Thank you Mandisa and Toby Mac for being the song in my head waking me up before sunrise!!! (the title of this blog is one of their songs that we love).
I'm up WAAAAY too early for a weekend day (it's Friday, yes, but here, it's our Sunday), but I think that means I have begun to adjust to our "new normal". I have always been a VERY early riser, but since moving to the other side of the world, I haven't found "my groove" yet. So, being up at the first call to prayer time makes me smile and fills my heart with HOPE that I am HERE.
Which brings me to the point of this blog. I have been pondering (meditating and chewing on as good 'ole southern Christians call it) a saying for over a week now. It goes like this:
Wherever you go,
Go with ALL your heart.
I've been "writing this blog" in my head for over a week and yet I'm still sitting here staring at these words not able to begin typing. My mind is racing with all kinds of thoughts on this.
When you move, begin a new project, start a new relationship, try something for the first time.....whatever it is.... you have COMMITTED yourself to a certain degree, right? Some things we are able to jump in full force with enormous amounts of energy and excitement. We are easily productive and navigate through with speed and grace. Other tasks...not so much. We wake up each day with dread or we find ourselves frequently asking the Lord for the motivation to begin, continue, or to finish the task.
The task (which is more realistically---a BUNDLE of tasks wrapped into one) for the Davidson family was moving and beginning a new life overseas.
Many thoughts hit me at once as I read this quote.
We are living our dream!
Guess what.....our dreams don't always look, smell or taste like what we imagined it would. In the past 7 weeks, I've had many conversations with the Lord. Some are thankful prayers. Some are "Lord, what was I thinking???" Others go more like this...."Lord? I asked for this? THIS is my dream?" and I'm reminded that He has allowed me the opportunity to live out my dream and GO and DO something I believe with all my heart I was born to do.
With that being said.... HOW INVESTED AM I? WHERE IS MY HEART in all of this?
Here's the main point that has stuck with me since my first week in the schools here and the Lord connected the dots for me when I saw the quote above.
Someone told me "the only way to make it here is to go home and drink every night and then just become numb to it all".
That sits heavy on my heart even at this moment.
Being numb is NO WAY to live life. Neither is drinking to "cope". I refuse to do either. I am not that girl and I WILL NOT BECOME that girl.
I see numbness all around me. I see the blank stares of expats (westerner/foreigners). It breaks my heart.
It's so easy to sit and dream your dreams and start out on new adventures. We start out so committed and bubbling with excitement. Then the reality sets in. The first "brick walls of conflict/struggle or glitch in the plan" pops up. Then the second. Then the mornings of "ughhh I have to wake up and do this again?" Our excitement dwindles. Motivation fades. Hearts become.............hard....cold.....numb. Maybe we still go through the motions because we are "good Christians" like that. But really?
Are we really "going there with all our heart?"
Wherever I go, I want to GO THERE with every bit of me---with every bit of Jesus in me----with ALL of my heart! I want to give it all I've got. TO THE VERY END!
The workout plans for the year always start out great. By February, it's not the "cool" thing anymore. Moving to a new place is exciting....but not being able to go to Target for matching sheets packaged together nicely in a LOGICAL place in the store---gets OLD! Starting a new job or a new relationship is WONDERFULLY AMAZING until the "honeymoon period" is over. EVEN STILL we have to GO THERE with ALL of our hearts.
Fully committed.
Totally invested.
Happy all the time? Not necessarily. Bubbly and bouncy every day? (this may only apply to me :)). Maybe not.
But each day we must ask ourselves....did I give it my all? Did I hold back? Am I in this with all of my heart?
Some say "just do the bare minimum to just get by. Don't be too good and make us look bad, it'll just be more work for us....etc etc."
I don't know about you......but that doesn't set well with me. Yes, there have been times that I have been guilty of this. In the end, it never paid off. Deep down, I felt that pain of knowing I was just mediocre.
I think I was at a middle school camp, maybe high school, when I heard a message challenging us to not settling for mediocrity. That challenge has stayed with me my entire life. I don't want to be in the middle, or less than or just getting by. I want to be EXCELLENT and ABOVE AVERAGE! Let's be honest....I'm way too competitive....I want to WIN! :)
As my Mama says, I'm the extreme one. I'm either hot or cold. High or low. In or out. I don't do the middle very well or for very long.
But this is how I view it. If you're gonna GO THERE ..... then do it for real. GO THERE with all of your heart, with all of your soul and all of your mind. Train your heart and your brain to be fully committed even on the bad days or as you muddle through doing the Death Crawl (remember Facing the Giants?) to the ENDZONE baby!!!!!!!!!!!! See your ENDZONE and run towards it!
Now my heart is dancing and my face it smiling b/c that thought is exciting and makes me wanna shout for JOY!!!
We love you guys!
whatever you find to do today......wherever you go.......GO WITH ALL YOUR HEART! :)
I'm up WAAAAY too early for a weekend day (it's Friday, yes, but here, it's our Sunday), but I think that means I have begun to adjust to our "new normal". I have always been a VERY early riser, but since moving to the other side of the world, I haven't found "my groove" yet. So, being up at the first call to prayer time makes me smile and fills my heart with HOPE that I am HERE.
Which brings me to the point of this blog. I have been pondering (meditating and chewing on as good 'ole southern Christians call it) a saying for over a week now. It goes like this:
Wherever you go,
Go with ALL your heart.
I've been "writing this blog" in my head for over a week and yet I'm still sitting here staring at these words not able to begin typing. My mind is racing with all kinds of thoughts on this.
When you move, begin a new project, start a new relationship, try something for the first time.....whatever it is.... you have COMMITTED yourself to a certain degree, right? Some things we are able to jump in full force with enormous amounts of energy and excitement. We are easily productive and navigate through with speed and grace. Other tasks...not so much. We wake up each day with dread or we find ourselves frequently asking the Lord for the motivation to begin, continue, or to finish the task.
The task (which is more realistically---a BUNDLE of tasks wrapped into one) for the Davidson family was moving and beginning a new life overseas.
Many thoughts hit me at once as I read this quote.
We are living our dream!
Guess what.....our dreams don't always look, smell or taste like what we imagined it would. In the past 7 weeks, I've had many conversations with the Lord. Some are thankful prayers. Some are "Lord, what was I thinking???" Others go more like this...."Lord? I asked for this? THIS is my dream?" and I'm reminded that He has allowed me the opportunity to live out my dream and GO and DO something I believe with all my heart I was born to do.
With that being said.... HOW INVESTED AM I? WHERE IS MY HEART in all of this?
Here's the main point that has stuck with me since my first week in the schools here and the Lord connected the dots for me when I saw the quote above.
Someone told me "the only way to make it here is to go home and drink every night and then just become numb to it all".
That sits heavy on my heart even at this moment.
Being numb is NO WAY to live life. Neither is drinking to "cope". I refuse to do either. I am not that girl and I WILL NOT BECOME that girl.
I see numbness all around me. I see the blank stares of expats (westerner/foreigners). It breaks my heart.
It's so easy to sit and dream your dreams and start out on new adventures. We start out so committed and bubbling with excitement. Then the reality sets in. The first "brick walls of conflict/struggle or glitch in the plan" pops up. Then the second. Then the mornings of "ughhh I have to wake up and do this again?" Our excitement dwindles. Motivation fades. Hearts become.............hard....cold.....numb. Maybe we still go through the motions because we are "good Christians" like that. But really?
Are we really "going there with all our heart?"
Wherever I go, I want to GO THERE with every bit of me---with every bit of Jesus in me----with ALL of my heart! I want to give it all I've got. TO THE VERY END!
The workout plans for the year always start out great. By February, it's not the "cool" thing anymore. Moving to a new place is exciting....but not being able to go to Target for matching sheets packaged together nicely in a LOGICAL place in the store---gets OLD! Starting a new job or a new relationship is WONDERFULLY AMAZING until the "honeymoon period" is over. EVEN STILL we have to GO THERE with ALL of our hearts.
Fully committed.
Totally invested.
Happy all the time? Not necessarily. Bubbly and bouncy every day? (this may only apply to me :)). Maybe not.
But each day we must ask ourselves....did I give it my all? Did I hold back? Am I in this with all of my heart?
Some say "just do the bare minimum to just get by. Don't be too good and make us look bad, it'll just be more work for us....etc etc."
I don't know about you......but that doesn't set well with me. Yes, there have been times that I have been guilty of this. In the end, it never paid off. Deep down, I felt that pain of knowing I was just mediocre.
I think I was at a middle school camp, maybe high school, when I heard a message challenging us to not settling for mediocrity. That challenge has stayed with me my entire life. I don't want to be in the middle, or less than or just getting by. I want to be EXCELLENT and ABOVE AVERAGE! Let's be honest....I'm way too competitive....I want to WIN! :)
As my Mama says, I'm the extreme one. I'm either hot or cold. High or low. In or out. I don't do the middle very well or for very long.
But this is how I view it. If you're gonna GO THERE ..... then do it for real. GO THERE with all of your heart, with all of your soul and all of your mind. Train your heart and your brain to be fully committed even on the bad days or as you muddle through doing the Death Crawl (remember Facing the Giants?) to the ENDZONE baby!!!!!!!!!!!! See your ENDZONE and run towards it!
Now my heart is dancing and my face it smiling b/c that thought is exciting and makes me wanna shout for JOY!!!
We love you guys!
whatever you find to do today......wherever you go.......GO WITH ALL YOUR HEART! :)
This blog is very profound. I have to talk myself into doing things "wholehearted". Sometimes its just not easy. Thankfully, we have Holy Spirit and the Bible because on my own I would never be able to do some things with all my heart.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to encourage our mutual friend and your BFF. So grateful for her:)