An Invitation to Fall in Love - Five Minute Friday

Happy Valentine's Day!

I know... for some, it's too sappy... too commercialized... too sweet.  For others it's too remind-y... too lonely... too exclusively not for them.  For some - for many... it's just another day! That's ok... I get it.

Not everyone has a Crafty Theme-Party heart and a Romantic Dreamy way about them. That's alright.  As Jen Hatmaker says, some people are spicy and some people are sweet. (She's spicy and she's good at other things!)

It's just that this Love day is my JAM, ya'll! This is my bent! I was this way long before Pinterest was ever a thing and while we were never the long-stemmed-roses-and-jewelry kind of couple, we could slow dance in our living room with the best of them!  Oh, and I am the first to admit that I miss (Oh how I MISS!) the classroom parties, the baking, and Valentine-making days back when my Girlie was a Little! I do... I really do!

I've still been known to cut out hearts and ink and glue myself in to a happy creative frenzy.  But it's more than that.  It's more than paper doilies and candy hearts... so much more!

I remember way back in the day, when our Only was maybe 7 or 8... In the midst of my romantic planning and the frosting of all the cuppycakes... God swooped in and lifted my vision for this 'holiday' higher. 

He whispered to me soft and invited me to celebrate Valentine's Day on a larger scale!  "Don't just make it about romance," He said. "Make it about Love!"

So we began new traditions that year... we included our Girlie and invited single friends. We set the table fancy. We lit candles and dimmed lights.  We ordered take out and took Communion. We laughed and enjoyed a meal and talked about the One who loves us best. We wrapped up with a little chocolate, of course... making sure we celebrated Love and shared it too.

It's been years... and traditions are nice... but our Little is working tonight and our favorite take-out place closed down and it was starting to feel a little less than lovely but then... well - then came this:

I know, right? Do you not just LOVE her?

Lisa-Jo has opened a door and invited us in and together we are falling in love... we are leaning in and being love... and we would be beyond delirious if you would jump in and join us, too!

Last fall, in 12 hours, we purposed to do laundry with our sisters across ocean and land and we built a water point in Maubane, South Africa. Twelve hours, ya'll! 

So today we invite you to Be Love...
to be someones' Valentine and help change the world.  

Our goal is to to build a safe place for sustainable food, child care, economic empowerment, job skills trainings, a gathering place for church, classrooms for HIV/Aids education, and a playground for their kids in the community of Maubane, SA.

This is an audacious project... we are believing God to help us fully fund each phase (there are 5) of this project, bringing in a total of $150,000. 

I know... that is huge.  It is scary. It seems ridiculous... but God, right?  But God is calling us and awakening us and we are realizing that we are never 'just Moms' and we have learned that every little bit adds up fast in the Kingdom of God!  He can take what little we have, and make much of it!

So between Valentine's Day (because, why not?) and Mother's Day, we are asking you to pray... to give... to join with us in audacious faith, believing that God will bless and multiply. 

Because if we believe that Love is more than a date on the calendar, this is our chance to fall in love with the world next door and pour out a gift that grows and gives all year long!  

When we give a garden, we can change a child's life... and this community of 400? There are 250 children, many orphaned or vulnerable, and having a Garden will not just change lives, it will save them.

You can visit PureCharity and read more about Phase 1 - "Help One Now - Veggies for Africa" where we are raising funds for a Community Vegetable Garden.  

And just in case you needed any extra incentive... there is this:

Seriously ya'll... check out these amazing Necklaces by Krafty Kash.  $12.00 from each purchase is going directly to help fund this project! I know this is what I asked for for Valentine's Day! (Win-win!)

So... here we are... a ragamuffin group of blogging Mama's stretching hearts and hands and wallets wide... inviting you to join us! We are about to get a front row seat in watching God do the miraculous... in watching Him take our small offerings and turn them into something BIG!  

Here is your invitation to fall in love with the world next door. Update - Phase one... in ONE day, ya'll - FULLY FUNDED!  But let's not lose momentum! You can continue to give to this project by clicking here:


There's room at the table! I'll save you a seat next to me!
Speak Life. Be Love. Shine On.
~Karrilee~

So - technically this is not actually a Five Minute Friday post... Admittedly, this took me more than Five minutes tonight, but we are talking "Garden" and we are linking up - literally and virtually, on Friday and beyond!

If you are not familiar with Five Minute Fridays, here's the scoop:  Five Minute Fridays are hosted by Lisa Jo Baker.  It is open to anyone, so to learn more about it - and to jump in yourself (the more the merrier!) or just to find a linky to see what everyone is writing about today - click HERE!  The idea is to simply write... for Five Minutes flat... no editing, no deep thinking - or at least REthinking, no spell check - just write! Let it flow! We all write using a prompt that Lisa posts at 10pm Thursday night (EST.)  I'm loving the community of amazing bloggers and the creativity that flows from these magical Five Minutes!

No Matter What... a Little Coffee for Your Heart

So... this finally happened this week:

I know... but seriously, ya'll? We had snow, I think, way back in early October and then pretty much nothing.  I didn't complain... I mean - we made it through all the Polar Vortex posts and crazy snow storms hitting the rest of the country and all the while we were enjoying sunshine and blue skies. Sure it was a little colder than usual - but did you read where I said Blue Skies and Sunshine? Yeah... that.  But then we had long stretches of days and days of cloud covering and cold... no blue AND no white... only gray.

Once we got past the holidays and did not, in fact, have a White Christmas... well - I was done with the romance of it! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow in the mountains... but down here? Bring on some Springtime already!  (Oh I know... but one can hope, right?) The good news is with the snow - we are no longer - for days - stuck with temps in the teens! But I digress and promised myself I would not have the audacity to complain about the weather.

No - today... well, today is our weekly Coffee Date! 

Grab your favorite mug of something delicious, cross your legs, curl up on the couch, sink in and get comfy - however that looks for you... and join me for a few minutes. 

What I'm going to tell you today... well - here's the thing: I know you already know it! But - as we have been discussing lately - we just all tend to so easily forget!

The prompt this week from Holley is:
“No matter what happens, you’re going to be okay because…” 

Before we dig into the Because, let's just start at the beginning! That's a big ol' statement right there...

"No matter what happens..."

"No matter what..."  

That is crazy big... bold and nearly daring the invisible; like shouting out a challenge.

I know... well - I don't really, but I know for me, for us... some of the wind has evaporated out from under our sails of "No Matter What..." lately.

Some 'whats' are hard to overcome... hard to push aside... hard to stand up tall to, nose to nose and eye to eye, without wincing or shrinking back.

Some 'whats' have hit us hard in the past few years... 

Like sickness, disease, broken hearts, broken dreams...
unknown, unwanted, un(yet-to-be)answered...

Yeah... it's like we've stood up to the bully with all kinds of faith, only to find the unseen backup army we had behind us seemingly not there. 

But - only Seemingly... for let's not forget so quickly that wherever we go, there He is.

Let's not forget: "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt 28:20)

Let's not forget: "For with God nothing is ever impossible..." (Luke 1:37 Amp)

Let's not forget: "Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand)." (Jer 33:3 Amp)

Yes... this one, ya'll.  This one verse has transformed my life and He has proven that He is true to His Word time and time again.

So when He says 'always' and 'nothing' and 'I will answer" - I am gonna guess that He really means it!  When I remember these promises, I stretch up a little taller... I square my shoulders, lift up my chin... my feet dig in a little deeper to stand my ground and I choose my words ever so carefully...

So this is how I can sit beside you, in the midst of your "No Matter What..." and I can promise you... you're going to be okay!  You are... because He can be trusted, completely - yes, even when it feels like you are blind and free falling in those moments, even still... He can be trusted.  He is true to His Word and His Promises are Yes and Amen! (2Cor 1:20)

Oh we forget though, don't we?  

All of our big scary No Matter What's can pile up high and drag us down... they can cloud our vision and whisper doubt softly, sweetly almost... but let's not fall for it, because if we do... well, before we know it - we'll have forgotten the Truth!

So, I don't know about you, but I hope you'll join me! I have purposed that when I feel my faith is waivering, or my What's are bigger than the Truth I love... I will pray that He would guard my mouth, and that the words I speak will be words of hope... words of faith... words of praise... no matter what.

"Whatever's in front of me, help me to sing Hallelujah..."

Linking up and sharing a cup of coffee with Holley Gerth

and with Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory

Counting Gifts beyond all the What If's

So last week, we counted gifts all around my Sole Hope Shoe Cutting Party... so many gifts, figuratively and quite literally!  This week... well, this is coming off of the If:Gathering weekend, where my home was filled with women, leaning in together, hungry for more of Jesus! But, I will keep true to my word and get back to our 'normal' way of Counting gifts here, linking up with the Multitudes on Mondays!

Count with me, won't you?

#1860 - Cold Vanilla Coconut Milk... oh my Yum!

#1861 - Keurig on a cold (impatient) Monday morning! (Yes, I am counting this one again... and again... and again! I love it for coffee, for tea, for water for cocoa!)

#1862 - The loveseat in the kitchen... yes, the kitchen!  It is a little weird, but it is the family gathering place and it works for us!

#1863 - Patience when you are dealing with the same issue (again and again and again!) with friends or family.

#1864 - Friends who know when to offer the gift of no words...  Knowing when you need a hug or someone to just sit and listen.

#1866 - "Victor's Crown" by Hillsong, on repeat.

#1867 - Emails from friends whom you love and honor and have so much respect for when normal back and forth is via blog comments!

#1868 - Sunshine - after days of clouds and gray!

#1872 - Handwritten Card from a friend... offering all kinds of encouragement and love!

#1874 - Remembering again how much I love my camera!

#1875 - Red Velvet M&Ms... that's right, ya'll! Red. Velvet. M&Ms.

#1876 - White Chocolate Raspberry Kisses... that's right, ya'll... oh, wait?  Yeah - I have not purchased chocolate or candy for quite awhile so it was a nice splurge for the couple of upcoming parties I am hosting!

#1877 ( - #1882) - SUPERBOWL SUNDAY #GoHawks
(from a get together with friends, to the yummy food, to the cheering, screaming, unbelief, and celebrating, to the win and long awaited victory and maybe eventually a little respect, to the amazing support from us - the 12th Man, -for them, our Seahawks at their homecoming parade... just so much celebration and joy and it's silly really, because we know it's just a game but really - our State needed a reason to unite and be one... and is that not always our 'state'? Needing to unite and be one?

#1883 - Friends (and friends' of friends) around my Table, cutting, praying and sharing testimonies and stories, all while making shoes that change lives! "Working" for 3 hours straight, offering hope right from the comfort of my dining room table!

#1884 - Handwritten Notes from writer friends (some of whom I have yet to meet in real life) - but oh how they pen my heart!

#1885 - Delirious Laughter over no-one-even-knows-what... late night giggles singing softly and echoing off these love-soaked, midnight walls. (How much do I love that we raised a human whom we love to hang out with?)

#1886 - Peace - a true gift in the midst of party planning, menu making, budget bruising... Peace cometh, in the midst of a lot of praying and bowing low!

#1887 - Costco!  Oh yeah... making hosting parties Pinterest-free easier and way less stressful too!

#1888 - Inviting friends to gather locally to experience (livestream) the If:Gathering over the weekend - trusting He will bring who He wants!

#1889 - (still counting!) The If:Gathering itself... more specifically, my local If:Yakima event where I tuned in at home, with a living room full of sisters and we leaned in together, Yessing and Amening together. I'm pretty sure I this event will warrant a post all it's own but for now, what I loved about the If:Gathering is that it gathered... and it released. Every woman on that stage (while they were all amazing and gifted and gorgeous and OH MY GAH can we just have a moment for Angie Smiths' hair?) - they all pointed us to our real right-now lives and said Go... make a difference! Change the world. They each reminded us that we have something to give... that we ARE impacting and changing lives and when we put Him first and love others next... the Kingdom comes! ...and really, what's not to love about that?

This morning, on Facebook, a friend sent me this:

"Can you feel the prayers from intercessors connected with all the If gatherings?"

My reply?  Yes. This:

It feels like a rumbling deep down... not just from within - but from depths beyond us! As Sarah Bessey often says, it feels like "Aslan is on the move!" 

Amen?  

Did you attend or watch?  Can you feel it too? I'd love to hear! 

Speak Life. Be Love. Shine On.

~Karrilee~

Linking up with Ann Voskamp in Counting (beyond) one thousand gifts...

That Thing I Do Now - Vol 30

Between last weekend, and my Sole Hope Shoe Cutting Party, and this weekend with hosting an If:Local Gathering - I have not been on The Internet a whole lot this week.  Because, you know, I am busy not stressing out and not looking on Pinterest. (Really... this is truth... on both points - uh, mostly!) Still - it's taking a lot of time to not do those things somehow?

So - here is a slightly smaller gathering... praying for this weekend for all of the If:Gatherings happening, in Austin, TX and all over the planet; Believing that, as Sarah Bessey states, "Aslan is on the move!"

Happy Weekend and Happy Reading!

* This one by Ann Voskamp... how it made me want to hold my own Mama's hand on the shore... or just from across a table. How it made me oh so grateful that, at least for now, I CAN... "When you wake to losing someone, you win love.  When you realize that what you have, you will lose —  you win real eyes. You win grateful joy."

* This post by Michele-Lyn Ault over at A Surrendered Life, on When You Think What Yo Do Doesn't Count. "Size has little relevance in the the Kingdom of God, in God’s eyes. We put the relevance on size. He wasn’t asking me to embrace a small success. He was asking me to embrace a quiet one."

* This post by Jamie Wright over at The Very Worst Missionary on how Grace Waits. "It's a clumsy kind of Grace, to be sure. But it's there, ever present, relentless, loving, hopeful and redemptive, rolling with the punches, slowly and gently building a better woman in me."

* This one from Saskia Wishart over at SheLoves Magazine on The Prayer That Connects (plus - bonus - a chance to sow!) "...'Your kingdom come, your will be done.'  The sound rises up stronger, a mish-mash of memorised translations, accents and tones. This is a picture of that kingdom, this room full of translations and accents and tones.  'On Earth as it is in Heaven' ..."

* Ya'll know I love me my Five Minute Fridays... (that, yes, start on Thursday nights over on Twitter!) and there are always LOTS of Awesome to found in that link up... this week? My sweet friend Ashley Larkin nails it with the Word Prompt: Write. "Like playing in the snow, writing is effort, and it is joy."

* And oh my stars... in case you missed the announcement this week, here is the line up of speakers and session leaders for Allume 2014. (It's good, ya'll! Really, really good!)

* This post right HERE from Abiding Love, Abounding Grace on What You Most Want to Hear on Those Very Bad Days. "When the whispering lies of a shouting enemy make you deaf to the still small Voice of love, how does one break through? What reminders are needed on those kinds of days?"

Lastly... A video... because that's how we DO!
I tap this out with trembling, hesitant fingers... saying - this... I am feeling pulled to artistry like this... "Come Closer"

"Come Closer... Walk through this with me... There's a doorknob blowing like chance before you. Grab it, turn, and pull, swing, step through..." ~Anis Mojgani

What did I miss? Did you find anything Amazing online this week that I didn't list here? As usual, link it in the comments and share the love!  

A Writers Gonna Write - Five Minute Friday

It's Thursday night, so you know the drill! This is when I gather up with this amazing Community of writers and we love and support and pray and laugh together while we wait for our word prompt. Even tonight - with all sorts of busy (and the Olympics, ya'll!) - I made time to slow it down and tap out words and connect hearts over on Twitter, even for just a few! Because - this Gathering? I wouldn't miss it!

Oh but - first - the fine print: if you don't know what FMF is!  Five Minute Fridays are hosted by Lisa Jo Baker.  It is open to anyone, so to learn more about it - and to jump in yourself (the more the merrier!) or just to find a linky to see what everyone is writing about today - click HERE!  The idea is to simply write... for Five Minutes flat... no editing, no deep thinking - or at least REthinking, no spell check - just write! Let it flow! We all write using a prompt that Lisa posts at 10pm Thursday night (EST.)  I'm loving the community of amazing bloggers and the creativity that flows from these magical Five Minutes!

So - here goes: Five Minute Friday - The Word Prompt is: WRITE

{GO}

I know you have heard it said...

A haters gonna hate.

That one is easy.

But... how about we all get brave and stand up a little taller in to who He is becoming (in) us and walk right on up into the harder parts of us.

Oh - we can give in to the low, to the easy, to the flesh... but let's reach up to the higher ground, lean in to the spirit, and be led.  

Let's come in to agreement with our giftings... our callings, and let's grab that same attitude and say it as a matter of fact:

A Dancers gonna Dance.

A Painters gonna Paint.

A Singers gonna Sing.

A Writers gonna Write.

What If... that was true?  

What if - we really did?  

What if we stopped listening to all the reasons why... why we are not a Dancer/Painter/Singer/Writer... why we aren't qualified, aren't as good, can't compare, can't compete.

What if we just leaned in and we let it happen... consistently, not because we think we are somehow finally educated enough or gifted or we finally have an audience... 

but what if we let it happen because...

because we simply can't not.

I write.  I write by hand, pen to paper... messy and quick-like.
I write. Fingers across keys, clicking and tapping and pausing ever so slightly, waiting for the next thought to come.

I write.  Not so you will read, although - I pray you will. 

I write - because I can't not write.

I write because when I write -
I hear my own thoughts...
I process out my feelings...
I preach to the choir.

When I write - I see words turn into pictures
and the pictures are the portraits of my life
and I want to frame them and put them on display
not so you will look to me,
but so that you will look to HIM. 

The Author and Finisher of every piece... 
of every post... 
of every heart bled out dry here on this blog.
The Healer and Lover of my soul
who holds me tight,
as I slowly exhale,
leaving it all out in the open,
and I bring this to a close.

{STOP}

How fun how these Five Minutes can take us by surprise, isn't it?

Speak Life. Be Love. Shine On.
~Karrilee~

Five Minute Fridays gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click here to read what others have to say about "WRITE"  

What You Most Want to Hear on those Very Bad Days

I know...  There are those days... those no good, horrible, very bad days.  We all have 'em.  

Sometimes - before the feet even hit the floor, you see them coming for you.  Other times... well, other times it can seem like just any other day until -blindsided-, dumbstruck, knocked off center or off course with one (sucker) punch that just right out steals your breath away.

Whether today is one of those days for you (oh how I pray it's not) or you haven't had one for a long long time (I pray this is true) - I know you remember. You know how the thick fog just rolls right on in, and with it comes a blanket that lacks clear thinking. You can recall the heaviness that pulled down at you, threatening to take you under - if not under life - at least under covers.  

When the whispering lies of a shouting enemy make you deaf to the still small Voice of love, how does one break through? What reminders are needed on those kinds of days?

Chances are good that you may be leaning in a bit closer, reading these words tapped out a little slower... looking for hope... grasping for light... after all, for each of us, a breakthrough is what is needed.

My first thoughts to this question were that we have already talked about what you most want to hear on those kinds of days.  A couple of weeks ago, we talked about how You Are Loved... and last week, we talked about how You are Never Ever Ever Alone.

Two very good things - necessary truths, even- to remember when darkness rolls in and clouds your view. 

However, if you are like me - and I am guessing that maybe you are, what you MOST want to hear is nothing actually SPOKEN anyway.  

On my very bad days... I want to know that I am seen, that I am held, that I am understood, that I am heard - even in my silence!  

Yes - on my dark days, I rarely need more noise... as lovely as it may be.  Words are my love language, and I need them on all days - but on hard ones, I want to know through your silence, through your stroking the back of my hand, through your simply sitting beside me, through your knowing/seeing/loving look that can pierce straight through any fog, right into my soul.  

I want to know that I am seen, when I feel invisible.

I want to feel held, when I am dizzy and it seems as if I'm free falling. 

I want to know that I am understood... even when I am confused.

I want to know that I am heard, even if my words will not make sounds.

This is a tall request for just one person.  This is why a tribe, a sisterhood, the Body at large is so vital.  Even in them though - Who alone can reach in and make us feel seen/heard/understood - when everything within us tells us it's not true?  When we are seeking these things... wanting to be seen/heard/understood - aren't we really saying - tell me what I'm worth! Remind me that I count... of who I am.

Last week, at the end of an ordinary day - not very bad or very good, really - I felt myself being pulled a bit down. I felt it - though there was no reason for it.  I leaned in, and in leaning in, I found that what felt like darkness was actually a lot of 'working' on my part - it was a lot of 'going through the motions'... and I found myself crying out, "Lord, in all of our self-sufficiency, remind us that we are desperate for you!"

This... THIS is what we must remember and need most to hear on those Very Bad Days: That in all our self-sufficiency - both when we are doing it well, and when we feel like it is strangely out of our control - that we are - that we simply MUST BE - Desperate for Him!

I don't know about you, but I can forget. I can forget how I need Him and how He is all that I really need. When I am reminded of this truth, when I feel Him stirring up a desperate cry for more - I realize it is not more of this or that or the other thing - but it is a cry from the depths of my being for more of HIM! I want to remember that I am desperate for Him. 

It's not that we don't need someone to comfort us and tell us nice things. Someone with flesh and blood who can stand in and represent Him for us.  Of course this is nice and it does help.  But what we most need to hear on very bad days - and good days alike - is that He can be trusted... that He alone holds our futures in His hands and He always sees, always hears, always understands... and as much as we need to hear these things... we need to KNOW that these things are true of Him and Him alone.

For when we truly KNOW this... when we are reminded of our need for Him... when we are willing and able to see a little more clearly that it's not about us, but it's always been about Him, then the fog begins to lift and the sun breaks through the clouds...

For when we remember Him - well, we remember His words to us, His promises... His songs sung over us... and my prayer is that we remember this:

"Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!" ~ Jude 1:2 (The Message)

And this? This is all we really need to know!

Relax, sweet sister... on a good day and on a very bad day too... 
Relax, everything's gonna be alright! 

Rest, it's all coming together - in His time, for your good.  

Open your hearts, my friend... for Love is on the way!

Linking up and sharing a cup of coffee with Holley Gerth

and with Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory