30 More Days of Grace

The Struggle is Real True forgiveness is one of the most difficult aspects of attempting to live like Jesus for me.  I’m really good at ignoring people, pretending like hurts don’t exist, and putting on an “I’m fine” face.  I’m really good at moving forward, doing what needs to be done, and making the most of really terrible situations.   But, I’m really bad at wrestling with the hurt and pain others have caused me and forgiving them.   It’s not even that I wallow around in the pit of self-pity or harbor unresolved anger.  No, instead, I just ignore the offenses and the effects they had on me and move on with my life.  And, I know what you’re probably thinking: that doesn’t sound that bad. It could be worse, right?  I’m sure it could be. The reality, though, is that Jesus commanded us to forgive one another, just as our father in heaven has forgiven us, and that means I can’t just go on with my life in a constant state of ...

Life Lessons from Winnie the Pooh: I’m from the era of Saturday morning cartoons.  When we were kids, my brother and I would get up on Saturday mornings, park ourselves in front of the tv in our living room, and spend the morning watching Saturday morning cartoons because that was the only time cartoons were on and we were actually able to control the tv! Winnie the Pooh was always on, so we grew up with Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Tigger, Christopher Robbin, and Owl.  Every episode of Winnie the Pooh involved the characters getting themselves into some type of trouble or trying to solve some type of problem. And, in every episode, Tigger was getting himself in some type of trouble, Winnie the Pooh was guilty by association, Eeyore was the nay-sayer cloaked in self-pity, and Owl was just waiting to bestow wisdom and advice on his friends. I think, if we take a minute to be a little self-reflective and introspective, we can all agree that...

Limits There was one day of volleyball tryouts that I dreaded more than any others.  The thought of that day gave me anxiety, caused me to lose sleep, and was almost enough to make me forego playing volleyball in high school. The 2 mile run. I loathed running in middle school, high school, and, honestly, throughout the first 37 years of my life.  Running represented all of my weaknesses and limitations. I was never a skinny girl. In fact, throughout my late elementary years, I was a bit on the round side.  I hit puberty between 5th and 6th grade and shot up, but I still didn’t “thin out.” And, I don’t know if you ever really get over being the “fat kid” in elementary school.  So, when I was forced to do a timed run for volleyball tryouts, every insecurity and all of my limits dominated my thoughts. We had 20 minutes to run 2 miles.  The reality of this was that I never had a problem actually making my 2 miles in 20 minutes, but the fea...