Sundi Jo Graham's Blog, page 52

17 Reasons I’m Blessed to Call Her Mom

Sometimes we take her for granted. Ok – more than sometimes, especially as little rugrats without complete understanding of what it means to hurt another’s feelings.

But then you grow older and this appreciation you’ve always known existed deep inside starts to work its way up to a more active level.

I love my mom and sometimes I don’t always tell her. I’m not showing my appreciation for her today because it’s almost Mother’s Day, that’s just an added bonus. I recognize her today because God has shown me just how truly blessed I am.

Here are 17 reasons why I’m blessed to call my mom my mom:

She’s willing to sleep in the most uncomfortable chair known to man in the middle of the night at the ER as she watches her 28-year old “little girl” be filled with fluids and shots, and watching her cries of pain. Her comfort is set aside for the comfort of her child.
She hates most vegetables, yet she’s willing to make baked kale because I love it.
She’s learned to keep her frustration silent when she steps into the madness of my car that looks like I’ve been living in it for years. Of course I know the conversation she’s having in her head, but she keeps it to herself – most of the time.
She blow dries my hair when I don’t have the strength to stand after a shower.
She loves Jesus.
Her sense of humor is contagious.
I think she secretly enjoys going to the grocery store.
We used to be dirt poor and I never knew it. Those were some of the richest days of my life.
Her laughter makes me smile.
She’s tough.
She’s learning she doesn’t have to be so tough.
I’m convinced she could kick anyone’s butt in a crossword puzzle.
She has a heart for serving others that’s contagious.
She was a prison guard for 10 years and I’ve seen her make grown men cry with a simple twist of the thumb. (You should ask her to see it sometime.)
During my childhood, though I’m sure she wanted to, she never said a course word to me about my alcoholic father.
She’s a hero to many.
She’s my mom – it doesn’t get any better than that.

Unfortunately, there are still days I take my sweet mama for granted. I’m still growing. God broke the mold when he made her for sure.

Have you made your list yet?

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17 Reasons I’m Blessed to Call Her Mom is a post from: Sundi Jo

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Published on May 08, 2012 03:00

When Will I Get Married? [Book Review]

Sometimes in the blogosphere we run into those jewels that provide amazing content, which keep us coming back for more. That’s what I found in Single Roots. Since stumbling upon their website I look forward to my daily dose of awesomeness from the Single Roots gang.

I’m a single girl (currently accepting applications). Not only are many of their posts relevant to me, but the writers love Jesus. That’s the best part. I’m gaining great insight and building great relationships. Jessica, the genius behind the blog is quickly becoming one cool peep to chat with. Though she lives in Texas and I in Missouri, I have no doubt that someday in the future we’ll be sitting down to a nice cup of java and some Jesus talk.

Single Roots recently released their first FREE ebook, When Will I Get Married? (and Other Questions that Plague Singles). It was a great read – a great book for anyone wondering if marriage is in their future, how to ask a girl out, or even if you’re remotely interested in saying “I do.”

One of my favorite questions – What if I do not like the single ministry at my church? For some reason many people think that singles are to be segragated from the “married folks.” Who made that rule? Loved the answer to this question in the book: “Did Jesus only hang with the single disciples? Um, no.”

The fact of the matter is that single ministries, while tools for spiritual growth, ministry, and connecting us to a larger community, are not Biblical mandates. They are great avenues for broadening your social circles, but they also have a way of separating us from the same larger church community.”

The ebook really hits some great points in the other questions.

Why Won’t You Ask Her Out?
What’s the Secret to Being Content with My Singleness?
Should I Tell My Girlfriend I Struggle with Pornography?
What’s the Single Most Destructive Thing You Can Do with Your Singleness?
What’s Debt Got to Do With It?
What If I Don’t Want to Get Married?

I don’t think this ebook is only for us singles. If you’re married and have a single friend, perhaps reading to be reminded of what it was like to be single is a good idea.

If you’re single read the book – for realz!

To download your FREE copy of When Will I Get Married? (and Other Questions that Plague Singles), visit their website for the download.

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When Will I Get Married? [Book Review] is a post from: Sundi Jo

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Published on May 07, 2012 03:00

Waiting for Answers

I was recently saying it would be great to go on a vacation. I must admit I didn’t think it would look at all like this.

I’ve been waited on hand and foot. Room service three times a day. The housekeeper changes my bed clothes daily. The smell of roses fill the air in my Penthouse room overlooking the city. What more could a girl ask for?

photo credit: capturedbychelsea

Ahhh.. But there’s a catch.

I’m in room 937 preparing for my seventh day in the hospital. Room service arrives with jello for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every hallway walk or restroom trip I take is followed by the shadow of an IV pump keeping me hydrated. The roses make me smile and this bed isn’t too shabby. Wednesday I made it outside for the first time in days. Never take the sunshine for granted.

During my unplanned fast I haven’t received some big revelation from God. I have, however, heard the word “peace” often. I’ve spent a lot of time reading Philippians 4:6-8 over and over again. Multiple tests later and still no answers, I’m reminded of God’s peace.

He’s teaching me patience. Patience in waiting. Patience in trusting. Patience with the snoring roommate five feet from me.

I don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring. But I do know this.

I’m choosing peace.

Today I wait. Wait in peace.

What are you waiting on?

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Waiting for Answers is a post from: Sundi Jo

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Published on May 04, 2012 13:46

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

I had a friend who was deeply in love with her boyfriend. In fact, they were engaged to be married. They’d been together since high school and were inseparable. It was no surprise to anyone that a wedding was in the future. Then, things changed.

He wasn’t sure he was in love anymore. He needed some time to think about things. There was too much pressure. He left her house that night, saying goodbye as he walked past the unopened box of wedding invitations. He was confused and she was devastated.

The good news? His feelings lied to him and he knew the truth. They reconciled and are now married. There’s a lesson in this story. Sometimes we have to separate from the things we love in order to make sure what we want is really what we want.

I’m guest posting over at Single Roots today. Check out the rest of the post there.

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Breaking Up is Hard to Do is a post from: Sundi Jo

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Published on May 01, 2012 05:00

Shining the Light through Leaky Cracks

From Sundi Jo: This is a guest post by Jessica Bufkin. She’s a former English teacher turned blogger. For more information on Jessica and her adventures, keep reading. You won’t be disappointed.

“Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself.” – Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz

photo credit: axle (creative commons)

In the movie Blue Like Jazz, when Don Miller speaks of watching someone love something, he’s speaking of a girl named Penny who loves Jesus and social justice and people.

Watching Don watch Penny reminded me of how I used to scrutinize a group of fellow college students my freshman year. I had never seen people love Jesus as boldly and deeply as those people did.

My affections for Christ were stirred through viewing theirs. I wanted to know Him like they did, study His Word like they did, place my faith in Him like they did. I didn’t want to resemble them for the sake of being like them or because they were the Cool Kids. Instead, this bland version of a Jesus I had been serving in name only was no longer as appealing. Through their love, the Holy Spirit showed me a living Christ who could leak through every crack and crevice of my being—just like He did in those other freshmen.

Four years later, when I officially became a grown-up, left my college bubble, and ventured out alone into some place they call the “Real World,” I started thinking more about how I love Jesus in front of people who don’t love Him themselves.

What did they see when they watched me love Him?

Even in the Bible Belt, the only place I’ve ever lived, Christians had kinda been known for who or what they didn’t approve of instead of their love. Outside of my sheltered upbringing, I was getting to know and build relationships with people who put a face on those “big” sins I had only heard about. Not to mention I was teaching adolescents but bound by contract to not tell them about my relationship with Jesus.

I loved all of these people so much, and I wanted them to know the same living Christ I knew. So, if watching someone love Jesus could possibly help him or her love Jesus too then I wondered what else could I do to help move the situation along? Surely there was some 3-, 5-, or 7-point acronym I could memorize to find a way to show more love.

Little by little, after constantly feeling like I wasn’t doing a good enough job publicly displaying enough of my really good, Grade A love for Jesus, I taught a semester in Sunday School on “grace.”

And, well, that changed everything.

I realized if people were going to watch me love Jesus, they needed to see the flawed me love Him. They didn’t need to see the polished, fixed-up version—the one that only struggled in private and oversimplified the difficulties of life.

Because if there was really something to this whole needing to watch somebody love something before you love it thing, then they needed to see how my love for Him overwhelmed me as I grew in the awareness of how imperfect and broken I am without the grace of Jesus.

I thought about how the whole concept of watching someone love something is also a part of the discipleship process, too. Older Christians pour into the lives of younger ones so they can see Christlikeness lived out and consequently grow in their own walk with Him.

Back in college, I sat at the feet of a lady named Mrs. Kathy. Her love for Jesus and people was so overflowing that she squealed when she hugged people—every single one of them. When she would talk to me about the Lord, she would talk in a serious whisper, as if she couldn’t talk about Him too loudly because she would cry…or squeal. You couldn’t leave her presence without wanting to go home and have a quiet time.

I guess we could look at the lives of others and fake it ‘til we make it. I mean, isn’t that how we’ve gotten a lot of 3-, 5-, or 7-point acronyms created to remind us how to show others our love for Jesus? But then, that’s not what I think Miller means.

I think he means that when you’ve been around people who truly love something, you don’t want to be like them as much as you want whatever it is that they love so wholeheartedly.

I often ponder how God has the ability to stir people’s affections towards Him in a myriad of ways, but sometimes He chooses to use us and our love for Him to woo distant hearts. That thought still blows my mind.

To be quite honest, it probably always will.

Jessica Bufkin recently left her glamorous career as a junior high English teacher for the greener pastures of the blogging world. She is a part of the team of writers at SingleRoots, a site that encourages singles to be intentional with their lives. Check out the newly-released eBook, When Will I Get Married? (and 7 Other Questions that Plague Singles). Jessica lives in Fort Worth, Texas where a lot of men really do wear cowboy hats and boots daily. Sadly, that does nothing for her.

Thanks for reading. I'm so blessed you chose to stop by Lead. Love. Laugh.

Shining the Light through Leaky Cracks is a post from: Sundi Jo

P.S. YOU'RE AWESOME!

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Published on April 27, 2012 03:00

Why I’m Quitting Blogging

That’s right, I said it.

I Quit!

photo credit: hellojenuine

Two weeks ago I took a step back to figure out what reality was. In the midst of my raging hormonal episode I couldn’t figure out what the purpose was of everything I had going in my life. Was I wasting time? Was I doing too much? What was I actually doing?

I seriously wanted to know what the crap was happening!

I needed to take a break to get my head together. Over the last couple weeks, God and I have been chatting a bit. He’s shown me some great things, and some not-so-great things.

I’ve been busy doing things for me and less for Him

I’ve been worried about pleasing others more than Him

I have questioned what others think

I’ve been comparing myself to others

The expectations I’ve had on myself are ridiculous

The list goes on…

I’m happy to announce I’m back to swimming in the reality pool. But there are still a few things God and I are getting in check.

I don’t want to write or blog if I’m not doing it for God. Therefore, this blog won’t be what it once was. There may be five posts/week, there may be one. I don’t know. To others this is blogging suicide and I’m ok with that. (That’s where the questioning what others think comes in) I’m done making it about numbers and more about connection. I’m done writing just to fill empty space. I’m done posting for the sake of “posting something.”

Writing and speaking is what I’m meant to do. God has confirmed that time and time again. But my priorites have to be straight and lately they haven’t been. He doesn’t have time for people pleasing and though I had no idea I was even doing it, God gracefully showed me it comes in all forms and fashions. He doesn’t have time for me to be comparing myself to others. How others do it isn’t how I have to do it. I’m learning.

During my unplanned break great things have happened. I haven’t sat in front of the laptop at midnight creating a post because it’s Thursday night and there isn’t a blog scheduled for Friday. I’ve gone to lunch with friends I haven’t seen in a while. I’ve fallen in love with the show “Chopped.” I’ve played UNO in the middle of the afternoon with family. I finally finished reading a book on Stillness that has taken way too long to finish. I went to the zoo.

So, with that said, you can now call me a quitter.

What do you need to quit today? Comment below…

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Why I’m Quitting Blogging is a post from: Sundi Jo

P.S. YOU'RE AWESOME!