You never stop mistaking

As we know life is a book, a book that is written by the minute. I often find myself thinking "When will I ever get this right?" "When will I stop making mistakes?" I have discovered that this tends to be the thought process of many of the people I encounter on a daily basis. It is almost like we have this invisible standard that we feel we must meet and one day we will get it all right and not make these dumb decisions or mistakes again. Well the fact of the matter is that we won't. We won't ever get it right.

In my short life I have found myself making a wide array of mistakes which can be day-changing or life-changing. But it is through these mistakes that I learn some of the greatest lessons. Yes, I do like it when I hear a story from someone else or advice given that completely changes my thought process and allows me to learn without dealing with a specific situation; however, it isn't those moments that make the lasting impressions. Now by no means am I saying that a good sermon or Sunday brunch chat about life mean nothing and aren't worth remembering, but it is the scars we have that are instant reminders of the fire.

Mistakes are apart of life, just as choices are, and you have two choices: You can sink into the self loathing depression we all get caught in at times or you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and take the lessons the challenge hands you. Even in the darkest and deepest points of situations there are always lessons to be learned. At the end of some very long roads, that I have chosen to go down, I can look back and see at least one lesson I've learned, even if it is to just trust my instinct the next time.

Failing and making mistakes doesn't mean you are a horrible person. It doesn't mean that you will never learn. It doesn't mean that you are a failure. It doesn't mean that you don't deserve love. It doesn't mean that you are anything negative. It DOES mean that you are a growing human. It DOES mean that you are learning. It DOES mean that you are living fearlessly. It means you're not perfect and you are turning pages.

So keep making mistakes, keep growing, keep running the race, keep falling down and keep getting back up. Life is truly about turning the pages and writing your beautiful story. SO cheers the imperfect people, the racers, the writers, and those who choose to not be defined by anything but their own story and their ability to get back up.


Turn the Page!

Becka

A Letter to my Big Sister

Today there are a lot of issues with families and people taking their's for granted, which I am guilty of a lot. I have recently read a bunch of articles on reasons that having a big sister is the greatest or things to thank you little sister for, so I felt the need to shout out to the greatest person I know. A person who is the example of everything I ever wanted to be and everything I never got away with. So here are the things I have never thanked you for, never told you, and sometimes never want you to know.

1. Thank you for being my pass into the "cool crowd." With you being just a few years older I always had my ticket to all of the events safely secured. This ticket never came with a cost and you always made sure of that. Let's be honest, if my overflowing cuteness wasn't enough to warrant all of your friend's love, then you made sure they were always kind. 

2. Thank you for being my constant source of laughter. It never fails that you constantly make me almost pee myself with laughter. Whether it be from quoting movie scenes to  going on crazy car trips you never cease to amaze me with the things you come up with or the questions you ask. So thank you for always being the person I can always count on for a funny memory, a good laugh, and a way to always forget reality. 

3. Thank you for always protecting me. Whether it be from mean people or myself you have never missed an opportunity to be my guardian angel. I constantly hear your voice in my head telling me how I should do something or how I can do anything I set my mind to. When I was younger I only thought you were being bossy but what you were really doing was helping learn from other's mistakes instead of making them for myself. Even when I did make mistakes you were the person who did all she could to shield me from the crazy repercussions as well as helping learn from the consequences. You made sure that I got in trouble a lot, but I know it was only for the purpose of protection from the road I could have gone down. 

4. Thank you for teaching me everything I know. Through never allowing me to be the Pink Power Ranger you taught me that I cannot always get what I want. By taking my allowance money you taught me that it is better to give than to receive. When you poke fun at me you have taught me to be light-hearted and free. By constantly answering all of my questions and teaching me the beauty of Christ's forgiveness through forgiving me for all of my shenanigans you gave me the greatest lesson of all,  His love. 

5. Thank you for being the example of everything I ever wanted to be.  You are the perfect example of a Godly, selfless, beautiful soul. Thank you for exemplifying what a Christ-centered life should look like. With every bit of your insane dance moves and your contagious laugh you represent someone I am proud to have as a big sister, and hope I can grow into. 

It's you and me, me and you, I love you!


Turn the page! 

Becka

Why turn the page?

I have always had a passion for talking and people; however, I never knew I had one for writing. I have had the desire to write and blog for a couple of years now but the dream only became a reality when I was pushed by a good friend at midnight in the middle of finals week (all play, no study). So I already knew exactly what I would title my blog, and that is basically what life calls us to do, turn pages. 

Turn the page. As deep as my desire was to write there has NEVER been the desire to read for me. However there have been those divinely sent books, the ones that you can not stop, you're up at 3AM wide-eyed and determined to just see what happens next. So, I have had some book interventions in my life and I have stayed up way too late reading them instead of doing what I actually needed to do to not be a bum, but I didn't. Life is kind of like one of those books for me. Life is a story, a romance, a drama, a mystery, a thriller, a page turner, a novel, and its one we can't help but read. As a girl I tend to fall love with the triumphs of my character and despise the failures and tear-jerkers; I love a good story and I love to re-read certain ones, and I'm not talking about books. I have a horrible tendency to be a repeat offender, to not learn from the mistake, to keep reading the same page over and over expecting the words to change right before my eyes. Guess what...they don't. Once the page is written, its written! We aren't writing in pencil and life doesn't have an eraser. 

Okay confession session: I LOVE analogies, and I'm pretty sure I can find an analogy for anything, hence this whole blog. So my life analogy is that life is in fact a book, one you and a beautiful creator are writing, in pen. How will your story turn out? Will it be a short story of one genre where there is only one page, or will it be a eloquently co-authored novel about redemption and wisdom of what was and is to come? Life is not easy by any means, but if we do not turn the page we will continue to make the same mistakes and never see and learn new things. 

Paul so perfectly describes life as a race in Hebrews 12: 1-3 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." This is so beautiful for so many reasons but mainly because it gives us encouragement to keep going, keep fighting, keep running, keep reading. 

So now we have two choices: 

1. We can stay on the same page, the same season of life, the same toxicity we seem to be surrounded by. This is the easiest choice, no doubt. It is the choice we often don't even realize we are making because we live in a society where mediocrity and being content are the norm. We are told that reaching for our dreams is stupid and to make sure you do something that is attainable, understood by everyone around you, socially accepted, and what everyone else tells you that you should be doing. This choice is the easiest, and at times seems to be the better and safest choice. 

OR

2. We can choose to turn the page, step into the unknown, embrace uncertainty. This choice is not for the faint at heart or those who want to be nothing more than what someone else tells them they should be. This is the narrow road, the faint flicker at the end of a dark, scary tunnel, the lamp only shone at your feet for your next step. This choice requires faith, blind faith at that. It requires us to completely defy what the world tells us we should be doing or achieving, and choose to turn the page into the complete unknown. 

The question is what is your choice? The most broken roads often lead to the most extravagant places. "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." (Matthew 9:37) The choice can only be made by you, and it is all yours. 


Turn the page! 

-Becka