Embrace the Broken

“We have no more food in the house. I don’t know if I’m going to have supper tonight.”

The shock of this statement washed over me as I listened to this little boy show me how sheltered and blessed I really was.

You really begin to question your priorities when you hear these words coming from a kindergartener.

How can we not become crushed by the weight of the world’s problems? With all of the pain, heartache, and evil in this world, how should we respond? My first, albeit unhelpful response is to become overwhelmed and discouraged. How can I possibly solve these huge problems? I have taken to avoiding the news now, because I struggle to handle the vast amount of suffering I am exposed to.

But as this little boy in a local school quickly taught me, there are few places I can go to escape exposure to suffering.

We as Christians do this frequently-try to escape the world. We have our Christian bookstores, Christian schools (or homeschooling) Christian radio stations, and have exclusively Christian friends. We can even go to Christian-run establishments to shop, find Christian movie review websites to find out exactly what questionable materials are in each movie we expose our children to. In the United States today, one can essentially live inside a self-made, Christian bubble to a large extent, shielding oneself by and large from the outside world and the suffering and evil that is its trademark.

But is that what we are called to do?

Jesus didn’t eat with the best people, and isolate himself to be with the people who went to church.

He ate with the tax collectors and sinners. He ate with the worst of the worst.
His disciples? Men who worked with fish for a living, who had little money and less decorum.

He hung out with the broken, and ministered to their needs.

I can turn off the news, go to my Christian establishments, and hang out with my Christian friends, but if I’m actually going to follow the example of this Jesus I talk so much about, I need to be in the world.

I need to understand suffering, and embrace those who are broken.

I need to Love everyone around me.

My heart sometimes breaks for the children like that little boy whose next meal depends on a bag of food from school.

In response to my breaking heart, my calling is to be the hands and feet of Jesus to these people.

To use what resources I’ve been blessed with to step outside of my sanitized Christian bubble.

I need to embrace the broken, hurting, careworn people around me who are crying out for all the love I can give.

Musings on Musicals

Today, I was listening to several different songs from various classic musicals, and I began to wonder...

What is up with people who don't like musicals? I have met a handful of these interesting people in my life, and I must say, the best reason they give is that "no one goes around singing like that in public."
Your point being....?

Yet, in order to allow these realists to jump on the musical bandwagon, perhaps we should normalize impulsive leaps into song in our daily lives.

Now I will admit that a few people I know do this anyway. But how much more exciting and joyful would life be if more people spontaneously broke into song (and perhaps dance) as they completed mundane tasks?

To begin this trend, I issue you, my readers, a challenge. At least two times this week, I challenge you to break into song during your daily routine. You don't have to sing well, or even on key, just start to sing. Monitor how it affects your mood, the days circumstances, and your overall joy this week.
You won't be disappointed.

Hanna Elizabeth

Love God, Love People

Hello, my name is Hanna, and I am an over-analyzer.

Hi Hanna

But I have been realizing lately, that some things just don't need to be analyzed quite so deeply.
Some truths are simple and straightforward.
For example,

What are the two greatest commandments?

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37-39

That's it.
Love God with all of you, and love people.

Neither of these are always easy tasks, nor are they simple, I mean, how do we Love people who we don't agree with for one thing? How do we love people, even if they've done something terrible? How do we really love God, for that matter?

Ok, so evidently this isn't as simple as I originally thought. Meaning, that analysis is needed again.

But since it's late, and I have a fourth grade field trip to attend tomorrow, I will leave my readers with a little bit of mystery.

How do we Love God, and Love people?

What does this look like?

How can we as believers do these things every day?

Hanna Elizabeth

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

His Presence on the Prairie

Have you ever had an ache for time with the Lord?

An itch to go somewhere peaceful, completely alone, and bask in his presence?

It is a curious, driving feeling, something that can't be explained unless you've felt it.
Some go to chapels, a special place at home, in their cars.

My favorite place is on the prairie, under the stars.

The twinkling clusters of homes, nestled into the prairie swells. The endless sea of grasses, stretching for miles, rolling along uninhibited by more than a few trees planted in windbreaks.

My favorite part are the lights. Not from the cities, for we have only a few, but the ones overhead.
The red twinkle of mars,
The big dipper,
Orion's belt,
and the benevolent, cool face of the moon, illuminating the dirt roads and peaceful fields.

The trill of crickets calling to find a mate,
the rattle of cicadas doing the same,
the rustle of some ground dwelling creature passing through,
even the occasional coyote band,

The prairie is never silent.

And who can forget the wind? Always the wind.
With no trees to slow it down, nothing hinders its journey through the prairies. Sometimes fierce and wild, biting our faces, roaring through with a blizzard or a rainstorm as its companions.

Other times, rarer times, it is soft, kind, pleasing your ears with gentle rustlings as it moves through the dry grasses, caressing your skin as it swirls around you.

Although some complain that it never stops, we miss it when the grasses are still.

There has always been a touch of mystery to the wind. Gentle, Angry, Howling, Soft, the wind is never quite tame or predictable.

"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." John 3:8

The wind reminds me of the Holy Spirit in some ways.
Always present, softly nudging our consciences in the right direction, as we sometimes begrudgingly listen. Occasionally It overwhelms us with its power.

And sometimes, It is silent.

And when It is silent, we miss It. Our hearts seem still.

Sometimes we panic, trying everything to get It to come back, or sink into despair, thinking that we'll never hear it again.

But always, always, in the right time, It returns, a still small voice. guiding us, leading us to communion with Him.

The prairie is where I feel closest to the Lord...My own personal chapel.

I like to imagine God walking through the grasses, like He did in the Garden of Eden. Walking beside me, or simply sitting with me as I bask in His creation, His Joyous presence.

I think the prairie, is best enjoyed on a day where you can stand, face to the gentle wind, and let Him soak into your heart.

The presence of God is the most overwhelmingly beautiful thing one can ever experience. 

Seek His presence, wherever you are.

He will not disappoint.

Hanna Elizabeth

Finding Joy in the Little Things

It was going to be one of those days.

Not fifteen minutes into my morning, and a pit formed in my stomach. I could feel a migraine coming on.

No! I gritted my teeth and fumed internally. I have so much to do today! Please Lord, not today.

For me, a migraine can often be an all day misery. that leaves me sicker than a very sick dog, and in bed with the covers over my head, sleeping off multiple painkillers, home remedies, and unable to stand the sight of light.
This is it. So much for getting up early. The fatalist in me had elbowed its was past my Joy, Strength, and Positivity. Then Frustration took the wheel It doesn't make any sense, I've been eating well, sleeping well! Why did it have to be today when I'm so busy?

Definitely not the idea start to my morning.

Three hours and several home remedies and painkillers later, and the stabbing pain finally subsided.
I dragged my groggy, still frustrated body out of bed and begrudgingly thanked the Lord that it was over so quickly.
An hour later I was off to the third day of my tutoring job, minus the migraine, but still a little cranky and worn out.

I should have called in sick, I'm not prepared for this. But, here I was, at work, too late to turn around now.

Finally, my shift was over. Looking back, the shift wasn't too bad, and the kids did very well, but at the end of the day, I was exhausted.
As I began to clean up the materials from that day's lessons, I suppressed a sigh of fatigue, picturing my bed at home waiting for me.

Suddenly, I noticed I had a visitor. One of the kindergarten students I had tutored the day before had skipped over. Her long red curls were in a tangle, and her bright blue eyes watched my every move.

I couldn't help but smile as she greeted me, and then she leaned in with a conspiratorial look.

"I wish you were my teacher today."

With a gentle step forward, Joy took the wheel from Frustration, and all of it became worth it.

The Lord always knows just what we need to remember the important things in life, and to rediscover the strength in His Joy.

Hanna Elizabeth

Confidence in Him

I didn't really want to write this post.

In fact, I got halfway through last night, and almost decided to scrap this whole thing.
Why?

Fear. 

Fear of being real and truly authentic, and discussing the problems I have in my own life. Fear of what people might think, even if that is the four people that may read this blog.

Then, as I was looking at my emails this morning, this one came up:

We love seeing the confidence that arises in the children we serve as they begin to truly believe they are beautiful, valuable and loved. This girl in India radiates pride as she wears her very best traditional clothing for a special occasion.

Ok Lord, I hear you loud and clear. 

Maybe this post is for someone who struggles with their self worth and confidence.

Maybe this post is just for me, to get my thoughts out.

Whatever the case. Here goes.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Growing up, one of my mom's favorite mantras was "people can tell when you're confident."
She was right. When you see someone who is confident and comfortable in their own skin, it seems to exude from them, produce a healthy glow or something of the sort which tells the world "I know who I am, and I know what I am: beautiful, attractive, intelligent, fill in good quality here."

Yet it goes deeper than that.
A person who is truly confident also knows their worth.

People who are confident know that they are worth getting to know, worth loving, that they should be valued and treated with care and kindness.
They show this confidence by treating others in the same fashion.

I stepped into my bathroom to get ready for an evening out. Nothing crazy, just going out with friends. But as I stood in front of my mirror, I felt this crazy fear begin to well up inside of me. How did I want myself to appear tonight? Confident, of course, but I also wanted to appear knowledgeable, modern, interesting, like someone who is worth getting to know.
And I had no idea of how to achieve that look.
Was this piece of jewelry working with this outfit? Would this shirt match my headband?
On and on it went, and the fear slowly began to take over.
Finally, as I walked into my room for another change of jewelry, it hit me:

I can only be who I am.

Even if  I appear to be a certain person, put on tons of makeup, do my hair a certain way, wear certain clothes or jewelry, in the end, it doesn't matter.

You can only hide your true self for so long before it starts to show.

I struggle with confidence on a daily basis. Confidence in my appearance, confidence in my teaching skills, confidence in who I am as a person. The Lord has grown my confidence exponentially and I am much more comfortable in my own skin than I used to be, but sometimes, I let His Joy become overshadowed by the fear of who I want to become.

Tonight, I looked up verses that had to do with confidence. I was sure there was at least one in there that would tell me that why I should be confident in who I was.
It is true that there are numerous verses which tell us our worth.

But every verse about confidence I found had one thing in common: Confidence in Christ.

Note: bold emphasis in these verses is my own.

1 John 5:14: This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Ephesians 3:12: In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Hebrews 4:16:  Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Jeremiah 17:7: But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

Philippians 1:6: being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Our confidence...my confidence, should be in Jesus, his sacrifice on the cross, and that He will carry me through.

Knowing that I can both approach Him with confidence, and have confidence in Him, means that I can have confidence in myself.
Because He is who He says, I can have confidence in who He says I am.

That I am valuable, beautiful, and loved by Him.

He created me...He created you, to be a certain way, and to know your worth.

Because when we know our worth, and have confidence in who the Lord created us to be, we can begin to glorify Him more.

And that is the truest Joy one can have.

Hanna Elizabeth