Lessons Learned From Panties

So I had a conversation with a friend the other day and it left me thinking…

I know 2 sayings regarding panties: “big girl panties” and “panties in a wad.” Let’s reflect on these a moment shall we?

Big girl panties – They’re comfy, they’re pretty, they fit and they’re easy going; you put them on and forget about them.

Panties in a wad – They’re not comfy. Panties cover 2 vital body parts, and if there is a wad in either of those areas, you’re gonna notice; you’ll feel the irritation till you fix them.

Confession. I can get my panties in a wad in a matter of seconds; it doesn’t take much but it can affect my whole day. When I get worked up, I spend the next several hours re-living the situation over and over again. I say things I wish I would have said or things I wouldn’t dare say out loud but I have no problem shouting them in my head.

So, how do I stop this madness? How do I go from wadded up panties to big girl panties? How do I get over it? Answer: the “F” word. (No, not that one! That one’s not nice and gets your mouth washed out with soap and then causes blindness.)

I have to “F”orgive them. I have to take a step back and realize the conversation I’m having with myself isn’t doing anything to them; however, it’s ruining my day. It’s causing me to stay in that frame of mind and that place of yuckiness. I’m a grown woman; you’d think I’d know this by now. You’d think I wouldn’t allow myself to wallow in a hypothetical situation, but I do. I camp there for hours and stay in a bad mood and frustrated. I have to accept that fact that what they said hurt me, but I don’t have to let it upset me. I have to CHOOSE to move beyond this and guess what? That’s when my panties start getting a little more comfy.

What kind of panties are you wearing today? Comfy or wadded? Are you going to a sail through the day never thinking of them again or are you going to allow someone to ruin your comfy panties mood and get them all uncomfortable? The choice is yours my friend, choose wisely.

Thanks for allowing me to share my world with you…welcome to my brain.

What is Worship?

Worship…how do you define it?  My free online dictionary defines is as “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.”   Disclaimer – I have done absolutely no scientific research here, but I bet most people would define it as singing, you know, praise and worship songs.  I would define it as how you live your life.  You can show adoration to God by what you do or don’t do. You know, by NOT yelling at the guy at Austin Shoe Hospital who tells you it will cost $120 to fix your shoes and when you say no I can buy a new pair for $78 and a child in need will receive a pair of shoes as well, he then tells you he can’t find your shoes even tho you have a ticket with the number on it…hypothetical situation of course!

Anyway, lets talk about songs.  Worship music is  powerful.  Shutting out the world, lifting you hands in a sign of surrender and praising the God of the universe.  It’s even more powerful praising God when you’re in the middle of the storm.

Here’s my story – several months ago I had a miscarriage.  I was depressed for about 6 weeks; some people knew, most people didn’t.  One Sunday we did this song at church…listen to it!  As I was singing “I’m alive, I’m alive, I’m alive” I broke down, I realized that I wasn’t living alive.  I was living in a state of not really living.  I would cry all the time, I would do what it took just to get through the day.  I was so focused on what I had lost that I didn’t see the greatness in front of me daily; I had allowed myself to steal my joy.  God revealed Himself to me in that moment.  I knew He saw my pain and I knew He felt my pain as well.  That was all it took.  I allowed myself to pull out of my funk; In that moment, in God’s presence, I found my joy again.

Chairein (pronounced Kie-rain) – is Greek; it means “joy to you.”  I LOVE this.  It will be my next tattoo and I want it to be our child’s middle name….Brandn has vetoed this, but I’m stubborn and still fighting for it.  For me, it’s personal.  It’s a reminder that joy is not found in situations but in God.  Joy is my (your) birthright from God and no one has the right, including myself (yourself), to take it away from me (you)…I’ll say that again…Joy is your birthright from God, and no one, absolutely no one had the right to take it away from you.  That’s good, let sink in.

Situations can flat out suck, people can suck.  They let us down but God never will.  It’s hard to praise and worship when your heart is ripped out.  It’s hard not to be mad at God when things happen we don’t want or understand.  God is big, He can handle us being mad at Him.  He created the universe so I don’t think the fact that I’m mad at Him is gonna knock Him down.  He’s gonna meet me where I am, stretch out His hand and help me up.  Talitha Koum (also Greek) means “I say to you little girl, get up!”  Also a future tattoo and a future blog.  If you want to know what I’m talking about click here.

People think the Bible is full of rules…I see it’s full of promises.  like this one:

Psalm 126:5 – Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.

I experienced this one personally.  I cried more tears than I ever have.  I was on the floor broken and couldn’t get up by myself.  I opened my heart to God and He showed up, like He promises.  I got my joy back; I started living again.

Thanks for allowing me to share my world with you….welcome to my brain.

Support My Crazy Friend!

If you know me, you know clean water is something near and dear to my heart.  Water is a valuable resource that I take for granted so I’m doing my part in trying to conserve what we have here and by sending what money I can to organizations that dig wells.  I’ve decided I don’t need to take full pressure showers and that, if it’s just pee, the toilet doesn’t need to be flushed every time.  Too much info? Sorry.

This February is the Austin Marathon.  My crazy friend is running the FULL marathon, that’s 26.2 miles.  I can’t comprehend this.  26.2 miles is like running to a different city.  Heck, 26.2 miles is longer than Rhode Island is in certain parts.  I was planning on running the HALF marathon, 13.1 miles, until I found out I was knocked up.  I decided that 13.1 miles and 7 months pregnant don’t mix.  I ain’t gonna lie tho.  I had full intentions of starting out with Chantel and then yellling “peace out” with a huge smile on my face as I made the turn to finish knowing full well she wasn’t even half way done yet….hey, what are friends for right?  So instead, I’m stalking the “volunteer” section of the website so I can sign up to hand out water and cheer her on as she runs past.

Why is she running?  Well she is running on the World Vision Team (one of my favorite organizations) for clean water.   The following is her blog.  Please read it and then pull out your debit card and sponsor her….PLEASE!!!

Clean Water, Marathon Training and the Madness

Posted in Uncategorized on 10/27/2013 08:30 pm by Chantel

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It could be said of me that I have lost my mind. I’m one of those weirdos who watches marathons on TV, gets a bit awe struck, laces up my running shoes and says dumb things like “some day”.

Well, that day is February 16, 2014. 

Me, a good pair of running shoes, my favorite city and 26.2 miles. This when the dream becomes a reality. The training is hard, early and makes me ask myself what could I possibly be thinking. This is no joke. The day I clicked to register, I had massive butterflies in my stomach. “Do things that make you nervous”, they say. It’s not the first time in my life, so why not a marathon (after talking about it for 4 1/2 years).

I have a purpose for this impractical madness.

Water.

We know the reality and the numbers. The amount of people with little to no access to clean drinking water is staggering. Don’t let the large number of need lead you to inactivity.

I’m running to raise money for clean water projects for Team World Vision. $50 provides clean water for one person for a generation. My goal is to raise $1300. That is $50 a mile. I’ve got a lot of miles to run. Partner with me. I’m doing this crazy, impractical thing. I’m asking you to do something practical. Partner with me, and leave the running to me.

First request – I need prayer. This is a lot of hard training, the cause is great and I want to do this well…both the fundraising and the race.

Second request – I’m asking you to sponsor a mile. Any donation helps. Let’s do this!

– go to my fundraising page http://team.worldvision.org/site/TR?px=1389840&fr_id=2220&pg=personal

TELL YOUR FRIENDS, TELL YOUR FAMILIES, SHARE THIS POST 

Help me raise money for clean water projects in Africa.