Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Teacups here we come!

I will try to make this short as I am unable to come up with anything wise and discerning that I am actually putting into practice (example below).  Since I am doing a Bible study on humility with the lovely Miss Becca Quint, in which I am severely behind, I have learned there is a SLEW of areas (not in a beat myself up, get depressed sort of way...most of the time) that need some serious work.

Miss Lesley (little sis)
Beautiful thing is: God is allowing us to go to Disneyland tomorrow morning at 7am for four days. I am in dire need of such a trip.  I felt emotionally drained today and I believe it was directly linked to a convo my little and I (I will one day dedicate an entire posting to her because she is the most amazing 15 year old I have ever encountered) had last night about blessing those who persecute you.  I seemed to have a run-in with people today who just wanted to take out some part of their life on me and my first reaction was to nearly breakdown crying and feel sorry for myself.  Then I remembered, as I have so "wisely" told Lesley, that we are to pray for a blessing for those who hurt our feelings. Man that stuff is much easier said than done.  Hence, humility.  It is a beautiful thing that I have Jesus to look to as to who I should be because let me tell you, were I to run amuck with my own head, this blog would most definitely not be called "so truly lovely."


And. Happy. Six. Month. Anniversary. to the most beautiful, gracious, tender, God-fearing, compassionate, man I have ever encountered.  My marriage is one of the most humbling things I have ever been part of. To think that God knew all along, even in the midst of my SERIOUS bad decisions, that Matt was for me. That is GRACE. Unmerited favor (speaking of which, thank you Bisenius' duo for dinner last night-superb)




Oh-and have you ever heard the saying "stockings hung by the fire with care?" Let me tell you about something that happens when they are too close...they burn!!!! This is right before I started to smell the "burnt wool."  Domestic diva-not even close!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Waiting.

I would love to share with you something that was put on my heart almost three years ago. This was written on my old blog.  It is something that has always wrecked havoc on my heart because in some innate part of my soul I know as surely as the sun rises, that we were created for something great.  Something beautiful. To be part of a beautiful story. The thing is, stories develop. They change, they have chapters, and the thing I have learned is that the true statement of one's character is who they are during the waiting, the purely descriptive chapters where the entire background is being written but nothing specific is happening.

If we become anxious during those chapters, because nothing specific is happening, we put the book down and we quit. We forget that His hand is amidst all of the details and to void the waiting, is like the voiding the breath of life that we seem rely upon but forget its importance.

All to say, my favorite Bible verse is this: "I the LORD will fight for you, you need just be still."

Are you in a descriptive chapter in your life?  Let it be written by the Author. Let if form you. And wait. Wait beautifully, content, and serve. Serve others. Be part of the background in your own life and be the foreground in others' lives.


What can break my heart:

I am a rather transparent person: not very private, will tell you nearly all that you ask to hear, and I usually wear my heart on my sleeve. By God’s good grace, my transparent personality is also coupled with what I believe to be excellent intuition. Quite a combination! (footnote: this is a God given gift, all glory to Him).

I have never personally had my heart broken and I also really don’t care to feel what that is like…although I do love it when people say that you must go through it so you know what love really is. I am pretty sure I can feel love without having it wrenched out of my heart, thank you! It’s kind of like somebody telling you that you have to break your leg in order to actually know its full function. I don’t think so…

Here is my real heart break: one of my dearest friends called me the other night and stated that she had been dating someone for nearly two months. He was “alright,” “not exactly my type,” and “someone to hang out with.” Definitely my top three traits for a perfect forever! The saddest part was what she mentioned after that: “Well it is better to be with him then to not have anything.” She noticed my silence and awaited what she knew my response would be…”it is much better to be alone then to be with someone who takes away any part of you, especially your standards.” Statistically this is a rather typical “Anna” response.

Since when did we start thinking that without someone else we are nothing? Don’t sell your soul (refer to the Harlot piece for more on our personal price) and your standards just to have companionship. I have spent 27 years refining and trying to figure out who I am and I will be the last person to put my personal finishing school on hold for someone who is just “alright.” I personally believe, and could prove it to be true, that standards are of the utmost. Theoretically speaking, in order for anything to improve (government, the economy, foreign relations, etc.) statutes of higher order are necessary. This meaning that principles must first be created and then followed in order for any element of that entity to improve.

This goes for us as well! In order for society to have emancipation from divorce, heart-break, single-parent homes, abortions, etc. we must raise who we are as individuals. It is not enough to be part of the normal crowd because greatness rarely arises from the masses. We must be willing to spend a few extra days alone in order to 1) learn who we really are, 2) make sure our standards are real and not just a façade, and 3) to learn what God really sees as great for our lives. This patience is what creates in us the confidence to trust our intuition as well as gives us the ability to say no to anything sub-par.

Don’t you feel honored when you are chosen by someone who has high standards? It’s pretty much the same thing as getting a letter saying that you are the best, the ultimate, the elected, the one. Personally, I would rather wait to have “earth-shattering, spell-binding, unexplained love” versus having a right now full of “alright, good for now, not exactly my type.”

I pray that God grants each of you the patience to wait for something incredible. If you have already found it, I tip my hat to you. Oh, and congratulations on being chosen. GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU. LET HIM BE THE AUTHOR.


Nerdy Normans.

And here is a pic of what my handsome nerdy husband and his nerdy wife do during meals.  We play bananagrams and spell as many words as we can until we run out of letters.

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Maybe we were meant to be beautiful.

Maybe.

Maybe we were meant to be beautiful.
Maybe we were meant to be known.
Maybe we were meant to know our nature.

Maybe we were meant to be forgiven.
Maybe we were meant to forgive others.
Maybe we have a reason for being here.

Maybe we aren't meant to serve ourselves.
Maybe this life isn't about us.
Maybe there is something more.

Maybe we have a reason for breathing.
Maybe we need to be found.
Maybe we are all a little broken.
Maybe we all need a lot of fixing.

Maybe we all need to be pursued.
Maybe we all need to be part of a story.

Maybe we have a maker.
Maybe we all need to know our Maker.
Maybe we are known by our Maker.
This I believe. We are known. We can be found.

We were meant to be beautiful.