Perspectives like this come straight from our fallen world. The world gladly paints humble people as pushovers but in the same breath, so-called “research” says humility is necessary for success. Just look at this quote from the Huffington Post, “Studies have associated humility with healthy adjustment, good leadership and other positive emotions -- demonstrating that in order to reach total success, we could stand to benefit from getting in touch with our modest side.” Total success?!

How do you respond to invitations? Sometimes receiving an invitation can be less than joy-filled. We often turn them down by silently not attending or not even acknowledging them. Why do some of us take up a guarded position, assuming that the person inviting us only wants to summon us, sell us something, or even yet, bless us for no darn good reason?

It is impossible to talk about humility without first talking about its arch enemy – Pride. A few months ago, I felt a deep unveiling of the depth of my pride, not only in my conversations and thoughts, but in my parenting, friendships (or lack thereof), mental comparisons and glances. I told my husband one evening that I felt like I should write PRIDE in all capital letters across my mirror so every morning when I looked at my reflection I could be reminded of the depth of my sin. Thankfully, our God of grace is much gentler….

C.S. Lewis said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” There is not a more powerful, beautiful portrait of displaying humility than Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. Reading John 13, I was captivated by the humbleness of Jesus.

Death.  No one likes it.  No one wants to talk about it.  It makes me squirm on the inside and shift in my seat on the outside.  It is an event that is filled with raw emotion and is something that scars each of us at some point in our lives.

As we read this story we discover that Mary and Martha joined together to send a message to Jesus about their brother’s illness. Mary’s heart held onto hope that Jesus would return to her city to heal her brother. She’d seen him heal hundreds of people if not thousands. Strangers in fact! She knew Jesus loved Lazarus, surely he would come quickly.

On multiple occasions throughout Disney’s Aladdin, Aladdin looks at Jasmine with his big, brown eyes, holds out his hand, pauses, and asks her, “Do you trust me?” Each time, Jasmine has a choice to make. She gives him her hand, says, “Yes,” and joins him (whether that be jumping off a building or onto a magic carpet).

Endgame. My kids had been following the new Marvel movies for years – like my husband and I followed the Star Wars saga from our youth. In fact, several of the movies came out when my kids were little, so we rented and searched them on Netflix until they were all caught up on all 21 movies. Then for the past year, they waited with anticipation for the final installment, Endgame, was released in the theaters.

I remember looking in the mirror in the bathroom when I was a little girl, and having that thought pop into my head, “Why am I the way I am?” I still have that thought pop into my head, and I do not like the internal feeling of struggle and emotion that question brings up. 

You know that super talkative friend you have? We all have at least one. Let’s say they’ve just returned from a great vacation. When you see them after they get back, you know there is no such thing as “the five-minute version”—you’re getting the whole story, beginning to end. You might roll your eyes (internally of course) but when we get to explaining a year later why we went to the same destination ourselves, it’s not just because we read about it in a magazine or saw a couple of gorgeous pictures on Instagram.

When people ask me who had the most influence over me in regard to developing my relationship with God, the first person that comes to mind is my maternal grandmother. My grams had a tremendous impact on my faith and relationship with God. As a child, I remember spending countless weekends at her house learning the story of Jesus and what it means to have eternal life.

The man did not instantly know everything about Jesus after his encounter with Him, but he did have a testimony: “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” (see John 9:25).

All of the good things that I had said yes to had become a heavy weight that I happily self sacrificed and endured to carry for the good of my Savior.  It was the cross I daily chose to pick up and carry.  There was not one thing on my list that was not good, and everything on my list I completed out of an abundance of love for Christ. 

I recently saw Michael Bublé in concert, and he opened the show with the classic song, “Feeling Good,” which crescendos with the declaration, “Oh, freedom is mine!/ And I know how I feel/ It’s a new dawn/ It’s a new day/ It’s a new life for me/ And I’m feeling good.”

As the minimalist craze sweeps across our nation, I find myself getting caught in the hype. I am actively decluttering and throwing out things that no longer bring me joy. One of the items I unearthed during this phase was an old prayer journal. As I sat and poured over its contents, I was transported back in time to 2014. Though this was merely 5 years ago, it seemed an eternity had passed since I experienced the heartache and uncertainty that occurred through most of that year.

Anyone who knows me well, knows that my favorite movie of all time is Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  It was my favorite movie before it was cool.  There is quote, towards the end of the movie, that resonated with me, and still does every time I watch it:

Some of my favorite lyrics come from the song “Weary” by Amel Larrieux. Larrieux soulfully sings, “This woman is growing weary of having to be so strong. Of having to pretend I'm made of stone, so I don't end up with no broken bones. I can't fight every battle alone.” Have you ever had a moment in which you could relate to these lyrics? My moment came at the age of 17.

Few things leave me more surprised than meeting people who still have joy in the midst of tragedy. Tragedy struck my home in an unsuspected way a few months ago. I gave birth to what I thought was a perfectly healthy baby in March 2018. Four months later I found myself holding that same baby who had a collapsed lung due to his intestines being in the wrong part of his body (google late onset congenital diaphragmatic hernia). This biological error had caused my small baby to struggle to breath off and on since his birth.

It’s tempting to think of Jesus as the long-haired, sandal-wearing hippie walking around saying, “peace and love, man.” But then when we really read the book of John, we see an entirely different man emerge who, of course, was about peace and love but was also radically committed to saving the world.