Lets Shout From the Top of our Lungs!

I finished reading the book Blue Like Jazz this afternoon. Three things I take away from this book that truly impacted me.

"Living in community made me realize one of my faults: I was addicted to myself. All I thought about was myself." (181 Miller)

" 'Don, let me tell you. You should be tithing. That is not your money. That is God's money. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Stealing from God and all. You write Christian books and everything and you're not even giving God's money back to Him.' " (195 Miller)

"God's love will never change us if we don't accept it." (232 Miller)

Donald Miller truly put away his pride when writing and publishing this book. He spoke of his weaknesses, his mistakes, his doubts, fears, concerns and second guesses of what he believed in. He spoke of his lessons learned through his environment, unexpected relationships and life experiences. He pushed fear aside and just spoke his mind of Jesus, who He was to him and what a relationship with Him looks like to him. I would encourage everyone to read this book. No matter where you are in your walk with God or even if you don't have one, still give this book a chance, I promise you it will be worth it.

With all that being said I have decided to take a step back from my writing my story. I believe that each and every one of us have a desire to share something with whomever will listen. I believe that there are times when God does something so crazy cool that we just want to shout it at the top of our lungs. It's a lot easier said than done. Writing comes easy for me, even talking out loud has grown to be less humiliating (due to my work on vulnerability the last TWO years) but for others this is a challenge, a big one.

I see Jesus through people. Some people see Him through nature, see Him on the streets or at church but for me I see Him in people. Not just people who know Jesus is shining through them but even people who don't realize it. I learn from others, their stories, struggles, triumphs and journeys. For the next week to two weeks I will be opening up my blog to whomever wishes to shout at the top of their lungs. I am opening my postings to those who have something pressing on their heart but don't know how to go about expressing those feelings. Anything goes, just speak about what you want to. You can remain anonymous or choose to share who you are. Here is your opportunity to let others catch a glimpse of the you that doesn't always show, your chance for someone to learn something through your life and your story.

Lets learn from each other. Lets lean on each other and each others experiences. Lets experience life together. Lets learn to love each other AND ourselves for who we are on the inside and not the outside.

Let me know if you are interested.