Monday, August 13, 2012

Life Investment

Our church recently finished up a series of sermons called "Life Investment Strategies," and one week while I was taking sermon notes, a separate list of my own began appearing in the margins of my page as I began to consider what sorts of "investments" in my own life have consistently given me good returns. Some of them might seem frivolous, but they've proven to be important for me. Some of them I don't do as well as I should, but I have seen that when I do, my life is much better. So, here's my own, in-no-way-exhaustive or in any particular order list of Life Investment Strategies:

Life Investment Strategies:

  1. Listen to 60s rock, often and intently.
  2. Go outside and daydream whenever you get the chance.
  3. Document dreams, thoughts,scribbles, memories, pictures.
  4. Pray in the shower; pray in the car; pray while cooking dinner; pray while reading poetry; pray in your head; pray out loud; pray alone; pray with close friends; pray without ceasing.
  5. Seek out and appreciate Beauty, not for the sake of that artifact of beauty, but for the sake of knowing the Truly Beautiful.
  6. Cultivate a sense of humor. Laugh often.
  7. Eat healthily, but don't sacrifice taste. Savor delicious foods without falling slave to them.
  8. Spend face-to-face time with the people that you love. 
  9. Go on adventures -- in your own town or around the world.
  10. Learn to do new things. Don't be afraid to figure it out by yourself or ask for help.
  11. Read -- The Bible, Shakespeare, Sci-fi, Philosophy, Poetry. Read for pleasure -- for the joy of being lost in another world and emerging to make this world better.
  12. Sing, Dance, and Play -- a lot.
What would you add to this list? What life-practices have yielded consistent returns (in joy, creativity, peace, fun, security, love, etc. -- or money) in your life?
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4 comments:

  1. UnknownAugust 13, 2012 at 12:33:00 PM CDT

    Spend a vacation on a mission trip and experiance the joy your soul feels when you give to something greater than yourself.

    Listen and become in tune with your body, knowing when you need to eat healthy, detox, relax, workout, or have a massage.

    Try foods that are out of your comfort zone, in country and out. Find out what your taste buds never knew they were missing all because you never tried!

    Never be afraid to start over and start fresh.

    (your list christine, reminds me of how much we are alike in so many ways- love you!)

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  2. Christine Hand JonesAugust 13, 2012 at 12:50:00 PM CDT

    I love those additions, Amber!

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  3. UnknownAugust 13, 2012 at 10:18:00 PM CDT

    Breathe. Deeply and patiently. Bring in peace with each long breath, and with each equally long exhale, let the negative go.

    Give a listening ear when your elders want to tell you a story.

    Bake for no reason at all. Pie, cake, bread - doesn't matter.

    Build something with your two hands.

    I love your "listen to 60's rock" Life investment - a few years ago I bought Vinnie a record player for Christmas. So often we will pull out a few records and listen to the collection over the course of the day - pure therapy!

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  4. Christine Hand JonesAugust 14, 2012 at 7:59:00 AM CDT

    I love vinyl, too! Also, I like all the cooking and using your hands in general. I would definitely add "make stuff" to the list, because I'm always happier when I take the time to create/build/cook/invent something than I am when I just buy it, and it's very therapeutic.

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