Wednesday, May 28, 2008

40 Days of Faith (and mixed metaphors)

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about raising my expectations: of life, work, romance...even God. I guess it's all these hours on trains and planes, which has given me WAY too much exposure to things that chip away at my hopes.

For example, the last magazine I read included several cheery articles reminding me of things I've neglected to worry about. Apparently, I'm way behind. It told me (in graphic detail) how I need to worry about catching something grotesque if THAT DOG licks my face...becoming something grotesque if I don't slather myself with SPF 4000 from February until late November...and making the whole world grotesque if I buy jeans that are anything less than 100% organic cotton. And if my 401k isn't fully funded? I should probably quit life now, because I'm taking up too much room on the planet.

By the end, I was pretty fed up. I mean, this is what I'm supposed to be focusing on to get from where I am to where I want to be? Really???

And don't even get me started about the relationship advice, which was varying takes on the same theme: "Marriage is disappointing; make sure you have good girlfriends to see you through..." ARGH.

Rather than simmering in my frustration, though, it made me want to push back, to swim against the tide of all this worry and doubt. And the basic rule of swimming is: Don't swim alone; use the buddy system. So I thought I'd invite you to swim with me.

In my book, I describe a time when the pastor of my church asked us all to ponder the question: "What do you want Jesus to do for you?" He based this on passages from the Bible that suggest that God enjoys interacting with us over specific prayers; that God is okay if we have specific desires for our lives, and maybe even put them inside us because he wants to help us get there. I was quite sure everyone else in our church was praying for world peace; I snuck off to a corner and asked Jesus to bring me a husband.

We spent the next 40 Days praying for our deepest desires, and the results were rather astounding. So I thought that doing something similar--asking God together for the deepest desires of our hearts, the pieces of life that we're missing--might be a fun way for us to swim against the tide of low expectations together. Or raise the bar. Or some combination of the two.

I've created a new blog: www.fortydaysoffaith.blogspot.com. Starting on June 1st, I'll post there every day for 40 Days: thoughts about asking God for big things, words of encouragement, inspirational stories. And you can jump in as you want, commenting on your hopes and dreams; we can cheer each other on. Whether you're a person of high faith, low faith, or no faith at all, you may have noticed that it's easier to believe that something wonderful (like a husband, or a book deal, or a happier outlook on life) will happen for someone else rather than for you. I'm hoping we can capitalize on that, toss whatever faith we bring into one collective pool, and each end up someplace better than where we started.

So if you're game, come on by. I suspect it will be a fun place to hang out this summer!

23 comments:

mslizalou said...

Sounds like a great plan Trish! Also sounds like a great place to hang out this summer.

Patti said...

i'm in...

Patti said...

um, your link takes me tp amazon (vewy vewy clever....)

Trish Ryan said...

Oops! I fixed the link...thanks for the head's up!

Tonya said...

i believe fear is the basis of all marketing these days. use this or you'll have germs all over your house. drive this or your car will explode on the road. eat this or you'll die of cancer. sometimes, you just gotta let go of the fear and live...or else the stress will kill you before the germs, the car, or the food will. ha ha

LEstes65 said...

Oh you KNOW I'll be there.

Lisa said...

This sounds like an excellent place to hang out this summer. What a great idea!

Susie said...

What a good idea...I'm not very religious at all, but I consider myself spiritual in my own way. I'll take a look at it!

Kelly said...

I saw your comment on Auburn Kat's blog. Sounds like a great idea.

ps congrats on the book.

Beck said...

That sounds like a VERY interesting project! I can't wait.

Auburn Kat said...

What a great idea!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and you are right, dating is a good distraction and it's good for free food! =)

Breeza said...

I can't wait!

heiress said...

I'm ready...

Allie said...

What a great idea! I'm looking forward to taking part.

Stephanie Kartalopoulos said...

Yay! This sounds awesome.
I'm in.

L Sass said...

Very cool, as most Trish Ryan ideas are wont to be!

Larramie said...

Ah FINALLY! *VBG*

suzanneelizabeths.com said...

I've already visited the new site and can't wait to start. Your book has really inspired my to re-examine my walk of faith, my belief in Jesus (rather than just God) all of which is a shake-up since I consider myself a life-long Christian.

Looking forward to June 1st!

-suz

suzanneelizabeths.com said...

I've already visited the new site and can't wait to start. Your book has really inspired my to re-examine my walk of faith, my belief in Jesus (rather than just God) all of which is a shake-up since I consider myself a life-long Christian.

Looking forward to June 1st!

-suz

Unknown said...

you are totally a writer! i love this line: "I'm hoping we can capitalize on that, toss whatever faith we bring into one collective pool, and each end up someplace better than where we started." fabulous! :)

xxxx said...

Fantastic idea, my dear!

Angela said...

I'm looking forward to your 40 days!

Unknown said...

I'll be there...:)