Hey guys guess what.? It’s still February, which means it’s still gray, cold, and gross outside. Plus I’m getting sick again for the third time since Thanksgiving, so coming up with something that made me happy today was a little bit more challenging than usual. As I was thinking back through my day so far I realized that what made me smile a lot today was listening to the recent Nerdist Podcast featuring Yvette Nicole Brown while I was at the gym this morning. If you’re not aware she plays Shirley on Community, which finally returns for its fourth season tonight on NBC. I love that show and its bizarre, nerdy sensibilities. I get why not everyone is a fan, but it fits me. So it also seems very fitting that today’s what’s making me happy post features one of its cast members.

I listened to an interview with Yvette on the JV Club Podcast a few months back and as a result of that started following her on Twitter. I really appreciate what a joyful and loving spirit she has. I had not realized before listening to her on the JV Club that she is a Christian who is very much living out her faith. I don’t talk about my faith much because I am afraid of being judged. Saying you’re a Christian these days seems to come with so much baggage that I generally just avoid the whole thing. On the Nerdist Podcast Yvette was talking about the difference between faith and religion and I couldn’t agree more with her points. She continuously points to this passage in Matthew as the root of her faith.

³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

On the JV Club she made an excellent point that I had never thought of before, which was that really the 10 Commandments also boil down to the idea of love your neighbor because if you are loving someone then you are not going to do any of things that the 10 Commandments are forbidding you to do.

This is the faith I have and the God I love. I admire Yvette Nicole Brown for always being completely open about her faith and obviously living it out in a way that I don’t do with mine. I hope that I can be better at following her example in the future.