I am certainly not a writer, nor do I have any real aspirations to be, but I love meeting new people and learning from them, their stories, and their adventures. So my blog will cover a whole smorgasbord of subjects: some mundane and some extraordinary, with the hopes that my readers will comment and share their experiences too! My goal is to connect with different people; connect people to each other; learn some fun, intriguing, and challenging things; and grow in the Lord.
The reason behind my blog name is fairly simple:
Life sometimes has hard challenges, failures, sickness, pain, loss, and stuff that feels unbearable. Those are life's lemons, so sour they can seem useless.
You've probably heard all of the different sayings about, 'When life throws you lemons, make lemonade' or -my personal favorite- 'When life throws you lemons, throw them back and demand chocolate'. While we can't 'throw back our lemons,' there are things we can do with those lemons;
God hasn't left us to fight our battles standing alone at the front lines.
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
-Joshua 1:9
"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
-Philippians 4:13
"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."
-1 Corinthians 10:13
One thing that I struggle with is remembering that God doesn't toss us hard situations to sit back and watch us wrestle them. I tend to be a cynic and forget that the challenges in my life are there because God's love for me is so great, that He doesn't want me just staying the plain old me! I need to be chiseled and shaped, and sometimes it hurts, but it's always a good thing.
"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words... And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose... What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?... For I am sure that neither death nor life, not angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
-Romans 8:26-39, one of my favorite passages in Scripture
I'm a huge believer in adventures- even the kinds where you get dirty, scraped up, and horribly exhausted. I learned in June at our church's Family Camp, that that's basically why we're here. God made a huge world for us: it's spectacular, beautiful, incomprehensible, frightening, and fascinating. But it's also our playground, because God is our Father, it's His world, and
He wants us to explore it and discover His character in it.
I'm learning so much, and the more I learn, the less I realize I know. Where despair could show its face, that’s where persevering comes into play.
I was hesitant about tacking 'Persevering' to the end of my title, especially with a 'No Matter What' qualifier, because one of the things I’m worst at in life, is persevering.
I’m more of the try-it-for-a-little-while-and-when-it-doesn’t-work-give-up kind of person. I tend to choose failure over success, simply because success is too hard. But I’m learning to “keep marching on,” as the One Republic song goes, and remember that the difference between who I am and who I want to be, is what I do.
This world really is an intricate and amazing place; we live in an age of a variety of technology and media on the internet that connects -quite literally- the world, and for the building of community, it is a powerful tool.
At this point in my life (married, no kids yet) there's much I'd like and need to learn, so I hope to make this blog a lot more interactive than most blogs.
I hope to share a variety of interviews, stories, and guest posts from some other blogger friends, as well as some book, movie, and product reviews, and maybe even some poems or short stories for the fun of it. The areas of health, fitness, cooking, beauty, travel, good books, biology, family and relationships, as well as other blogs, will be mostly highlighted here.
Also, beyond the figurative form of lemons in my blog, I actually hope to post something every couple months on an actual use for lemons: whether it be for cooking, cleaning, science experiment, or anything really!
It is my desire that any blog posts I have that are from my perspective will be encouraging, as well as informative, as one of my goals is to present researched and detailed information.
Eventually, I'd like to get my own camera, but for now I will make do with borrowing pictures from other good photographers I know.
I heard a pastor's wife once say that your brain is like a radio: it's always going, all of the time, and more often than not, we don't stop to think about what station it's on or what's actually being thought and felt. I want to tune into my radio better... and I also want to involve myself in thoughts and ideas better than my own.
So thank you for reading my thoughts: please leave your own in a comment!
Question #1:
If there were any specific subject you could learn more about, what would it be?
Photo credit goes to Susannah
