Bleh.
So here we go. (I'm not having such a bad week this time around just fyi)
This chapter was all about our experiences. We're told to imagine ourselves walking down a long hallway and on one wall are portraits/paintings of our positive experiences. The other wall had the gross, painful, nitty gritty kick me in the stomach if I ever have to think about that again experiences. I have no clue what that would like in a hallway. Let's skip that part.
My Positive Portraits
**The key here is to acknowledge achievements that hold value to me regardless of what others think. That said...
Personal: you mayve received an award that is especially meaningful to you.
- 1st grade spelling bee, I runner up. I'm not sure why that has always stuck with me. Maybe because it's the only award I have ever won at school other than graduating...and almost winning isn't even a reward.
Vocational: perhaps you have a pattern of achievement when it comes to productivity, sales, or leadership
- keeping a clean home
- cooking yummy meals (more or less)
- editing videos for hpc (this was actually something Jon took on then I ... took over ... and started doing a better job)
Relational: you may enjoy a godly marriage or benefit from a friendship that comforts you in difficult times or challenges you to strive for excellence in everything you do.
- My marriage
Educational: perhaps you have academic degrees or training certificates, or perhaps you are pursuing ongoing development in areas of special interest.
- Bachelor's degree in Radio/TV/Digital Media Production
Spiritual: you may hav e a history of success in sharing your faith or leading Christians to deeper insight about their own faith. Or perhaps your own acceptance of Christ and spiritual growth give you a sense of having attained something beyond measure.
- "Bob from Genesis" (There is huge meaning to this but I'm not comfortable letting my story go viral...yet!
- Accepting Christ around age 5 and recommitting around age 12
My Painful Portraits
Personal points of pain:
- getting pregnant at 19 and unmarried
- received mic a few weeks after moving away to college. The story behind that is basically I was lonely.
Vocational points of pain
- Jamba Juice - I was let go on my way back from vacation. I was a single mom at that point so I was pretty pissed about the whole thing. I called my boss and left him a nice voicemail about how wrong it was.
Relational points of pain
- Step-parenting - I deal with a variety of emotions about this on a daily basis
- My dad - We have had the same fights for years with the same results
- Friends whom I am no longer friends with due to a huge falling out that only God can fix
Educational points of pain
- Grades in high school weren't great
- unmotivated in college until I had Evan
- Even after having Evan, I had no passion for what I was doing
Spiritual points of pain
- getting pregnant at 19 and unmarried
- losing my virginity at 16 years old (maybe this is personal too?)
SOOO WHAT'S THE POINT OF REHASHING THIS CRAP RIGHT?!?!
Apparently God uses these experiences to shape and mold us.
"To melt down the old and recast it as new is a disrupting process. [But] with time, a change occurs: What was dull becomes sharpened, what was crooked becomes straight, what was weak becomes strong, and what was useless becomes valuable.
Then the blacksmith ceases his pounding and sets down his hammer. In the still silence, he examines the smoking tool. The incandescent implement is rotated and examined for any mars or cracks.
There are none.
THe pliable, soft mineral becomes an unbending, useful tool."
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