STAYING CURIOUS

Song for Today: "Brand New Shoes" by: Paolo Nutini

Every day is a new battle. Every moment is a choice. You can choose to feel one way or another about something. You can choose how you react regardless of your feelings. But sometimes, because of pride, or insecurities, or lack of understanding, our emotions get the best of us. My journey for the past 3 months has been a tough one. I've decided to conquer my insecurities. I've had dreams about being chased by some entity, and recently in those dreams I've begun to turn around and decide to fight. I feel like this is my brain's way of coping with the new way of thinking I've adopted. There are numerous strategies I've incorporated into my day to day living and my reactions, that have begun a shift in my emotions. One of those strategies is staying curious.

Curiosity is healthy, inherent, and humbling. Now, I'm not talking about being curious about drug abuse, or experimenting and getting weird sexually. God gave you wisdom for a reason. Use it. I'm talking about being willing to admit that you don't know everything, and feeling good about it. You have so many amazing experiences ahead of you! be humble enough to ask questions (this is also a great way to get to know people. People LOVE to talk about themselves). Being adventurous means different things to different people. Maybe you've never rented a movie from a Red Box machine, GO NUTS! Maybe you've never been on a zip line, HAVE FUN! Maybe you'd like to know what a five star restaurant is like, MODERATION! (seriously though, make sure you can afford it).

"Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil"

-Proverbs 3:7 (NLT)

Explore! Learn! Go ask that girl to dance! Be the first one to sing karaoke! Try a new flavor of coffee! Inevitably you'll come across things you don't like, or things you're not good at, but don't worry about it! Now you know!

If you can't tell, I'm pretty excited about this. This revelation brought tremendous freedom and life to me. Especially in a place where everything is cold and dark (physically and spiritually). It also gave me the freedom to admit I'm a newbie at life, the humility to speak up about questions I have or things I've never heard of. And now, all of a sudden, I have no reason to be insecure because I'm excited to learn something new.

EVERY RIDICULOUS PLACE

Song for Today: "Sometimes" by: Donkeyboy
I know... I'm on a Donkeyboy kick...

Never burn bridges. You never know when you'll need the help of the most insignificant people in your life.

I got on my bike this morning and dropped my resume off at every ridiculous place I could think of. even if they weren't hiring, I'd speak to the manager and let them know what I can do, you never know what they need done. I came upon a little store I used to work at when I was in high school and low and behold they were not only hiring in the store, but they were looking for some help with their website... interesting how God just gives you exactly what you need, exactly when you need it (and not a moment sooner).

I'm still working on keeping myself encouraged through this time. It's still a difficult concept to grasp. Forgiveness that I don't need to earn. I've been saved for 6 years and I'm still in awe of God's goodness and mercy. I've also discovered that exorcise makes you feel good about yourself.

Candy helps too.