Who is on your side?

Today did not start off so well. Andrew got a phone call from someone saying that they were going to bill us for something that was not their legal right to do so. It was a large chunk of money. We were not in the wrong. We had prayed and labored over the decision that was causing this retaliation. And it was really sucking that they were choosing to do this RIGHT. NOW. When we are already feeling pretty challenged by other things.

So what is the natural human response to things when something goes wrong? Why????? It's their fault! I didn't do anything. Why is God doing this to me? etc etc. Oh I did give them a piece of my mind. I did call them up and threaten a bigger lawsuit coming down their pipeline if they didn't rescind this. (Which is legit-you could. They are a ridiculous, sad company.) But on the way home, I thought, you know, I don't want this to escalate into something it does not need to be. 

And I did not believe that it was God doing this to us. Andrew and I both felt confident in the decision we made and prayerfully sought the Lord's guidance. So I knew we were in the right because He doesn't lead you astray. And I also know that God backs you up. He was on my side. 

So we knelt down to pray together. I expressed to the Lord that I knew we followed the right way and that this was not about Him punishing us, but about one man's giant ego and pride. I asked for the Lord to soften his heart that the man would forgive us and that we would not only be exempt from paying the bogus charge, but also be paid for the work we did. I said I knew God was was my Provider and Protector and I asked that if the man chose to not soften his heart that consequences would come to him, not us.

As soon as we were done praying, Andrew decided to call the man right back. It had been no more than 10 to 15 min after the previous phone call I had given him. Without Andrew saying a word, he said he wouldn't bill us and that our check was in the mail. We were SO grateful, and knelt again to give thanks. THAT. WAS. A. MIRACLE.

Why do I share this? Because God is a God of miracles and He is on your side. For us, it was more than a miracle of money, it was a witness and a confidence that what we are doing, our life plan that we are on is in harmony with God's will. So if you get angry about something, or hurt, I suggest as the scriptures do, to pray. You will be grateful, as I am.

Lisa Grace

Celebrate Life's official beginning-Leap Day. I WOULD. hahahaha

Today is the official beginning of Celebrate Life. I have wanted to set sail for years and create this, but I was not ready. And I was scared.

See fear is the main reason we do not live true lives, true to our hearts, our selves, our God, and our passion. We do like to tell ourselves it is for different reasons, but when it really comes down to it. It's about fear.

So congratulate yourself on recognizing the many excuses you come up with to conceal the fact that you are scared. And then have faith and walk away from the fear....and cue awkward cheesy music....and into the light....whhhaaa? No really, walk into the light, the true light of who you are.

I invite you to begin today. Run, or walk, toward your fire. What you have to give to the world is big, bright, and beautiful (and no, I am not talking about some curvaliscious woman). I am talking YOU. YOU are cool. You are amazing. Settle for less and you WILL ALWAYS live in the past, in regret, and in fear. Be who you are. Step up today. MAKE ONNNNNNEEEEE step.

I invite you to take the first step in becoming who you really are.

One step could be, create an I AM statement. I think we like to lie to ourselves and tell ourselves we are less than we are. Bogus. WE ARE AWESOME. Have fun creating I AM statements for yourself or a personal mission statement. My husband and I had a lot of fun doing this the other day. We drew pictures and wrote statements of things we want to do, see, and be. Have fun with it. Make it your own. My husband already has one thing on his poster achieved. AFTER 1 day. That's it. Start now. Who knows what can happen in a day, a week, a month, 3 months, a year? No regret, people. Let's do it.

Poste and share what you are going to do TO-DAY to Celebrate you and your life.

I AM

I have been meaning to do this for the longest time. So here it is. My personal life "I AM" statement.

I would first like to apologize to myself and every person in the world for not living this truth. I am committed to living true to who I AM. Thanks, gals.

Now on, on to my I AM:


I, Lisa Grace, am a noble, enriching, beautiful, contagiously happy daughter of God. I spread cheer EVERYWHERE I go. I am accepting and humble of mind. I am anxious to hear the stories of other people, to reach out and do good, and to succor the weak, oppressed, sick, and afflicted. I am anxious to be a hand of God in the building of His Kingdom and will honor Him through SONG, Prayer, and acts of righteousness. I am the first to help and the last to leave. I help my husband in his callings and pursuits. I honor him and I am righteous, true, and faithful to him. I am a mother first and foremost. My children are the shining light in my eyes, the warmth and happiness in my life. I am the grandmother everybody wishes they had. I will bake you a cookie, but more than that, I will be kind, and I will be your FRIEND.

I am Lisa Grace Christensen.

Chocolate. It's what brings you here, but sorry, don't have any:)

AND I NEVER WILL.

You see, I'm a recovered chocoholic. I used to be addicted. If I was hungry, I'd have me a bite. If I was bored, I'd have me a couple bites. If I was depressed or feeling some otherwise negative emotion, I'd probably have a half a bag. Let's be honest, I would steal for chocolate. And I have.

Anyway, I decided-this is stupid. Isn't it a bit ridiculous-I mean, really-a SLAVE for chocolate? Really?! What happened to self-control? What happened to dignity?....What happened to my waist?????!

I even thought, Lisa...your not THAT overweight. If you cut chocolate out of your diet you would probably stop gaining 10 or so lbs every year. I bet that's from chocolate.

But none of this was ever enough.....until one day.....Andrew and I were in the car, driving.....

It's January, 5 weeks ago, and Andrew and I are on our way home from a (insert every imaginable awesome, happy word here) Christmas/wedding/Hawaii vacay. We stop at a gas station for some food. Andrew was getting a burger from Burger King. I wasn't hungry enough for a full burger, but I just wanted the taste of something a littttttttle sweet. You know how that goes, dontchya;p So I walk around the gas station store, checkin out the goods. THERE!!! Found it. That's the perfect one. I delicately grab my treasured bag of chocolate-covered almonds, and merrily throw down the 7 or 8 bucks for them. "It's okay," the little voice inside my head says, "you deserve it." I sure as heck didn't care about its affects on me before and I sure as heck don't care now. It's chocolate. Big deal, right?

Andrew and I get on the road again, his burger mostly munched on and me eating my delectable almonds. We're talking, chatting up about life or something. I think we might have been talking about where we wanted our lives to go or something. Anywho, the point is, we were talking and mid-sentence, I said, "This is stupid, Andrew. I'm addicted to these things. I'm gonna quit right now." And after a small pause of thought, I rolled down my window and chucked the bag right out as we flew down the interstate. Andrew laughed, and I thought about the 7 bucks, but it felt GOOOOD. I didn't care. I was free. I no longer had to be addicted to chocolate and I no longer am. It's incredible. For anyone who knows me, that really is a feat. I mean I was known as the girl not to give chocolate to in elementary school-I would get incredibly hyper. So for me to quit cold turkey? Nah. But it's true. I've done it. I'm done. But how. And why.

I did it because it was controlling me and I don't like that feeling. I felt like it was silly for any kind of food to have that much power over me. I'm the one in control of my body afterall (aside from God, but you get my point.) So I quit. And I did it with His help. In the short pause before chucking the chocolate out the window, I imagined in my mind's eye my addictive tie to chocolate and then I imagined giving it to Jesus Christ. My Savior and Healer. I gave it to him cuz I wasn't doing so well with it.

And He has followed through amazingly. I believe because my motive is what it is, and because I was committed to it and have faith in it, that God has continually supported me in the rest. Funny as it is, I feel like it has gone a long way to help improve my faith in Jesus Christ. I still exercise self-control. But it's different now. I still allow myself to have chocolate every once in a while, if I want to, but it has all pretty much gone away-the desire. On average, I probably have the equivalent of one cookie every week or so. That is a SIGNIFICANT change from before. A lot of times I don't even finish the piece of sugar or chocolate I started eating (I also have stopped eating sugary food in general because I found it weakened my resolve). I don't feel deprived or anything. I no longer have an affinity or bond with chocolate. I am free.

Long story short, I believe Christ has the ability to help us with our wounds. I believe He can help in big and little things. I believe He lives to free me from debts, sin, and weaknesses. Thank you to a marvelous Heavenly Father who has provided me a plan. What can He do for you?

Amen?

The Challenge continues.

Hi all. Celebrate Life has been in my heart. Yesterday I was so unhappy. I was having a you-should-be-busier, you-should-be-saving-the-world, you-should-not-be-feeling-depressed-day. And I thought to myself, maybe I am the one that puts this pressure on me, and nobody else. Andrew, his usual easy-going low-stress self, said, it's okay to have one of those days where you don't feel motivated. I thought, maybe he's right. So I kinda chilled and tried to not be worried. I was still feeling a little worried, stressing about the future and all the things I couldn't control and all my shortcomings, and what if I fail, like I have in the past, etc. Finally, at the end of the day, a beautiful remembrance came to my mind-I remembered the joy I felt in one of the most challenging trials of my life-losing my friend to cancer. Every day brought a new challenge, but I learned through the example of his family, to live one day at a time. And that made me happy. It made me happy then, and it makes me happy now. As long as I focus on what I can do each day to achieve my goals and be the best I can be, eventually I will get there. The true freedom, however, is that happiness does not lie in my performance-whether I completely ruin my shot at x, y, z, or whether I am just awesome at everything in life-my true happiness lies in the gratitude for what I have, what I am. True happiness lies in friendship, freedom, and forgiveness. True happiness lies in family. My family is not perfect, but I have a family who loves me. I have a wonderful, amazing man who wants to marry me. I have wonderful blessings on the near horizon and NOW. God has opened my eyes to the blessings that are right in front of me. What is in front of you? Or better yet, WHO is in front of you??

If you let Him, He will open your eyes to the wonder of His plan for you. He loves you.

To the Celebration of your phenomenal, miraculous life, for each life is that-a miracle,

Lisa Grace

Day 15

Halfway through!!:D

Faith-read my scriptures. It helps me feel peace and have a more clear mind.
Family-Andrew, need to create a formal thing about his goals, but we wrote them down.
Friends-Yay-did this blog
Fun-me and Andrew are going running RIGHT NOW.

My impossible dream: Today I walked into an Acoustic guitar store and asked about lessons, just to get some info. I got excited.You know you're on the right path when something really lights you up inside. I also asked a few people about possible programs I could study in to learn singing, dancing, performing for a non-classical, non-educational, entertainment setting. Thinking about which direction to go.

Thanks for the support.

Lisa Grace

Celebrate Life Challenge Introduction and Day 1

"Celebrate Life" is a phrase I picked up from a friend and then I followed the bunny trail. It began with my friend (Tom we'll name him) who got diagnosed with cancer a few years ago. Tom told me this story:

His boyhood friend, Donald(also re-named. We will just re-name everyone unless they happen to find this and don't mind me sharing real names:) got diagnosed with cancer in high school. When Donald thought he was going to beat the cancer, he and his dad had a "Celebrate Life" night-I guess very simply celebrating the fact that he was still alive and very, very grateful. Just a few years later while Tom was in college he was also diagnosed with cancer. As soon as the cancer was removed, following in Donald's footsteps, he also had a "Celebrate Life" night with his dad. To this day, Tom shared with me, he remembers to thank God he is alive.

I became intrigued with the idea of Celebrating Life.

Shortly after hearing this story, a dear friend of mine, younger than I, passed away from cancer last year. His friendship has been a shining example of what it means to Celebrate Life. His life changed mine for the better. And for that I will always be deeply grateful. I didn't learn until after his death that the phrase "Celebrate Life" was also a part of his story:

My friend had gone through a year and a half of chemo and radiation at the young age of 17. After being declared in remission for one summer, he was excited to finally be able to serve a mission for the LDS Church. He was sorely disappointed, however, to learn that 6 months later the cancer was back. His family had been planning a remission celebration cruise for the following month, but upon learning of the terrible news, taking it in stride as they always do, they changed the theme to "Celebrate Life". The bunny trail continues.

The summer after my friend's death, I found the story of a man named Randy Pausch on youtube. I was glued to the screen. I watched his "Last Lecture" and then proceeded to watch as many interviews of him I could find. Randy was a Carnegie-Mellon professor who passed away in 2008 from cancer. His journey to death and impressions on life were highly televised. I was struck by the similarities between him and my friend, and then I found one more similarity. He also mentioned the phrase "Celebrate Life".

Now my path was sure. I was on to this phrase and I wanted to know what it meant. I wanted to find a way to improve my life and live in such a way, that what I had learned from my friend would be carried on in me.

I thought about it, and I thought about it. And then one day it came to me quite simply. Life is simple really. In my mind, it came down to 4 simple Pillars: Faith, Family, Friends, and Fun. I figured if I covered these bases in my life, the most important areas in my life would be covered and the rest would work itself out. Afterall, nothing matters more to me than God, my family, my friends, and enjoying the life God gave me. In the end, I think it will all come down to that, and how we treated others.

Part of the reason my friend inspired me so much is because I fall short so often from living the truth I know. This little challenge or program I have put together for myself is my effort to strive to be a little better everyday and to achieve my dreams.

It goes like this: For 30 days, I pick a goal within each of the 4 areas of Faith, Family, Friends, and Fun. I find a way for me to help mark my progress and help me stay accountable. Part of the reason for marking my progress is so that you see the blessings, the DIRECT blessings that come into your life because of this challenge and making these small changes. I believe God always blesses us when we move in the direction of eternal life.

Second, after choosing these four goals, I pick and impossible dream I want to see come true in my life. I don't plan on it happening in 30 days, but I am going to continue my goals and work toward it. My impossible dream: To sing at Celebrate Life Night at Disneyland on my birthday, with Justin Bieber opening for me:D. Sweet onions, that would be cool.:)

I consider this challenge as a way to test the Lord. If you decide to commit, be prepared for a challenge, but also be prepared for miracles.

"Think not on how I died, but on how I lived."

Four Goals
Faith: Read BoM every day, 10 pgs. (BoM challenge)
Family: Asked Andrew what I could do for him. He asked me to help him follow-up on his Celebrate Life goals. Also doing a Seeds chart for Andrew-I write down what I appreciate about him every day. Keep keeping in touch with my family.
Friends: One act of service a day. This blog.
Fun: Go outside and do something active or fun everyday.( rd a bk outside, run, or SOMETHING).

Some of these have two goals because I did a challenge a few months ago. On day 3 of that challenge I knew I was going to marry Andrew. I believe that is a blessing from doing this challenge. What will be the blessing for you?!


My current progress:

Celebrate Life Challenge Day 12:

Faith-When I read my scriptures, I have gained emotional strength and peace to deal with the challenges in my life.

I didn't journal or read today yet. I will do that before bed.

Family-Andrew...I need to follow up with him. Need to call my fam.

Friends-I'M DOING THIS BLOG. I am very proud of myself for doing this tonight. I have been meaning to do this forever, so yeah, my other goals can kiss it tonight haha.

Fun-played with Ainsley outside. did a cartwheel on the sidewalk. I played!

My impossible dream? Moved forward:)