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

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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!

When Your OneWord365 Refuses to Let You Ignore It! 2020

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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...

Happy New Year!!! Our Annual Prophetic Post for 2020

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HAPPY NEW YEAR, Sweet Readers!

As has become our custom around here, today not only brings blank calendars to fill in and new Day Planners to let start bossing us around, but it is also time for our Annual Prophetic Post for the New Year!

I hope 2019 was kinder to you than it appeared to be to us, but either way --Here's to a shiny, bright, happy new year -- full of promise and possibilities!

New Years Day unfolded slowly, with gusts of wind and rain pounding the windows --of both my heart and my home! 

As much as I love to reflect over the last year before leaning into what God has to say about what's next... well --2019 was full of heartbreak and hard. Still, in looking back, I always see how even in the dark times, He was close and present. (Do you remember the discovery of last year, of where His Glory hides? Yeah... it's in the Darkness.)  

As a storm brewed around us, I settled my heart and curled up with a cup of coffee, a journal and pen, and an expectant hope... to tune and hear from God... --not only for me but for all of us who are willing to lean in a bit closer to God in 2020!

I always ask the Lord for a word or phrase that will speak prophetically over the coming year.  I also ask Him to lead me to a book in the Bible that He wants to be highlighted throughout the year.  

I'm consistently amazed at how much He wants to communicate with us!

SETTLE - A Five Minute Friday post.

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I figured it is WAY past due to sit here and talk about something OTHER than Colossians! (Not that there is anything wrong with that, of course!) It's just I have only been managing to sit here every other week as we dig into the Word... but there are lots of other words to share --and it seems maybe, just maybe, they are ready to start bubbling up and pouring out again!

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: SETTLE... so let's go!

{GO!}

I mentioned last time I wrote an FMF post that God had oh so gently

whispered something to me about being both

Anchored and Tethered... 

And my immediate thought was along the lines of,

"Isn't that just how it is?!"  

At that moment, I most definitely felt Anchored AND Tethered... 

Anchored to a Truth that grounds us 

  yet Tethered to a Hope that asks us to fly!

Anchored to earth

  yet Tethered to Heaven...

Anchored to Faith and Promises and Holding our breath

  yet Tethered to the Waiting... the Doubting... the Heavy Sighing...

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back... -A Five Minute Friday post.

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Hello, sweet readers! It feels like it has been forever! I have been keeping up with our first-ever, year-long, bible series on Colossians but other than that -I have not been sitting in this chair (or --to be honest-- writing in my journal!) much at all lately! But Autumn is almost here and that always means a season of restarting and resetting routines! And that goes along well with our One Word Prompt, so let's go!

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: BACK

{GO!}

I see the prompt and --yet again... I laugh. This time, however, I realize right away that the laugh is to cover the pull toward tears.  

I see "Back" and I feel the pull backward... 

In this season, in a few areas of our life, we are witnessing and feeling the whole, "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back"... but some days it feels like WAY more than just one step.

I can really pick among many things to focus on but really --the most urgent and back and forth pull is all around my sweet sister and her beloved husband, Jack.  

Many of you may remember that he battled Stage 4 Breast Cancer awhile ago. He lived a full and healthy cancer-free life for several years however we found out a few months back that cancer returned. 

A Random List of Last Fives... -A Five Minute Friday post.

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Another post already? I know... but I accidentally saw the One Word Prompt even though I had no plans of writing again so soon.  Once I saw the word, however, I realized I had just been wanting to do a lighter post --something less heavy and more fun and this will work perfectly! So... let's go!

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: FIVE

{GO!}

I have been missing those What I Learned link-up posts and how lighthearted and fun they were! Coming out of a long hard season, I wanted to follow Emily P. Freeman's lead and write some lists, so let's see what Last Fives come to mind after hitting the timer...

A Random List of Last Fives...

The Middle Matters... a Five Minute Friday post (and Book review post --because, of course!)

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August? It's already August? If you subscribe to the monthly NewsyLetter then you may have just read about how I feel like we JUST fell into the rhythm of lazy summer days and it's already August? (Not that I'm actually complaining because if you have been around this little corner for long at all, you know Fall is my favorite!)

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: MIDDLE

{GO!}

I have said it several times: Whenever Lisa-Jo Baker writes something, I'm gonna get my hands and my head and my heart all around it. (And more than likely, I'm gonna share it and tell all my friends to read it, too!) So it was no real surprise to find myself on the Launch Team for her latest book, The Middle Matters. I've been on all of her launch teams to date... I knew that going in this book was different in that it is a collection of essays and they are all based on the Middle --of life, of parenting, of marriage, of --you know, our middles!?

I love Lisa-Jo because she is real... she is honest and open and she just tells it like it is. She is full of grace and love and she makes room at any given table and scooches over on any given couch. Her message rings loud and clear: You are welcome here.  

There is something that is so needed for voices like hers --for hearts like hers-- in our world right now! She is an InCourager (--ya see what I did there?) and a Champion and, gah! We need more people to be people that love well and follow hard after Him (while being Oh So Real about our messy lives!)

I have found myself in the middle of oh so many things right now... 

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

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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...

Light from Distant Stars by Shawn Smucker... A Book Review post.

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Two posts... in one day? I know... Honestly, I do! But our Colossians Series is on a set schedule, and this is Launch Day for Light from Distant Stars, so...

Here's the thing... I was not going to do anymore Book Launch Teams for awhile!  I had long been saying that I needed to add more fiction into my stacks of books and so I had already decided to pass on any invitations over the summer.  And then I saw this upcoming novel by Shawn Smucker and signed up right away!  

I know!? I can't help myself! Plus --bonus!-- I was reading his non-fiction book, Once We Were Strangers, and I was loving it! So I had some high expectations for this new release! I had heard a ton of great things about his other fiction works but haven't read them... however, (spoiler alert!) they are now on my list for summer reading!

I made it onto that Launch Team and I'm here today to encourage you to order a copy of Light from Distant Stars for yourself --or order a couple so you can give one away! You just may want to do that --so you can talk about it with a friend when you're done reading it! 

I had started reading Once We Were Strangers, also written by this author, before joining the launch team for Light from Distant Stars. So I already knew I would enjoy the book. I had been saying for months that I needed to add more fiction to my reading list so this was perfect timing!

I was hungry for a book that would draw me in and make me put off sleep for all the best reasons! So I had high hopes for this one, and Shawn Smucker did not disappoint!

Our Weekend Goal... A Five Minute Friday post.

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Oh, Friends!  I don't know about where you live, but here in my little corner of the PNW:

Summer is HERE big time and, let me tell you, I am so FOR it!

I'm talking forego the hot cuppa and go for the iced coffee in the morning instead because it's already sunny and warm but the patio is calling my name! You know how it is with me! #patiolife

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: GOAL

{GO!}

Last week we nearly hit triple digits.

It's not that this is unusual, really!

After all - we live in a desert land...

where the sun beats hot and the heat is dry.

It's all I've ever really known. 

I grew up in this town and never left. 

I'm assured I would know the difference

between humid and dry heat and I'm sure it's true. 

Still... as long as I have access to my beloved A/C,

I'm good with long summer days that

start out warm and never fully cool off.

But again, it is desert land

so once the sun goes down,

it usually DOES cool off

--at least a bit!

Listen, while not all things are meant for the interwebs, 

and we have played many cards close to our hearts

over the past year or so, many of you have walked with

and prayed for us in this long, hard season

of living in the in-between! 

Many of you have traveled these

parched 'desert lands' with us...

A Language Fluent in Hope... Glorious Weakness - A Book Review post.

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I wrote a post last week, sharing two different visions I had during prayer that happened just days before I got an advanced copy of Glorious Weakness. 'Seeing' what I saw, and then reading the gift of words found in this book was such a confirmation! As I mentioned last week, this book was written and bled out by my friend, Alia Joy!  I highly recommend her book --but not just because she's a friend!

I recommend it because I think we all need it! 

Glorious Weakness - Discovering God In All We Lack by Alia Joy

This, from the Introduction:
“These days, when I am adrift on rough seas of life, and the tidal wave of my own limitations crashes against me, I need the X written down and mapped out so that I can believe in treasure again, to believe in beauty. I need to believe that lost things can be found if we only know where to look. My saltwater tears have mixed with the ash from the Refiner’s fire, and they form the ink to pen my story, a story that helps me find my way to the beauty that was always buried and waiting... So many people don’t have a way to talk about these kinds of struggles. The thing is, we all want to be able to tell the truth about ourselves and God. Some of us just didn’t know we were allowed... I hope this book gives you permission to illuminate the darkness in your own life, to skip the shortcut, to weather the storm, and to seek out the treasures along the way... There’s power in truth-telling, in resurrecting the sunken things and sifting them, a couple good shakes to get the sand out and let the light back in.”

Listen, Sweet Readers, it's no secret that I adore Alia!

I have long been a fan online and have been leaving '{insert gushing comment here!}' comments on posts throughout the blogosphere for years and years now. She is a friend in real life as well and when I heard she was writing a book I knew three things: 

Rewards & Recognition... a Five Minute Friday post.

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Happy Spring, Sweet Readers! I hope you are at least getting glimpses of New Life springing forth wherever you are today! I know we have been experiencing near-70 degree days full of birds singing, sunshine, and wide-open doors to let fresh air in and chase away the remnant of winter! 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: REWARD

{GO!}

Oh, how we love

Rewards & Recognition!

My mind first wanders to all those rewards points offered through shopping at various stores. You know... the ones we get for doing nothing really other than spending money! 

But then I drift to the different kinds of rewards given for services rendered or jobs well-done. I think of all of the award ceremonies, raises, trophies, bonuses, etc. all given out in the open, in front of a podium, to give recognition and to help set us apart.

It's not that there's anything wrong with it... There's not! 
It's great and important to recognize and speak life into those around us! We all want to be special... to be acknowledged for how we finish well.  

We all want to belong and to be the best

-- at something... to someone... 

There's nothing wrong with that! 

The issue is when it breeds

Competition and Comparison... 

Backbiting and Bondage...

when it stirs up Striving and Stressing

and a longing for Approval and Acceptance 

that is not rooted in Love or Light!

But I see the word and I think back to a conversation last weekend and I reflect on Scripture and I remember --I remind myself!-- that as nice as rewards and recognition is when it comes from co-workers, bosses, friends, and family... it's BEST when it comes from the Father!

When You Long for More... A Five Minute Friday post.

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Hello, Friends! I'm happy to report that I'm sitting in this chair, ready to tap out some words --but YOU GUYS!?!!??! THE SUN IS SHINING AND I SEE ZERO CLOUDS (read: NO IMPENDING SNOW!) in the sky!

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: MORE.

{GO!}

I see the word and I feel it down deep... 

the Longing for More... 

it's been a drawn-out season of waiting...

of hunkering down in the In Between.

For much of the past year or so, I've not really fought against the call to slow... to be silent... to give time and space to heal and to allow my soul room to breathe... as well as giving it room to re-focus, re-center, and re-emerge!

I've stated several times over the past couple of weeks that I feel as though I'm coming back to life again!

I see Hope around the Edges

and I hear the sing-songy-ness in my voice again

as I talk or speak or pray or laugh.  

I see a glimpse of myself and I think,

"Oh My! I have missed her!"

Over these days that turned to weeks,

and weeks that turned to months, 

(and months that turned to years!)

I've come to realize that an important part of the 

Waiting in the In-Between season

is meant to be a Gift!