Tag Archives: Nugget ‘O Truth

New Feature: SOAP

31 Saturday Aug 2013

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tumblr_lxki98qL9V1qipw3rI’ve decided to add a new feature up in here! I heard about this concept over a year ago I think, and it’s sort of stuck with me as a way I could structure posts. SOAP stands for scripture, observation, application, and prayer.  It’s a way of taking time to really think about what God is trying to tell us through His word.  I think that could be pretty self explanatory, but just in case it isn’t I’ll walk you through it. Now on to today’s scripture:

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.  (1 Timothy 1:5)

Observation: If you can’t remember what the point is of being a christian on a day to day basis, this is a great summary to remind you.  We have been charged with a responsibility, and even thought we are human and will never be perfect it is our aim to be able to have good motives and genuinely confident belief in the truth of who Christ is and what He has and will do for us.  It also means to be able to love people from a pure heart, which is impossible without knowing Christ.

Application:  It’s hard to remember what Christ has asked me to do.  It’s harder still to live out His requests without taking the time daily to give Him dominion over my heart.  I could tell you the gist of the great commission, but in my day to day life I forget what my motivation should be all the time.  For me applying this scripture means to read it and remember that I have been called to act from a heart that seeks to be fulfilled in the Lord and submitted to His will, instead of from a place of selfish desire.

Prayer:  God, I wish I could give you some excuses for my behavior and the condition of my heart, but we both know it’s not worth the effort.  I’m sorry for being lazy and petulant.  I have let myself get in the way of who You want me to be, and I want to change but I can’t… not unless You change me.  Please renew my heart so that it can be more like Yours.  Let my actions show the world what You want the world to see, instead of whatever images I could possibly want to portray myself as.  Thanks for being stronger than my will, and willing to put up with my human nature.  Thanks for giving me a life that You designed specifically for me, and designed me for.  You’re the best.  dirty

Same Old, Sort Of.

07 Wednesday Aug 2013

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DANCE

I just made a chicken salad with bacon toasted cheese sandwich, which I am choosing to enjoy with whiskey on ice. When I got home from work I decided to do part of a yoga DVD and an entire Dancercize DVD.

On a side note, Dancercize is excellent because you feel like a complete idiot and you can’t understand what the instructor is doing. Then about halfway through you sort of figure it out and begin to feel like Jessica Alba in Honey, start putting your own little spin on it, then you realize you can’t see what they are doing because sweat is pouring down your face. You end up feeling tired, and a little bit awesome because you just did that entire DVD, even if it was barely 30 minutes.

Tonight I am celebrating. I am celebrating the changes that are happening in my life, not necessarily the changes that life is bringing me, but the changes that are happening from the inside out. I have made a decision to pursue a goal that requires me to get my act together. Thankfully it is one that will require preparation and prayer and really getting back into the Word, and that is only something that I will be able to do by asking for God to help me do it. It would seem that I completely forget that if I ask Him to help me He will. For some reason I think that I need to get myself back on track, and forget that without the H. Sizzle I am completely useless. I need God to change me from the inside out (again. Ugh.). And I am willing to be submissive, so I’ve decided to start asking on a regular basis. I might turn into The Worst, constantly praying and needing and whatnot, but I have a feeling that my version of The Worst is very different from His.

Speaking of changes from the inside out, today I found my first white hair. Not gray, white. Like, blinding white, all the way to the root. Obviously 26 has a lot of great things in store for me. Changes await, and I am not even scared!dirty

Today is my Birthday.

14 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in Dirty Little..., Dirty's Reports, Human Interest

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photo (3)This year I feel like I’ve only learned one thing that’s noteworthy: if you can survive a loved one’s death you can live through any heartache or break that comes along.

“He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars;
    he gives to all of them their names.
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
    his understanding is beyond measure.” – Psalm 147:3-5
dirty

TV Teaches Me Things part 3

24 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by in Dirty's Reports, Things TV Teaches Me

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tinadanceWhen I was a junior in college I was introduced to a show by a friend that she swore was one of the best things she’d ever seen in her life. It was one of the best things I had ever seen in my life as well, and I became a fangirl immediately. The show was 30 Rock.
Here is a random list of things that I have learned from my beloved show. It is incomplete, but it is still gonna happen.

  • Reaganing is defined as a continual streak of perfection. It is similar to a ‘no hitter’ in baseball however with a more broad application that refers to a series of non-related events. Named after the 40th President of the USA Ronald Reagan.
  • It is possible to have male-female friendships. Liz and Jack are strictly friends, business buddies, work spouses, mentor-mentee, and work husband slash uncle/co-worker slash little brother. It can work. It doesn’t have to get complicated and weird.
  • Live every week like it’s Shark Week.
  • There are secrets to fashion, ranging from tie colors (having more than 2 colors in a tie means you’re looking for a certain type of bar) to the proper way to dress as a spinster (sweatshirt, mom jeans, fanny pack), from the secrets behind trends (your friend is Michael Khors and will make wizard capes cool to hide your girlfriend’s pregnancy) to the wrong way to color block (tan slacks with a tan turtleneck will make you look like a giant condom), and of course the proper way to treat evening wear.

    Lemon: “Why are you wearing a tux?”
    Jack: “It’s after 6. What am I, a farmer?”

  • Reality TV will always be on because it always wins the ratings.
  • The Bubble is defined as the world in which beautiful people live where they are protected from all criticism and all of life’s unpleasantries and never get a true sense of their actual limitations
  • Nothing brings people together like fear and/or the hatred of something. Bonding can happen over fear of the end of the world, budget cuts, or even bed bugs.
  • There are 3 things you should not do in a negotiation: speak first, smile, and negotiate against yourself.
  • You can’t out-crazy Tracy Jordan
  • An EGOT is the combination of winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony; the highest peak an actor can attain.
  • There is a difference between positive reinforcement and stating facts.

    “I do look like the Arrow shirt man, I did lace up my skates professionally and I did do a fabulous job finishing my muffin.”

  • I want to go to there is an expression of yearning for a feeling, place, or situation. Use it in reality. I do.dirty

Of Patience and Waiting

13 Thursday Jun 2013

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A while ago I found this guy who really understands me.  It’s like, no matter where I am in my life he seems to know exactly what’s going on with me, and he always knows how to say it out loud so I don’t have to.

Too bad he’s dead.

The apostle Paul knew exactly what I am going through today.  He even wrote it down for me.

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.”  – 1 Timothy 1:15-16

I have always known I am the worst Christian, and it’s something I’ve come to accept about myself.  No matter how many people I’ve met, no matter how many could say that they are worse, I’ve known for a long time that they can never understand how deeply sinful my heart is.

I used to feel relieved when I found out that people who I considered holy were sinners too.  The girl who read her bible all the time had a selfish streak a mile wide.  The guy who acted as a spiritual leader was jobless and petulant about it.  The super compassionate and loving had a bit of a drinking issue and a history of premarital sex.  I was so happy when a beloved pastor’s wife spoke louder than normal to get her point across about a broken dish that I almost forgot that it was her way of yelling at me, because I finally saw a side of her I could relate to: the human side.

I get very impatient.  I decide to do something myself or decide it will never happen.  I get anxious when waiting for something that is promised or guaranteed, to the point of convincing myself it will never get here.  These are not very good ways to prove my trust in an incredibly patient God.

When Paul says that he was shown mercy so that Christ Jesus would be able to display his immense patience I feel like the man had visions of a future where an impatient and rebellious girl would never be satisfied.  It’s like God gave him a special dream where he showed a bunch of tin boxes with wheels and big metal birds and enormous scary buildings, pointed out a girl in the middle of it with constantly changing hair color and whispered in Paul’s ear, “She is going to have days where she won’t believe that she will be able to make it.  I need you to write to her and remind her about me.”

And that’s what I’m getting today, a reminder of why I’m here and what my life is about.  I get to read a reminder that Christ is working in me, being patient with me beyond my understanding, so that my life can be an example to other people.  And when I remember his patience, which I don’t think anyone else in the world can have for me, I want to have that patience.  I want to be an example of what the patience of Christ Jesus looks like on this earth.  So that’s what I’ll be praying for, because believe me, I’m not there yet.dirty