Heart to Heart

"True friendships are lasting because true love is eternal. A friendship where heart speaks to heart is a gift from God, and no gift that comes from God is temporary or occasional." ~Henri J.M. Nouwen 
   This quote was given to me a long time ago by someone who used to be a very close friend of mine but that I have not spoken to in over a year now. When I ran across this it made my head start spinning and many memories and special moments come flooding back. I began thinking about the friendships I have now and comparing them to friendships and relationships I have had in the past. Everything changes so quickly and time flies by when we are not paying attention. Special moments slip through our grasp as we go about our busy lives, not stopping to consider that a moment like that, with that one person, may never be ours again. I feel that what I have learned from my past has only let me become bitter towards my future. I hold grudges instead of kind memories, think hateful words instead of doing forgiving gestures. People I call my friends now, I hold back on because I do not want people to see me for who I really am, that way when something in life happens and I am called to move on from a friend, I am not hurt or disappointed that it has to be over. 
   I struggle with the quote I first listed because it says that a friendship where heart can speak to heart is a gift from God and that those gifts are not temporary, yet the person who showed me this quote and who I held in my mind at the time as my best friend is no longer in my life. If God's gifts to us are not temporary or occasional, then what good thing came out of another good thing ending did I not see? Something must have come to take its place and show me that God is really watching out for me even when worldly relationships and friendships fail us. I feel like I will never understand God's methods or why this world has to see such sin as it does every day.
   I guess some people would just say it has to come down to faith and trusting that God really does have our best interest in mind. Maybe God realizes that while we have certain friends or are in certain relationships, we are closed off to having a personal relationship with Him which is what really should come first. Until our worldly friendship was no longer there we would never realize our desperate need for God. Maybe after we take time to build our one-on-one relationship with God, He would see it fit to give us back our other friendships. But then again, maybe not. In Philippians 4:6-7 it says that we are to "be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication  with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Even though it is probably the hardest thing for us to do as humans, we do not need to worry about what our future holds. We can let God know what we desire but then we have to sit back and have faith that He really does have it all worked out. He will give us peace about whatever is on our hearts if we will just let Him. Psalm 37:4 says to "Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart." What we may think we want may not be what is actually best for us or what we truly deep down think we desire. I know that I need to work on my personal relationship with God instead of putting so much time and effort into relationships with people that will just end up getting in the way of what God really has in store for me. I am not saying to avoid having good friendships but just to make sure that the most important one of all, the one between me and my Savior, is coming first every day. 
  Needless to say, this post became a lot longer than I expected it to be but my thoughts are less of a mess now that I have sat here and put them out for people to see. 

This is your LIFE

Find a passion and pursue it. Fall in love. Dream big. Drink wine, eat great food and spend quality time with good friends. Laugh EVERYDAY. Believe in magic. Tell stories. Reminisce about the good old days but look with optimism to the future. Travel often. Learn more. Be creative. Spend time with people you admire. Seize opportunities when they reveal themselves. Love with ALL your heart. Never give up. Do what you love. Be true to who you are. Make time to enjoy the simple things in life. Spend time with family. Forgive even when it is hard. Be the change you wish to see in this world. Follow your dreams. Try new things. Work hard. Don't count the minutes, count the laughs. Embrace change. Trust in yourself. Be thankful. Be nice to everyone. Be happy. Live for today. Make every moment count.

Funny Funny

Got this in an email today... Made me laugh so why not share it :p

To all the girls who are in a hurry to have a boyfriend or get married, a piece of Biblical advice:
"Ruth patiently waited for her mate, Boaz." While you are waiting on YOUR Boaz, don't settle for any of his relatives; Broke-az, Po-az, Lyin-az, Cheating-az, Dumb-az, Drunk-az, Cheap-az, Lockedup-az, , Goodfornothing-az, Lazy-az, and especially his third cousin Beatinyo-az. Wait on your Boaz and make sure he respects Yoaz.

My thoughts on the wonderful thing called coffee

  Hmmm.. There is nothing like waking up and stumbling sleepily to the kitchen to pour yourself a nice fresh cup of steaming coffee, sitting down and just breathing in those yummy smells.... Now some people would like to argue with me that coffee is evil and does terrible things to your body and should be avoided at all costs... So I decided to use my best friend Google and see what I could come up with! Of course I am sure there is truth to both sides of the coffee Health 'O Meter but I think I will stick to what I found.
  *Cough* (now in my lecture giving voice.. which is more like a tiny squeak.. but yeah.. :p) Coffee has been studied over the years and here are what some medical researchers have come to the conclusion of: 

  Coffee has two things that are anti-aging beneficiaries. These two lovely things are antioxidants and caffeine. Antioxidants help repair damaged cells. Caffeine has been shown to to help improve a range of symptoms and may even be helpful in the fighting of Parkinson's Disease and other age related brain problems. Now if anti-aging benefits aren't enough for you here are three other statistics.... only three because I am too lazy to type all the ones I found!

1) Heart disease up to 25% reduction in mortality risk (for women)

2) Diabetes up to 60% reduced risk

3) Dementia up to 65% reduced risk

Soooo just a little snidbit of my excuse for why I drink coffee faithfully... every day... 

A definition of what you might be without coffee... Very serious symptoms that you want to watch for!

These symptoms may include but are not limited to, severe or irregular boredom, drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision, dry mouth, abnormal appetite, depression and even random sounds.
Now why would you want to have the possibility of being like that when you could be this!...
Once you have had coffee... your attitude will be but not limited too:

Over joyed at being alive one more day, the ability to stand on your two feet, random laughter at things that don't make sense, getting things done a lightning quick speed, being able to keep a smile (even if it is fake) on your face in the event of having to get out of a nice cozy bed too early for you liking... 

 So there you have it folks... :p

Just a thought provoking quote...

"At issue here is the question: "To whom do I belong? God or to the world?" Many of my daily preoccupations suggest that I belong more to the world than to God. A little criticism makes me angry, and a little rejection makes me depressed. A little praise raises my spirits, and a little success excites me. It takes very little to raise me up or thrust me down. Often I am like a small boat on the ocean, completely at the mercy of its waves. All the time and energy I spend in keeping some kind of balance and preventing myself from being tipped over and drowning shows that my life is mostly a struggle for survival: not a holy struggle, but an anxious struggle resulting from the mistaken idea that it is the world that defines me.

As long as I keep running about asking: "Do you love me? Do you really love me?" I give all power to the voices of the world and put myself in bondage because the world is filled with "ifs." The world says: "Yes, I love you if you are good-looking, intelligent, and wealthy. I love you if you have a good education, a good job, and good connections. I love you if you produce much, sell much, and buy much." There are endless "ifs" hidden in the world's love. These "ifs" enslave me, since it is impossible to respond adequately to all of them. The world's love is and always will be conditional. As long as I keep looking for my true self in the world of conditional love, I will remain "hooked" to the world-trying, failing,and trying again. It is a world that fosters addictions because what it offers cannot satisfy the deepest craving of my heart."
— Henri J.M. Nouwen

Change

This is probably just going to be rambling that makes no sense but here it goes...

So showing up in Washington just about a week ago has just been one more crazy turn in the direction of my life. Things just keep changing on me and I have lots to get used to. I have never liked change... It is a pain and I have always dug my heels in against new things. But here I am with my life one big bucket of uncertainty... Right after graduation I packed up and moved to the boiling hot state of Arizona... I actually started liking the heat, I spent tons of time at the pool enjoying the sun and the awesome palm trees. Just a little bit of paradise. I even managed to get somewhat of a tan. Not really possible for me I know, but it did happen. It took all of the two months or so of me being there to finally get into the swing of things and call it home. Then things decided to be lame and fall apart on me. I once again packed up all my stuff and moved to where I am now. Yay Washington... More change..    

But the point of putting this all on here is not to complain but to share the fact that I am blessed. God has been challenging me with new things and all the bumps in the road are teaching me that change isn't something I should try to avoid, but use it as a learning experience and grow from it. I have seen new sights, met new people, and learned to go with the flow instead of letting it drag me down. My faith is being tested and I look forward to what lies ahead now. Yes... I still dislike change, but I know that no matter what changes in my life, there is still good to be found in every situation...