That Thing I Do Now - Vol 72

Hey there, friends! I pray you had a wonder-filled Thanksgiving! Whether you are a Black Friday shopper, or a Hunker In And Spend Time On The Couch relaxer, I pray you are recovering from the festivities, and letting His goodness and blessings continue to be counted... inviting Him to linger longer...

And just in case, somehow, you are lacking something to read... I am here to hook you up!

Featured today are posts by Kristen Welch, Robin Dance, Glennon Melton, Jennifer Dukes Lee, Deb Wolf, Holley Gerth, Asherita Ciuciu, a post from right here... and - of course - a video!

Happy Reading! 
(Ya'll know to click on the authors' names to read their whole posts, yes?)

Give - A Five Minute Friday Post

Happy Day After Thanksgiving, ya'll!

I may have skipped out on the party last night over on Twitter... I just sort of assumed there wouldn't BE a FMF this week, since the writing happens on Thursday night and Thursday night was Thanksgiving and... well, the Seahawks were dominating the 49ers (#sorrynotsorry) and there was just no way I was going to find myself in front of a (different) screen! However, I was thrilled to see a link up and to see so many still participating in this challege to write unedited and uninterrupted, for five minutes flat and then hit publish and just let it go... let it be whatever it is... and trust that it is enough! (It is... it always is!)

Enough of that... on to our Word Prompt! 

Today's prompt is: GIVE

{GO}

I know, I know... it's that time of year.  We all talk about it.

Giving: Giving thanks, Giving gifts, Giving time and money and hours in our days, oh my goodness, you can almost feel the rush of the season unfolding already!

This time of year also brings to light all the needs... all the ways that we could/should give more.  I think we enter into Thanksgiving looking back at what we've been given so we can fall into Christmas with eyes scanning all around us, finding ways that we can give it away.

Little things (and big things) suddenly come into focus and we realize the state of this world... for better or worse.

This week it has felt worse.

Counting Gifts, Being Thankful, Giving Thanks... in a Blessing Box!

Counting Gifts... Being Thankful... 
Giving Thanks...

It's nothing new and even a few years ago, when I first read Ann Voskamps' lovely words written out in one thousand gifts, writing down the ways God blesses us on a daily basis was not a new practice.  

Still, it was a somewhat forgotten one.  I kept a list running in my mind, but there is just something different - something deeper, maybe - about writing them down! 

And then I remembered this:

A little poem I wrote years ago to go along with Boxes we would deliver around Thanksgiving.

As a family, Counting Gifts is part of our Thankgiving Tradition, yes... but it is so much more than that! We've been marking them down and reading them back for years! 

How To Create An Atmosphere of Gathering In for the Holidays - or any day!

Aaah yeah... if I were a bird - I WOULD fly around seeking out Autumn!  I think one of the things I love most about Autumn is simply just how cozy it is! 

Image by Karrilee Aggett

Even when the temperatures are falling outside, the invitation is open to go out, enjoy that crisp Fall air, and then retreat to some place warm and inviting!  

I think it is easiest in the Fall to create a space that is nourishing and welcoming.  All the lit candles, and yummy scents of the season - maybe it's just me, but there is something special in the atmosphere around this time of year that seems to beg for Community!

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 71

Can you even believe that Thanksgiving is NEXT week? This month is just flying by! I pray you are finding Rest... remembering to carve out a little Sabbath in your days... and reading things that feed your soul! (I am here to help with that one!)

Featured today are posts by NJ Rongner, Kris Camealy, Emily Freeman, Deidra Riggs, Jenn Peterson, and Aliza Latta, a post from right here... and - of course - a video!

Happy Reading! 
(Ya'll know to click on the authors' names to read their whole posts, yes?)

NOTICE - A Five Minute Friday Post

I made it back to the twitter party for Five Minute Friday and oh my goodness how I love this Community! From recipe to prayer requests, we cover it all (in 140 characters or less - with hashtags galore!) and we'd LOVE to have you join us! Thursday nights on Twitter, simply type in #fmfparty and jump right in!

OK... ready to write? Let's go! Tonight's prompt is: NOTICE

{GO}

I've mentioned it a few times... this annual get away that My Honey and I take with two other couples... four of our very best friends.  It's a tradition now and one we all look forward to every year.

One of the joys of friendships that run deep and true is that we have found the rhythm of silence and rest.  We trust in the quiet... we have learned that even then, God is at work.

Miracles in the Dark... Let Light Come

The power went out the other night. Like -no warning (as is normal, I suppose!) and suddenly:
thick inky darkness.

No sound. No flicker. Just soft lighting and then suddenly, black endless nothingness.

Until the lights --I mean, ALL of the lights-- go out, you don't really realize how dark darkness actually is.  

We were in the basement watching a movie with only a small lamp on and suddenly the lamp, the clock and lights on the tv and dvd player, the lights on Wii remotes, the hallway light upstairs... even the street lights and traffic lights outside... all of them, gone.

"Hello Darkness, my old friend..."

No, wait... Not that.

Literally, hours before this black out, I wrote this in my journal:

"We are surrounded by

Darkness and Death.

It's no wonder that

we've been called to

Be Light and Life.

That Thing I Do Now - Volume 70

Hey there!  Happy Weekend!  I hope you are all staying warm and cozy (and maybe free of snow?) - at least that is the prayer I am praying for myself here out West!

Featured today are posts by Ann Voskamp, Kelli Woodford, Shauna Niequist, Lisa-Jo Baker, (Lisa-Jo Baker), Mike Donehey... and - of course - a video!

Happy Reading! 
(Ya'll know to click on the authors' names to read their whole posts, yes?)

STILL - A Five Minute Friday post

I skipped Five Minute Friday last week... did anyone (besides me) notice? It was not easy as I LOVE this Community and this challenge to write for five minutes flat on a one word prompt and hit publish before rethinking or rewriting... still, it was the week after 31Days and oh my goodness, I think we all needed a break from me! 

But I am back now and ready(ish) to jump right in!  Let's go!
Tonight's prompt is: STILL

{GO}

After a month of writing about Rest... one would think Still would be easy.  

After all, I gave myself a little break. Not completely unplugged (or not typing) but still, I stepped away from the screen for long(er) periods of time and I fought for Stillness, and it was wonderful.  

Dare I say, Wonder filled... 

Let's All Be Brave... honestly, it's just time!

It is... it's time! I'm in my 40s now and I have felt a stirring... an awakening... a gathering of courage and strength from deep down inside for some time now. I have written about it, prayed about it, and tried to live it out loud and I am so excited because I feel a movement coming of so many of us standing up taller into who we are and leaning in to Him, leaning on each other, and walking boldly, bravely, into all He has for us! 

Here's the thing... 
When we talk about being Brave, we so often jump to the idea that we have to say Yes.  Whatever it is... say yes.

But some of the bravest things I have ever done have been to say no.  

When God says your name...

I am a writer.

Writer Print by Kathi Denfeld                     

More than that, though... I am a journaler, a diary-keeper, a list maker, a recorder of all the things. I have stacks and stacks of notebooks filled with notes, things God has spoken to me in prayer, in His Word, in sermons... filled with prayer requests and answered prayers... with memories both heart filled and heart broken. 

My life is in words, scribbled out on pages... visions and dreams, goals and lofty ideas... hopes and fears. 

I am a believer of writing things down, of keeping a record of all He has done.

That Thing I Do Now - Volume 69

I hope today brings with it a bit of a break for you... a pause, a moment to just breathe, to unwind, to relax.  Our weeks can be so hectic and often, our weekends are just as bossy... I pray you have carved out a bit of space and time to Rest and slow and feed your soul.

#iphoneonlyphotography Copyright by ~Karrilee~

November 2014, Leavenworth, WA

Featured today are posts by Lori Harris, Mary Geisen, Kris Camealy, Deidra Riggs, John Pavlovitz, Colleen Mitchell... and - of course - a video!

Happy Reading! 
(Ya'll know to click on the authors' names to read their whole posts, yes?)

I blame/thank The Nester... and now my hubby does, too!

So last year at the Allume Blogging Conference, I attended a workshop with Chad and Myquillyn Smith.  Sure, I had visited her gorgeous blog, Nesting Place and I knew who she was... to be honest, mostly I knew she was Emily Freemans' sister and I am nothing if not the most non-threathening stalker, ...no, fan-girl, ...no, reader of All Things Emily.

No big deal: I got to pray with Myquillyn before the workshop and then I fell in love with her because of her... not because of her sister, or her awesome decorating mojo, or anything else other than the fact that she is awesomely real.  Like, bravely, boldly real. (Maybe shaky-kneed, sure - but nonetheless, honest!)  Included in all the Swag was a teaser for her new book, The Nesting Place and so the wait began.

Enter with Giving Thanks... (Hello November!)

Hello November...
(read: Goodbye October & all your Bossy Posting Every Day!)  

In other words:
Hello Breathing Room...
and Grace... and, you guessed it, Rest!

The decision to participate in The Nesters' #Write31Days Blogger Challenge for the month of October was not made lightly.  After a long drawn out summer of silence, I wasn't so sure that I had words in me for 31 days straight. I didn't know if I could do it.  I had backed off a bit from all the bossy but the thought of not being part of the Community made me a little sad.  So I had a brilliant idea of winging it with a photo a day or counting blessings... something easy and low key... sort of like phoning it in...

But instead, God very clearly (after so much silence) gave me direction and in the writing of the series, I could see hindsight over the past several months! I was having myself some serious Ah Ha moments as I tapped in front of this screen... I pray you had a few while reading it as well!

Part of the hard work of writing on one subject through out October is my lack of posting all about how much I Love Autumn! (I know, right? Oh the sacrifices!)

But I am here, now... along with November! And we welcome you to join us in creating a bit of space... for Rest, yes... (for less posting, Amen!) but also for breathing and grace and giving thanks...

In my love of All Things Fall, one of my favorites is the sense of Warmth and Home that comes with him... Autumn is all flirty and fancy, with glory all around and he nearly begs for fellowship... for gatherings over coffee or tea, for meals around a table... for huddled hushed conversations in cozy corners at home or in a cafe...  

My desire now, is to open my door and invite you in! 

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 68

We made it, ya'll! We made it through the #Write31Days Challenge, and the posting every. single. day. and you stuck with me... or you didn't... but either way, rest assured - we will get back to posting way less often... 2-3 times a week, maybe less even... who can know with nothing bossing me around in November?

Well, all of that to say this: I will write when and what He tells me to write and I can pretty much assure you that it will not be all day, every day. No, I think He wants us all to actually live out what we learned here about Resting in Him... it takes time and intentionality... and grace!

It takes grace!

Featured today are posts by Amber Cadenas, Glennon Melton, Kris Camealy, Jacque Watkins, Logan Wolfram,  and the #Write31Days blogger who is somewhat new to me: Meredith Bernard... and - of course - a video! (Or FIVE... Whatev's!)

Happy Reading! 
(Ya'll know to click on the authors' names to read their whole posts, yes?)