Releasing 2021 and Leaning in to 2022! (A One Word 365 post)

***

Do Y'all still do this? I love the practice and even in those years where it seems my OneWord may have slipped away - I can always reflect back over the year and see how it was actually at work all the while!

Maybe you are not aware of the movement that is OneWord365... or maybe you are in the know and already have fully embraced your Word for 2022! I didn't write much in 2021 about my One Word and to be honest, I kind of forgot all about it for months at a time... but as I said, as I have been reflecting over this (past - almost!) year, I can see how it was always close at hand!

I've been doing this OneWord365 project for many years and yet, each December, I pray into what He may have for me and ask Him to lead my Word to me. (And --usually-- I argue and second-guess! It's fine. It's all part of my charm!)

My OneWord last year was RELEASE!

It was sort of a Do-Over word because I had picked "Releasing" about seven or eight years earlier. If you remember, I sort of argued with God about His choice because - you know - out of ALL the words...? Why use one so similar to something I'd already walked with? But I got confirmation after confirmation and when I allowed myself to sit still long enough to listen, I realized there were things I still hadn't let go of in 2021... things that were holding me back!

"Release" also showed up in laying things down (again) like old hurts and expectations, insecurities and doubts, but also releasing things like our small group and old traditions... It meant good things too, like releasing Hope and Peace into OH SO MANY anxious and stressful situations throughout the year, and releasing the false hope of trying to control or persuade something or someone into believing differently!

So... I'm so thankful I took a few moments to look over 2021 to see where or if Release showed up - because, well - it seems (even though technically I am NOT 'lighter'!) I feel much lighter going in to 2022! Less weighed down... less held back --by myself and by others! When I moved on and began praying about my NEXT Word for 2022, I asked the Lord to give me a Word that would stick with me all year long and would bring in me - if I was willing - a lasting change!

Enter the stirrings of Power and Strength!

Experience the Becoming of Who You Are - A Five Minute Friday post.

***

My fingertips and my heart have been gently urging me back into this chair!  

It seems the last several times I have come to sit here, I end up frustrated in trying to format and edit a few projects instead of pouring out new words in this space! So today --I'm starting here and (depending on how this goes!) I will tackle the other things next! But first: This is a Five Minute Friday post... which, as you should know by now, simply means I set a timer and free-write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: EXPERIENCE... Let's go!

{GO!}

Experience... I see the word and immediately feel my age. I think of all the different areas in my life I have gained experience.  And I think of all the areas I am lacking experience still.

We're all in Process... 
    We are all Becoming...

We are all experts in some ways and inexperienced in other ways!

In a season where I am feeling my inexperience, learning a new job in a new field, relearning how to care for a toddler and teach her in the way she should go, and remembering how to worship without building walls around my heart... --I feel the pull to dwell on the things I do not know... --on the things I'm failing or flailing at and not doing so well...

When Your OneWord365 Refuses to Let You Ignore It! 2020

***
It's a little late to be posting about my OneWord365 maybe... I mean --I know normally I would have written this out in December along with other end-of-the-year posts! Well - 2019 was far from 'normal' and many of those posts didn't get written at all! I did write about all the books I managed to read. You can find that post HERE... and I did write the Annual Prophetic Post for the New Year! You can find that one HERE!

I have been doing this OneWord365 project for many years now and --again-- 'normally' I know my word by the beginning of December. Not this year... He snuck it in the last minute, probably hoping I wouldn't fight Him on it. (But, come on... Y'all know me better than that, right?) 

Listen,  here's the deal:
This is how I opened LAST YEARS' OneWord post:
"2018 has been so full of Heavy and Hard (even more so than 2017... which was pretty terrible, if you recall!) and somehow I completely forgot about my OneWord... 

Well, it seems it forgot about me, too! Or at least that is how I felt when I went back to look it up!"

It just--
Whatever, man! 
2019, 2018, 2017: All wretched.

BUT GOD... 
Seriously --even in the midst of all of these Heavy and Hard, Sad and Terrible-No-Good years...

Cup Your Hands & Position Your Heart... Willing - A Five Minute Friday post.

***

Oh, Summer! (Am I right?)

Let's just get to it! This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer and free-write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: WILLING

{GO!}

I'm tempted to just wait... I mean... it's Thursday afternoon and I know a 'new' word will be released tonight. I already wrote two posts this week because --at least for a couple of things-- I'm letting my calendar boss me around.  Honestly - the only reason that is true is that I have felt, shall we say, uninspired as of late.  So while my heart is willing --my flesh is weak and I just haven't set aside time to sit in this chair and tap out words consistently for a while now.

Mostly, I'm totally ok with that.

I've been busy being present in my actual life and

while it is not easy or fun a lot of the time right now,

it is vital and it is a priority and I have no regrets...

well --other than these two:
#1. I miss Y'all tons! ...and

#2. This is how I process.

For real... writing here in this space helps me to unpack the things God has whispered to me along the way and gives me perspective and insight and hope that I may miss if I just try to keep it to myself! So here I sit... willing... and waiting... and remembering how my OneWord for this year is a Do-Over (or Do-Better) word and, My oh My...

Joy is a promise He just
keeps on giving me...

It Is Well... A Five Minute Friday post.

***

Hey there, Sweet Readers! My, have I missed you! Something about when it rains, it pours... and yet, we're still here! This community is consistently where I run in good times and in hard times, and even though I haven't sat in this chair or tapped out words in a while I've been longing to carve out time and space to sit with you once again! 

So let's dig in... This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer and free write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: WELL

{GO!}

I see the Word Prompt and my mind (and heart and soul) goes to:

"It Is Well..."

And it is... even (or especially!) when it doesn't look or feel like it! 

It IS well...  we know this to be true but even still, we find we need the reminder over and over and over again!

Because --as with many things... many truths...-- we tend to forget what we already know!

It's easy to allow this world... the enemy who roams around seeking whom he may devour... --it's easy to accidentally listen to the lies and let them slither right on in to our hearts and heads and before we know it, we are letting our emotions (or the manipulation of our emotions due to above-mentioned enemies' lies!) boss us around and dictate what we believe!

Yeah... 

Let's stop doing that!  

It does no good and bears fruit we do not want!

Promises... A Five Minute Friday post.

***

Hello, Friends! Life is full --busy! Let's just be real... it's busy and it's busy with all kinds of bossy and not so fun things to deal with --and yet... His Peace is Present and we remind ourselves and each other to Just Breathe... and to --well... you'll see!

This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer and free write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: PROMISE

{GO!}

My immediate thought?

"All God's Promises are Yes & Amen!"

I don't know about you... but for me? I needed that reminder this week!

To be honest... I need it more often than I'd care to admit! I mean... I am, after all, the one who wrote an entire series/book on Truths I know but sometimes forget!

I belong to a great group on facebook for writers and every Tuesday there is a prayer thread... I shared some of what was going on over the last week or so on that thread and was reminded that I am not the only Crazy Faith girl over there!

Man, you guys... we NEED each other! 

We need the Word and the Lord
and the Body all at the same time! 

Next! (Tag You're It!) ...A Five Minute Friday post.

***

Hey there, friends! I'm not even gonna small talk... let's just get into it, alright? This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer and free write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: NEXT

{GO!}

Today is Good Friday... 

I already pondered a bit on facebook about how on Good Friday, in the shadow of the Old Rugged Cross, nothing felt or looked or could be fathomed to be Good at all! 

It was dark and doubtful and full of Fear... 
and Saturday comes in Silence... 
full of confusion and chaos 
and the quiet is almost always just too much... 
but then comes Sunday 
with all its celebration and salvation
and we see that what looked like the end,
was not the end... 
but in fact, 
a new beginning!

I almost titled this, "Thank You, Next!" but had a check.
I knew it was the name of a song and thank goodness I looked up the lyrics
(--so you don't have to! Just trust me on this... it was only funny in my mind until I read the words!) 
But the sentiment of the thought still rings true!

Jesus rose from the dead
and that was NOT the end!
It is Finished, yes... 
but it is like He was saying,
"Next! Tag! You're It!"
as He ascended back to on High!

An Offer We Can't (or Shouldn't!) Refuse... a Five Minute Friday post.

***

I know!? I wrote TWO posts in one day, PLUS the monthly newsletter for subscribers already this week... but I've managed to miss #fmfparty for too many weeks and months to keep track and I haven't written a Five Minute Friday post for a couple of weeks so --here I am! Sitting in the chair... right? #WritersGonnaWrite

This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer and free write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: OFFER

{GO!}

My first thought upon seeing the One Word prompt was,
"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

Which, of course, made me laugh because --well because,
God... You're SO FUNNY!


You may or may not know that --even though I've never actually watched (any of) The Godfather(s)... God often quotes a line or two from that movie to me to get a point across!

I referred to my favorite Godfather quote He whispers to me over and over a few weeks ago on the blog.  
You can read that one HERE.

But here's the thing about the quote above about making us an offer we can't refuse... We CAN...

We CAN refuse it, but
Oh, how He hopes we won't!

Let Him Build It... A Five Minute Friday post.

***

Hey there, friends!
I'm not sure what the weekend forecast is for Y'all... but for us? Well... they are calling it Snow-aggaden and Snow-pocolypse, soooo... Our plans are pretty much to stay put and stay warm and enjoy all the beauty --you know, from INSIDE OUR COZY HOME!

This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer
and free write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: BUILD

{GO!}

My first thought upon seeing our one-word prompt is this:
"If you build it, he will come."

Right? Who didn't love Field of Dreams back in the day? To be honest and fair... I don't remember much of the movie other than it was well done and stirred up a sense of magic and wonder. (And who couldn't use a dose of those things right about now?)

Still... I promise this is not about an old movie but more about an old dream...

It's an old dream about something new... Something right around the corner... Something that has been brewing and building slowly over time... and I believe it is coming!

Where Else Would We Go? A Five Minute Friday post.

***
Happy Saturday, Sweet Readers!
Are you ready for the weekend? I hope, wherever you are,
you are staying warm and have penciled in some Sabbath! 

Also, have you subscribed to the blog? If not, you missed our monthly newsletter that goes out on the 1st day of each month! It's easy peasy and simply means you don't miss a post around here... and you get a little Hello from me each month where I share my heart exclusively to subscribers - which this month, well--- it's all about Love, to no ones' surprise! Anyway...

This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer
and free write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: WHERE

{GO!}


Where... 
  --Is that not the question?

You guys!  For the last year or more, this has been the one word question
--the one-word prayer-- and we have yet to hear the answer...
and so we wait!

We talked it about Waiting not too long ago... you can read that here... 
but this is the thing: 

God doesn't always answer us with specifics.  

I mean, He does always answer --you know, eventually! 
But our faith builds in the waiting... 
in the willingness to wait even after we have said
we will go wherever He leads us!

How many know that sometimes He leads us
to nowhere in particular because
where He is really leading us is
under the shadow of His wing... 
deeper into the crevices and corners of His heart! 

Ermagherd, Berks!!! (Books I Read - The 2018 Edition)

Hey Sweet Readers! 

Here we are at the end of another year!  Many of you know that 2018 was full of unexpected twists and turns for our little family and as much as we enjoy reading those in a Story... we don't always love living them so much in our own story, right?  Between all the changes and challenges, I also found myself grounded at home without the ability to strain (read: use!) my eyes for months at a time -- so these things all kept me off my reading game! Still,  you also know how I love me some books... (or 'berks!' as in, "Ermagherd! Berks!")
























So this is the post where I take time to reflect back over the year and revisit some of my favorites! 

Honestly, I thought this list would be shorter but I did seem to up my reading during the months I was able to! And after a couple of surgeries in January, I hope to get back on track on reading all the things!

Here is a random list of books I read and loved this year! 

***

Sonship Over Ownership...

***

This has been a season of Quiet and of (once again) embracing a bit of Unproductivity.

Yeah... it's as fun as it sounds!

I mean, sure --at first, it IS great! Because we all tend to run at full speed and a lot of us are tired, Y'all! 

So a little breaky? Yes, please! 
Right?  

But there is also this: Many of us can accidentally take a bit of our identity from all of our production and having things to show for how we spent our day!

So it gradually shifts from being fun to feeling like a really hard ask. The ask is to be small, to be still and silent.  To trust anyway or even though, and to be willing to wait... To lay down our giftings and calling and all the things that we are DOING that so easily sneak in to defining us, rather than letting how we are BEING actually reveal who we are.

Often times, we are encouraged to stand up tall in who we are and in what we can do.  Take confidence in your abilities and giftings - and I agree! All too often, especially as Christians --especially as Christian women, we are told to be humble and to almost dismiss or divert compliments or credit. Of course, humility is important and we all know that pride comes before a fall.  

However, I believe there is a balance is being confident, yet still giving glory to God and knowing how and why we are successful. It's because Jesus invites us into a partnership. We get to go about our days (our work, our ministry, etc.) and do whatever He has put before us to do. But we get to do it with Him!

With Jesus as our example, it seems that there is a growing movement to return to the old ways... to follow His footsteps and to participate both in the Doing and the Being. We must learn to embrace both! Each of these things is vital. We can not simply Be, and never get up and Do... and yet we have discovered that all the Doing, without simply Being too, will quickly lead to burn out and disillusion!

Something about Don't grow weary in doing good... Keep Doing... and make sure that you are setting aside time to just Be as well!  As many have said, remember that saying Yes to something also means saying No to something else. Make sure your Yes is worth it!

I believe this is something that we are learning in the church at large.

Sonship is the Next Step...

***

To read the full post, I'd love to have you join me HERE over at LifeLetterCafe where I share a bit about a recent encounter in prayer and what I felt God whisper to me about how we are called Heirs, not owners.

When He Causes You to Pause in the In-Between... A Five Minute Friday post.

***

I had every intention of joining the Tribe last night... but after all the fog and frustration of the mad rush of trying to understand and implement all things (well - at least some things!) GDPR, I needed a break. I needed to hit 'Pause' from all the screens and all the (over)thinking! You'll see what I did there in just a second...

Our One Word this week is PAUSE!  This is Five Minute Friday!

{GO}

You guys!?  

I don't know about you all, but I somehow managed to ignore all the GDPR talk or convince myself that it really didn't affect me. 

I mean - honestly, I still think it mostly doesn't... but the threat of fines and the reality that, in truth, I DO want my readers to rest assured that their privacy is a thing to me and I will not sell or distribute or abuse their information... those two facts caused me to feel overwhelmed and oh so behind this week.  

Also - the fact that I am one of the least techy bloggers out there, and I don't pay any attention to building platform or growing an audience. I just write what He tells me and trust He will put it in front of whoever may need to read it!

All of that to say this:
We are in ALL KINDS of transition right now...

It seems the Lord has us in this bubble of Peace while we wait in the In-Between of what was and what is to come!