My First Make a Difference Monday post

It's funny that I came across this blog post from She Lives Free today. My son attends an I.B. school in our district that focuses on a lot more than a traditional public school. They encourage community service, a whole, international, civic minded individual with guiding principles. It's an interesting concept and I've watched my son develop into this very world view minded kid as a result. We have been lucky that he has been in an I.B. school since kindergarten.

Back to the irony of coming across this post today. My son's den teacher (like a homeroom teacher) sent out an email stating that the school encourages at least 10 hours of community service for the students. Not mandatory, but strongly encouraged. I believe in high school this is required for graduation. These kids work hard! I decided to broach the subject with my son and see what he thought about volunteering. He was immediately on board and this weekend we will be doing some research into some organizations that we can volunteer at together. Children model our behaviors, it's how they learn everything, from walking, talking, to their prejudices, likes, and dislikes. So I think it's important to do this with him. I give in other ways, generally monetarily, but volunteered frequently as a teenager through my church.

Living in Austin, there are lots of opportunities to make a difference in our community. Up for discussion:

Habitat for Humanity. He's under 16, so he's not allowed on an active construction site yet (he will be super bummed to hear this one) but they have Youth opportunities, such as painting or helping with landscaping that he can do.

Keep Austin Beautiful has ongoing and one-time opportunities quite often.

Austin Food Bank has a few different opportunities, though I'm not sure they'd allow a younger child to volunteer.

I will be emailing most of these to see what the age limit is for volunteering. My son also mentioned volunteering with the elderly.

Link up with She Lives Free

Impactful books

Though I have identified as a Christian for most of my life, only recently have I begun to really own it and explore more in depth. This compilation will be just a few of the books I feel have really affected my own faith and journey, and a small snippet of how.



What Women Fear: Walking in Faith that Transforms & Chasing God both by Angie Smith. Honestly, when it dawned on me how much I missed and needed a church and spiritual life, Angie Smith's blog happened to cross my path and it helped me immensely. I started reading her blog when it was only a few pages (and had a different name), reading about her great love for Beth Moore before she met her. This was long before she started writing her books but I've grown more due to her than any writer of faith so far. Questions/thoughts derived from her blog and books: If she can remain steadfast in her faith after the loss of her daughter, reconcile with her past, still have moments of being confused by God, but still remain so in love with it all, I can too...eventually. Quote

"When we spend more of our time searching for assurance than we do acting out of belief, we are chasing God."

Beyond Ordinary: When a Good Marriage Just Isn't Good Enough This book must have been hard for them to write! The husband, Justin, had an affair with one of her best friends. This book has chapters from both of their perspectives, starting from how they met to the finding out of the affair, how they decided to make it work, and what they are now doing to make their marriage work. In her shoes, could I have forgiven him? Eventually. Would I have stayed with him? Honestly, I hope I never have to be tested on this but it would be one of the hardest decisions I'd ever have to make in my life.
Quote "Ordinary marriages go to great lengths to avoid marriage valleys, yet it is often in the valleys that God meets us and sets us up for extraordinary."

"There is an irony in Christians' struggle with forgiveness. As believers in Jesus, we have been saved by grace. We have been offered forgiveness. When we least deserved it, God forgave us. Yet many of us fail to forgive our friends, parents, siblings, coworkers, and yes, even our spouses."

Freefall to Fly: A Breathtaking Journey Toward a Life of Meaning -I wrote a blog post on this a few weeks, but I still really enjoyed this book (eventually...). Anxiety happens! Quote

"If we invest in earthly treasures, Jesus seemed to be saying, our hearts will shrivel with them. When we derive meaning from fleeting objects, our spirits decay and become a meal for moths. But if we invest in eternal treasures, our hearts will be satisfied. My recent struggles confirmed the truth in His Words."

Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War -the author is from Liberia. She grew up somewhat privileged, but once the wars starting in on her turf, her life was torn apart. She overcame so much and has spread her faith and love for her country around the world. Her faith is what got her through the hardships and continue to shape her.

"Women are the sponges, I thought. We take it all in-the trauma of separated families, the death of loved ones. We listen to what our husbands and children tell us, we look at the destruction of our communities and belief systems, and soak p that pain , too. We hold it all because we need to be strong, and complaining-or even sharing-is a sign of weakness. But holding in that kind of misery was as crippling as holding on to rage."

Spiritual Misfit: A Memoir of Uneasy Faith -Faith is hard. It can be really hard and the author, Michelle, DeRusha, does a great job at showing just how hard it can be when you aren't sure what you believe. Quote

"You can't expect to have a healthy relationship with your spouse if you talk to her once a week, he noted. Likewise, praying once a week in church wouldn't amount to much of a relationship with God either."

Have a Little Faith: A True Story -I enjoyed the contrast between the two religions, the bluntness of some of their, the pastor and rabbi's, words. Quote

"But what if someone from another faith won't recognize yours? Or wants you dead for it." "That is not faith. That is Hate." He sighed. "And if you ask me, God sits up there and cries when that happens."

You're Already Amazing: Embracing Who You Are, Becoming All God Created You to Be by Holley Gerth has definitely made me think...a LOT! I'm only half way through this book and one other by her but because they make me reflect, I prefer to take them slowly. Honestly? This isn't all of them. I have moved in the last year and a half, and I'm sure there are others I'm leaving out. In some books, there are only a few quotes I loved that really stood out versus the whole book having meaning for me. Those will be in a separate post because I am a quote junkie and think they deserve their own space!

Prayer

Taken from: http://www.stacatholic.org/pray

This hasn't always been the easiest thing for me. There are days when I don't feel like I'm worthy of praying or talking to God. Like he won't listen to me because I've sinned too much. 

Some days, I find myself pausing to pray randomly throughout the day and night. Then some other days, I forget. That sounds horrible! How many times have you caught yourself forgetting to pray? 

Then there is everyone telling us that we should pray a certain way, or not ask God for things, or that we have to speak to God a certain way. From my understanding, from Bible verses, as well as studies I've read, God doesn't want us to treat him with this ultimate reverence and like a stranger. He doesn't want us to speak to him like someone we don't know. We should speak to God as our Father; with respect, yes, but with our heart and minds open.  With love and hope and happiness. 

When I pray, there is not much rhyme or reason. I thank God for things blessings I have received, and I end it thanking for Jesus. 

James 4:2 We have not because we ask not.

Psalm 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

Philippians 4:6-7 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Things I'm learning on this Journey

God gives us people for a reason.

We need fellowship.

We need prayer.

We need support, both his and other Christians.

We should be open to new ideas.

We should learn the Bible in our own way, through various interpretations.

We need prayer partners.

We need earthly partners.

We need Him.

We need life.

We need love.

We need hope.

We need light.

We need his mercy.

His grace.

His forgiveness.

Sunsets

Sunsets are one of my absolute favorite sights in nature. Sunrises sre equally amazing, but I'm always driving and can't grab pictures of it. Sunsets remind me to reflect, take joy, and praise Him for the wonders that surround me every day. 

And of course, Psalms has some perfect verses to go with it. 

Psalm 113:2 NIV "from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of The Lord is to be praised. 

Psalm 65:8 NIV "the whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy." 

Faith Quote

I love quotes. I love Bible verses that seemingly always fit into what I am going through at that time. 

This verse in particular makes me think of Matthew 7:1-2

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Too often I hear people who are talking about others behind their backs, or just plain rude to others, even though they know nothing about them. For instance, I heard someone saying how much they disliked a co-worker because the co-worker just wasn't very approachable. Afterwards, I told them "well, you know their father just died a couple of weeks ago, I doubt they've gotten over that quite yet." They instantly looked guilty. 

I'm not saying we should always worry that we are going to say something wrong about someone, I'm saying that we just should be cautious with our words and actions. 

Verses from Matthew to remember

Inspirational Monday Part 3

Interesting links/images

How I Know My Wife Married the Wrong Person


Angie Smith
I started reading her blog when it was only 10 pages long, before she even considered writing a book, before she started touring the world, and it was called Audrey Caroline-after her daughter who passed away shortly after birth. It was one of the biggest motivators in bringing my faith back to me. If she could remain faithful, and love life, even with doubts and questions, why couldn't I?

I will be updating this blog soon with my story. I will probably break it up to one or two a week for however long it takes to explain. :)