It's 1 a.m. and here I am, writing a blog. I should laugh at myself for being here instead of sleeping.
Alas, I have chosen to write my few words so that I can remember them later. Hopefully, I actually do.
I've been thinking long and hard about humility and pride lately. Moreorless, I am a terribly selfish and prideful person. And I'm beginning to realize it each and every day I live my life.
And I wonder what it means to truly live in humility, because I kind of hate how it feels to be living like this.
You see, I spend so much time complaining. And yes, there are a lot of very stressful things going on right now. My life is so jam-packed that I am literally getting sick from the stress. I have never-ending assignments that boggle my mind so much that I don't even think about them to avoid having a mental break-down. And I have no job this summer, even though that means I will not graduate from school next year if I don't have one. I feel increasingly distant from my friends, and I wonder whether my family worries about the fact I barely call them except to cry or complain about the state of my stress.
And yet, in all of this, there is still so much to be happy for. I am in a master program. I am meeting cool people all of the time. I have food. I have a warm bed. I do, in fact, have friends, and am making more. I have everything I need. Actually, I have more than I need, and I should be sharing it. I have a beautiful family, and I mean beautiful in soul and in heart, I have a church family that is loving and forgiving and kind, I have people around me who care about me for who I am, not what I've done. And that's pretty awesome.
And I think this is my lesson in humility. Because when I focus on the problems in my life, then I forget about all the really wonderful things that are also going on. It's so easy to think constantly about ME, about my own problems, and get so overwhelmed that we then forget to pour into the people around us. And if I'm not doing that, if I'm not consciously dying to myself everyday, then I'm not living for Jesus anymore. I'm just living for me.
And that's not good enough.
There really is nothing worth living for apart from Christ and the blessing to share the love and truth of His kingdom with the world. Everything I've done, everything I might one day do, they're all trash. They're all meaningless - I'm not going to care about them at the end of my life. I'll care about my friends, about my family, about whether I loved people enough, about the effort I put into my friendships, about the care I gave the vulnerable, the depressed, the stressed, the broken-hearted.
So here I am.
Admitting to you that I am a screwed up, recovering sinner - as Shane Claiborne says - and I am making the journey alongside the Church to meet Jesus. And I will try my hardest to love you. I will try to forget my momentary troubles and press on towards the goal of what calls me heavenward. And I will remember that I am not alone in my struggles, and share the load.
Well... I'm working on it.
---
The first test of a truly great man is his humility. By humility I don't
mean doubt of his powers or hesitation in speaking his opinion, but
merely an understanding of the relationship of what he can say and what
he can do. - John Ruskin
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Feminist Relationships
"I'm sure more than one woman has met a male feminist who seems a little
too preoccupied with our safety, a little too willing to jump in and
rescue us, a little too into the narrative of the vulnerable woman and
the man who's here to show her he's not like those "other guys." Gross.
Women need men who want to work as our equals and helpmates, not our
protectors and guardians." - Tracy Moore, "What do we want from male feminists?," 28 Feb. 2013. Jezebel.
- I love this quote, and think it's something both male and women need to learn. -
Women - you don't need prince charming to save you, you don't need a man to open the door for you, you don't need a man to work to provide for you. You are a capable, beautiful, and empowered individual, who can live to her fullness in Christ and in Him alone.
Men - stop patronizing us. We are not weak, we are not victims, we are not little or stupid. We are not the same, but that differences do not imply inequality. We are strong in who we are, and you need to respect us as your equals and partners, not your little girls or protectors. We love you guys too - you are beautiful creations of God, but let us spread our wings and be fully who we are as women of Christ too. Some of that means not stepping in to save the day, and empowering us to work out our own problems.
- I love this quote, and think it's something both male and women need to learn. -
Women - you don't need prince charming to save you, you don't need a man to open the door for you, you don't need a man to work to provide for you. You are a capable, beautiful, and empowered individual, who can live to her fullness in Christ and in Him alone.
Men - stop patronizing us. We are not weak, we are not victims, we are not little or stupid. We are not the same, but that differences do not imply inequality. We are strong in who we are, and you need to respect us as your equals and partners, not your little girls or protectors. We love you guys too - you are beautiful creations of God, but let us spread our wings and be fully who we are as women of Christ too. Some of that means not stepping in to save the day, and empowering us to work out our own problems.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
The ground is even at the foot of the cross
N. T. Wright said, "the ground is even at the foot of the cross."
I'd like to believe this is true. That I can stand before Jesus and be fully known and fully loved and fully capable of being used by him for the church. But I often feel as if someone is digging holes beneath my feet, because they don't like the fact I was born a woman.
It's kind of hard for me to understand. You see, I can't really change that I have ovaries and my breasts are larger than a man's. I can't change the fact that I have more estrogen than someone else. And in fact, I don't really want to change those things - they make me unique. They are part of who I am as a woman, and I'm not ashamed of them. I'm proud of them, really.
But the church seems to keep telling me that these things make me less valued by God than a man. That I am not capable of teaching men. Sure, you can quote me this verse or that verse. I know them all, and I still don't buy the argument. Instead, I ask myself whether we are trying to duplicate what the New Testament says down to the letter or whether we read it according to the spirit of the passage, asking God for the wisdom to apply the principal of the message to our context today.
So here's my run down for you:
- Genesis:
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
I'd like to believe this is true. That I can stand before Jesus and be fully known and fully loved and fully capable of being used by him for the church. But I often feel as if someone is digging holes beneath my feet, because they don't like the fact I was born a woman.
It's kind of hard for me to understand. You see, I can't really change that I have ovaries and my breasts are larger than a man's. I can't change the fact that I have more estrogen than someone else. And in fact, I don't really want to change those things - they make me unique. They are part of who I am as a woman, and I'm not ashamed of them. I'm proud of them, really.
But the church seems to keep telling me that these things make me less valued by God than a man. That I am not capable of teaching men. Sure, you can quote me this verse or that verse. I know them all, and I still don't buy the argument. Instead, I ask myself whether we are trying to duplicate what the New Testament says down to the letter or whether we read it according to the spirit of the passage, asking God for the wisdom to apply the principal of the message to our context today.
So here's my run down for you:
- Genesis:
- Eve wasn't present when God gave the command to not eat of the tree, making her more susceptible because of an indirect command
- Creation order doesn't indicate primacy or importance - in fact, the word for "helper" used for Eve is the same word applied to God later in the Psalms as a saviour or rescuer
- It was part of the Fall that men rule over women -> it's part of the curse, and it is wrong. It's not something we should champion, but rather, something we should try to overcome.
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- Again, there should be unity in the church, not hierarchy. We are all one in Christ, and in him, we are a new creation. "The old has gone, the new has come." Part of this new kingdom is recognizing our equality before Christ.
- Junia - the apostle. This is a woman. And she is an apostle. Look it up. Or hear this talk by N.T. Wright.
- learning in quietness and full submission is good teaching for anyone who is just learning and hearing the Torah - women hadn't had the opportunity to hear instruction before
- Jesus welcome women into his circle of disciples - he wants them to learn directly, unlike before. A generation of women must learn before they can claim authority - Paul's telling them he WANTS them to learn.
- Be patient and gracious until you learn. Remember what happened to Adam and Eve, who had indirect experience of God's word. This is still what was happening at that point.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Reaffirming our identity
I've been thinking lately about getting a tattoo.
If my family is reading this, then they need not worry, because I called the tattoo parlour and they wouldn't do what I wanted them to do.
Nonetheless, let me explain. I've been drawing a small cross on my wedding ring finger for the last few months as a reminder. A necessary one for me, in fact. It's a reminder, a small reminder of who I am, to what kingdom I belong, and for what purpose I am here.
You see, I often get lonely. I want to define myself by what others think of me. I want others to like me, to have friends, to be accepted. Because I tend to make "acceptance" and "relationships" an idol by which I define myself. When someone tears me down, I tear myself down, because I haven't received the affirmation I need to ensure that my identity is secure.
But it's not healthy. And I know that, even though I still struggle with it.
That small cross on my finger helps remind me of who I really am. A beloved child of God. And He really loves me and wants the best for me. And I'm so undeserving of that love, and hope that in some way, through my joy in life and the love I try to give to others, that I show them what He means to me.
And that, my friends, should be enough.
Because that relationship is the only one that will never change. God is always faithful to me. And in Him, I find the true purpose of my life, and the only reason for my life. Everything else in my life changes. My personality, my friendships, my goals and dreams, the place I live, the relationships I have, my possessions, my reputation. There is really no consistency here. Nothing except Christ, and in Him, I find the only perfect relationship in my whole life, and the only perfect version of myself, despite the fact that I continue to fall short of it.
So I keep drawing that cross on my finger. To remember that no matter what, no matter what relationship I have, whether it is the view I have of myself, the relationships I have with my family, my friends, my neighbours, my roommates, my enemies, my future husband, or the stranger I meet on the street, I am a child of God, and those people I meet are also children of God. In Him, we can find our true purpose in life and our true spiritual beings. We are servants of a God that loves every single person with a passionate, intense, ever-burning love, and I am called to carry the burdens of the people around me.
So here I am. Lost to the world, found in Christ.
If my family is reading this, then they need not worry, because I called the tattoo parlour and they wouldn't do what I wanted them to do.
Nonetheless, let me explain. I've been drawing a small cross on my wedding ring finger for the last few months as a reminder. A necessary one for me, in fact. It's a reminder, a small reminder of who I am, to what kingdom I belong, and for what purpose I am here.
You see, I often get lonely. I want to define myself by what others think of me. I want others to like me, to have friends, to be accepted. Because I tend to make "acceptance" and "relationships" an idol by which I define myself. When someone tears me down, I tear myself down, because I haven't received the affirmation I need to ensure that my identity is secure.
But it's not healthy. And I know that, even though I still struggle with it.
That small cross on my finger helps remind me of who I really am. A beloved child of God. And He really loves me and wants the best for me. And I'm so undeserving of that love, and hope that in some way, through my joy in life and the love I try to give to others, that I show them what He means to me.
And that, my friends, should be enough.
Because that relationship is the only one that will never change. God is always faithful to me. And in Him, I find the true purpose of my life, and the only reason for my life. Everything else in my life changes. My personality, my friendships, my goals and dreams, the place I live, the relationships I have, my possessions, my reputation. There is really no consistency here. Nothing except Christ, and in Him, I find the only perfect relationship in my whole life, and the only perfect version of myself, despite the fact that I continue to fall short of it.
So I keep drawing that cross on my finger. To remember that no matter what, no matter what relationship I have, whether it is the view I have of myself, the relationships I have with my family, my friends, my neighbours, my roommates, my enemies, my future husband, or the stranger I meet on the street, I am a child of God, and those people I meet are also children of God. In Him, we can find our true purpose in life and our true spiritual beings. We are servants of a God that loves every single person with a passionate, intense, ever-burning love, and I am called to carry the burdens of the people around me.
So here I am. Lost to the world, found in Christ.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Carry the load of sin
In Luke 11:37-54, Luke records the words of Jesus while he is attending dinner at the house of a Jewish expert in the law. It is a harshly beautiful passage, where Jesus reminds these leaders and experts in law about the very heart of God and his utmost desires for his people.
It is harsh, because Jesus condemns and insults these elders for their hypocrisy, and it is beautiful, because he reveals just a little of God's unfathomable love and heart for his people.
Let me highlight some of the verses:
(v. 40-41) "Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you."
(v. 42) "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God."
(v. 46) "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not life one finger to help them."
(v. 52) "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."
I read this passage, and I question first myself, because I wonder how many times I have cast judgment on someone else, thought myself superior to someone else, or in some way, made someone feel like they should feel guilty about something they've done, when I deal with the sins of pride, greed and selfishness just by doing so. I am like the Pharisees in this way.
When Christ asks us to take up our cross and follow him, he's asking us to die to ourselves. To take on the burden of the world's sin, to bear it and journey alongside Christ in such a way that the world can know the very love of God through our actions.
We can do a whole bunch of really good things and never actually know God. We can seem like great, wonderful, nice people in the eyes of the world, and be the worst of sinners in the eyes of Christ, if we refuse to recognize that we are all at the mercy of the cross, first carried for us, and which Christ asks us to carry for others.
We cannot demand perfection in others, because it is something that none of us can ever live up to. And if Christ, the only perfect one to ever live, died for the imperfect outcasts, the neglected, the sinful, the hypocrites, the criminals, the enslaved, the poor, the ones that were never accepted by the church but beloved by him, how much more should we be willing to carry the burdens of sinners in reciprocation of a mercy that can never be deserved nor repaid! This is, perhaps, the very definition of compassion, and it is a higher calling than any form of charity or fundraiser you could ever put together.
Here is the perhaps the greatest purpose of the church. To carry the burden's of the lost, of the sin-full, of the poor, of the wanting, of the questioning, in humility and in love for the ones that God refuses to give up on. We can never fall into the belief that somehow, Christ loves us more than anyone else on this planet. He is filled with overflowing love for each and every person on this Earth - there is an unending, abounding love that is indescribable and uncontainable within the bounds of our human lives.
God is in endless pursuit of the lost. As he describes in the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, we see a God who never fails to seek us out, to pursue us, to shout our names in the hopes that we hear him and come to see His radiant face. And is he ever excited when we finally find him. What love is found in Him that day!
Can you feel it?! It makes me so excited. And moreso to make sure that each and every person is so aware of his unfailing love. Of his pursuit. Of his desire for them to know Him.
Yet we must all rid ourselves of the Pharisee within us. We are only a hindrance when we refuse to recognize the people around us for the immense worth they have in God's sight. When we treat them as anything less than the most precious possessions, then we are not loving them with God's love. We must die to this selfishness, to the worldly values and perspectives, and let God's love radiate throughout our bodies into every aspect of our lives. His Holy Spirit will abound in every word you say and every deed you do. Let God's compassion and love guide you in your week.
Christ in this church can do it.
It is harsh, because Jesus condemns and insults these elders for their hypocrisy, and it is beautiful, because he reveals just a little of God's unfathomable love and heart for his people.
Let me highlight some of the verses:
(v. 40-41) "Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you."
(v. 42) "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God."
(v. 46) "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not life one finger to help them."
(v. 52) "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."
I read this passage, and I question first myself, because I wonder how many times I have cast judgment on someone else, thought myself superior to someone else, or in some way, made someone feel like they should feel guilty about something they've done, when I deal with the sins of pride, greed and selfishness just by doing so. I am like the Pharisees in this way.
When Christ asks us to take up our cross and follow him, he's asking us to die to ourselves. To take on the burden of the world's sin, to bear it and journey alongside Christ in such a way that the world can know the very love of God through our actions.
We can do a whole bunch of really good things and never actually know God. We can seem like great, wonderful, nice people in the eyes of the world, and be the worst of sinners in the eyes of Christ, if we refuse to recognize that we are all at the mercy of the cross, first carried for us, and which Christ asks us to carry for others.
We cannot demand perfection in others, because it is something that none of us can ever live up to. And if Christ, the only perfect one to ever live, died for the imperfect outcasts, the neglected, the sinful, the hypocrites, the criminals, the enslaved, the poor, the ones that were never accepted by the church but beloved by him, how much more should we be willing to carry the burdens of sinners in reciprocation of a mercy that can never be deserved nor repaid! This is, perhaps, the very definition of compassion, and it is a higher calling than any form of charity or fundraiser you could ever put together.
Here is the perhaps the greatest purpose of the church. To carry the burden's of the lost, of the sin-full, of the poor, of the wanting, of the questioning, in humility and in love for the ones that God refuses to give up on. We can never fall into the belief that somehow, Christ loves us more than anyone else on this planet. He is filled with overflowing love for each and every person on this Earth - there is an unending, abounding love that is indescribable and uncontainable within the bounds of our human lives.
God is in endless pursuit of the lost. As he describes in the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, we see a God who never fails to seek us out, to pursue us, to shout our names in the hopes that we hear him and come to see His radiant face. And is he ever excited when we finally find him. What love is found in Him that day!
Can you feel it?! It makes me so excited. And moreso to make sure that each and every person is so aware of his unfailing love. Of his pursuit. Of his desire for them to know Him.
Yet we must all rid ourselves of the Pharisee within us. We are only a hindrance when we refuse to recognize the people around us for the immense worth they have in God's sight. When we treat them as anything less than the most precious possessions, then we are not loving them with God's love. We must die to this selfishness, to the worldly values and perspectives, and let God's love radiate throughout our bodies into every aspect of our lives. His Holy Spirit will abound in every word you say and every deed you do. Let God's compassion and love guide you in your week.
Christ in this church can do it.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Where two or three are gathered...
Matthew 18:30 (ESV) "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
Clarissa Pinkola Estes wrote one of my all-time favourite passages, "You were made for this." In it, she compares each person to a great ship, and life to the lakes and oceans upon which we travel.
We face many storms and gales, she writes. The winds of life catch and shake our sails, weakening our will to move forward. The lumber composing the prow and rudder are worn down with the thrush of the sea's mighty waters.
Yet, she says, we are not alone.
There are other ships out on the sea with us, and they are signalling to us. The trees that built the ship come from a larger forest. We, together, are built from these, and we cannot give up in the tenth or the hundredth gale.
Estes passage reminds me of this beautiful - and very often told - story in the gospel of Luke, where the disciples are sailing across a lake to Gerasenes, and they run into this massive storm.
Let's all think of a movie with an epic shipwreck storm scene. Pirates of the Caribbean comes to mind, although I'm not quite sure why. I think there is a storm during the scene with the Kraken..
Nonetheless, there's some serious rain, some serious wind, some serious stormage going on, to the point that the disciples think they're on their death beds. They run downstairs and shout, "Master! Master! We're going to drown!" I can just imagine these men, drenched to the bone, hair in all directions, coming down to figure out an escape route to abandon ship.
It's makes for an even funnier scene because they had to wake up Jesus. Whether he was startled, yawning, or stretching as he awoke, he simply responds to their panicked pleas, "Where is your faith?"
And he commands the water and winds to stop, and they do.
I don't know how many times you've seen someone do that, but I've seen it a grand total of four times.
I'm kidding.
But it does show the true character and persona of Jesus. Only the creator of the universe could control the elements. And the apostles must have realized this, for they say, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?"
I think it's a good lesson for us though. Just like that storm the disciples went through on the lake, we have a whole bunch of difficulties and hardships that we face throughout our life. We feel overwhelmed, we feel burnt out, we feel alone and scared and helpless.
But here's the catch: God is with you. You are not alone, and he will help you through the challenges of life. All we need to do is have faith.
This is not to say that everything will always work out or that we will always have a perfect happy ending. Only that you are not alone while you go through it. And I could ask for little more than that.
---
Estes ends her piece on a particularly poignant note that I think concludes much better than I could ever have:
"In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours. They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here. In that spirit, I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for."
Clarissa Pinkola Estes wrote one of my all-time favourite passages, "You were made for this." In it, she compares each person to a great ship, and life to the lakes and oceans upon which we travel.
We face many storms and gales, she writes. The winds of life catch and shake our sails, weakening our will to move forward. The lumber composing the prow and rudder are worn down with the thrush of the sea's mighty waters.
Yet, she says, we are not alone.
There are other ships out on the sea with us, and they are signalling to us. The trees that built the ship come from a larger forest. We, together, are built from these, and we cannot give up in the tenth or the hundredth gale.
Estes passage reminds me of this beautiful - and very often told - story in the gospel of Luke, where the disciples are sailing across a lake to Gerasenes, and they run into this massive storm.
Let's all think of a movie with an epic shipwreck storm scene. Pirates of the Caribbean comes to mind, although I'm not quite sure why. I think there is a storm during the scene with the Kraken..
Nonetheless, there's some serious rain, some serious wind, some serious stormage going on, to the point that the disciples think they're on their death beds. They run downstairs and shout, "Master! Master! We're going to drown!" I can just imagine these men, drenched to the bone, hair in all directions, coming down to figure out an escape route to abandon ship.
It's makes for an even funnier scene because they had to wake up Jesus. Whether he was startled, yawning, or stretching as he awoke, he simply responds to their panicked pleas, "Where is your faith?"
And he commands the water and winds to stop, and they do.
I don't know how many times you've seen someone do that, but I've seen it a grand total of four times.
I'm kidding.
But it does show the true character and persona of Jesus. Only the creator of the universe could control the elements. And the apostles must have realized this, for they say, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?"
I think it's a good lesson for us though. Just like that storm the disciples went through on the lake, we have a whole bunch of difficulties and hardships that we face throughout our life. We feel overwhelmed, we feel burnt out, we feel alone and scared and helpless.
But here's the catch: God is with you. You are not alone, and he will help you through the challenges of life. All we need to do is have faith.
This is not to say that everything will always work out or that we will always have a perfect happy ending. Only that you are not alone while you go through it. And I could ask for little more than that.
---
Estes ends her piece on a particularly poignant note that I think concludes much better than I could ever have:
"In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here. The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours. They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here. In that spirit, I hope you will write this on your wall: When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for."
Friday, January 4, 2013
New Year Resolutions
I am adopting Shane Claiborne's New Year's resolutions again. I've changed them to reflect the changes I need most in my own life right now too, but I credit him for the heart behind each of these. Here's to 2013, a year to put others before myself. I tried to do these last year, but am actively going to pursue each of these during each of the twelve months of the year.
12. Do something nice that no one knows about.
11. Spend more money on other people than I spend on myself.
10. Love my enemies. Do good to those who hate me, bless those who curse me, pray for those who mistreat me. Actively pursue what is true, honourable, just, pure, noble, lovely, commendable, excellent and praiseworthy in my relationships with "enemies," family, and friends. Remember that we all stand under Christ's grace. Love others as I would like them to love me.
9. Get involved with an organization that is actively working to empower the most vulnerable in my community.
8. Love a few people well, remembering that what is important is not how much we do but how much love we put into doing it.
7. Write a letter to someone to whom I need to say thank you. Write another letter to someone I need to ask to forgive me.
6. Track down someone I disagree with and take them for coffee or have them for a meal. Listen to them.
5. Compliment someone I have a hard time complimenting, and mean it.
4. Learn a new life skill with a friend - pottery, canning vegetables, etc.
3. Pause before every potential crisis and ask “will this matter in 5 years?”
2. Get outside often and marvel at things like fireflies, snowflakes, shooting stars and seeing my breath in the cold.
1. Believe in miracles. And live in a way that might necessitate one.
12. Do something nice that no one knows about.
11. Spend more money on other people than I spend on myself.
10. Love my enemies. Do good to those who hate me, bless those who curse me, pray for those who mistreat me. Actively pursue what is true, honourable, just, pure, noble, lovely, commendable, excellent and praiseworthy in my relationships with "enemies," family, and friends. Remember that we all stand under Christ's grace. Love others as I would like them to love me.
9. Get involved with an organization that is actively working to empower the most vulnerable in my community.
8. Love a few people well, remembering that what is important is not how much we do but how much love we put into doing it.
7. Write a letter to someone to whom I need to say thank you. Write another letter to someone I need to ask to forgive me.
6. Track down someone I disagree with and take them for coffee or have them for a meal. Listen to them.
5. Compliment someone I have a hard time complimenting, and mean it.
4. Learn a new life skill with a friend - pottery, canning vegetables, etc.
3. Pause before every potential crisis and ask “will this matter in 5 years?”
2. Get outside often and marvel at things like fireflies, snowflakes, shooting stars and seeing my breath in the cold.
1. Believe in miracles. And live in a way that might necessitate one.
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