You, in this moment, are loved.

I hope you know you are loved.

No matter what. 

No matter what you've done, 

what you think, 

what group you belong to, 

what country you live in, 

what language you speak...

You are loved by a love that knows no bounds.

Let that sink in. We don't always feel it, so let it marinate, simmer, seep into your being. You are loved for no other reason than that you are you. And if you don't feel loved, reach out. Tell someone you trust that you need love. {You can even tell me.}

We as people do a horrible job of showing that boundless, never ending, all encompassing love. We don't fully grasp it, and so we 
have a hard time passing it onto others. But it's there, everyday, not just today.
You, just as you are in this moment, are loved. You.


Picture from "Gusta" pizzeria in Florence.

Tuning and Pruning

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been thinking about tuning and pruning lately.  It’s the perfect season right now.  Spring is coming out in beautiful flowers, longer days, and peaceful sunsets.  And time is slipping and swishing past.

But the reason I’ve been thinking about tuning is for my love of music.  I was thinking about how I regret in some ways not pushing myself more to learn an instrument when I was young.  I think I was fearful of the time and commitment that it would take to practice.  I was fearful of failing expectations.

And now I sit in the coffee house just off campus.  There are so many things that are buzzing about this place, but the one that stands out is the man tuning the piano.  It’s the most atrocious sound.  It goes above all the other noises, above the people talking, and the typing, and paper crinkling. 

It stands out. 

It’s different and unusual, but that’s not why it stands out.  It stands out because it sounds awful.  It takes time hitting the keys and hearing horrible noises to make the piano just right.  And in the same way the tuning in our lives is accomplished.  It takes time to be refined, tuned, and form new habits.  It takes time to deal with the problems and the issues. 

Every so often we need to be tuned and it is a process.  Its takes work and it can be awful.  We want to run away from the pain that we hear or feel or that is a part of the process.  But there is hope.

In the end, after the tuning, the piano makes beautiful music.  The sound that was once horrible is one that draws people in.  From the broken and messiness comes the beautiful.  The process makes the end note that much sweeter.  Refining in the tuning and pruning becomes beautiful.

 

 

 

 

Happy Heart Day!

Today is a wonderful day to take the time and think about how I can be thankful and how to pass along a little extra love.  While this isn't my favorite day of the year, I am loving the perspective I have.  This morning has already started off with heart shaped cinnamon rolls, a dance party, chocolate, making a PB&J heart shapped sandwich for lunch, and conversation hearts.  I feel like I've reverted back to childhood.

 

I hope your day is filled with laughter and love!

Liberia {intro to a story}

There is a beautiful {in its own way} country on the west coast of the continent of Africa.  This country has captured my heart to the point where if I talk about it I can get a faraway look in my eyes and little pools make my eyes glass over.  I call it love.  

Liberia, like many countries it shares the continent with, has been devastated by civil war, unemployment, malnourishment, lack of resources and lack of attention.  Almost 4 years ago I got to spend a week there learning, growing, and serving. 

Last week a friend who serves children there and in other third world countries around the globe had a night of sharing about Liberia.  There were stations to inform and ignite excitement into people that maybe had never heard about what is going on there and might want to help.  There was a place to break rocks which many children do to survive, facts about Liberia, finding the country on the globe and creating its flag, playing a nation favorite soccer, and eating authentic Liberian food.  Rice and greens.  It wasn’t completely authentic but pretty close and it did taste the same.

the soccer players

Though it is not usually very far in my mind, Liberia has been particularly closer these last few weeks. What have you been thinking about and revisiting?

Love Does {the Book}

I love people.  And I love God.  And if you like either of those things even a little bit, then you should read this book.  I’m being serious.  I heard about it exactly two weeks ago and I read my brother’s copy {thanks bud} and want to read it again.  Just for kicks. 

I love people a lot.  And I love seeing how God changes hearts and then transforms lives.  I love hearing other people’s stories {hence the blog world}.  And I like to read.

Those things are wrapped up altogether in Love Does.  This book is an easy read, and it uses the word “whimsy” which is just perfect.  The chapters are short, so don’t worry if life is busy I promise you can fit a read in.  It’s a mix of stories that make you laugh out loud in public places and others that make you think deeply.  And there’s a range of topics {yes, even BB guns make the cut} that all come back to God’s love and loving people.  Because love does.

I have to say it has put a radical spin on my imagination.  I’m dreaming again; big dreams.  I’m dreaming impossible{s} and I am so excited to see how God changes those and if he makes them realities! 

What are some big impossible{s} that you are daring to dream?  Are you willing to share them?  And willing to hope that they might become realities?

These are my own personal opinions that I shared with all of you because I liked this book and I think it’s worth a read.  No endorsement.

Days with Momma

It's spring break and yet I am going to have a mellow week. I am hoping that it is
productive. It doesn’t have to be a whirlwind, just get some things done. Live with a purpose.

Yesterday I got to spend the day with my mom. I think one of the things I love about being home is that my spring break doesn’t match up with my family’s. It’s a plus and minus situation {aren’t most situations that way?} I got to spend some time giving her input on the mission trip she’s helping to lead a team for. And then she went to tutor and I did some catch up work. And then we went and I got to help out at the local middle school selling lunch. She and Elizabeth do it every Monday. They make Mondays, Manners Mondays. Then all three of us went out to lunch and just had fun coming up with creative questions and ideas. There was a quick coffee break in there and then just hanging out with my momma. She made sure my sister had a ride home from
school. Again she tutored and then she went go to my brother’s volleyball game. She supports us so well.
I was and still am so blessed to be able to grow up with parents that invested in me daily. I love spending these days with my momma and that she got to be a stay-at-home mom. I love that she gets to not only be in the lives of her children but others’ children as well. I know when I was younger I wouldn’t get to do something so I would think to myself “When I have
kids I’m going to do …differently.” And now I don’t think I would.

Thanks Momma for investing in my life! I love you!

Happy Hearts Day!

We’ll it’s that time of year…Valentine’s Day! I prefer to think of it as showing a little love day.
Join me in spreading a lil’ love and flashing a smile today!
Happy hearts day!

Spread the Love

I am so overly happy that someone is doing this in the blog world. You should check it out!

I am reminded to do things like this all the time. I am not posting this for recognition or fame {I know right?} but rather for the pure joy of knowing that someone feels a little extra love today.
Its midterm time around here and so just taking time out of the day to let someone know that they mean so much to you and that you love them goes a long way. I got to tell some friends this week that I am praying for them. And my roommate, I got to write her a sweet note. I did another roommate’s dishes. It made me reflect and be thankful for them.
We have this tradition in our house that you use whiteboard markers to write sweet notes on the mirror in the bathroom. Sometimes they are a verse, other times just a note to brighten a day, or say ‘I’m thinking of you’. But they are always positive!
How do you show someone that you love them?