KRELLFISH

Write Reasons

photo courtesy of iStockphoto

In writing, as in anything worth doing, it's important that we know why we're doing it. 

I write, so no one feels abandoned. Going a little deeper, I write about the struggles of living, never wanting to minimize, but to give a powerful voice to it.

Deciding and naming why you write, gives you a roadmap, direction and purpose.

Writing reasons:

To be relevant

To be excellent

To address temptation

To encourage

To teach

To remind

To share wisdom

To bless 

To answer a calling

Why do you write?

Know Groundwire

What I wouldn't have done to have a group like this when I was a teenager. Groundwire uses technology to connect young people with the gospel of Jesus. 

I'm passionate about our millennials and young people. Sadly, they are considered the lost generation. I love promoting the work the good folks of Groundwire do, because it lines up with my personal mission. I write so that no one feels abandoned. 

Groundwire exists to bring our young people home. If you are struggling with cutting, eating disorders, depression or other problems, log onto Groundwire for Spiritual coaching and a safe place where you won't be judged or shunned.

Day or night, someone is waiting to talk, pray, encourage and listen. www.Groundwire.net

Shopping Cart Abandonment

So as I was researching this post, I came across an article on why users abandon shopping carts. Excited, I clicked on it. As pictures of upside down shiny metal carts behind Safeway and other carts abandoned in strange places filled my head, I really wanted to know the psychology behind a shopping cart abandoner. Are they people who get a thrill off stealing the cart but then cannot get it up their apartment stairs? Do they not have room for it in their home? Do people drive the cart way out in the desert,dump it in a dried riverbed and see how long it takes to find it's way back to the store? Is it latchkey children with nothing better to do but shove the cart into traffic and run?

Well, it wasn't those kind of shopping carts. Apparently I'm not as tech minded as I thought, as the article referred to electronic shopping carts. People abandon those for all the reasons you might imagine, hidden charges, complicated sign up or sign out, slow internet connection,etc. 

Which made me see that all forms of abandonment are similar. Often people abandon relationships because they discover hidden things about the other person, they feel it's too complicated to get involved, too complicated to get out, or the relational connection is too slow and they give up.

All of those reasons though, focus on the other person, who we cannot change. God created each of us as unique individuals and we are the only ones who can change. 

Today is a good day to take a relational inventory. Ask yourself if you appear impatient, unavailable or non- accepting. 

If you are, what could you be doing differently to start living with intention and abandon?

Living with Abandon

  It's a new year, the beginning of a new decade. I was surprised to see Time magazine refer to the last one as "The Decade from Hell." 

Wow. 

Not that a lot of horrific things didn't happen over the last ten years. We've won, laughed, loved, lost, cried, shook our fist at the man, grimaced, frowned and furled. But no matter what has happened, I won't characterize a quarter of my life as the "time from hell."

So the next decade is going to be all about learning and living with abandon. I'm going to be open to the places deep inside that never see light, I'll talk about topics I'd rather avoid and I will continue to break free of cultural definitions of self, others and God.

And that's just for starters.

What have you got?

The Setup

When I was young I played with cardboard boxes for hours, making them into Barbie houses. It was all about the setup, carefully designing and placing furniture, wallpaper, clothes and shoes in each room. Barbie was never active. The only thing she ever did was stick her chest out even further and sit sway- backed in a plastic chair, as if she was too good to touch it. I never saw her enjoy her home.

Now as a grown up, I look around and notice most people are managing their lives, but not many are really living. We carefully articulate, masterfully manipulate, caffein-ate, hydrate and medicate. Why have we abandoned our need to participate? The job of arranging life has taken up all of our time.

This season I want to remember that while the set up and lead up are great, if we don't stop and simply live, we'll end up with carefully designed, empty cardboard boxes.

Abandoned Inside

 This stunning photo courtesy of Margie Hurwich Photography.

I saw The Soloist the other day. Very interesting movie. At the end a statistic was shown stating that there are 90,000 homeless people in the greater Los Angeles area. I wondered how many of them are children?  A lot I would imagine.

We're all familiar with different ways we can help the homeless population. We must keep a vigilant eye however, over the children in our own lives. We can abandon them and still breathe the same air. Meeting their needs for food, clothing and shelter aren't enough. They need our emotional presence and availability, their whole lives through.

Our children may not look like this little girl on the outside, but let us not forget to keep a heart watch at what's on the inside.

With Abandonment

 

Photo by iPhotostock

It's amazing how many times we act with abandon.  In a child, playing with pure abandon is beautiful and joyous, in adults it can be downright childish.

Such is the life of a shopper who often gives in to reckless abandon and is always spending money. You know the kind, something good happens, so he goes out needing a caffeine or food fix, a clothing shopping spree or just one more big gadget. And it feels so good, so she super-sizes the crave and gives into the "more of everything is better" way of thinking.

There is help for this way of life, for what has become know as the American Way. It's called Shopping Nut and it helps you save money on everything, even dining out while traveling.

Head over to We Are That Family for hundreds of frugal ideas!

Once Alone and Abandoned

Today I'm honored to have my friend Lance from Jungle of Life sharing some his thoughts on abandonment. Lance is a husband, father to 3, IT guy, and weekend athlete extraordinaire. I love his Blog, and especially the people I have met in the Jungle. His Sunday Thought For the Day posts aren't to be missed. Thanks Lance for your authenticity - you are much appreciated!

photo credit: uckhet

“I say my hell is the closet I'm stuck inside” ~ Dave Matthews Band

Alone.  Nowhere to turn.  Nowhere to go. 

Abandoned.

Have you ever felt this way?  In this world we live in, surrounded by people and technology to keep us connected, multiple programs to bring us back into alignment with self – and still…abandoned.   Empty.

Maybe that relates to a period where we’ve felt particularly alone – and that could be in many different forms. Emotional, Spiritual, physical.  Abandonment can happen on one or more of these planes of our existence.  

• Emotional: Disconnecting from where our emotions and mental capacities reside.  
•  Spiritual: Feeling abandoned by what we see as Source in our life. 
• Physical: Feeling alone in the physical realm

 Have you been there?

My Story

There is no perfect life. 

Sari's Story

 

This is my friend Sari. She does wonderful, healing work as an occupational therapist. If you live in Arizona, you must come and see her. And if you are from out of state, seriously consider a visit, she is more than worth the trip. For more information visit www.Sarihands.com or give her a call at 480-998-8448.

Sari was gracious enough to provide me with a part of her abandonment story.

My grandmother, Sarah was in the hospital. My 22 year old mother was visiting her,when she instructed my mom, ‘Go home and make a baby and name her after me’. In Jewish tradition, a child isn’t named after someone who is living, so, my mom knew that her mom would live for less than a year.

Before I was born, my grandmother died. My mom was despondent and overwhelmed.

How could her mom abandon her with two young children?

My mom told me the story many times, saying, ‘I went home and your father showed me love the only way men know how, and you were conceived.’

I was named Sari, after Grandma Sarah and her nickname, Sally. Although I was the younger child, as the namesake, I was born feeling the loss of my grandmother and the responsibility of ‘taking care’ of my mom. Hadn’t Grandma Sarah abandoned me, too?

I tried to ‘do my part’ through an easy delivery, self-soothing infancy, followed by a childhood and life trying to please and fill the gap of a mother lost to a woman so young.

Fortunately, both my mother and I learned that men can show love in other ways, but that’s another story!