Just Keep Walking

In bible study this week we ended up on the topic of walking God’s path and how, in the beginning especially, it can feel really difficult. Am I doing it right? Do I know enough about the bible to have this conversation? Why am I still struggling so much with sin? The questions outnumber the answers and we just continue stumbling along this path full of weeds, rocks, and tree roots.

I know what it means when we say we’re walking God’s path for our lives. What I didn’t know, was that the Greek word for walk in this context, peripateō, doesn’t really refer to walking one long path. It actually means to walk around, to walk the same path over and over again. This made me see my walk with God differently. We’re not walking one long continuous path; we’re walking to God over and over again. We’re breaking down the weeds, pushing the rocks into the dirt, wearing down the tree roots, until the path is smooth and clear. Following God is like a muscle that needs to be exercised, or a path that needs continuous tending. Life may never get easier, but walking God’s path will if we just keep walking.

As the conversation went on my mind did what it always does, making connections and continuing the analogy. What happens when we stop walking a particular path? The weeds take over, rocks find their way back, and new trees grow, before long the path isn’t so easy to walk anymore. Suddenly we’re stumbling our way along all over again. Maybe we say we went for a walk yesterday, so we don’t need to go today. Maybe we only go once a week because life is busy and we don’t feel like getting out of bed. Maybe we stop walking all together. If we stop walking, stop tending the path, stop walking with God, the weeds will grow up around us and life becomes so much harder to walk through.

So keep walking. Keep walking until reading your bible isn’t a chore anymore. Keep walking until the songs you’re singing aren’t just words on a page. Keep walking until your prayers flow freely. Keep walking until God answers those prayers. Keep walking until the gifts God has given you are so strong you can’t help but use them. Keep walking until the joy in your heart is so much you need to let it overflow onto everyone around you. Keep walking until a conversation with God becomes as natural as a conversation with your best friend. Keep walking until you feel God walking beside you, because he always is. Keep walking until the path is so worn that others can follow in your footsteps and find the same amazing God you have.

Just.

Keep.

Walking.

Daily Challenge

 

They say it takes 30 days to make or break a habit. At least, I think I’ve heard that somewhere. Either way it sounds about right. 30 days, 1 month. So what do you think you could do with 365 days? 12 months of doing the same thing every day could create some real change don’t you think? Well, I certainly think so, and I’ve got proof.

For the past several years, nearing 10 years actually, I’ve been doing daily challenges. Sometimes they’re private goals, things I need to work on for myself. Sometimes they’re more public, announced on Facebook so others can improve right along with me if they so choose.

The first year I wrote a Page A Day in a journal, it encouraged me to really reflect on what was happening in my life every day. Then it was One Good Thing A Day, it made me more positive, even on the bad days. An Adventure A Day helped me take more risks and be more adventurous. The next year is when I started being more public with my challenges. I shared A Quote A Day. It made me really think about what I was reading, and I think it improved my writing too, as some of the quotes were mine. That year was followed by a Bible Verse A Day. By the end of the year, I had read most of the Bible and better understood what it meant. I got closer to God that year and it encouraged me to continue to do so. The next year was so full of darkness I decided to remind everyone that Every Day Is A Reason To Celebrate! I love all the crazy holidays and I got to share that love with all my friends! It brought a little joy to a dark time. I also drew pictures for every day, so I got to work on my artist skills.

Last year was my No Such Thing As Normal Challenge. Every day I shared something about how we’re all different. This was my most in depth challenge yet and I learned so much! I talked about autism, adhd, procrastinators, all the personality types, love language, and more! I learned so much and I know others did too. This year I decided to do a Photo A Day Challenge. Each month held a different theme focusing on a fresh start, love, nature, humility, appreciating the people around me, etc. It opened my eyes to the beautiful world we live in and all the people and things I have to be thankful for. It helped me be creative in my photography too and I think I’ve grown through the process, stopping to really see something long enough to take a picture rather than just let it pass me by.

Each one of my daily challenges has helped me grow into the girl I want to be. Slowly but surely, one day at a time, one month at a time, one year at a time, I grow into who God created me to be. And I take a little bit of each challenge into the following years. Instead of writing in my journal every single day, I make a point to write every couple days. Maybe I don’t write down something good every day, but I catch myself trying to see the positive more than I used to. I don’t share a Bible verse every day, but I do still try to read my Bible or a devotional every day. I understand myself, and others, better now because of my various challenges, and that’s growth that should be continued and shared.

I haven’t totally decided what my daily challenge will be this year, but consider this your encouragement to take on a daily challenge with me. Look at your life and find something you want to work on. Gratitude? Knowledge? Peace? Creativity? Joy? Whatever it is, there’s a daily challenge that can help you get there. Let’s not just start this New Year with high hopes of a better you, let’s end it with real results that will last for years to come.

First Draft

 

I recently finished the first draft of the book I'm writing. Finishing the first draft is a big deal. Most of my novels never get that far. I probably have 30 books in various levels of completion, and I have only finished the first draft of 3 of them.

I remember the first book I actually finished. It was my first chapter book; it was where it all started. I finished the first draft while I was sitting in a class my mom was teaching. I could barely contain my excitement as I sat there in the back of the room, bouncing in the hard school desk as I got closer and closer to writing that final sentence. I bit my lip to keep from squealing as the final word was on paper. Back when I did most of my writing with actual pen and paper. As soon as I knew I wouldn't disrupt the class I jumped up and down and told mom the news.

I had just as much excitement with the next book I finished and now this one. But the excitement only lasts a little while before getting hit with the realization that now I have to edit. And re-write. And re-edit. And hire an actual editor. And try to get it published. Suddenly the monumental accomplishment of finishing the first draft doesn't seem so monumental.

I never actually edited that first book, or the second, and I am editing this most recent one but I’m dreading the task. I only finished that first draft a week or so ago, yet already the excitement has now totally worn off and I've moved on to the next step. Why are we so quick to stop celebrating? I've been working on this particular book for about 10 years or more. Ten years! And I finally finished, and I only celebrate for 10 minutes? It deserves way more than that! And it got me thinking, what else haven't I properly celebrated?

Sure, we celebrate the big things, the holidays, the birthdays, the weddings and graduations, and we celebrate them for a full day at the very least, if not a whole week or even months! But what about the little things? Or rather, the more personal things? The things we slowly work away at for years, sometimes without even knowing it. Or the things we accomplish privately. Or completing a big step in an even bigger project, like my first draft. Don’t they deserve a celebration too?

So, here’s your reminder to celebrate those moments, those victories. And to let yourself celebrate them for more than just 10 minutes. Yea, it might just be the first draft of many, but every story has to start somewhere. So let's celebrate!

39 Hours

I was having a really hard time sleeping. I would be exhausted, but I’d lie in bed for hours, unable to force my mind or body to settle. My mind would circle endlessly, focusing on nothing and everything all at once. My eyes refused to close, just scanning the darkness. Eventually I’d fall asleep, but it was a restless one. Frustrated, I found myself writing in my journal one night that maybe I needed to just stay awake all night and reset. I, completely unintentionally, did just that a few nights later.

It started with an infuriating attempt at untangling some embroidery floss for a tiny crochet project I was doing. It came wrapped in such a way that it was impossible to use it without it getting knotted at some point, so in an attempt to avoid that in the middle of the project, I decided to roll it into a ball ahead of time. I had almost gotten it completely untangled when my tired mind made one wrong move and it was knotted again. I decided to go to bed. 12. I read a couple chapters in my book. 1. Then I lay there, eyes wide open, no indication of sleep. 2. So I proceeded to finish my book and move on to the next one. 4. I heard mom get ready to leave for work. 5. I had some splintered sleep amounting to about an hour, but that was it. 7. I heard dad get ready for work. 8. I had stayed up all night.

I surprised myself by not completely crashing that day. No nap, no going to bed early. I was actually kind of productive. I was tired, but productive. 39 hours. By the time I went to bed that night I had been awake for 39 hours. And you know what happened? I slept great that night, and every night since.

It sounds crazy. When you think of a reset, you think of rest. Taking time to let your body take a break from the business of life and rest. But that’s not what my body was asking for. My body was asking for a night with no sleep. A day of running on empty and making it work. Then, instead of fighting against my body to go to bed that night, I could actually have a restful sleep and wake refreshed the next day.

Sometimes the ways our bodies need to reset don’t make much sense. One person’s way of resetting might look different than someone else’s. Some people may need multiple days to recover from things while others may need no time at all. Sometimes your body needs rest, sometimes it actually needs more activity. Sometimes it takes 39 hours of sleep and rest, and sometimes it takes 39 hours of being awake to find some normalcy again.