In a sermon a while back my pastor said something that resonated with me.  He said, “I don’t want to just be rich in Christ.  I want it to be easy in Christ.”

I don’t know about you, but that resonates with me.

Like big time.

I find myself a lot of times looking for the easy way out.  My goal was to buy my car and have it paid off in a year.  That’s not happening. It’s probably been my slowest year to date in real estate since I started.  And I really want to win the lottery, so I can just pay for it and buy five more if I want to.

But maybe, just maybe, the things I don’t want to have to worry about, like money and time and cleaning my house (I HATE cleaning my house), are the things that I’m learning from the most.

Maybe my past struggles with money have made me more appreciative of what I have now.  Maybe cleaning my house helps me with routine and makes me a better time manager.  Maybe never feeling like I have enough time to do the things I want makes me realize more and more not to take a single second for granted.

So today when things go completely crazy and you’re running late you’re short on cash and it doesn’t seem like you can take one step forward without taking two steps back, think about how these things are changing you.

What are we learning from the hard things?

How can we use this to move forward?

***sidenote: If I do win the lottery tonight, I’ll be taking a blogging hiatus

I heard a news story the other day talking about modern-day pop songs versus those a decade or so ago and older.  Basically what it said was that the only real difference from the previous generations to this one is that the modern songs are just louder and less creative or original.

And it’s not just music.  It seems like a lot of the movies lately have been remakes.

I feel like as a culture we’re getting less and less original.

Everywhere we turn there’s and advertisement showing us the clothes we need to buy or the new toys we need, what car we should be driving, and it all gives us a false sense of who we think we should be.

But I don’t want you to get me wrong.  I like a lot of the music now.  It’s catchy.  I find myself singing along with them as I’m driving down the road.  They’re pretty easy to remember these days.

But I find myself craving originality.

And maybe I’m completely alone on this, but some of the best books I’ve ever read are the books that were written hundreds of years ago.  But to be completely fair, they’re some of the worst books I’ve read, as well.

I used to be a reader or movie-watcher who would automatically pass on the book or movie if it happened to fall within the sci-fy genre, but now I find myself watching more of those movies and reading more of the books because the level of creativity that it takes to come up with a story so intricate in most instances is, in my mind, incredible.  I went to watch Snow White and the Huntsman with my friends, a movie I would normally not even consider, and the more I think about it, the more I like it.  And, no, it’s not just because Thor was in it (although that did help!)

But I’m getting tired of being unoriginal.

See, I have this sneaking suspicion that God looks down on us sometimes and thinks, Hey, Julie, I didn’t create you to be like her.  I didn’t create you to sing like her or to write like him.  I know you want to play guitar as good as him, but maybe that’s not what I really want you to focus on.  I’ve created you and you’re the only one who can fill those shoes.

It’s kind of daunting to think about really.

There is only one person on this earth created to fulfill certain plans.

And that’s me.

And it’s you, too.

So today go forward with confidence.  Confidence is that little voice in the back of your head saying that you belong.  And I’m here to tell you that you’re here because you belong.

You have a purpose.  You have gifts and special plans.  He says so there in Jeremiah 29:11-13.

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

He’s got plans for us.

Just for us.

So what are we going to do with them?

Man, I had a great vacation.  Finally just last night I started unpacking.  Up until this morning my car had smelled like the beach every time I got in.  I guess now it’s time to vacuum all the sand out of the back so it will at least look presentable.

There is just something about getting away from the routine.

I left for vacation with a plan.  One day I was going to go parasailing.  Maybe kite surfing or paddle boarding.  I did none of that.  Our house came with a couple kayaks, so I went out a couple days behind the house and went kayaking for a bit.  Most of the time I hung out with my nieces and nephew at the beach, at the pool, at the aquarium and at the house.

I took my computer, just sure that I’d have to get online at least once a day to check things out because how in the world could things go on back home without me.  I think I turned it on once, maybe twice all week.  It was actually a pretty freeing experience that I’m planning on practicing with more regularity.

Once the Olympics are over, I’ll be limiting my television time to one hour a night unless it’s storming and there is no other work to be done.  My Internet time will be limited to writing my posts on here and doing necessary research if needed.  There are so many things I could be doing rather than getting distracted by what I have on for background noise.

I’m actually pretty excited about this.  I’m planning on starting a running regimen as soon as I can get my hip issues taken care of.  Maybe in the meantime I’ll start biking again.  I loved that.

I’m still working on a business that can make me money without my having to really do anything.  A week at the beach makes me realize that I want that more and more in my life.

And maybe I’m not just talking about the beach.  I think my favorite part about vacation was that I really didn’t have anything that I HAD to do.  I could come and go as I pleased.  I had a car there.  I could have taken off and headed home in the middle of the week if I had wanted to and it really wouldn’t have mattered.  I was kind of unplugged.

And I loved it.

I was able to be present with my family without thinking about what I was going to write about that night.  I wasn’t checking emails for work purposes.  I was checking emails from my phone because I wanted to.

And even though I’m back and am in full swing with work again and gratefully taking back all my responsibilities here, I also realize how important rest is not only for the mind, but for the soul, as well.

So if you get the chance, friends, enjoy your rest.  Sit outside and watch a sunset or a sunrise.

It may surprise you what you’ve been missing this whole time.

I left for a few days.  I could stay gone for quite a few more.  However, I don’t have enough money to not work, so I’m back from vacation and am tired.

I had planned on writing an awesome post for you today, but I honestly just don’t have it in me.  I’ve been home for almost 30 hours and I still haven’t unpacked.  Fortunately my laundry was done there at the beach house, so at least the clothes I put on tomorrow will be clean, even if they are wrinkled.

Wednesday I’ll have a real post.

I promise.

But tonight I’m watching a bit of the Olympics, sorting through 5K shirts and going to bed early.

Today’s vacation post is from one of my very best friends, Herschel.  I asked him to write me a 10 Things post.  He wrote me 5 things.  Not only is Herschel one of my best friends (which makes him infinitely cooler), but he also puts up with me playing djembe and singing with him and his my guitar while we lead worship at church. It’s okay that he plays my guitar.  The djembe is his, so it’s a total give and take relationship.  I keep trying to get Herschel to start blogging full-time.  He’s got some pretty good stuff to say.  I think you’ll agree.  Enjoy his 10 5-Things List!

Recently, I have traveled around the Midwest, going to and from various job interviews at churches.  I hadn’t applied for a job at a church in a long time, and all of a sudden I had four interviews in a short three-week period.  While at one of the interviews, I was asked a question by the senior pastor.  He was a kind, humble man, intent on helping others, myself included, have a deeper relationship with Christ.

“How do you take care of your soul?” he asked.

I have to be honest, I didn’t know how to answer.  In all my interviews I have never been asked anything like that, before or since.  I hadn’t anticipated it.  In my nervousness, I said something to the effect of making sure I take time alone for myself and God.  Not a terrible answer, and partially true, but it barely scratches the surface, now that I’ve had time to seriously reflect on the question.  Here now are ten ways I care for my soul.

1. Retreat.  It was the first thing to come to my mind in the interview for a reason.  It is important to me to get away from everyone and everything from time to time and enjoy life alone.  Sometimes this includes prayer.  Sometimes it means going on a solitary walk in the cemetery.  Sometimes it means putting my iPod on and sitting in the backyard by myself.  The point is to get away from the world for a little bit.

2. Music.  Music has been a love of mine my whole life.  Now that I’m, ahem, 31, I can see how much music I have missed out on in my life.  Classical music for example, eluded me in my younger years, as it does most people, but now I find it to be among my favorites.  I can sit and listen and be swept away in the beauty of it all and forget what troubles I may have.  More often than not, the beauty is enough in itself to recharge my soul.

3. Laughter.  I laugh every day. Whether it be at Larry David, or my dog Wiggins, I seek out and find opportunities to laugh.  Sometimes it may not be at something appropriate either, but that is a different conversation for a different day.  The point is, make sure you’re laughing.

4. People.  From my parents to my friends, I surround my self with people who I care about, and who care about me.  I have people in my life who aren’t afraid to be honest, and that makes all the difference.  Surface relationships are for amateurs.

5. Rest.  This is crucial to a good life.  So often I hear people say “I don’t have time.” another one I hear is “I’m just so worn out.” Often, these people forget that their minds, bodies, and souls need rest.  This is similar to retreat, but different in that you don’t have to get away to do this.  They key here is what I call, “turning it off.”. You make yourself stop worrying.  You make yourself focus on a dumb t.v. show instead of your work.  You exercise.  You focus your mind and soul away from whatever is your soul’s concern.  I know everyone reading this might disagree, or think this impossible.  It’s not, and it’s not bad for you.  It takes practice.  You have to be intentional.  You have to say, “I’m not going to think about that right now.”. With time and practice, this can work.  And what it enables you do is to recharge and refocus.  You see things differently.  You regain your passion.  You do things better.  Even God rested.  Even Jesus took retreat.  What makes you so important that you can’t?

So there are my ten  five ways I take care of my soul.  Let me ask you the same question now.

How do you take care of your soul?

Today is a guest post from my friend, Lucy.  I first met Lucy at boot camp last October.  I don’t know that I’d really considered what I was getting myself into, but Lucy along with the other girls in the gym were such a constant source of encouragement.  She always has a smile on her face, and I love it.  She’s a fighter.  Enjoy this post.  By the way, when Lucy runs, she blows me away!

I have asked this question many times. I have been asked this question many times. How did you do it?

I cannot count the number of individuals who have asked me, “How did you start running? I can’t do it. How did you do it?”

To make a long story short, I had the desire to run, but I didn’t have a plan to execute this desire. I started attending boot camp in the evenings with a friend. Boot camp involved a lot of running. My friend, who is also my neighbor, and I decided to get up and walk every morning. We knew we were struggling with our running at boot camp. The walking turned into some running. Little by little, between running at boot camp and doing it on our own, we got better. As time marched on, the goal of running didn’t seem too lofty after all. In fact, we ran two 5K’s last year, and we both placed second in our age division in one race. I was pleased with my hard work and determination. The fact that I was running was what pleased the desires of my heart.

However, I cannot stress this point enough; I could not have done this alone.

I found myself repeating this bible verse in my head many times while running or during boot camp when things were getting tough and I didn‘t think I had it in me to go on:

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

A valuable life lesson that one needs to be reminded of over time is this: You need the help of others to get to your goal. I needed My Lord to strengthen me when I thought I could not go on. I needed the help of my friend and the many other friends along the way that I have met while we were all striving for the common goal. The support of my husband who knew I needed time for myself to make it happen. My acquaintances that would see me out and say, “I saw you ran a 5K, good for you.” I needed these people for support. For encouragement. To push me.

That’s how I did it.

Today I’m on vacation.  So today’s post is from my friend, Andrea.  Andrea and her husband and son live in North Carolina, so I thought I’d be pretty close to them this week.  However, I’m still about 10 hours away.  Okay.  That’s probably not an accurate guess, but I’m still several hours away from them.  Andrea is a teacher, wife, sister, mother, friend and lover of Jesus.  I hope you’ll head over to her little corner on the Internet and read more of what she has to say!  You can find her here!  Go check it out and enjoy the post!!!

“When we are out of debt, then I’ll trust God with our finances.”

I actually wrote those words on Sunday.  The pastor was talking about “When…then” statements.  Something he said hit close to home.  I began to write and those words came out.  My heart broke because those words were so true and so deep rooted.  I thought my faith was so much better than this.  I trust God to keep the car going, to keep the overgrown trees from hurting anything, to bless our youth ministry, and to guide our church into our future.  I have no doubts about those things, but I doubt he can provide for us.  I realize that my lack of trust in his provision is arrogant because I think we can do it ourselves.  I trust our work more than his.  I know in my head that when we have tried to do it ourselves in the past it hasn’t worked.  It only caused us to move back and forth across the country to end up where God tried to put us for free long before.  That obviously was a time in which his provision was better than our plan.  I know that in my head, but my heart still holds out.  My heart sees life decisions as separate from finance decisions.  My heart thinks we can still do it.  Those thoughts plagued me, but at the end of the sermon I still wasn’t sure if I was going forward.  After all, I can handle it on my own.  I said I was ashamed and I didn’t want to be that way.  What more is there?

Of course there is more.  So I went forward to pray at the altar.  For me there is something very humbling about that altar that makes me very honest.  In the process of praying, I discovered a deep seeded thought emotion that I didn’t know was there.  I am afraid of God seeing my finances.  I am worried he will be ashamed of them.  Sometimes the bills get paid a day or two late.  We have credit card debt.  We don’t have a lot of money saved.  We tithe, but not all to the local church.  My finances aren’t perfect and I worry that God will be ashamed of me because of that.  Even as I type those words, I get a little teary eyed, a mini Sunday reaction.  I cried to know my heart held such lies.  I  gave it to God at the altar.  I decided to change and walked away feeling lighter.  I know the feelings will attack again and I will give it to him again.  I will continue to remind my heart of the truths he gave me and slowly my stubborn heart will learn that God’s provision is always better than my plan.

It acted like it was going to rain tonight.  Just like it’s acted like it’s going to rain so many days in the last few weeks.  I don’t have crops.  My income isn’t derived from anything dependent upon the rain, and yet the whole situation is depressing to me.  I guess mainly because my parents do derive their income from farming, but it’s just depressing.

But there was one night a few weeks ago where the clouds rolled in, the wind picked up and I just knew we were in for a good summer thunder storm.

And there was nothing.

No rain.  Just wind to further dry out the crops and crack the earth underneath our feet.

But there was a rainbow.

Bright and beautiful and so full of promise.

I love rainbows.  I can just sit and stare at them for as long as they last.  I usually grab my phone to snap a picture or run and get my camera from inside the house.  I’ve even been known to get in my car to drive just to see if I can come up with a better picture than the one where I’m standing.  They’re so beautiful.  It’s like everything around it is just illuminated tenfold.

It’s like it brings life to the deadness around it.

And what gets me is that the stuff around it didn’t look dead before.  The rainbow just comes in and brings light to the darkness that we didn’t know was there.

And brings a promise of better things to come.

Life here and now is incredible.  Life here and now is beautiful and wonderful and joyful.

But a life lived fully in the light of God’s promise?

Man, I can’t wait for that.

What do you think about when you see rainbows?