...first world problems

So my roommate has recently been telling me about the latest tag line that is floating around on facebook and we have started to insert it into our own lives. I can't help but laugh and change my perspective on life when these three words are added to almost any complaint that I have.

I don't want to take out the food trash.... first world problems.

My internet is taking forever... first world problems.

I ate so much. I have a food coma. ....first world problems.

Oh I don't want to turn around to look at your picture. I just got comfortable.... first world problems.

The maid can't come today because she's sick. We need to do the dishes. ...first world problems.

There's not enough room for all my shoes in this closet. ...first world problem.

My nose keeps running. I need nose spray. ...first world problem.

The dvd won't play! My computer is the wrong region. ...first world problems.

All my chocolate is at school, not at home! ...first world problems.

Ugh. My iPhone just died. ...first world problems.

I just missed the subway. I have to wait two minutes for the next one and it's cold. ...first world problems.

Ugh. Facebook changed their format again! ...first world problems.

We just ran out of coffee and I could kill for a fresh cup right now. ...first world problems.

The printer just ran out of paper!!! ...first world problems.

The cafeteria has the same food-- and I just can't handle pasta day because the sauce is too sweet. ...first world problems.

I got a window seat and I really need an aisle seat on the plane. ...first world problems.

Suddenly, my life's problems don't seem so bad...

And so, I am thankful... for oh so much!!!!

Closing the Back Door

My dreams,
My passions,
Me.
My hopes,
My fears,
My way out.
OUT.
My freedom,
My rebellion,
My uncertainty.
My loneliness.
My backdoor; my escape,
My escape.
My journey,
My vision,
My way.
My lust.
My self-preservation,
My autonomy,
My future.

A battle rages within me.
Burning inside me, a call so strong.

To commit fully, wholly unto HIM.

A part of me must die. Be buried.
Make room for more of HIM; for HIS ways.

Commitment.

Vulnerability to lay it all down. For HIM.

Hesitation.

Called to be a forerunner.
To be set apart.
To be a part of something bigger than me.

The Call presses in deeper, stronger.

"Do not leave prematurely. Even a butterfly has to work his way out of the chrysalis to strengthen his wings so he can fly one day."

"Do not paddle your way out without the winds to carry you."

"Hold on and flourish."

"You're on the 'Freedom Train'."

"He is your compass; keep looking to HIM."

Laying down. Dying,
Only to be brought to a fuller life.
One of glory,
One of greater victory.
Greater hopes,
Greater dreams.

I closed the back door.

Put a ring on it.

Died to myself.

Laid it all down for YOU.

Commitment brings peace.
Freedom,
Joy,
Opportunity.
Order,
Certainty amidst the unknown.
And, more of HIM.

------------------------------------------

I'm sure there will be A LOT more dying to myself... sloughing off the flesh and growing in Christ my entire life...

-------------------------------------------

What has the Lord been asking you to commit to?
Maybe it's time to close the back door and put a ring on it.

Choose Tenderness

In each season of life we are always learning something. Of all the lessons I can learn in Korea, the one that I am finding I continuously return to is how to choose tenderness.

I was talking with my good friend today (Miss Sarah Brown^^) and, the wise woman that she is, was able to articulate so clearly what I knew I needed to do but could not express in words.

God always puts us in situations that we cannot handle without His grace. I am visiting so many friends with babies and in this season of life, God has given them the grace they need to love and raise their children. I've been living overseas and God has given me the grace and love I need to thrive in a place so different from me.

But in all of it, if we are not careful, we sometimes overlook the grace and put down bitter roots, blaming the Lord for our circumstances. In reality, the Lord loves us too much to let us stay stagnate and stunted. Instead, He allows circumstance to purge, prune, and shape us.

We can either point a finger and grow cold, or we can choose tenderness and draw near. This is not only so with God but also in relationships.(married folk, you know this is true^^)

I was watching the CNN news clips on my iPhone4 today (one of my unashamed addictions) and I came to tears as I watched the legacy of Nick Charles, a legendary sports anchor who recently died from cancer. He left behind his 5 year old daughter and wife as well as a legacy of love and words of wisdom. Days before he passed he was interviewed and said,

"I'm a forward looking person but also a living in the moment kind of person... so I wake up every morning expecting to have a good day.... but life as you get older is about 20% what happens to you and 80% how you react to it."

His words really hit me to the core. I have always thought about these things but the way he worded it made so much sense. He was a man who chose tenderness. He was a man who chose to live life fully each day and to not walk in his circumstances but to walk in joy regardless of what came his way. (Now, I didn't know him personally, but from the interviews with his close friends and family, this is what seems to be true and if he lived by his words, then I can assume this to be true).

I want to be someone who chooses to walk with a heart that is always postured with tenderness. Not weakness (as some might correlate tenderness with). A heart that is strengthened by and filled with the joy and love of the Lord, so that anything that comes my way will not cause roots of bitterness to take root or walls to go up, but rather, my heart would turn toward the Lord (or whoever) with tenderness, ready to forgive, be forgiven-- ready to love and receive love.

So-- in all circumstances-- choose tenderness.