The Alternative

alternative: a chance to choose between two or more possibilities; one of the two or more possible choices.

Sometimes I forget that our little family is not normal. I forget that our life is a little on the "alternative" side...because it's just us. It's just life. But the more people I meet on the road...the more I realize just how different we are than the typical American family.

And yet, we are all so similar. Everyone longs to be free. Free from the burden of a mortgage. Free from the constraints of a nine to five job. Free from the pressure to conform. I see that longing in people's eyes and hear it in their words over and over again...and yet, comfort usually wins out. It's comfortable to be like everyone else. It's easier to give in to the pressure to live the "American Dream" because everyone else is doing it too. Everyone else is at the mall. Everyone else is buying a house and cars they can't afford. Everyone is charging it on their most recent 0% interest rate credit card. But I don't want to be like everyone else. I want to live in my own little alternative dream world. :)

Over the last couple of years, we've worked towards making our dream world a reality...and it has all come down to choices. We chose to sell our house and move to a smaller apartment so we could pay off debt faster. We chose to move West and simplify our life even more...with the goal of truly enjoying each day. We chose to go on the road full-time and explore the country while teaching others how to live green. We chose to give up the stability of a steady job in exchange for a wild journey of faith. Here are a few thoughts on the alternative parts of our life...and the variety of choices that are before us.

Employment One of the most common questions we get asked is "how do you make money?!". Most people are so accustomed to thinking about making money in the most traditional of ways...so making a living without a 9-5 job is a completely foreign and scary thought. The reason that it's so scary is that we are constantly told by the media (and sometimes our family/friends) that to be accepted, we must appear to be successful. We must own a house. We must own a new vehicle. We must have a job with a fancy title. None of these things are bad...but they really aren't necessary to have a happy life. When I started thinking about what was motivating us to have the big house, the car, the fancy job, etc...I realized that it was mostly driven by other people's expectations. So, we left the very nice steady job and now we make money doing lots of small jobs. And we couldn't be happier...because we are doing what we LOVE. Demos for the tour, photography, life coaching, handyman work, graphic design...everything adds up, and by the grace of God, we are able to pay bills and stay on the road! :) God has been so faithful throughout this journey and continues to amaze us with His provisions every day.

Housing If you browse around my blog a bit...you will quickly notice that I am WAY into alternative housing. Yurts, cob houses, earthships, tipis :) Anything that looks a little quirky and I'm all over it. So it wasn't a huge jump for us to move our entire life into a teeny box with wheels and hit the road. And we LOVE it. We love the smallness. We love having our home with us wherever the road leads. We couldn't imagine it any other way! When we do settle down again somewhere...I'll be checking one of my favorite books out from the library: Mortgage Free: Radical Strategies for Home Ownership. Love it.

Faith Relying on something other than yourself is a foreign concept in our culture. We are constantly bombarded with messages of self-sufficiency and using our own "power" to create a new reality. And while I agree that we have amazing power within...I believe that power comes from Christ. He alone gives us power to pursue those dreams and He opens doors and opportunities beyond our wildest dreams when we abide in Him. Living a life focused on Christ is not always a popular choice, but for us...it's the only choice.

Parenting It's a crazy thing...this parenting job. We are trying to do the best that we can with the information that we have...and adding a whole bunch of love and kisses along the way :) We are a homebirthing, cloth diapering, non-vaxing, gentle disciplining, babywearing, co-sleeping, extended nursing family...whew! That's a lot of labels. :) I prefer to think of it as natural parenting. We believe that children are to be treated with respect and mercy. It's not an easy road and we're not perfect by any means...but we try to treat Bella the way we want her to treat others....with respect and kindness.

Education Another question that we get asked a lot is "...but what will you do when Bella needs to go to school?". And to that my response is "...she is already in school!". The school of life, that is :) Bella is learning new things every day...in the last week we have learned about railroads, numbers, seasons, food, money, and more...just by living life. She is learning about the world around her in every interaction we have. She constantly asks questions and I do my best to teach her new things each day. We fall into the "unschooling" camp and it fits perfectly with our lifestyle and beliefs about how a child should learn. For some great reading on this topic...here is a great book to start with.

Food We definitely go against the flow when it comes to food...we've been vegetarian for almost 4 years and are most recently eating all raw vegan foods. We feel amazing and we're having a great time teaching others along the way!

Beauty To be considered beautiful in our culture, it might appear that one needs to be a size 2, have long flowing blonde hair, and wear designer clothing. These are all things that the fashion magazines tell us...and it's probably the most difficult thing for women especially to overcome. But for me, it's much more fun to love myself for who I am, in the clothes I found at Goodwill....with hair that doesn't have to be combed.

I love the definition above of "alternative" listed above..."a chance to choose between two or more possibilities". A "chance to choose". There is so much possibility in that phrase. What is your ultimate dream in life? Are you pursuing it? Are you taking steps each day towards that goal? Or do you just lay in bed at night and think about it? Do you think about how impossible it is? How life just isn't fair? No more thinking. JUST START NOW. Take one step. And then take another. And another. Until you are living your dream and you couldn't imagine it any other way!

God places passions and desires in our hearts for a reason. He wants us to be in the center of His will...pursuing the passions that He has placed in our hearts. Abide in Him. Listen. Dream. Take one step toward the alternative.

Photo credit: Flickr| tonystl

Pride vs. Brokenness

Pride. There are lots of different kinds of pride. Pride in your children. Pride in your country or your alma mater. All of these kinds of pride can be healthy...in moderation. But the kind of pride that God speaks against in his word is nothing like those "feel good" types of pride. Pride is one of those sins that we tend to just gloss over and not fret too much about. In our minds, it's not quite the same as murdering someone or committing adultery. But the thing is...it IS in the same group. A "sin is a sin is a sin" in the mind of God. All sins separate us from Christ and require repentance. In the following passage from Mark, Jesus is speaking about what is inside of you...and how it can defile you. He lists all of these horrible sounding sins...and then WHOA! He throws pride in there...along with envy, slander (gossip), and foolishness. I think that we tend to trivialize these other sins...and yet they are so completely destructive if we don't stop them in their tracks.

And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

Mark 7:20-22

Right now, I'd like to focus specifically on pride. I was recently given a wonderful resource from Revive our Hearts/Nancy Leigh DeMoss...it's a study on pride vs. brokenness (or humbleness) and it details the many differences between the two. It's been such a life changing study for me and I wanted to pass it on to you.

Here are just a few of the comparisons:

Proud people focus on the failures of others...broken people are overwhelmed with the sense of their OWN spiritual need.

Proud people have to prove that they are right...broken people are willing to yield the right to be right.

Proud people claim "rights" and have a demanding spirit...broken people yield their rights and have a meek spirit.

Proud people have a drive to be recognized and appreciated...broken people have a sense of their own unworthiness; thrilled that God would use them at all.

Proud people feel confident in how much they know...broken people are humbled by how very much they have to learn.

Questions to ask yourself...evidences of pride:

• Do you look down on those who are less educated, less affluent, less refined, or less successful than yourself?
• Do you think of yourself as "more spiritual" than your mate or others in your church?
• Are you quick to find fault with others and to verbalize those thoughts to others? Do you have a sharp, critical tongue?
• Are you driven to receive approval, praise, or acceptance from others?
• Are you uncomfortable inviting people into your home because you don't think it's nice enough or you can't afford to do lavish entertaining?
• Do you become defensive when you are criticized or corrected?

I have been so convicted by this study...it completely brings my focus back to Christ. Jesus Christ is the only reason I am not condemned by my failures. He has saved me and I owe everything to Him. With that in mind...how could I ever think that I have any "rights" in my life? How could I ever look down upon someone else...knowing that I am nothing without Christ?

Now...all of this may sound so "defeated" and not "empowered" in the sense of the word that our world uses it. If you watch TV or listen to any sort of media, you will hear that it's ALL about you and that YOU have control over everything in your life. You pretty much ARE GOD. This is the ultimate in pride.

But God desires for you to be confident and beautiful and amazing...but He wants you to be confident in HIM, beautifully made by HIM, and live an amazing life with HIM and for HIM.

In studying "brokenness", I have migrated into studying what the Bible says about love and mercy. When your focus is on loving others and showing mercies to others, it's much harder to be full of pride.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:17

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6

He has showed you, O Man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

And my very favorite...you have to read this 3-4 times to really get it into your heart:

Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand it's own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record or when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. ... There are three things that will endure -- faith, hope, and love -- and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7,13

Wow. To live a life of love...that's what I want! To show mercy and to be broken in Christ. How I long to be those things! It is ONLY by the Holy Spirit's power in my life that I could even dream of grasping at them. I am so thankful that God uses circumstances in my life, the people I am surrounded with, and His word to gently teach me in these areas.

This is my prayer today...

LORD! I desire a broken spirit...a spirit of love. Clean out my critical spirit. I don't want it anymore. Let me look for love and peace in every situation. Make me overwhelmed at every moment with a sense of my own spiritual need...not anyone else's. Let me see all others as better than myself. Help me to deny my selfish desires and be motivated to serve others. I have nothing to offer except a life that flows through Jesus. I have so much to learn. I am not concerned with being "right". Help me to be humble and slow to correct others. Give me a teachable spirit...one that longs for your Word and your truth. I love you Jesus...and it's in your name I pray. Amen.

The Temple

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

I talk a lot on this blog about how we are called to be good stewards of the earth because, after all, it is God's creation. There are limited resources. There is only ONE earth...and it was entrusted to us to take care of while we are residing here. In the same way, God has given us ONE body...gloriously and perfectly made...to take care of while we are here on earth. Did you know that your body is not your own? You were bought with a price. Jesus paid the price for us when He died on the cross...and we owe Him everything!

When you are taking care of something that is not your own...how do you treat it? You probably take very good care of it, so that when the owner comes back, they will find it in good condition. When you rent an apartment, you are probably very careful to keep it in good condition so that when the landlord returns, you will not be fined. We are to be good stewards of our body...in the same way that you would take care of anything that is not your own. In 1 Corinthians, Paul refers to our body as "a temple". When I think about what that means...my mind brings up images of how my house would look if I was preparing it as a place of worship, a place where God would dwell.

With these thoughts in mind, think about the things you did to care for and prepare your temple this last week. What types of foods did you put into your body? What about artificial flavorings, chemicals, preservatives, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides went into your body? Did you exercise? Did you get outside? Did you run, jump, play, and dance? Oh, but Sara! I didn't have TIME to make healthy meals or exercise! :)

Over the years, I have made so many excuses as to why I didn't have time to work out and/or eat better. And being that I was an athlete throughout my school years, it should have been pretty easy for me. But after I had Bella, I just didn't "feel" like doing anything. The less active I was, the worse I ate. The worse I ate, the less energy I had. I had weeks where I would try to start making changes, but then would quit in frustration after I had missed a few days and "failed". It wasn't until about 4 weeks ago that I started at it again...this time with renewed vigor and excitement. I truly believe the reason I have been able to stick with it this time is because it was a holistic change that encompasses all areas of my being. I started having really good time in the Word and meeting with Jesus in prayer daily. I started working out and being active daily. And I started eating much better. And it's this last part that I really want to focus on...because I believe that eating and diet in general is such an intensely spiritual and emotional journey... one that it effects all other areas of our life. If your body is unhealthy (and you are tired, depressed, worn out)...everything else goes into a downward spiral as well. Your marriage, your relationship with others, your self-esteem...it's all connected.

If you have been over to my food blog, Happy Foody, you know that I am very passionate about food! I believe that it has the power to heal, energize, and keep your body running well for a long time. But the foods that make up the typical American diet are not healing foods. They aren't even close to healing foods. Nor are they even close to what God had in mind when He created fruits and vegetables for us to eat...perfect foods with perfect vitamin and mineral make up for our bodies. There are over 7500 varieties of apples alone! Just apples! Can you even fathom how much deliciousness grows on this planet that we don't even know about? All created by the one who knows ours bodies perfectly. And yet...we choose foods that have a chemical make-up that would startle our great-grandparents. Just 40 years ago, all food was "organic"...our country has gone so far away from that ideal and it's saddening to see the effects on our health. Even more saddening is that we are CHOOSING these things for ourselves. I know that there are certain situations of poverty where that person may not have a choice, but the majority of the people reading this have a choice as to what they put in their mouth.

When we consider that "we are not our own"...it becomes a little easier to make better choices. It's not our body to trash... we will be held accountable for our actions here on earth. There is a disconnect between the food we eat and our faith. We compartmentalize everything...I know I am guilty of it as well. We break things out into comfortable categories that don't intersect. My faith. My health. My family. My hobbies. My food. But I am realizing that my faith in Jesus is like a blanket that covers all of these things. My faith is not just one "part" of my life...something that happens on Sunday...it IS LIFE. Being a follower of Jesus is my philosophy of life.

What is the meaning of life? For me, it is to bring glory to God in all that I do and say. I am going to stop treating my body like it's separate from my spirituality and bring it all under His control. He wants is ALL. He desires the best for me, which means that He WANTS to help me be healthy...He WANTS me to learn self-control.

But how can we claim to have self-control, and yet we can't control what goes into our mouths? We are somehow "powerless" to say no to a Venti Breve White Chocolate Mocha, a Big Mac, a Coca-Cola...or "just one more" brownie. We remain slaves to our food when we can't conquer our cravings.

"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12

When you sense that little inner voice telling you over and over..."you need to start eating better"..."you should exercise more"...it's not necessarily just your inner voice. It is most likely the Holy Spirit prompting you to take care of it's dwelling place in a better way. Who knows what you need better than the Holy Spirit within you?!

I know this is a very difficult issue for many people. It's a struggle that feels unbeatable. There are many of you who without a doubt have struggled with eating disorders. I am not saying that it's easy, and I am not saying that you have to look like a super model. Everyone has different body types...HOWEVER...you know for yourself when you are unhealthy and need to make a change. The American Heart Association has put the out the standard for all adults...that you should be physically active (and this means actually sweating with your heart rate elevated - they define it as "vigorous") for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. 30 minutes! That's HALF of "Lost" or "American Idol"! You can do it! The activity can be split up into 10-15 minute increments, but it must be vigorous to get the benefits. This means that the leisurely stroll to through the parking lot doesn't really count :) When you are sedentary (a.k.a. sitting around most of the day), your body begins to think it doesn't need all of the muscles it has and you get flabby. Flabby is no fun!

Decide today that you won't be satisfied with letting your Temple sit in disrepair! And then get busy dissecting any body image problems that you might have. Do not judge your body based on a false reality. Stop picking up "Fit" and "Shape" magazines and comparing yourself to the completely absurd, airbrushed photos. They are not real. Stop picking up "People" and staring at the perfectly little perfrect bodies from Hollywood. In order to LOVE the body that God gave you, you have to stop putting garbage in your mind about what this world says it should look like. You can be HEALTHY and not look like a model on the runway.

You also need to examine who you perceive yourself to be. When you can wrap your head around the power that you have within you through Christ, anything is possible. So...who am I in Christ?

I am God's child (John 1:12) I am assured all things work together for good (Romans 8:28) I am confident that God will perfect the work He has begun in me (Philippians 1:6) I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7) I have purpose (Ephesians 1:9 & 3:11) I have hope (Ephesians 1:12) I have been chosen and God desires me to bear fruit (John 15:1,5) I am alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5) I am God's workmanship (Ephesians 2:10) I have peace (Ephesians 2:14) I am a holy temple (Ephesians 2:21; 1 Corinthians 6:19) I am a dwelling for the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:22) God's power works through me (Ephesians 3:7) I can approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12) I can bring glory to God (Ephesians 3:21) I can be certain of God's truths and the lifestyle which He has called me to (Ephesians 4:17) I can have a new attitude and a new lifestyle (Ephesians 4:21-32) I can give thanks for everything (Ephesians 5:20) I can be strong (Ephesians 6:10) I am growing (Colossians 2:7) I am His disciple (John 13:15) I am prayed for by Jesus Christ (John 17:20-23) I am promised a full life (John 10:10) I am victorious (I John 5:4) I am set free (Romans 8:2; John 8:32) I am a light in the world (Matthew 5:14) I am more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37) I am not helpless (Philippians 4:13) I am overcoming (I John 4:4) I am persevering (Philippians 3:14) I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) I am victorious (1 Corinthians 15:57)

Now that's some encouragement!

Where to begin? Be realistic with your goals and expectations. Set goals in increments...slow and steady. Make your goals attainable, so that you can easily achieve your goals and then move onto the next one. Start with 10 minutes a day. Start with a walk around the block. Start somewhere. Journal your progress...on paper or in a blog and find someone who is willing to be a partner...to help you stay the course.

One of the best partners you can have is Jesus...I feel so confident in knowing that He is with me on this journey. I have been using my exercise time to meditate on scripture and pray through my prayer list. After I'm done, I'm not only refreshed physically, but spiritually as well.

In order to help everyone jump start their healthy journey, I am going to host the "Happy Foody Green Smoothie Challenge"! It will will start on Monday, February 25 and run through March 25. For more details, check out this post on Happy Foody.

Get your temple in order...pray for the Holy Spirit to give you motivation and energy and excitement to begin this journey!

Photo credit: Flickr: j/f/photos