One Day -MLK day

One Day
(Adapted from the famous Martin Luther King, Jr speech.)


I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in my faith and knowledge of a God who redeems.

I have a dream that one day this relationship will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "To love as Christ loves us."

I have a dream that one day on the street of Indiana my husband and myself will be able to sit down together at a table of mutual strength.

I have a dream that one day even as broken as we are, as hurting and desperate, sweltering with the heat of distrust and fear, we will be transformed into an oasis of forgiveness and joy.

I have a dream that my two children will one day live in a family where they will have a loving, healthy relationship modeled and therefore choose a mate by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

Parables

The kids (at Ecclesia) are entering a new block on parables and while looking up some for a new yoga based movement we are doing. I read this (Mathew 13:44 & 45)...

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that is hidden in a field. A crafty man found the treasure buried there and buried it again so no one would know where it was. Thrilled, he went off and sold everything he had, and then he came back and bought the field with the hidden treasure part of the bargain.

Or the kingdom of heaven is like a jeweler on the look out for the finest pearls. When he found a pearl more beautiful & valuable than any jewel he had ever seen, the jeweler sold all he had and bought that pearl, his pearl of great price.

The parables just amaze me. I love teaching them to the kids because it is definitely one of those cases of them teaching us. When I read these I see the precious nature of God the fact that he asks us to give it all but gives us something precious and all consuming and forever valuable at the same time. He asks all of us, then overwhelms us with his giving. If only we could see (as we are asked to give up) the beauty he has for us... I am sure we would give it all!

I definitely feel this paradigm in my life right now. I am almost perplexed by the fact that I was asked to give up something (house, comfort, ownership, security) and now feel like not only did I not loose anything I am overwhelmed by how happy and blessed I am. It really is everything I "lost" was an illusion, and God's reality has now had a chance to take root.

Then the other two I love. The mustard seed & the yeast. The idea of that small amount of yeast / a small seed growing and expanding. It is something I have experienced about the nature of God, it is one of my favorite things about His heart.... the well of love, and beauty that comes from such small effort. It is the acts of love that go unnoticed but then suddenly are all around us. It is the way that caring for a room can suddenly bring everyone who enters love. Or the way your small effort (done in obedience) suddenly becomes a catalyst for others and radiates out. It is hard to explain, yet so simple... Jesus did an amazing job trying to show us His kingdom and all it holds for us. Makes you want to give and do more doesn't it?

2009

Since 2009 started I have been re reading and re watching everything David Wolfe.
One of the "David Wolfe things" is writing goals. He asks you to write down 100 goals.
I believe it is in an effort to get you to push the limits of what you want to accomplish... to empty your mind of everything that you think "I could never pull that off" about.

For someone who is & has been in the middle of such life change... I think having a resolution list is silly... I am in the middle of a resolution list.. in fact this blog is a resolution list. But I have discovered the same truth as David Wolfe. When you write it down, it comes true. AND the more specific the better.

I have however, as the New Year has begun, focused on one of my resolutions on this blog. It is one that has a natural start after a holiday of almost constant eating out and honestly ending in my being sick of everything that I need to stop eating... it does make you feel bad after all. So, my main new years resolution will be on my OTHER blog. Yes, get ready for my weight to be posted again and ALL to be laid out in an effort for accountability and helping me free my life of my biggest and most hurtful addiction.

But for here...
100 Goals for 2009

1. Be free of food addiction
2. Heal my relationship with Vyk
3. Heal my relationship with Astrid
4. Enjoy my daily routine
5. Enjoy my life
6. Give of myself fully
7. Don't hold back
8. Financial Peace
9. 1,000 for emergencies that stays put
10. car paid off
11. give lots of $
12. give lots
13. Love
14. Finish the playground
15. Bring love into the children' space
16. Bring love to Ecclesia
17. Love in small ways
18. Share in large ways
19. Be beautiful
20. Feel beautiful
21. Feel sexy
22. Go on more dates with my husband
23. Go on more mother/ daughter dates
24. Be with Gus fully
25. Have strong attachments with everyone in my family
26. Vent less
27. Breathe more
28. Feel more
29. Keep my house organized
30. Keep things as simple in my home as they are now
31. Use $ to purchase fairly
32. Crave raw foods.
33. Try foods I have never tried.
34. Constantly learn about food
35. Seek God in all I do
36. Seek God in the simple things
37. Love God with all my heart, mind, soul
38. Have a deeper relationship with God
39. Be His hands and feet
40. Incarnate
41. Find my place in my new community
42. Find a friend for Astrid who is CLOSE
43. Go to Cherryhurst park all the time
44. Go to Discovery Green all the time
45. Get a 3 wheel bike to ride around
46. Soak in the sun
47. Enjoy being outside daily
48. Be active
49. Laugh often
50. Make new relationships
51. Nurture the relationships that bring me life
52. Edit time with people who do not bring me life
53. Forgive
54. Forgive
55. Forgive
56. Pray unceasingly
57. Let go of the hurt I hold in my gut
58. Detox
59. Detox emotionally
60. Let God heal... do not be afraid
61. Loose 100 lbs
62. Loose a person
63. Have skin that glows
64. Have to buy an entirely new wardrobe
65. Look on the outside as changed as I am on the inside
66. Enjoy my new home
67. Entertain more
68. Discuss more things that are important to me
69. Have more deep discussion
70. Have more girls night out with precious friends
71. Meet Leo Mueller... spend more time with the Mueller Family
72. Create annual family events
73. Be the woman that I want Astrid to learn from
74. Drink more water
75. Work on my art
76. Create a new curriculum
77. Be in a new building
78. Uncover hidden abilities
79. Spend intentional time with James
80. Share with James what he needs
81. Be good to those that I love
82. Have more lunches with Dad
83. Release Grief
84. Be the best me ever
85. Eat cleanly
86. Have green smoothies or juice daily
87. Have a salad daily
88. Buy more for myself from Etsy
89. Get my hair cut regularly
90. Have $ in the bank past my wildest expectations.
91. Give more $ than I ever thought possible
92. Finish everything
93. Get a composter
94. Start a garden
95. Grocery shop weekly
96. Eat out less
97. Have sex more
98. Heal from Gus' birth
99. Learn from and fully connect with all the children God has given me to care for
100. Have the best marriage ever!