Live Like It Matters Challenge

What’s This All About?

| Marie Griffith

The new website is coming along and we’re almost there. In the meantime, I’ll share the reason I’m doing this in the first place.

Fifteen years ago I was a young mother at the end of another exhausting day, and I wondered, is this it?

I graduated college, worked years at a great company, and quit a promising career to be home with my children to wipe counters, noses and bottoms all day?

Today, I’m sitting in my office with piles of paper scattered across my desk, emails to answer, phone calls to make, and numbers to crunch. And I wonder, is this it?

I know I’m not the only one. You feel the same way. The restlessness, the divine discontent, a desire within your heart to make a difference. We all want to know our lives count.

I was in my 20s when I read John Maxwell’s book “Developing the Leader Within You”. The most important words of the entire book were these:

Sociologists tell us that even the most introverted person will influence 10,000 people in his or her lifetime.

I was astounded. To think that I would impact 10,000 or more people in my lifetime was amazing and humbling.

The 10,000 statistic is a pre-social media number. It’s not a stretch to guess that the most introverted person will impact an exponentially greater number of people in his or her lifetime. Fifty thousand, maybe even 100,000 with Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and all the other ways of connecting with others.

The statistic might have changed but the main point of John Maxwell’s book is a timeless truth: at its most basic, leadership is influence.

In other words, you matter. I matter. And what we do matters. 

That’s why I’m passionate about Live Like it Matters.

A couple of years ago, I issued Live Like It Matters challenges on my blog to remind myself and others of the significance of our day-to-day interactions. The challenges connect our desire to make a difference with our everyday lives. The challenges include:

  • say hello to a stranger
  • write a note to a coworker.
  • give a 40% tip the next time you eat at a restaurant
  • volunteer at a local charity for a day/a week/regularly

The challenges prompt us to look for opportunities to live like it matters right where we are.

Because some of the thousands we’ll reach are the people we meet day in and day out. One of yours may be the tired unnamed waitress that served you lunch on Sunday, a young man in your daughter’s class struggling with his identity, the homeless couple who sit on the curb near the mall you drive past each day, or the flustered UPS guy hauling heavy boxes inside your office building each morning.

We don’t have to be entertainers, politicians, professional athletes or authors to touch thousands. We don’t need Twitter followers, websites, or Facebook pages. It’s those of us in our workplaces, at the schools, and in lines at the grocery store checkouts who make the difference. We can live like it matters at the bank, the park, or the gym.

We live like it matters when we change diapers, wipe snotty noses, and wash dishes. Take heart, tired young parent, take heart. Home is the best place to live like it matters.

When we live like it matters our routines are rich with opportunity, the mundane is meaningful, and our lives turn from ordinary to extraordinary.

My writing, my blog, my website….all of it is about learning to live like it matters and encouraging us in it.

I’ll issue challenges occasionally and continue the regular features, like Monday School and Beauty Break.

I’ll still write just to write, too. I hope it will give you hope, make you ponder a thought you never have before, unlock a memory, see someone in a new way, or make you feel less alone.

Anne Lamott puts it this way, “a writer always tries, I think, to be part of the solution, to understand a little about life and to pass it on”.

This is me passing it on.

When the new website launches, this website will eventually redirect to the new site, but I’m not sure if new posts will show up in the WP reader. I’m still learning about this.

If you want to be sure to catch the new site, new challenges and all my new stuff please leave a comment and tell me you want to subscribe to the new site and I’ll add you to my email followers. 

Photo by Mr Cup / Fabien Barral on Unsplash

Because We Can

| Marie Griffith

I’m skipping Monday School today so I can share what my friends and I did over the weekend.

We ran the Nashville Sprint Spartan Race on Saturday and the Nashville Super on Sunday. Those are my fifth and sixth Spartan races but the first time I’ve done Spartan races two days in a row.

The heat and humidity took it out of us early on Saturday. By the end of the four miler all of us were wiped out, but we finished and felt good about our race.

It was cooler with a light on-and-off rain Sunday. The heat wasn’t an issue but the soreness and blisters from the day before made some of the obstacles even harder. We finished the eight miles faster than anticipated.

My niece and her friend ran with us on Saturday. According to them, this won’t be their last. They enjoyed the intense challenge of it all. My niece said the best part of the race was realizing she could do more than she thought possible.

The same thing happened to me. When I finished my first Spartan Race I was in awe of what I’d accomplished. I was thankful for the camaraderie on the course and the shared experience of training and racing with friends.

Training together, working toward a common goal, and cheering one another on for months prior to a race makes the race even better. Those shared experiences have a way of bringing you closer. When we see each other trudging up a steep hill in 90 degree heat carrying a bucket full of rocks or giving it our all at the atlas carry, we see and appreciate the grit in each other. When a teammate climbs the the rope or heaves the Hercules hoist to the top with sheer determination, the physical strength is evident but we see her inner strength too. It’s a beautiful thing.

I’m no elite athlete. Not even close. I’m only determined to use and take care of this wonderfully complex gift called my body, as much as I can, for as long as I can, however I can in pursuit of health. It’s the only body I’ll ever have. So I move it and it’s more fun with friends and goals.

This weekend we met a brain cancer beater, a two time heart attack survivor, several people fighting diabetes, and a 70 year old grandmother who told me “my body’s going to ache anyway, might as well ache doing this.” Each racer has a unique story and a different reason for being on the course. All of us feel the same sense of accomplishment when we cross the finish line.

Maybe you’ve never heard of Spartan Races, so you Google it and you decide it’s not for you. There are so many ways to move your body. Dancing lessons, walks in the park, Frisbee golf, hiking, skating, gardening, biking, mud runs. The number of ways to move is endless.

Find something that looks fun and try it. Even if it looks impossible at first. Try it. If you’ve been inactive for a while, take a walk at the park. Build up distance slowly, then try the Couch to 5K app. You’ll surprise yourself.

I did and I’m going to keep at it.

If you want more information about Spartan Races and how we’ve trained, let me know. I’d be glad to share our secrets and encourage you on your way to a Spartan Race or better health in general.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Be a Moon

| Marie Griffith

I finished Carry Burr’s newest book over the weekend.  The topic of the book is one we’re all familiar with: our need to make a difference and to know we matter. But this isn’t a book about learning how to build your self-esteem, gain a massive following, or improve your life with positive thinking. Instead, Carrye shows us how to embrace our worth, reflect God, and light up our generation.

In fact, it’s in the title of the book. How to Be a Moon: Embrace Your Worth. Reflect God. Light Up Your Generation has a serious message, but Carrye delivers it in an insightful conversational style using the moon as an analogy of how we reflect God.

She grabbed my attention from the start with her self-deprecating humor and relatable stories. The writing is funny and authentic. Sometimes I felt I was sitting across from Carrye in a cozy coffee house sipping our favorites lattes listening to her shenanigans.

She shares her own struggle to embrace her worth and lets us in on what she was thinking and feeling during some of those most intense moments. I appreciate Carrye’s vulnerability as I relate to her embarrassing, and sometimes painful search for significance. She points out many of the lies we tend to believe about our worth. Carrye says, “One of the greatest barriers to experiencing the full life God intends for us is believing that our significance is directly tied into our roles and actions.”

But she doesn’t leave us there. She then reminds us of the truth. “Our worth is never dependent on who WE are but on who GOD is and the way He sees us.” 

The next part of the book helps us understand God’s way of shining. His way is not our way. “Our frenzied desire to find purpose makes us live like multitasking, crazy people, insecure and distracted from God’s heart.” Carrye teaches us how not to be glory grabbers, which, if we’re honest, we tend to be.

She ends the book compelling us to light up our generation by living out God’s purpose right where we are and reminding us of our ultimate goal: Jesus Christ. “May we not be driven to know success or fame, but to know Jesus Himself.” 

Each of the ten chapters has thought provoking questions at the end called “Moon University.” The book is a great tool for a solo study but the benefits are multiplied within a study group. Carry’s hope is by the end of the book, every reader will feel equipped to turn around and help others know their value and identity in God.

Every How to Be a Moon reader will gain a better understanding of reflecting the glory of God and will laugh while doing it.

And that’s always a good thing.

Order the book from Amazon here.

 

 

What’s Next?

| Marie Griffith

Last year, I took my commitment to grow as a communicator to another level when I attended the Speak Up Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I signed up to attend again this year, but was stressed over the time away from my family and the time off from work. I almost backed out.

I’m thankful I made the trip, because it was exactly what I needed. I didn’t believe it was possible for this year’s Speak Up Conference to be as outstanding as last year’s, but it exceeded my expectations again.

I reconnected with friends, made new ones, and learned a wealth of new information from the remarkable staff of publishing and speaking professionals. I’m summarizing my time at the conference this year differently than I did last year, because this year’s conference was a heart check.

The conference was exactly what I needed because I was reminded of a few things.

First, I was reminded God loves the broken and uses us too.

That’s all He has, because we’re all broken and we all, deep down, want to know our lives matter. We all want the day in and the day out of our lives to mean something, to know it’s not all a waste.

Sometimes, it’s easy to think there’s no way God could or would use the mess of my life for His kingdom purposes. But He has, He does, and He will.

Second, I was reminded why I do this.

God gave me the gift of writing, so I write to share my story, others’ stories, and the story of Jesus and how I’m learning to follow him wholeheartedly. I write to encourage, inspire, and connect. To give hope, to make you ponder a question you’ve never asked before, to make you laugh or cry. To help unlock a memory stored away. I write to help you see someone in a different light, or help you start the journey of forgiving, or put into words what you can’t seem to.

I write to pass it on.

If my experiences teach you something, reveal a truth, make you think about something you’ve never thought about before, or simply make you feel less alone, that is enough.

Lastly, I was reminded of Who this is all for. It’s all because of Him and for Him. When I gave my life to Jesus decades ago, I told Him to take it all. I meant it with all my heart, but I had no idea what I was in for. All I knew was He loved me and I didn’t want a life without Him. I’ve said yes to Jesus again and again since then and I’m saying yes now.

So what’s next? What do I do with all my ideas and dreams?

I’ll seek Him and pray. I’ll keep following Jesus, living my life, and loving the people God gave me. I’ll serve my family, do my job, and look for ways to love others. Prayerfully, with a heart to do it all well. I’ll learn as I go with plenty of mistakes. I’ll pray for opportunities to teach and serve and share my stories. I’ll write and I’ll dream.

And I’m more ready and determined than ever to live like it matters and inspire others to live like it matters.

What about you? What are your dreams and what’s next for you?

 

Photo by Raul Petri on Unsplash

 

 

 

Won’t Back Down

| Marie Griffith

This week’s Monday School is inspired by a story Jesus told in Luke 18:1-8. The story is called The Parable of the Persistent Widow.

First, we’re introduced to the judge. Jesus described him as one who had no regard for God or people and the judge admitted it. In other words, the judge was selfish and probably corrupt. Then Jesus told about the widow. The widow went to the judge over and over and over about an injustice she experienced. We’re never told what happened to the widow, only that she demanded justice against her adversary consistently and relentlessly. The judge grew weary of her continual demands and finally granted her the justice she sought.

Jesus made this point. If an uncaring, selfish judge will give proper justice to the poor widow, how much more will our loving God give justice when we seek it?

But the best part of the entire story isn’t the story at all. Verse one says, “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” Another Bible version says, “always pray and never lose hope.’ Still another, “always pray and don’t lose heart.” My favorite part of the parable is WHY Jesus told the parable.

Think about it. The widow had no tangible resources. No network of friends that could help. She was poor, alone, and helpless. The only thing she had was grit. Maybe you call it moxie. Some say tenacity. Even so, I’m sure there were days she was as tired of seeing the heartless judge as he was her. Tired of hearing the same answer day after day. But she didn’t give up and she didn’t back down.

Jesus told this story so we would always pray and never give up. When it seems too hard and the waiting is too long. When the light at the end of the tunnel is gone. When it feels like we love or work or give in vain.

We pray and we don’t give up. We keep hoping. We keep loving. And we keep working.

This story makes me think of one of my favorite classic rock songs, I Won’t Back Down by Tom Petty. When I hear this song, I can’t help but feel more confident and determined about anything I’ve resolved to do. If you haven’t heard the song in a while, I encourage you to look it up on your music app and add to your playlist.

The lyrics are simple and powerful.

“I Won’t Back Down” 

Well, I won’t back down
No, I won’t back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won’t back down

No, I’ll stand my ground
Won’t be turned around
And I’ll keep this world from draggin’ me down
Gonna stand my ground
And I won’t back down

(I won’t back down) Hey, baby
There ain’t no easy way out
(I won’t back down) Hey, I
Will stand my ground
And I won’t back down

Well, I know what’s right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin’ me around
But I’ll stand my ground
And I won’t back down

Let us pray and never give up.

 

Extraordinary Things

| Marie Griffith

Today’s Monday School is about friends and faith and the extraordinary things that can happen when those come together.

The story is told in three of the Gospels….Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In my opinion, the one in Luke is the better story. This is a familiar story to some of us but when I read it Saturday morning it meant something to me it’s never meant before.

I won’t type out the story but it’s found in Luke 5:17-26. It begins with “on one of those days” and ends with “we have seen extraordinary things today.” A lot happens between those two phrases with the religious people and Jesus’ authority, but I want to focus on the man and his friends.

The man couldn’t walk and he had friends. Good friends. The kind that lived like it matters and helped their friend be well. They carried the man on his mat through the streets to the home where a crowd gathered to hear Jesus teach. The doorway was blocked because of the crowd so the men carried their friend up to the roof and lowered him down in front of Jesus.

“And when Jesus saw their faith…..”

Jesus didn’t ask a question and the men didn’t speak to Jesus. Jesus saw their faith. The faith that wavered when the crowd was too thick to get their friend in through the door. The faith that grew weary of the long haul through the streets and the one up to the roof. The faith that thought the whole thing was crazy and wondered if it was even worth it. The faith that wanted to give up.

But faith is stronger with friends. When this friend’s faith wavered, that friend’s didn’t. When three of them wanted to turn around and wait until the crowd was gone, the other one was determined. When two of them thought they were too exhausted to go on, the other two cheered them on. When one of them wanted to give up on it all, the other ones patiently reminded him of their paralyzed friend’s need. And let’s not forget about the faith of the man on the mat. It took a lot of guts and even more trust to let his friends carry him around on his mat, then lower him through a roof.

And every step was worth it when Jesus spoke to the man. First, Jesus met the man’s deepest soul need and forgave his sins. Then he took care of his physical need and made him walk again.  

Jesus saw their faith. Certainly not perfect faith, maybe not great faith, but a stronger faith because they were together. The faith that made them do the hard work of helping their friend. The faith to keep going, one hard step after another.

The people were filled with awe and said, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

The 2017 Roundup

| Marie Griffith

Changes bring…….well, changes. No matter what kind it is, loss is difficult. While my family and I dealt with loss because of a necessary but painful ending, 2017 was a grand year. I wrote Broken about a month before the ending. I see now that I was writing anticipating the difficulty of what would come with it, reminding myself of God’s goodness and faithfulness. I wrote Against the Odds too. Although my parents’ story prompted the post, writing it out strengthened my resolve to do what we knew we had to do. There were hard things in 2017 but through them we’ve experienced abundant blessings, and more clarity and peace than we imagined.

2017 was another year of firsts, lots of growth, and wonderful beginnings. I made new friends and reconnected with long time ones. Some friendships deepened while others faded.

I started the year training with some of the same ladies I trained with in 2016 to run our second Spartan race. A co-worker joined us and she and I formed an even closer friendship. Something special happens when you train together on a regular basis. She helped me through a tough time, let me cry at her desk more than a few times, and listened without judgment. IMG_5273Our group conquered the Spartan Sprint in April and I wrote about it in my post Together Again.

I moved at soul-speed more this year than in recent years and got into a healthy rhythm of life. The kind of unforced rhythms we’re meant to live. I was more attentive to my family, took better care of myself, wrote more, and was able to notice the people and what was happening around me so I could live like it matters.

I volunteered as the Content Director at a non-profit start-up for the first five months of the year, rejoined my local Toastmasters club in June to hone my speaking skills, and am a founding member of a writers group called The Thinklings. This group of writers has been a significant source of encouragement, knowledge, and inspiration. I also took on more responsibility in my job and am enjoying the opportunities and challenges that come with it.

I’ve observed Lent in previous years but this year offered a unique occasion to partner with a friend while reading a Lent devotional called Bread and Wine and writing weekly about our journeys. And So I Began was the beginning of my Lent journey. My heart was especially tender and open during this time. A few of my most raw Lent posts are Take Heart, I’m Like Them, and Done. I feel it when I read them even now.

Another friend presented me with an opportunity to write a story for a magazine. I turned him down, but that was fear talking. Fortunately, I realized it in time to say yes and had my first ever article published in an online magazine. I wrote about how it almost didn’t happen in Face Your Fear. This led to another article being published in the same magazine, only this story was personal. Very personal. I wrote about my journey to that article in Out of The Dark. Both posts have links to the magazine stories if you want to read them.

In July, I went to my first writers conference and wrote about all I learned there in The Take Away. In August, my daughters and I enjoyed viewing the eclipse together, and while I wondered at the moon covering the sun, I was in awe of my daughter’s heart. I wrote about it in Eclipse.

bridal party cute af 1.jpgAs summer neared its end, the wedding planning was in full swing. My oldest daughter was showered with lots of love and gifts from family and friends. I was asked to pray for her at one of the showers and wrote about it in Keeping the Promises. Her October wedding was beautiful. She moved in to her husband’s house and her brother moved back in to ours. Our son is home, for now, from Colorado and working toward his next goal.IMG_6095.jpg

My youngest daughter inspired my most viewed post of 2017 and ever. It’s called Look What You Made Me Do. I connected Taylor Swift’s song with my daughter’s experience at a new high school and lots of people related.

I began a new feature on my blog called Monday School in the fall. It was a challenge at times but I didn’t miss a Monday and I’m going to continue my Monday School posts into 2018.

The fall also brought the most challenging race I’ve run to date. With six other ladies, I ran a Spartan Super near Atlanta, Georgia. It was 9.4 miles of hard. Then in December, six of us joined the Spartan Trifecta club by completing the 13.5 mile Beast in Tampa, Florida. I wrote about the anticipation of accomplishing the Trifecta in Making It Happen. Though the Beast was longer and colder, the Super had the hills that killed.

What a way to end the year! IMG_5897-COLLAGE

2018 is full of possibilities. I will do my best work at my job. We will continue meeting in homes for church in 2018 and I want to teach a ladies Bible study this year. I’ll attend another writers conference and hope to collaborate on a few projects with other writers and artists. I will continue to run and now I can see the possibility of a half marathon. Several friends are interested in doing a Spartan race and I may lead them to a 2018 Spartan Trifecta. It’s a good way to keep me training.

But of all the possibilities in 2018…….none is better than love. So with God’s help, I will love my family and friends better and better. I will notice and be present with the people around me. And I won’t waste an opportunity to live like it matters.

“So let us love, dear love, like as we ought, 
Love is the lesson which the Lord us taught.”            

Edmund Spenser – from Amoretti LXVIII: Most Glorious Lord of Life

featured photo by Joanna Schley from her Doors of Decatur series

Finally

In a Nutshell

| Marie Griffith

This Monday School post is short and sweet. It’s been one of those Mondays. A really full but good one. I almost waited to post but you can’t post Monday School on Tuesday. You just can’t.

Yesterday in home church we talked about the Golden Rule. We all know it: Do to others what you would have them do to you. Jesus said this right after he talked about fathers giving stones instead of bread and snakes instead of fish in Matthew 7.

I like this version of it from the TLB:

“Do for others what you want them to do for you. This is the teaching of the laws of Moses in a nutshell.”  Matthew 7:12

And especially this one in The Message:

“Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get.”   Matthew 7:12

We know it but we don’t always practice it. It’s easy to know what we want others to do for us, but it’s hard to do those things for others. Everyday we deal with people not practicing the Golden Rule. And everyday people deal with me not going by this simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior.

But when I see it or experience it or even practice it myself……something happens. Even if only for that moment, I feel better. I’m hopeful. I’m happy and thankful. And the other person probably feels the same way.

Let’s be more aware of these opportunities to “grab the initiative” and do for others what we would want them to do for us. Sometimes it’s big things but most of the time it’s the small acts that make a big difference.

 

Photo by Caleb Martin on Unsplash

Are We Missing It?

| Marie Griffith

I’m barely getting this Monday School posted today but this has been rolling around in my head since day 4 of my Advent devotional and I wanted to share my thoughts. For more information on Monday School go here.

The Bible reading for day 4 was Matthew 25:31-46. I never thought of the passage as one for Advent, but the devotional did what was intended. It caused me to think over and over again about what Jesus said when telling of his next coming.

“….the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

 “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

Then to the others he says “Away with you…..for I was hungry and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink……”

The didn’ts go on and on. You didn’t invite me. You didn’t clothe me. You didn’t visit me. Then the ones that didn’t……..ask the Lord, “When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?”

Don’t miss this! The ones that were feeding and caring and helping did not realize they were doing it for the King, and the others…the ones that were not feeding or caring or helping, wondered when they had ever seen him hungry or naked or sick and not helped him.

Are we missing it too? Do we see the hungry and thirsty ones? Are we like the priest and the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan, on our way to serve God, yet ignoring the needy ones near us? Do we rush to our scheduled times of serving and miss the least of these living in our own neighborhoods? Are we so tired from our structured self-righteousness that we miss the opportunity to care for a co-worker? Are our calendars crammed so full of religious responsibilities we can’t give our full attention to the people God gave us in our families?

Jesus made it clear that those who do a lot of good things in His name do not necessarily know Him.

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you……”
        Matthew 7:21-23  

Father, forgive us for missing it. Forgive us for choosing the checklist of religious activities over seeking You wholeheartedly. Help us see Father, then help us love.

 

Photo by Nina Strehl on Unsplash