joy

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Heavenly Birthday

I just got back from a birthday party that turned into a prayer and worship meeting. 

It’s no surprise because my friend Kristin has a heart that beats for worship, for Jesus. 

There’s nothing like coming together as one in worship. 

It was hard to leave the house. We were all so filled with the joy of the Lord. Our cups were running over! 

I’ve never been to a birthday party quite like this one. Something Kristin said is stuck in my mind:

This party is not really about me–it’s all about Jesus. 

Colossians 3:3 says, “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

As Christians, we understand that our lives are not really our lives. We are dead! It’s Christ who lives and operates through us. 

Every moment of every day is to be lived in surrender (even on your birthday).

This night of celebration was beautiful. Fellowship, friends, and worship are 3 things that go together well–whether it’s a birthday party or a church service. 

I am thankful for Kristin and I know that her 19th year will be awesome. 

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Take a deep breath

Do not let your to-do list rob you of joy. 

I’ve said this 50,000 times today while hyperventilating….

There is a list of small things that need to get done between now and my move. 

There are also a lot of people who are more important than my to-do list. 

I do not want to be so task oriented that I am not enjoying my time with friends and family. 

So, I’m going to take several deep breaths and prioritize….and I won’t need a brown paper bag to do so. 

I say all of this to encourage you to not be bullied by your to-do list.

Don’t allow anyone or anything to steal your joy. 

Life is way too short for that kind of nonsense. 

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Christmas Eve Adventures

I didn’t make it into any pictures, but my Christmas Eve was awesome. 

The Kennedy/Neely Christmas parties were a success!

Opening presents with my cousins was fun because they picked out their own gifts for everyone this year. It’s cool to see the people they are becoming. 

My cousin Mathew celebrated his first Christmas as a father and I love his fiancé Kristen. He picked a winner for sure!

I pray that you have a wonderful time with your friends and family over the next few days. 

Merry Christmas!

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Merry Christmas Traffic

  I met Santa today!

Turns out he does all his last minute shopping at Wal-Mart too. 

Traffic was a bit crazy on my delivery route because everyone else just realized Christmas is next week. 

Be careful if you have to go out this weekend. 

Don’t lose your joy over a few extra minutes at a red light. 

And if you happen to see Santa this weekend, be sure to give him a word of encouragement and ask him what kind of cookies he actually wants on Christmas Eve. 

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All I need is a cup of coffee and a little perspective

I used to be a chipper morning person. My grumpier self told her to get lost.

My younger siblings do not care.

They are loud and boisterous and excited about the day–even if they don’t know what day it is.

“Audra, what day is it?” Caleb asks.

“It’s Tuesday,” I reply.

His response is normally something like:

“Yay! That means we get to ________” or “What are we going to do today?”

Maybe us grumpy adults should be more easily excitable.

We tend to see each day from a more practical, soul sucking point of view. I don’t think we mean to, though, but it’s easy to fall in line with our work hating, wish-it-was-the-weekend culture.

Last night my little brother–in his childlike wisdom–prayed the most beautiful blessing over our dinner.

“Dear God,

Thanks for having us today.

Thank you for dinner and this time with my family.”

Amen.”

Caleb thanked God for letting us live.

And the thunderbolt of conviction struck my heart….

IMG_1692Every breath, every day comes from God. Begrudging my life and all the things I “have to do” is a slap in God’s face.

I understand that we all have hardships and bad days, but our worst day–especially if you live in the West–is someone else’s best day.

The minor inconveniences of our life will not affect whether we live or die. With that in mind, you and I have very little to complain about.

This is not meant to be a guilt trip.

Just call it a good, old fashioned reality check.

Sure, you’re not a morning person but you can be a thankful–yet quiet–non-morning person.

Sure, money is tight but you have food, water, and shelter. A cancelled Netflix account or a month without cable will not kill you.

Perspective has a way of making us honest.

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Ending well

Bad days happen. 

Today was one of them…

My entire afternoon was wasted. 

It was a situation where I’m partly to blame because I didn’t push hard enough for an answer (an answer that would have saved me three hours). 

I left the store with tears stinging my eyes while also being extremely angry. 

Not fun…

I’m not a super emotional person, so emotional situations wear me out. 

The evening got better, though, when I watched the new Cinderella with the kiddos. 

We had popcorn and everything. 

 

Courage is king of the popcorn bowl

 
Rainy days–and bad days too–rarely stop kids from having fun. Their innocence is such a sweet gift. 

I want my siblings to stay as innocent as possible, to never lose the gift of finding joy in all situations. 

It’s easy for adults to be cynical. 

I hate that…

I want to be more like my little brothers and sisters. 

Their ability to trust and forgive and love and laugh amazes me. 

I never want them to lose that resilience. 

The day was pretty stinky, but it ended well. 

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Life is a story

We all have a story to tell, right?

Your life, after all, is one big story that gets written a day at a time.

Of course, every story is different in one way or another, but we all have a lot more in common than we realize.

Can you list all the movies that retell Cinderella?

Exactly. There’s too many to count.

journalThe premise is the same but the small details–time, place, etc–are what make it different.

Our world is filled with brokenness: tragedy, addiction, abuse, divorce. Listen to enough stories and you hear about these things.

No one escapes life without a few sad chapters, with pages covered with tears, blood, and grime.

I am finding, though, that the greatest stories of redemption are found in books where sad chapters give way to victorious chapters.

The victorious chapters are when the villains–and all their filthy, disgusting lies–get their butts kicked.

Love, joy, mercy, hope, grace, forgiveness…..

These are the key elements of  victorious chapters.

But you have to remember that victorious chapters cannot replace the sad ones.

No amount of time or distance can eliminate the past.

Think of it this way:

If I read a book and hate the first half, I can’t decide to only read the second half next time. The story wouldn’t make any sense.

What I can do is choose to see how the character made peace with the past in order to move on.

I said earlier that we’re all more alike than we realize.

We’re all alike because we’re all storytellers.

Maybe you didn’t write the first part of your story.

Let that go.

Focus on the story you get to write.

Focus on the victorious chapters.

And share the hope–the redemption in your story–with the world.

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Note to Self: Remembering What’s Important

don't forgetI leave a paper trail wherever I go.

Sticky notes, notebooks, Evernote….I have to capture ideas, tasks, and all other vital information down as fast as I can or it flies out of my brain.

And I think the biggest reminder we need is about our worth.

Many of us go through life feeling less than important.

The mirror, our bank account, and the naysayers point out the flaws.

Negative things stack up a lot faster than positive things–if we allow it.

There are so many things that are supposed to lead to happiness and joy and a “fulfilled” life. If you buy into the lies out there, you’ll walk around confused about your worth.  

That’s what I want us to explore together over the next few days.

So, here’s a question for you:

What dictates the worth and purpose of your life?