Have you ever felt discouraged at your lack of skill with a new... skill?
Maybe you're interested in playing an instrument or learning a new language, but you feel like it's too daunting a task because you'd be starting from scratch. We all know intellectually that it's okay to be bad at something when we start. Taking it a step further, if it's just a hobby, you don't need to be good at it. It should just be fun. But say you're interested in building a skill, but you feel bad that your skill isn't very good. Take my progress in art as an encouragement.
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Have you ever considered giving God your worst?
If you're like many people, you might have recoiled in horror as you read that. (Personally, when I first heard that, I had a reaction more akin to curiously tilting my head to the side.) Giving God your worst? But he loves us unconditionally, sacrificially. He has given us the greatest gift imaginable. Why would anyone suggest giving God their worst? Yet Dinah Monahan's free video-based Bible study is all about that—and it's one of the best Bible study series I've ever seen. Last week, I guest posted over on CoCo's Chitchat! Here's a peek at the article:
In a Facebook comments section, a nonbeliever took the phrase, “Jesus died to save us from our sin,” and pointed out that if Jesus knew He would rise again on the third day, then He really only gave up His weekend to save us from our sin. On the surface, it seems like a good point. Jesus did tell His disciples that He would rise again—multiple times, too. Add in all the Old Testament prophecies about Him dying and rising again, and it’s obvious that Jesus knew what would happen. You might start to feel an inkling of doubt that Jesus really gave up so much. This week, Jack Marris and I swapped blogs! Check out my post, Why Your Job is Worth It, and check out her other blog posts while you're there.
I'm excited for this post, because this is a subject that I wholeheartedly agree with, as I too could be considered a bit of a meat head when it comes to self care. Anyway, here it is! There's nothing better than a good military quote to get you going. Often short and blunt; I could spend hours looking at long, loving, poetic quotes and not find one that comes close to it. My favorite will forever be “Keep it simple stupid” (this can be quickly and easily shortened to its acronym KISS for a convenient reminder.) I have often had to tell myself this, day in and day out when I let things get too complicated. Yes, military sayings are gems, but there is one that I lived off of almost as much as KISS, that I am weary of now. “All I need is Caffeine and Hate.” Recently, the horrific realities of human trafficking have been discussed more prevalently on social media. It’s amazing to see this coming to light, and I love that people want to do something about it! But it can be hard to figure out what to do. Human trafficking is such a huge issue. Between 2012 and 2016, there were over 24,000 identified cases of sex trafficking in the United States (source 1). That doesn’t even include the cases in the rest of the world, labor trafficking, or sex trafficking that wasn’t caught. With thousands upon thousands of victims, how can we possibly make a dent? I had a class to teach in just a few hours, and I had no idea how I was going to go about it. It’s not that I didn’t know the material—I know it quite well. I was going to teach some Civil Air Patrol cadets about propaganda and how leaders can recognize it. I had known that the class was coming up, but somehow didn’t end up making a lesson plan until the day of the class. The computer screen and I had a staring contest for a while. Having virtual meetings makes it harder to keep peoples’ attention, and everyone uses Kahoot quizzes. I’ve done so myself. They’re great, but I wanted something different. I searched up various resources and tried in vain to remember how I learned it in the hopes that I could transfer that method to the cadets. But no matter how much effort I put into it, I couldn’t seem to find an interesting way to teach it. Despite my tight deadline, I did the only thing I could think of: I stopped working on it. Two days ago, the ambulance bumped along the road. Outside the windows, it was dark. Inside, I sat on the bench seat near the frail lady on the stretcher.
Besides my usual gloves, I also wore an N-95 mask and gown. The lady had COVID-19. We were taking her from the hospital to hospice where she would spend her last days in isolation, with only minimal contact with anyone because of the disease. It’s easy to talk about what’s going wrong.
If you scroll through social media, a good half of the posts are about COVID-19 or the stay-at-home order. People talk about isolation, loneliness, and fear. They discuss the political, medical, financial, and social issues which have sprung up. Other people try to see the bright side. They talk about the joy they’ve found from being at home with their families, or the new hobbies they’ve picked up, or the amazing progress they’ve made in projects. Some talk about how relieved they are to have some downtime and others talk about how thankful they are to be able to continue working. And some talk about the incredible ways people have banded together to help others, even from a distance. We’re inclined to be happy that people are seeing the bright side. We say that they’re spreading joy and hope, and we commend them for staying positive instead of focusing on the negative. And certainly, this is a good thing. But that’s not the ultimate joy. I’m not nervous about COVID-19. Whatever happens, God is still in control.
That said, I’m absolutely a huge advocate of taking quick, determined action. My area has had over four hundred confirmed cases and several fatalities, and that number is rapidly growing. Even so, it’s been quiet for me so far. Other than one day a week at my ambulance shifts, I’ve been home for the past three and a half weeks. It’s given me a good chance to do some cyber people-watching. One interesting theme is discussions Christians are having about what the church should be doing during this time. After all, we’re supposed to help the needy, meet together, and reach out to the world with the love of Christ. But how can we do that if we’re stuck at home? |
About meHi, I'm Rachel. I write adventure stories, but I can't let my characters have all the adventures. Archives
April 2021
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