David J Baldwin

We're 10 weeks into the year! How are your New Year's Resolutions going? I don't know about you, but everywhere I go, people are talking about Marie Kondo’s Netflix show, Tidying Up.  Kondo encourages you to reduce your closet, for example to those items that “SPARK JOY,” and then getting dressed in the morning can always be a joyful occasion. I read the book 2 years ago and seriously pared down my possessions (many of you know how many shoes I used to have!) I have found that it more joyful to own a few quality items I love instead of a lot that I just like. And getting dressed in the morning is quicker and simpler!  So what does this have to do with New Years Resolutions? I think Marie Kondo is encouraging us to FOCUS ON WHAT MATTERS. By reducing the number of items you own to pay attention to and take care of, you can take better care of the ones that truly matter to you. I recently stumbled across Mark Manson’s blog post How to 80/20 Your Life and

In 1992, the Christian rap group DC Talk released an album containing the song “Luv is a Verb.” At that time, I was a high school student struggling to love myself. People mocked my effeminate mannerisms, lisped their speech in my direction, and called me Girly-Man. My response was to desperately seek external validation. I joined student council, the band, the choir, practiced the piano, got straight A’s, wrote the youth group’s newsletter, tutored more popular kids, played soccer, anything to feel loved and find a reason to love myself. My youth pastor told me it was God’s love I should be feeling. Knowing that God loved me should make me feel worthy. I remember believing that my faith must not be strong enough. I read the Bible more, prayed more. We’re bombarded with the idea that love is an emotion we feel, a warm fuzzy feeling. Romantic comedies give us an image of what it’s like to “fall in love.” But love is not just an emotion. As DC Talk says, “luv is a verb.” Loving You