When God Removes Your Comfort Zones...

Honestly... I. Just. Can't.

I thought, "I know today is a writing day, Lord. But I just can't. I can't find words for all of my feelings and my emotions are not allowed to boss me around when there is so much frantic noise and so I just am not feelin' it today. I'm sure You understand, right? Surely - You had a day or two when You were here in the flesh, putting up with all this mess..." (fades off, ducking head.)

Yeah.  Some days it is hard. 

Life comes at us and can seem unfair (It is.) 
And unjust (Again, it is.) 
And brutal (...)  

It can feel like it would just be easier to escape with Netflix... to turn your back... (to turn off the t.v. --which is really not bad advice, btw!) 

It can feel like we miss the days when we were sleeping in ignorant bliss...

When You Seek, You Will Find... (A Small Wonders Post)

Here we are... Monday is unfolding once again and I don't know about you, but this week is FULL, y'all!

Full of great things and somewhat bossy lists and all kinds of errands and deadlines and pushing me out (yet again) of my comfort zone - and into new time zones, actually... and yet I have made it a priority this year to search my heart, to look for (signs and) Wonders... to purpose to seek and find, and oh my goodness - there are just so many signs and wonders, and so much Goodness to be found!

Like this:

I wrote a poem last Monday here... because more concrete, complete words were not coming to me. I had forgotten how powerful true words can flow when they are not pressed into form. Aaah... rediscovering the love of poetry! #SmallWonders for sure!

And this:

As we venture into starting a new church, this is the cry of our hearts... this is what we desire: to let this statement by Tony Kriz be true of us as well! 

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 93

Hey y'all! Happy Weekend!

I pray that Springtime is unfolding in all kinds of Glory for you, and is being a bit flirty... as is his way!  Even "Wish Flowers" as my girlie used to call them, beckon us to dream a bit in the Spring!

Here we are again, gathered together so I can share some of my favorite finds from around the interwebs!  Featured today are posts by Donald Miller, Lisa-Jo Baker, Emily Wierenka, Tresta Paynes, Shauna Niequist, Christine Duncan, Lisha Epperson,  Glennon Doyle, a post from right here... and - of course - a video to wrap it all up! 

Happy Reading! (Ya'll know to click on the authors' names below to read the entire post, yes?)

Where Can I Go, Lord? AKA - You Cannot Hide... a Five Minute Friday post

I can't stop saying it - but it's so true! This Five Minute Friday Community is simply the best! We gather and uplift and encourage, we laugh and we cry together, we pray and we tease, we talk about food, and family, (& chocolate - which everyone knows is in its' own category!)... It doesn't matter what our week has been like up until now, but on Thursday nights - it always gets better! (We'd love to have you join us!)

{I can't say it enough, really - I love my tribe! The Gathering that happens on Twitter on Thursday nights and then flashmob writes out their hearts and hits publish all over the interwebs on Thursday and Friday (and sometimes on Tuesdays!) But, I know... I'm like a broken record here, stuck on repeat! However today I am thinking of a different community. Let's just get started.}

This is Five Minute Friday and our Word Prompt for the day is: HIDE

{GO}

"Where can I go, that You won't find me?"

So here's the deal with me: you know I just tell it like it is. 
I'm nothing if I'm not keepin' it real, y'all! 

Maybe you have asked this question, too.  Maybe it was a way to reassure your soul that truly He was there all along. He was...He is! Don't worry. This isn't going to turn on you and get weird.

But I have to be honest... lately, because -you know, pressure! - when I've asked that question, it hasn't always been seeking comfort in knowing He is here, as much as it has been seeking a little breaky from all of His pushing.

How Small Wonders Add Up to Something Big...

Remember how my #OneWord365 is Wonder, and how my Honey's word is Change? 

...how he wanted to be less predictable and more spontaneous?

Yeah. That.

Well then, we are on the right path!

I wrote about it on Friday and I'm pretty sure this will not become the church plant blog, but you guys... we are gloriously in over our heads! For real.  But we also know that our team is His team and He is leading us.

Here's the deal though:

He, who is never in a hurry, is moving FAST, y'all! 

It feels rushed and too quick and maybe even a little reckless. 

...Or maybe it just feels like there is no comfort zone.

Yes. Maybe that's it.

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 92

Here we are again already!
Happy Weekend!

I have a gloriously FULL house this weekend... both of my sisters and their spouses are in town and with my parents living right next door (I know, right?), we will gather and hang out and all talk over each other and reminisce and rat each other out and laugh at days gone by... and then, I am pretty sure, by midday we will all be together, introverting in separate corners for a few... but loving being together just the same!  And each, in our own ways --we will be drinking in wonder!

Featured today are posts by Jennifer Dukes Lee, Tonia Peckover, MercyHouse, Kara Chupp, Liz Von Ehrenkrook, Shelly Miller, Colleen Mitchell, a post from right here... and - of course - a video to wrap it all up! 

Happy Reading! (Ya'll know to click on the authors' names below to read the entire post, yes?)

Who Can Know What Tomorrow Holds... A Five Minute Friday post

I managed to pop in to the Twitter party for a little bit last night and oh my goodness, how I missed y'all last week!  I had a house full of company so I didn't get to visit much, and I am just now sitting down to write on Friday afternoon... but there is a reason for that! More than company, it was waiting on His timing because today - MUCH sooner than I had planned, --today, I will tell you about our Tomorrow!

{I can't say it enough, really - I love my tribe! The Gathering that happens on Twitter on Thursday nights and then flashmob writes out their hearts and hits publish all over the interwebs on Thursday and Friday (and sometimes on Tuesdays!) But, I know... I'm like a broken record here, stuck on repeat! However today I am thinking of a different community. Let's just get started.}

This is Five Minute Friday and our Word Prompt for the day is: TOMORROW

{GO}

Who can know what tomorrow holds?  Oh but we want too, right?  We want to know all of the details and plans before we fully give in. Or maybe that is just me?

So, you guys know how God is bossy with me sometimes and how usually I know that that is for the best, but every so often I forget and I try to argue with Him?

Yeah. That.

That. BIG TIME!

And you know how He has been asking me to take more risks, to give up self doubt and hesitation, and to get rid of my cushy over sized comfort zone?

Yeah.  That, too!

For years, we have been searching for a home.  We are a Kingdom people, sojourners more than wanderers... forerunners maybe more than settlers.

When a Writer's Conference Connects More Than Writers and Opens More Than Doors... (Part Two)

* This is Part TWO regarding the Faith and Culture Writer's Conference. Please read Part ONE here!

It's Wednesday afternoon as I am writing this and I should be doing a number of other things, like preparing for our small group, restocking our empty cupboards... probably a ton of other errands or tasks that I normally scratch off my bossy list on Wednesdays. 

But not today. 

Not yet.

Today I am giving myself grace and a bit of space... I am letting go of all the Should-Do's and Must-Get-To's and instead, I am sitting quietly, praying intently, and waiting for God to continue to bring form and focus to a blurry vision.

When a Writer's Conference Connects More Than Writers and Opens More Than Doors... (Part One)

I got home on Sunday. It's Tuesday night now.

I'm not sure how all of my feelings are feeling which may mean that I shouldn't be writing yet, but here I sit in front of a mocking blank screen.

No words.

Filled up but not overflowing after attending the Faith and Culture Writers Conference in Portland, OR again this year.  Eventually, I know I will have to exhale... to breathe on my own again and to 'feel all of my feelings and see how we're doing' as Jen Hatmaker would say. But I'm not letting my bossy schedule rush the process.

So I sit... staring down this blinking cursor, wondering "What. is. the. deal y'all?"

Honestly, I'm still not sure. Something.
The deal is something.  

It's part confirmation and part challenge.

It's part Hallelujah and part Holy Crap. 

It's part what I expected, and part I had no idea. 

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 91

Happy Weekend, dear readers!  I pray Spring is finding his way to you and flirting with you in all the best ways! This is how romantic he has been with me this week:

I know, right? It's like: 

Calm yourself down, Spring! I barely know you yet!

Anyway, featured today are posts by Chris Willard, Shawn Smucker, Lisa-Jo Baker, Shannan Martin, Deidra Riggs, Mary DeMuth, John Sowers, a post from right here... and - of course - a video to wrap it all up! 

Happy Reading! (Ya'll know to click on the authors' names below to read the entire post, yes?)

Throwback Thursday...A Total Cheater Post

So - I know... I know this is maybe a little lame, and I know this is a no-no with Google, but because we are off to Portlandia and I have only written ONCE this week... (What? This Blog really ISN'T the boss of me!) I wanted to just post a little something and what is more fitting than a Throwback Thursday post from last year, recapping the wonders of the Faith and Culture Writers Conference in Portland?

Oh man... I can not wait! I am praying that this year - I will not give in to self-doubt or hesitation either because, well - it worked so well last year!

To read my cheater post about the conference last year and all the counting... click HERE! 

I will miss the Five Minute Friday crowd tonight and I know I just said that I never miss, but I will be gloriously unplugged - at least from the blog - while I am gone!

Small Wonders... Post-Easter Thoughts of "What Now?"

Here we are... the day after Easter and the baskets are all strewn about, the eggs are found/deviled/consumed, the candy is gone and the Tomb is still empty.

After all the build-up and anticipation, it's easy to feel the Monday blah's mixed with a holiday hangover and sit in the midst of returning to regular life and think,

"But now what?"

Even in that, we know we are not alone!

Surely the disciples and followers way back in the day wondered the same thing: "So, praise God and Hallelujah, He is Risen! But now what?

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 90

Happy Easter Weekend, sweet friends!

Life is busy - especially on a holiday weekend, so I will keep this short (ish... because you know how I am!)  

More than anything else, I just want you to know how I appreciate you and am praying for you! May this Easter open your eyes and pull your heart even closer to our God... may His love - His ridiculous, radical, passionate love for you - overwhelm you in all the best ways!

Featured today are posts by Michelle DeRusha, Susan Shipe, Glennon Melton, Emily Freeman, Jen Schmidt, a post from right here... and - of course - a video to wrap it all up! 

Happy Reading! 
(Ya'll know to click on the authors' names below to read the entire post, yes?)

Because, of course... "Good" - A Five Minute Friday Post

I got to go play with one of my favorite girlies and her Honey for a Maternity Session this afternoon in the park and oh my goodness, I can hardly handle the cuteness! It was all I could do to pull myself away from playing with the portraits but you know how I hate to miss a (fmf) party!

{I can't say it enough, really - I love my tribe! The Gathering that happens on Twitter on Thursday nights and then flashmob writes out their hearts and hits publish all over the interwebs on Thursday and Friday (and sometimes on Tuesdays!) But, I know... I'm like a broken record here, stuck on repeat! However today I am thinking of a different community. Let's just get started.}

This is Five Minute Friday and our Word Prompt for the day is: GOOD

{GO}

Good... The word prompt this week is "Good" and doesn't it just figure!  

As this Holy Week is unfolding and life around us feels chaotic and out of control... as pain and agony and desperate prayers rise up, this week - this year --this life... it can feel anything but Good!

Darkness can trick you into thinking that Light doesn't shine there... but oh, the Light - it shifts and bleeds, and filters down everywhere!

What We Learned... the March Edition

We are back with the beloved quirkiness of the What We Learned link up over at Chatting at the Sky.  Emily Freeman gets us started and then we all reflect back on random things that we have learned over the past month!  We'd love to have you join in on the fun!

What We Learned in March...

12 Random Things That I Have Learned.