Follow me?

Follow me.

I love pinterest.  LOVE it.  It's like I can go shopping without spending a dime.  Feel crafty without gluey messes.  I can be a chef in my own little world without any prep work or clean up.  And to top it off I can do all three (or more) things at the same time.

I've come to love looking at creative manicure/nail designs.  I have the most creative, almost famous, lady in my life who does my nails.  When I go see here it's like I am transported to another world.  I don't answer my phone, or have any responsibilities.  I get to listen to the chatter of those around me and share with her my two week update on what's been happening with me.  It's amazing.  It's also fun.  Because she is so stinkin' creative I get to dream about what I might want next on my nails.  And, she does it.  It's just that simple.  And when I have her do a design and she likes it I feel like a hand model for just a moment as she has me "pose" for a picture.  See, pretty incredible right? 

Back to pinterest.  I've become, in my own mind, somewhat famous.  Sick, right?  I mean really, come on.  How can I even say that?  Well, I have pinned a whopping 455 nail designs and have ladies now following just this one board filled with only inspiring designs for my next gel manicure. 

So this has had me thinking for awhile about "following".  What does it mean?  Something my amazingly talented friend who designs works of art on my fingertips and I have in common is the love of thesauruses and dictionaries.  It's the nerd in me that loves looking up the meaning of words, synonyms and all that jazz.  So, what does any word loving woman do, but look up "following" on my dictionary app installed directly on my smart phone.  Just writing that sentence makes me want to look up synonyms.  Sick. 

So the root word of following is follow.  I'm going to start there.  Follow is a verb.  It's an action. 

1.  To come after in sequence, order of time, etc.
2.  To go or come after; move behind in the same direction.
3.  To accept as a guide or leader; accept the authority of or give allegiance to.
4.  To conform to, comply with, or act in accordance with; obey.
5.  To imitate or copy.
6.  To move forward along (a road, path, etc).
7.  To come after as a result or consequence; result from.
8.  To go after or along with (a person) as a companion.
9.  To go in pursuit of.
10.  To try for or attain to.
11.  To engage in or be concerned with a pursuit.
12.  To watch the movements, progress, or course of.
13.  To watch the development of or keep with.
14.  To keep up with and understand.

WOW!  The geek in me is super happy right now.  That's honestly way more than I thought I would find. 

Pinterest is a silly, unimportant, trivial and time wasting device.  But it does have me thinking.  If I have 263 followers on my pinterest, how many followers do I have in my life?  In the real world, where shopping does cost money, crafts do get sticky, and I am so far from a chef the word shouldn't even come from my lips.

This leads me to ask some real questions.  What are people following?  Why are they following?  Where are they following me?  Who is following me?  And how can I live my life in a way that all of those action definitions above are worthy of being followed.

What are people following?  First, I'm a real woman.  A woman with fears, failures, disappointments, frustrations, muffin tops (not the ones I want to eat!), dreams, plans, painted nails, pajamas on right after work, and so much more.  But above all of this, I am a woman who loves Jesus.  I love Jesus.  If I were to be known for one thing in life I wouldn't want it to be that I was driven, motivated, caring, committed, fun, trustworthy, or honest.  All of those things are great, and I would want them to be true, but I want people to know that I love my Jesus. 

Why follow me?  Do I live a life with passion, joy, and love? Or do I merely make it through the day only to get it up early to do it all over again?  Do I reflect Jesus in my life?  Are my actions, words and thoughts even what I would want others to follow?  There are days that I wouldn't want anyone to follow me.  Other days I am proud of how I went about my day.  Either way, the why is a question I need to ask myself more often.

Where am I headed?  I love quotes.  LOVE them.  See, total nerd.  But, one I really like says if you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.  I know where I am going.  I am headed to my Father's House.  The one He's prepared for me.  Does the road there have stops and starts along the way?  Yes!  His word reminds us that in this world we will have trouble, but take joy!  He has overcome the world. 

Who is following me?  Good question.  Do I live my life in a way that inspires anyone to follow me?  And if I do the who then can get pretty mind boggling.  Is it the co-workers I see over 50 hours a week, or is it my husband and son who I adore and often times feel like I see less than I should, or is it those I interact with at the grocery store, or maybe it's my "friends" on Facebook, or could it be the community of believers I see every Sunday at church?  Who????  I pray that there are a lot of "whos" in my life. 

Finally, how will I lead?  Will my life reflect the forgiveness of my Savior or stay mundane and tainted with this world's lies?  Will I lead as a servant, wanting my actions to reflect God's love and care for each of us?  Or do I want to be puffed up and seen as "having it all together"?  How do I live my life each day with obstacles, expectations, dissatisfaction, and complaints to reflect the awesomeness of my Provider who takes care of my every need and knows my future?

If I had a pinterest of my life what would be on the boards?  Would I have 263 followers who want to copy what I have done?  I am not so sure.  I'm challenged today to evaluate the application of my life to ensure I am reflecting the purpose of my God in my life. 

Proverbs 31:30 will always be my all time favorite scripture.  It says, "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."

I don't desire praise from my peers (although it sure does feel good, right?), but rather to be a woman that makes my Abba Father proud as I follow in His footsteps.  I am on a great adventure to be His follower.

Staying in the Sweet Spot of Surrender

I surrender all, I surrender all.  All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

I have had this simple and powerful verse from a song I learned as a child running through my mind for weeks and weeks and weeks.  Weeks...seriously, in the shower, on the way to work, in the office, when I go to sleep, when I wake up.  All the time.  It was really getting annoying to be completely honest.  I would find myself singing, especially in the car when I was alone on the way to work.  Now, I am not gifted with any singing ability.  Zip, zero, nada, 0, no ability.  But I sang it anyways, thinking the cars that drove beside me were under the impression I had the voice of a nightingale.  In and of it's self, that's a lesson.  But, that's not what God was focused on this past month or so.    He was preparing me for today.

Today we had a very special group of ladies at our Women of Worth Morning at church.  These ladies are from a local women's recovery home, "Hannah's House".  What song did they sing, but a song about surrender to Jesus!  Of course they did!  These ladies had the joy of the Lord from deep in their souls to the smiles on their faces.  It was shining through them! 

And then it all clicked.  They had surrendered.  You see, these beautiful, talented, transparent, passionate, hard working, and Jesus loving ladies knew the joy of the Lord.  They understand surrender.  They've come from different paths.  Some came from picture perfect homes, others from less than ideal upbringings, but either way they stood together and proclaimed their surrender to Jesus!

 

We all come from different paths.  It's that way on purpose.  How else would we be able to impact the world around us.  But that's not enough.  I really can't make a difference in my co-worker's life if I am not living a surrendered life to my Jesus.  Here it goes again...I surrender all, I surrender all.  All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all. 

It's easier to sing than to do (even if it is off key).  But I learned something today that my mind knew but my heart had become hardened to---it takes surrender to find and keep joy. 


You see, my friend, the surrender is the sweet spot.  I don't play sports.  If I had my way I would never throw a ball, run, sweat, mess up my hair, or break a nail.  But what I hear from my husband, who does love sports, is that there is such a thing as a sweet spot.  According to this wonderful tool called the internet I was able to learn a bit more. 

The sweet spot is the spot in where the ball hits perfectly.  I have never felt that sweet spot because you see I am not coordinated, and honestly could care less about the whole idea of becoming a sports lover.  I only like going to football games (Go Ducks!) for the thrill of the crowd.  I digress.  The sweet spot generates the greatest amount of velocity.  So the sweet spot in any activity is the specific aspect of that activity that generates the greatest result.  Okay, so I get it now.  Surrender is an action.  An action that is repeated, again and again.  Surrender = Joy!

Surrender is our sweet spot.  It's the place where we generate the greatest result.  Not because of us, but because of Him.  It's the surrender that rids us of our selfishness, our pride, our hurt, our bitterness, our deepest secrets, and largest disappointments.  The surrender is where the joy begins.  If we stay in surrender it's where our joy remains.  Thanks Abba Father for being patient with this hard headed and stubborn daughter of yours.  I get it now.  I need to stay in the sweet spot of surrender.  This is going to take some effort, but I am ready to do it.  Are you?

So, I'll sing it loud and from my heart.  Sing it with me friends. 

I surrender all, I surrender all.  All to thee my precious Savior, I surrender all.  All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give.  I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live.