New Beginnings

It seems I've once again convinced myself that I should have a blog. The last attempt obviously was not a huge success (hence the whopping 3 posts), so I have no idea how often this one will be updated or how long it will continue. Or if anyone will even read it. But this blog will be different. No, this blog will not be about all the itsy bitsy details of my life that you don't want to know about anyway. It will be, well probably just my own ramblings.....

I often find myself pondering things that I've read or heard recently, things that are important to me, or just random thoughts that seem to find their way into my consciousness at the strangest of times. This blog is my scribble pad to put those thoughts on paper... er screen, in the hope that you might gain something from my ponderings as well.

For example, I've been thinking lately about what kind of life Christ calls us to live. This is not a new subject for me, but definitely one that should be revisited. Of course there's always the Golden Rule- "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" and "Love your neighbor as yourself", which is all well and good, but we all know that sermon already. I believe that, as children and disciples of Christ, we are called to live in joy, with joy, and to celebrate the things that give us joy. We are called to live in the joy of our salvation. Jesus gave up his place in heaven, a place without sin, to become completely human. He CHOSE the nails. He allowed his child to put nails in his hands and thorns in his head as he became completely separated from God and suffered the heart-breaking consequenses of sin. And he won! He defeated Satan! And he did it for us, for you! He suffered so we could be given the joy of living in relationship with him for eternity. (read He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado for more)

What more reason do we need to live joyfully? We live anxiously, impatiently, greedily, but how often do we live joyfully? Do we live with the same passion as Jesus? Do we really go about our lives eminating the joy Christ has given us, or do we get caught up in the rat race of all the little details of our lives? For example, my work. I love my kids. I love doing what I do. But do I really do my job joyfully and passionately? Do I really work to change these kids lives and show them the joy Christ can bring them? Or am I just trying to get through each day, getting a kid to sign my service ticket so I can say he's in rehabilitation, filling out all the paperwork to make my bosses happy, and grumbling about everything that's wrong with my job while I'm waiting until the clock says I can go home? I'd have to admit that it's usually the later.

I also believe that God created each of us with unique gifts and talents, dreams, and passions. And he gave us each of these because he meant for us to use them, to become a part of his masterpiece. We all have things that give us joy, things that we're passionate about, big and small. For me it's the sound of rainstorms, memories and family traditions, friendships, cooking, photography, writing (another reason for this blog), listening to people's stories and making them smile... the list goes on and on. But how often do I really take the time to appreciate those things and do things that give me joy? How often can I say that I did something today that I'm passionate about? Or that I worked to fulfill a dream? How different would the world be if we all lived joyfully? Challenge yourselves to live one week, or even one day, joyfully and see what happens. :-)

See, I told you I would ramble. :-) Maybe I should call this my pulpit instead.....