I just finished reading a blog by a girl (named Sarah) who lives in Amsterdam. She has been blogging since August about her weightloss journey and she is an excellent writer! She’s full of wit and humor and she captures her thoughts with such clever phrases. Anyway, I’m facinated with Europe and learning about other people’s lives and weightloss stories, so her blog was right up my alley!

There is so much power in our individual stories. So often we are embarassed or ashamed to share our experiences, when we should be open and vulnerable so that others can learn from them. If we struggle or even stumble but get back up and dust ourselves off while holding onto a positive attitude, it shows courage and gives hope to others who may also be struggling or stumbling.

So often we live with what Donald Miller refers to as a “lifeboat mentality”. You know that old story about if a lawyer, a pregnant woman, a child and an old man were all in the boat and you could only save one who would it be? Basically it forces us to rank people’s importance. We go through our lives with this “lifeboat mentality” thinking that so-and-so is more important than I am because he or she has this thing or has accomplished that thing or knows that person. We rank ourselves compared to each of our friends and maybe even our enemies. We are always trying to figure out who is better or more important or more successful, or more popular, etc.

We need to stop and realize that no matter who we are, we are all on a level playing field. Bill Gates has stinky poop just like we do! Billy Graham makes mistakes just like we do! Oprah Winfrey has bad days! Rachel Ray burns things!

Let’s start being open about where we come from, where we really are and where we want to go.

i know i haven’t posted in forever! i’m thinking of something good to write about. stay tuned!

On Sunday afternoon after raking leaves around our church’s neighborhood, Andy and I settled in to watch a movie. He suggested that we watch Anne of Green Gables. Andy bought me this movie (my ALL TIME FAVORITE movie) for Christmas a couple years ago. He even agreed to watch it with me during the holiday break! What a guy! Well, on Sunday he suggested we watch it again since it has been so long. We watched the first 4 hour half on Sunday and then last night we watched the second half. I always come away from that movie so inspired.

Anne is such an amazing character. Her background is tragic, yet she finds herself taken in by an initially apprehensive but eventually unconditionally loving elderly brother and sister. Because of her temper, Anne gets into all kinds of predicaments when she is young, but she grows into a lovely and inviting woman full of love and grace. She is able to face all the toughest, most prickly people along the way and somehow draw out the goodness that exists within their abbrasive exteriors. Anne is very dramatic, fun-loving, serious, smart, caring, compassionate, brave, determined, kind, selfless, humble and persistant. She has a way of interacting with people that breaks down all their walls and captivates them. I really can’t seem to come up with enough words to really capture the kind of person she is.

When the movie ended I mentioned to Andy that I want to be more like Anne. I want to be more concerned about others than myself. I want to love people right where they’re at and find the good inside of them no matter how buried it may be. I want to be caring and serve others while maintaining a sense of strength. I want to always do my best and face challenges with an optimistic attitude. I want people to go away from spending time with me and be better and happier than they used to be. Andy reminded me that the things I love about Anne are the things I love about Jesus. I mustn’t forget that He is not only God, but that He was a man who influenced the world more than any other. He embodies all the things I love about Anne of Green Gables. As I draw near to Him, I will be more like Him and see some of those things I hope for become a reality in my life.