Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.

I’ve felt it lately: the undercurrent of anxiety and irritation running through my day. There are days when I start believing everything is a personal attack. Suddenly, everyone else is the problem and I’m justified in my reactions.

Being a positive person is more desired than being a negative one. But, have you ever met an annoyingly positive person? I have. They were so positive I became very negative about my opinion of them.

In one of the most famous parables Jesus tells, a young man who wants to live his best life now boldly asks his father for his inheritance before the traditional “until-death-do-I-part agreement.” Shockingly, the father grants his request and the son packs his bags and moves to a distant land where he spends all his money on wild living. But it gets much worse.

“Why God?!” “Show Yourself!” “Where are you, God?”

Have you ever thought this, or said any of these out loud, or just screamed these into the air?

Josh’s message was powerful, and it all started with…Pancakes?! Now personally, I’m partial to the Belgian waffle brigade, and so while I was feeling defensive, and honestly quite famished, he made me start thinking about breakfasts and drinking coffee with God, and it was just so magnificent to comprehend that I had to regain focus.

As a child, I regularly dreamed of being a grown-up.

Being a grown-up meant total freedom to do whatever I wanted. As a 7-year-old, adult responsibilities made no appearance in my adult day dream.

Most kids dream of having unlimited access to junk food. However, if you have ever significantly altered your diet for the better, then you know the feeling of choosing long-term energy, stamina, and a clear mind over the fleeting taste of junk. Yes, our bodies have grace and can compensate and survive on junk food…for a little while, at least. But for someone who has lived on a healthy diet, junk foods have little to no appeal.

I don’t want to buy a boat. I have had fun on boats, and I know why other people dream about someday buying a boat, but even if I won the lottery, I would have no desire to buy a boat. However, let’s say for the next year I put pictures of boats around my desk at work.

One of the most damaging lies we believe in Western culture is the lie of self-sufficiency. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not inherently wrong to become a mature, independent person who knows how to keep a clean house and spend within your means, but the slide into prideful isolation is an easy one. Add hurt to the mix and self-protection will further distance you from the people (and God) you need most.

Waiting for the elevator doors to open, my husband’s elbow jabbed into my ribs. Annoyed, I looked at him and saw his wide eyes trying to send me a message. As we stepped into the awaiting elevator I looked over at the stranger entering with us. I was looking straight into the eyes of Bishop Desmond Tutu. Nobel Peace Prize winner, legend of the South African freedom movement, adored throughout the entire globe.

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye, and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” - Jesus (Matthew 7:3)

How do you know if you are one of the ones Jesus is talking to?

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:37–39