What I Learned... Fall of 2016

I didn't necessarily mean to take a little Thanksgiving break, but it turns out that is what happened!  I pray your holiday was blessed and filled with warmth and love...

I meant to come back and officially congratulate Amy for winning the Gilmore Girls Giveaway... (which -- you know, will be on it's way to you in a day or two... because: apparent Thanksgiving break!) And OF COURSE I wanted to talk all things Gilmore... but (a little) more on that later... 

Right now, it is time for Emily Freeman's quarterly(ish) link-up on What We Learned, and it's my favorite... so you know I had to make myself sit down and reflect back over this fall (and scroll through Instagram) to remind myself of what we've been learning over the past couple of months! A lot of lessons have been heavy, right? But we will keep these mostly light!

I am not only an internal processor... but a SLOW internal processor... so often what that means for me is that I don't fully process the lessons until I've intentionally slowed down a bit and focused on remembering what they were! 

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10 Random Things I Have Learned...

We Are Better Together... A Five Minute Friday Post.

Oh y'all... I can't even remember what I was doing last Thursday night... surely it was important, because it caused me to miss the #fmfparty and life right now is over-filled and bossy... mostly in the best ways though, so that helps (tremendously!)  Still - this word prompt? Yeah... right about now, we are all about team!

This is Five Minute Friday (- a five minute timed free write) and our One Word Prompt for the day is:TEAM

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So listen... 

Y'all know we helped to start a new church a little over a year ago. I try not to turn this blog into the church planting blog... (#NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat.) 

Still... I have found myself saying over and over lately this one phrase --and truly meaning it:

"We are better together!"

And we are. 
We really are!

Because we were MADE to be that way!

What Happens in Vegas...

I know... 

Honestly, I do!  If you know me us then you know that Vegas is not really our deal.  I mean, we love to travel and to see new places and new things but Vegas hasn't ever been on our radar as a desired destination! 

And yet... there we were --all three of us, taking off from Seattle, Vegas-bound!

I wrote about it earlier... how it all started off as a joke! How my girlie and I talked of being like Lorelai and Rory, and celebrating her 21st birthday Gilmore Girls-style.  But life happened, and time (as it does) got away from us and I forgot to plan it all out and I forgot to hope that she would even want to.

But when she asked, as if she really did still want to hang out with her Mama in Las Vegas, well... God showed up, leaving signs that He was all in, (Ya see what I did there?) and we put a trip together real quick like!

What I Learned in (April and) May...

Somehow I entirely missed this post for April. Clearly I must have been learning lots of things because I failed to take time to reflect and write it all down? I will try to combine April and May while still keeping the list fun and relatively short! We'll see how we do!

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12 Random Things That I Have Learned...

When We Believe, But Do Not Expect... A Five Minute Friday post.

Once again I managed to have a meeting scheduled for Thursday night. This means I was only at the Twitter party for a few minutes, but oh how I love to pop in, even if only for a few!

This is Five Minute Friday (- a five minute timed free write) and our One Word Prompt for the day is: EXPECT

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If I would stop and just do the math, (...which I will not!) I would tell you that this past week -- it has cost us, my friends!

Things just kept breaking down (or catching on fire) and adding up and I was given ample 'opportunity' to worry and stress!

It was put before me and just when I felt justified to give in, I heard the Lord whisper loud in my ear,

"You CAN choose that route. But that's not the way I would go. You can worry and stress and let fear stroll right in to wreak havoc... OR... Or you can choose the path I would take! It's up to you!"

So, instead of letting the numbers add up quick and drown me in all those worse case scenarios that eat away at our peace, I decided to follow His lead and simply do this:

Choose to Trust.
Easy Peasy, right? 
Except when it's not!

I realized that I believe for a lot of things, but sometimes I forget to follow through with expectation!

Just when I was ready to give in and give up, He whispered soft, "Beloved, don't lose heart!" and I felt faith rising up... and not only that, but a sense of anticipation and expectation... I began to imagine what it could look like if He came through!

When You Find Small Wonders That Lead You Home...

You guys... I have missed y'all oh so much, but we were on a break, remember? 

Still, I can't tell you how many times I thought of you and now that I am back home... well, the words are coming slowly as I am still digesting all that happened over this past week!

We went to the Leaders/Advance conference for church leaders at Bethel last week and it was wonderful... or, more accurately, wonder full!

I am a slow processor so those words about what we learned will come --you know, slowly, but for now... I thought I would share just a few of the Small Wonders that I found along the way!

Here's the deal, y'all...

I am an introvert. (I know... this is not new news really.) I am also an Empty Nester. (Again, I know...)  But I say those two things to paint a picture of what a week in my normal life looks like - which is mainly this: Quiet. It looks quiet!

SEND - Five Minute Friday

I know, I know... I'm a broken record but man I love this Five Minute Friday Community! If you are in need of encouragement, friendship, support, nutella, or prayer... come hang out with us on Twitter on Thursday nights and join us in a Writers Flashmob of sorts, writing free and unhindered, for five minutes flat!  You can find us at #fmfparty on Thursday evenings on Twitter, and always - on Fridays, over at www.katemotaung.com!

Without further ado...

Here is our Word Prompt for the day: SEND

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When I hear Send... so often, I think far away!

I think, "Here am I, Lord. Send me." with sweaty palms, shaky knees, and a reluctant heart.

I think Africa, or Haiti, or Guatemala...

Funny, how time can change a person...  

The Slow Unwinding Gift of Island Time

"Island Time" ...some would say I operate on it all the time.  

I am, for whatever reason, time challenged. 

I used to blame it on my girlie.  I felt confident that it was all her doing, because before Motherhood I could get to places on time.  Early even. (Sometimes.) 

But since her arrival... well, not so much! 

Here's the thing though: She moved out and I am still not on time.  I am always running about 10 minutes behind schedule. I am working on this flaw.  It helps that I am an Artist. There seems to be grace for the way we tend to let things capture our attention for moments at a time.  Still, I really WANT to break this bad habit.

The difference between being late, and being on Island Time is that when you are on Island Time - there is no late!

Choosing Trust - Atlas Girl Blog Tour

This post is part of the Atlas Girl Blog Tour which I am delighted to be a part of along with hundreds of inspiring bloggers. To learn more and join us, CLICK HERE! 

In full disclosure I must start with this: I am not done reading this book!  Atlas Girl can be read in one sitting because you won’t want to stop.  You can do that. I wanted to. But I’m forcing myself to slow it down, to savor it and let it sink in!


I’m finding that I am in a season of Slowing Down… of Stepping Back… of Breathing in Deep and paying attention to All. The. Feels.  I have mentioned it several times already but we are new Empty Nesters and my tendency to rush on to the next often robs me of really pausing to reflect over what just happened.  And what just happened is we raised a life. 

We partnered with God and helped to raise an entire human being and she is a delight and a joy.