A little perspective

They say balance is key...

I like to think that God laughs a lot.  No, this isn't one of those jokes where I say, "I know God laughs a lot and has a sense of humor, He made you, didn't He?"  Ha.  Funny every time.  What I really mean is I think we've got it all wrong in this society; comparing religion and faith with straight faces and robotic lifestyles.  

Now, I'm not a bible scholar and I don't profess to know all of scripture by heart but to my knowledge, there's nowhere, not one place in the Word where Jesus says, "I command you all to be not only painfully bored yourselves but also to spend your lives afflicting others with extreme boredom as well."  We are kidding ourselves if we think for one minute that Jesus didn't have fun or that we are somehow commanded to live a life absent of laughter and just plain and simple good times! 

Recently, I've had the pleasure of re-discovering not only the calmness and the peace that comes from a close relationship with God but also the light heartedness as well!  And, what more of a perfect way to celebrate this discovery but with the awesome gift I received from a friend (pictured above).  When you're not spending 90 percent of your time feeling slighted, angry and disappointed, life can be a darn good time!  A group of friends and I have been getting together for weekly dinners followed by a rented movie; at times, there has been such a warmth in that room that I've felt like I was with blood relatives.  I had the pleasure of having a girls' night with some of my friends this evening and I really hope we continue that tradition because it was so nice to just sit and chit-chat about nothing in particular and laugh!  

I'm learning that when you put your faith in God and your trust in the plan He has for you (um...He knew how many hairs were on my head before I was even born, I guess I could lean on Him a bit, geez!),  you spend A LOT less time waxing philosophical in your journal about how life isn't fair and yada yada yada.  Will bad days come?  Yep. I am sure that I will have another day, maybe even this week where I think, REALLY?  The difference now is, I don't let that day turn into a week...into a year...into seven years...into a lifetime. 

Laughter is good.  Deep in the soul, shoulders shaking, tears rolling down your cheeks, abs hurting laughter.  It's good for you people - trust me!  

Proverbs 15:13

A happy heart makes the face cheerful, 

but heartache crushes the spirit.

A Small Price to Pay

$2.88...

What Can you possibly buy with $2.88 you ask?  A great meal but, more importantly an evening with wonderful friends!  Since cake-eater came back into town, we all decided to get together tonight to just be in the company of some of those we love most and share a meal.  At first, I was really worried about how I was going to pull off bringing something to a meal and purchasing something for a meal this weekend with only $10!  We decided on spaghetti so I thought, well, I have a box of unopened noodles in my pantry, I'll bring that and some jarred sauce as my contribution.  Once I got to the store, I started to wonder if one jar was enough (you know me, always worrying about the details) so I decided to buy two jars of sauce. I was excited because the sauce was only $1.44 so before tax, I was only paying $2.88 for my part of the meal because I already had the noodles.  In the back of my mind, as I left the store, I was thinking about what I was going to make for the meal that I would have to provide this weekend.

I had a wonderful time at dinner, laughing and joking around with people that aren't just friends to me any longer but rather more like family.  At one point, I just sat there thinking how different it would have been if we would have gone to a restaurant.  So much less personal, so much less real and well, there's the fact that we would have missed VB's dog howling too :)!  It made me think about how many missed opportunities I've had to truly connect with others over the years because instead of staying in and enjoying each other, we've all been rushing to a restaurant to pay $20 for a meal we could have made ten times better at home!  I am not saying that eating out is evil or that I don't enjoy to do it from time to time but come on!  

At the end of the meal, there were so many leftovers and somehow, my friend Matt and myself (he and I are on the spending fast together) ended up with all of the leftovers.  When I was walking out to my car, I thought, God provides in the most unexpected, unrequested ways sometimes!  Here I am thinking about what I am going to make for a meal this weekend with $7, walking out of the house with PLENTY of food for another meal (actually 4 other meals)!  

The meal was excellent and remarkably economical.  The real treasure though was preparing and enjoying a meal with friends that wasn't dictated by when the server decided to bring the check...

A-Okay

A good day.  

Four Days without Television.

Two Days back at a job I love.

Countless fits of laughter with friends.

The realization (recurring) of how lucky I am to "work" where I "work".

The fifteen minutes of silence I got tonight at the desk.

The comfort I feel knowing that parts of me I've wanted to change are changing and the parts of me I love are becoming amplified.

The knowledge that my friend cake eater will be back in Muncie soon.

A good day indeed.  

Just Getting Started

Living in a simple way.  Living like Jesus.  Living for a purpose.  

Statements like the above have crowed my mind and inspired me for years now.  I have read many articles and books and watched countless television shows documenting others' efforts to remove themselves from a materialistic, monetarily driven society and get "back to basics".  My faith in God has also led me to explore avenues that others have taken to combine their desire for a simple life with their desire to live like Jesus did, with purpose and an incredible, unconditional love for others.  

Admittedly, I have exhausted friends and family with conversations revolving around these two concepts for years (you know who you are and it's okay, I know I've sounded like a broken record)!  Until today though, I've been a spectator to this lifestyle.  A passionate, green with envy on-looker completely aw-struck at individuals who actually took action to change their lives in this way.  

 After years of thinking about what my life would look like if I attempted to change in drastic measures the ways in which I related to this world around me, I decided to do something about those thoughts and turn them into action!  I am blogging about my experiences so that I could document my triumphs and struggles along the way.