Bible Thoughts: Even Barnabas!

While doing my Bible study today, I was reading in Galatians and came across Galatians 2:13 (emphasis mine): "And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with them, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy." Even Barnabas. 

Now obviously, this verse is in the context of a much larger passage, but I really want to focus in on what I took from this one verse. I love the Bible, and I love the translation I use (the ESV) as well. That imagery is so powerful to me, even Barnabas. What's the big deal or application here, you may be wondering? Really, it's the even.

I love Barnabas. He is one of my all time favorite people in the Bible, probably because I relate to him so much. He was called Barnabas (the son of encouragement) because to him (and likewise to me) encouragement came extremely naturally. He was always spreading good to those around him and lifting the spirits of everyone he knew. He was a dedicated follower of Christ and one who used his talents to serve God completely. Clearly, an amazing and godly man.

But here in this passage, we see him fall into the trap of hypocrisy. That is one of the things about the Bible: it doesn't sugar coat the facts...the people are not without sin, and clearly it is inspired because anyone trying to create "perfect" characters surely wouldn't expose such fleshly flaws in some of the heros of the story. But here he is, amazing Barnabas, falling into the trap. And yet you see that word I love so much here... even.

What does that word, even, imply in its context? To me, it clearly says a few things: it was not something normal of or expected from Barnabas; it was a surprise. Why? Because it was outside of his normal character. What a compliment from the inspired Word of God! To say that to do something immoral, to follow an ungodly crowd, to stray from what was right was outside his normal realm of integrity.

Now, don't misunderstand. I certainly am not saying he did well by falling into that trap of hypocrisy or sinning. I am commending his overall character, that was so high that the "even" before Barnabas was necessary. I love how we can all apply this to our lives as well... if the Bible were written about my character today, would that "even" be needed? Would it be needed to describe your character?

May we all learn from Barnabas and his great character, and strive to be more like him every day, and ultimately, more like Jesus.

P.s. To my readers, thanks so much for sticking with me. I don't blog as often as I'd like, but I am going to try and do at least one post a month minimum from now on! :)

The Pearls

Rough draft of a passage from When The Leaves Begin To Change, my Holocaust novel I am working on slowly...

“We must not remember them for the way they died. Naked and broken, filled with lice and poverty and emptiness, their faces hollowed out and their eyes gazing into an empty world they can no longer see.”

My father and I sat on the hard splintered planks of our wooden bunk, which we now shared with eight other people. We looked at the wise old man as he spoke, the wrinkled eyes, his slightly gapped teeth, wanting intensely to believe it was true.

“That is not who they were,” he continued, turning his head to look among the different groups of people in the room as he spoke. I followed his gaze and saw a young girl with dark chestnut eyes, maybe eight years old. He was staring at her intently, almost piercing straight through her. 

Her mother was shot this morning as we all watched, while she was holding the little girl in her arms. The SS officer said that she had looked him in the eye. The little girl held her mother, a young brunette woman in her early thirties, while the crimson blood flowed over her like a blanket. After an hour like this, when the brooding black flies began to swarm, Jackson had finally pulled her off, screaming.

The old man held her attention from across the room, as the tears came freely and she hiccupped a few times. “Close your eyes,” he whispered, so quietly commanding that we all did so without asking why . “See the ones you have lost. Hold them in your mind.” I thought of Elizabeth, and the way her body fell after three days of frostbite on the train. I could see the life leaving her soft green eyes, smell the urine as her body lost all control. I knew the others were seeing the same thing in their mind’s eye; I could hear their deep, uncontrollable, shaking sobs mixing with my own, creating a song of grief that words alone could not capture. The old man was quiet and I wondered what he was thinking, how this could help.

“Now,” he finally spoke, our eyes still closed, the mourning hanging thick in the air, a raincloud ready to burst open and drown us all at any moment. “Remember them at their best. See the snapshot in your mind, like a picture.” I thought of Elizabeth on her wedding day, all pearls and perfume and glamour. I remembered her smile beaming ear to ear, the tears of joy in her eyes as she said, “I do”, the way her groom had smiled as he wiped away his own. I heard others in the room laugh a little despite themselves, despite the thunder rumbling loudly inside all our spirits, no doubt remembering babies and weddings and first kisses and joy.

The old man glanced around, clasped his bruised, wrinkled hands together and said simply, “This is the picture you hold. This is the snapshot. Hold the life, not the death. This is what you remember.”

I squeezed my eyes shut tightly and breathed out for what felt like the first time. 

I took the snapshot. She was beautiful, almost glowing.

I remembered the pearls.

He Held Me Up

Brown eyes just like mine,

Shined right back into my own

In the strong arms of my daddy,

I knew that he would not let go

He smiled, and I smiled,

And all was right within the world

He held me up, Within his arms,

His brand new little girl

Brown eyes that were mine,

Stared right back into my own

Though the face now in the mirror,

Seemed as one I did not know

I cried the endless tears,

And all felt wrong within the world

I held myself up, I watched myself fall,

So young and yet so old

Brown eyes just like mine,

Stared right back into my own

In my weak arms I held daddy,

I told him I would not let go

He gasped for breath, I cried,

And all was wrong within the world

I held him up, my dying daddy,

Still inside his little girl

His heart, just like mine,

Broke as if it were my own

In the strong arms of my Father,

He would not let me let go

He gave me Christ, I cried,

And I had more than the whole world

He held me up, Within His arms

His brand new little girl

Drama Is As Drama Does

My bestie, Emily Hatfield, posted a great blog post today (she always does awesome ones) on "Drama Is As Drama Does" and I loved it so much I thought it was definitely worth sharing. You all should check it out! It is definitely worth a read, especially if you are a woman. The direct link to her post is below. Enjoy!

emilyhat.com/drama-is-as-drama-does/

Quotes Part II

Some quotes I ran across recently that I enjoyed...

"Are the things you're focusing on in life going to outlive you?" -Unknown

"Time is not what you think. Dying? Not the end of everything. We think it is. But what happens on earth is only the beginning." -Mitch Albom

"The self is not something one finds, it is something one creates." -Thomas S. Szasc

"When a man walks into a room, he brings his whole life with him. He has a million reasons for being anywhere, just ask him. If you listen, he'll tell you how he got there. How he forgot where he was going, and that he woke up.

If you listen, he'll tell you about the time he thought he was an angel or dreamt of being perfect. And then he'll smile with wisdom, content that he realized the world isn't perfect.

We're flawed, because we want so much more.

We're ruined, because we get these things, and wish for what we had." -Don Draper

KJ & Emily's Home

We finally finished the decorating and organizing for our home!
 Enjoy the video and feel free to comment and let us know what you think! :) 

Tip: Click on the last icon in the lower right corner for full screen viewing. 

Valentine's 2013

Here is a video of all my presents from this Valentine's Day!! :)

Remembering Columbine

Today I posted a video I made today from photos I took during my time living in Colorado. I lived about ten minutes away from the high school (where the Columbine shooting happened in 1999) at the time. It is posted on youtube, which you can visit via the link to the right.  Please share with anyone you know who may like to see it. Thanks!

When The Leaves Begin To Change Preview

Here is a preview excerpt from a new novel I am slowly working on, 

entitled When The Leaves Begin To Change...

He knew the purest part of me, found somewhere between the innocence of being a child and the maturity of becoming a woman. We were held in this perfect moment, before the world tainted us, where first love lasted forever. Even the air we breathed felt brand new, fresher somehow.

He held me and whispered my name, running his rugged hands through my hair. “Ellie,” he whispered again, his lips brushing my cheek, my body feeling every touch. I released into his warmth, letting it melt away all the fear around us.  “Marry me,” he whispered. My eyes closed, basking in a moment too wonderful to believe I could live to see it come true.  Jackson titled his head slightly, lowering his lips to kiss my eyes, one by one. Slowly, they opened and we looked at each other for what seemed like forever. I was desperate to say yes, scream it even, smile and run around and be elated, but of course I couldn’t. Not here, not in this place with bars and nova gas and crematoriums.

Still, I knew with all certainty that I would never find another like him, even if I lived a million lifetimes. “I’ve loved you since I knew what love was,” I whispered, the words coming out sweetly, softly, the tears streaming down my cheeks slowly. “Of course I’ll marry you.” A huge smile enveloped his face, the kind with so much heart  my entire body could feel the energy, and he pulled me closer against his chest. I could feel his thumping heartbeat, expectant, alive. The moment was filled with a forbidden hope, one that was dangerous to feel here, one that left us exhilarated.

Our dreams were so real we could literally almost feel them come to life in our arms. 

Writer's Digest Review of The Locket

"The story was simple, heartwarming, painful, and lovely,

 all in perfect doses."

-Writer's Digest Book Critique 

Pleasing God in 2013

Living A Life Pleasing To God Requires...

1 Thessalonians 4:3-12

1) Abstaining from sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

2) Controlling your body in holiness and honor (1 Thessalonians 4:4)

3) Not giving in to the passion of lust (1 Thessalonians 4:5)

4) Continuing in brotherly love more and more (1 Thessalonians 4:10)

5) Aspiring to live quietly (1 Thessalonians 4:11)

6) Minding my own affairs (1 Thessalonians 4:11)

7) Working with my hands (1 Thessalonians 4:11)

8) Walking properly before outsiders (1 Thessalonians 4:12)

9) Being dependent on no one (1 Thessalonians 4:12)

Lessons To Be Learned: Is My Life Pleasing To God?

• Am I abstaining from being immoral sexually?
• Do I control and present my body in a way that shows holiness and honor?
• Do I resist giving in to or acting on passion alone?
• Am I growing in my brotherly love more daily?
• Do I resist gossip, stirring up dissension/drama, and seeking out attention? 
• Am I known for leading a quiet life?
• Do I mind my own business?
• Am I working with my hands and staying busy for the Lord?
• Do outsiders see my life as respectable?
• Am I, to the best of my ability, depending only on God?
• Am I debt free and seeking to not owe anything to anyone?
• Are my accounts up to date and paid on time?
• Are my own provided for sufficiently?
• Am I a responsible steward of my time and money?

Let us all strive to examine our lives as we begin a new, wonderful year in 2013 and serve Him more and more as our lives grow more pleasing in His sight. Thank you Lord for a new year with new beginnings and for the great joy you have blessed my life with so abundantly! 

Writing Projects For 2013

Here is a list of my upcoming book/novel projects, most (hopefully all) of which I hope to complete in 2013...

1. When The Church Forgets To Blush (Christian book)
2.  Blissfully Organized: From Hot Mess To House Guest (Nonfiction)
3. One Flesh Love (Christian book)
4. Too Busy To Not Slow Down (Christian book)
5. Always Be Ready: A Pocket Sized Guide For Biblical Answers (Christian book)
6. Lists To Live By: A 365 Day Journey Through The Bible (Christian book)
7. 1001 Things Every Woman Should Know: A Comprehensive Guide To Being Fabulous (Nonfiction)
8. The Ideal Nanny: How To Be One, How To Find One, & How To Keep One (Nonfiction)
9. Everything Your Nanny Always Wished You Knew, But Was Too Afraid To Tell You (Nonfiction)
10. When The Leaves Begin To Change (Fiction--a novel on the Holocaust--I'm very excited for this one!!)

I'm excited for these projects and hopefully won't get any new ideas until these are finished :) Please let me know if there is any other type of book you would like to see written and I will see what I can do!

The Light Network

My best friend and her hubby (and a bunch of other awesome people) 
have started a new network called The Light Network, featuring weekly podcasts for both men and women. 

Emily did her first podcast on Mars Hill (including modern day photos!),
 in a series called Navigating The New Testament (for women). 

Please watch and share!

Check it out at the link below and enjoy!! :)   

http://thelightnetwork.tv/navigating-the-new-testament-001-for-women/

Ten Daily Tips For A Beautiful Home

I love cleaning, organizing, decorating, and making my home a haven for my family. This is one of my very favorite things. Here are ten simple, basic tips that, done daily, will really help you to keep your home beautiful and low maintenance.

1. Never put any dishes in the sink or any clothes in a hamper. Directly put dishes in the dishwasher and clothes in the washer and run each once a day. When they are finished, get them out and put them up, so that the dishwasher and washer will be open to add new items to.

2. First thing in the morning, every morning, light a scented candle. They are beautiful and if you get the right kind, will make your entire house smell amazing. My current favorite is Pink Sands by Yankee Candle.

3. Give every item a home. EVERY item. It's very hard to keep a clean house when everything is everywhere and nothing has its place. From your tv remotes to your hairbrush to your luggage, everything needs a specific home.

4. Deep clean once a week. I like doing it all in one big spurt, but that's just me. I put a cd on, sing along, and vacuum, scrub the bathroom, clean the kitchen stove/counters, steam the tile, wash/make beds, etc. If you do this once weekly, it will cut down on having to do huge overhauls to catch up. It is way easier to just do it once a week every week for me.

5. Organize, file, and put away papers. I advise using pull out file folder organizers from Walmart with separated sections and dividers, so everything is easy to find. If you need your social security card or birth certificate, you can easily find it.

6. Sort through your mail the second you get it. Yes, it can be hard to keep up with, but it is an important part of not junking up your home. Throw away ads and junk mail and open and sort right then important bills, etc. Dealing with it in the moment helps it to not be forgotten or misplaced.

7. As soon as you walk in the door, hang up the clothes you have on. Put your jacket in the jacket closet, shoes away, and hang up anything else you might have or put it directly in the washer. This keeps laundry from ending up on the floor and creating a huge pile/mess.

8. Declutter! Clutter stresses me out. I can't breathe around it...it makes me feel suffocated. Make sure you are not collecting more items than you have places to store them. If you are already at capacity, get rid of some things! It is amazing how the things we truly value end up being blocked by junk when we let them. Do something good and give to Goodwill or a shelter where it can truly be used for good and watch your home's beauty and comfort increase.

9. Take the trash out as soon as the bag is full. Yes, it can be a pain. But letting trash bags build up is one sure way for your home to look its worse...and just get nasty.

10. Decorate from the front door in. Your front door (lawn/porch/etc) says a lot about your style. Put up a beautiful, tasteful, non holiday specific wreath year round and a classy doormat. Make sure your home (even from the outside) is clean and inviting. You also never want an overcrowded walkway. If you can, "introduce" your decor at the door---make your door and front area match the interior of your house!

These are ten tips I use in my home to keep it looking its most beautiful and well kept... I hope they will help you to do the same in your home!

Things I Am Thankful For This Week

Here are just a few things I am thankful for this week... :)

1. Being in love. It is so fun to wake up every day and be with my best friend! There is never a single day that goes by for me where I am not hugged, kissed, and told that I am loved. And that...is the only way to live.

2. My view. I get to see a castle every day on the way to work... a literal, for real castle (see photo above). It's just cool. Also, directly outside my window at home is the most beautiful fountain ever, where the sunsets look incredible, and if you close your eyes it sounds like you are at the ocean. Ahhh.

3. The peace and providence of God. He truly does work all things out, in His time and His way, and always with my best interest in mind. Trusting Him always works out better than trusting in myself!

4. Fall/winter. I love the smell of cold air, presents under the tree that I cannot wait to open, and sparkles on everything I see. Definitely my favorite time of year!

5.  Simplicity. Lately I've learned a valuable lesson. Life is simple, if you let it be. I'm letting it be. :)

Until Next Time: "People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be." -Abraham Lincoln

Quotes: Part One

I love quotes. Adore them. I always have.

I started a book on July 25, 2006 of some of my favorite quotes and have been adding to it for the past six years and will be for years to come, until it is finished and I begin a new book. They are from books, movies, songs, etc.

Here are some of my favorites, in the order that I wrote them. I am going to do several posts from this book, with all my favorite quotes that I loved enough to write down at some point. Enjoy!

"All endings are also beginnings...we just don't know it at the time."

"No story sits by itself. Sometimes stories meet at corners and sometimes they cover one another completely, like stones beneath a river."

"Of course, they lived happily ever after. The point, gentlemen, is that they lived."

"Dying is only one thing to be sad over. Living unhappily is something else."

"Put a daily limit on self-pity. Just a few tearful minutes, then on with the day."

"There will be lots of love passing between us...you don't need speech or hearing to feel that."

"Get into the habit of standing back and looking at your life and saying, Is this all? Is this all I want? Is something missing?"

"Sometimes you cannot believe what you see; you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too--even when you're in the dark. Even when you're falling."

"Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."

"Find the healing power in grieving."

"Love each other or perish."

"Without love, we are birds with broken wings."

"Don't cling to things, because everything is impermanent."

"Scenery without solace is meaningless."

"Each of us was in your life for a reason...you may not have known the reason at the time."

"One withers, another grows. Birth and death are part of a whole."

"All right, it's just fear. I don't have to let it control me. I see it for what it is."

"Forget what culture says. I am not going to be ashamed."

"Strangers are just family you have yet come to know."

"No life is a waste...the only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone." 

"Deep down all lives intersect. Death doesn't just take someone, it misses someone else, and in the small distance between being taken and being missed, lives are changed."

"There are no random acts. We are all connected. You can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind."

"Death ends a life, not a relationship."

"Make peace with living."

"You have to find what's good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now."

"But I gotta pay," he said. 
"To pay?"
"For my sin. That's why I'm here, right? Justice?"
He smiled. "You are here so I can teach you something. All the people you meet have one thing to teach you." 

"If you've found meaning in your life, you don't want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more."

"We put our values in the wrong things. And it leads to very disillusioned lives."

"Giving to other people is what makes me feel alive."

"Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake, I am reborn."

"Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone."

"Offering others what you have to give gives real satisfaction." 

"Don't let go too soon, but don't hold on too long."

"I know it hurts when you can't be with someone you love. But you need to be at peace with their desires." 

"It was so simple. So average. I was actually a little dissapointed--how could he find perfection in such an average day? Then I realized that was the whole point."

"No. You don't understand. You're not a wave; you're part of the ocean."

"I laughed until there were tears in my eyes."

"You want them back. You never want them to stop. But that's all part of being human. Stop, renew, stop, renew."

"The teaching goes on."

"Love is different. Love is when you're as concerned about someone else's situation as you are your own."

"Silence was his escape, but silence is rarely a refuge."

"Love takes many forms, and it is never the same for any man and woman."

"He found a certain love...a grateful love, a deep but quiet love, one that he knew, above all else, was irreplaceable."

"Silence is worse when you know it won't be broken."

"She smiled, and he smiled, and she was, to him, as beautiful as ever."

"Lost love is still love. It just takes a different form, that's all."

"Those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it."

"Being controlled by the opinions of others is a guaranteed way to miss God's purposes for your life."

"The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose."

"It is impossible to do everything people want you to do."

"Circumstances cannot change the character of God."

"Knowing your purpose focuses your life."

"With a magnifying glass, the rays of the sun can be focused to set grass or paper on fire."

"Purpose always produces passion."

"The men and women who have made the greatest difference in history were the most focused."

"The way you see your life shapes your life."

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."

"It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness."

"Happiness does not depend on outward things, but on the way we see them."

"The significance of a man is not what he attains, but in what he longs to attain." 

"The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles than in growing with them."

"Every life has one true-love snapshot."

"My old friend," he whispered. "You've come back at last."

"She will hold his hand and tell him God is proud of him...and that will make him feel right-side up again."

"Morrie would walk that final bridge between life and death, and narrate the trip." 

"The word dying is not synonymous with useless."

"Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do."

"Accept the past as the past, without denying it or discarding it."

"Learn to forgive yourself, and to forgive others."

"Don't assume that it's too late to get involved."

"Which side wins?"
He smiles at me, the crinkled eyes, the crooked teeth. 
"Love wins. Love always wins."

"Have you found someone to share your heart with? Are you giving to your community? Are you at peace with yourself? Are you trying to be as human as you can be?"

"The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it."

"Am I going to withdraw from the world, like most people, or am I going to live the way I want--or at least try to live--with dignity, with courage, with humor, with composure?"

"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in."

"Love is the only rational act."

"I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on all the good things still in my life."

"The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, to your community around you, and to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

"We don't see things are they are; we see them as we are."

"Keep the vision of eternity in your mind and the value of it in your heart."

"When you live in light of eternity, your values change."

"The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears."

"He must become greater; I must become less." (John 3:30)

"Find out who you are, and do it on purpose."

"The great and glorious masterpiece of man is to know how to live on purpose."

"He who hesitates is lost."

"The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live."

"Our greatest glory is not in falling, but in rising every time we fall."

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." 

"The idea that you can trust Christ and not intend to obey Him is an illusion created by the prevalence of an unbelieving 'Christian culture'."

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."

"Nothing contributes so much as to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose--a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye."

"The ultimate measure of man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

"Try not to be a man of success, but a man of value."

"A loving heart is the truest wisdom." 

The Worst Goodbye

    Some writing from a while back that I ran across today...hopefully it will find its way into a book eventually...

    The day finally came. The day that every other one seemed to revolve around, to be tinted by, as if it were the centerpiece of a watercolor painting. The rain tumbled over my umbrella, hitting the ground in a soft, gentle pattern, like the heartbeat of the earth. 

     Even with the downpour, the air seemed much too warm; the leaves on the trees too bright. His shadow walked among us, the wind whispered his laughter in the distance. He was gone, but he was there. I could still feel him beside me. I felt the raindrops covering my hair, my eyes, my lips. I savored their bittersweet taste. 

     “What if,” the past whispered, the words going off like a gunshot in my mind. The tombstone sat like a shadowed angel; the thunder rolled just beyond me. I shivered at its power. I closed my eyes and felt the familiar ache, one closer to me than my own breath.

'The worst goodbye is the one that’s never said,' I thought, as the twilight turned to black.