Dear Emily {31 Days of Letters}

~ Emily ~ Leave a comment

Dear Emily,

I realized, after writing you that previous letter, I had much more to say.  I could write an advice dictionary to you, with all of my words-to-the-wise in alphabetical order and explained in detail.  Though that would appeal to my type A personality, I think even my younger self would rebel against such blatant superiority.

Superiority is far from what I’m trying to communicate with any advice I give you. Sure, you make mistakes, but believe me when I say, you continue to make mistakes as you grow older and “wiser.”  However, in 25 years, I’ve begun to recognize a pattern in your mistakes and struggles.  You have an insatiable desire to do everything right and do it right the first time around.

There’s a danger in this striving for perfection that has made your journey seem more primitive than it needs to be.  You desperately seek God’s will and His direction for your life, but you focus on the minutia of His answer.  I’ve learned over the past 25 years that God’s still small voice likes to communicate the big picture.

Maybe that mode of communication is unique to us because God knows we spend too much time fixating on details.  Regardless, after years of burdened prayers asking God to reveal His will, that still small voice led me to a verse that becomes our hearts cry over and over again.  I’d like to make you privy to this knowledge a little earlier in hopes that you can avoid some tears and confusion.

It’s quite simple, really.  There are three things that always comprise God’s will for you: joy, prayer, and gratitude.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  {1 Thessalonians 5:16-18}

Joy, constant prayer, and giving thanks are always God’s will.  The surest way to do the right thing the first time is to be joyful in any circumstance, steep your decisions in prayer, and give praise to God for the outcome.

My dear Em, even in their simplicity, all three are difficult to do without God’s strength and grace.  You won’t always choose to be joyful or choose prayer before action or choose to give thanks.  But, devote yourself to these disciplines. Pursuing them, even when you fail, is always more fruitful than striving after your own plans and purposes.

Sincerely,

Emily

You can find all my letters here.

For more information about the 31 Day Challenge, visit The Nester.

Dear J {31 Days of Letters}

~ Emily ~ Leave a comment

Dear J,

Within an hour, I knew you had to be the most courageous young woman I know.  You project a resilience and strength I can’t even fathom possessing after what your life has held.  While we talked yesterday, I kept on thinking of Joshua.  Your stories may be different but they aren’t devoid of commonalities.

As a youngster, Joshua lived through the bitter reality of slavery in Egypt.  Once free from the rule of Pharaoh, Joshua stood out among his people.  He lead the Israelites to victory in countless battles, and he alone was allowed to accompany Moses on the holy mountain to receive the the tablets of testimony.

Joshua was the representative of his tribe to scope out the land God had promised the Israelites, and was one of two men who could look beyond the giants to see a land flowing with milk and honey.  When the time came, God elected Joshua to establish His people in the promised land.

Oppression, pain, and hardship marked the beginning of Joshua’s life.  When things appeared to be improving, he was thrust into 4o years of wilderness wandering because of other people’s bad choices.  Then, Joshua was given the burden of leadership, the weight of responsibility for protecting God’s people.

God exhorts Joshua to “be strong and courageous!” in the midst of his situation.  God has called to you, J, with a similar plea.  In the midst of pain and hardship that no person should ever experience, you bear your burden with strength and dignity.

You are beautiful and brave!  You possess a Biblical view of forgiveness that I can only hope to attain one day.  I admire your persistence and endurance.

Know that you are loved.  You are loved by people on earth and loved by a your Heavenly Father.  Your Abba made a promise to Joshua and makes it to you as well:

Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.  {Joshua 1:9}

You may not always feel Him, but He is with you.  Turn to Him in your times of darkness and bask in the life giving light of His love.

With love,

Emily

You can find all my letters here.

For more information about the 31 Day Challenge, visit The Nester.

Dear Tim {31 Days of Letters}

~ Emily ~ 2 Comments

My Love,

I had this letter all planned out.  I was going to watch our wedding video while you were at work yesterday and comment on what a great reminder it is of our beginnings and our journey and our promises.  But then, this week happened, with its ups and downs, its stress.  Yesterday did not go as planned – instead of writing about how wonderful you are, I got to witness more examples of your wonderfulness in real time.

Part of your wonderfulness stems from a vulnerability I don’t often see in men.  I love that you share your thoughts, fears, feelings, joys, and concerns so honestly with me.   Your transparency is contagious and is often the nudge I need to look beyond myself, to take down the blinders of self-focus.

Part of your wonderfulness comes from the passions I see God growing in your heart.  Your desire to see students follow after Christ is powerful.  I see your love and care for young people etched on your heart everyday as you engage in ministry.  You have stretched my own heart in this area as we serve and partner together.

Part of your wonderfulness is how you love me.  Your love makes me feel cherished, beautiful, desired, adored, and respected.  Your love makes me feel known.  You know me and you still love me.  Your love gives me a glimpse of God’s love.  If you love me despite my selfishness and sin, why do I doubt that God could love me in the same (and even greater) way?

Part of your wonderfulness is just YOU!  I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else.

I am more proud of you everyday.  I am more in love with you everyday.  I am more grateful to God that you are my husband everyday.

Happy five monthiversary!

Love,

Your Em

You can find all my letters here.

For more information about the 31 Day Challenge, visit The Nester.

The Curtain Incident II

~ Emily ~ Leave a comment

God has a sense of humor, and I’m beginning to think it’s the sort that only seems funny after the fact.

If you’re not up on the curtain shenanigans of Monday, refer to The Curtain Incident to get caught up, because this is a continuation of the saga.

The following events happened yesterday.  It took me awhile to recover, hence the one day delay on this post.

The original curtain rod came from Walmart and was desperately flimsy from the start.  Tim and I thought an upgrade would solve the problem, so we purchased a thicker, longer curtain rod from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Holes from the previous hardware were already made, making the installation process quicker than before.  I had the new rod supports secured to the wall in about 15 minutes.  The curtain was strung on the rod and, with Tim’s help, the new ensemble was hung with care.  The new rod was the perfect length and the whole thing looked great.  We just needed to tuck the curtains behind the couch.

In the process of getting down from my perch atop the couch, my foot made contact with the excess curtain yet again.  I stared in disbelief at the drooping curtain and bent rod, for a split second thinking I must be in a dream.  Reality was quick to follow and after some, um, words, I was silenced by anger.

I paced in the living room for a minute before retreating down the hall to sit in the most hidden corner of our bedroom.  The frustration was welling up so quickly, I couldn’t keep the flow of tears from matching its pace.  I was stunned and angry that an exact replica of the curtain incident, a meer 24 hours earlier, had just occurred.

As I sat wedged between the wall and my nightstand, I began to cry even harder.  I felt defeated.  God had taught me a lesson on Monday, and though I wasn’t expecting to be tested on the material so soon, I didn’t pass.  I failed the test.  I reacted to the same situation in the same manner – with anger and frustration.

I realized as I lay curled on my bed (I had changed sobbing locations) that I was angrier at myself than the situation.  The perfectionist in me was appalled at how quickly I failed.  I had supposedly learned a lesson – why was I reacting the same?  And shouldn’t the appropriate reaction have been a no-brainer?  I mean, it was the EXACT same situation as before…

After some time had passed, with much hugging from Tim and reassuring that I had at least reacted better to him this round than the previous day, I had a glimpse of God’s perspective.  He was laughing – not spitefully, but with the kind, crinkled eyes of an amused father.  I was frustrated because I missed the target, but God knew that I was aiming at the wrong bullseye.

With those God goggles on, I realized the real lesson God was teaching me through curtains was less about anger and more about accepting His forgiveness and grace.

 

Dear Southwest {31 Days of Letters}

~ Emily ~ 3 Comments

Dear Southwest Airlines,

I am one of your biggest fans.  I know there are plenty of people who would vie for that title, but I’m most certainly a contender.

We go way back.  My brother and I flew to Oakland on Southwest when I was seven and continued to earn our wings (which I wore proudly on every flight) every year thereafter.  Those were the days when my mom could come to the gate, placing us directly into the care of your caring staff until we were released to my dad at the end of our flight.

From that very first flight, I was hooked.  As a kid, I enjoyed the friendly flight attendants, honey-roasted peanuts, and unlimited soda.  Plus, the plastic wings were cool.  Now, 18 years of flying later, I still enjoy the peanuts (though, I wish they were honey-roasted more often…), friendly staff, and great selection of diet soda.

 

My take home treat now is Spirit Magazine instead of plastic wings.  Not only is your inflight magazine the best reading among airlines, it’s content is better than most other magazines that aren’t winging their way across the country, 30,000 feet above ground.  In fact, it’s one of my life’s goals to get an article published in Spirit!

Since my husband and I don’t fly every month, we have created a new condition for future house guests: family and friends can stay at our place in exchange for that month’s Spirit Magazine.  The bonus – food will be included if the crossword puzzle is still blank.  So far, we have November and December covered.  I do wish you offered Spirit subscriptions.  I know most of the content is online, but there’s something fulfilling about flipping through the glossy pages instead of clicking a computer screen.

As if stellar in-flight reading and a superior taste in snacks (gotta love those 100 calorie packs) wasn’t enough, Southwest has service that is second to none.  Not only does Southwest have helpful, caring staff members, but they also seem to attract flight attendants who could be on Comedy Central.  I have picked up so many good one-liners from in-flight announcements and safety instructions. How about this gem:

Seat belts are to be worn like our Captain wears Speedos, tight and low on the hips.

or

Thank you for flying Southwest.  Nobody loves you, or your money, more than we do.

They make turbulence seem like a ride at Disneyland and screaming children seem like the next big thing in music (okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration…)

But, really, any company that changes the entire content of their website to reflect Talk Like A Pirate Day deserves major kudos.

So, kudos and keep those multi-colored planes flying.  Next time, I want Shamu.

LUV,

Emily

You can find all my letters here.

For more information about the 31 Day Challenge, visit The Nester.