“So where have you been all semester?”

I didn’t even know how to respond because I couldn’t come up with a quick enough lie. The reality is that I haven’t been around. I haven’t really been that social. I haven’t made the biggest effort in the world to hang out with people. I have been intentionally keeping people at a distance.

Truth is, I get scared that people can’t relate to what I think, how I feel, or how I have changed over the past few years. It’s scary to put yourself out there, being open and real with someone, and being exposed to potential judgment.

Have you ever felt like you were so misunderstood that it would be a waste of time to let someone get to know you? I have wasted this semester being trapped in a lie and believing something about myself that just isn’t true. I am slowly starting to believe that there are people who want to get to know me and that I can’t be afraid to show them who I really am.

What is keeping you from letting people in? Maybe you’re too prideful to apologize or forgive someone close to you. Maybe you see something about yourself that you want to change, but it seems too hard or even impossible. Or maybe there is a comfort, a person or a thing, that you hold on too so tightly because you’re scared of what your life would look like without it. I know that feeling well.

But we’re not called to let our comforts and our fears grab hold of us; we are called to love. My ridiculously short life on earth is to be a result of simply just loving my friends, family, and everyone around me. I see more and more that when I choose to keep myself at a distance, physically or emotionally, I am not living out the only true purpose my life has to offer. We tend to make it harder than it needs to be, and it’s actually really simple. Just having the time to spend with someone, or even to talk to someone, could change a life. It could even be yours. So instead of hiding behind our fears and our flaws, we can be real and acknowledge the things in life that hold us back from simply loving those around us.

Maybe instead of pulling out the “I’m too busy” card or putting life-wasters before people, we suddenly become available. We reprioritize our schedules so that life doesn’t just pass us by like it has been, and will continue to do.

I know that it’s time to make myself available. No more walls, no more comfort zones. Someone is waiting for me to encourage them and to BE encouraged in return. It’s time I stop believing the lie that I don’t have something to offer, because even its just showing love, that’s enough.

And it’s not just my time; it’s your time too.

-Dee

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16

Hallway Etiquette

Remember in high school when you were in the hallway between classes and there was that one other person coming down the hallway? You know them, but not that well. Or, you had some awkward interaction with them in the past and you would just rather not see them.

You know what I'm talking about. You're at work, you're heading to the bathroom, and in the distance here comes that person that you would just, rather not see. You groan under your breath. You might sigh. Do you pretend to check your phone for a text? Do you take a fake phone call?

We have hallway options. Here are a few great ones I've seen (I'll never admit to doing any of these):

1. Head down. The whole time. No eye contact.
2. Looking past the person, like there is something SO interesting behind them. No eye contact.
3. Head turned the other way. Sometimes WAY the other way. Hey, what's out the window? I don't care, it's gotta be better than talking to you.
4. Phantom phone call. Listening to a voicemail? Checking the invisible text? Yeah, you're not fooling anyone.
5. Head nod. Acknowledgement, but no words.

As I got older, I guess I thought that hallway etiquette would become more black and white. It's really not. Now, I think I tend to overcompensate. Am I being authentic? Am I being considerate? Did I just sound fake when I asked how that person was?

I would like to propose that we outlaw the "How are you?" question in a passing hallway conversation. I never stop and want an answer. What if, instead of getting the reply of "Good, how are you?" I got the sometimes painfully honest answer of "I'm actually not good, and I'm so glad you asked me because I would love to talk to someone about it." 

If someone answered me in that way, I would already be too far out of earshot to hear them, because I simply, don't wait for an answer, nor do I expect one.

When we ask someone how they are, are we just being polite? What's the slogan of MTV's The Real World? Let's stop being polite, and start getting real. And I don't mean reality show real, I mean, being willing to share pain real. And that starts with a stop in the hallway.

Who's keeping it real NOW?!

-Liz

Keeping up with the Kardashians...unfortunately.

BREAKING NEWS!

Not really.

Kim Kardashian is getting a divorce. 72 days after getting married. On television. For her tv show. On E!

My reason for blogging about this is not to judge or become more cynical about the world. But, I do have some observations.

For a while now, I have wondered why Kim Kardashian is famous. I've wondered why most of the high school and middle school girls I know do, in fact, keep up with that whole family. I found out that she initially was Paris Hilton's best friend and that's how she landed on America's radar. And then, a series of bad decisions actually made her MORE famous. Yes, I smirk when they spoof the sisters on SNL, and yes, I am guilty of some severe eye rolling when I hear one of them talk.

My greatest observation today, though, is this: we seem to be a culture that idolizes flawed celebrity, because it might be too much of a stretch to idolize people that actually do great things. In my parents' generation, they idolized astronauts, well-educated sports icons, squeaky clean pop stars. People that were famous for doing big things. In my generation, we idolize broken people that are famous for - being in the tabloids?

And I think it's because we can HANDLE that. If I idolize someone that walked on the moon, I have to believe that maybe, just maybe, I could one day do something that great. If I idolize Kim Kardashian, I believe that I too, can become famous for being...famous. And it's almost expected that I mess up because, I haven't done anything quite magnificent yet. It wouldn't hurt so bad if I failed.

Take it one step further. Get more personal. Do we build people up only to later have the option of tearing them down? It seems like that's the American way. We love watching a good wedding, but we might love a nasty divorce even more. Those people's problems make my life look normal. Ouch.

If we all decided to leave the Kardashians alone and had to deal with the life in front of us, things would be a whole lot different. This pressure cooker we are building of Famous America is never going to satisfy. The sooner we get that, the sooner we can all find the purpose we were created for. And if that means marriage, may it be a marriage that lasts longer than 72 days!

-Liz

A hundred gifts for a hundred families.

 I guess that if I convey my passion for this project enough, people will contribute. In less than two months, I am returning to Jamaica, to stay with the people that changed my life forever. And if that doesn't blow my mind enough, we've been asked to go back in March to deliver one hundred bins of clothes and bibles to one hundred families.

These are not Jamaican families that live near the coast with jobs, running water, and electricity. They live in a room with four walls that they are proud to call home. Kids everywhere, family lines blurred, and communities supporting each other. They hold on to each other because they don't have things to hold on to.

Pause. What if I lived like that? What if I held on to people more than I hold on to my...possessions? What if my deep friendships outnumbered my things? My dishes? My books? My t-shirts?



Here is our opportunity to make this project happen. One hundred families need to be provided for. You click here, and you have options:

1. You live near one of the listed pick-up locations, and you adopt a family to shop for.
2. You donate $50 to cover shipping for a family's bin.
3. You donate $100 to cover shipping AND shopping for a family's bin.

I have this desire in my heart to be a part of something bigger than myself. So, I know that you do, too. This is a chance to make a sacrifice. Let's skip the restaurants this week and give a family clothes. Let's tell our neighbors and our churches and our friends and our schools and our work. The one thing we CAN'T do...is nothing. 

"For whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me." -Matthew 25:40
-Liz

You've been watching too many extreme weight loss shows.

Six weeks ago I started getting really serious about losing weight. And for six weeks, I've struggled. See, I want quick fixes. I want immediate results. I want to be finished, so I can go back to El Dorado and eat three baskets of chips with the Mexican flag (sour cream, salsa, and guacamole, if you were wondering).

Why is it surprising that I want immediate gratification without the work and the waiting? I live in America. I live in a town where I can literally dream up of something delicious I want to eat or drink, and I can drive within ten minutes of any option imaginable. I can have a hot meal in 60 seconds. I can get on my computer and have a pizza delivered to my house. I can even pay a delivery guy to go to McDonald's for me so I can be a shut-in and never have to leave the comfort of my own home.

Comfort.

I was watching this show called "I Used To Be Fat" where high school kids lose 50 pounds in 2 months. And the show is only an hour long, so that seems easy and doable. And then I can flip over to the Biggest Loser where a guy can lose 17 pounds in a week. After that, I might catch Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss edition where a lady loses 150 pounds in a year. But again, it only took me 60 minutes to watch that happen, so, that seems easy.

Here's what I am figuring out about myself: I am impatient. I want it now. There is growth in the process. There is growth in the process!

So if God tells me to wait, I'll wait. And in the waiting, I will be obedient. I am actively waiting for God to work in me, and He really is. I am learning what Go|Change|Move is really about. It's about being uncomfortable enough to change. And isn't that what God is about?

God loves me so much, that He meets me where I'm at. He also loves me enough to not leave me that way.

-Liz

Blockers

You have a daily life. And so do I. And most days we go through life uninterrupted. Maybe that happens so many times, that we WISH for an uninterrupted, normal day. I don't know about you, but normal gets boring after a while.

Normal is safe. Normal is comforting. Normal is predictable. Normal, after a while, gets...boring.

And normal is a blocker. For SO MANY of us. Normal hates opportunity. If we're not careful, normal will eat us alive. So here is an abnormal opportunity for you: will you run away from normal with me and run towards helping a family that you haven't even met yet? Will you sacrifice dinner out with friends to put clothes on someone else's back? Will you bless a family with the only Christmas presents they'll get this year?

Whatever your answer is, I am hoping that we can all identify and remove the blockers in our lives. Some are financial, some are physical, some are emotional. We all have them. If you read all the way through this blog, will you take 30 seconds more and support this project to the right? 100% of your donations will go into the hands of people that need you. Families that need you. Families with names and specific needs. (for the list of families, click here).

Find the people in your life that need you. You are God's plan for saving the world. And there is no plan B. Get excited about that!

-Liz

A New Project

I have a lot of projects going on right now. Some are very personal, some are very public. I work with high schoolers, so I have that public persona, which is always a project. More kids always means you are being successful, right?

I am also learning how to accept love and give love away. That's my personal project. So personal, that I am sharing it on a blog. Nice, huh? But this particular project affects almost everything in my life: my friends, my family, my feelings of self-worth, my performance, my ability to be patient, everything.

One tangible project I have going on right now is this Buckets of Blessings thing I am doing in preparation for a missions trip to Jamaica in December. I feel such a sense of responsibility that it goes well. I talk about it all the time, I find myself selling it, just like I used to sell insurance. And then I wonder if I am selling myself in the process, or if I will perceive this to be a personal failure if I don't make it happen.

Do I realize that it's not about me? Do I know that this is bigger than me? In fact, do I know that I am not the one who gets to decide my self-worth? I am not the one that gets to decide what happiness is, what success is, what failure looks like. I am not the one who determines who is good, who is bad, who wins, who loses, who I should love, who I should idolize, who I should care for.

If that paragraph brings you relief...GOOD. If that paragraph brings you anxiety, think it through. I am not in control. And neither are you. And that should be the greatest news ever. Because you do NOT want me to be in control, and neither do I. I don't want that pressure.

I have found, lately, that the opposite of worry is prayer. And that prayer can move the hands that move the world. And my prayer today is that God would show me how to let go, to loosen my fist, and trust my life to the one that made me. That's the best project I could have.

-Liz