Life gets really fun once you get over yourself.

Life is so much more fun when you quit worrying about what others think of you. It’s not about “me” anyway.

The other week I sang a solo at church. It used to make me ridiculously nervous.

Why does it make us nervous to do something we love in front of other people?

Because there are people! And they are watching! And what if your hair is messed up, or there’s lipstick on your teeth, or you miss a note?

But what if you don’t? What if you just stomp on all of those thoughts, embrace the very soul inside yourself, and just do it!

That’s what I did the other week. I had all these doctor appointments and mystery health problems hanging over my head, and something about it all pushed me over that selfish ledge that has eluded me. I managed to hop that fence, you know, the one that stands between caring and not caring about what anyone else will say.

Plop! There I was on the other side of that fence, and it felt amazing! I stood there, it was the most empowering thing to just not worry, and I sang my heart out to Jesus, just as if I were in my very own shower.

I was not nervous because it wasn’t about me anymore.

Who cares if someone out there chuckles about me? Good. Glad they got a laugh. Serving isn’t about me. It’s about giving what I have.

Ha! I bet some of you wonder why I’m always sharing my crazy crap on the internet.

It’s worth it, y’all. Do what you love, and shamelessly share it. It may even turn into income for you. I turn away work now all the time because I’m still too busy with all of my children to take on outside work, but I’m still here, writing and sharing, maintaining what I enjoy. Income opportunities can be taken care of later, when I have time for that.

I believe in not putting pressure on yourself to “have it all.” Maybe you can have it all throughout your lifetime, but why stress yourself out going for all of it at once? Where’s the fun in that?

I wish I could go back to the sweet, timid, 23-year-old me. I would tell her, “Who cares if you don’t have a job and don’t know what you want to be? You’re happy being a wife and cooking and keeping house. Master that, and don’t worry about what anyone else says. There will be so much time to work a career and raise children in due time.”

Life is too short to impress people who won’t be impressed anyway.

I’m going to spend this weekend praising and thanking God for this beautiful life that I have been given. We are going to hang out as a family, going to birthday parties and basketball games. I’ll probably eat and talk too much and accomplish precious little. The kids will be loud. John David will follow me around. People will always be asking me, “What about dinner?” It will be glorious.

For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.  Galatians 1:10

Romans 12:6-8 

 

We all have different gifts, each of which came because of the grace God gave us. The person who has the gift of prophecy should use that gift in agreement with the faith. 7 Anyone who has the gift of serving should serve. Anyone who has the gift of teaching should teach. 8 Whoever has the gift of encouraging others should encourage. Whoever has the gift of giving to others should give freely. Anyone who has the gift of being a leader should try hard when he leads. Whoever has the gift of showing mercy to others should do so with joy.