you can do anything

i love when men say that they "married up." i feel like that is one of the top ten compliments a husband can give his wife. who wouldn't want to hear that? what better way to honor your wife than with a heartfelt compliment like that?

an older italian gentleman who has succeeded at many different career paths (he taught high school and started nine prospering naturalizer shoe stores, plus he was a state legislator!) before ending up as one of the top dogs at the lobbying firm where i am an intern, said that when he first told me about his wife. he also tells me every friday night about how much he is looking forward to "date night" with his wife. he recommends amazing restaurants that make me drool, but are completely out of intern budget. i have them tucked away in my memory for later when i have a triple digit salary like him.

of all the perks and benefits of this internship, watching my confidence grow might be the best one. i had no political background or experience, and was shocked to be offered the position. i had applied thinking it would be a long shot. when they said they wanted me i almost did not take it. at the time i'm sure i had a list of reasons why i shouldn't, but looking back now i'm sure it was nothing but fear hiding under a pile of excuses.

right before i was going to email them to decline, i did not feel peace about saying no. i tend to be a mess (a.k.a. freak out) when it comes to making major life decisions. that "tend to" is added in the spirit of optimism and believing this will change, and i will become confident to the point of making decisions without fear.

as i prayed and started going through my journal, suddenly something i had taken notes on about confidence popped out. when you assume that someone else is better than you, you automatically limit yourself. but when you explore areas of your life where you have said you're not good at something, you will learn to walk in confidence and understand that the Lord really trusts in YOU. the Lord has more confidence in you than you have in yourself - that alone should free us up to try new things.

oh boy. i decided to take the internship. and you know what? i have loved it. it was overwhelming and took time and stress to catch on, but i realized i could do it. succeeding at something i was scared of makes me feel like i can do anything. but no matter what the success, or even whatever the failure is, that realization that 'i can do anything' is true for all of us. you and i can do anything.

one of my favorite parts of andy byrd's message at church this morning (the whole thing was amazingly-spectacular-phenomenol-too good to put into words) was when andy had us all dreaming with him about a culture where cynicism, criticism, gossip and negativity are wiped out and replaced with positivity and life. imagine the freedom we'd step into if all we could speak was life?

let your mind run wild with dreams of a culture where truth is agreed upon and sin is acknowledged as the opposite of what is true and good. yet instead of shame and condemnation for that sin, there is a freedom to fail along with an appropriate response of joy-filled repentance. joy-filled repentance. how did i never think of that before? isn't it a joy to be able to walk away from a sin and start fresh? to align our ways with the Word of God? when did repentance become a nuisance instead of a delight?

what i really wanted to reiterate from andy's message goes along with the fact that nothing is impossible. not only are the things that the Lord wants to do POSSIBLE, they are INEVITABLE. is it possible that we could have the same embarassment over abortion that we do over slavery? (watch the movie "the help" if you haven't seen it yet, i bawled my eyes out and got ten times more excited to be a journalist!)

is it possible that human trafficking and abortion could end in our generation, in this country, in this world? YES. it is possible, and if it's not then the gospel must not be true. big gulp. might wanna read that again, because it's a major reality check on whether what you say you believe is really what you believe. i can't help but get completely pumped up for living life when i listen to andy byrd speak! (you can go here to listen to it) he truly brings the Word of God to life.

fear doesn't have to hold you back. negativity from the world around you does not have to hold you back. your circumstances are not forever and they do not have to limit you. you have everything you need to accomplish whatever the Lord has called you to do - in life and on this day.