Archive for March, 2009
March 30, 2009 @ 7:29 am | Filed under: It's a Girl Thing,It's funny!
March 23, 2009 @ 7:35 am | Filed under: Family,Uniquely Me
Do you ever have one of those days when you wish you could purchase some self-discipline in bulk at Sam’s or Costco’s, or maybe at least find it on clearance on one of those great end caps at Target?
I think maybe I’m having one of those days today. Spring Break was great. Just having the time off from classes and a break from studying was balm for my brain! Jordan was home so there was lots of family time, moments of laughter and fun and just good R&R.
But it’s Monday morning and Jordan is back on his college campus, Mike is back at work, and I am facing a brand new to-do list, that I need to give some time to before diving back into my own classes tomorrow. This list is all about the Big Adventure, as Mike has begun calling it. (More on that to come in the days to come.)
A part of me is longing for the familiar comfort of routine and all of its predictability. Another part of me is already right smack in the middle of the adventure. My heart is open to what is coming next, even in the moments when my head is still being it’s usual logical, list-making self. I love the fact that when God sends an invitation for a big adventure, He also delivers the courage and the faith that is often needed to make the most of the opportunity.
Nothing of quality that’s worth having comes easy. Or free.
Last week I spent countless hours cleaning out the closets in our house. Sorting through boxes and files and pictures, I made decision after decision as to what stayed and what went. This morning I’m finding that I’m doing the same thing in my heart, doing some internal inventory. Taking stock of what’s on the shelves of my heart, and in the drawers of my mind and soul. Coming to terms with what’s still good, and what can stand to be tossed.
Hopefully, since I’m a hoarder by nature, I’ll be sensitive to God’s voice and heed his direction to clean out the clutter. I feel challenged this morning to make room for all He has waiting for me.
I have a feeling a healthy dose of self-discipline may be in order. Which brings me back to Target.
Seriously. Wouldn’t it be the coolest if we could pick up a box or bag or CRATE of self-discipline at our local, friendly Target?
March 19, 2009 @ 9:10 am | Filed under: The Writing Life,Uniquely Me
When I started this blog, the intention was to give tiny glimpses into a writer’s mind. Not necessarily a writer’s life. ‘Cause let’s face it. The writing life – most days – isn’t that grand! Instead, it’s a lonely road, one you want to detour from often, just so you can ‘see’ folks again. Feel connected to the real world.
That’s on most days.
But then – quite unexepectedly – comes that morning when you wake up, your blood pumping just a bit quicker, your heart fluttering with excitement, nerves calm, fingers itching for the keyboard, your soul full to overflowing.
Fresh annointing.
A renewed one-on-one connection with God. The assurance that you’re on the exact path He has laid for you. The certainty that the stories on your heart – the ones that won’t leave you alone at night, even hours after you’ve logged off the computer – are the ones you’re meant to write.
You, and you alone.
Those mornings, those days – as rare as they sometimes seem – are worth everything.
Worth every hour I spend staring at the blank page, certain I’ll never come up with another intelligent, inspired sentence again. Let alone a whole book of them.
Worth every hour I stay shut inside my office, refusing to free myself from my self-imposed prison until I achieve my daily word count.
Worth every rejection I receive from well-meaning publishers, who love my writing (okay) but “don’t see your stories fitting the direction we plan to go at this point.”
It’s all worth it. And the reason for it seems so simple on those rare mornings.
I’ve found favor with my Maker. I’m doing the very thing He’s asked of me. I’m writing, and I’m writing the stories, the characters, the events He lays on my heart, imbeds in my conscience, and pierces through my soul.
I’m content in obedience.
I think I’ll be forever thankful for this call to write. Thankful for the privilege of having days free to pursue this calling. Thankful that He trusts me - ME – to tell stories that, in faith, will one day minister to specific needs in the lives of people I’ve never met.
I love being a writer.
Today.
March 18, 2009 @ 7:25 am | Filed under: Books,CFBA Reviews
Today I’d like to welcome author and speaker, Jill Savage. Jill’s recent book Real Moms…Real Jesus, just released, and I wanted to ask her about her real mom moments..Jill, tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.
Mark and I have been married 25 years and we have five children. Anne is 24 and married to our wonderful son-in-love, Matt. Evan is 21 and married to our beautiful daughter-in-love, Julie. Erica is 18 and a college student at Heartland Community College. Kolya is 15 and in the 8th grade. We adopted Kolya at the age of 9 from Russia—the God story about his adoption is included in the Real Moms…Real Jesus book. And Austin is 12 and in the 7th grade.
Tell us about your newest book Real Moms…Real Jesus?
Real Moms…Real Jesus is a book designed to help moms understand that when Jesus lived on this earth he was fully God, yet fully man. We don’t often think about the fact that he was a human being and he lived the full human experience: pain, hunger, fatigue, frustration, betrayal, disappointment. He experienced it all!
There’s one verse in the Bible about Jesus that simply says “large crowds followed him everywhere he went.” Well, isn’t that the life of a mom? Large crowds follow her to the bathroom. They follow her to the kitchen. To the grocery store. She’s in high demand! And when Jesus lived on this earth, He was in high demand, too.
Why did you want to write this book?
Most of us long for a friend who understands. Yes, we need girlfriends who understand what our life is like. But we also need to understand that we have a friend who understands in Jesus. Too many of us think of God as being distant and unable to relate to our daily struggles. But nothing could be further from the truth! He understands and he wants us to build our friendship with Him. He wants to not only be our Savior, but also our Friend.
What do you hope your readers will gain from this book?
I hope that readers will gain a new perspective about their relationship with Jesus. I also hope to weave God’s truth into the daily life of a mom.
What unique elements will the reader find in Real Moms…Real Jesus?
Each chapter looks at some character trait in Jesus’ life that can help us in our life as a mom. In between the chapters are interactive vignettes that provide brief, refreshing glimpses into our real, messy, busy lives.
There are also questions at the end of the chapter for further consideration and suggested Bible reading in the book of Matthew. If the reader chooses to pursue the suggested reading, she will have read the book of Matthew completely by the end of the book!
There is also a leader’s guide in the back of the book so it can be used in a group setting.
This is a Hearts at Home book. What is Hearts at Home?
Hearts at Home is an organization that encourages, educates, and equips women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home encourages moms through annual conferences, our extensive website (www.hearts-at-home.org), a free bi-weekly electronic newsletter, a radio program, and an entire line of books designed to meet the needs of moms all over the world!
Any closing thoughts?
I am very excited about this book! I believe that if a mom can strengthen her relationship with Jesus Christ, she will feel more equipped to be the mom she wants to be. I’m also offering an online book discussion on my blog beginning Tuesday, April 7. If you’d like to join us, you can subscribe to my blog at www.jillsavage.org.
I’d love to hear a reader’s thoughts after they read the book, too! You can connect to me through my blog at www.jillsavage.org.
Thanks, Jill, for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your real mom, real Jesus moments with us.
You can purchase your own copy of Real Moms…Real Jesus by clicking here.
And be sure to check out Hearts at Home, their conferences for moms, and all their online resources
here.
March 17, 2009 @ 7:00 am | Filed under: Family,The Solid Rock,Uniquely Me
“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.”
—Alan Cohen
____________________________
Ah, how this quote spoke to me this morning. Preached to me, is more like it.
—Alan Cohen
____________________________
Ah, how this quote spoke to me this morning. Preached to me, is more like it.
I – like most women – value security. There’s comfort in the familiar, reassurance in the mundane. We know what to expect, and pretty much when to expect it. While this life runs the risk of skating dangerously close to BORING, I have to say I prefer this ride over the wildly unpredictable roller coaster of the UNKNOWN.
But sometimes the normal – the FAMILIAR – can breed mediocrity and we begin to give less-than-our-very-best. When we finally get brave enough to truly face the situation with clarity we can then – and only then – summon the courage to venture into newer, unfamiliar waters. It is only there that we can meet newer, more mature challenges. And, really, it’s the challenges that promote personal growth. And personal growth is what we all need, isn’t it? Once in those waters…
I agonize.
I might weep. Grieve, even. My spirit and my soul tend to lay claim to my every thought and action. I don’t want to make a change. Even so, life is all about change. In no way at all do I want to miss out on what God has for me for fear of the unknown. With hesitancy, I feel myself being drawn to the deeper things.
I allow the waters to suck me into their uncertain depths.
I may retreat for a while. Retreat from all the noise, all the distractions, all the pulls of the world around me. I might share with no one the conflicting and warring emotions tugging for proprietorship in my soul. I enclose myself in the only place I know will bring healing and hope for my bruised spirit.
And then I pray.
You know the kind of prayers I’m talking about. The ones that seem to claw their way from the innermost parts of your being. The ones where words elude you, fail you, yet you pray on, your spirit interceding for the human being that you are. But it’s only in those moments of uncertainty, of brand-spanking-newness that you somehow sense that in your trevail you are giving birth to something new.
So I surrender.
Once in the murky, uncertain waters of what I once perceived as scary territory, I discover treasures. Pieces of beauty that I would never have seen otherwise. My eyes adjust to the dimness of the situation and I became still, doing the only thing I knew to do. What I’ve always been taught to do. Be still, and know that I am God. Verses from the Bible became my food. Lyrics from songs became a healing balm for my soul. Worship – though often wordless – brings a quenching to my thirst.
After a while, I realize I no longer flail at the water surrounding me. No longer struggle against the lessons these depths are trying to teach me. Acceptance, slow yet persistent, begins to inch its way into my conscience. And then the AMAZING…
…the healing of soul and spirit comes to me.
I break the surface again, and breathe in great gulps of fresh peace. I’d gone under in a black-and-white world, but now the colors around me bloom with vibrancy and brilliance and techni-color supremacy. The scales are gone from eyes, the pain gone from my heart, and doubt gone from my spirit.
I am different. Yet the same. I’ve released the familiar. Yet I’m more comfortable than ever before. I stand still and KNOW. I have moved into the deeper waters. I have security that cannot fail.
I am no closer to knowing my future. Some dreams may come true. I may have to bid good-bye to still others. There will no doubt be days that appear cloudy and uncertain. There will be days when the familiar once again blankets me, lulling me into a complacent existence that feels wonderful, but has the potential to stagnate the growth that I crave. And then it will be time for my focus to change again.
All that I am, all that I hope to be, is in HIM.
That’s it for me. Nothing else matters. There’s comfort in that. It’s familiar. Yet it’s ever-changing, pulling at me, tugging on my heart’s door – begging me to come deeper still.
And so I will. I’m letting go and moving willingly into the deeper waters.
And in that movement I’ll know POWER.
And in that power I’ll know LOVE.
And love brings LIFE.
And I really love LIFE!
March 12, 2009 @ 8:25 am | Filed under: 5 Minutes for Mom,Faith Lifts,Family,The Solid Rock
I posted over at 5 Minutes for Faith today. Come by and visit!
Happy Thursday!
March 11, 2009 @ 7:25 am | Filed under: Family,Pure Sunshine
Kenzie Kate loses another tooth!
March 9, 2009 @ 8:22 am | Filed under: School Stuff,The Writing Life,Uniquely Me
“Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.” — H. Jackson Brown, Jr. Author
I’m considering this quote this morning as I sit at the computer and try my best to put the busy weekend’s activities behind me, and begin yet another week of writing and school work. It would be nice right about now to be able to lasso the euphoric feelings of this past Friday afternoon when I contracted the fever while at Hobby Lobby. Instead, it’s not only Monday morning but Daylight Savings Time Monday morning. I have the yawn factor, puffy eyes, and slightly disoriented feelings to prove it!
Not a lot has changed between five o’clock on Friday and now except the need to once again apply pressure that just doesn’t feel so good. Especially on Monday mornings, right? It’s time to dive back into full story mode and – write. And study. And be as diligent as possible at both. I keep waiting for the “warming up” period of writing to be obselete. But you know what? I think I’m beginning to realize that this apprehension, this hesitancy when I first sit down to the keyboard, is just going to be part of the game plan.
So as I try to rein in my thoughts, corral my emotions, and begin the arduous task of enforcing a huge dose of self-discipline, I’m thinking about the words in this quote. When I begin a story, I have a pretty good idea of the road map the story will ultimately travel. What I don’t know, however, is how it will GET there.
It’s always a faith walk with me, and maybe that’s one of the reasons I feel such uncertainty on some days. I’m relinquishing control, and asking God to once again speak through my words. I learned long ago that giving over that control brings the greatest sense of liberty and productivity. But it still doesn’t make it an easy task, does it?
For me, it means becoming quiet in spirit and in mind. While it’s not always easy getting there, it’s only when I’m enclosed with Him, that I can finally tap into the inspiration I need to get the work accomplished. So – with a fresh cup of coffee at my side, my manuscript on the screen in front of me, and His truths blazing in my heart – I begin this day.
What about YOU? How do you self-motivate?
What works for YOU?
March 6, 2009 @ 5:25 pm | Filed under: It's a Girl Thing,Uniquely Me
Has anyone noticed that Spring has arrived in all her vibrant regalia in Hobby Lobby?
I mean, long gone are the days of pale pastel pinks, blues, yellows and greens from when we were kids. No, now Spring pulls out the big guns – rich, luxurious versions of the older hues. The next generation, I guess, of the Springtime hues.
Well, they were on point today at Hobby Lobby, catching my attention as soon as my windswept hair was corralled back into place and I could actually take a first look around. Lining each endcap and display for as far as the eye could see were these sassy, flirty colors that for some reason just made me want to climb up on a chair and yell, I’m glad I’m a girl!
I had ducked inside for what I thought would be a five minute errand. The mission was simple, the plan was perfect. I was in the middle of making centerpieces for Lindsey’s shower and needed a couple of terra cotta pots, a few dowel rods, tulle, and some spray paint.
Having lost patience with most all stores in the past months and finding even the most simple of shopping excursions bordering on excruciating these days, I pulled out my meager list and prepared to knock this mission out in no time flat.
I managed to pick out the pots before the fever struck, thank goodness. I manuevered the cart through the aisles, trying my best to shield my eyes from the cute, trendy, Spring-y things that all of a sudden seemed to surround, then envelope, me.
By the time I reached the fabric department, I wasn’t feeling like myself at all. I grabbed the bolts of tulle and handed them to the clerk to cut. I tried to maintain my conversation with her, but I was terribly distracted by bolt after bolt after bolt after bolt… (and yes, I could go on) of the most precious, brightly colored calico printed fabric I’ve ever seen in my life. Bold stripes, perky florals, and amazing polka dotted prints reached out for me.
My reaction was immediate. I must sew. Never mind the fact that I’ve not sewn a stitch since the great Home Ec debacle of 1985. And forget about the fact that nothing has been known to try my patience and make me want to say not-so-nice words like having to rip out seams and begin again. And – oh yeah – I’ve not owned a sewing machine in over a decade.
It was so tough, but I finally managed to drag my eyes from this coveted fabric and back to the mission at hand. Centerpieces, Staci, centerpieces. Avoiding all eye contact with end caps, I walked around the store and procurred my dowel rods and two cans of spray paint. Feeling slightly more like myself again, I headed for the register, still not really sure what had just happened, but feeling certain I had just eluded something critical.
I paid for my purchases and reached for my bags, proud that everything fit into two small bags. Now how often does that happen? I was within ten feet of the front entrance of the store – almost home free, mind you – when the second wave of mystery disease hit. Large framed watercolors – ornate and inspiring – surrounded a mamouth sign heralding an upcoming workshop where “You can indulge that inner painter that lives within you.”
Yes! I must paint. I took in the paintings, instantly recognizing techniques and methods that must have somehow lodged in the depths of my brain after my art history class last semester and not been able to find a way out. A deep appreciation for the arts that I never even knew I had (not even during a thirteen week class devoted to the subject) gripped me in that moment and my fingers itched to grasp a brush, sit before a blank canvas on a green, grassy knoll somewhere -
I made a run for it at that point, clutching my two meager little bags to my chest, and letting the wind have its way with my hair.
And that, my sweet friends, is what you call SPRING FEVER!!!
March 5, 2009 @ 10:08 am | Filed under: Soul Food,The Solid Rock
Blessings have always seemed to be the symbol of the favor of God, of being in His will. And when they’ve rained down upon my head, I have to say that I have felt incredibly loved by God.
Not that I deserved the blessings – never, ever will that be the case – but that, by receiving them, I’d reached some sort of apex.
That’s how I used to think.
Now I know differently.
Blessings don’t bring fulfillment. If you don’t believe this, think back over the blessings in your life.
The new house? It’s beautiful, wonderful, exactly what you’d dreamed of.
But at the end of the day, when you lay down to sleep, it’s still a house. With responsibilities, chores, and pressures built right in. And eventually your family will outgrow even the new house, and you’ll want a larger, nicer one.
A promotion? It’s what we all want, what we work so diligently toward. But again, it’s a job, and as with any job, there are multi-faceted issues that make it seem less than a blessing on many days. And one day, even that dream job will appear stale, and you’ll find it no longer satisfies.
We always want more.
The same is true with our spiritual blessings. Just beyond blessings, lies another place. A place we don’t like to talk of much, let alone visit.
Brokenness.
When we reach that point, well…that’s where we find the true will of God. That’s when we know that yes, indeed we are in His perfect will.
It may not always be the most comfortable spot to be.
It may not be the place of importance or stature we thought we wanted.
It may take us outside personal comfort zones and force us into situations that are foreign and unfamiliar.
But it’s in those places we find new levels of relationship with God.
Blessings are a sign He loves us. In spite of all our faults, our failures, our inadequacies, He loves us still.
But brokenness is a sign we’ve tapped into a new realm of relationship.
Think of Abraham. Isaac, the son of his old age, was nothing short of a blessing straight from God. But as Isaac lay on the altar of sacrifice, Abraham was brought to a place of brokenness.
The blessing was no longer enough. It was only after that time of brokenness that Abraham was brought into a new realm of relationship with God.
And what about Job? No one would ever dispute that blessings were abundant in Job’s life. If blessings were a sign of favor, well, Job certainly had favor.
But it was only after losing these blessings, and coming to a place of brokenness, that Job was at last lifted to a new realm. A place he would never have reached had it not been for brokenness.
Brokenness leaves us transparent, needy, and vulnerable.
It also leaves us in a place to be reshaped, remolded, and fashioned into vessels He can truly use.
When the blessing isn’t enough…
