more than ideas or sentiment
The morning of June 13th dawned early—much too early. But it wasn’t just the hour that came too quickly—though that certainly was a factor, as we were bone-weary tired from seven jam-packed days of sweating and service. It was more that the week, which had once stretched out before us full of hope and promise, was now drawing to a close and within hours we would lift off from this land that had become dear to us, not knowing when we might return. We came to breakfast tired. Hungry. Heavy-hearted. Reluctant to leave. And as we did every morning...
Read Moregrasping for words
Some days, it’s not so much about WHAT to write, but WHERE to begin. I sit here, staring at my laptop—the breeze blowing through the tiny little hideaway from which I have been hiding—and my thoughts won’t slow down long enough for me to catch one and throw it up on the screen. Grasping for words usually isn’t an issue for me. Unless, of course, there are more words than I know what to do with. The last three months of hit-or-miss writing have not been born out of a lack of words as much as an overabundance of them. Heavy words like pain, depression, fatigue, or illness....
Read Morecan we be real? (how i lost my voice, and how i found it again)
Alright, folks—can we be real, here? Somewhere, along the line, things have gotten off track. I’ve been feeling it for a few months now, but haven’t been able to put my finger on it. At least not until I attended the Killer Tribes inaugural conference in Nashville a few weekends ago. And that was when I realized why this blog had started to feel like work, and why readership was becoming a bit flat. I had lost my voice. You would think, for someone who has built her whole writing career up until this point on finding my voice, I would have known better. And, to my credit, I was...
Read Moreyou tell me: shortcuts
What shortcuts enjoyment for you and steals your enjoyment of the moment? Why is it hard to be IN the season you’re in? How do you practice trusting God with tomorrow so as to enjoy today? If you sat down with a blank piece of paper, how long would it take to fill it with things you are thankful for? Are you willing to try it and see? What might you need to surrender to the Lord in order to enjoy the life you have been...
Read Moreword of the day: turn
You have to forgive me—I’m a bit of a word nerd. I like words—and I like to meditate on their meaning. Here’s what I found when I looked up “turn”—what stands out to you? 1turn transitive verb 1a : to cause to move around an axis or a center : make rotate or revolve <turn a wheel> <turn a crank> b (1) : to cause to move around so as to effect a desired end (as of locking, opening, or shutting) <turned the knob till the door opened> (2) : to affect or alter the functioning of (as a mechanical device) or the level of (as sound) by such movement <turn...
Read Moretransformative trust
(This post is dedicated with my deepest sympathy and hope to Nicolle Bompart of Eyes Wide Open International) If you know me well, or if you’ve spent any time at all on my couch, you’ve heard me mention, at least once, Hannah Hurnard’s spiritual allegory, Hind’s Feet on High Places. On my Top Five Books of All Time list, its impact on my life, and on many others who have read it, has been profound. (You can read more about my own experience with “Much Afraid” here.) Hind’s Feet on High Places tells the story of little Much Afraid, a crippled and disfigured young...
Read Moreyou tell me: how easily do you trust?
Many of us have experienced having the ability to trust God in some situations, but not in others, or to trust God’s concern for other people, but not for them personally. In what situations do you have difficulty trusting God? Where does this difficulty arise from, for you? Have you experienced God’s love and goodness toward you as REAL? If so, what facilitated that? If not, what do you think has prevented...
Read Moregarbage for riches: embracing grace
We’ve all felt it—that horrible sinking feeling in our center paired with the self-protective urge to run, to cover, to hide. When we’ve made a horrible mistake. When we’ve said something we shouldn’t have. When we’ve come up against our brokenness. When we’re faced with the consequences of our sin. We’ve all experienced SHAME. But we don’t all know its antidote. We try to fix it. We try to fix US. We try to cover up, to shape up, to give up. We redouble our efforts. And we rack up a hefty column of failures. ...
Read Morebecoming a better me: embrace
We’ve all done it. Made our list of resolutions and set out with determined resolve to make a change. To eat better. To exercise more. To gripe less. To be nicer. To be neater. To be more organized. Over time, our resolve fades and our new habits fall to the wayside and we end up discouraged and heavy with shame over our perceived inadequacies. The shame weighs us down—increasing our discouragement and rendering us inert—and we slowly sink into the muck of our own making. All of our best, earthly attempts to pry us free from the paralyzing grip of shame fall...
Read Moreembracing what’s already begun
So, friends, what is YOUR motivation to begin—one that is big enough to create an equal and opposite force to set things into motion? Is it your kids? Your spouse? An important family member? Are you sick of the way things are? Has someone has given you an ultimatum? Are you pushed against the wall by a deadline or a doctor’s orders? Perhaps you feel a calling on your life? Something you feel God wants you to do but you just haven’t done it yet? What is going to give you the hope and courage necessary to take that first step and Become a Better You? Whatever your reason for...
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