On the 2016 Election Results

To my fellow Christians who are surprised by the election results, please remember to put on love this morning.  Show humbleness, grace, and forgiveness to those around you.  We show our faith through our love, not our political affiliation.  Others will know who we worship by how, when, and who we love.

To my friends who are Hispanic and Latino, I am sorry for the offensive words spoken over you during this election.

To my friends who are Black, I am sorry for the way you have been spoken down to, generalized, and misrepresented.

To my friends who are Muslim, I am so sorry for the hateful rhetoric that has been centered on you and your faith.

To my friends who are immigrants or aliens, I am sorry for the fear you may be facing instead of being embraced by our nation.

To my friends who are a part of the LGBTQ community, I am sorry you have been alienated, hurt, and let down by this political system.

To my friends who have survived sexual assault or abuse, I am sorry that you have experienced the trauma of your past through the disgusting words and actions that have been made front page news.

To my fellow women, I am sorry that we have still not been given a chance to break the glass ceiling, that you are not fairly compensated or promoted for your work, and that this year we didn't make history in the way you may have hoped.

Praying for the grace, mercy, and peace of Christ to be with us all.

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Confidence Vs. Comparison

As a third generation Italian, I know many things to be true.  First, you should never purchase pasta that comes in a can (I'm looking at you, Chef Boyardee).  Second, plucking your eyebrows every day is a must unless you want to have one eyebrow across your entire face.  Finally, what I think is an acceptable volume of communication must be lowered by several decibels to match what others think is an acceptable volume. Growing up in a household full of loud, passionate people must have skewed my understanding of what other people would consider normal.  

Normal.  Growing up, that is all I desired to be.  Someone who fit in to her surroundings.  I felt as though I stuck out for a variety of reasons.  For the aforementioned loudness that seemed to always be getting me in trouble, the fact that I had a twin sister, a carbon copy if you will, who in addition to being my best friend was almost like a measuring stick that people used for comparison.  

"You look shorter than your sister."  

"Your sister is beautiful and you are just cute." 

"You are not as smart, athletic, popular, nice, insert adjective here than your sister."  

I loved the way I grew up, and the fact that I always had a friend in my twin, but I didn't realize the weight of comparison that had become ingrained in my everyday life.

The struggles of comparison and desire to fit in would follow me much past my days on the playground in elementary school.  As I grew up I remember having a longing to belong to a group, to feel like I had found my people.  I craved acceptance from those around me, and that would often only come when I changed the way I dressed, talked, or acted to suit those around me.  I remember feeling exhausted from constantly trying to please the passing friends that would walk in and out of my life.

Time and time again I realized that trying to fit in only lasted so long.  I had the feeling that I didn't quite measure up, or that I didn't belong. Wanting to be accepted and to belong is inherent in our nature as humans.  We are wired to crave love and friendship, to do life with each other.  We are created to want more, do more, be more, and that causes conflict in our in-most being because it creates a feeling of dissatisfaction with who we are now.  When we are always looking at what we will do next, where we are going tomorrow, or what we will be when we grow up it can overshadow what God has in store for us today.  

The truth is, God designed us with a specific plan in mind.  We were called to him to accomplish his purpose, not to fit into the molds that have been created in those around us.  

"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:11-12). 

We can rest in the joy of just being who we are, instead of comparing ourselves to what we see around us. The truth of his word is that we don't need to fit in to find security in who we are.  You can find confidence in Christ instead of who you are trying to be.  There is nothing you can do or be to impress God. His word reveals that you glorify God by being who he made you to be.

What does this mean for us? We need to be sure to spend time asking Him what He has in store for us, and what He desires from us and for us each day.  We can trust that we were created the way we are for a reason.  I tend to be loud, and unafraid to voice my opinion.  Instead of feeling like that is something I should try to sensor, I can acknowledge that my desire to use my voice is from God, and that it can be used to build his church.  When we find confidence and strength in who we are, we will be vessels to glorify God and share His truth and love with those around us in whatever way He desires.

Spend time talking to God.  Thank Him for the unique qualities he gave you, even when those qualities seem to alienate you from those around you!  The different quirks might just be the extra qualifications that God has given you for the mission he has placed before you.  We can find confidence in who we are, who He created us to be, and how He has equipped us for His calling.

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Linoleum and Home Improvement

Today I'm signing in to share some thoughts about our recent home project, and the floor finishing that I can't wait to renovate- 30 year old linoleum.  Oh Linoleum, this wonderous floor covering hailed in the 1970's for its beauty and convenience.  By today's standards there is nothing more horrid than having even a few square feet of it in your home.  Don't believe me?  Just watch a few episodes of house hunters!  

Today my husband and I embarked on a milestone in our home!  We started renovating the last room in our house, the downstairs bathroom.  Our plan was to rip up the floor, tile, paint, and add new finishes.  I was so excited to get rid of the remains from the old owners of the house, and put our own spin on the room.  

After we took out the toilet and vanity, I started pull up the floor.  I was so excited because it seemed to come up relatively pain free!  After scoring it with a knife I started pulling on the corners of the plastic and the flooring started to come up no sweat! But as it is with most home projects, what we think will be a quick fix turns into a painstaking process of removing the old before embarking on the new.  

There is a big part of me that is completely overwhelmed when projects don't go my way, but this is the part of home renovation that makes me the most proud at the finish line.  I can't help it!  I love progress, I love watching transformation, even when it means adhesive glue is stuck to every inch of clothing on my body.  You see, I had just peeled back the first layer of the linoleum.  It turns out that there were several more layers of thin paper glued to the floor that needed to be removed. 

Old Linoleum

New Tile Floor

As I watched my husband chip away at the paper backing that refuses to budge, I was reminded of how  important progress is, even when it's slow, even when we feel like we're not getting anywhere, and especially when it's messy.  It is not a physical issue, it's a heart issue.  It's the stuff life is made of: daily battles to plow through the junk of our souls to be able to lay a new foundation. (And we're not just talking about new ceramic tile here!) 

"Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,  and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:17-24 ESV). 

The truth of the gospel is clear.  Christ died to reconcile, but God still desires to do more work in us.  Keeping the junk, the bad habits, the secrets and hidden parts of our souls that are the equivalent of an old linoleum bathroom floor in a house that has been made new.  Although we will never run out of projects to tackle (1 John 1:8) We should be honest with ourselves about the areas of our lives that we haven't fully surrendered; that still look like our old selves.  May we focus on what God is producing in us.  May we not shy away from becoming more like Him.  And, may we feel renewed, as God's precious creations worthy of  His calling.  

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