20 Random Summer Lessons

Trying to write to a friend about what's been going on in my life this summer quickly turns into a list when I realize how much is actually floating around in my brain...much easier to comprehend ;)

• God will provide. Always. Period.
• Bananagrams is possibly the greatest invention ever.
• Hugs are wonderful, and the world needs more good ones.
• Stick to the classics. Even if someone tries to talk you out of it at Sonic, water is always the best.
• Quotes and stories are good....advice from living, breathing friends is way better.
• VHS movies are still the best.
• Eating pomegranates 3 days after having all 4 wisdom teeth removed is NOT a good idea, regardless of how stubborn you think you can be.
• Letter-writing is good for the soul.
• Some people should never be allowed to set foot in a Hallmark store. By "some people," I mainly mean me.
• $3 thrift store skirts rock.
• Praying friends are a beautiful thing.
• Adventures can only happen when we don't plan out every detail of our lives.
• Some people are meant to stay in our thoughts and prayers, not necessarily a part of our daily lives.
• Surrendering and admitting that we need others is hard...but so, so worth it. 
• Chats in the middle of nowhere, in laid back car seats, or at a cool Wichita fountain are way more beautiful after midnight.
• Family doesn't just include blood relatives.
• I love aprons.
• National bread holidays are a blast with great friends by your side.
• Dancing wildly around with a scrunchie in your hair should happen regularly.
• God is unbelievably, ridiculously, amazingly good.

I hope you are continuing to grow daily, allowing Christ to live in you and you in Him. Praise Him with everything! 

Love Is Not Just Giving

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

Whew, that Mother Teresa really knows what she's talking about. Amidst my various struggles and battles these past few weeks, I seem to have forgotten about others. I've taken to sulking and resorted to a ridiculously high level of selfishness...sometimes without even realizing it. I have shut out the friends who know me well enough to know something is wrong, I've been rude and unhelpful towards my family, and pretty successfully cut off all forms of communication with God. Some people have the tendency to build walls around themselves; I make mine miles long and made of steel.

I seem to have forgotten that serving isn't just loving others; it is also allowing others to love us in return.

For many people like me (productive, independent, task-oriented), that is something that can be hard to swallow. Allowing a part of ourselves to be given away in our service can be the toughest part-but also the most rewarding. Loving is a gift of self, not just the gift of a completed task. Unloading the dishwasher, turning down the music and investing in others on a car ride, calling to check on a friend you haven't seen in a while, or simply answering the question "how are you" honestly.....all are a way of giving. All are a way of allowing others to encourage, support, and lead us closer to heaven. Isn't that why we were given each other? We can't handle this world on our own, nor were we made to. We need each other. It is not only in loving, but also in being loved that we glorify God to the best of our abilities.

May we never stop giving, never stop loving, never stop allowing Christ's peace into this unsettled world.