Delve Into 2012

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."

-Corrie ten Boom

::Tuesday's Tea With Me::

Good Morning Friends! Help yourself to those new chocolate dipped oat cookies from Trader Joe's. Mmm... 

Okay the quote for this morning is... 

"People tend to think that their circumstances determine the quality of their lives. So they pour their energy into trying to control those situations. This causes them to feel happy when things are going well and sad or frustrated when things don't turn out as they'd hoped. "

Guess what I discovered this year? It is an option, there is an option... to be content in any and every situation. And I don't mean happy all the time. That's just fake. Lol.

What if there are limits to the amount of control we have over our lives? What if... there is a governor on our free will? A place where free will and destiny intersect. A place where man ends and God brings up the slack. Can we accept that we are human and He is God? I'm assuming that the definition of God is self explanatory but I think we forget sometimes. I believe that I am limited and He is not. I believe in miracles, I believe in Him. But God help me to TRUST you. Help me to put hands and feet to what I believe.

Alone... with My Self.

I think partially because I am such a social being and partially because my soul craves connection with God, I find myself drawn to alone times. I've been finding recently, that my life is full of opposites that create a beautiful rhythm if I will listen to the beat.

Work and play, community and solitude, exercise and rest, talking and listening (I totally suck at the listening part, stop laughing friends I'm working on it.) But that is exactly what I mean, if I find the opposite of what I do excessively I can bring balance to my days. With all the recent ways that have been invented to connect, I find a tranquility in being with myself. My Self. I kind of like myself and I figure she deserves my attention. And with all the noise and conversations I just need some wide open spaces at times to hear her think. :) You know what I mean?

Slow Down Therapy {17}

"Take time just to think. Action is good and necessary, but it's fruitful only if we muse, ponder, and mull."

Slow Down Therapy {18}

"Make time for play --- the things you like to do. Whatever your age, your inner child needs re-creation."

Slow Down Therapy {10}

"Create a place in your home. . . at your work. . . in your heart. . . where you can go for quiet and recollection. You deserve it."

This is my Grandma Virginia's garden.

Oh the magical things that a child discovers in Grandma's garden.

Even a child that's 28 years old.

A Fresh Look at "Individualism."

I read this and it really challenged my Western notion of freedom. Especially the mirage of personal freedom that fools so many of us in this culture.

"Freedom does not mean that I can decide I want my stomach to pump blood and my heart to digest food. Physical laws exist that are not negotiable. By the same token, spiritual laws exist as well. As a human being I must study both and apply both to my life to reap the most bountiful harvest from the soil of my body and soul. True freedom exists firmly within the bounds of natural and spiritual laws.

Many of the unhappiest and most deranged people throughout history have been kings, queens, emperors, dictators, rock stars (ehh hem... Charlie Sheen, Michael Jackson are a couple great examples), movie stars, business tycoons, and others who became so wealthy or popular or powerful that the fancied they were above the laws of nature as well as the laws of man. They were free to do as they chose at any hour of the day or night. Every shred of relevant historical evidence shows that a human being does not do well with such an unnatural degree of personal choice. Freedom is a good thing. Unchecked personal choice is not; it usually drives people crazy. Yet that is exactly what we have enshrined in place of true freedom. We have been taught to revere and pursue it unquestioningly.

Human beings exist in relation to each other. Real freedom cannot be separated from responsiveness to others. Merely doing what we want, in a way that ignores our connection with each other or the best interests of society, isn't personal freedom. It's time to start looking at this bill of goods we've been sold about personal freedom. It's time to question what we have been taught about individualism. Many of the attitudes that we may consider to be universal truths, are in reality a form of an American cult of individualism." -It's a Meaningful Life

This really got me thinking. I was reminded of the child that doesn't follow any of the rules. Doesn't stay within the boundaries given. They want control, they want to make adult decisions. But the healthiest and most delightful children I have seen, are those whose parents have imposed upon them, guidelines/limits. "You may play in the backyard." "Have fun riding your bike, but don't go past the end of the cul-de-sac." How playful and free that child is.

I have decided that true freedom is the choice to submit ourselves to the laws of God. True freedom is actually making yourself a slave. To commit myself, bind myself to spiritual and physical discipline. For example making a commitment, (like marriage) does indeed limit my options. But within the confines of that commitment there is endless freedom. There are dozens of examples in life to prove this true.

Go ahead. Limit yourself. Commit to something you believe in. I believe you will find great freedom there and more contentment than could ever be found in a world of open doors, endless options, and no direction. Let's not dilute ourselves with a hundred half hearted commitments, but live concentrated lives that are influential and effective.

Slow Down Therapy {04}

"Take nothing for granted: watch water flow, the corn grow, the leaves blow, your neighbor mow."

Gratefulness

The key to true joy is... gratefulness.

As our pastor said on Sunday,

"It's really hard to be grateful and unhappy. But it's so easy to be ungrateful and unhappy."

What are you grateful for? What could you be more appreciative of?

I personally am SO grateful for the land we live on. The valley we share. I believe we live in one of the most beautiful regions in the world. And frankly I am really excited to get out and get in it this spring. In the meantime I am just loving this rainy cold weather. And on that note... I am off to cuddle beneath a blanket with my new book and a cup of tea.

Joy

"Superficial happiness is the illusory pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, while joy is the entire rainbow right in front of our eyes."