Love Is For The People That Don't Text First

I was on Pinterest the other day (as all productive stories start), and I saw one of those inspirational quotes that said something along the lines of "Only invest in people that invest in you" or something like that. 

You know the kind... the ones that say only make time for those that make time for you. Or don't waste your time on people who don't give you a second glance. They are motivational and powerful and really get your blood circulating and spirit of independence rising. 

But reading those types of quotes don't really give me a good sense of peace. 

There's actually this feeling that reminds me of how I'm supposed to live exactly opposite of how the world says I should live. That I serve a Jesus that calls me to a higher standard than this. 

My former campus pastor Ali Buras once had a conversation with us during leaders' lifegroup that I'll never forget. It centered around our struggle to love difficult people and how choosing to really truly love the people in our lives is hard and painful and ugh, why are we even doing this and isn't there an easier way? And I remember her asking what if we were so committed to loving people that we were willing to risk getting hurt? That our hearts would be willing to break carrying the burdens of people we love? Wouldn't it be worth it to connect them to Jesus? Maybe love when it is done well involves some pain because it involves sacrifice. It is the laying down of our pride and comfort zones. I think this is the type of love Jesus was talking about when He said, "Greater love has no man than this: that he lay down his life for his friends." This is the type of love that Jesus is. 

And I don't think this is the type of love that only chases after people that always reciprocate or show interest in you first. Love is not selfish and can't be reserved only for those that can give something back.

A Day In The Life

Hi friends!

What I'm picking up on is that y'all love the posts about Disney, and I've gotten a lot of questions about what it's like to be a professional intern... so here's a post sharing what my experience has been like so far!

Trust Is Slow And Steady

Okay my friends.

So I made a post on Instagram recently with just a little blurb I felt like God spoke into my life that week. The main thing that had been running through my mind was that God knows my future, and He's not afraid. 

And as soon as I posted it, I felt so instantly that God was like, yo... let's unpack that a little more my friend. Not so urgently that I needed to delete the post, but on the soon-ish side. Usually I make notes in my phone when I get words from God swirling around in my head that I need to write down before I forget; but this time I was driving, so I literally made a voice recording to cringe to while I wrote this post.

But anyways, this phrase, "God knows my future, and He's not afraid" was spoken into my heart during church one Sunday. It's not that I was feeling particularly anxious at the time, but I knew I had been given these words for a reason.

So after I shared a short paragraph on Instagram surrounding this phrase, I knew there was more I needed to talk about here. Like why did that simple phrase make me feel so peaceful and secure? Like of course a perfect, all-knowing God is unafraid of the future... great, how is that supposed to matter to me? Usually just because someone else isn't worried about what might happen to me doesn't make me any less afraid. How and why does this phrase make a difference in my life?

The Most Distracting Place On Earth

Something I have noticed over the last few years is that I have an unfortunate habit of getting really distracted anytime I move to Disney.

Some would say could you blame me and some would say I should be used to it by now; but I'm pretty sure that even if I didn't spend every minute of every day of every week on Disney property, life would still find a way to be a distraction from the things that truly matter.

We always think of consumers as those investing in some sort of material substance, but I would say I'm a consumer of experiences. A collector of moments if you will. I like stuff, but I like moments even better. The ones where I can close my eyes and think about what a sweet and beautiful life this is. For me that looks like the perfect sunset over Magic Kingdom or screaming Disney Mania songs before Fantasmic or my eyeballs filling with tears as the audience gasps in audible awe and wonder of the fireworks show. Obviously, I am easily amazed and dazzled by beautiful things. I'm so guilty of thinking, wow this is what makes life worth living. These moments are collected in my heart every chance I get. There's serious "fear of missing out," and I get caught in the mindset that I have to do it all. And I think that's where I get addicted.

These moments are really beautiful, magical things, but sometimes I find myself chasing them down more than I chase Jesus.