Tag: Learning

The Unbound Journal 5: The Finishing Touch

Welcome to the final post in The Unbound Journal. I appreciate you going through this series with me while I experimented with writing about something a little different than usual. Hopefully you have started to think differently about what your journal can be and ways in which to make your journal something valuable that you can cherish for years to come. In this final post I want to go back to basics of journaling and the core foundation behind it. You should write things you want to remember, real things, or write down everything, and keep it simple, or make it elaborate, do lists or write paragraphs, the point is your journal is yours and everything I have said are just ideas. What you write, how you write, that is you and your voice, and I encourage you to continue to listen for it as you journal. Don’t be afraid to be creative, messy, and fun. Some small additions that I like to add are dates, which are nice to look back at later, color schemes with colors representing certain things (I have also used charcoal, highlighter and sharpies aside from the normal pencil or pens), or even drawing a picture to represent an idea rather than words. A journal is a canvas for creativity and remembrance that represents you, your life, and your voice. You should already enjoy the process of journaling, but if you follow all the advice I have given you, you should have a journal that you will enjoy for a long time. Thanks again for reading and being a part of this community. As always, much love!

The Unbound Journal 4: Down to get Dirty

Another week, another tip to make the most of your journal. This post builds off the previous one in the series, before the break, so if you haven’t already read that it might be a good place to start. Last time we talked about adding more than just words to your journal and treating it almost like a scrap book. This piece of advice takes that a step further. Today I want to share with you something that I haven’t experimented with too much myself, but I find very intriguing and know will definitely make your journal unique. This is not for everyone, but some people might enjoy it. The idea is to encapsulate your environments into your journal. In the last Unbound Journal this was accomplished by adding items, but now I want you to take your journal and get it dirty! That’s right! This is a really strange idea, but I think some people might enjoy it. Some examples of what this might look like are; splashing water from a river on a page, laying the journal flat and putting a nice footprint on there, or even spilling a friend’s perfume or cologne on a page. They can be small like a smudge of dirt from your hometown or a stain of your favorite food, or they can be something big that takes up the entire or page. Trust me when I say I understand how weird this sounds. As I am writing this it feels wrong, but I wanted to try it out before I recommended it. I did this by spilling just a little coffee from my go to café in London on the page. I also wrote a note saying what it was and why I did it as well. If you can get over how bizarre this is and try it, I think that you will find that it adds character and color to your journal. The goal behind this is that you start to take your journal with you and start thinking outside the box on how you can incorporate important things onto the page. And worse comes to worse you will see the “blemish” on the page and be reminded of that silly time you took a bloggers advice.

Health and Fitness Abroad

UPDATE!

Hello all! It has been so long since I have posted. It was an absolute blessing to serve all the kids at camp and meet a lot of amazing people. I am thankful that you were patient with me as there were no posts during that time. Good news is… I am back! I will be returning to a post every Friday, also I will be posting soon about my experiences at camp and I will be finishing up the Unbound Journal Series. Those posts might be published before Friday since I kept you all waiting so long, so stay tuned! Lastly, I have been thinking a lot about the direction and vision for this page and what I want it to be about. SO, I might be changing the direction and re-orientating my channel to serve a slightly different purpose. All of this is still in the works and in consideration. If you have any input as a reader (things you like about my page, things you want to see changed) then let me know. MUCH LOVE!!

Health and Fitness Abroad

Traveling is extremely fun, but often it can be a hassle for any gym goer or people trying to eat healthier. For me personally, I usually follow a pretty specific workout plan and have intentionality with what I am eating to achieve a certain goal. I like my routine and traveling for any period of time means welcoming in a new routine. If you are like me and are someone who wants to still workout and eat a certain way, then you have come to the right place. In this post I want to share with you how I have been managing my health and fitness abroad, and tips and tricks you can use to keep yourself happy and active while traveling.

Before we get into the heart of this post, I want to first give two pieces of advice right off the bat. The first being, embrace the change. Understand and accept that you are more than likely going to have to change a good portion of how you approached health and fitness back home, and that’s OKAY. This is a good chance to experience new things and get outside of your normal routines. Take this as a time to get to know yourself and your body better, and whatever you do, do not let these things stop you from enjoying your time away. This is my second point: Don’t stress! I want you to be healthy and active, but I also want you to live your life and enjoy all the amazing experiences of traveling. Odds are you won’t be gone long enough to mess up all the hard work you have accomplished and whatever you do lose… or gain… can be amended in half that time once you get back. Also, if you follow my advice and put in a little effort while away you can maintain your current physique, or even improve upon it because you are giving your body a break while exposing it to new things.

Exercise 

If you don’t mind the cost, then the simplest and best solution to working out is going to be finding a gym near you and continuing on with your normal workouts. With this option, you very well could keep your workout routine unchanged. However, I would advise against this approach because odds are you are going to be busy, well, ENJOYING WHERE YOU ARE! You’re not going to want to, or may not even have the time, to go frequently enough to get your gains for you bucks and you should be trying to find every way possible to maximize your time doing fun things and soaking in your travels.

The best thing I would recommend doing is aiming for twice a week, at home body weight work outs. You don’t need any equipment, it doesn’t take very long, and you can do it anytime where you are staying for free. Believe it or not, you can train pretty much every muscle without any equipment! If you want to see specific exercises, then check out the video I linked at the end of this post to my YouTube channel which shows you an example of exercises to train muscles that are more difficult to train with just body weight. In that video I show you how to train everything besides legs and abs using only body weight. I left those two out because I feel that training them without weight is a little more obvious (ya know, lunges and crunches and such), and already touched on by a lot of people than those other muscles.

Now, I said the best thing to do would be to do body weight work outs twice a week, but I don’t even follow that advice even though I wholeheartedly believe that it’s effective and sufficient. The reason why is that I have access to a playground, and I have found creative ways to get some weight into my hands. For example, I have been loading up my backpack with things and then doing some of my exercises with that. There are plenty of things you can find to use as weights. Not everyone will have access to these things, but you can definitely find things to challenge yourself a little more than just body weight, and if not, body weight will do just fine. Prioritize the big muscles! I still aim for two workouts a week and on each one my goal is to workout the big primary movers with compound lifts (legs, chest and back). Working these in this manner is going to also hit the secondary movers (shoulders, biceps, triceps, calves). So, try and do those first and if you have time and energy do some isolation exercises. Just to clarify for anyone who may not know compound movements are going to involve multiple muscles working, think bench press, deadlifts, squats while isolation movements are going to work mostly a single muscle, think bicep curls, calve raises, and shoulder raises. Here are some of the things I have been doing.

  • Pull up variations (at the playground)
  • Push up variations (at the playground or at home)
  • Lunge/Squat variations (at the playground or at home)
  • Calve Raises (at the playground)
  • Hand stand press (at the playground or at home)
  • Bicep Curls (with backpack at home)
  • Tricep dips (with backpack at home)
  • Shoulder raises (with backpack at home)
  • Abs (at home)

That is it. These are the exercises I have been doing. Your goal for these should be to try and improve your repetitions or work your way up to a harder variation of a lift. For me, a workout has never taken more than an hour to do, unless I mess around.

Food

Managing what you eat while abroad can sound like a very daunting task. I try my best to not use the terms “eating healthy” or “dieting” because I think that they suggest not getting to enjoy yourself or eating in a way that is unsustainable which are both not how a relationship with food should be. So if I use those terms just know that when I refer to a “healthy” way of eating I’m referring to foods that nourish your body, AND includes things that you enjoy because doing that will lead to sustainability in the way you eat and long lasting health. I think that remembering to enjoy yourself applies more to food than to working out while traveling. Please, do not let food stress you out while you are away. If you are bulking up then food shouldn’t be to much of an issue, and if you are trying to eat to lose weight you have options.

Whether you are bulking up or leaning down you most likely will need to get some groceries. When shopping for food I would say prioritize getting protein. Carbs and fats will come easily in most dishes around the world but getting adequate protein to maintain your muscle will be more of a challenge. So, look for protein dense food items while shopping. If you have access to a place to cook then go for lean protein options such as seafood, chicken, and other lean meats. On the other hand, if you don’t have access to an area to prepare foods look for things like protein bars, beef jerky, or any sort of already cooked meat. What’s nice about protein bars/powders and jerky is that you don’t even have to worry about keeping them in a fridge. The only other thing I would say to get at grocery stores is some fruits and veggies to make sure you get all your micronutrients as well.

Bulking up, or eating in a caloric surplus, will be easy to do because wherever you are you are going to want to indulge in the culture and experience new dishes and I highly recommend you do! Eat some of your protein and fruits/veggies each day and the remainder of your macro and micro nutrients will easily be filled while eating out. Your goal should be to save the good stuff, carbs and fat, for eating out.

Now, if you are trying to lean down (eat in a caloric deficit) while traveling you may be concerned that you won’t be able to enjoy those good foreign and genuine dishes without sacrificing your goals. Not true! My first recommendation would be to really think about how long you have been trying to lose weight and consider giving yourself a break from the strains of being in a caloric deficit and eat at maintenance at least. You would be surprised how the body responds to moving back into maintenance for a period. You may even lose weight while eating more. If you have been trying to lean down for a good period of time then this will be a very refreshing recharge for your body, especially your metabolism. However, if you are set on still getting leaner then I would say that intermittent fasting is going to be your best friend. With this tactic you will be able to enjoy big meals and stay in a deficit without too much of a hassle. To do this, you fast from when you wake up into later in the day and you save yourself for eating out or a big meal. Coffee is a great option to help you fast from calories and if you bring some of the groceries you got (fruits, veggies, and protein) to eat later in the day it is not to unreasonable to make it to the end of the day for a nice and filling meal. Lastly, you could incorporate both ideas into one, taking some days to eat at maintenance and fasting on others. This is what I have been doing and it has made enjoying foods and staying leaner so easy and enjoyable.

I want to conclude with reminding you that above all you should enjoy your time away and not let eating and exercise hinder you from an amazing trip. Furthermore, I want to remind you that there are very applicable ways to not completely ditch health and fitness while abroad. If you have any questions about anything at all, want further examples or more details, or want to see more health and fitness related content on this blog let me know. Also, go check out the video I made, linked below. It goes very much hand in hand with this post and may answer some of the questions you have. As always, thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope it helps you with your fitness journey while away from home. Stay healthy and stay happy!

YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jinThDzlXD8

The Unbound Journal 3: More Than Words

We are at the halfway point for this series on finding the full potential of your journal. After this week, the series will take a break for a while (I will be posting other things during this time) and then the final two posts will be published to wrap it up. I hope that you are enjoying these tips on journaling so far. These types of post aren’t my normal, but I think it has been fun for different. Alright, with logistics out of the way, on to the post!

Your journal doesn’t have to consist of just your words, or the words of others. In fact, you should think of it more like a scrap book to some degree. Additions beyond just writing can really make your journal come to life, capture special moments, and allow you to hold on to cool keep-sakes. One of my favorite features of my last two journals has been that they have a pouch like a folder in the back. My journal is mostly used as a prayer journal and so during my times of travel I have been trying to keep little things like pamphlets, or service cards from churches that I’ve visited around the world so that I can add them to my journal. What you keep in there is up to you. I also have kept movie tickets, bus stubs, odds and ends, drawings from friends, pictures of family and friends, and notes. Now, if you don’t have a pouch in your journal don’t worry! There are tons of other ways to add physical things to your journal. One time I didn’t have my journal and I wrote something on a piece of paper. I forgot about it and kept writing in my journal only to stumble upon it later. I really wanted to add it in so I stapled it into where I would have been chronologically. The point is, you can staple things, tape things, or glue things as there are a bunch of ways to get keep-sakes on the page. This is a tip that I have found fun to do and really takes your journal to another level. As always, much love!

The Unbound Journal 2: The Space In-between

Once again, we are talking about how to make the most of your journal. Your journal is more than just pages, and one of the biggest ways to drastically increase the fullness of it is to start looking at the space in-between. Go beyond just writing on pages and start looking at all the other areas you can add to. For example, my current journal has a band to hold it closed and a book marker attached to it. This space to be taken advantage of! Don’t let it go to waste. On the band and book mark I wrote encouraging words that are easily visible before I even open my journal. This adds flavor and makes your journal exciting. I have written all over every part of my journal and it makes it so much more stylized than just uniform writing on each page. The inside of the covers are great places to write things as well, and one of my favorite places to write things is along the sides of the paper when the book is closed (the image for this post shows what I mean). Don’t let any space in your journal be overlooked. Look for creative places to add more character to your journal. This will fill your journal with lots of little nooks and crannies of things that take it above and beyond and make it a little more unique and special. I hope this short and sweet tip helps you create a journal that is truly your own. Best of writing, and Much Love!

Faith Moving in London

Finding a church community abroad was something that I thought would be very difficult to do. However, I really wanted to experience how churches in a different country operated, how they were the same, and how they were unique. So I made it a personal goal of mine to seek out churches in London. I wanted to see the impact culture had on how things ran. As of writing this I have come across two churches, one recommended by a mentor and the other by chance, and  experienced Jesus in two drastically different ways.

The first was at a start up church called Trinity Central London formerly known as the London Underground Church. Started around 5 years ago, Trinity Central is a very small church with an average of around 20-30 members. It is planted in the heart of the city centered between three main tube stations on the outskirts of Trafalgar Square. Honestly, I loved it. There is an intimacy that can be hard to find in mega churches, but with a church this size you get to know everyone very well and very quickly. They embraced me and got to know me, and that’s something I really appreciated. Opening up with them was easy because the environment was so inviting, and they were very kind in letting me in on all the activities they had planned. I even got to play the lead worshipper’s guitar after the service which I had been craving since I left mine back home in the states. Something the head pastor asked me at the end of the service that really stuck with me was How can we serve you? What can we do to help you and make your time in London the best it can be? Loving to serve others is one of the most impactful things I have learned in following Jesus. It is so filling and makes massive impacts in peoples lives. To find a church that fully embraced that and lived it out was extremely heartwarming. One thing that was evident while being at a church of that size is the urgent need for Jesus in London. So many people still need to hear about the life God has in store for them if they want it.

My other experience was completely opposite from the one I had at Trinity Central, and how I found it was extremely random and lucky. It was a Sunday and I wanted to explore London a little more, mostly go shopping and find a new coffee shop. My plan was to check out the area around Trinity Central, but I got very mixed up on the tubes and ended up pretty lost. On my way out of the station I passed a huge sign that said Hillsong London Church. Now I have heard of Hillsong Churches but never been into one. As I passed by, I saw that a service was just about to start. A few greeters at the front were quick to welcome me in and point me towards where the main service was taking place. Like I said, I had heard of Hillsong Churches but never experienced them. I knew they were a big church with massive services and awesome worship. Immediately when I walked in, I felt the base from music and heard the faint sounds of worship already starting. As I was walked down the hall there were more greeters and people who looked like security guards smiling and guiding me. My excitement started to sky rocket as the music grew louder and I heard more and more voices singing. The hallway came to an end at two huge double doors and a young woman standing in front of them said Hello, and welcome to church and she pushed the double doors open and I was flooded with singing and music. I stepped in to overlook a sea of hands raised in worship all leading up to a huge stage with brilliant lights and a worship team giving a concert-like performance. Waves of joy and excitement washed over me. My arms filled with goosebumps rippled with tingly elation. I was paralyzed with awe and wonder at how many people there were and the energy in the room. I stood there for a moment trying to process everything I was seeing before me. Eventually the same woman that let me in came up to me and said Let me help you find a seat. She brought me up to the front and from there I could see that not only was this huge theater filled with people, but there were two balconies with people as well. I was just so amazed by the whole experience, and so astonished that so many people had come together to worship Jesus in London. It wasn’t as intimate as Trinity Central, but it was powerful. Afterwards, I talked with the woman who let me in and found out that they weren’t even supposed to be at that location. There normal building had to go through some renovations on short notice and so they ended up finding that theater for the day. It blows my mind how things like that happen— That I would get lost and that their church would be relocated right on the path that I stumbled upon.

What I learned from both churches is that yes, there is a massive need for Jesus here still, but at the same time God is moving London. He is working in big ways and subtle ways but his love for us is active. I also learned that no matter the culture, the environment, or the community if people truly are followers of Christ there won’t be to much difference between them. I felt welcomed, accepted and loved in both churches. I saw communities ready to share His story and I experienced his love in new ways, and that makes me incredibly happy.

Re-tuned

 

How I got here, I do not know. Maybe somewhere deep down I knew I needed to be here. Among the aging objects, I glide through them like I’ve been here before. Maybe I have in some way. Thick in the air is a scent that feels so familiar, like what I imagine a soul left out to long in the heat would smell like, after it’s been beat by everyone with their matching, opinion-sized bats. An odor of under-appreciation and I can’t help but breathe it in. It’s comforting as I inhale, exhale until I find the source. It’s the old knobs I notice first. The way their faded white has turned to a worn gray from so many years of being subjected to other’s wills. Somehow as a whole it holds its dignity, fighting back awareness of the inevitability that it could always be vulnerable to the touch of others. The scarred wood paneling holds a slight optimistic glow despite being in the know. Two round speakers like imploring eyes prompt me to question. Why do we love to find the lies that social norms and shameful people tell us? More than that, why do we love to abide in them?  We have an ear tuned to the static of negativity in an always broadcasting world of so many beautiful tunes and lively music all beating to the stomp of possibility. We let our own melodies slip away in the black and white flickering anomalies, folds between space, the blank place where we are everything everyone else tells us we are. Here we sit on a table top, left to gather grime and rot based off the discernments of everything outside us. Looked upon by judging eyes, they staple a price tag to our head, and hope anyone but ourselves will consider the cost. How funny it is we still wear that tag. Why is it the small things that remind us how we can sing and hold the notes, like accumulating Os or more like zeros, to define our own number of digits? It’s the cast asides, the forgottens, with their piling dust and growing rust and their perfect brokenness that remind us who we are.

~

This is a poem I wrote after I stumbled upon a fascinating pawn shop in London. I got very lost and happened to find it hidden away in a side alley. Coming through the doors, the smell of dust was strong, and everything looked dim. It was a small shop and everything inside was very old and looked very much antique. But what blew me away was the beauty I saw in every item. Among the faded gray of tossed out things stood a bright yellow Lily sitting in a simple and clear tiny vase upon the counter. An old cube T.V with flimsy looking dials and a big glass hump for a screen sat off in the corner, tucked away on the bottom half of a shelf. But what stood out to me the most was an old radio sitting on a little table all to itself. A cool washed down mint green made up most off it along with medium roasted brown paneling. Two dusty gray speakers sat beside the middle tuner and a few faded white dials spotted the front. It was gorgeous! However, an old flimsy tag with a red scribble hung off the top and it was in that moment I felt the inspiration to write this poem. Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of the place or the radio. Like I said, how I got there was kind of mysterious, which I think made the moment even more special for me. This poem was meant to be a reminder that our value, our worth, and our beauty are as good or bad as we decide, not what others decide. I hope you found the poem fun to read and are encouraged to remember that you are amazing.

Catching Up with God

Today I will leave you with a short message, but I think that it is worth sharing. I have recently arrived in London for a study abroad program, and it has been amazing! I will definitely talk more about London and my experiences here as my adventure in the city continues to unfold. But first I want to talk about something else that happened this morning. I have been here for about 5 days and things have been extremely busy. Even a few days before I left for London things were hectic. Between the planning, the packing, the checking, and the rechecking there has been A LOT of things going on! This morning was the first time I didn’t have to be anywhere or worry about anything and so I decided to go workout at a park. Early in the morning on my walk there, it crossed my mind that I hadn’t said a word to God in a long time. Immediately I started talking to God, catching him up on things, and then listening to what he had to say. It is very hard to describe the joy, peace, and assurance that floods you when you engage in conversation with God. It’s like I had all these things I was trying to keep organized, worries cluttering my brain, and thoughts clouded with concern, and it all got wiped clean and I remembered how good life is when God is involved. The main thing I felt like God was reminding me in that moment, is that sometimes all we need to do is catch up with Him to be reminded how amazing the life He’s got planned for us is, and to remember how blessed we are. So once I got to the park I sat on a bench and just reflected on the amazing experience I just had. I realized that one of the best things you can do with your time, is give it to God. We all get busy and it is so easy to shrink into a tiny, compressed ball of stress and anxiety worrying about things with our minds racing and before you know it, you are sucked into this tiny little orbit called your world. Where it is impossible to think more than a few hours ahead and everything else around you becomes a cloudy blur. It is in those moments that reaching out to God is so crucial. Sometimes all it takes is a quick conversation. But when you do that, I can guarantee that it will set you up for an amazing day. You will begin to see outside your little bubble. If you do it consistently, I can also assure you that He will fill your life with so many real experiences. He will place people in your life, and take you places, and give you the most fulfilling life you could ever imagine. He is a God that wants us to be with others. In the times you’re by yourself and you feel lonely, or even small, He can make those moments where you feel rested and recover instead. Once you commit your life to Him, He will never lead you away from these things. However, it gets hard to see His work and appreciate it if you don’t check in occasionally. So my prayer for you, even if you’ve never tried talking to Him before, is that you just start talking. Whenever you are ready just catch up with Him, because He is ready for a conversation with you, ready to love you, and if you let Him, ready to lead you through an unbelievably fulfilling life.

***

Side Note: In my pursuit for a good photo for this post I find a website to an amazing post, with the perfect picture, by C D Swanson. He talks about things similar to what I shared in this post and he poses through his writing the idea of meeting God on a bench and the theoretical conversation that you would have with Him. It is definitely worth it to check it out and give it a read. Here is the link: https://www.cdswanson.com/?p=973

 

What I Want To Be When I Grow Up

 

This is an essay I wrote this year that really gets to the core of what I want to do with my life. In simple terms, I want to be a storyteller. There are so many avenues that can be followed when pursuing storytelling, and I don’t necessarily mind how I end up working as a one. What I really care about is what makes a storyteller. The motives of great storytellers and the characteristics and values they have are amazing, genuine and rooted in what I believe to be some of the most important things in life. Being a storyteller means so much more than people know, and in this essay, I want to explain to you what it means to me.

~

Hi, my name is Chad Campbell-Gonzalez and I would like to share with you how I figured out I want to be a storyteller. Growing up, I loved writing. In elementary school when I was asked what I want to do I said become a writer. There was something about writing that drew me in. I think at the time it was the limitless expression that writing offered. Blank pages were like blank stories, empty worlds, and untraversed universes, waiting to be explored by my imagination and my pen. Each word I wrote added to this thing I was creating that came from inside me. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was falling in love with creativity.

Creativity is a critical aspect of storytelling, and it is so fascinating and unique. Getting to express myself through words and imagery is powerful. It’s personal. Creativity is like the key to a door that opens up a world of adventures in self-exploration and understanding. Through it, we try and better grasp who we think we are and, in the process, gain a greater appreciation for those around us. That’s why, although unique and definitely a self-journey, creativity is also a voyage of all people and an adventure that leads to building community.

As I grew older, middle school and high school weren’t environments where creative writing was prioritized. It was still there but you really had to search to find it. All that given, I drifted away from writing and pursued what I thought would make my family and those around me proud. I wanted to be someone important and powerful. I wanted a job that was hard to achieve and when I accomplished it, people would be impressed. I wanted to be everything except what my heart wanted me to be. And so I pursued those things. All through high school and through the beginning part of my college career I had myself convinced that was what I wanted. Over that span a few things happened that, at the time I didn’t know, but were slowly turning me back towards my passion for storytelling.

I found Jesus on May 30, 2015, my sophomore year of high school. My experience with Him has shown me how important people are, and most importantly how important love is. Love is one of the most powerful things on the planet, and it wasn’t until I started following Jesus that I really took a look at my heart and the love that was in my life. I was going through some family issues, as we all are, but I starting to really think about what it means to love and how to do it and I was able to start working through some of those things. Then my journey with understanding love grew even more in my senior year of high school when I read the book “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” by Raymond Carver. I could see him exploring ideas on love and trying to understand what it meant to him and I thought to myself, I want to do that! Carver helped me see how writing helps a writer work through and wrestle with confusing things in their life, and lets others see what they take away from it.

So, with these things in mind and my passion for writing starting to spark back up I decided to take a writing class at the University of Washington. It was amazing. Writing again I could feel the creative cogs in my head creak back into life. I felt like a kid again. I felt like me. I was able to start unpacking and working on things in my life that hurt me, confused me and I was able to express and share all the things that healed me and uplifted me. It was like all of these huge realizations flooded me and I was able to hear my heart again. I came to realize that being a storyteller means wanting to understand and love yourself, and more importantly, sharing what you discover with others so that they can learn, grow and be reminded that they aren’t alone in their struggles. I began to really appreciate the personal therapy session I received every time I put the ink on the page or my fingers on the keys. Being a storyteller means creating and it means listening. It involves getting out in your communities and sharing experiences. It means helping each other see their best self and get the most out of life. Being a storyteller means loving people, and that’s what I want to do with my life.

The Truth about Affirmation

Affirmation is a powerful thing. However, I think our mindsets are a little off on what true affirmation looks like in life, and I think that it is very important to understand what it really is. Through this post I want to share with you three stories of recent affirmation in my own life and then explain the truth about affirmation.

1

I work at a restaurant as an assistant server, more or less a busboy, and I love my job. I get to serve people and most of the time that is behind the scenes, doing things that nobody knows. It is only human to want to be recognized and acknowledged for the work that you do. Sometimes, it was extremely difficult to convince myself to keep working so hard for what seemed like no reason. So one night I was working with a server I had never worked with before, and I was battling with feeling like I was unnoticed, unimportant. But I decided to keep up my spirit and keep doing my work. In the middle of the shift she comes up to me and says, “Do you love Jesus?” I smiled and told her I do, and I asked her why she asked me or how she knew, and she told me, “Because you are really happy and really kind.”

2

One night after I had just finished up meeting with some people, I was walking down the sidewalk on my way home. I passed by this place called “WOW” which serves bubble tea and other drinks, and something just came over me to go buy two drinks for people in my house. I went in and the place was empty except for two girls who were waiting for their drinks to be made. I walked up to the counter and ordered the two drinks. As, I was standing there I noticed the two girls look at me and then giggle and whisper to each other. This went on for a little and then eventually one of the girls came up and explained how they weren’t trying to be rude, but they thought I looked a lot like this guy from a show they watched. I laughed and ended up talking with them for a while and explained how I just felt a random urge to come in and buy drinks for my friends. The other girl noticed my bible and started asking me questions about my faith, and I got talk to her about Jesus. Afterwards, they gave me a hug and told me to “keep doing good things.” I got my drinks and headed out.

3

I was in a waiting room, hanging out before an appointment and I noticed that the room was pretty empty. It was just the receptionist and me. This thought crossed my mind to start a conversation with the her. It was early in the morning though and I didn’t really feel like talking but I decided I should. We started talking about random things, mostly small talk, and I had actually thought the conversation was over but then she asked me more about my life. We talked for a few more minutes and then she paused and said, “What did you do to end up going in the right direction?” and I laughed because I hardly feel like I know where I am going. But I got to explain to her that my faith has led me to where I am, and I definitely don’t know if it’s the “right” direction but I love the path that I have been on ever since I started following Jesus. She scrunched up her mouth and looked up over my shoulder, somewhere into the distance, and after a moment looked back at me and told me thank you.

I think that it is very easy to let our focus turn to pursuing gratitude and affirmation in life. But what we need to do is focus on Jesus, because when you do that you won’t even care about being affirmed by the world because you are affirmed by the God of the world who sees every second of work you have put in. Affirmation from the Lord will leave you feeling encouraged and inspired and through that you will give into others selflessly and without concern for your own acknowledgement. Also, when you pursue Jesus and let him affirm you it becomes so much more evident all the little ways we are affirmed each day. We have come to believe that affirmation must be a big event that will leave us in awe, but the truth is affirmation is in the smiles that we see from others, the simple and sincere words they share, and the small acts of kindness people do for us. In the stories I shared it wasn’t until I was really doing things for others, without my own desires leading me, that people said something. It wasn’t by my own strength or desires to do something and try and be acknowledge, but a prompting from the holy spirit that led me to affirmation. When I step out of my own way and let Jesus lead, people see that and respond. I also think that it is important to consider that these are what I would call “big” moments of affirmation. You have to realize that these happened after years of following Jesus. They don’t happen every day, but the small things do. If you let your thoughts become focused on being affirmed in huge ways and spend your time and energy living for those moments, you will always end the day feeling unsatisfied and unfulfilled. The truth about affirmation is it’s simple, effortless, and everywhere if you focus on Jesus.

*Image is called Picture My Thoughts by Myra Johnson