

I need to apologize to my friend for not being true…for not being honest…and for allowing my hurts to go unnoticed…Resulting in my sadness today. My friend is none the wiser…She does not know how I feel, or how long I have been feeling this way…She thinks everything is fine! And everything is fine…Well for the most part. There are just one or two or three things that have bothered me…But I have not brought it to her attention and so she does not know…It’s not her fault…because I should have been honest.

Thirty Pound Challenge Update!

So in one of my recent blog posts I talked about how I needed to make a lifestyle change regarding my health. It seemed that every Monday morning I hear of someone falling prey to preventable diseases. Then, as I studied mental health for my sisters’ class, every suggestion to help deal with grief, anxiety, depression, burnout etc, recommended exercise. I recognized the need to incorporate daily exercise into my routine, as well as a balanced diet if I am to live a happy and healthy life. So, once I turned 30, I promised to make these changes. I promised to exercise more, and eat properly. I figured that once I made these changes, that I would naturally start losing weight…so I issued myself a “30 pound challenge.” The idea is not that I actively try to lose weight, but that I actively try to change my lifestyle to one of health and wellness, knowing that the weight will fall off.