I Will Never Forget -- But Then Sometimes I Do...

You know how it is with those sweeping statements! We all say them from time to time, and in the moment we truly believe them.

"I will never..." or "I will always..."

...and I think our eternal God just laughs and laughs.

Last week was a Long. Week.  Am I right?  For some it was filled with celebrating, and for some it was filled with mourning - for many it was filled with a bit of both. 

This is real life and we all have things come at us that pull on our hearts and call us to our knees. I'm not even talking politics or national and international news. I'm talking in your real every day routine, life comes at us. 

I don't know about you, but I know I gave my heart and my life to God years ago. It's just that sometimes I forget...

I sing it loud, "Lord, You have my heart!" and I mean it, and I think I will never forget... but then sometimes I do.

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 102

Hello, my friend!

~ That Thing I Do Now ~
Volume 102

Featured today are posts by Michelle DeRusha, Sarah Bessey, Amber Haines, Logan Wolfram, Roo Ciambreillo, Ann Voskamp, Lisa Jo Baker, 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?)

Dream a Bunch of Little Dreams With Me... A Five Minute Friday post

I prefer to write as soon as the prompt goes up on Twitter on Thursday evenings, but the timing was off last night and I saw the prompt and my Honey came in the door and I got distracted... and this One Word, y'all!? There are so many different directions one could go and I hate to have time to consider them all... it makes it feel a bit less authentic somehow for me.  I woke up with all the paths I could walk this word along, so instead of just picking one - I sat outside and quieted my soul. I sipped some coffee and listened to the symphony of summer waking up all around me... So here I sit, refreshed, mind cleared, and ready to start my timer - actually unsure of where this will go! So this is an actual, for realsies, spontaneous Five Minute FRIDAY post, my friends! Let's see what I will say! 

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

{GO}
Dream... 

I am one of those people who rarely, if ever, remember my dreams. If I remember it, it must be God trying to talk to me. (If I remember it, it usually is God trying to talk to me!)

We all have Dreams - some that we share, boldy - wanting others to know of and champion us on our way to reaching for them... and others that we don't dare whisper aloud - for fear that they won't come true, or maybe that they will...

"Hope is a waking dream." Aristotle said, and Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” 

Hope. Beauty. Dreams.

The Danger of Doubt and How It Robs Us...

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

This week, y'all!
For. Real.

The contrast has been startling and for a moment or two (or 10,000), I was left dizzy and spinning.

Let's just be real here.

This past week, I have felt both extremes of just how blessed I am and also of the depravity reality of this world. 

Happy Father's Day... to the only true Good, Good Father.

I know... it feels like this should have been published Sunday, right?

I get that. 

It's just that I just wrote it today... and really, it was more from me to Him, than from me to you - but since it is Monday and I'm all about play dates with God and counting my gifts and such, I thought I would go ahead and share. 

Trust me... it's right on time!

That Thing I Do Now - Volume 101

Happy Weekend, sweet readers!

Featured today are posts by Michael Hyatt, Lisha Epperson, Ann Voskamp, Michelle DeRusha, Kaitlyn Bouchillon, Christie Purifoy, Sarah Bessey, Branden Harvey, Dana Butler, Emily Freeman, and 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 Fear is No Longer the Boss of You... A Birthday Post.

I will be 45 this week.

This means that I may have already lived approximately half of my life. 

I mean, you know, not to sound dark or lamenting or anything...

That is not how it is.
It's not how I feel.

Age has never meant much to me. It's most often held me back. I rejoiced at thirty. ("Finally, I'm a grown up!")

But God has been whispering things like, "Second Act" and "Launching Season" and my, how He has us stepping up and stepping out and living into the beginning of Dreams Come True lately. I find strength in the sense of excitement that is bubbling over. I find hope in promises and prophecies yet unfulfilled - oh, but how they are unfolding!

It feels like (finally) "Next" is happening all around us...

Golden... the Magic of Slow and Still.

Just when I think I am done talking about Slow and Quiet and Rest... well, it's Monday morning and after a blessed but FULL weekend, what my introverted soul needs most is to seek out a little Silence and just breathe.

Maybe this is becoming a new life message, or maybe I am training my eyes and my ears to find small wonders... 

...or maybe you just need a little space to breathe on a Monday, too? 

If that is true... read on. 
May my random wandering thoughts breathe a bit of Rest into your day at the beginning of your week. May this serve as a reminder for us all to embrace the magic and look for the wonders that are all around us!

That Thing I Do Now - VOLUME 100 YOU GUYS!!!

All the Exclamation Marks, you guys!

Remember when I started This Thing (you know, ONE HUNDRED WEEKENDS AGO!!!) and I wasn't so sure if was going to turn into a thing at all! Because consistency was tricky back then and I wasn't so convinced I wanted to commit to doing this post every. single. weekend. - but, here we are... 100 Saturdays in, and it has become one of my favorite things! I am all about cheerleading and encouraging and there are so many spaces online that amazing writing and vulnerable pieces are being published and while many of my favorites are probably your favorites too, it's been my hope that every once in awhile, I get to introduce you to someone new!

So - (as is so often said here - although, honestly - never in real life...) without further ado... Here is:

A Weekend Recap...

A Gathering of Awesome

from around the Interwebs!

Featured today are posts by Colleen Mitchell, Sarah Bessey, Glennon Doyle Melton, Amy Breitmann, Jennifer Dukes Lee, Jennifer Frisbie, Kris Camealy, and 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 World Wide Interwebs... Connected for Good! - A Five Minute Friday Post

I got lured away by Voxer last night after the Twitter party... but here I am, coffee in hand, praying this whole One Word Prompt feels a bit smaller, and bigger, all at the same time!

{I can't say it enough, really - I love my tribe! The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights and then  we write our hearts out and hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday and Friday (and sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where 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 it all away. We'd love to have you join us!}

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

{GO}

I'm a small town girl.  

It's easy to get overwhelmed and lost in this big ol' world.

It's easy to fade to the back, to shy away, to bow out and just stay in the shadows.  To not stand up, speak up, or shout out.

Sure. That is easier.

Until it is not.

Launching into Act Two...

Lately, I am practicing peace
and pursuing His Presence
both at the start of my day when I rise,
and as it winds down with an evening breeze
softly blowing over my rested laying down.

This is not new, of course.  

I've walked with God for over half of my life now
and it's not that I haven't spent my days with Him.
But I have been more intentional about it recently.

If I am honest with you,
(and I make that my habit here)
- I didn't want to write anymore about it. 
I feel like a broken record... 
but it is what He is doing in me, 
what He is calling me to do,
and I believe while it is personal 
-it is so necessary in this loud
and fast paced world of ours!

Practicing Peace... Waking Up to the Quiet Places Before All of the Noise Rushes In!

I am in a season of Slow... of Quiet... of Empty Nests and non-Bossy Days, and yet - without being intentional, it is still oh so easy to just push through to whatever is next --to whatever is loudest. 

You know how it is. 

I know you know... for we all fall for the hectic rhythm of living from time to time. 

But I am (re)learning that we must Practice Peace and you have heard it here a thousand times... how it just takes but a moment to turn our hearts towards Him, and we find Him gloriously waiting for us.

Yes. This...

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 99

It's June!  June, y'all!

Summer is upon us and around these parts, we are entertaining triple digits and trying to stay cool -which I suspect may include watermelon, iced tea, maybe a dip in a pool, and some reading time - because, of course!

Here's a little disclaimer... I picked a longer list this weekend because - gah! - there were so many amazing posts to choose from! 

Featured today are posts by Sarah Bessey, Kaitlyn Bouchillon, Shannan Martin, Emily Wierenga, Emily Freeman, Tammy Hendricksmeyer, Ashley Larkin, Lori Harris, Lisa Jo Baker, Elizabeth Marshall, Holley Gerth, and 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 Gift of Quiet Stillness... A Five Minute Friday Post

I had another Twitter Party to attend last night.  Shhh - I know! I felt like I was cheating a little bit... and then I had to run out because I was subbing for my old Bunco group and hey - I love y'all... but Bunco means good food, lots of fun, and prizes, so... ;)

{I can't say it enough, really - I love my tribe! The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights and then  we write our hearts out and hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday and Friday (and sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where 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 it all away. We'd love to have you join us!}

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

Y'all remember last summer, when God was silent. 

For months on end, He was quiet with me... not chatty at all. 
In all that stillness, He taught me Rest.  

What I Learned in May...

Somehow I think I skipped a month, but you will notice that May was filled to the rim with new things, so that may be why! I was so busy moving forward, I must not have carved out time to look back over April! At any rate, we will pick up in May and we're back with the beloved quirkiness of the What We Learned link up over at Chatting at the Sky with Emily Freeman.  We'd love to have you join in on the fun!

What We Learned in May...

12 Random Things That I Have Learned. 

How Wonder Just Keeps Showing Up Whenever I Step Out...

My #OneWord365 is Wonder... 

I'm sure if you have hung out with me much around here, this is nothing new. 

Here we are in the beginning of June and less than 6 months in, and I can tell you that Wonder keeps showing up in big ways and small... taking my breath away and causing me to lean in to more adventure.

Me... the shy, quiet, reserved one.
The wallflower-until-you-get-to-know-me one.
The better-safe-than-sorry, fear-of-success/-of-failure one.

And yet...