That Thing I Do Now - Vol 98

Happy Weekend, dear friends!

How is it that these 'shorter' weeks seem so long? Am I right?  Praying you can unwind, relax, and accomplish as much or as little as your heart desires this weekend (and carve out a little reading time, of course!)

Featured today are posts by Ann Voskamp, Natalie Busch, Cadence Turpin, Shannan Martin, Kris Camealy, Michelle DeRusha, John Blase,  Lori Harris, 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?)

Blue - "My Signature Color"... a Five Minute Friday Post

I showed up way too early for the party today because I love this tribe oh so much! If you have not yet Twitter-partied, then my friends - you are missing out!

{I can't say it enough, really - I love my tribe! The Gathering that happens on Twitter on Thursday nights and then  we write out our hearts and hits publish all over the interwebs on Thursday and Friday (and sometimes on Tuesdays!) We encourage and uplift... where we share prayer requests and praise reports... where we talk food and friends and we find support and kindred hearts and we are reminded that life is good and God is good and we are not alone... and then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts and our fingers do the talking tapping and we hit publish before we can second guess... we just let Him flow!}

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

{GO}

You don't have to know me for long, or even in person, to make the connection that much like Shelby on Steel Magnolia's - I have a Signature Color. 

Unlike Shelby - mine is not bashful (or pink)... it is Blue - in all of it's heavenly hues! 

Turquoise, Teal, Sky blue, ocean, navy, Persian --you get the idea! I love it all!

From right here in my little corner of the interwebs, to my Instagram feed, to my closet, to my Family Room walls - I am surrounded by Blue!

The Big Small Wonders of Prayer, Family, & Faith Arising...

Prayer is my jam.

I'm a huge believer in the power of prayer.

This statement comes as no real surprise! I have written several times around here about my love of and call to prayer... of how it was never meant to be a monologue or a long (dry) list of needs/requests, a memorized petition or an emergency-only/dire need desperate crying out.  

Oh - we have all practiced that kind of prayer.

Every. one. of. us!

And yet, we know... our God is a personal, intimate God who - yes, knows all of our thoughts and needs ahead of time - but still longs to commune and converse with us.  

Our God loves a great big celebration but He is the Lover of our Souls and He pursues us with reckless abandon, desiring an intimate relationship with just us, too! He loves the gathering of many, but His heart is after some one-on-one time to simply be with us --in good times, and in hard times... at all times, He is with us and in us, sticking closer than a brother.  He calls us friend... lover... bride.  He calls us His own. He has done all the work and we reap the benefits of getting to boldly turn our hearts and thoughts toward Him and whether we cry out or whisper His name... always, He comes.  We have the honor of getting to spend time with Him.

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 97

Hey Y'all!  Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

May you find rest for your souls, and a little down time to unwind... room to breath, and plans to play... and, of course, always a chunk of reading time set aside! After all... that is why we are here, right?

Featured today are posts by Lisha Epperson, Missy Stone, Robin Dance, Donald Miller, Ashley Larkin, Jen Hatmaker, Lori Harris,   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?)

The Tough Love of Rise Up and Walk - A Five Minute Friday post...

I missed y'all last night over on Twitter! We had our first official Board Meeting last night, which gloriously included dinner al fresca at our favorite Greek Restaurant, getting caught in a literal Flash Flood Warning rain storm (featuring serious Thunder and Lightning!), and a great time of worship... because, you guys, we are the boss of us (--only not really! Really, HE is the boss of us... but still - we run these meetings however we want to!) Still - I missed the #fmfparty!

{I can't say it enough, really - I love my tribe! The Gathering that happens on Twitter on Thursday nights and then  we write out our hearts and hits publish all over the interwebs on Thursday and Friday (and sometimes on Tuesdays!) We encourage and uplift... where we share prayer requests and praise reports... where we talk food and friends and we find support and kindred hearts and we are reminded that life is good and God is good and we are not alone... and then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts and our fingers do the talking tapping and we hit publish before we can second guess... we just let Him flow!}

* - This indicates my Five Minute Mark... but I had to finish my thought! ALSO - please know that I am NOT talking about actual physical healing, as much as I am talking about how we get stuck with ideas or issues or excuses that hold us back emotionally or spiritually when we have been given the tools from God and from others and now it is simply up to us!  #GiveMeGrace  

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

{GO}

It's not a surprise that with all the thinking about and talking of and living out Identity lately, that God has also been speaking about how to best Love and Speak Life into those around us. As we are building a foundation in this new Thing that we are doing - our desire is to, for real, Speak Life, Be Love, and Shine On.

I read a great post earlier this week by Donald Miller and it made me really stop to ponder how many of us are stuck, wanting someone else to fix us, to come and do the hard work of raising us up, when really - what we need most, is a little tough love, and a reminder to just get up and walk?

On Friendships... How They Hold Us and How They Can Heal...

I woke up this morning praying for y'all! 

Not that this is an unusual thing, but if you are reading this right now, you can rest assured that you were prayed for this morning!

I asked God what He wanted me to write about today and He answered softly, but quickly.

Friendship.

I want you to write about Friendship... how it holds and how it can heal... 

And so clearly, I did the dishes and started a load of laundry and took some Buzzfeed quizzes and a personality test* or two and did all kinds of things instead of writing because, of course. *I'm an ISFJ, for the record!

Here's the deal: I am blessed.

My 'normal' is not everyones' 'normal'...
I get that. Honestly, I do.

I am hard-wired for friendship. (I suspect that we are all, really!) And yet... 

Counting Gifts, Talking Worship and Identity, and Reflecting on How He is a Good, Good Father...

This Counting #1000Gifts (and beyond) has been happening around here for quite some time now.  

I admit to going hot and cold in the actual writing of them down, but I encourage you to count - to take note of the small wonders and the ways that God is active in your every day life.  

Once you train your ears and your eyes and your heart to seek them out... well, you know how He is! 

He promises that if we seek,

we will find.

I downloaded the 1000 Gifts app for my phone and I use my camera to capture the ways I see Him... I also go old school from time to time because there is something tangible in the putting pen to paper and counting them off, one by one.

There is a gift that He keeps on giving and it's one that we are to turn right around and give back... it's the gift of Worship. He gives us so many reasons to worship... and in turn, we pour out our worship to Him because of all of those reasons, sure, but also simply because of Who He is.

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 96

Happy Weekend, sweet friends!

How are you all doing? Do you have any fun weekend plans? Anything out of the ordinary or exciting? I'd love to hear what you are doing in your little corner of the world!

Featured today are posts by Shelly Miller, Deidra Riggs, Lori Harris, Emily Freeman, Allison Vesterfelt, Amber Cadenas, Scott Sauls, Tonya Salomon, 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?)

How God is Improving My Follow-Through - A Five Minute Friday post

I showed up early to the party tonight... I just couldn't wait! I love this Community oh so much and honestly - some of my best friends have been gathered from Five Minute Friday! I wasn't so sure I was going to write, but I can't help myself!

{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!}

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

{GO}

For years, I fell behind... I got lost... I gave up. 

That was my mountain... I would circle and circle and never figure out how to get over it... how to get beyond it.

So I would camp out... Settle in... I'd settle period.

I Often Wonder...

I often wonder why I'd fallen for lies,
for half-truths, for easy-ways-out,
instead of just simply believing You.

I often wonder why it took so long
to pay little attention to what others think,
and instead see me from Your point of view.

...why I put so much value
on words that cut deep, tear down and wound,
while ignoring the ones
that reach up, give life and bloom.

#SmallWonders... How They Add Up Fast! (A Mini Recap of How We Got Here!)

Here we are... the day after. 

{And honestly - after all the excitement and hype of our first Sunday, we crawled into bed last night happy but exhausted and were all, "Wait? We have to do this all again next week... like, for the 2nd Sunday... and so on...? ...AND SO ON!!!?  This is like a JOB?"  LOL! Yeah... seriously... we're slow like that sometimes!}

I know, I know.  I said this would not turn into the Church Plant Blog... and it won't, I promise. But this has all happened so quickly and our heads are still spinning a bit and there have just been all sorts of big and small wonders unfolding all around us and many of them were all leading up to yesterday.

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 95

Happy Weekend, y'all!

I am praying for each of you this weekend... because, well - divine distractions are the way I cope sometimes! We are doing the whole Starting a Church on Sunday and so, of course, my thoughts are on all sorts of other things... like how thankful I am for each of you! 

It's Mother's Day weekend and I know for some --well, for some this not their favorite 'holiday'! Whether it be because of loss or hurts or unmet/too high expectations... whatever the reason - for many - this day is empty of celebration and I want you to know that if that is you, or if you are more of a Hallmarky, feel the love kind of gal, either way - I am praying for you to know that you are loved and that you are held and that you are celebrated, my friends! Oh how He celebrates you!

On a side note... (only not... this is sort of the main note for this post) our pc sort of just stopped working this week.  Because of course, right?  One comes home from a writer's conference, doesn't write, and then when she is ready - her computer dies.  Still... I managed to find some GREAT posts before all of that happened, so here you go!

Featured today are posts by Emily Freeman, Colleen Mitchell, Michelle DeRusha, Amber Haines, Jennifer Dukes Lee, Sarah Bessey, Dean Nelson, 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?)

When You Meet Under Nebraskan Skies... A Five Minute Friday Post

I said it a few weeks ago - how I almost never miss Five Minute Friday... and then I turned the calendar and saw that I would miss at least a couple in the coming weeks and I almost missed tonight as well! But I remembered... and I stopped in ever so late to the Twitter party to chat a bit and I will tap this thing out limited to my laptop because - you know, computer woes... but still - I am home, and I can not stay away!

{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: MEET

{GO}

I already spilled out words about Jumping Tandem... a somewhat full recap of the amazing weekend that was, and you can read about that HERE...

But this is not that...

Sure, I met up with friends at Jumping Tandem. For some, it was a glorious reunion... (You know who you are!) and for some, it was the first time getting to hug and laugh and hear, not just read, their voice!

Again... this is not that.

A Few of My Take Aways from Free Falling into Jumping Tandem 2015

You Guys... 

I have avoided sitting down and even attempting to put into words what a gift Jumping Tandem was because here's the thing:

I can't even know yet.

It just keeps unfolding and expanding and is that not just how things work in the Kingdom? 

As Chris Caine says, it just keeps getting Betterer and Betterer!

I feel like I can't comprehend All the Feels yet and I could simply just copy and paste the hashtag that I normally reserve for Alia Joy and just say:

#InsertGushingCommentHere

and you would maybe get me.

If you follow me on Instagram (or Facebook or Twitter) then well, you probably already know. 

But here is maybe something you couldn't really tell from just following the feed:

This was a Retreat in the truest sense of the word.  

While we are in this modern age and obviously - selfies were happening, y'all! - I can't explain to you how many whites of eyes I was able to gaze into this weekend, for extended periods of time! 

That's no small miracle, people.

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 94

Hey my friends!

I am, as you read this, at Jumping Tandem spending time with some (off the charts) amazing people... and God, too! I am pretty sure He is there as well!  So this post may be shorter than usual because when you live way out West getting almost anywhere is a full day of travel, which cut in to my web-searching, post-devouring ways! 

Still... I found some gems...

Featured today are posts by Tonya Salomons, John Blase, Donald Miller, Crystal Stine, Deidra Riggs, 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?)