​Recently I was thinking about the verses that talk about our tongues and the power our words carry. My thoughts also went to the verse that talks about what comes out of our mouths is the overflow of our hearts. 

What comes out of my mouth is the overflow of my heart. 

This has hit me lately. What is my heart overflowing? What is my heart saying? For some who know me, they might see and think that my overflow is pretty good, that my tongue is fairly tamed, that my words are spoken fairly well. But lately I have seen some of the ugliness in my heart that overflows in simple phrases that are sometimes spoken quickly & unintentionally. Sometimes these phrases are spoken to friends while other times its just thoughts to only myself and God, often in the aloneness of my room, in my space. Lately I’m seeing that my heart is not full of the good things I thought it might. In this overflow I’m not talking about speaking honest prayer to God or being honest to myself about whats going on in my life. We need to do that. We need to be honest with God. I’m talking about reactions and responses to things, to life around that are not flowing the type of goodness I desire. Does my heart and tongue have a problem with cursing out people, vulgar language, or things like that? No, not usually. Does my heart have a problem with focusing on the negative, pessimism, and plain ol’ selfishness and self focus. Yup, it does and I’m seeing that to be the case lately. Some might look at me and say that is not true, but they haven’t been in my heart lately. Of course it’s not just ugliness comes out of my mouth. There is goodness around the ugly. I believe God is digging up some settled gunk that needs to be flushed out. May I allow him to loosen the settlement and not hold back. My I overflow my gunk to Him allowing Him to cleanse and fill me.

May God continue to fill your hearts with Him and His goodness making your settled gunk float out allowing His Goodness to fill and overflow you continually.

​Belonging does not have to do with being the same, looking alike, or acting alike. Belonging has something to do with being able to be yourself and allowing others to be themselves within living life together in ways that God has created you for. God has blessed me in numerous places where I have belonged even though I did not look, act, or know the same as those around me.  Of course non-of-us are exactly the same, but sometimes we are quite different and understand the world quite differently. Within our differences we have a connection, a friendship.  I have had a few experiences and friendships where this is the case. I have grown much and would not be the woman I am without these friendships.

One of the groups of people are some of my friends from college and a group of their friends. I have had these connections within the college experiences through Campus Ambassadors and CASI, I mean, INFUSION, but also in life beyond. I have been a part of their group in many ways. I feel like I belong. With them I know I am accepted and wanted.  I might not be able to fully understand all of their conversations or experiences, I may have to be willing to listen to difficult topics or feel vulnerable asking questions about things I don’t know or understand, but I belong with them and they belong with me. I have had the privilege to support some of them in the endeavors that God has brought them on and I have had the privilege to be supported by them. Sometimes I feel more me, more a part of the body of Jesus when I am with them. I am blessed to have them as family, to have their children start to call me Auntie Sarah. I am blessed to have walked beside them even if it is not daily. 

Where is a place you have belonged? 
What was it like to belong?

Sometimes I wonder how people travel to exotic adventurous places. Not how do they get there but how does one not become overwhelmed by the detail of the new, the big, the grande. How does one really see all that is there or focus while in that place. I guess they don’t see all there is to see. Just a speck. I have these thoughts because there is so much detail, beauty, and wonder in the ordinary. In the places where we already are. In the places I already am. Not that I don’t think I would be able to function in new situations. Its just that right now I am attracted to the detail in a parking lot, backyard, front porch, sidewalk that I know there would be even more drawing me near in places of new or extraordinary.  You do not need amazing or unique to find wonder. 

Where do you see wonder in your ordinary?