daring greatly Archives - Page 2 of 3

We’re mom’s. We save lives.

Sometimes when people ask me what I do, I like to say “I save lives”. Because truthfully, I do. All day long. I’m a mom. And I think toddlers spend 80% of their day doing things that could kill them. And we save them.

And then those toddlers grow up and they continue to do things that could kill them, either physically or emotionally. And we save them.

This video is worth your time.

The girls say their mom did someting unimaginable. But she actually didn’t. Because I know EVERY SINGLE MOM out there would do just what that mom did and jump in front of the car. Because her babies were inside. And we love them more than we love our own life. Notice I didn’t say we love them more than we love ourselves. I hope we love ourselves just as much as we love our kids. But we’d definitely be willing to sacrifice our lives for theirs.

So please, please, please, Mom’s, don’t spend your days feeling guilty or sad. Celebrate. Celebrate the love you have for those kids. And the lessons they have taught you that you probably couldn’t learn any other way.

These girls said their mom continues to save their lives every.single.day.

We save lives. And you love your kids. And those kids need YOU. And THAT makes you a remarkable woman and mother.

“We create to find out what’s true”

Let it be known, writing articles for this blog is not always easy for me. Sometimes, it’s actually quite hard. And super uncomfortable.

I grew up not sharing many emotions. So doing that on this blog doesn’t come naturally or easy for me.

But I’m trying to embrace being intentionally uncomfortable. Because apparently it’s good for growth. At least that’s what people keep telling me.

Writing in a space like this can be risky. People seem to think that commenting on facebook, or a blog post doesn’t hurt people when they say something mean. Or maybe they do know it hurts people and they do it anyway. Regardless, writing, especially about things of the heart, is a vulnerable adventure.

I fully recognize I may not always be right. But I write to find truth. And in the moment I write something, that IS my truth. In that moment.

Each day, sometimes each moment, I change. And become someone new. And writing helps me grow. Writing helps EVERYONE grow. Whether you share it with the world, or keep it to yourself. Writing seems to make things more clear. It helps me find truth.

I read the following quote about writing and it was a perfect nudge to keep on doing what I’m doing. Because I believe in building a community of people around this blog who want to live intentional lives and create better life stories.

“Don’t waste your time, energy, and heart defending yourself. Not because your’re not wrong, but because of course you’re wrong. Anybody who doesn’t know that we are most certainly all wrong is a little scary to me.

Luckily, art is not about right and wrong. We don’t create to find out what’s right, we create to find out what’s true. Right now. Not forever, right exactly now. And what’s true is whatever was born inside your moment of creativity. Create your true thing and then let it loose into the world to do what it will….

Every moment I’m someone new. This is why we writers never stop writing. Not because there is new material–but because WE are new material”
Glennon Doyle Melton

Everyone’s a writer. And everyone is a “creative”. Whether you know it or not. So if you’ve considered it, give it a whirl. It may just change your life.

Re-born. It’s transplant day!

My friend, Lisa, is getting her bone marrow transplant today and tomorrow. It’s called a Second Birthday because it’s like you’re being reborn.

And may we pause for a minute and celebrate the fact that she kicked cancer OUT of her body. Stage 4 Lymphoma and her screens came back clean. Incredible.

If you haven’t read about Lisa, start here.

For those of you who participated in our peace project, I thank you with every ounce of sincerity in my body. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

The collage is finished. Just need to print it and get it up on her wall!

Here are some closer shots so you can find yourselves.

And here’s a little slideshow of all of you peace givers. I’m hoping Nickell can just loop it over and over on the days it feels hard to fight!

Please continue to remember her in your prayers. There is power in numbers. And she still has many hard days ahead of her.

HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY my friend. You have an army of people supporting you. We ALL love you and may your soul have peace during your fight.

Fear Not to Do Good.

I was reading scripture one day and came across these verses:

“Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap. …

“Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. …

“Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.“

I remember thinking to myself, why would I ever FEAR to do good?? That’s such an odd thing to say.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I fear to do good all the time. I’ll get a thought to say something nice to someone and be embarrassed to say it. Or worry they’ll think I’m weird (which I am, but still).

I’ll get a feeling to stop by a friends house and check in on them, but then second guess myself and think I’m intruding or bugging them.

I’ll feel a strong impression to e-mail, text, or call someone, but I worry about what they’ll think. Or I won’t have the right thing to say.

Or I’ll feel compelled to pursue something in my life that could benefit myself, or even a lot of people, and I’ll resist. Out of fear. Out of the unknown. Out of uncertainty.

The truth is, I fear to do good all the time.

But once I realized this about myself, I decided I was going to try and change.

So now, with any thought that pops in my head, I ask “is it good?”, and “will it help someone else?” and if it passes those two questions, then I tell myself “then do it.” It’s not always easy, but I am trying.

Now for the record, I have a LOT of things pop up in my head, and most of them are good. Realistically I don’t have time to do all of them. But I do as many as I can. And I fight the fear that often accompanies those things (even if they are seemingly small).

If it’s good, do it. Fear Not to DO GOOD.

How do I know if it’s what God wants?

I struggled for a long time with my relationship with God. It seemed like we just weren’t communicating very well. I kept asking Him what direction I should go. What He wanted me to do with my life. Was this the right direction or this?

And I felt like I wasn’t getting any real guidance.

I always knew God was there. And that He was listening. I never doubted He was there. But I felt a little lost. And unsure. Like God was holding back on his answers. Or I wasn’t listening good enough. I couldn’t hear Him.

Because if I knew, for sure, that it was God telling me to do something, I’d do it. Not just me, or someone else telling me. But if it was God, I would do it.

And I worried about making decisions for my life story because I was afraid it would be the wrong decision. And it wouldn’t be God’s will. And I wouldn’t even know. I didn’t want to waste my time on things God didn’t want me to do. And I didn’t want to miss out on all these great plans God had in store for me. Because when you say “yes” to something, you also say “no” to something else. And I didn’t want to be saying “no” to the thing God actually wanted me to say “yes” to. Did you catch that?

So I was essentially doing nothing. Stalling. Waiting for the heavens to open and God to tell me what my next move was. In a fairly loud booming voice so I could hear over all the other life noise.

And then I was reminded of the following scripture.

“For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their inheritance”

Men and Women should be anxiously engaged in a good cause. The power is in THEM. When all is said and done, God just wants us to DO good. To BE good. And to be anxiously engaged in good things. And he’s okay with ME choosing what good things those are.

I’m working my way through the book “Storyline Finding Your Subplot in God’s Story” by Donald Miller. (worth every penny by the way)

Miller supports this idea that God has left a lot of the decision making up to us. If it makes our heart sing and we’re anxiously engaged in something good, that will save other souls, then go for it. He says:

“I don’t believe God has a specific plan for most people. I could be wrong, though, because there are several people in the Bible for whom God had a specific plan.

In fact, here’s a little checklist so you can know if God has a specific plan for your life.

According to the Bible, you know God has a specific plan for you if:

A. Your donkey (or any other animal, for that matter) talks to you
B. An angel appears before you and wakes you up because he’s so bright
C. You are a virgin but pregnant

Where did we get this idea God doesn’t speak clearly when He wants something? When I talk to people who believe God has a specific plan for their lives, they act like God is some kind of mystic weirdo talking to them through riddles and we are supposed to use the Bible like a secret decoder ring.

If God has a specific plan for your life, you’ll know it because He’ll tell you. According to the Bible, it will be very, very clear.

For the rest of us, the scary truth is we get to decide what we want to do with our lives. And we get to decide with God.”

He then goes on to say,

“I think we are spending a lot of time asking God to tell us what to do when the whole time He’s asking us what we’d like to do instead. I think He’s asking us what’s in our hearts, what makes us come alive, what ignites our passion and saves many lives.”

What makes me come alive? What’s in my heart? And how can I use that to save many souls?

Now this isn’t to say God doesn’t provide direction. Because I absolutely know He does. And He’ll give me little nudges to pursue certain things. And sometimes He’ll speak loudly about a path He wants me to pursue.

But He also allows me to figure out what makes me come alive, and then wants me to GO DO IT. And trust that God will put on the brakes if he needs me to go in a different direction.