Jericho

Every battle isn’t meant to be fought. Some just require trust and faith that God will show up on your behalf. Joshua followed very specific instructions from God. I can only imagine how stupid they must have felt walking around the walls of Jericho everyday. Nothing happened. Nothing changed. Then after six days passed, they were told to march around seven times, blow their horns and shout. I’m sure someone asked, “why are we marching instead of strategizing?” They were soldiers not musicians. This is not how battles are fought, and definitely not how they are won. Heed God’s specific instruction in your life. No matter how idiotic. No matter how much it doesn’t make sense. Trust God in all things. Watch the walls of Jericho fall in your life. The battle is not yours to fight, anyway.

Zen

There are two places in my home that I automatically deem as my place of peace. These two rooms are my bedroom and bathroom. There are the two places where I can always hear and call on God. Zen despite its mystical connotations is your place of meditation, your place of peace. For some, it may be the basement or the kitchen. Make sure that you have some place in your home where you can seek and hear from God. Make sure that you have a place where you can be free and transparent with your creator. Make sure that you make time and space for zen in your life.

You

When was the last time you took a long hard look at you? When was the last time that you searched your soul? When was the last time you asked yourself, “what do you want?” When was the last time you acknowledged your fears? I know, mirror work is hard, but it is necessary. You can’t ask more of others than you are willing to do yourself. Nobody is gonna love you, like you love you. Love yourself. Hug yourself. Kiss yourself. Encourage yourself. Forgive yourself. Take care of you.

Whole

"Wholeness does not mean perfection: it means embracing brokenness as an integral part of life." -  Parker J. Palmer

I don't think we truly appreciate our wholeness until we are broken. We don't appreciate our health until it fades. We don't appreciate the goodness of today until we encounter the challenges of tomorrow. We don't appreciate what we have until it's gone. Why can't we live in the now? Why can't we have an attitude of gratitude? Why do we spend so much time looking for our next that we don't relish in the present? Today is a blessing. Today is all we have. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Just be and enjoy being. 

"You don't need another person, place or thing to make you whole. God already did that. Your job is to know it." - Maya Angelou

What Hurts?

Have you ever been to the doctor and they asked you, what hurts? You typically begin to list a series of symptoms. A good doctor will not just treat the symptoms, but try to find the root cause of your pain. If you're like me, you will Google your symptoms and try to self-diagnose. Typically, I'm pregnant, have cancer or dying according to WebMD. I had to stop using WebMD. Over the counter drugs usually alleviate the symptoms, but not the cause. It's a temporary fix. Most of us put band-aids on bruises. We treat surface injuries. We deal with only the things we can see. True healing goes beyond skin deep. Sometimes, we have to revisit that childhood pain. True healing requires us to acknowledge that we are broken and need to be healed. True healing requires us to answer the question, what hurts?

Virtue

Merit. Morals. Morality. Strength. Courage. Standards. All of these words come to mind when I think of virtue. My imagination takes me to the time of Ladies and Lords, a time when chivalry was the norm. The four classic cardinal virtues are temperance, prudence, courage, and justice. Christianity derives the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love from 1 Corinthians. Love being the greatest of these. What virtues do we esteem? Do we still have morals and standards or is chaos the norm? Do we not respect each other? Have we lost our virtue? Has it slipped away from us under the guise of being politically correct? How do we get it back? 

"Love means to love that which is unlovable; or it is no virtue at all." -Gilbert K. Chesterton

Unsung Heroes

They walk among us. They work alongside us. They live with us. Every day we encounter unsung heroes. Grandmothers raising grandkids. Surrogate mothers and fathers who stepped up when no one else would. Stepparents who embrace their spouse's children. Teachers who take the extra time to pay attention to the little things. Nurses who give a little more TLC. Customer Service Reps who go the extra mile. Strangers who smile in your direction. These are just a few of the unsung heroes who add to our lives on a daily basis. Acknowledge their sacrifice. Acknowledge their generosity. Appreciate them.