The Power to Choose - Five Minute Friday

Wow... what a fun night! I know - I usually type out a little paragraph here about how much I love the Five Minute Friday Community and the twitter party we have on Thursday nights... It's been so consistently amazing, that I am sure you probably skim skip right over this... so let's just go this route: Insert Gushing Here! 

Oh but - first - the fine print: if you don't know what FMF is!  Five Minute Fridays are hosted by Lisa Jo Baker.  It is open to anyone, so to learn more about it - and to jump in yourself (the more the merrier!) or just to find a linky to see what everyone is writing about today - click HERE!  The idea is to simply write... for Five Minutes flat... no editing, no deep thinking - or at least REthinking, no spell check - just write! Let it flow! We all write using a prompt that Lisa posts at 10pm Thursday night (EST.)  I'm loving the community of amazing bloggers and the creativity that flows from these magical Five Minutes!

So - here goes: Five Minute Friday - The Word Prompt is: CHOOSE

{GO}

Chances are good ya'll saw a photo like this (or - hopefully - 50) on your Twitter or Facebook feed, or splashed all over Instagram. #EndItMovement aims to bring awareness (and ultimately, freedom) to the 27 MILLION people stuck in slavery.  As in... today. (As in, even in America!)

It's been a few years now, that God has been drawing and stirring this heart of mine.  It was a slow awakening... and then it was overwhelming - all of the information and the heavy reality... the hugeness of this Modern Day Slavery problem.

I began to get involved in small ways... researching and sowing in to ministries like Women At Risk and Freeset.  Then, last Fall I hopped on board and hitched my heart to the InMercy Project with other bloggers to raise funds for Mercy House in Kenya.  This ministry, these girls... they had me.  Recently, I have begun to find local ministries... as in - in my own town, that are reaching out and making a difference. Offering help and hope to girls caught up in this lifestyle.  

I was given the power to choose. I could choose to look away; to continue to feed in to the illusion that this is a 3rd world problem; that sex traffficking happens only in India and Africa... maybe in Detroit and New Orleans... but the sad reality is that it is happening right where you are. Small town... big city... on foreign soil or homeland ground.  

We have the power to choose... when all of their power is stripped away. They are locked up, locked in, no choice offered, no way out.  But if we choose wisely - to awaken, to open our eyes and reach out our hands... we can hand out hope. We can meet needs and build relationships and we can bring Jesus with us and show them how He loves and who He loves (everyone!)

So I am limited, but He is not! With my little, I sow seeds in Africa and in Detroit... I host jewelry parties (WAR Int'l) and purchase bags (Freeset USA) and I stay connected with the Mercy House... but I am also planning craft nights and hoping to build some connections with girls younger than my own girlie... who are out... but not yet free... who are living just around the corner and down the street!

It is for Freedom that we've been set free. 

I am exercising my power to choose by deciding to Speak Life, Be Love, and Shine On when it comes to raising awareness and bringing freedom to the captives and release for the prisoners! 

{STOP}

We are in it to End It!
(Not on my watch!)

Five Minute Fridays gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click here to read what others have to say about "CHOOSE"  

So, what pulls at your heart? What stirs your passion?  What are you doing with your power to choose? What do you feel awakening deep within you? #Bethegift

And just in case you are like me... when these things start to stir - maybe you forget that it's not all up to you! It's not all about what YOU can do - or have to do or should do... it's about what HE has already done!   I am committed to The Love Idol Movement and I'd love for you to join us!  We are asking the Lord to show us idols that we are carrying around maybe unaware and we are laying them down. We are tired of looking elsewhere for approval, love, and validation... instead, we are looking right at Jesus... and He assures us that we are:

#preapproved

Speak Life. Be Love. Shine On.
~Karrilee~

A Little Coffee, Art, Prayer, and Spilling Out! Who Inspires You?

I missed ya'll on Monday... I try to post consistently on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and one recap on Saturday mornings but our house finally got hit with a bit of yuckiness over the weekend! So Monday - well - I needed a day to not have to think, much less write or be witty! Thankfully... I am feeling much better, even if still not completely up for the task!

Today's Coffee for your Heart prompt comes in the form of a question from Holley Gerth:

"Who Inspires you?"

My initial thought is who DOESN'T inspire me? I know it sounds flippant and witty sarcastic, but really - I think if we are looking for inspiration, God will pour it out all around us... the key is to start looking.  Open your eyes and hands and heart and ask God to rain down inspiration into your every day life so you can spill it out wherever you go! After all - we are called to be conduits, yes?  

So fill 'er (or him) up and leak out! (See? Witty!)

I am most in my element... most in my calling, when I am well caffeinated and flinging out encouragement, handing out hope, and pointing you to the Lover of my soul... who is madly in love with you, as well.  And not surprisingly, I'm ok with that!  

It's just sort of how He is!

I can tap out a list of people who inspire online real quick like and it would be impressive. I mean - honestly - there are a lot of incredible people who inspire me online. (Just check out any given weekend post where I link back to people who have blessed me.) But I think as wonderful as those people are... and as honored as I am to have been able to actually meet a few of them in real life - I am convinced that it is vitally important to find inspiration in the real-live-flesh-and-blood people around you.  The ones you can see and feel and touch... the ones whom you know and learn from and follow Him with. 

I think finding people who inspire us on to greatness is key to us actually moving on and doing great things. 

However, I also think that there is insane value in knowing them on both good days and bad days... in seeing them all made up and all stressed out... in knowing their real life routine and their dreams held up high... in seeing them broken down, and lifted up. To live your real life with them. For that is what we are hungering for, is it not? To live an authentic life that is inspired, and that inspires? I know for me - it is! I want my one life to count... and in a big way, sure - if that works out - but more importantly, in a million little ways! (Thanks, Emily!) 

The people who inspire me the most in my real life are the people who have invested in me, and in whom I am invested.  And that list starts from within my real home. I have talked of them before... you can read a post that I wrote last year about the Dreamers in my Life here.  These truly are the people who inspire. I see them day in and day out and I know how much it costs them to continue on in their pursuit of all God has for them.  They remind me to celebrate the good days, but that it's actually the hard days that make us stronger. We stretch and grow and our faith is tested and we don't love it. But we learn that it's through those seasons that we gain the resolve that is so needed when we lean in to the dreams God has whispered in to our sleepy hearts!

I am inspired by friends who share my passion... who, like me, feel called to pray... called to make art - like actual, trembling-paintbrush-in-hand,-following-His-lead art... who feel called to prophesy... who feel like God gives them words and who can know what His plan is with them once they are penned down, but they pen them down anyway. They remind me to just keep swimming... God is all about showing us how to find joy in the journey and He loves to show us that every one of our days can count for something. We have purpose and while we may not feel like we are stepping fully into our Destiny or our Dreams, we know when we follow His lead, we are stepping into more of Him and He can be trusted to light our path, and walk with us along the way!  They remind me to Dive right on in, with Him... and with them... they chant with me - sometimes brave, and sometimes shaking, "Let's Do this Thing!"

I could make a list here - specifically - of who inspires me. But here's the deal... they know it! They know that they inspire me, and do you know why? Because I make it a point to tell them! Consistently. As in, "Hey - you know what? You really inspire me!"  

Because who doesn't need to hear this? I mean, really?  Who couldn't use a little confirmation that their life matters... that they make a difference... that whatever it is that inspires us through them, we see God in that... in them! Who couldn't use a little encouragement that in their every day living, they are stirring us up to greatness... to want to do great things! Whether that be travel, or teach, or love and parent, or laundry and errands... if there is someone in your life who blows you away with their every day giftings and inspires you to strive to be better... to be more of who you know you can be... tell them!

Please - for the love of God - tell them!

(I'm looking at you, friend! I'm lookin' right at you!)

Linking up, talking of who inspires and sharing a cup of coffee with Holley Gerth and the Community at:

and with Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory where we are identifying our Love Idols and reminding each other that we are #preapproved.

So, who inspires you? Give them a little Shout Out in the Comments below! I'd love to know about them and how they inspire you!

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 32

Happy Weekend, ya'll!  Can you even believe this is Volume 32? (Clearly - after weeks and weeks of not deciding if this was a Thing or not... or if it was a Volume or an Edition or something else all together... well - turns out it IS a Thing... and a Volume... who knew?)

This week has been super busy around here and while most of our snow has (gloriously) melted away, and we have had slightly warmer temps and lovely crisp blue skies... the WIND! Yeesh? I am not a fan of wind... so as much as the sunshine beckoned me outside, the wind kept me here, in front of this screen - which means I have once again been perusing the internets and gathering up all sorts of Awesome! (and you're welcome!)

Happy Reading!
Enjoy!

* This one by Emily Freeman with an invitation to put into practice those things we know to be true. "As we face those places in our souls that are frozen, I pray those hard spots would begin to thaw in the presence of Christ. May we not try to mop up the water that comes from the melting but may we offer it to somehow quench the thirst of those around us."

* This post by my friend Hannah Boning over at An Abundance of Life... "...she built her wings on hopes and prayers // but wasn’t sure if they could bear the weight of her fears"

* This post by Lori Harris ...On Being Jacked  and All the Things I'm Not ”Your life is a mess and I’m a mess and this whole world is jacked up.  And I’m sorry that life is so hard.”

“You opened your door for me,” she said.

* This one from Erika Morrison over at The Life Artist... so much beauty in this prayer... "I pray with my whole trembling aorta that I will always uphold your worth and beauty, especially when I find myself bleeding-out between the binding of a book or in that sacred spot at the front of a room, people looking at me from toe to mohawk-tip.

With my spirit tender and floored before you:

I pray..."

* Ya'll know I love me some Lisa-Jo Baker around here... well - I love her anywhere and this? Well - it is classic Lisa-Jo! "I like imagining you. I like meeting you. Because you look a lot like me and I feel more normal in my crazy when I hear from you.
I would give you a medal if I could."

* This piece over at We are THAT Family by Kristen Welch in which she shares that she '...Just Might Have the Answer to All Your Problems'  "This is the key to joy. I’m sure of it.
This is the answer to our problems."

* This amazing post by Christie Purifoy on how we must remember that There is Glory in the Dirt. "I tend to see the world in layered images like these. The result of a lifetime of reading, I suppose. The trick, I’m discovering, is holding on to both. Acknowledging the truth of both." (Seriously... the imagery in this piece: so gorgeous!)

* This one by Angie Smith with her reflections on If:Gathering. "Without question, I would be considered one of the more conservative members of IF, but listen. We never lined up according to our stances; we circled up because of Him. We didn’t wear badges to identify our opinions about women in ministry or how old the earth is. It’s pretty hard to look people in the eye when you’re standing in that sort of line, isn’t it?" Yes. This. Let's Circle up, friends!

* This post right HERE from Abiding Love, Abounding Grace where I talk about how I am small and He is not... how I am fighting for the bottom and would love for you to join me!

Lastly... A video... because that is just how we roll around here!






What did I miss? Did you find anything Amazing online this week that I didn't list here? As usual, link it in the comments and share the love!  

How Small is Big in the Kingdom of God - Five Minute Friday

So it's been a longish week and one of the kinds of busy that there is not necessarily much to show for it - but it just feels like I was a few steps behind the whole time.  So - don't hate me... but today I put a stop to the ridiculousness of it! I stayed in my pj's until - well... until I worked out with my girlie at home this afternoon. This means I changed out of fleece coziness and into my yoga pants that feel like babies... then, after we lounged to - you know - 'recover'... I moved from one couch to the other to work on my Bible study, finishing that up just in time to look somewhat presentable for my Google Hangout... which was just before the twitter party... which is actually happening now but I had to take a little breaky, because clearly I have had a full day! 

My Girlie is napping... (yeah - she's a college student so this happens a LOT now again!) and my Honey is sneezing his face off, trying to fight off some sort of something... while I am fighting off the temptation for chocolate and MORE Olympics.  Sometimes you just have to stop the madness and take care of you, she says with a cup of something yummy in hand! 

Oh, and Tomorrow? NOTHING is on my bossy day planner... (Shhh.... No Thing!) But in case you think my life is all charmed and easy, Saturday is bossy with meetings and cleaning and taking down the Christmas Tree. Yep... I said it. I am finally taking it down, since it can no longer pass as a Valentine's Tree.  Whatev... it worked for awhile! Here goes...

Oh but - first - the fine print: if you don't know what FMF is!  Five Minute Fridays are hosted by Lisa Jo Baker.  It is open to anyone, so to learn more about it - and to jump in yourself (the more the merrier!) or just to find a linky to see what everyone is writing about today - click HERE!  The idea is to simply write... for Five Minutes flat... no editing, no deep thinking - or at least REthinking, no spell check - just write! Let it flow! We all write using a prompt that Lisa posts at 10pm Thursday night (EST.)  I'm loving the community of amazing bloggers and the creativity that flows from these magical Five Minutes!

So - here goes: Five Minute Friday - The Word Prompt is: SMALL

{GO}

Small... we want to BE it but we don't want to feel it, right?  No - we want to feel big, important, as if our days and life matter.  We want to do great(er) things and we want to live large but Jesus gave us the key to that... He told us to get small.

I have this passion for spending time at the beach. It really makes no sense as I battle fear of water and yet the water beckons me to come... to sit awhile and stare... to drink in it's vast hugeness... it is with toes digging in to warm sand, and hair blowing in the breeze... it is with sun filtering it's way through clouds to disappear into sea that I am ever so gently reminded that all of what concerns me... it's no big deal with God. I am small... He is not.  He's got this - whatever 'this' is that is weighing me down... He's already taken it on and thrown it off... He's already counted the cost and paid it in full.

I breath in the salty air like breathing in the Presence of God because to me, they are so much the same thing... a perspective that is softly shifting back to center as I remember that He commands the wind and tells the proud waves thus far and no further. He is in control and when we know that He is a good God in a good mood, we remember that He can be trusted.

In the upside down world of Kingdom of God we are told the first shall be last and the weak shall be made strong... we are told - shown, really - that if you are going to love me, I'm gonna love you better... if you are going to serve me, I will serve you more... it's not a competition to be better... it's a competition to be small.  God understands small... He came to us that way! He is always coming to us... and in His smallness, He grew up into who He was created to be.  It was not in trying to be Big and create a name for Himself... it was always about bending low, and showing the way to the One Big God.  He modeled it out... for when I am small... it makes room for Him to be bigger in my life, in my words, in my every day living this thing out... for when I try to be big and accomplish all He has set before me, I crowd out the One whom I desire to bring Glory. 

"Big" causes us to climb the wrong ladder.

No... for me and my life, you will find me underneath... lifting you up! In the Kingdom of God, the ladder of success is upside down and I am clamoring for the bottom, ya'll!

{STOP}

I love the beach... I do some of my best relaxing and thinking and praying and simply just 'being' with Him there. I live, ironically, in a desert... but I make a pilgrimage often because it is like water to my soul.  

Five Minute Fridays gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click here to read what others have to say about "SMALL"  

Where do YOU go to be refreshed... to be reminded that you are small... and fit right in the palm of His hand?

Speak Life. Be Love. Shine On.
~Karrilee~

What Brings You Joy?

So - for about a month now, we've been hanging out on Wednesday mornings for a little weekly Coffee Date over at Holley's place... 

We've been talking about some heavy things... some real life unfolding... refilling our cups as we share a bit of encouragement.  So, today I invite you to pour yourself something yummy, and cozy right in with me as we dig in to what brings you (well... at least, me-) joy! 

Smiling's my Favorite, ya'll! I love to laugh... Love. It.  I'm pretty sure I do it every single day. It is just so very good for you!  I am blessed with a Honey who finds it his passion to make me literally LOL, and my daughter has a 'gift' with sarcasm that is not bitter or biting, but that causes uncontrollable stifled under your breath church giggles... and then there is this:  I can crack my OWN self up. I don't even need anyone else.  Yeah... I am that funny.

But funny... smiling, laughter - happy, even - that is different than Joy, right?

Let's look at the Definitions:

hap·py

\ˈha-pē\

: feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life, situation, etc.

: showing or causing feelings of pleasure and enjoyment

: pleased or glad about a particular situation, event, etc.

joy

\ˈjȯi\

: a feeling of great happiness

: a source or cause of great happiness : something or someone that gives joy to someone

: success in doing, finding, or getting something

While "Happy" is a result of something good unfolding in your life or situations, "Joy" is a feeling of Great happiness. But one doesn't always lead to the other! No - Joy is not Happy 2.0... it's more than that!

Happy is circumstantial;
it ebbs and flows,
but Joy... Joy is a fruit of the Spirit,
it gives and it grows.

So then if we were asking, "What makes you happy?" the answer would always start with friends and family, laughing together... then move to sunsets and romance, to sunshine and sand, a good book and some coffee (of course!)  - but what makes me happy can change on any given day. Happiness can fade... sometimes - it simply nearly instantly evaporates... poof - and it's gone.

But "What brings you joy?" well - for me, that answer begins and ends with Jesus.  He is the Source and the Cause... It's His passionate, relentless pursuit of me, that no matter what my situation or circumstance, I know that He is all in and He is coming for me full on.  I wrote about how He is All In and how He comes for us Full On about a year ago exactly! You can read about it here, and here, and lastly- here. 

So - when I feel weak, I remember that the Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh 8:10)

...and when I feel empty - or emptied out, I remember that in His Presence there is fullness of Joy (Ps 16:11) ...not just a little bit; not a hint of it - but fullness!  Fullness is good and this reminds me of where to go to fill up!

In the Gospel of John, Jesus says that when we abide in His love, His joy is in us, so that our joy may be full! (John 15:10-11)  so when my feelings are weighing me down, and my circumstances are less than Joyful... I remember, it's HIS Joy in me, that makes my joy overflowing. And really -  Jesus, ever our example... shows us that Joy is not temporary.  Joy is a real thing that helps get us from here (whatever darkness or heaviness we are in), to there (Light and Love and Truth)!  

The Bible says that 'for the joy set before Him, He endured the Cross.' (Heb 12:2) This reminds me that in the midst of my worst day... I still have an option to choose joy. Maybe not happy... but Joy. 

And what was the 'joy set before Him'?  I'm no theologian, but I like to think it was us, free... it was the Bride, glorious and radiant, and loving Him the way He loves us:

All In... and Full On!
Oh what Joy!

Linking up and sharing a cup of coffee with Holley Gerth

and with Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

Lastly, I don't think that Happiness is contagious. We can be happy FOR someone, but it's not lasting and it's not personal. But Joy? I think our Joy can spill out and get all over... it can saturate an atmosphere and shift things around! I think His Joy in us is contagious and we can be intentional about spreading it around!!

So, how do you share Joy? I'd love to hear in the comments below!

When You Feel Walls Going Up... a micro-memoir

A Writing Challenge today from my (in)Couraging Writers Group... a Micro-Memoir.  

"We’re aiming for 700 words or less. A true story. A story that belongs to you. If you link up, we ask you visit the person who linked up ahead of you and try to walk around a bit in their story. Leave a comment, we’re all in this together. Anyone is welcome."  For more info, or to join in, visit Alia Joy's over HERE.


I knew… like how you just know things, for no reason. I knew.  The sunshine and spring air blowing through the sunroof, swirling around my heart – it couldn’t lift the weight of winters’ knowing. 

Cold… frozen… no hope in sight, no stirring of life. 

It was unsettling and left me dizzy and the mindless driving through country roads didn’t ease the pain.  I couldn’t outrun it, and without concrete evidence or explanation – it sowed doubt and fear and an unbelief of something else that I thought I knew.

Before, I (thought I) knew that no matter what else… no matter what new skill, or latest trend, or open door – I knew that I was good at this Mothering thing.   Like – being a Mama came supernaturally.  This is my jam, ya’ll – it’s not just what I do but it’s who I am and it didn’t matter that I only had one, I mothered in everything I did, everywhere I went. This was my call.

I am not an overly confident person and there is not much I claim wholeheartedly, loudly – but this? Well – I did, with this.  

But now, with broken dreams, broken trust, and a future unknown, I began to question it all.  

I had failed.  This one thing that I felt made for… I had failed.

--

I mentioned it in passing, a quiet confession that came out more matter-of-fact statement, than the cry for help that it truly was. I had been feeling myself build walls for days.  I could sense the distance widening and it felt just and right and warranted, but what it really was was dangerous, self-protection, greedy.  It was a weak attempt at saving face, when what was really needed was some saving grace. 

I said it with voice trembling, tears spilling over lids that focused low, at nothing at all, blurry.

“I feel walls.  I am building walls. I can’t trust her with my heart.”

His look of fear, of disbelief, screamed ‘Failure’ in my mind, but his embrace silenced it all and wrapped me in a gift of silence.

I will ever be grateful that, next, he safely cupped up my confession and found my eyes… he pushed me, literally, toward her.  He said no.  You have to choose love anyway. Risk it all… again and again and again. This is what it means to be a Mother… you know this. You’ve lived this. Don’t stop now.  He was, to me, the Father heart of God – telling me, reminding me, that no matter what or who was yelling violent accusations in my mind, the truth was louder. Always louder.

Truth is a Person and He is always Love.  He offered me Grace that leaked out once I unclenched my fists; a Love that was not mine – which, on its’ best day can look like failure next to His – which never fails.  That love melted walls, wrapping arms around my Girlie, holding her close.  Forgiveness and Restoration unfold slow… a rebuilding of Trust requires time and space and air and sky. Walls never truly protect, they only lock you in.  

I held her close, rocking gently with the rhythm of our sobs… we lay broken and healing, all at the same time, as the sun shine pierced its’ way through the curtains and warmth was felt all the way through. A melting of Winters’ doubt.

We’re gonna be alright.  We will not just survive this thing – we will overcome it… we will stand taller, stronger, closer because of it.  

Today… a year or so later, I can tell you that I am a better Mother having felt those walls of protection rise, but having decided to partner with Him to tear them down and love anyway.

Now – when we preach “Speak Life. Be Love. Shine On.” – they are not just words strung together. No, now they are our life, our family, lived out loud – healed and whole, and offering hope.

I learned to let go of perfection, wanting everything to go the way I wanted it. Instead I lean in and trust Him at His word that He really CAN work all things together for our good… that He really DOES make beautiful things out of us!

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 31

Ya'll... please tell me you caught at least SOME of the If:Gathering in Austin, TX last weekend?  They livestreamed it all weekend long and it was A-May-Zing! Seriously... I am starting this on Monday - so it's just a guess... but the likelihood that many of my favorite reads this week having stemmed from that conference are really really HIGH!

I hosted an If:Local event in my home, gathering several sisters together to watch Friday afternoon, evening, and all day Saturday.  Then I (re)watched some with my Honey in the evening - not wanting him to miss out on some of the Awesome that happened there.  Then, on Sunday - we were snowed in... I think we got over a foot of snow overnight and so we opened our home and invited neighbors to come have church with us... so - of course, after a bit of worship, we let Jen Hatmaker preach (via the If:Gathering archives) because, well - why wouldn't we?

Anyway - if you missed it, you can purchase the audio or video downloads... but here below is a gathering of posts... many written after experiencing the weekend firsthand!  Enjoy!

Happy Reading!

* This one by Ann Voskamp ...on why you really matter.  "We are the women who want the thing God wants — more than we are afraid of it."

* This post by Lisa-Jo Baker where she talks all about what really qualifies as ministry...  "Don’t tell me that Cheerios, diapers, laundry, and dishes aren’t serious theology."

* This post by Jennifer Dukes Lee - her take away from the If:Gathering... "And as they stood up there, with their faces lifted toward thousands of women watching in the room and on screens around the world, I thought about how much more effective we could be in building the Kingdom, if we didn’t spend so much time tearing down the workers."

* This one from Lael Arrington over at Tapestry, with her take away from If:Gathering. "It amazes me what God can do with housewives and harlots and pig farmers’ wives. How he can speak through the under 40’s to rekindle the under and over-40’s desire for him and his work. Their basic idea is simple and powerful…”IF God is real…then what?"

* Ya'll know I love me some Shelly Miller  but I swear I didn't even know she wrote this piece here over at The High Calling until I went looking to link it here!  This - on (re)discovering, creating, finding Beauty! "The revelation of true beauty is an enlightening experience, a passion deep inside my soul that bubbles to the surface in a tearful eruption."

* This piece over at Relevant about Judah Smith and who he says "Jesus Is ____."  "Jesus, who obviously is God, the savior of the universe, did not come for a clean, calculated approach. He came in the mess of it all and he got dirty with the people—obviously sinless and perfect, but was not afraid to be associated [with people]. He was very passionately invested, to say the least, as He put on skin and bone as God to really help humanity."

* This amazing post, uh, post-If by Rebekah Lyons... so much yes! "It’s as if Aslan arrived with a roar, and his daughters heard and came running."

* This one by Duane Scott over at Outside the City Gate on what Heaven will be like... "He talks of death so sure, like he’s already standing on the banks of the River Jordan and can see his Father beckoning from the other side."

* And oh my stars... if you somehow missed the If:Gathering - this, by Sarah Bessey - straight from her notes from her devotion and prayer on that stage in Austin. "I pray for dreams and visions, for the active leading of the Holy Spirit, and I pray we would never forget that we are loved, that love is our identity, our calling card, our home."

* This one from Jen Hatmaker on giving the benefit of the doubt! Yes. This. "I will assume the best here and move forward accordingly. This position creates space for respectful dialogue, sincere questions, valuing people over principles and building bridges rather than widening divides."

* This post right HERE from Abiding Love, Abounding Grace where I invite you to Fall in Love...

Lastly... A video... because that's how we DO!

This - not your typical Father/Daughter Dance!

What did I miss? Did you find anything Amazing online this week that I didn't list here? As usual, link it in the comments and share the love!  

Speak Life. Be Love. Shine On.
~Karrilee~