Tag / Faith

by Janet

The Author of My Life

You know what I love the most about writing my story? 

New chapters. 

Fresh, white, clean pages–not yet colored with ink—lay crisp and uncreased, just waiting for me to pen something new. Something different. Something unique to my own story. 

I’m actually back to the rewriting of my original story, Unteach Me, and I’ve made it to Chapter Three: 

The Author of My Life

Ironically, the original post was published five years and four days ago… when I was just seven months sober.

Anyway, for those of you who already know me, I’m sure you also know that the author I’m always referring to here is God. Sometimes I wonder if that seems like an oxymoron to some people. You know… the fact that I say that He is the author of my life, yet day after day and year after year, here I am again… writing the script. 

I think a lot of people get confused about things like that. I read a book a few years back called Just Do Something, by Kevin DeYoung. He talks about how young Christians often live somewhat stagnant lives, waiting to hear that still small voice tell them what to do next; hoping to learn what God’s will is for them. I loved that book. Mainly because I was one of those people. Church, meetings, prayer… wait. Church, meetings, prayer… wait. That might work for some folks, especially those in their twenties, or even thirties, but for someone in their mid-fifties it’s a bit scary. Time is so precious!

The point that DeYoung makes is that you just need to do something. Anything (Well, almost anything). God isn’t worried so much about WHAT we become, He’s concerned about WHO we become. It’s not about whether or not I become a writer, or an artist, or a psychologist… or even if I decide to retire for that matter. God just wants my life to be lived right. To be good. To be full. It couldn’t get more perfect than that.   

So, as another old chapter of my life becomes history, another one lies ahead. Fresh, clean, crisp pages, full of anything and everything. A new chapter has begun… and it is just waiting to be written.

Amen to that.

On Another Note

One more thing. Since most of you now know me as “Janet,” I’m not sure this will even matter to you… but I’ve changed the name of my site. I am no longer Endless Rivers of Hope (although I do still swim in it!).

I thought long and hard about the writing (and rewriting) of my life story, and how it all started as my journey out of alcoholism. I had originally planned on calling it “A splash of mixer,” but after looking at all of the ingredients in my life, I knew exactly what it should be…

A Sprinkle of Faith.

That being said, I hope I’m still recognizable. It’s still me here. And welcome (back) to my newly (re)named site. I’m sure that many more changes are coming, but for now I’m going slow. There’s no rush here.

About the Image

I was rummaging through the internet and found some creatives who make art out of books. The featured image is my digital version of some of the pieces that I found. I think it’s an awesome idea—part image, part words—blended together to make a beautiful (extremely) short story. How cool is that?!

That’s about all for now. I hope you found something enjoyable here, something that made you laugh, or smile, or think positive. I’ll see you again soon…

Until then,
Peace & Love!

by Janet

Untethered

“Walk outside on a clear night and just look up into the sky. You are sitting on a planet spinning around in the middle of absolutely nowhere.”

Michael A. Singer

Life: From A to Z

I’m back for my series Life: From A to Z and I’m nearing the end now… with the useful letter “U.” I’ve decided to combine the letters X, Y, and Z, so I have just three more posts to go and then I’ll be moving on to something totally new and different. Hip Hip Hooray! I love new things.

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by Janet

Endurance with Ease

In thinking about the letter “E,” the words energy and endurance came to mind. As I started working on my image, I wasn’t sure which one I was going to talk about, or what I would even say, so I created something that might tie the two words together. Obviously, this woman has energy, and it’s possible she’s trying to build her endurance. Still, I was drawing a blank.

And then I found my inspiration (thank you Google). This incredible quote by William Barclay…

“Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory.”

As a recovering alcoholic who is now joyously sober (going on 5 years next month), and an agnostic turned believer, this quote really resonated with me. When you’re living a life of transformation, and sharing that story with others… it can be terrifying at first. Self-doubt loves to rear it’s ugly head and whisper things like “What if you fail? What if you screw it all up? What will your story say about you then?!?“

It’s a weird place to be. You want to tell EVERYONE the story of how God changed your life, with the innocence and excitement of a child, but you also sense that you’ll have to bear the weight of this HUGE adult responsibility… you have to STAY that way. You have to STAY sober. Otherwise, your story will be like so many other stories out there. “Yeah, God changed me alright. But then I turned around and changed myself back.”

If there is anything good at all that comes from the dark times that so many of us experience—no matter what those dark times might be—it’s that these trials, hardships and adversities make us stronger. They build our endurance. We have to get to the other side of them first, of course, but once we do… we are different.

The way I see it now is that if I was able to live through the hell that I put myself through when I was in my disease, I sure as hell can live out my sobriety. And with a daily surrender, there’s really nothing for me to bear. I turn it over to Him and then it’s in His hands. I get to live in His grace… and He gets all the glory.

Amen… and End of Story!

Thanks for joining me in my series Life: From A to Z. I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on the letter “E,” and I’ll see you around soon for the letter “F!”

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve changed image styles again. I was recently inspired by an interesting abstract piece that I saw and so I’ve been experimenting with these motion blur backgrounds. When I added the woman (who I photographed at the beach some time ago), I noticed that the colors of her clothes and skin were blending with the water… almost perfectly. How cool is that?!