Boring

"The circumstances of our lives are not always exciting, yet they tend to change only when we do.  The excitement we seek will not come from an external source, but only from an internal one.  I have never known an exciting person who lived a really boring life.  And exciting person makes a decision to live in a more exciting way...

"Every moment, faithfully lived, is a chance to practice the art of living.  A life of magnitude does not just happen; it is consciously chosen.  Living is an endlessly creative process in which we work on achieving the life we want through our willingness to be who we would like to be...

"...The frustration of traffic is a good metaphor for the frustration of modern life.  We want to get somewhere...  But it's going too slow, and all these other people are in our way!  If we wish to remain affected by traffic, or by anything else, then that's our choice.  The day is hot, perhaps, and we have no air-conditioner, or the day is cold and we have no heater.  We can think, Poor me.  The drivers around us are acting nuts.  We can think, These people are total jerks.  We can think that way if we choose to, but we cannot diminish the power of our thoughts.  Every thought of victimization or attack is an attack upon ourselves.  When we think them, we are opening a door: enter stress, enter sickness, enter fear....

"...There is no corner of the earth in which God's love, expressed through you, is not desperately needed.  And our most needed prayer, at times, is for the calming of our impatient nature."

--Marianne Williamson, Everyday Grace

 

 

I love this little book.  I read just a short chapter every Sunday afternoon, and I love it.  There is always some little tidbit that speaks directly to my heart and my life.  And it's a little on the whimsical side of spiritual.  Love it.

 

How many times have we complained about our lives?  That they are boring?  About the little things that we let derail us?  About the ways we let other people and circumstances dictate how our day went - and where our day is going?

 

And how often, do we DO something about it?  One of my biggest pet peeves is listening to people complain about the same aspect of their life - time after time after time after time - without ever making a move to change it.  I'd personally rather move forward in a wrong direction and have to back track, than stay put when things seem bleak.  At least then, I'll have learned something new that might help along the road later!

 

But even I get stuck sometimes.  And then, really - the celebration is even greater when I start moving forward once again!

 

So what's your "boring" complaint today?  And what's one baby step you'll take to start moving forward...  To walking away from stress, sickness, and fear - and walking toward a life of knowing God's love - and sharing it through your EXCITING life? 

 

 

Things I am thankful for today:

 

1.  Palm Sunday - always fun at church!

2.  Many birthday wishes and hugs!

3.  Mom and Dad coming to church with us.

4.  Laughing with my youth group kids about weird things.

5.  Lunch at Teresa's after church.

6.  The Zettler family singing me Happy Birthday every time they walked by - to the surprise of the rest of the restaurant, I'm sure!

7.  A day at the Art Institute with Alex and his kids - enjoying music and art!

8.  Naps.

9.  A lazy evening.

10.  Getting to watch an episode of "The Bible."  Not quite sure what I think yet...

 

QotD:  What did you daydream about today?

Decorating a house someday...