Emma Veronica

Posts

Day 29 Roots

Orange unfurls from green and lies under layers of brown. Roots are planted deep, but canopies are left bare with death as bitter winds befriend my nose and fingers. I pray my roots are deep enough to endure the change of season. What if death consumes everything that sits on the surface so everything underneath is exposed? Dig deep, patiently wait for the sprout to emerge, let the roots begin to sink in. The winds may blow the leaves away and break some branches, but resurrection comes with change too. Hope lives in the roots.

Day 28 Divine Love in Truth

I'm going to back-track here... back to truth. Remember how I said it's connected to love? Christopher Heuertz says in The Sacred Enneagram that "there is divine love in all truth no matter where it's from." But see, sometimes the truth hurts. So where's the love then? What about the truth that I am broken and selfish and impatient and human? When we are held accountable, we typically don't like hearing where we've gone wrong. And yet, being held accountable is so valuable and necessary. It helps us see who we truly are-- even the ugly bits. It teaches us how we can grow and who we are becoming. It draws us closer to Love. When you can see where you struggle, you can also choose to see your potential. I believe that's how God sees all of us. He sees our cracked pieces and sees beauty because he can see the final work. It requires hope on our end, and patience to hear and develop from hard truth. So next time you hear someone tell you that t...

Day 27 You are a Leader

Today Pastor Chris (at Riverbank Church in White River Junction, VT) talked about one of my favorite topics-- Christian leadership. What do you think of when we hear the word "leader?" Maybe you think, "sure, I'm a leader." That's great! But maybe you think, "uh, no way, I don't have the abilities or the gifts to be a leader." And if that's you, I understand where you are coming from. But friend, I'm lovingly telling you, you're dead wrong. As Christians, we are all leaders. Really, I think we're just defining leadership wrong. Leadership, from a biblical standpoint, is serving others (Matthew 20:28), influence (Galatians 5:16-25), responsibility (Galatians 6:4-5), character (2 Peter 1:3), and skill (Luke 1610-12). We all have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, and he is the most powerful influence. So if we have him living inside of us, and working through us, how can we not be leaders? See, God does not call the qualif...

Day 26 Day Off vs. Sabbath

No post yesterday... but you get two today! You know when you get a day off (I know, what's a "day off?") and all you want to do is flop down on the couch with a blanket, maybe some tea, and just watch Netflix or read a good book? Or just mindlessly scroll through your phone? Basically, just do nothing. But you know you have a list of things you need to or at least should do. So you drag yourself through the day and slowly procrastinate until you can't any longer and you do what needs doing. Tell me it's not just me. This was my day. And believe me when I say that there are days when I do nothing all day. It's rare that I have the chance, but when I do, it's pretty wonderful. Sometimes our bodies need physical rest. You work hard all week, and caring for your body is a good thing. But, potato-ing around all day (I'm making that a thing, by the way) is not sabbath. I've seen so many people post pictures of themselves lounging around sa...

Day 25 What Are You Carrying?

Yesterday I drove up to New Hampshire to visit Ian (my boyfriend). I got there later in the afternoon and I had spent the morning working on things at home. About an hour after I got to NH, we went to the Fall Festival at his church across the border in Vermont. By the time we got there, it was dark already, I was pretty tired and hungry, and this event was HUGE. Much bigger than I expected. It was really cool-- food trucks, pony rides, laser tag, trunk-or-treating, Incredibles 2 playing on the side of the church, the works. But. Of course. My anxiety decided to form a lens over my eyes. The crowds of people around me grew louder and I felt trapped amongst the hundreds of bodies. My heart started to beat faster with every person who walked by. I have anxiety, I've mentioned this before, and many times large crowds will bring it on. I'm sure many of you know the feeling. And it can be the worst. Here I was, looking forward to having a fun time and enjo...

Day 24 Are you Content?

So, I love joy . It's very different from happy and I've learned a lot about it. But today I want to ask, are you happy ? I mean, are you truly content ? Are you doing what you love? See, I think many of us have gotten caught up in the priorities of the world, that we forget to care for ourselves. Or we spend all our energies on others that we leave ourselves completely empty and worn. Don't get me wrong, we should care for others, and we can't always be happy, but there's a balance here. You may need to provide for a family. You may need to save money for school, or a car, or a house. We all need money. Therefore we have to work. I'm not asking are you happy every day at your job. But, do you love what you do? Is there some passion planted in your soul when you do what you do? Are you content? I know so many people who get home exhausted and drained because they either dread every day, or they have other dreams, or they ignore what their...