4 Things I Learned in Prison | Hope

You have nothing to say. There's no way she'll relate to you. Can grace really be this deep?

This voice in my spirit would not relent. I don't know if it was my own doubts or some outside source, but it was ugly and mean.

The Word of God is sharper than any double edged sword, I spit back. Greater is HE that is in me than He that is in the world, I repeated it to myself over and over again.

I shook my hands out and bent my knees. I felt like I was going to buckle amidst my group of women.

He came to seek out and save the lost. I was lost and so was she. He came for me and her.

Sarah* was probably the seventh or eighth girl out the big metal door. She shuffled her white sneakers down the ramp and onto the cold damp concrete.

One thing I noticed right away was the two different style of shoes the girls had on. Clean white sneakers and black cloth slip ons with rubber soles. That's interesting, I thought to myself.

As she started looking around, I walked up to her and introduced myself. "Hi, I'm Jules. What's your name?"

"I'm Sarah," she said and as she did her eyes lit up and the corners of her mouth began to widen. Most of these women were numbers. Identity was considered a privilege they didn't have.

The program started and we all sat on the cold hard concrete as the speaker told us her story of brokenness, abuse, and addiction. Sarah sat next to me.

"Do you ever get tired of doing this?" the speaker asked. "Do you ever get tired of running and surviving?" Some of the women answered verbally and others just with their brows and nods.

"Then listen to me, there is rest for you today. Jesus said, 'Come to ME and I will give you rest."

Wiping the tears from my own welling eyes, I glanced at Sarah. Then I looked to my left, behind me, and in front of me and I saw it. I saw the walls cracking and heart gates opening. I saw women, just like you and me, sitting in what looked like an elementary school yard, feel the pain and the loss and the fear.

I saw, old ones and young ones alike, covering their mouths with their sleeves because this woman told them we loved them.

It was obvious they'd never heard that before, or if they did it was followed with a broken promise.

"These women," the speaker continued, "They came here from all over the country just for you."

We huddled into groups of five or six and Sarah, wiping her eyes and a little worried about her makeup, scooted into my group. We talked through the message of the Gospel and then the flood gates opened. It started with Sarah.

"I've been here for 15 years," she said, "and I've got 10 more before I'm even up for parole. My youngest son is in his 20's and I never saw him grow up. I have five grand babies I've never even met. Every day I wake up and ask God why He's keeping me alive. How do I keep the faith with something like that?"

Remember how I noticed the two different styles of shoes? The girls who were in for a short-term didn't waste their commissary money on shoes. They'd get by with the cheap ones. But the sneakers, the clean white crisp sneakers, those girls had lost all hope.

There it was again, that voice. You're in way over your head.

With tears streaming down my face, I leaned in, looked her straight in the eyes and replied, "I have no idea. I have no idea what it's like for you. But I do know this: the God you pray to every morning, if it's the same God I talk to everyday, He is in the business of redemption."

"Even for someone like me?" she asked.

Yes, absolutely yes.

- - - - - - - - - -

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."

He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord, I want to see," he replied. Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

Luke 18:35-43

Wholeness, healing, redemption; all things I tend to put subconscious guidelines on. For instance, it'll only come to situations like this and people like that. It's never too radical but definitely not impossible. 

My finite mind has tried so hard to grasp the vast concept of grace and salvation, the undying hope of the world, but it was a pair of crisp white sneakers that made it click for me.

Hope is for everyone. Everyone. There is no limit on God's redemption plan. 

This weekend Sarah was confronted with the same question Jesus asked the blind man, What do you want me to do for you? 

And she answered, "Hope. I want you to give me hope."

*Names changed to protect identity
This post is part of a four part series. Did you miss Part One?

4 Things I Learned in Prison | Faith

We drove up to the back entrance, on the back end of a car line filled with old Cadillacs and soccer mom SUV's. My hands were sweating and my body aching as we pulled into our parking space.

I thought I knew what I was doing, but it turns out I had no idea what I was getting into. This was the kind of thing you can prepare for in theory, but until you do it, your mind grasps desperately for something predictable.

Nothing about this was predictable to me.

As we walked towards the crowd, my manila packet in hand and name badge pinned securely to my black leather jacket, I prayed unbeautiful prayers that sounded more like stuttering than actual supplication.

Help me, I'm not sure, what am I doing? How, how, how did I ever think I could make a difference here?

Yet, regardless of what I thought I should or shouldn't be doing, there I was, walking myself alongside an army of grandmothers, mothers, recovering addicts, widows and a few college girls into a small door on the corner of what can only be described as the Jericho of chain link fences.

We had come to prison.

And I was terrified.

But not of them. Of me.

As we walked along the freshly cut grass of the maximum security women's only prison, and into a gym that steamed of clorox and lemon, I thought, "What exactly am I going to say to  a woman who was incarcerated for things I can't even dream up??" A lot of these women were here for life.

Who was I, this girl with standard life, to tell them about joy and freedom and redemption?

I doubted God's move on this one, but promised I would keep my heart and my eyes and my ears open to hear from Him and seek out hopelessness.

Unfortunately, I didn't have to look far.

As we walked through their dorms, toward the backlot where we'd have our gathering, I could have cried, seeing the vast pendelum of reactions when a dozen women walked through their "home" smiling and greeting them with all warmness and care.

Some were furious. Some were confused. And some lit up like a child on Christmas morning.

They looked at us like we weren't real.

Hopelessness wasn't far off.

- - - - - -

What do you do when God calls you to something you feel completely and utterly inadequate to accomplish?

What do you do when you have no concrete idea what you're actually supposed to be doing? 

I had a lot of questions and about 7 minutes to discern an answer. Or so I thought. For most of the morning, I thought I needed the entire roadmap to be effective. I needed to see the destination and work backwards in order to not end up off roading or stuck in a ditch I couldn't get out of. 

Nevertheless, I had a gut wrenching feeling God was going to do, once again, what He'd been faithful to do all my life:

God was going to guide my steps. Not give me a full delineation of the game plan.  

In other words, I had to move, walk, step instead of sitting in the paralyzing planning phase of the moment. 

Reason is knowing and trusting a proven God. Faith is super scary movement based on reason. 

And faith makes mountains move.

So I walked. Right up to a beautiful woman named Sarah.*

To be continued.

*Names have been changed to protect identity. 

Upcoming Blog Series | Letters to Various People in the Church

I love the Church. I love it because, like most Christians, I believe the Church is not a building we drive to once or twice a week; it is the people who fill that building. (Click to tweet)

In that same vein, entering and exiting the building doesn't determine when we put on or take off our identity as "the Church." As one who has entrusted their life in the risen Jesus Christ, you and I are the Church at all times, in all places. (Tweet, tweet?)

This week I'll be writing seven letters to seven different groups of people in the Christian Church. They will be biblically based and filled with Scripture to show where I am pulling my insights from. 

The series is affectionately titled, Dear Church.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  I am exploring and discovering my faith just as much as the next person. These letters are not intended to prove, argue, or bully my way into any type of authority when it comes to knowing, being, or living out faith. 

Some of the letters are heavily based on my own personal experience and some on the experiences of others. 

Writing these has played a pivotal point in my journey as a follower of Christ.  

I do not want to preach. I want to converse.
I do not want to tell. I want to ask.
I do not want to plaster guilt. I want to invite freedom.

I hope you enjoy this series and feel free to give your two cents along the way in the comment section below. I'd like to hear your perspectives, especially if you fit into one of the category letters. 

The series will begin Sunday, March 9, 2014. 

For the Next 31 Days

photo credit

Oh Fall. You are the bringer of all things orange, pumpkin, and cozy. 
Sweaters, leggings, boots and scarves star littering our closet, bed posts and, if you're me, your dining room table. 


Fall comes with all sorts of new things, new colors, new leaves, and new friends! I went to coffee (and waffles) with Lauren earlier this month and Maggie this morning. Uh-may-zing women here folks. 

With that, I'll be joining Maggie on the 31 Day Challenge through the month of October. I love October so much, for so many different reasons. Mostly because it seems to be a reoccurring "pivotal" month in my life.

Here's how to join the LEGIT challenge:

• Pick a topic, broad enough to write about for 31 days but narrow enough to hone in on your passions. For example: 31 Days of Life, is too general. 31 Days of Pumpkin Spice Lattes, well, it's too narrow and that's just not good for you. (Not that i've tried it...)
• Make a blog button (or use one of my pre-made ones at the bottom) to use as your link up image on.
• Post something, anything, everyday about your topic. It doesn't have to be the ONLY thing you post and it can be small. Starting small is always good. 
• Leave your website link in the comments so I can read yours! 

Here's how to join the LAZY challenge:

• Use my prompt, write your blogpost and post your link in the comments or Facebook page.
• Not a blogger? Leave your response in the comments or Facebook page. 

Why should you join us?

Because if you're a human being, you love learning new or perfecting old things. This is a good excuse to get some accountability and motivation! Even if you're not a blogger, post some pics or status updates on your Facebook. Oooh that's a good one. 

Get ready October, here we come!

NAKED: The Truth About Marriage

*FYI: The following series is on marriage and may contain candid speech and "mature" subjects such as sex and pornography; both topics I think are too important not to discuss, but might be inappropriate for younger readers. 

The raw beauty of marriage often gets "covered up" in Christian conversation. 
As a Christian community, we have become afraid of the struggle that illuminates the very purpose of matrimony. We don't talk about failure. We cover up shame. No one can know our honeymoon phase never existed. 

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. That's what we said, in month 2 of our freshly romanticized nuptials. And surprisingly, we later realized that God was saying the same thing.

This wasn't how it was supposed to be. There is so much more to that magnifying glass of fear, submission, leadership and sexuality that you are looking through. You've only begun the discovery. 

Every year I get asked questions, mostly from new batches of newly weds, about my marriage. Ty and I have been very candid (yet protective) about our roller-coaster ride of marriage. We believe everyone has bouts of struggle and hardship, and we wish people would have been more candid with us in the earlier months and years so wouldn't have felt so alone. 

That is the heartbeat of this blog and this series:  to let you know, you are not alone.

God's design for your marriage is much bigger than yours and it is only perfected with time. Throughout this series we will give you -good content, -lots of resources, and -Scripture to wrestle through. ~


THIS WEEK'S TOPICS:

• Why Don't We Makeout As Much As They Do? - by Cara and Dave Maat
• Why You Can't Submit - by Julianna Morlet
• Why You Can Lead Everyone BUT Your Wife (For the Husbands) - by Tyson Morlet
• Why We Didn't Let Porn Destroy Our Marriage - Elizabeth and Jason Shafer
• Why Communication Makes the Best Foreplay - Katie & Scott McGihon
• Why (Men) Think Marriage = Sex
• Q&A | Answering YOUR Questions

COMMENTING: 

As we go along, we want this to be a conversation. All writers will be checking the blog regularly (our husbands too!) on the days we've written to answer your questions, encourage you, and read your conversations, so please feel completely free to comment. 

CALLS TO ACTION:

At the end of each piece, there will be a call to action (def: something for you to do), for marrieds and singles. I understand and love that a lot of you that read here are not married and are in different seasons of life. I still believe the conversations presented this week are applicable to you. And marrieds, these are gonna be toughies but don't be afraid. We've all been in those awkward-turned-amazing-conversations with our spouses! 


*Want to get the NAKED series in your inbox? Fast and easy sign up here.
Ready or not, here we go. See ya Tuesday, bright and early! 

Loving and Leaving Well | June Series

>>>This month's series is on Loving and Leaving Well. For the next week or so we'll be talking through the highs and lows of change and moving on and reading from the experiences of some fabulous guest writers.

Are you going through a huge life change right now too? Tell me on the Facebook page or in the comments below! I want to hear how you're doing too. 

- - - - -


“There are times when the actual experience of leaving something makes you wish desperately that you could stay, and then there are times when the leaving reminds you a hundred times over why exactly you had to leave in the first place.” 

― Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet

I cannot imagine the pace nor degree of changes that will take place in the next couple of months. Life will be very different. Of that I am most sure. No more security. No more familiarity. Not more routine or habits. No more trips to the local Starbucks where the barista knows your name, your drink, and that you had a Dr's appointment yesterday. All those will be left behind in the wake of our U-haul and the truck beds of friends and family who are helping us relocate. 

Nothing will be the same. 

Except for us. 

We will be the only pieces of this growing puzzle that we recognize. And that scares me more than anything. Mostly because the implications are much to adult-like. I still feel so young, like a kid leaving for camp or college, but pre-planning Summers and Christmas breaks back at home. Not this time. This isn't just an experience or a phase of life. This is another significant milestone that will beautify our journey together.

Am I over dramatizing a bit? Naturally, but that's because it's so raw and see, I told you I was young! 

However, the scariness of the unknown is also a double edged sword. It can kill a person as well as revive them. In our case, I think it will do the latter. 

Ty and I have had the most interesting of roads in marriage; one that I wouldn't trade for the world. We make each other better, not just by "completing" each other, but by pushing the other towards a deeper holiness. He gently reminds me that I cannot control the world and I keep him sweet. I know the man I married, on June 27, three Summers ago is the man who God perfectly cut out for this place in my life. Together, we are the perfect balance of risk and safety. Together, we are much more effective than we ever were on our own.

He will be the one I cling to in the rise and fall of this great adventure. We might change, eventually, but we'll do it together. 

So baby, here's to change! Moving ever so in the quickening pace of our lives. 

~

Public Transportation | 7 Days of Disciplined Writing

This week I'm disciplining my writing time and going for quantity. 500 words, 1 hour, 7 days in a row. The prompts I'm using will post every day at 12:00 AM if you want to play along! Also, you can use your own prompts! Make sure to tell me if you're playing! 

How I'm Playing:

• Each morning (12:00 AM, Monday-Monday) a new prompt will be posted
• Set a 1 hour timer
• Choose the poison: laptop, journal, notebook, iPad, etc
• Write, without getting up, and a minimum of 500 words
• Close the book and walk away (*If I want to edit my piece, I will do so later in the day)
• Let loose with it!

See the rest of the prompts here.

Social Issues | 7 Days of Disciplined Writing

This week I'm disciplining my writing time and going for quantity. 500 words, 1 hour, 7 days in a row. The prompts I'm using will post every day at 12:00 AM if you want to play along! Also, you can use your own prompts! Make sure to tell me if you're playing! 

How I'm Playing:

• Each morning (12:00 AM, Monday-Monday) a new prompt will be posted
• Set a 1 hour timer
• Choose the poison: laptop, journal, notebook, iPad, etc
• Write, without getting up, and a minimum of 500 words
• Close the book and walk away (*If I want to edit my piece, I will do so later in the day)
• Let loose with it!

See the rest of the prompts here.

Good Morning House | 7 Days of Discipline Writing

This week I'm disciplining my writing time and going for quantity. 500 words, 1 hour, 7 days in a row. The prompts I'm using will post every day at 12:00 AM if you want to play along! Also, you can use your own prompts! Make sure to tell me if you're playing! 

How I'm Playing:

• Each morning (12:00 AM, Monday-Monday) a new prompt will be posted
• Set a 1 hour timer
• Choose the poison: laptop, journal, notebook, iPad, etc
• Write, without getting up, and a minimum of 500 words
• Close the book and walk away (*If I want to edit my piece, I will do so later in the day)
• Let loose with it!

See the rest of the prompts here.

A Life Changing Moment | 7 Days of Discipline Writing

This week I'm disciplining my writing time and going for quantity. 500 words, 1 hour, 7 days in a row. The prompts I'm using will post every day at 12:00 AM if you want to play along! Also, you can use your own prompts! Make sure to tell me if you're playing! 

How I'm Playing:

• Each morning (12:00 AM, Monday-Monday) a new prompt will be posted
• Set a 1 hour timer
• Choose the poison: laptop, journal, notebook, iPad, etc
• Write, without getting up, and a minimum of 500 words
• Close the book and walk away (*If I want to edit my piece, I will do so later in the day)

In My 20's, I Was Afraid I Was Too Young to Influence

I was 21 when I had the biggest faith crisis of my life.

My father, a pastor of one of those mega churches lots of people like, was embroiled in a scandal that would eventually take him down, temporarily out of the game.

And I was left to wonder things I’d never wondered before. 

Did God really care about me?

Did He see me, know my struggle to make sense of something hard?

Did He truly have a plan for my life or was I just the daughter of the pastor of things that went terribly wrong?

No one ever told me that I would one day question such things.  Not when I was sitting like a lady in my pretty Easter dress on Sunday.  Not when I was singing rhythmic VBS songs or running in the hallway of my beloved haven with a steeple.

Sweet little Jesus girls don’t grow up to be gritty grapplers...that is what I thought.

Some months later and with the help of a really intimidating shrink and {undoubtedly} the closet prayers of my mother, I reconciled such things and decided, in a new way, I would follow hard after God.  {Mainly, I admit, because He was the only One who hadn’t bailed…which now I find a really good reason.}

But my struggle didn’t stop there.  Because no one ever told me that in my 20’s, after I made such a dogged decision, that I would want to serve God but feel as though my age did not give me a real shot at influence.  It was this noise, constantly in my head:

Who wants to listen to a 20-something without the life experience, the marriage, the kids, the years that people say help you know yourself, know God, and really just…grow up?

What I did not know was that God didn’t need me to be any older for me to be radical.  Nor did He need me to disqualify myself or buy into what anyone might say about me being too young to really know anything about God.

He just wanted me.  My heart.  My desire.  My gifts to be used for someone other than me.  And He would insert the rest.

I needed to know this, as much as I needed to know months before that God was ok for me to question Him -- because a searching heart meant an inner hunger He would always be able to fill. And as I write this post, many years later, I am grateful, still, to know such things.

And so I say to you, my friend, 20-something or not, that is reading these words…

Search on.  Ask Him the tough questions.  And know that never are you too anything to do good Jesus work.

-Lisa
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Photo Credit

In My 20's, I Involuntarily Broke the Mold

I am still in my 20’s, early 20’s to be exact. As I reflected back and thought about the last few years I realized they weren’t what I thought they would be. I certainly don’t mean that in a negative way but they haven’t been like that picture in my mind I had when I graduated high school, was getting ready for college, and getting ready for my twenties.

Let me explain. My married life is synonymous with my 20’s. I got married to my a-maz-ing husband 10 days after I turned 20. This was definitely not what I expected. I love my husband to death and would not have it any other way but I definitely did not expect to get married 2 years out of high school.

Here is the picture I had in mind when I graduated high school:

Graduate College à Get a Great Job à Get Married à Start a Family

I think that is what a lot of people generally expect because they are not necessarily told otherwise. First your go to college, after college get your good job, then your get married and then start your family. Life is all good.

Here is what my timeline actually looks like:

College for 2 years à Get Married à Wish I could finish school à Jobish… à

Stilling figuring out my career à Back to School?? à Family someday, but hey who really knows

Things don’t always turn out how they are “suppose” to but that is ok. I have had to let go of “the mold” of how things are suppose to be and my expectations to be able to embrace this bigger journey (and joy!) that God had planned for me. One with a path that has had some crazy curves and is defiantly not lit all the way. Everyone will take a different path. It is not always direct and the whole path is not always visible in the moment.

People also don’t always tell you that on your path you will fail. But again, it is totally a good thing. I look at each failure as just a try again moment. I have “failed” at quite a few things, ideas, career choices, etc. But God has brought each circumstance into my life to teach me more and more the direction I need to go. 

I am thankful for the things I have tried and the dreams that I have had that have not worked out because they have brought me to the direction I am going today. It may not be on that straight path I assumed I would be taking but the path I am on is the path of growth and that is even better.

The moral of the story is people don’t tell you, as you enter your twenties, that your path will be uniquely yours. It will not be the same as your best friend’s and it will probably not work out the way you plan for it to work out, you may even fail a few times. But good news! This is ok and even good! God is all about leading you and growing you into an amazing person for His purpose.

-Christina

Blog | Twitter | Facebook

In My 20's, I Have Complete Freedom and a Tremendous Amount of Pressure

There are two major things I've learned in my 20's. Things no one really prepares you for, but once you're on the other side you think, Hmm, I guess that makes sense. 

1. It's going to take time and hard work to find and work a job and career you truly love. In other words, you may not "love" your job right away.

This is a big one for me. I'm such a future-oriented person and I remember being in college and longing for the days after graduation where I would no longer have homework and suddenly my life would be wonderful as a young professional. I'd work a challenging job that I enjoyed and came home to pursue fun hobbies, read books (for fun!), and spend time with friends. I'm not sure how I formed that idea, and while I do enjoy some of those things, I've learned that the stress and growing to-do list will be always be there nagging at me; it's just the list changes along the way. It's no longer homework and exams, but now it's being a good wife, starting my business and career. We may now have more control over stressors but they are also more ambiguous and require self-discipline. 

Which brings me to my next point...

2. You will have complete freedom yet feel a tremendous amount of pressure.

This one could just be specific to me as I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself, but I've noticed that in my 20's I'm feeling the pressure. While I am thrilled to have complete freedom in how I spend my time, I'm also feeling intense pressure. Pressure (from who knows where) to be productive, to follow a path, choose my career, and not look back. What if I'm not sure? What if I don't see myself working the same job for decades? What if I want to set my own schedule? I know this is all partly generational and due to my entrepreneurial spirit, but I think it is important to be open minded and flexible, take the pressure off of ourselves, try new things (and not be afraid to fail), and only work according to our own pace, no one else's. We will find our passion in our own time and own way; rather, it's more beneficial to focus on the present.

What do you think? Do you feel these things too? I'd love to hear. Thanks so much Julianna for having me! xoxo

-Colleen

Blog | Twitter | Facebook

In My 20's, Life Sped Up and When I Needed to Slow Down

Life Skills 101
My life as a wife started on July 12, 2008. I was 21 when my husband slipped a ring on my finger. Only a year before that had I been welcomed into my twenties, becoming more independent and starting to assume a few of my own personal responsibilities.

I have always said I wish there were required classes along the path to adulthood that would teach the basics of life. Instead of wasting my time on a semester of calculus I would have greatly benefited from a class that teaches life skills.

Like, HOW on earth do you shop for a place to live and what exactly is in that 500 page book you are signing when you buy a house? How do I build and maintain a good credit score? How do I shop for car insurance? What are the pros and cons of buying and leasing a car? How on earth do I fill out my taxes? Dave Ramsey? Suze Orman, who?

I hit my twenties and found myself whacked with a mountain of nonsense and decisions I had no idea how to make. Deductables? 401K? Retirement? Income taxes? Property taxes? Portfolios? Roth IRA? What? Toooo many acronyms! I had no preparation on how to handle everyday-life details. Thankfully I at least knew how to balance a checkbook and make a budget. However, I would have gladly skipped college algebra for a Dave Ramsey class to learn to stay out of debt!

Now, having dealt with these issues, I'm more knowledgable. But shouldn't you have some idea about this junk before you're forced into it? Shouldn't you be forced to learn these concepts? They'll teach you geometry formulas but not about the details of financing? It has never made sense to me.

Slow Your Roll
Those are all practical things and can be overwhelming but there are more important things I wish I had realized.

This past September I turned 25 and almost had a complete breakdown over the event. Okay “breakdown” may be a little dramatic, but it really got to me. I couldn’t believe that five years had passed since I had entered my twenties. Those five years had flown by and in retrospect I felt like I had wished those five years away, wanting to be a grownup. I wish I had focused on living in the “now," learning and living in where I was at the moment. I wished I had absorbed every detail. It’s cliché, but the older you get the faster time goes by.

Having long-term dreams and goals is important, but we have a lifetime to work on obtaining those. It can get frustrating waiting in that desert that is "In the Meantime" - that phase of our lives where we feel like we are stagnant. But there are times in our lives where we need to practice stillness and simply live in the moment, even if it's not where we want to be. It's a pit stop.

For the past three years I've been working at a job that has absolutely nothing to do with my overall goals. It's a job I got in order to pay the bills. I would beg God to please open a door for me to walk through that would lead me to a more creative path and get me on my way to getting my book published, or my big screen debut, or starting my successful business. So many times I would feel a sense of peace that he was working behind the scenes on my behalf. I felt it was my job to stay faithful to where he had me at that moment in my life. 


We are where we are in life for a reason - to learn lessons, to build character, to form relationships, and to be a light in the lives of others. When we focus on being faithful to where we are, at some point in life that effort will be rewarded. We just need to be patient.

One more thing...
Teenager beware. No matter how skinny you are your entire life, be aware of your metabolism. It exists and it really does slow down. Just listen to my 25 yr. old size 8 pants warn my 13-21 yr. old size 2 pants. They'll let you know. Exercise and eat right.

And one more thing I'd like to add...
Ladies, wear a bra because those puppies can't hold themselves up forever.

You can take that one to the bank.

-Hannah
Blog | Twitter | Facebook

In My 20's, I Didn't Know I'd Feel Discontent With My Dreams

When I entered my 20's, no one ever really told me that you don’t have to take the typical route! Fortunately, I have parents who have always been super supportive of me, allowing me to try five gazillion different activities as a kid until I found my niche. Turns out I am still doing that through my 20’s. I am 27 now and so far, the 20’s for me has been one crazy roller coaster. 

In high school, everybody tells you, “Reach for the Stars!” “You can do whatever you put your mind to.” You know, the usual inspirational comments teachers give their students. But, I couldn’t help but notice I was no more a student then I was a cow being corralled along with my peers into the “College” meadow. So I followed. I even declared a major and played intramural sports, but halfway through my freshman year I realized this was so not me. 


Some of my professors tried to talk me out of it, but I had my mind set. I applied to do a missions school in Brisbane, Australia the following Fall. My parents supported me under the condition I pay off my college debt before I went (GOD BLESS THEIR SOULS! I am so thankful for that condition!). About six months later I was on the start of my counter-culture education track. I traveled as a missionary. 


I started a local music festival. I volunteered A LOT, whether at a TV station or as an event manager for dance crews, artists or musicians. I took courses of interest, like Leadership or Organization Resource development, at schools that were field focused. I did this for about four years and all while being single. 


Then came the haze. In walked this adorable guy and after almost a year as friends, we were totally hooked! I spent another year abroad, dating via Skype and letter writing. Nearing marriage, I decided to move back to the states, living in Pennsylvania and then finally moving out west to be in the same town as Dustin. In the three years I lived there, I married Dustin, volunteered two of my summers to train and take college students overseas on missions and worked as a youth coach as well as working at a non-profit organization, Light Gives Heat. 


Then, this past October, my husband got a career opportunity in Nashville and so it once again became time to move, this being move #9 since graduating high school. 

This leads me to my second thing that nobody told me about my twenties: You have to choose to live with contentment in any route you take. I chose the unconventional road of schooling. Instead of sitting in a classroom, the world became my classroom. I learned soo much during those years and so much beyond just education. I loved learning this way. 


But as I lived my dreams, I became envious of others. With every move, my “dream route” was getting super tiring. You know that John Mayer song, “All we ever do is say Goodbye”? That song could be about my life! My "home" was spread around the world and I didn’t have access to it as often as I liked. My friends were now scattered all over and I missed them dearly. But you're not supposed to have discontentment in your dream life, right? Wrong. My biggest lesson in my 20's is learning how to be content right where I am.

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There are going to be sacrifices either way you go. The grass is not always greener on the other side. I remember talking to someone, who had gone the college to marriage route, about how they thought my life was so exciting. I remember distinctly thinking that, to me, their life actually seemed way more appealing as they had stability. They had friends and family around them all the time. They had a consistent paycheck and could afford little luxuries. 

I wouldn’t trade the route I chose to take, but I have learned that what seems glamorous at first isn’t always the case. No matter what path you choose to take in your 20’s, you can’t escape hardships.

So allow me to be be someone who told you that the 20’s can be super exciting! 
You can achieve things that don’t seem possible as a teen, but you also have to be prepared to sacrifice. If you want to work at a non-profit, be prepared to work harder then you are compensated for. If you want to have a job that travels all around the world, it will be incredible but don’t be surprised when you miss your friends and family and eating out loses its luster. 

As pessimistic as this sounds, I actually say this so that you can prepare to be optimistic when these hardships come your way, because they will! Optimism is part of what has gotten me this far with no signs of stopping! Move #9 has been dream turned reality, but not without it’s own set of struggles to overcome! 


Stay positive, be humble, work hard and go for it!

-MK, From the Guest Room
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