Do I buy the more expensive camera with more features and more precise control for focus and zoom, or the less expensive one with less precise controls, and a lower resolution sensor?
The more expensive camera is bigger/heavier, and probably not as convenient for the candid shots of friends and family, but the less expensive camera I may not end up liking for the creative shots, which is one reason I’m really looking at getting a camera now.
Hmm, help me out, what do you think?
This morning after some conversation with God, I chose to forgive. Forgiveness feels good, now I just need to remember that I did that.
Well, unfortunately, forgiveness has come up in my life in so many ways lately. So I thought I’d blog about a few more thoughts and/or conversations I’ve had about it.
I realize I’m going to be vague here, but I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to discuss other’s ‘dirty laundry’ on my public blog. So, bear with me as I try to address forgiveness without airing anyone’s ‘dirty laundry’. Let me also make a disclaimer that I’m well aware of my own mistakes and my own ‘dirty laundry’. I am as much in need of forgiveness from others, as anyone else is.
This week I discussed with a friend about the desire she had to know specific details about a situation that quite honestly we are both trying to process and eventually work towards forgiveness in. In the particular moment that I communicated with her, I was doing just fine not knowing any details, but have found myself since speculating on the details, and realizing that my feelings about the situation would change depending on the details of what specifically happened. So, in my introspective way, I started to process why that is.
Basically, it boils down to forgiveness. We want to forgive, but I think both my friend and I are willing to forgive up to a certain level, depending on our view/judgment of the severity of the offense. This is why we desire to know the details, so we can determine if we are willing to forgive them or not.
We are called to forgive, no matter the depth of the offense, or the repentant state of the offender, or even their ability to keep from offending again. This is hard.
In a conversation with my sister-in-law the other day we were discussing the topic of forgiveness, as it relates to many situations that we have found ourselves in individually and together. I brought up the fact that I’ve realized lately that forgiveness is not a one moment thing, where you reach a point where you ‘feel’ forgiveness, and then you don’t struggle with it anymore. There are times when you ‘feel’ forgiveness towards an offender, and then the very next day or even hour, you’re extremely angry about it, and want our own version of justice. My sister-in-law agreed, but also added that conversely she thinks it can be a one moment thing. I think what she was basically trying to say, is that it’s a choice you make independent of your feelings. Forgiveness isn’t a feeling, it’s a conscious choice. And once you’ve made that choice, when you struggle with your feelings, you look back on the choice you made independent of your feelings, and say “but, I’ve chosen to forgive”.
I’m a very emotions driven person, and there are a few situations where I need to choose to forgive independent from my feelings and emotions. I think it would be great to end this blog with the statement of “I choose to forgive”, but I’m going to be honest and real. It sounds easier than it is, and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not there yet. I can’t honestly make that statement, but I am determined to work towards getting there, I’m just not there yet.
Scooter’s is my new favorite coffee place on account of I can order a decaf, non-fat, sugar-free mocha! And it’s yummy! Or as Rachel Ray would say yumm-o!
Oh, you can also order a decaf, non-fat, sugar-free carmalicous, which is very similar to a carmel machiatto, also yumm-o.
This morning I came in to work and realized that I am totally overwhelmed with worry in multiple areas of my life. It was paralyzing me this morning, and I was getting nothing accomplished. Just thought I’d share how I handled it, as I found it quite helpful.
1) I wrote down every separate thing that I was worried about. Just made a long list.
2) I went back through my list and noted on each item if it was something I had any control over or not.
3) On the items that I could control, I wrote down a few things I could do that would help aleviate or minimize the stress and worry. These were just practical things, like sort through email at work, and organize myself before moving forward.
4) On the items that I can’t control, I dug a little deeper, and asked myself some questions.
Why is this worrying me?
What is the worst case scenario?
Basically I discovered a few things. One, I was making people bigger than God, and was overly concerned about how people’s actions would affect things or more specifically my life. When I thought through what is the worst that could happen, I realized, in the long run everything will be just fine. It’s nothing that God can’t work through and make good out of. Romans 8:28, after all I’ve seen him do that before, so it’s safe to trust he’ll do it again.
Hope your lives are not filled with worry, but if you find yourself being overwhelmed as we all do at times, maybe doing what I did will help.
Oh, one other thing. I also took the time to write down some thing that I knew I could count on and was not at all worried about, and some things that I’m looking forward to. Like the fact that my dad and step-mom are coming into town tonight, and tomorrow we are all going out for a big birthday dinner. (There are a lot of birthdays in my family this time of year)