foreign amazing

I am not talking about a vermicelli bowl, even though I'd like one. I'm talking about my nog study. Kelly has this quote at the end of Session 5 intro that I found true of me.

...the painful familar is often more comfortable than the foreign amazing...

So I began thinking about what is a painful familiar and what might be a foreign amazing and this is what I came up with:

Painful familiars:

1. starting my day like the rest of the world

2. not praying or reading out loud when asked by the Bible Study Teacher (even if I want too, weird I know)

3. continuing in criticism post conviction

4. preferring and persisting in my bad mood

5. not regularly exercising


Foreign Amazing

1. Praying OUT LOUD in my house, even when Mark and Grace are home, but upstairs

2. Starting my day in prayer and the WORD

3. Committing to an exercise plan

4. Pursuing a pleasant attitude

5. Choosing praise over criticism


"The way out? Jesus Christ. Part of me hesitates to write something so simple. Yet when you encounter Him and begin to take Him at His words through obedience, His name doesn't mean easy answers but power and love and life-sustaining freedom."

Come chart the foreign waters, siesta. There are new territories to see, and adventure is at stake. I can't wait to scale a stair-master (do they still make those?).

*I'm laughing at myself. I went back to "edit" this post, and realized that all my painful familiars began with lower case letters and that all my foreign amazings started in caps. I'm glad I got that straight! BTW- I did go to JMU, NOT UVA, and so my grammar is pitiful. There you have it.