Bounce.

Bounce.


Bounce is a word, much like bubbles, free, play, bunnies, wiggle, skip, twirl, pretty, lights, hop, or pep, that doesn't usually come up in a negative conversation.

I was just kinda sitting here thinking about the fact of how our very speech and choice of words changes with our moods.

For instance: how very likely are you to use the word 'bounce' when in an argument with someone?

It's just kind of interesting, how many things change with our attitudes: Like our speech, our tones, voice inflections, word choices, clothing, emotions, effort, music preferences, etc... Your attitude just seems to affect so much of your life! No wonder God stresses it's importance.

The thing is: it's a choice. Of course I mean it's not your fault if outside circumstances make you sad or tear you down. It's going to happen.
But then again, after the initial shock, you do have a choice. A choice to dwell on the negative or positive. 

You can't choose what happens to you in your life, but you can choose how you react to it. 

And that's where God comes in. So often we end up lost, stuck, or depressed because we tried to make things better on our own, when all we really have to do is release our problems to God, trust in Him to work them out, and continue our lives. I feel like this last step is an important one people often leave out. Sure we talk a lot about giving our problems to God and trusting Him, but we never really speak of the next step. Which, I believe, is not just waiting around for life to be perfect again. Because, I hate to break it to you, but it wont be. Things will still be stinky sometimes. But it's the choice to move on, to get through it, even after life has taken you down, even after you've given it all up to God. To just take each day, giving thanks for it and living it to the best of your ability, focused on loving God and others, not wallowing in the tears of the past. That's the way to live.

I wrote such a long post a while ago about the difference between happiness and joy. Basically saying essentially how while happiness is a fleeting emotion that comes and goes, Joy is a choice we make daily to rejoice and give thanks in the midst of our extenuating circumstances.

But all that talk matters most when things get tough. When life comes around full force to knock you down. When there's something around, everyday, bad enough to make you break down in tears. That's when it counts to rejoice. That's when it counts to stand up, face your challenges, and declare that your God is bigger.

Not to talk about it, not to hear about it, not to think about, not to know about it, but to do it.

To Bounce. Even when your world is falling apart.

I'm not very smart...

Some people would say I'm a smart person. I wouldn't agree. In terms of what the world deems 'smarts' I have relatively little. I do average school work, get pretty good grades just because I do my work, and I have probably very very little street smarts.

I'm not the brightest bulb in the world, because it's not what I seek after. I seek after wisdom. And yes, there is a difference.

I may not be able to tell you the answer to a complicated algebra problem or all of what makes up a cell, but I can talk about God for hours.

I may not be able to tell when someone is joking or not, but I have the discernment to see if what they genuinely say in all seriousness is from the Lord or not.

Just things like that. My wisdom doesn't come from anything I could learn in school, but by simply reading the word and seeking after what God has to say. Listening to Him. Letting Him be my teacher. It's definitely the 'smarts' I'm looking for.

But you know whats incredibly fascinating to me??? The more I seek wisdom, the more God teaches me about love.

Now I know, I know I harp on this a lot. But it's only because the deeper I go with Christ the more He simply reveals to me about the concept of love.

It's not an earthly concept. It's most definitely not a human idea.

Love was around before the earth was around. Love was around before anything was around. You know how?

God is love.

So, in a way, He has been teaching me about Himself. But I'm getting ahead of myself, let me tell you a bit about what I've learned recently. :)

Love drives us. The need for love, the ability to love, the unnatural way we defeat our selfish nature to invest ourselves in other people and things. Love doesn't make sense. But we feel the need to practice it anyway. And it's because we've discovered that it makes the world go 'round.

I mean think about it. Love is not natural. Part of the definition of love is to give of yourself, un-selfishly, for the betterment or investment in another person.
Putting someone else's needs above your own.

We're humans. We don't do that. We are essentially 100% selfish creatures. You don't have to teach a toddler/baby to hold onto it's toys, never share, and cry when anything at all happens that it doesn't like. Quite the opposite actually. So the very fact that we are capable of such a level of unselfishness points to a creator being putting that capability into our hearts.

It's amazing isn't it???

Love.

Lovelovelove. Such a painful, sacrificial, terrible, wonderful, giving, long-suffering, patient, joyful, gentle, literally out-of-this-world experience we take for granted everyday.

And to think that God loves us?? Nasty, selfish, non-sacrificial, undeserving, wretches of sin that we are??

Inconceivable.

And that we nasty creatures somehow find it in our hearts to unselfishly love one another, and even God!? (albeit far from perfectly)

Also inconceivable.

Isn't God great?? :D  He surpasses all the fathoms of my finite brain and blows it out of the water. I can't even begin to comprehend the greatness, complexity, and brilliance of His mind. His majesty.

I simply cannot wait to worship Him declaring His praises for eternity by His side.

Oh to sit at Your feet, continually casting down my crown, shouting my love for you. Broken though it may be. It is there. All. For You forevermore. Because You first loved me, and gave me the capability to love you in return.

Hallelujah.