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Archives for March 2016

Comfort Zones, Jesus, and Stepping into a Storm

March 31, 2016 by Allie Casazza Leave a Comment

Recently, I was on the phone with a friend who is going through the beginning stages of becoming a foster parent. She was telling me about all the negative comments she’s been getting, and I was relating to her through our experience in choosing to move away from all our family and friends six months ago.

We both had heard so many rude, forward, and negative comments about our decisions. The comments were very similar even though our circumstances are different, and I noticed they all had one thing in common- each question and every comment was firmly grounded in fear and selfishness.

“Things are going so well for you right now! Why would you purposely make things more difficult?!”

“You doing this is going to be very hard on your family. That couldn’t be God’s will for you.”

“Why would you put your kids through something so hard on purpose? Life’s hard enough as it is.”

These comments reveal a huge misconception about the Christian life. So many people seem to think that life is supposed to be happy and easy, that the goal is to create a good life, avoiding difficulties at all costs, and when they happen to us, you get through with prayer and faith. Very few people are willing to knowingly step into a storm. The thing is, stepping into storms is exactly what we are called by God to do.

We are called to something so much more, so much bigger than clean houses with Pinterest-worthy decor, trendy outfits, perfect marriages, park play dates, and getting more likes on Instagram. We’re called to run toward the broken, the tired, the hungry, the homeless, the orphans. We are called to do things that scare us for the sake of God’s people. We are called to move mountains and be world-changers who raise world-shapers. We are called to follow our call, and there’s nothing safe about it.

That doesn’t mean we have to be afraid. Fear has no place in the heart of a world-changer. The call is something we can rest in, a shelter from the storm while we stand right in the eye of it. Following the call means we are doing what we were made to do- being Jesus to this lost and broken world.

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So why would I knowingly step into a storm when things are “going just fine” for my family? Because God is calling me to, and the point of my life isn’t to be happy or live as easily as possible, it’s to further His Kingdom. I will sweat and cry and die to myself for that until I breathe my last breath, because that’s exactly what Jesus did and I am called to be Him to this world.

 from  my instagram
from my instagram

We, as believers and followers of Jesus Christ, are called to act like He did when He was walking this earth. Did he have a cushy life full of all His favorite things with the occasional hardship? No. He spent His time with the sick, the prostitutes, the murderers, the tax collectors– those who were hated and feared and shunned. He served people; He loved on people.

Whoever says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walked.

1 John 2:6

I think social media plays a big role in our misguided thought-process about how we should be living. Perfectionism reigns online and it’s everywhere. It’s so easy to get caught up in thoughts like my house needs to be decorated better… I need to dress cuter… my life isn’t as good as hers… my house isn’t as clean as hers… my kids aren’t as well-behaved as hers… it goes on and on until we are so focused on making our lives as perfect and as happy as possible that we’ve forgotten the call.

We have lost sight of the whole point.

Instead of pretending there aren’t orphans while we sit in our two-story homes in our perfect neighborhood, instead of ignoring the tug on our hearts to move and nestling further into our comfort zone, instead of looking the other way when we pass by someone in need, instead of only hanging with those who are like-minded, we are called to reach out, to touch the broken and hurting people of the world, to expand beyond our bubbles and be Jesus to people. We need to stop building walls that separate us from those who sin differently than us, and those who are hurting at a level that makes us uncomfortable, step into the storm, and take their hands.

 from  my instagram
from my instagram

Life isn’t about setting up a world in which we are most comfortable, safe, and happy. It’s about opening our arms, outstretched in full surrender, and saying “yes” to what He asks of us. Maybe that’s in a beautiful home with our kids, maybe that’s in another country in the mud with the people of an impoverished land, maybe it’s in another state, maybe it’s so far out of your comfort zone but the tug on your heart is so strong you aren’t sure you can take it anymore. Wherever you are right now, however you are spending your days, can you honestly say it’s where He wants you? 

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Filed Under: faith

Minimalism in Health & Fitness

March 29, 2016 by Allie Casazza Leave a Comment

The health and fitness industry brings in billions of dollars every year. For something that’s as basic as eating what’s good and moving your body every day, that’s a lot of money. The industry tells us we don’t know how to eat or how to exercise. They tell us we have to do it an exact way or we’ll fail, and that’s why we need their magic pills, vitamins, books, shakes, etc. It’s not true, and getting healthy really is simpler than we act like it is.

Three years ago I discovered minimalism, and it changed my life. I recently started wondering what would happen if I brought the philosophy of minimalism into my health and fitness regime. What would happen if I stopped making goals, planning, obsessing, and just cut the crap and starting doing? A lot happened, and a lot changed very quickly.

In today’s podcast episode, I’m telling you about my experience, and how you can implement a minimalist approach in your eating and exercise habits.

Hint: you’re way more likely to actually reach your goals…

Listen on iTunes here and on SoundCloud here.

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Filed Under: intentional living, minimalism

Minimalism in Health & Fitness

March 29, 2016 by alliecasazza Leave a Comment

The health and fitness industry brings in billions of dollars every year. For something that’s as basic as eating what’s good and moving your body every day, that’s a lot of money. The industry tells us we don’t know how to eat or how to exercise. They tell us we have to do it an exact way or we’ll fail, and that’s why we need their magic pills, vitamins, books, shakes, etc. It’s not true, and getting healthy really is simpler than we act like it is.

Three years ago I discovered minimalism, and it changed my life. I recently started wondering what would happen if I brought the philosophy of minimalism into my health and fitness regime. What would happen if I stopped making goals, planning, obsessing, and just cut the crap and starting doing? A lot happened, and a lot changed very quickly.

In today’s podcast episode, I’m telling you about my experience, and how you can implement a minimalist approach in your eating and exercise habits.

Hint: you’re way more likely to actually reach your goals…

Listen on iTunes here and on SoundCloud here.

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Filed Under: intentional living, minimalism

Why I Let My Kids Feel the Weight of the World

March 21, 2016 by Allie Casazza Leave a Comment

 Written by Allie Casazza Written by Allie Casazza

We were driving to the store listening to the music of his request, indie rock, as usual. Cage the Elephant played their modern rock ballad about cloudy days and fixing your eyes on the sun, and in the rear-view mirror I saw his face distort to the shape of a true rock star in his element as he bounced his head back and forth. I have always known his love of music was different, and I remembered him in my womb, kicking rhythmically to anything we played loud enough for him to hear.

He interrupted my memories by asking me to turn it down and asked, “Can you be a guitar player when you grow up?” When I answered yes I watched his eyes light up and gaze out the window.

“You can be whatever you want when you grow up, and you should do what makes you feel the most alive, but find a way to change the world with it, because that is your responsibility.”

We pulled into the parking lot as he unbuckled and climbed to the front seat to look at me.

“It’s my responsibility?”

“Yes, bud. The world is your responsibility, and it needs help. It needs someone to change it, and make it kinder and more like Jesus.”

He stared out the window behind me as it sunk it, or at least I was hoping it was.

 from my personal  instagram  from my personal instagram

“Actually Mom, I would like to be a train track builder. Can I change the world with that?”

“You can change the world with anything you do. It’s about the person you are and the attitude you have. You can find a way to change the world with anything.”

“What about a motorcycle rider?”

“Yup. A motorcycle rider can change the world too.”

He thought some more as he watched people walk by and I got his brothers out of their car seats, then I took his hand and we walked in to buy diapers and new shoes. I knew I was holding the hand of a world-shaper. I was pushing a couple of them in the cart, too.

As I ran my errand I thought about a Jonathan Edwards quote I had read once.

“Lord, stamp eternity on my eyeballs.”

Eternity. What we do on this earth should last for eternity, otherwise, it’s pointless. I take that seriously; it’s why purpose is my favorite word. I want my kids to know that they have a purpose and what they do will last for eternity. They have a legacy to leave behind and I expect them to rise to that occasion.

 from my personal  instagram  from my personal instagram

Some might say they’re just children, let them be little, or that I’m being too hard on them. I disagree. I am letting them be little, I’m pretty big on that, but letting them in on their purpose doesn’t make them grow up, it sets the stage for a small person to grow into a big person who knows exactly why they’re here. And that’s what I want for them- to know exactly why they’re here, that they matter, and that they play a crucial role in changing the world, in the Kingdom of God.

I want to put the weight of the world on their shoulders, because that’s where it is whether they know it or not. The future generation is the shape the world will take when we are no longer here. I’d be doing them as well as society a huge disservice to shield them from their responsibility. 

I don’t want my children to be selfish adults. I don’t want them thinking that life is about them or even that it’s about their happiness. I believe that’s a big misunderstanding in this world.

The responsibility of changing the world gives kids an automatic purpose, and young adults need purpose. When they have been infused with it from a young age, they are less likely to doubt it or be unsure of themselves. They will have been taught that life isn’t about them, it’s about using your passion and your talents to make the world kinder, better, brighter.

Life is about being Jesus to people. Jesus sat with the lepers when no one else wanted to go near them and caged them off. Jesus dined with the hated, the despised. Jesus held the faces of prostitutes and dined with the poor.

So instead of saying things like, “You can do anything you put your mind to! The sky’s the limit!” I want to pour purpose and intentionality into my children.

Your passion is music. How can you use that to change the world? What words can you pair with your music to shape the minds of those listening? How can you love on people with your music?

Your passion is riding motorcycles. Instead of only riding and seeking out sponsorships, fame, and money, how can you use those things to change the world? Maybe you can start a program for troubled boys- a camp where they can come and be boys and ride motorcycles and learn about the God who loves them wildly, just as they are. 

How can you use what you’re made to do to be like Jesus to the world? It is your responsibility to change the world. It’s on you, love. And you’ve got this. 

Find what sets you on fire inside, and go change the world with it. 

 from my personal  instagram  from my personal instagram

Filed Under: motherhood Tagged With: christian parenting, christianity, motherhood, parenthood, parenting, raising kids, truth

Why You Can’t Just Stop Yelling

March 8, 2016 by Allie Casazza Leave a Comment

thirty days of no yelling, and I’m almost two weeks in. This morning my husband called me right after he got to work to let me know he had dropped the ball in a commitment and needed me to pick it up for him so he could focus on the big meeting he was walking into. I’ve been launching a book, running my new website, producing an online class, and handling a move, all with four kids surrounding me. The rage started rising up in me and it was coming fast. 

I think it threw me off because it was my husband who “set me off”, not my kids. I know it’s not his fault, nobody can make me yell and lose my temper- that was all me. But I’d been so focused on not yelling at my kids and breaking that bad habit that I wasn’t thinking at all about husband.

I snapped.

What hurts the most isn’t the fact that I haven’t yelled in a week and a half and I just exploded, totally breaking my streak, it’s what I know my words did to him.

I belittled him, made him feel stupid, told him exactly what I thought of the mistake he made. Once the yelling started it felt good- like everything I’d been holding back was set free in the best way- so I kept going. I hurled demeaning words like an Olympic athlete going for the gold, and I didn’t stop until every single one had been thrown.

After I finished, the hurt lingered in the air so thick, I had to hang up the phone. I didn’t want to deal with the results of what I’d just done. I knew I had just destroyed the man I love right before he walked into an important meeting at a job he already feels belittled in. I started doing laundry and tears fell down my face.

Why is this hold on me so strong? I don’t want to use excuses to try to set myself free from the hook of responsibility in raising my kids and remaining in a happy marriage. I want to stop looking around at all the reasons I am like this and look inward at my heart, what God sees.

Why do I yell? Why do I feel the need to say hurtful things when I’m angry?

I don’t want to do this for the show, I don’t want to do it so I can log onto Periscope at night and give a good report, I need to be doing this for Him. Sure, accountability is a strong motivator and a huge help, but it can’t be my only drive. I need to stop suppressing the urge to raise my voice and start digging through my heart to find the root of why I do it. I need to lift that root out and hand it over to the One who is calling me to be more than I am in this moment.

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It’s tempting to just call on grace, apologize to my husband, let it go and carry on. I know there is grace for my mistakes and I can start over, but grace is not an excuse to ignore the root of a stronghold in my life. Something in the dark depths of my heart is holding me tight, and I can’t move past this. I can’t just leave that there and, “oh, grace.” No, that’s not enough. If what comes out of the mouth stems from the heart, than playing the grace card is just a band-aid placed over an infected wound.

Not yelling needs to start with my heart. I need to grasp the cloak of Jesus as I choose to go another way, find another method.

Not yelling is an act of worship.

I am called to more than screaming to make my point. I am called to more than using my gift of words for evil. I am called to be holy, set apart from the rest. I’m called to be better than this, to strive, to move towards God’s call on my life. I am called to live on purpose and not play the victim to my circumstances. 

So what then? What now?

I know self-control isn’t enough. I have to deal with the actual issues and causes.

I know I can’t do this in my own strength. I need Him every second of every day.

I know my mouth speaks what’s in my heart. I have to let Jesus in and clean house.

I know this can’t be an act. It has to be an act of worship.

So I make the dreaded apology phone call, I kneel at the Throne of Grace and humbly accept what I do not deserve, and I walk forward, my pride behind me. Because I cannot do this, but He can, and He wants to. It’s why I need a Savior.

I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

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Filed Under: motherhood

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