Humility defined.

Vulnerability defined.

Redemption on display.

Celebrate your accomplishments. Enjoy the things that make you happy. Take a risk and see how it touches others.

Well done, Andy Dick. Well done.

Gradually I have made allowances. For instance, motherhood has proven to me that there are needs beyond the basics. If the consequences of a want are, “I’m going to go crazy,” then your want begins to qualify as a need. I have conceded that I need time alone. Beginning in the bathroom. There are no emergencies that justify interrupting Mommy in the bathroom.

Another exception is “tools for the job.” If you can’t earn your living without certain tools, the consequences of not having them, qualify them as a need. Example: I need high speed internet. (If you’re familiar with road rage, you can just imagine the symptoms of website load rage.)

I spent years perfecting this model of wants vs. needs. And then one day, I happened upon the dictionary. And in the dictionary I see that the word need is in direct opposition to having something. No reference to survival. No one prattling, “You’re not going to die without it.”  No one asking, “Don’t you know the difference between a need and a want?”

You get to say what you need – no one tells you what you need. This is revolutionary. Go live it.

As I was clearing my mind the other day, it dawned on me that “peace” has been the real desire all along. The world, in its own clumsy way, has always been pointing me towards peace.

Peace Like a Hippie

In the good old days – the days before “old school” – I thought I had to force peace onto the world in order to achieve it. And as much as I know that peace won’t come from the outside in, I’m not sure I behave like it. I still want everything on the outside to be calm and orderly so I can “have some peace”. The louder and messier things get, the more I kick and scream in protest.

Peace Like a River

In truth… Peace is practiced, not attained. The Bible offers this in Isaiah 48:18, “I will extend to her peace like a river…” A river isn’t a very consistent path is it? Over the period of just one day, many challenges can come up … rocks, bends, fallen tress, etc. Peace doesn’t mean easy. Peace – inner peace – means journeying in the flow of your source.

Are you fighting with the source?

I am very experienced at swimming from one side of the riverbank to the other. I want to stay right where I am and make it work – whatever “it” is. I don’t care for change and when I can’t see around the bend, I fight. I fight peace. I fight God.

A little harsh, I know. But be honest – it’s a scary thing to open yourself up to truth. All pretenses must be set aside. And all prejudices. And anger. And self-righteousness. It all has to be stripped away.

Wait…There’s more! What if I told you that you may have to rub elbows with people you’ve just decided you weren’t going to prejudge or hate anymore?

And… Are you willing to know the truth without full understanding it? Can you hold it gently in your hands so as not to manipulate it?

Are you still with me? If so, you’ve stripped naked, humbled yourself, and accepted your own enduring ignorance. Now is the perfect time to remind you that God loves you. You are beautifully and wonderfully made. You don’t have to be anything different than what you are right now. You don’t have to know anything more than what you already know. You are loved and worthy of love.

So how is truth a liar sometimes? When it seeks to be “right” all the time.

Here is an interview that I found interesting. Who holds the truth? Who just wants to be right? How can you tell the difference?

Larry King Now: Does Heaven Exist?

For Larry King’s full interview with Dr. Eben Alexander on Hulu, click here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/445432

I’ve become aware of the tension I hold in my body every time I’m faced with a fear. And it’s not just the life threatening fears. It’s in the every-day, “I’ve got too much to do” fears. The ones that tell me I’m failing. The ones that tell me I’m not enough.

Carrying tension a habbit that is difficult to break – especially noticeable when I’m reminded to take a deep breath. It’s like every worry and concern – every task undone and every unmet expectation – have accumulated behind the door of peace and contentment that I’m trying to push open.

As we press into peace, the block aid has to melt. Please hear me on this; Everything that is blocking peace, will only create more pain in the future. Literally…

From mayoclinic.com:

Indeed, stress symptoms can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings, and your behavior. Being able to recognize common stress symptoms can give you a jump on managing them. Stress that’s left unchecked can contribute to health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

From apa.org:

The old saying that stress “ages” a person faster than normal was recently verified in a study of women who had spent many years caring for severely ill and disabled children. Because their bodies were no longer able to fully regenerate blood cells, these women were found to be physically a decade older than their chronological age.

Extended reactions to stress can alter the body’s immune system in ways that are associated with other “aging” conditions such as frailty, functional decline, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, inflammatory arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.

Research also suggests that stress impairs the brain’s ability to block certain toxins and other large, potentially harmful molecules. This condition is also common to patients suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease.

From harvard.edu:

In the modern world, repeated activation of the stress response takes a toll on the body, contributing to high blood pressure, the development of artery-clogging plaque, and brain changes that may contribute to anxiety, depression, and addiction.

Do I really need to go on? How much do you think your Creator wants you to enjoy a good life? God said it was good… You’re worthy of it, you know?

If you’re still with me… I want to share something that I’ve been doing for a while, but only recently was able to put words to. I did not pull these “steps” out of the air. As someone who battles anxiety (and a biological predisposition to worrying), I am very intentional about seeking God’s design for my life.

I give you – with all sincerity – my heart… in six agonizing steps that become easier over time. They could be the difference between surviving your day and living as you were designed to live.

Photo Credit: Bud Caddel

No stronger condemnation can be proclaimed. And yet, I had no idea the devastation it could cause.

If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes…

Everyone around me became paralyzed. Just two words. Whispered. Hissed.

One at a time – face to face – evil looked them in the eye. With a dark breath, those two intoxicating words stole the strength right out of them.

I ran to the victims. I got in their faces too. I begged them to fight. “Yes you can! Yes you can!” But there was nothing left. They were too far gone.

And then it happened to me. Capturing all of my attention, was one of the thieves. There could be nothing else now. The two little words touched my face. My cheeks. My lips.

“You can’t.”

My muscles submitted. Gravity was pulling from a different direction now. But I couldn’t give in. Not without a fight.

Only the corner of my mouth remained free. Determined, I mouthed, “Yes…I can.” Barely audible. But that was all it took.

I wasn’t yet free, but the fact that I wasn’t gone built strength in me I didn’t know I was capable of. Three little words. Breathed from the heart. I knew I had won.

Dreams tell impossible to believe stories that are often more convincing than real ones.

In this dream, I feel the struggle to persist. I know the impossible is possible. But being surrounded by defeat can make it difficult to believe in anything worthwhile. Three small words can make the difference between life and death. Don’t give up.