Externally Processing My Way Through Life

I'm baking all sorts of fun things for this weekend. Pulled pork, brisket, Texas potatoes, plus this yummy cupcake recipe I've been drying to try since I saw it in this months Bon Appetite, it's a vanilla bean coconut cupcake with vanilla bean coconut frosting. I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it!

I also had an insight to myself through a conversation with Chris the other night. Nothing revolutionary, just something I need to be cognisant of. I am a self-critiquing person. I don't mean than in the negative way (although sometimes it can play out that way), but more so in the positive.

I am always looking back on situations and circumstances that I am in and asking myself, should I have said that? Was that the best way to handle that? Should I have done this instead of that? This allows me to change things for the better in the future, and helps me see sin patterns in my life more quickly (notice I said see, not necessarily accept...I'm a work in progress!).

So that was part of the insight, but for me what followed was more important. I have this tendency to think that however I view things, or approach life is how others do. Not saying I think they should view life as I do, just when I'm trying to understand others, I think that of course they would view the situation that way, because I do!

So the kicker is that, me being a self critiquing person, expects other people to be self critiquing, and am left confused when other people seem to go on for ages with what seems like blatantly obvious sin issues in their lives that they are completely unaware of. So I guess a lack of self critiquing leads to an unawareness of these matter in ones life. That said, I need to be more sensitive to the fact that not everyone thinks this way, or thinks that it is important to think this way. I also need to be more patient and gracious when they don't.

Obviously I tend to think that reviewing ones actions and thought is somewhat important to do to continue to grow closer to Christ, but just as in almost all aspects, this too can be taken to the extreme of being overly critical of oneself. Always a balancing act this walk of faith!

In conclusion: vanilla bean coconut cupcakes are good, and don't be so oblivious to how badly we suck at life.