Monday, January 24, 2011

Day 8: Embrace.

Hey there everyone!

I must share something quite exciting. Are you ready? Well, you see, I discovered how to view how many people visit my blog per day, per week, and so on. Here is my great news: I'm one away from 300 views! Most of them come from the US, but it was exciting to see that there are groups of people from places like Russia, Australia, and Indonesia reading my blog. So thank you to everyone around the world sharing in my little blogging world!
Haha, wow, I kinda feel like I need to write something amazing! Nah, I'm just going to write like I always do (:

So, now that I am starting a new week, I thought that I would just continue to be faithful to the Idea Generator. ( I love you button!) So, it seems like this would be the appropriate time to push that wonderful button....

Something comfortable is...

Hugs. Oh, how I love hugs! Mmm, the warm embrace of a wonderful friend, a cheery family member, or someone you haven't had the delight of seeing in too long. I actually prefer the word embrace over hug. When my mom embraces me, it may be a few seconds of my day, but in that moment I feel so loved. There is something so powerful in a simple hug. Without words, you can show someone you care about them by wrapping your arms around them briefly and then sealing it all with a smile. Its comfortable to be welcomed with a hug when you see someone you care about. There have actually been a few times in my lie that I have met someone for the first time, and they quickly gave me a little hug. That to me says ' I'm so happy to meet you that I don't want to just shake your hand like a stiff mannequin!'.
  Don't get me wrong though. I don't just go around hugging strangers and embracing old people in the streets. No, no, that is not something I personally enjoy doing. If you are that way, then God bless you dear. Really though, I truly find comfort in more than smiles and words. Do you remember when you were little? If you had the wonderful chance to have a dad or mom in your childhood, and I hope you did, do you remember bear hugs? I loved when my sister and I would be building barbie cities on our bedroom floor and we would hear the door open. That usually meant that daddy was home! We would drop whatever we were doing. Poor barbie would have to go half dressed till we got back. We would run as fast as our wee little legs would carry us and we would leap up into my dads arms and receive our awaited bear hug! We would warmly be embraced by our daddy.
  This reminds me of the sweet, beautiful embrace I have experienced from my Father. The nights when I was all alone, and regrets, mistakes, pain, confusion and heart ache would overwhelm me past the point of words to pray, I would just weep. And in those very hard moments in my life, I remember the embrace of my true Daddy. I knew I was going to be alright, because in that moment all that mattered was that I had a Dad who was watching over me and warmly holding me in His arms. What could be more comfortable than a warm embrace?

His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me."

Song of Solomon 2:6 KJV

    Now Israel's eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them."

Genesis 48:10 NIV

        Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced  him, weeping." 
Genesis 45:14 NIV

Today, I challenge you to embrace someone. Maybe you aren't used to this, or perhaps you don't exactly like hugging and whatnot? Well, I think you should just try it. Go find someone you love, and while you embrace them, be thankful for them. Be thankful that they are in your life. Take in the warmth and let it remind you just how much you care for them. And do it more often. Like I said, there isn't anything quite like a hug to say 'Hey, I really care about you and I'm so happy to know you'. And if for some reason you can't do that at this very moment- Don't forget! You should really do it. I think we could all use a hug now and then from each other. Even more, I strongly believe we all need to take time to be hugged by our Father. Remember His love for you.

                      Let's be embraced.


Sunday, January 23, 2011

Day 7: Persistence.

Oh my goodness! I made it to my final day of my week-long-posting challenge. I get an A! I'm actually pretty happy about the fact that I have been blogging daily for a whole week. Yea, yea, I know its not that long, but hey, I'm pretty darn proud of myself. But what is even more exciting, is the fact that now I have finished this challenge, I am going to see if I can not only get through one whole week- but now I'm going to try two! So lets see if I can do two whole weeks in a row?

What shall the grand button have in store for me today? I guess we'll find out soon, huh? Wee!

Children are...

Inspiring. They truly are. Wow, actually, today is a great day to be asked that question. You see, I was able to spend a wonderful day with a group of friends. Time well spent I must say. Anyways, my good friend Rachel had a little sister who wanted to hang around with the 'older girls'. She would show off all sorts of things she had. She would prance around in her back pack while she held tightly and quite proudly onto her stuffed cat. She would come up the stairs quite loudly and barge into Rachel's room where we were all hanging, and she would say something barely understandable, for she is pretty young, and then she would end her sentence with a loud exclamation point rolling out her little mouth. And then, as if her whole world was crashing down around her, she would mope out the door when Rachel would tell her to leave us alone. Yea, I have to admit, the little rascal was being kinda funny, but part of me felt bad for her. I remember growing up and always having 'older friends'. I used to think I was so cool when I would hang out with certain people. But sadly, whenever my little sister was around I would honestly treat her so incredibly mean. I wouldn't let her 'hang out' with the big girls. Okay, so I was like 8, but in my silly little mind, I was pretty awesome when I had my cool friends with me. But I remember later on in life, when my mom got remarried and I gained a new big sister, the roles switched. She wasn't around much since she didn't live with us, but her and her friends, cousin or boyfriend would be going to do something and even though she was so very nice about it, I was so hurt and sad that I couldn't go with them. I would try to figure out why i wasn't good enough to hang out with her and the cool kids. This caused me to look at how I treated my sister. Ha, even though my parents had tried to teach this to me uncountable times, it took the experience to finally see it. So, back to the present day, when I was watching the way Rachel's sister was acting, a sudden spark of inspiration fizzed inside of me. You see, the little girl would get rejected in front of us all, and not even 5 minutes later she was at it again. Some may just see this as annoying, but I saw it a little differently. She didn't care that all of us laughed and giggled to ourselves when she would say something incomprehensible. She didn't give up and put herself down when Rachel literally pushed her out of the room. Granted, later in the day she got pretty mad and threw a little fit, but barely 10 minutes went by and she continued to ask us if she could hang out with us.
  This for whatever reason really inspired me to look at how I handle those kinds of situations in my own life. When I really want something, when I just want to accomplish something, do I easily give up? If I was to try to fit in amongst a group of lets say, very intellectual, very good looking people, and then I got ridiculed and made fun of, would I actually try to go back? No, I would beat myself up over it and try to stay clear of them because I was embarrassed. I think this kind of thing applies to many areas in our lives. I mean, I'll speak for myself. But really, if I try really hard at something only to get made fun of, or even corrected, I sometimes get embarrassed and then I quit. When I'm trying so hard to do something right in my life, or to fix something and then I fail, I just beat myself over the head with it. Some major honesty here: sometimes I feel like I'm really making progress by getting close in my relationship with God, and then a month later I'm right back where I started, or so it seems. And then instead of pressing forward and continuing to pursue God, I get discouraged and I feel like a failure.
  I want to be like the little girl I saw today. No, I don't mean that I'm going to interrupt groups of people randomly while I squeeze the fluff out of an animal and mutter an unknown language. But when I come against a challenge, a task, a relationship, or whatever it may be, I want to be humble. I don't want to feel so ashamed, so embarrassed and like such a failure that I cant set aside my pride and get back up those stairs and barge into that room full of girls. I want to set my hearts desires and goals on the things that God has for me and I want to pursue those things to the point where nothing can hold me back. I want to be at the point where no matter what I go through, what I come against, how ridiculed i feel by the world around me, I can get back up and keep charging forward. I want to be like that child who without knowing it, truly inspired me today.

I guess you can probably guess what I am going to challenge you to do. But read on if you are still curious. Taylor is challenging you to get back up. When you are faced with things that may hurt you, that may make you feel stupid and crazy, or even like a loser, push those things aside and set your eyes on whats at the top of those stairs. Look to the Father who created you for a purpose, who will stand by your side and strengthen you in your time of need when you are persistently pursuing His plan for your life. Humble yourself and lay down the pride so many of us are diseased with. The world may mock you and make you feel as though your dreams aren't worth it. But just as a child can easily get back up, we should do the same. Go ahead! Hold on tightly to God as she did her stuffed cat, equip yourself with a backpack of encouragement and protection, and barge right back in there and pursue your dreams.

                                                                  Persistence.

Day 6: Honesty.

Greetings (:

Well here I am again at the very end of my day finally blogging, Golly, what a horrible blogger Taylor is. Anyways, I have to say: Today has been such a wonderful day! I Slept in till 12 ( i never do that I might add) and then I had a wonderful breakfast consisting of oatmeal, raisins and peanut butter, and the sun was shining, i got to go to food 4 less, and then I was able to spend some amazingly wonderful quality time with my darling friend Ali! Yes, what a grand day it has been.

So now the day is slowly fading, as well as my awareness, which means I get to spend my last few thoughts here to share with you! I do hope you enjoy these thoughts of mine. So, i guess this is the part where I push the button huh? Okay! I will do that right now!

What are you welcoming into your life?

Honesty. For a very, very long time I have worn a mask. Not literally of course, but I tend to hide the real side of Taylor. Not that I'm a crazed, phsyco maniac who eats small dogs for dinner. But the side of me that's real, the side that actually deals with things. Ive always been one to plaster a smile on my face before I walk out the door, no matter how hard things may be. I have never wanted anyone feeling sorry or sympathetic towards me. Ive always had the mentality of "I can fix this on my own, I don't want you to feel like you have to help me". But what I have recently been welcoming into my life is honesty. Yes, it was quite the struggle during my first attempt at opening up to someone. But, here today i can honestly say that it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Really letting someone see who you are brings an amazing sense of freedom. When you actually vocalize the things you've built inside yourself, you learn so much about what really makes you, you.
  When I say I have welcomed honesty, its not that I'm some sort of habitual liar. What i mean is I'm finally being honest with myself. I'm finally looking into my life and seeing the things I need guidance and accountability in and above everything else I'm allowing God to truly come into my life and work inside of me. Yea, I know we all deal with things in each of our lives. But I'm finally realizing that it is truly impossible to do things on your own. I cant fix my life. Only God can. And He does that through other people when you allow others to take a look inside your life and help you. I'm not saying you need to go sit down in a sofa and pour your problems out to a psychiatrist. But really, finding someone you trust will be a Godly leader in your life, someone who will keep you accountable and pray for you, is really an amazing thing. Just saying " hey, I'm struggling in this area, can you help or pray for me?"...... is really wonderful, and really healing. And take it from someone who has spent her life just wanting to keep things locked inside her carefully constructed walls.
      So, my not so simple answer to you my dear idea generator is: I'm welcoming honesty into my life that causes me to allow others, as well as myself, to look inside of who I really am.

Well, now that I've kinda blabbed, here is my challenge to you my dear reader:
Be honest with yourself. Look at the things that are hard for you right now and then let someone in. Ask God to help you and to bring someone into your life who can be there for you and pray with you and for you. What is something that, when it gets brought up or you're reminded of it, you tend to push down inside of you and avoid looking at? How about we all get out that old rusty shovel we tried to throw away, and start digging up some things we buried. How about we take those things and set them out in the open. You cant bury your problems. You will always find that, even though they've been hidden under the surface, they are still rotting away in the dirt, and eventually the stench is going to be noticed..... so let's get honest.

Honesty.



Saturday, January 22, 2011

Day 5: Dangit.

Ahhh hello there!

I just about ruined my entire challenge to myself. Yay me. But here is my fifth post, even though its technically the 6th day now.
Im gunna push the button!

"The thing that I regret most about my life is..."

Right now. Haha just kidding. Actually at this very moment i regret forgetting all about my little blog and only thinking about myself. How selfish! I mean, whats more important than this? Honestly though, it is 1:23 ( cool!) am and i should probably go to sleep now. But hey, I posted didn't I?

Challenge:
If you are seriously reading this at 1:23am, my challenge to you is: Go to bed.

Sweet dreams (:


Regret.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Day 4: Warmth.

Good evening! Or morning, or afternoon, or deep in the night if that is the time you are reading this...

I just finished up yet another math assignment- whoopee! I gotta tell you, I have been working on piles of math the last few weeks. I mean, I'm seeing numbers in my dreams, and inequalities and functions are oozing out my ears! Not literally, but I have been doing quite the load of math homework. Honestly, I forgot I had other subjects. Yes, it was that bad.
Anyways! In the midst of such an exciting day of homework, I remembered this little world I call my blog. And yes, I shall post my fourth post in a row! Good job Tay. Thank you (:

One, two three!

The weather today makes me feel...

Galvanized! Oh my goodness, the sun was finally out so that I could feel actual warmth on my skin. The sky was such a beautiful, crisp winter blue and the fog that has been plaguing us generously rolled to the side so we could all have a peek at some happy weather. Oh my! It made me feel a little happier to walk to the mailbox ( all the way... across the street. Haha). It made me feel so excited for spring time! I am so truly thrilled for spring to arrive. The new little lives being born, the green resting places for morning dew, the smell of fresh rain. Hahhh, the weather made me very happy I must say.

Challenge? Hmm, my challenge to you today, is to go make yourself something you enjoy. Make a hot cup of tea, a peanut butter and honey sandwich, or how about you pull out that half-full tub of ice cream you would normally feel guilty about eating. Maybe you aren't hungry, or thirsty? Well then go do something peaceful you enjoy. Go read a good book, one that makes you day dream. Go take a soft walk if its pretty outside. Just do something that makes your heart sing. Do something that doesn't require too much energy. Just be happy and enjoy the life that God has given you! Meditate on all the things you are thankful for. Even the person who's life seems to be absolutely terrible has something to be thankful for. Let the joy of life warm you as the sunshine did to my skin and be happy.

Mmm, thank you Lord for the sunshine....


Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Day 3: Rest.

Hello dear friends!

I almost- almost- didn't post something today. You see, I was quite busy on this beautiful winter day with a close friend ( love you Kayla!) and then I spent half the day at the church. I just got home not too long ago, and as I began to wash my face and then brush my teeth, it dawned on me.

I need to post something. I challenged myself, and I shall succeed!

What do you desire?

How ironic. The night that I just about fail my own challenge because I've been so busy, and this amazing blog-idea-generator asks me what I desire. Well, to be 100% honest, at this very moment in time, I have nothing of great excitement to share with you. So sad, I know. So, here is the answer to that question:

I desire Sleep.

Well, there ya have it folks! The button must have known that I was tired and kinda didn't want to spend too much time writing a blog post. But, perhaps the button was offended? Maybe some evil plan, or shall I say desire, to ruin my entire life was cooking inside the button's heart. It knew that I would have nothing of importance to write on a question like that, and pretty soon all 9 followers will un-follow me and then Ill be all alone, end up hopeless and irritated.... and just like that Ill be an obese cab driver in southwest Chicago. 

Thanks a lot you dumb button.

Hmmm, must I really give you a challenge? I probably should, huh? Well, here you go: My heartfelt challenge to you today, is to give yourself some rest. Life can become busy, overwhelming, too exciting, or just plain stressful, and each and every one of us needs rest. Did you know that God rested? In fact, he created rest. Don't get so caught up in life that you can't just sit down and enjoy some fresh air. If you don't have some fresh air available to you, go stick your face in the freezer- it always makes me feel fresh.  

I'm going to bed.

Rest.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Day 2: Purpose.

Tada!

I made it to my official second day of my challenge. Thankyou, thankyou! And no, you can't have an autograph. ( I'm not sorry)
Well, I say we just take a grand leap into this today! I'm gunna push the button now........

What remains constant in your life?

Purpose. From the moment I breathed my first fresh breath, the very first time I soaked in the light of the day, I have always had purpose.
  Yea, to be honest there were times- many times- when I didn't see the value and purpose my life consisted of. There are things that we go through that are blinding, hindering us from seeing who we are, and who we are meant to be. When our hearts are damaged, we tend to focus on the pain. A lot of times we feel so victimized, or even worse, we can feel like we are the one who caused unrepairable damage. And these kinds of things effect the way we see ourselves. But no matter how hard your life may be, how worthless and hopeless you feel, God has always and will always have a purpose for your life. If you have no purpose, then why are you still here? Amazingly, even when we don't see the purpose God has for us, we are actually fulfilling that purpose by just being who we are. And even more amazing, just when you think you've figured out everything God has for you, you discover just how much more He has created you for.
  From the moment you were born, till the day you die, the purpose in your life remains constant.

Ah-ha! Taylor has another challenge for whoever you may be. All I ask of you is to look around inside your life. Go ahead! On your eyes. Look back at the things you've accomplished, big or small. Look at the impact you may have made on someone. Look at your relationship with God... your creator, if you even have a relationship with Him, and begin to see purpose. You may be 10 years old, and the only thing you feel like you've accomplished is the habit of brushing your teeth in the morning. Good for you! It's a good habit to get into. Perhaps you're a single mom.... but that's just it, you are a mom. You've already been entrusted with an amazing purpose to raise a human life. You may be thinking " Yea, right, there is no purpose for my life, and if there is, it's been sucked away by the vacuum of life." But I have news for you....
 Whoever you are, where ever you are, and no matter how many times you've brushed your teeth today, you have a purpose. Whether you can see it or not.



                                                                          Purpose.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Day 1: Butter.

Well hello there! How have you all been? All 8 of you so far (:


Oh my, here I am again getting ready to apologize for not posting anything in so long. But guess what? I am not going to apologize! In fact, I'm just going to say this:

" I'm back! And I'm going to write a new post, because I want to."

The the other day Christina and I decided that we would owe each other 25 cents every time we said sorry. You see, we say this word quite a lot. Not because we necessarily do something wrong, but just because we, ( i guess Ill speak for myself) just because I don't want to seem rude. If I am in your way, i naturally say " Oh! Sorry!" or if I accidentally say something right after you say that exact thing. I don't really know how I started this, but I'm actually over whelming myself when i think of how many times I say " sorry" in the time span of one single day. Soooooo, my personal goal is to reduce my usage of the word.
Ha, watch, I'll accidental push some small child over and I won't say sorry. Just kidding.

So, i have another goal - is it okay that I'm kinda rambling? Anyways, my goal is to post something on my blog every day for a week. Yes, I'm starting out small with one week. So i looked up some stuff on google for blog ideas and i came across this really cool thing that has drastically changed my life! ( not really, but that would be cool.) Its a button that you push and it gives you a random creative idea. So I decided that I will start today, and with an act of true bravery, do whatever it tells me to do. No matter how stupid it may sound, or how hard it may be. So lets begin!

Oh my! I'm going to push the button!!!!

Close your eyes and write about what immediately pops into your head.

I see butter. A simple white dish with about 3/4 of a stick of softened butter lounging peacefully in a naturally lit kitchen. It looks smooth. Although, there is that little section that has some crumbs embedded into the gush ... the evidence that someone must have buttered some toast for breakfast. Or maybe they had an english muffin? What a mystery.
   I have to say though, I like butter. I like to have a lot of butter on my toast. Or english muffin. Mmm, a slightly toasted english muffin with a good amount of soft butter slathered on all pretty and creamy.

I'm hungry.

How fun! I actually liked that one. I know, I know, this post is pretty much pointless and you may find it quite dumb. But ever since I was in probably 1st grade, my teachers would give us 3 minutes to write about a random topic. And then they would choose people to read them aloud to the class. It was normally my favorite part of the school day. Well, not counting lunch of course. But I find something exhilarating about clicking the switch on your brain to explore your imagination and then put it into words. And what's pretty cool about writing out a bit of your imagination is: it can spur the listener/readers imagination too. So really, something silly like butter in my mind could form a long chain, an endless choo choo train of ideas and imagination through many different people's heads.

So. My challenge to you today is: write about the first thing that pops into your mind when you see the word "butter". Get out a scrap piece of paper, open your lap top, go grab that dry erase marker and write on the window for crying out loud! Just get it out of your head, and then read it to someone. Or maybe just read it to yourself. See what happens! And then, I think what would make a great finishing touch would be.... go eat a piece of toast, and go ahead, get a little greedy with the butter.




                                                                 Delish.