2010: The Beginnings of a New Decade & New Goals.

Ahhhh ... the feeling of a new year. Blow the horn, bang on the pans, and give someone a kiss. Another year has passed and it is a new day. 

For some people, New Years is almost like reaching a finish line: Finishing off the business year in the black, making it through the holidays, or simply just making it one more year.

For others, the new year is a chance to start over and start anew – the start of a new race. In any case, as we all know, a lot of new years begin with new goals. Goals  –  for those of you like myself that are new to the concept  –  are things you write down or say that you aspire to accomplish in some set amount of time. ADDITIONALLY (this is huge for the purpose of definition), they are things that you are actually going to try to attain. Thus, they must be realistic. 

That being said, for the first year ever, I'm making some true-to-definition goals. And you know I'm serious because I'm posting them on the World Wide Web. (Because we all know once you take it cyber ... you mean business.) 

Goal #1: Intentional REAL community. Yes. This sounds cliché. However, if I could see a show of hands for anyone that wants more depth out of their relationships, I would be willing to bet I'd see a lot of phalanges in the air. We all crave close community – one in which people truly know you, help you, accept you, and vice versa. We are absolutely wired for it, but yet we are afraid to tap into its power. I am daily surrounded by some of the wisest, most gifted people I know. I want to learn from them. I want to serve them. And I want to stop dabbling on the surface of real friendships. They get us nowhere. We all possess gifts beyond our wildest imaginations  –  gifts that will make demons and the devil stop dead in their tracks. I know that we can use them in true, organic community on a level unprecedented. We just have to start living in a true, organic community. Thus, my goal. 

Goal #2: Design. In my free time, I have realized how alive I feel when it comes to creativity and design.   I don't think I want to make a living out of it, but who says you have to make a living out of absolutely everything you love? What happened to enjoying life's hobbies just because it is enjoyable? I never realized how dangerously bankrupt the "American Dream" was making me in terms of creativity. The constant go-go-go lifestyle, the heavy expectations, and the burdens we place on ourselves are insane. However, with the free time God has graciously blessed me, I have realized that constant busyness, rushing, and stress leads to death ... literally. My health plummeted recently due to those very things and it was essentially a very strong sign to slow down and yield to creativity. Therefore, carving out specific time to create, design, and essentially be a hippie (kidding) is a major goal in 2010. 

Goal #3: Love & Forgiveness. The problem with Christianity today is many of the followers of Jesus do not follow Jesus. Yes, that is an oxymoron and I am 100 percent guilty in this too. The Jesus in the Bible (who by the way is completely different to the Jesus that is purported today) and the Jesus that I want to follow LOVED and FORGAVE unconditionally. That's essentially the theme of His entire life. But somehow, this truth about Him has been so sickly distorted. Today Jesus is now the picture of un-forgiveness and judgment in many people's mind. This perception could not be further from the truth. In fact, this distortion is the biggest travesty and scandal in the Universe (not kidding). 

However, there is a reason there is that perception. It is because of many of Jesus' so-called followers. I myself cannot tell you how many times I have withheld love and forgiveness from others. They deserve it just as much as I do, but yet, sometimes in my head I am unwilling to give it. Sadly enough, you see it everywhere in Christianity and the way the media purports Christians. We have become a people to the general public that is synonymous with hypocrisy and judgment  – completely opposite of Jesus. BUT, on the contrary, there are so many people  – many in my community – that are doing it right. I want to be a part of that  – truly –  and not just on Sundays or at a forced awkward Bible study. I'm done with that. In 2010, I want to be a part of the movement who shows Jesus for who He really is: The embodiment of Love and Forgiveness. 

So, that's it. I made three major goals. Obviously, there are sub-goals that go under the major goals such as limiting our high intake of refined sugar, but seriously, who wants to read that? Who even wants to read this? Who knows. But for the sake of accountability to myself, I've written them down. Which, I might add, is the first step to attaining goals.

Happy 2010 and good luck to you and all your New Year's resolutions!

An Old Chair, A New Covering Equals Inspiration

In order to keep myself sane and busy, I've decided to take up a new hobby. Now this new hobby may surprise some of you as you all may think of me as someone sans domestic skills. However, with time on my hands that I've never had before in my life and unlimited access to Food Network and the Home and Garden channel, lets just say decorating and Hobby Lobby are my new BFFs.  Now -- a disclaimer -- lest you be fooled, I am no Martha Stewart quite yet. But coming from someone whose previous decor consisted of a bulletin board and political books, I'm giving myself a gold star for effort.

My first major project was to take down our hideous chandelier of old and make a new one. So, with a phone call to my brother to come help me not electrocute myself, I decided to make a DIY chandelier that I found online. 

The result? After a few hours of laughing and frustration we proudly hung our masterpiece:

The fixture is called a bubble chandelier and I thought with some of our more traditional pieces of furniture, a modern light piece might encompass the overall industrial feel of our loft. However, the big approval came from my husband who was very skeptical and worried at first as he did not know he married such a craft-er. Needless to say, we made him a believer in my skills!

The next project was much easier. We had a wingback red chair in our bedroom which was previously only used as a place to mindlessly throw clothing. However, in looking at the old chair, we realized how much potential it would have if it were merely re-covered. So, we decided to paint the legs black and pick out a fabric to match our Anthropologie duvet cover and the rest of the room.

Here is the chair before:

 

Not the prettiest chair of all time right?

However, with a new fabric and a little paint job:

Voila! I am extremely pleased with the result and the reupholstery locale truly did a fantastic job. And as a bonus in the process, I have been introduced to a whole new world: Fabric world. It's mind blowing.

Now, you may be wondering why I am posting this. Well, I have to say I would have never have done these two projects if I would have had a job these last couple of months. I remember when I was working, going to school, and planning a wedding and I virtually did not have time to make myself a piece of toast. Now, to be quite honest, I have never been so inspired and creative in my whole life! All it took was a little spare time.

In essence, I'm discovering what spare time and a little crafting can do for one's psyche and faith. It sounds silly, but making something beautiful from something old is one of the most satisfying endeavors I have ever experienced. Makes me think of an old wise man Isaiah who once quipped it was possible for a "crown of beauty" to come from "ashes."  In this era of unemployment and lots of spare time, I have a feeling this idea is going to spill out in my life in ways more than just re-covering an old red wingback chair.

Stay tuned for more projects!*

*(If approved by the man of the house).

Will Work for Good.

Finding one’s passion is not always as easy as one would think. In fact, I have spent many hours thinking and dreaming of the “dream job” or “dream industry” for me. And let us be honest, I am all over the spectrum. From wanting to be an astronaut (true story) to wanting to open a frozen yogurt store, I’m what many would call a job-seeking disaster. But what really does “dream job” mean? If I am really honest with you, my dream job would be a life sans employment in which I still was paid ample amounts of money to just live life and do my thing. Dream on, right?

So, I’ve switched gears a little bit in my thinking. How about finding something that would allow me to truly evoke change in my immediate world? Yes, I know, our President and his spinster administration has given the term “change” a hugely negative connotation for many of us. However, what I’m saying here is what if the end all, be all worth of employment was not for measly personal satisfaction and a paycheck? What if – imagine with me here – our jobs were for the good of other people around us? What if, we saw our jobs as a way to enhance, enrich, and improve our little world as we know it?

I know what most of you are thinking: Yes, that’s a noble idea, but there is word for that kind of work: Non-profit – literal meaning: NO profit for you! Which, in some cases, is true. I worked for a non-profit for almost the last three years, and I will be the first to attest that not only is the work grueling, but the pay will provide you with enough to eat just that: GRUEL. So, I’m not saying let’s all quit our jobs and work for pennies at non-profits as I realize that is not feasible for everyone.

What I AM saying is what would happen if we changed our mentality and thought of our jobs as more than a way to improve our stature, our image, and bank account. Instead, what would it look like to use employment as a medium to literally work for good?  

Before I go on, stop and ask yourself, why do I work? I almost guarantee it is for one of the self-seeking reasons listed above. But, don’t feel bad! This is what our culture tells us our jobs are for: Money, stature, pride, worth, respect, etc.

In my current state of unemployment, one of the biggest lessons that I have learned is that no matter where you are, where you work, or the time of day, your life can be used to induce positivity (not a word, but it’s cool to make up words now). In consequence, when you see your world around you changing in an encouraging way, I truly believe you will start to enjoy your job in a whole new way.

In some of my previous rants, I’ve posed the question whether or not we are supposed to be miserable in our jobs and if jobs are inherently the embodiment of misery. I’ve concluded no on both accounts. Rather, we should be enjoying our work. However, the more I think and pray on this matter, I’ve realized that misery is a choice. On the surface, it may be true that our jobs are in fact awful and mundane. Who really wants to work and eat in a grey, stale cubicle? However, misery is not the product of our work, but our decision to be miserable. 

Our jobs may be mundane, the tasks may seem trivial, and spreadsheets and phone calls may seem like the devil personified. But, if we changed our thought pattern to reflect the “work for good” mantra wherever we are at in our professions, I believe our lives and jobs will change drastically for the better. And not only that, I think our small little world around us and those we know would shift for the better as well. Then -- in full circle here -- maybe we would enjoy our jobs and love what we do more than we ever have before. 

All of this from the ever-changing desk of the unemployed. Cheers!