Find Refreshment

Refreshment.

We all need it from time to time.

Refreshment literally means to make fresh again; to reinvigorate.

Still sound like a foreign idea? I am sure the ideas of exhaustion, frustration, and surrender don't sound quite as foreign. That's because we all experience those things, but our response should be to run to refreshment rather than to burnout.

We all have different methods of finding refreshment. Some need a mani/pedi with a friend. Others need a hike in solitude. It varies from person to person. But can I tell you something? You will not find refreshment in mentally rehashing all of the overwhelming factors in your life. You will not find resolve in letting your thoughts of weariness consume you. That, my friend, is the fast track to burnout, and honestly, to defeat.

The Little Things

picture source

Nothing seems good enough anymore. 

So much planning and preparing goes into nice gestures these days that we hardly ever do them due to the complications that are involved. I have often found myself in the struggle to amp up the shock factor in gifts, surprises, and even simple acts of kindness. It's not even good enough to get down on one knee and ask someone to marry you anymore. It has to be on the beach (Even if you live landlocked... you better get to a beach!), with a fancy, vintage, picnic complete with lighting and a videographer and photographer to catch every heart-felt word spoken, every tear shed, and every tender embrace. Yeah, I bet every guy who decided to pop the question with the idea getting down on one knee would be a grand enough stance feels pretty lousy these days. Welcome to the year 2015. We have furniture in fields and stuff. Where else would you put your living room furniture?

I don't deserve this.

Have you ever looked at your life and thought, I don't deserve this? 

There are two reasons one might have this thought. Either they feel they are deserving of more or they feel they are unworthy of what they have been given. Here are two people who are at opposing sides of this sentiment:

Person #1: Judas
I won't go into all of the details assuming you know a little bit of the man I am referring to. He was one of the 12 disciples. He walked with Jesus. He learned from Jesus. He did life with Jesus. But he was left with the thought I don't deserve this... I deserve more! 

When the Opportunity Arises...

For those who don't know Kyrie Coffee is a coffee company that I started just under a year ago. It is a mobile coffee shop for different events and venues, but also sells bags of coffee online. I started this coffee company for the purpose of impacting the world both locally and globally. This company is intended to contribute to non-profits, missions, and other efforts to make an impact. Along with brewing up some caffeinated goodness I post on the Kyrie blog weekly. On the blog we focus on inspiring good, motivating change, and changing the norm. I wanted to share with you a post that I recently shared on the Kyrie blog. I believe it will inspire you to do good even in the seemingly small, everyday things.

When the clouds roll in

My view has changed. A view that only moments ago was a blue sky with bright sun rays breaking through, with birds squawking as they zoom overhead, and people laughing as the boisterous waves crash upon the shore. That view is now diminished by the rains that pour down as I look on beneath a beachside shelter, shared with others eagerly escaping the miniature tropical storm. The rains act like they don't want to cease, but I sit waiting in anticipation of the sun reappearing through the dark and stormy clouds. This sudden and unwelcome change reminds me how quickly our circumstances can change. 

Part of me wants to be disappointed. This was the one outing that I insisted on, going to the beach. Part of me wants to be frustrated. I just made an hour long car trip to make it here just in time for the storm clouds to roll in. Part of me wants to be discouraged and go home. But what if the sun breaks through again just enough for me to go leaping into the salty waves? I want to hold our for that chance. After all, how quickly circumstances can change! 

Fight with Courage

Monday I shared on the Kyrie Coffee blog about starting with the ordinary. Check it out here.

People have referred to life as many different things. A journey, a process, a ride, a roller coaster, a course. So many different ways to try and adequately describe the ever-changing but constant thing we call life. It is full of so many different experiences that leave us with all kinds of impressions, which explains all of the different sentiments we are left with. Nevertheless, life is a journey. It is a process and a wild ride, often resembling that of a roller coaster. And it is definitely a course, one that we either pass or fail.

Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny...

C.S. Lewis 

Get Dirty

I was recently reminded of how messy life can be... and when I say recently I mean within the last week. I also came to the realization that I have gotten out of the practice of being inconvenienced for others' sake. We can grow accustomed to the idea of doing what is convenient for ourselves. Now that doesn't mean we only do what we want to do, but it means even in the tasks that are "work" we take the most convenient path for ourselves. I feel that I am still a person who serves others. I try to help friends and family even when I don't feel like it, but most times that doesn't really inconvenience me. It just adds something extra for me to do. So when an incident arose that completely and utterly inconvenienced me I realized I needed an attitude adjustment.