The Art Of Balance

Somewhere between a nine and twelve hour work day (which doesn't include travel time), tending to your family, keeping your house in order, and church, it's hard to get a fraction of time to yourself. Let's be honest, I'm just scratching the surface of a few activities that are on your agenda.

The days of taking a nice hot bath, getting a pedicure, or finishing a book that you started reading two years ago seems to be out of the picture. At some point, we stamped an "S" across our chest and considered ourselves Superwoman. We convinced ourselves that we could strap the world on our shoulders and  carry it. But let's be honest, that "S" now stands for "Stressed".

Confession #2 - I Am...Forgiven

We hear it all the time "seventy times seven in one day". Usually when we hear it, a close friend or a church member is reminding us to stay calm and not lose our cool. However, they weren't the one that was just disrespected in an office meeting, lied on and defamed, cheated on by their significant other, or received the backlash for an event they took no part in. We talk about this area of forgiveness all the time. What about you forgiving yourself? Is it easier for you to forgive someone else before forgiving your own shortcomings?

I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I've felt undeserving of certain things in life because of mistakes made in my past. These thoughts plagued my mind, "I can't possibly have this piece of happiness. I still deserve to be punished. Yes, I asked God for forgiveness, but I think I haven't suffered enough." Sound familiar? I'm willing to believe you've done it once or twice. Maybe you're still doing it now.

At times we judge ourselves too harshly. Or maybe we think of ourselves too highly and our mistakes humble us. Have you ever watched a news story about a crime committed and wondered, "How could someone EVER bring themselves to do something like that?" Perhaps you find yourself in the midst of gossip as someone recants the story of one of your fellow church member's shortcomings. Let's not pretend that it doesn't happen. Admittedly, we can become so detached that we believe we are above certain sins and shortcomings. When we do fall, it resonates a sense guilty because we knew better. We thought we were past this struggle in our lives. You've asked God to forgive you, but you still haven't forgiven yourself. Why?

I Am....Committed?

Confession #2 - I Am...Committed

My heart begins to beat fast. Beads of sweat form above my brow. I twist my hands with nervousness because the word "commitment" is huge to me.

I've been told all my life that I'm indecisive. Do you need examples? Well, I was hesitant about getting a No Chip Manicure because I can't usually commit to a nail polish color for more than three days? Is that too minor? Here's another example. It took me 12 years to join the church I've attended faithfully every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. When I finally decided to attend our new members class, I was asked why now when I'd already been there so long. They said, "People think of you as a member already."

Truthfully, I felt that it was important for me to take the class. Yes, people already considered me a member but I wasn't. I'd volunteered a few times and it's where I paid my tithe and offering. It's where I called home. But the truth was, I was just a faithful attender and not a member. It's almost like dating someone for 12 years and someone says,  "Why get married now? You've been together all of this time. People consider you guys to be married already." There is a difference between attending and being willing to make the time and vow to be officially committed.

I Am...Eve. Confession #1

I am writing this blog out of pure obedience. For the next 30 days, I've been challenged to write about various topics. The topics include: pain, strength, peace, forgiveness, etc. Oddly, they are all things that affect me on a daily basis.

The Eve Diaries - I chose a name that didn't just personally identify me, but every woman. We all stem from Adam and Eve. We've all fallen short. We've all endured pain. We've all found strength and through it we gained peace. And somewhere down the line we learned to not only forgive others, but also ourselves.

I'm not an expert in anything really. I'm excellent at falling down, falling short, and getting back up again. Here I'll be 100% honest and try my best to refrain from hitting the backspace button in efforts censor myself. There were no backspace buttons for mistakes in life.

And here it is Confession #1: Highlight Reel