Comparison is the Death of the Spiritual Life

It has been nearly a week since I have even looked at my blog, but not for reasons you might think.

No, I wasn't really too busy, I have had some great opportunities to write, and some thoughts I felt were worthy to share. 

But as I sat down tonight to write, I was inexplicably filled with a desire to avoid it yet again.

Why? Perhaps a bit of laziness. It seemed like such a daunting task waiting for me.

Mostly, though, I have been wondering about other people.

I read several different blogs, and I have been reading quite a few well written books lately. And in the same way that I hesitate when I write stories, or when I consider writing books someday, I sometimes hesitate to blog.

Does anyone really read this? I wonder. So many other people do this better than me. My thoughts aren't really that original, someone, somewhere has (blogged, written, fill in the blank) the same ideas as me, and probably done it better. What if people don't like what I'm writing?

Does my voice even really matter?

As the voice of doubt whispers in my ear, I begin to compare myself to those around me.

"Comparison is the death of the spiritual life."

I'm not sure who said that, but it's my best friend's favorite saying, and it comes to mind every time I start to compare myself to others.

Every time doubts and fears creep into my mind.

It's true. When they told you in elementary school that you should be worrying about yourself and not the kid next to you, they were right. When your mom said to your ten-year-old self that it doesn't matter what your brother did to you, you need to think about what you did, she was right. 

There's a reason why God tells us "But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor." Galatians 6:4-5.

I could add, or a random person's blog, or compare your own writing to that of great authors...or fill in the blank with your own comparison or doubt.

Because when we compare, we begin to lose sight of what really matters. 

What matters is that the Lord put you and I on this earth for a specific purpose. 

To glorify Him in all that we do. 

That may be blogging and teaching for me, or being a firefighter or working in a crisis pregnancy center, or being a rocket scientist for you, I don't know. 

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31 (emphasis mine)

As I write this, I am reminded of a few important things that should be remembered as comparison and doubt rear their ugly heads. 

I am a child of the living God, the one who breathed the stars into existence.

I am loved infinitely by Him, and created by Him with gifts talents for a specific purpose.

I was created to glorify Him with the gifts and talents He has given me.  

So when I compare myself to others, it's like comparing a giraffe and an orange. Both have different uses. 

You probably wouldn't want to juice a giraffe, and an orange would be the last thing I would want to eat leafy greens off a tall tree. 

It doesn't matter what other people are doing, or how they are doing it.

It matters what you and I are doing with the talents we are given.

Soli Deo Gloria

Hanna Elizabeth

On Choosing Joy...and this blogging thing

"I don't know why I blog, I just do."

This answer seemed insufficient to me, but maybe my friend was just being cryptic. She tends to do that when she wants me to find my own answers, instead of stealing hers. :)

And that is where this journey begins-a question about blogging, and just enough curiosity to want to try it. A place to put all of my thoughts, ideas, questions, (hopefully) insights, and life.
Maybe not for the world to see, but just for a select few, whoever you are.
So first, a little bit about me. I recently graduated from college as an education major, and I'm seeking to find out where the Lord wants to put me. I know how to cook a total of 5 things, one of them being oatmeal (yay!) and I enjoy crocheting and knitting. I love photographing sunsets, soulful worship music, and I'm an introverted extrovert, (more on that in later posts). I love to stargaze, and just to watch the sky in general, and I've been known to go to some pretty crazy places to get a good picture. Anyways, onto the name of this blog...

The choice to be Joyful isn't something I thought about until this year. I can be a complainer, but I try to make positivity (spellcheck says that's not a word, but I'm almost certain it is) a staple in my life. Sometimes I do this better than other times.
But my friend (you know, the one that likes to get me to think for myself, we'll call her Be), made a good point one night while we were stargazing (because, if you've ever been to North Dakota, you'll know its probably one of the best places in the world to stargaze).

"You don't always feel Joyful, it has to be a choice you make."
This hit me strangely when I first heard it.
"How can you choose to be Joyful? Isn't Joy a feeling, an emotion?"
"What about "The Joy of the Lord is my Strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). We don't always feel the Lord's Joy, or express it..."
This conversation, like many others we've had, made me reconsider. Joy must not be solely an emotion, because if it was, the minute we didn't feel Joyful, the strength from the Lord would be gone, and that's not the case.
Part of Joy is being positive and thankful. There is always something to be thankful for, something to revel in. If you can't find anything in your own life, look to other people's lives, and how the Lord is working there. Just look outside your window, the sky is beautiful, even when it's rainy, and there are a million things to be excited about in God's creation!

SO...Long story long, this is my choice to be Joyful, to be filled with His Joy, and allow Him to work in my heart and in my life. Joy despite the circumstances is a choice one makes every day.

Father, please give me a heart of your everlasting Joy, give me your strengthening Joy, and help me to seek you every day. Amen

Until next time!

Hanna Elizabeth