Archives For Community

Girls, let’s encourage the men

encourage men collage

I hardly know how to begin this post, I’m so excited. A few weeks ago, when You Are My Girls relaunched and Loop kicked off, I shared that Thursdays would be the day called “Share”.  I have walked the road of silence and self-protection long enough to know I don’t like that place of hiding anymore. It has done not one good thing for my relationships–with family or with friends–and it is certainly not good for my heart.

We are meant to live out the glory of God in us–not hide our true selves from the world.

You are My Girls is a place to share our true hearts, in community–a place to step out into that occasionally uncomfortable but perfectly beautiful place where He calls us to be, with Him. It is a place to come to be reminded who we are, that we are His girls, that we are adored and have an adventure to live out, with Him.

family adventure

You are My Girls is a voice crying out for community–saying, “come on, girls, we need to remind each other what is most true.” And this reminder is what prompted Loop: what you need to know–His voice spoken to one of these girls and sent out, in twice a week emails, when you subscribe.

For we are made to proclaim His life in us, girls.

You and me? . . . We are called to be vulnerable and bold, too.

And here comes the news that makes my heart leap with joy-filled expectation for what God is doing . . . because girls, our men need to be encouraged, too.  I am thrilled to let you know about Wire: connecting you to truth, a new email devotional FOR MEN, succinct and rooted in scripture, delivered to inboxes twice a week, for free.

wireheader

And here’s the part I also love: it’s not sent from me, but from my buddy, my partner, my best friend and love of my life–my husband, Justin.

Over at our new site just getting off the ground–Gather Ministries–you can read a bit about the new adventure Justin and I have been working on, behind the scenes, for months now. You can also read about Justin’s heart for speaking to men, just like God has given me a heart for speaking into the hearts of women. We are doing our best to follow God, step by step.

Although this is the first time I’ve shared anything about Gather Ministries here, you have witnessed the ups and downs of the journey Justin and I have been on with Him from my posts over the last few weeks.  And I am encouraged by His words in the very first Loop, received the very first day you hit subscribe:

Take a Step

I am the One who carries you—through moments when you feel you can no longer stand. I have desired you, loved you, from the beginning. I would not leave you. You are where I want to be. So, I remain close. I remain with you.

What is it like to remain with Me? Remaining with Me is not a stagnant place. We may wait together, be wise and patient and take small steps together. But when it is time to step forward into something more, you must rely even more on my love for you to propel you on.

But I am with you here, too. I whisper, “Go on, girl, my daughter. Remember I Am with you.”

You are ever invited deeper—deeper into the knowledge and awareness of my love for you. Take a step with Me. Remember we go together.

Girls, let’s say yes to encouraging each other. Let’s say yes to community around us to cheer us on. Let’s say yes to spreading His voice around. Here, you can subscribe to Loop. And here, you can let your husband, your friends, your family, and your brothers, know about and sign up for Wire.

Can you help me spread the word?

Girls, let’s jump on in,

Jennifersignaturescript

May 9, 2013 — 6 Comments
In Adventure, Community, Marriage
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Girl, you have what it takes

rLoop #10 900px

{Subscribers, click here to hear my heart.}

Happily linking up with Jen and other beautiful sisters at Soli Deo Gloria.

May 6, 2013 — 17 Comments
In Community, Video
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Gather (an inRL story, kind of)

inRL postcardsIscriptsit on the floor of my striped rug, the one with my favorite colors and see us gathered in His hands. I share with women who sit on the couch where my kids plop down and I pile up my unfolded laundry each week. I lean my back against cool plaster wall and hear the familiar story–completely personal and perfectly unique and totally all of ours all at once.

We gather, our heart’s cry to be loved.

We gather, the voice of our own broken heart.

We gather, desperate to be pursued and loved, yet also called to love and to be the pursuer.

Oh, girl, I know. I know.

inRL pillow

I invite people He brings into my home for the incourage (in)RL conference, on Saturday. I am excited to meet women I’ve never met. They register their names on the meetup site to tell me they are coming. In addition to four dear friends–some of whom I get to see face-to-face too seldom–one of the three brave strangers comes. And there is something amazing about opening up your home–your heart–and saying come on in. I don’t know you yet–but He does–and I trust Him, so I will welcome you and love you, too.

And, oh, girls, how He gathers, doesn’t He? We aren’t strangers here. Not at all.

inRL mantle

I write this post with my throat aching like it does when the tears come. I pray before I write that He gives me words–that I speak His heart . . .always, His heart. And I am learning now, in the emails I receive from sisters who receive Loop but who may never comment on this here blog . . . there are women whom He loves who just–oh, Father–simply, need to know they are loved.

But letting ourselves be known and loved is just not so easy, sometimes, is it?

Oh, girl. I type these words for you. We can’t all come into each other’s living rooms when we want to. We can’t all see each other face to face . . . until that one day, girl. Until that one day–that will, indeed, come–and we can.

But until then, there is loneliness, and there is fear. There is isolation and sadness of heart. There is frustration and self-condemnation and suffering and hiding.

Oh, Father, get us out of hiding. Show us where You are.

inRL flowers

But, girl–you, here, behind the screen–I write to you. I write to you because I know what it is like to feel alone and what it is like to hide. I know what it is like to want to be someone completely different than I am. I know what it is like to strive and yearn and do almost anything–anything–to be loved.

I wish you could have come on over to my home on Saturday. I wish you could have walked up my bumpy driveway, with the faded chalk art and up the three steps to the porch of my little gray house. I wish I could have opened up the door and seen your face and welcomed you in with the biggest hug, His arms wrapped around us both.

I wish I could have prayed with you and offered you a vanilla bean cupcake with frosting piled high. I wish I could have heard you tell your story and share with you mine. I wish I could have told you how community can scare me because I don’t know what it will require. I wish I could have told you I am so thankful you are here, in all your broken wholeness. I wish we could share together the details of why we are so desperate for Him and thankful for the way He heals. Oh, girl, yes, He heals.

inRL cupcakes

I wish I could have heard what you love to do for fun, what makes your heart beat fast, and what fears come in the night. I wish I could have seen your smile, the sparkle in your eyes when you share what you love most, and the movement of your hands. I wish I could have heard the sound of your voice and been blessed by just being with you. Oh, girl, you would bless me.

You bless.

inRL vase

But for now, I lay on the floor in the dark, my hands on these keys in the front room where I would have first let you in. And you are here now. For real. Because He does amazing things and knows how to gather, for real, even if it is just behind a screen right now.

Maybe, this moment, we hold as a gift . . .because more is just around the corner for us, friend.

He is enough.

inRL beauty

And someday, friend, I will get to see you. And we will hold hands and sing loud and there will be no distance, no separation, no disunity.

We will be one. In real Life.

I can hardly wait.

What is the hardest thing or most beautiful thing about community, for you? I would so love to hear your heart. We can also connect over at You Are My Girls community, on Facebook. . . and you can see the photo of the six of us, on Saturday! :)

Love,

Jennifersignaturescript

April 29, 2013 — 19 Comments
In Community, Desire, Intimacy, {in}courage
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It’s hard to be real, sometimes

Iscriptn this post I share my heart around being real–and how it isn’t always so easy. . .even when community is safe.  I went to My Girls today not wanting to share my heart–not wanting to be open and authentic with my friends.

Do you ever struggle with being real?

And in this video I am using my real-life words to share my struggle here, with you–no script, nothing prepared. . . It is important that I share with you my rough-around-the-edges self. It is important that I not hide. It is important that I don’t edit this and tie up the post with a pretty bow.

So I hope you push ‘play’. And I hope you share with me, in an email, or at You Are My Girls community–or in the comments, with all of the girls here–how you might struggle with this, too.

How might we share our real heart with one another here. . . in all its glory (and temporary uncomfortableness, too)?

Let’s not keep what we are wrestling with to ourselves.

It’s seldom better that way.

Love to you, His girls,

Jennifersignaturescript

Linking with the beautiful community over at Jen’s. 

 

April 22, 2013 — 7 Comments
In Community, Confession, Video
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When I remember we are sisters

on the way pin 900

We feel fragile, we warrior-girls, when we let God’s love in us pour out–offerings of love and truth for our neighbors, our friends, our spouses to hear. But we are sisters, together, along the way. . . Read more of my heart about sisterhood, at More to Be.

Come on over girls, to share in the discussion about sisterhood.

I can’t wait to hear your heart

Gratefully,

Jennifersignaturescript

April 19, 2013 — Leave a comment
In Community
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When the word “community” scares you

swings light
Girls, I am writing about community today. And you are going to want to make sure you read through to the end of this post. There is a fun invitation for you at the end that I would really hate for you to miss.

But first, can I tell you how beautiful and amazing this new community is that God is forming around Loop? I so cherish your emails about what He is doing in you–how He is speaking to your heart. I will be posting tomorrow about how this Monday’s Loop spoke to me. Don’t miss out. Make sure you subscribe to receive your twice a week emails of encouragement, God’s heart for you.  I hope you don’t hesitate to jump in, either through an email response to me, or by a comment in tomorrow’s post.

We are joined in community here, friends. You being here, reading this, is no mistake. We are made to be encouraged by each other.

And this is why I couldn’t help but ask God what He would say to us today, about community. His words are life for this ever thirsty girl.

And this is what I heard Him say:

Community is where I am. Community is where there is a gathering, in love–where it is safe and it is good and I lead. Community is where there are tears and there is laughter and there is a stripping of all falseness, all hiding. Community is the gathering, the collection, the communion of spirits–your spirit–with Mine. Community is the beginning of gathering place, where there is desperation, and rawness is rewarded. Community is invitation to Me.

Community is closeness. It is intimacy. It is awakening to more–more of Me.

Let me give you more of Me.

Community is the blossoming that comes after planting, after pruning, after watering, after tilling, after rocks are removed–and in the middle of ground needing my care.

Community is not about words. It is not about events and organizations and lists. Community is not about a calendar and a clock and a schedule and a cookie cutter design.

Community is a dance, a messy, wild dance where there is tripping and falling, and rising and a grabbing hold of hands–my hand, my love.

swings high

Community is the stumbling when things are hard and trusting that I lead you to a better place. Community is the knock at your door when you don’t want to answer it but you are desperate to be understood and to know you are not alone. Community is the phone call and the saying  ’yes’ to be known, to be heard, to let your voice join mine. It is the singing of angels at my feet, the resounding that I hear.

Community is the joining together of energies, your heart-song as it becomes more fully what I have designed for it to become, all along. Community, daughters, is the center–the place where I am. Community is where I reside. It is not a place of pressure, of guilt, of comparison, of wishing you were different or less or more.

Community is a raised hand, a reaching for Me, a risk where it is safe–because I am there. Community is stepping into warmth–into welcome. It is stepping out on behalf of another whom has yet to feel the hug of arms wrapped around her neck.

Community is the quenching of thirst that calls you home, that calls you to the real place, the place where you are known and loved and discovered anew.

Community is where I show you who you are and where love is etched even deeper into the design I have placed on your heart.

swings color

Girls, I ask Him what community means because it is something I both crave and fear. I am made to be known–but oh, how I fear rejection and know my only security is my identity in Christ. How He sees me is my safe place–and it is that faith that equips me to take risks, in community, in His name. I must go where He calls me. I must trust that being vulnerable with my heart, with the people He brings into my life, is the invitation to enter deeper into relationship with Him.

And I can’t miss out on that. He is making me love Him too much. I just can’t get enough.

Show us where you are, Father. Reveal more of yourself to us. Show us, practically what community looks like for each of your girls reading these words this moment. We trust you and want all that you have. We want to trust you more, be stripped away of all ways we try to hide. Bring us deeper into community–true relationship–with You.

Would you like to be loved on in real life, friends? Would you like to meet up, in community in just two weeks?

Register for the (in)courage IRL conference and spend hours with women–like me–who need to be gathered up, in His safe place, with His girls. The conference is free–and there are hundreds of IRL conference gatherings going on all over the world. Click here to learn more about (in)RL. Click here to register.

Check out this fun video to hear about the heart for (in)couragers connecting with women, across the screen, and in real life. You’ll see me, with beautiful friends, Michele-Lyn and Elisa, near the end!

And this is my official invitation to you to rsvp to come on over to my house on Saturday afternoon, April 27!

(Please say you live in Northern California and that you can come!) Here is where you can register for the conference that is happening, at my place!

In the meantime: what do you think of when you think of the word “community”? How do you need community? What scares you about it? How can I pray for you? How can the You Are My Girls community and Loop community be a place where community can be more greatly fostered?

I would super-love to hear what you have to say. (And come on over to Allume today, too, to read my post on intimacy and marriage.)

Love being gathered up with you, His girls,

Jennifersignaturescript

linking this post with the community of sisters at Jen’s

April 14, 2013 — 31 Comments
In Community, Faith, Intimacy, {in}courage
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Soak

soak collage
On Wednesdays, I want You Are My Girls to be a place for you to come and be encouraged–to say yes to His invitation to be with Him–to soak Him up. 

I wonder if a bunch of words on this screen isn’t what you need today. I wonder if what we each need right now is just the reminder that He is here. He is with us. He is present and desiring our company, our heart, our will–awake and fully surrendered–to Him.

So, my words today are few:

Close your eyes for a moment and let your heart speak its deepest desires–give them up to Him:

that worry,

that pain from the past that won’t go away,

that anger and hurt,

that sorrow,

that fear,

that exhaustion,

that doubt.

Let Him come in, girls. He wants to fill the space where you are. He wants to show you more of His love for you. He wants to let you listen to the sound of His laughter, His excitement for this day, His eagerness to show you what He has for you, the joy He feels for being with you.

You are His–His girl. He does not want to be anywhere else but where you are. Crazy and awesome and true.

He just can’t get enough of you, girl.

Lean into that.

You are enough. You are made perfectly and uniquely–with a life that is made to be full of Him, full of joy and hope and freedom.

This is what is true.

Let all else fall away.

And while I wish I could be with you face to face when I share this with you, know that I am praying for you–and that I am so thankful for you, for the girls He collects here. He has amazing dreams for us, friends.

Love,

Jennifersignaturescript

April 10, 2013 — 3 Comments
In Community, Faith, Soak
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Why adult friendships feel trickier now than those when we were kids

little feet

Friendship and hanging out used to feel simple: my friend Kim would call me up on the phone and ask me if I could come over to play. She didn’t have any siblings other than an older brother who stayed clear of us, and she lived in town. I had four younger siblings and lived out in the middle of nowhere. Going to Kim’s to play–or for a sleepover–was always new and fun.

At Kim’s we jumped on ten-speeds to go to our town’s little grocery store to buy red ropes and Slim Jims. (Did you ever get to eat those delicious juice-squirting, preservative-filled sticks of packaged meat?) On the way back, we’d often crawl into the old, open boxcars abandoned on the railroad tracks behind her house and stay there for hours, our bare legs covered with dirt from the ancient floorboards. We imagined we were running away.

Kim’s backyard was fun, too. Behind the house was a big shed with cobwebbed, paned windows that housed her discarded baby dolls, her Better Crocker magic oven, and stacks of old quilts and books. We would sneak in there, with a huge plastic bag of marshmallows and turn on the old gas stove her dad kept in there and pretend we were camping. Melted goo would coat our hands after just a few minutes–our index fingers and thumbs satisfactorily super glued.

Kim’s house, in junior high, was where I saw my first rated-R movies, those bad-eighties ones with high schoolers always trying to have sex. We’d sleep on the floor of the thick brown wall-to-wall carpet, underneath the dining table in the front room, with a thin blanket pulled up over us. I was always freezing, out there on the floor, in the dark. I routinely missed home, in the quiet house. All the freedom that came with daytime adventures was no longer important. To go to sleep, you want to feel safe.

From Kim, I learned the then-horror of a French kiss. Kim demonstrated on her pillow what she saw her brother doing with his girlfriend in their driveway the week before. It was definitely one of the most bewildering things I had ever seen. But it was fascinating, too. As the oldest in my family, I didn’t have the benefit of having an older brother who paved the way for what adulthood would most certainly look like. Or so I thought.

Spending time with girlfriends has changed, as an adult. There seems to be less time to have those long-drawn-out conversations about the big and not-so-big questions–the wondering about why Whitney’s mom and dad weren’t staying together, or the debating about who was cuter on the Dukes of Hazard, Bo or Luke. (Well, Bo, of course!)  Time feels less readily available–or maybe we are less willing to be vulnerable and to make sure getting together with friends truly happens–despite the busyness of work, family, and all the other responsibilities that come with being a grown-up.

Being an adult has a weight to it–the heaviness of work and family and financial responsibilities. It can feel difficult to take those risks we found easier to make, in childhood. Calling up a neighbor and inviting her over. Saying ‘yes’ to a friend you haven’t seen in a while who asks you to meet her for coffee. We have trouble surrendering, I think, to what our hearts are made for–connection, transparency, vulnerability–the laying down of any masks that hide our true selves so that we can more readily live out the identities God has designed, just for us.

I need to be invited over for coffee. Or a walk. Or a bike ride up a hill that is too difficult for me to manage on my own so I’ll need your cheering by my side to get me through it.

I need to say ‘yes’ to opportunities for connection. And I also need to seek them out myself. I should write and send that letter to my niece. She loves getting letters–and it would make my sister smile. I should answer the phone when my friend calls instead of letting it go to voicemail because I have just too many things to do. I need to hear her voice. I need to be open and available to the people God puts in my life to love.

I am still learning how to be vulnerable with friends. And I am also still learning the importance of seeking out relationships I so desperately need.

While I may not feel as carefree and innocent as I was a child, I know I need friends–women who know me and teach me and love me. I need this more so than ever, as an adult.

We have within us the yearning for friendship, the desire for connection, the heart that longs to be included, wanted, seen.

How do you struggle here? Were friendships easier for you as a child than they are now, as an adult? What gets in the way to saying ‘yes’ to friendship? How can we do a better job of taking risks and jumping in?

April 7, 2013 — 4 Comments
In Community, Story
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When a look back shows you where you’re going

Iscript‘ve been blogging here for two years now, and I’ve never been more excited about what is in store for all of us, at You Are My Girls. For the longest time the tag line for the the blog has been “a place to remember who you are.” And now I’ve changed it, and I love what it inspires in me every time I think about it: You are My girls: what we need to remember.

Let me give you some background . .  and a walk down memory lane–using my old blog headers and tag line, as inspiration.

The title of the blog, You are My girls, was inspired by the name whispered to me when I asked God what He called my four girlfriends and me, when we gathered together, to listen to Him. We were meeting together regularly, a few years ago, during the summer. For two-three hours every week, the five of us collected our kids (14, in total), so they could play in the backyard together. (We had to hire a sitter so they wouldn’t all kill each other.) We spent the time discussing a book and sharing our hearts with one another.

We were more vulnerable and real with one another than we had been the previous five years we had been friends. I think we were tired of hiding and pretending we needed to have it all together to be accepted and loved.

Our meeting was the beginning of the group, My Girls. My Girls prompted the creation of this blog.

orangesquiggle

I had been leading My Girls, in my home, for a year already, before I started to write here. And I wanted the blog to represent a space where, on-line, His girls could gather, like some do, in real life, in the front room of my house.  I live in an old house, with picture rail, and I love being able to hang pictures in cool frames upon these old lathe and plaster walls.

My very first header ever–the one my husband lovingly made me for Mother’s Day, in 2011–represents this metaphorical gathering place. I asked him to create something with my favorite colors–with a background that looked like cheerful wallpaper, but in a design that I would pick out for a throw pillow in my front room.

I asked him to write “You are My girls” on an image of a mirror. I hoped the blog would be a place where readers would be encouraged to recognize and live out the truth of what God sees in them.

Our true identities are what God calls out within each of us–not what we can ever, physically, see.

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Finally, the photo of the almond orchard is symbolic for me. It is the picture closest to my heart–representing my beginning, the place where God is. It reminds me of two things–what I am capable of without Him, and the beauty that He creates, despite me making the darkest decision of my life.

Here are snapshots of the headers since then. I won’t go into as much detail describing them. I think they might tell a story, all by themselves. . .

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PageLines- YAMGprettyheader2.png

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And now, we have this:

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And it just makes me smile. What do you think?

I am experimenting with having a bit more of a schedule here, for a change. Here is what is on my heart for this space:

Gatherpinkon Mondays:  a focus on community, with My Girls and women being together, in real life, the inspiration.

ListenmauveTuesdays: writing inspired by Monday’s Loop. This will be a day where we gather in truth, sharing our hearts about what penetrated our heart, after we heard God’s words. (I am hoping there might be a link-up here soon.)

SoakWednesdays: when I share a way we might practice hearing–and being with–God.

ShareThursdays: when I don’t hold back and share what is on my heart. (Want to hold my hand and be vulnerable with me?)

InspireFridays: when I share experiences, books, resources (and eventually, interviews with His girls) that have inspired me towards deepening my relationship with God.

What are you most excited about? What else would you like to see here?

Love to you this weekend, His girls.

So grateful to be here, with you,

Jennifersignaturescript

 

 

April 5, 2013 — 2 Comments
In Community, Identity, Loop
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The biggest thing that’s ever happened here

Iscript‘ve been sharing little snippets at You Are My Girls community on Facebook about what has been making my heart beat fast. I’ve been busy dreaming and listening and praying and planning. I’ve been hinting that something cool is coming to You Are My Girls soon.

And, finally, it’s ready to go:

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I am scared and excited and nervous and thrilled. I was up late last night (well, I didn’t sleep much, actually) struggling with landing page css and directory stuff . . .blah, blah, blah. And I am sure there might be some more kinks to be worked out.

And I’ve loved it. I have loved every minute working on it.

It is my heart for you. It is a piece of my heart for this space.

Loop is a little bit experiment. . . and whole lot crazy vulnerable. I  have never felt so raw in years. . . not since my first public confession about my past, to a friend who loved me.

And it is good for me. It is something I Iove. It has been reminding me of the word that God put on my heart to lean into, with Him, this year: Together.

Loop is an invitation to shared journey–the gathering of His girls into something more. It is an opportunity to go deeper and be stretched wider. It is the chance to quiet ourselves in new ways–and reach out to each other, as we seek, even more, to trust God.

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I write a lot here about stepping further into our identity, to ask God those questions about what we love to do and why.

God places within us desires and talents unlike anyone else’s. But we are so much alike, too.

We share the journey to be vulnerable and alive and afraid and excited. We want to discover, together, more of who He’s made us to be. Because then, we step more fully into what He invites us to do, with Him.

Because you know where joy and freedom await us, friend? In our life fully surrendered to God, living out the truth of our identities, in Him.  (I’ve been thinking that this true self, united with Him, must be the foundation of our worship, too.)

And that is what Loop is about.

Subscribers, if you haven’t seen the page talking all about Loop and how much I love it and believe in it, you are going to have click on over to check out the details. You are going to want to get involved. I am hoping you are going to want to subscribe to twice a week emails–completely separate from posts from You Are My Girls.

But it is also connected . . .

There is a lot more unfolding at You Are My Girls, too, girls. The new menu heading “Journal” above lays out some of the fun details. I’m going to explain it more to you in a post tomorrow.

I have never been more excited about being here, with you, gals. There is so much awesome stuff we get to do together–listening, exploring, sharing, trusting. . .

Who is with me?

Gratefully,

Jennifersignaturescript

April 4, 2013 — 10 Comments
In Community, Faith, Loop
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I messed up, and I’m going to tell you about it

dwelling placeDo you know how I love to be transparent with you? It is all I hope to do now. But it has taken years to get to this place of not wanting to hide.

Years before writing here, I cared only about self-protection. The creation of my image to others–how others perceive me–was my focus. Pride motivated me to share the good parts of myself and hide the bad.

When we worry about what others think of us more than the truth of how our Father perceives us, our self-image becomes an idol. It is the thing we worship. The temptation to make myself look like I have it all together, to my friends I see in real life, and to you, makes me say ‘yes’ to that lie that the Father’s love for me is conditional. If we believe we are loved just as we are, mess-ups and all, we are brave to share our hearts with one another. We are less afraid of rejection and disappointment.

What our Father thinks of us and invites us into is more important than what anyone else thinks. But God uses community around us so we can lay down any false self that we’ve picked up–the false self that is, in effect, distancing us from God’s heart. While the Holy Spirit never leaves us, we feel distant from God when we protect ourselves from community He’s given us. We should not try to be someone different by hiding our messes from one another. Honesty in community–community that is safe and a model of His love–moves us to be the woman God has created us to be.

I am called here, in this space to be bold and transparent. This new desire to be open with my heart began when the Holy Spirit came to me, showing Jesus next to me in an almond orchard, decades after I decided to make the most selfish decision of my life.

When you realize how much you are loved, despite making a choice that still makes you shudder to think about it, you realize this life is just too short to try to keep things hidden.

Our old self remains alive and the new self pushed down when we choose to hide the real us–mistakes and all–from community He has brought around us.

You are part of this community, for me, friends.

And when we are in the middle of this life of ours–full of its trials and mistakes and stories of getting ourselves up and trying again–we are going to mess up. And its going to feel uncomfortable. And we’re going to wish that mistake we made never happened.

I know, because I did that this week. I wounded a friend who I dearly love because pride got in the way. I withheld my friendship from her when she needed me most. We recently went through a tough situation together with someone we both care about deeply. And, in the middle of it, when my friend reached out to me in an email, for support, I pulled away and did not reply to her for two weeks.

And I can hardly believe I chose my old self of self-protection and pride rather than trusting God and loving her.

When we finally spoke yesterday, after two weeks of not talking, I realized how my silence to my friend wounded her so much more deeply than if I had reached out to her from the very beginning. I am still in conversation with God, trying to figure out the reason I did not let love for my friend pour out. But friends, I know pride was involved. I know my unwillingness to step into the mess with my friend and support her when she needed help was me thinking I knew better than God. And when I choose me rather than God I am turning my back on love.

And it hurts people, friends.

I was reminded by this wise sister’s post that we need to share the stuff we’re in the middle of working out in our hearts, with community, and not just the stuff we think we have all figured out.

We are a work in progress, and this Father of ours is not going to let us go. So, let’s not be afraid to share our messes with with another. I don’t want to hide sin and not let the community God brings around me to help me walk in the truth of His light.

What are you in the middle of this weekend, friends? How can we pray for you?

Do you know I listen to God’s heart for this My Girls community every day . . and I write it down. . .and something special is coming soon, in the next few weeks? Are you excited to hear what it is?

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March 23, 2013 — 18 Comments
In Community, Grace, Story
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Full Life and God-sized Dreams (an update)

I mumble the words, a little unsure, “I fear people won’t like me.” But it doesn’t sound right; it doesn’t feel completely true. We go around the circle, sharing what Holley Gerth calls our signature struggles, the places where we feel fear time and again, and how it influences our choices of how we live. Other fears are shared aloud:

“I’m afraid I won’t be a good mom.”

“I’m afraid I don’t do enough.”

“I fear my kids won’t grow up to be happy.”

“I fear rejection.”

“I fear I can’t love well in other people’s mess.”

And more.

When it’s my turn, my loopy scrawl in my journal doesn’t look familiar anymore. I fear people won’t like me? Is that my fear? It feels close, but not quite the right fit. I have to think about this.

journals

I am leading this group, and I love the opportunity to encourage my friends to recognize the strength within them, what is hiding just beneath the fear.

My friend who is afraid she won’t be a good mom overflows with love for her children, and she shows it to them everyday.

My friend who is afraid she doesn’t do enough gives and gives, serving on charitable boards and creating schools for underprivileged youth.

My friend who fears for her children’s future is a beacon of hope for her son, shining Christ’s light for all of her family, a presence of kindness and hope and encouragement.

My friend who fears rejection blesses people around her with her beautiful heart, the way she pours out Christ’s love without hesitation and gives fearlessly, tirelessly.

I am humbled.

I am also confused. Why do I struggle to share with these brave women who have become part of my heart? Why can’t I accurately name my fear?

I shared in my last post what I believe the reason is . . .

~~~~

In the evening, after the kids are tucked in bed, my husband comes home from his men’s group. He has spent hours with men who are fearless in facing their fears . . .fearless in their willingness to come together and be vulnerable. They celebrate their not having it all together. They know if they are open with their friends about what they are most afraid, these men will speak truth into them and fight battles on their behalf. Battles of the spirit that are hidden, that the enemy wishes were kept in the darkness.

These warrior men refuse to let darkness surround the hearts of their friends, whom they love. And with courage and with faith, they stand with their friends as fears are brought into the light. For this they know is true:

“[G]reater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

With the Spirit within them they cast fear into the darkness and let His light reveal His strength within them. They claim His presence and lift up every worry, every anxiety, every fear and say ‘yes’ a bit more to the full life offered them to live. They let Jesus’ words shine in their hearts:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

I want this life too. I want this full life. I want to not miss out on anything He has. And my not being able to give Him a fear that I can feel but I can’t name makes me yearn for Him to come to me and reveal the cause of my trouble.

And together, my husband and I sit at the kitchen counter and pray. My heart is heavy because I have been so busy lately. My God-sized dream is to write a book and I work on it when I can. It is one of the invitations God has for me right now–this invitation to lean on Him and be with Him and trust Him to give me direction and time and words.

And Justin listens and I hear God say it through him, so true: “I have this beautiful gift to give you, and I do give it to you. But you are distracted by many things and you put up your finger, asking for one more minute . .  saying ‘I am coming, I hear you . .  let me do just this one thing over here first.’”

I have asked God to wait for me until it is convenient for me to come to Him. He gives me the heart to write and instead, I say ‘yes’ to this event, and then this commitment . . .and then the next thing, too.

Why?

And when I listen, and I ask God what my fear is, I can’t even speak it aloud at first. It is so shocking and new and true. The reason I say ‘yes’ to too many things is because . . .I believe I must prove that I am not boring.

I know. It sounds so silly, even more silly when I type it out here. But I think it’s true.

My fear is that I am boring to people. I am familiar with other agreements I have broken in the past–that I don’t have a voice and that I am not enough. This newly recognized fear–that I am boring–stuns me but makes perfect sense, too. My fear that people think I am boring has prompted me to commit to things I shouldn’t because I don’t want to say ‘no’ to an opportunity where I can prove that I am interesting.

I confess to God that night that I have cared more about what other people think of me than He does.

Ouch.

In prayer to Him, my husband’s hand holding tight to mine, I lay down my fear. I break the agreement that I am boring. I let Him show me what He sees in me.

And oh, what He shows me . .  how this makes me smile.

Girls, He is the One who knows our name. He is the One who crafted us and delights in us and takes us dancing and running and into places where our voice sings and we are enough. Because He is.

As I have shared here before, I had no intention of being vulnerable and sharing here on the blog that my God-sized dream is to write a book. It was a big deal for me when I pointed that video camera at my face a month or so ago and I told you what I was setting out to do. And it is only because of Holley’s brave, encouraging heart that I ever considered sharing that truth with you all here. Because it is hard, sometimes, to be so vulnerable.

But Holley’s amazing book, You’re Made for a God-sized Dream has encouraged me to lay down my fears, trust this God of mine even more, and trust His community more, too.

god-sized-dreams

So I’m going to do it again, and share with you something that makes me squirm a bit as I type. Becasue of that prayer on Monday night–because of the breaking of agreements–I saw how I needed to trust God with this gift He’s given me and say ‘no’ to the other things that were distracting me from what He now calls me to do.

And, just today, with God holding my hand, I finished my book proposal. And I actually sent it off in an email to an agent, too. I would love to be able to share with you that I have a contract and that the agent wants to work with me and that all is just peaches and cream. . . Okay, that would be awesome. . . .But that’s not the point.

I just know my Father invited me on an adventure with Him and I had to say ‘yes’. 

Will you join me? Let’s say ‘yes’ to these God-sized dreams, girls. Let’s ask Him to show us what fears might be holding us back and let’s break those agreements. His full life is for me. His full life is for you.

Let’s jump in to all He has, not knowing what’s around the next turn. This full life with Him is just too good to miss. 

I am also over at More to Be today–for the first time. Want to jump over there to read some encouragement? . . .”What is Whispered to you Heart“

March 7, 2013 — 8 Comments
In Adventure, Community , ,
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Lies we aren’t supposed to know we believe

Lies

We share Holley Gerth’s article in My Girls yesterday–her words on how one’s signature struggles can reveal one’s signature strengths. It is beautiful how the women who come to My Girls–and you amazing women who gather here–are willing to share their struggles with one another.

We don’t want to hide.

There are things about ourselves that we may have not yet shared in community–because we choose safety over vulnerability, because we are not sure if we have found a safe place among sisters to share our hearts. What does community need to look like for it to be a place where our deepest fears are lifted up, into the light, where they can clearly be seen?

We are not meant to hide our hearts from one another. But we do. And it may not be for the reason you think.

There is one thing I am learning for sure: the enemy, my friends, tries to cover up our deepest wounds and hide from us the agreements we’ve made with him. He doesn’t want us to know what lies he’s whispered to us and convinced us to believe about ourselves.

I am not enough.

I am too much.

I don’t have a voice.

I am not a good mom.

I am too needy.

I don’t love well.

I’m ugly.

I need to have the answers.

I have to be the one in control. . .

We feel the reality of these agreements. We live them. They wound us and the people whom we love. But, crazy as it sounds, the enemy makes it difficult for us to discern the agreements we’ve made. We’ve become so used to believing the lies that we can’t imagine that they are actually separate from who we really are.

If we don’t ask Jesus to come and reveal to us the agreements we’ve made that distort our true identity, in Christ, we suffer. And those around us suffer. We are made to live unencumbered, clothed in joy and righteousness. We let Jesus cast off the false things, the burdens, we bear, so that we can more fully live in Him. Breaking agreements ushers forth the life of freedom we were designed to experience when we were first created by our Father.

I love David’s words that remind me how God comes for us and invites us into life with Him:

You have saved me from death.
You have kept me from tripping and falling.
Now I can live with you
in the light that leads to life (Psalm 56:13).

We either continue to live out the agreements Satan has encouraged us to make with him, or we ask Jesus to reveal the agreements to us so that we can break them. The decision is up to us. Because these agreements we’ve made with the enemy feel so familiar, such a part of us–and because the last thing Satan wants is for us to recognize we have made agreements with him at all–it can take lots of time, sometimes, to even discern they exist.

But with Jesus’ help, and with a willing heart, we can.

In the next post I’ll tell you about how I struggled to share with my friends, at My Girls, what my signature struggle is. I felt burdened by my not being able to see it. And it was all because of an agreement I had made–a lie I was believing about myself that I had never realized before. I will share with you how my husband met me in the kitchen later, that night and, through his prayer for me, I saw what the agreement was. And I came absolutely undone.

Do you know what agreements you may have unwittingly made? What is your experience with seeing them for what they truly are? Do you struggle with sharing your heart in community? How can I pray for you?

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March 5, 2013 — 15 Comments
In Community, Faith, Identity, Joy , ,
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When we need to stick together: Parenting teens

momsofteens

I may be a couple years away from having a teenager of my own to parent. Yet, I can’t stop the ache this heart of mine knows is real for those turbulent teenage years.  From ages thirteen through nineteen, I felt the most alone and confused about who I was and what it meant to be loved. I imagine a lot of us, His girls, can share in these feelings, too.

I taught high school before having children of my own. And while I loved talking about literature and coaching my students to express themselves through writing, the after school and lunch time conversations with teenagers who just needed someone to listen to them is what still grips my heart. Those conversations made my job a mission field, not just a career. My heart, even now, while healed from the wounds of my own insecurities and regrets as a teen, is still in those classrooms. And it is, I think, forever raw.

And while this means I cry easily when I hear a teenager’s struggle, that is how I like it. I want to not lose the ache to remember.

I am grateful that God makes my heart bleed for this age group–that He has made it difficult for me to forget how much teens need community around them, strong parental figures to whom they can turn, as well as other adults in their lives whom they can trust, to help them navigate the tough choices teens face growing up.

Perhaps you feel this way, too?

Last fall, a few awesome gals threw their arms around me as I shared with them my story and accepted the invitation to help co-lead a group for Moms of Teens, a community group sponsored by (In)courage. In the group we gather around each other, offering encouragement, resources, and support, as the group members seek to parent with wisdom, love, and truth, their teenage children.

And today, we get to start up the group again. Registration begins this morning.

While I will be co-leading the (In)courage Moms of Teens group, with Elisa Pulliam, Lynn Cowell, and Erin Bishop there is a long list of other awesome community groups you could join, too.

It just comes down to this: we need each other. We can’t do life well all on our own. We are made to be dependent on God’s strength, and to lean on our sisters and brothers, in community, as we walk closely with God. Joining one of these community groups will be a place for new relationships to form, in areas where we each, uniquely, need them most.

Click here to sign up for (in)courage “Make a Friend” newsletter, and click here to complete this short form, to learn more about Moms of Teens and join our group. But hurry. Registration opens today, and we have to close the Moms of Teens group at 100 people this time around. Hope to see you there.

Gratefully,

February 12, 2013 — 5 Comments
In Community , , ,
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When Your Friend’s Laugh Gives You Courage

pin I run with courage

I wrote a post last year about Jesus inviting me to dance with Him. He does this a lot, actually, when I pause and let my heart respond to His smile. His eyes crinkle in the corners and sparkle in the middle, especially when He shakes things up and hints that the dance in the garden may be a bit different today.

I don’t know exactly what that means. But I know the sound of His laugh.

His laugh is water rushing and wind flying through tangled hair. It is swelling of the ground at rainfall, and thunder of a stampede. It is gentle sway of Aspens as they tinkle through Father’s breath blown warm through puffed cheeks. It is touch of His strong fingers wrapped around mine, and joy as He runs towards the kayak tied up at riverside, near the falls.

I hear His laugh as He looks over His shoulder at me, as I run with Him, just behind. The river is soon ahead and we bend under branches arching low and let the moist grass tickle our ankles. He smiles, squeezes my hand tighter, and suddenly, we are in the kayak and going down the river.

Fierce current propels us forward, the yellow inflatable plunging through white foam and around bulging rocks, We dip in our oars and paddle hard. My heart beats fast. He is behind me, guiding us, watching for what’s ahead, seeing the turns coming, through eddies and standing waves. The kayak dips forward and pitches sideways. I dig my ankles into the sides for balance.

River splashes against my fingers, my arms digging deep and strong. I can’t see where we’re going, the current winding through beauty unfamiliar. But I hear His laughter, the joy of promise, His voice behind me. He knows the journey ahead, and He laughs for the fun and adventure of it all.

Our God-sized-dreams are like this, girls. We are born with unique talents and passions–gifts from God–and we are invited on an adventure with Jesus.These dreams may take us to unfamiliar territory, but that is okay. That is perfect. We may not know all the details yet, regarding the accomplishment of our dream. But God does. He is the one who put the dream there in the first place. He is not going to let us down.

Just like Jesus is with me as we plunge head-first, down the rapids, we each benefit from community around us as we navigate unfamiliar dream waters. Friends who know our God-sized-dream can encourage us to keep going even when we are unsure about the next bend in the journey and we are scared.

On Holley Gerth’s Dream Team, I am thrilled to be buddied up with Delonna and Terri. We are each other’s cheering buddies as we pursue our God-sized-dreams.

As daunting as it may feel to pursue our God-sized-dream, we are not meant to head out into the rapids alone. Jesus has the course and invites us to trust Him, modeling what it looks like to encourage each other on, in love. As His girls, we are meant to walk alongside each other, side by side.

What is your God-sized-dream? What friend encourages you to pursue it? 

January 22, 2013 — 19 Comments
In Adventure, Community , , , ,
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What it looks like to waste time with God

I jumped out of my friend’s car a couple of hours ago. I met her for coffee and we couldn’t find a place to sit inside, so we sat side by side on her front bucket seats, empty car seat in the back.

We hugged our foamy lattes and talked about everything and about nothing. When you are with a friend who knows you, who cares about you, who asks the questions about your heart, your fears, your insecurities and how you need an arm around you sometimes. . . the details of the conversation don’t matter at all.

We sit and we waste time together.

And I am reminded of the book my friend Dolly gave me last year that I am finally reading, The Gift of Being Yourself, by David G. Benner. Benner talks about the beauty of hanging out with God, without expectation. You know He knows you. You know He loves you. And if you forget these things, and You hang out with Him, He is going to remind you. And that is all you need.

God just wants to be with you. He wants to sit on the seat next to you, grab your hand, and chill.
Benner shares his struggle with meditation and letting go of the expectation of what he hoped to get out of his time with God.

Another struggle for me was the feeling that meditation was a waste of time. I wanted to judge it by what I got out of it. When I did, if often seemed to be a dreadfully inefficient spiritual practice. But productivity and efficiency miss the point. What God wants is simply our presence, even if it feels like a waste of potentially productive time. That is what friends do together–they waste time with each other. Simply being together is enough without expecting to “get something” from the interaction. It should be no different with God (40).

And so I sit here, hands on keyboard, inspired by Amy’s words and the listening to this song and the being filled up from the time with my friend. We see Jesus in each other–in community. Hanging out with friends, being open and present for all that the Spirit brings in these moments together in community, is all we really need. And when I am reluctant to hang out with Jesus because I don’t want to be disappointed by what I hope it will look like, I am not present to the gift of just being with Him.

I don’t know the Father, I don’t know Jesus, I don’t know what it means to feel the touch of the Holy Spirit on my heart unless I am willing to let go of me and let God show me what a relationship with Him looks like. Hanging out together, just me and God, is going to fill me up more than the granting of any physical take-away, a check off of my to-do list.

And so I want to ask You, Father, what You think about all this . . . about what it means to You for Your girls to hang out with you. What does it look like for You and your girls to waste time together?

My daughter, how you make Me smile, every time. Well, let me show you. . But you’re going to have to stop typing now. You’re going to have to put that computer away. I do have something for you . . .all of Me. . . over here. . .

(Smile) . . . Well, I’d better go now. . . But I would love to know what it looks like for you to waste time with God, friend. You so bless me with your words here.

Love,

January 17, 2013 — 10 Comments
In Community, Intimacy, Words in Me
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How my miscarriage gives me courage to step toward my God-sized-Dream

Seven years ago, when I found out our baby had died in my womb, when I was ten weeks pregnant, I was thankful we had not kept our pregnancy a secret. I remember sitting in the bright, white room with my husband and the doctor as she sought a heartbeat that could not be heard, a tiny heart that the doctor told us had probably stopped beating two weeks earlier.  I thought back to those two weeks before, represented by the beautiful photograph of my husband and me and our two toddler boys, at sunrise, in Hawaii. I had felt so sick, so exhausted that entire trip, that I slept whenever I had the chance. My body tricked me, as it seemed to believe I was still pregnant when our baby had actually slipped away. It is still hard to bear the thought of our baby dying inside of me when I had actually no idea it was happening.

I don’t do well with silence, with things that are hidden and pushed down, unacknowledged. And my heart breaks a little to think that the death of this child happened when I was completely unaware.

The day the actual miscarriage occurred, Justin and I had already had plans that evening to gather together with our eight closest friends, at our home. The five couples, Justin and myself included, were in a home group, where we shared a meal and our hearts with one another each Thursday evening. We would do potluck and take about God, our marriages, our kids, our adventure walking in step with our Father, like Jesus did. One of my friends who would be coming over was pregnant, and we had similar due dates–just days apart from one another. The thought of seeing her that night made my stomach tight. I wasn’t jealous of her own pregnancy, but I knew being in her presence would make me feel tremendously sad. Still, I didn’t want to cancel our hosting the group that night. It felt perfect and right that these dear friends of ours were scheduled to come around on the very day when I felt emotionally exhausted and wanted to run away and not speak to a soul.

It was good for me to be in the presence of these friends who knew our sorrow. The burden of secrecy would have been too much for me to bear. If Justin and I were the only two who knew of this precious life inside of me, if we had decided to “play it safe” and not tell anyone until I was further along, we wouldn’t have had community around us to mourn with us. We would have felt very much alone.

My friend, in My Girls yesterday, shared a truth that stirs my heart: Community ushers in the Holy Spirit. We need each other to lean on, to be vulnerable with, to be real. And the memory of this miscarriage and the loving community that was around us when it happened, gives me courage to join, as part of Holley Gerth’s Dream Team, to accept Holley’s invitation to share with you something that I had been nervous to do: share a simple, first step I am taking in pursuing my God-sized-dream.

Due to my reluctance and fear to share more of my dream with you here, I know one of my first steps toward my God-sized-dream is bringing it into the light. I need to trust community more. I need to share more of this dream with all of you.

As I divulged in a video post last week, I am writing a book. It is an awesome adventure that I love, and it is also hard. During the journey, which I started in November, the enemy has twisted God’s truth and made me believe I am weak, rather than strong. He has made me distrust God’s voice and His words in me to direct my writing.  I have succumbed to worry and anxiety when self-imposed writing deadlines aren’t met, and I wonder if I have what it takes to complete the project at all.

Because, to be completely honest, I am not scared to try to write and publish this book, and fail. I am more scared about telling you all about it and then failing, publicly. I have been nervous about letting community be a part of my God-sized-dream because of pride.

I liked my initial plan: work in secret on the book–maybe tell a few friends I see in real life about it–and then communicate just good news, on the blog. You know, just like you see it done lots of times on other sites: the news about a secured book deal, a signing with an agency and a manuscript deadline approaching. I was scared to share with the world my God-sized-dream of writing a book–before I have even competed the proposal, let alone submitted it to an agent– because I have wanted to be in control. I have wanted to take measures to protect my heart in case I failed.

In my heart, I know this book is for me to do. It is the dream God has placed in me, and it is good and perfect that I must trust Him and push into Him, in faith, in order to complete this task that is absolutely too big for me to handle on my own.  And that is, more truly, the God-sized-dream. Yes, I am writing a book, but I will have lived out my dream only by surrendering the dream to Him and trusting that He will give me what I need to complete it.  I must be willing to do the hard work of putting words on paper; but there is no risk in trusting God. There is no risk in believing in His good plan for my life.

These God-sized-dreams of ours are dreams that we are each uniquely gifted to do with God. He has given us everything within us to complete the task before us. But we must believe that He is enough and that, with Him, the dream will be completed. It is about trusting Him, not worrying about failing.  He doesn’t look at failure that way.

So, in the moments I can find to write–and I grab them when I can–I work on the book proposal: I edit the annotated chapter outline, I work on fine tuning the book description, I pore over the first three chapter drafts I’ve written, I try to figure out my platform. Soon, according to God’s timing, I will have completed it and will send it to the agent I am in contact with and with whom I  hope to work.

And I share this with you because if I fail, I want you to know that I tried. I know first hand that nothing good hides in darkness. We can do nothing alone. And I want to be vulnerable with you, telling you that, whatever the outcome of this book, I need community around me to urge me on, encourage me to keep going, keep trusting, keep listening. And I need community around me to remind me, most of all, to hold this God-sized-dream loosely. It is His, for Him. I am grateful that He has invited me to share with Him something fun and amazing.

So, let’s go girls, let’s speak aloud our God-sized-dreams in community. Let’s usher in the Holy Spirit, together.

Want to tell me what you think, in the comments?

January 15, 2013 — 28 Comments
In Adventure, Community
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What we find in community

I write about community here often. My heart lunges for it, desiring for this message to stick deep: “I hear you. I get you. I’ve been there. I understand.” I have run away from community for much of my life. Showing people the real me was the last thing I ever wanted to do. I wanted to control what was believed about me. And with my reticence to reveal the truth of who I was, I postponed getting to know the real me Jesus saw all along.

It takes being in relationship with others to help us know what it means to be in relationship with God. (Tweet this?) I have learned this the hard way–my choice to hide my true self from community costing wounds that cut even deeper than the shame of my sin. Hiding from community prevented me from accepting myself as I was, this girl, whom God created, sin and all, and still loved. It prevented me from being willing to go deeper with God–trust Him with the hard work of transforming my heart. And it made me doubt His love for me.

Relationships that are grounded in truth and accountability, despite the pain and mess that comes with being real with one another, foster deeper relationship with God. It teaches us what it means to trust in Him, more than ourselves. Furthermore, we are more willing to reveal our true selves when we believe we are rooted in God’s love and that His love for us doesn’t change, no matter what. Then we feel like we can take a risk. Then we are okay with not having it all together and  can step more fully into the reality of the amazing women God sees us to be.

Here, I write knowing He has the power to connect sisters.

Here, I believe He is the gatherer, folding us all up into Him, fostering relationship that is real and good.

Here,  I believe He connects His girls through being together, my friend.

Here, He begins community–and in real life, too.

Imagine a new friend meeting you, reassuring you that if God is at the center of community you will be held. You will be safe. You will be okay. We need to hear this from our sisters in this rough-and-tumble world of ours, where sisters get cancer and first-graders are shot at school and marriages are ripped apart and children are trafficked and enslaved. Community helps us remember that we need not be overwhelmed by how we–and how this world of ours–is so broken.

A few years ago, it was community that saved me--that pulled me out of a place of self-loathing and shame. It was community that stood next to me, arms literally holding me up as warriors/friends prayed and I trembled and tears ran down and I saw how Jesus sees me as I am, and, even in my sin, never turns away.

Community is one of the ways Jesus helps us find Him and be challenged to follow Him, no matter where He guides us, no matter what it takes. Community helps us not back down when Jesus invites me to do the hard thing, in His name. Community encourages us to follow Him, running this race with abandonment and focus, eyes and heart aiming towards Home.

Want to be in community, all gathered up, face to face, with sisters all around?

Wherever you are, you are invited to join gals in your neighborhood–or host a gathering yourself!–to connect beyond the blog, in real life, on April 26th & 27th. (In)Real Life is a conference sponsored by (in)courage, where (in)courage readers all around the world get to meet up in living rooms and kitchens and churches and coffee shops . . . because we need each other. We need real life friends.

Hop on over to (in)courage to get all of the details. But this is important:

  1. Click here to register. Registration is free.
  2. If you register TODAY, you get a copy of the (in)courage 365 Daybrightener (while supplies last (US residents only).
  3. You receive a copy of (in)courage’s first eBook:  Best of the Beach House 2012: A Collection of Your Favorite Posts from the Writers of (in)courage.

And if you live in the California Bay Area, come on over to my meet up! Oh, wow, can you imagine meeting face to face? :)

Love being pursued by God, with you,

January 14, 2013 — 3 Comments
In Community, {in}courage
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Bless us, Father

We don’t doubt anymore that You are here, Father. We know You give these girls of Yours words, beginnings, dreams, full lives–all with You.

You reach out Your hand and invite us in deeper, asking us if we hear You, if we can feel the touch of Your hand on our cheek, Your eyes locked on ours. You ask if we can hear the song You pour into our hearts, ours alone with You, to sing.

We clasp hands across great divides where before, just silence reigned. You raise our voices with You when we believe You are the dreamer, the craftsman who bends low and forms the beginning of our life with You.

How You miss us when we go our own way, turning back on the invitation with You. We get tired of believing we can live this life alone, without You.

We can’t do it anymore.

In our weakness we are strong. In our vulnerability, we lean on You. In our lack, You are enough. You restore and pour in more love than we can measure.

Oh, Father, in Your love we pour out and live in overflow.

Praying His abundant blessings upon you, His girls,

January 11, 2013 — 5 Comments
In Community, Faith, Joy, Voice , ,
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When I speak aloud my God-sized dream

You know how that heart of yours aches for something to grasp a hold of? How it yearns for discovery of identity, claiming of passion, awakening to adventure? You spend a lot of your life trying to figure out who you are. You look for people–community, family, friends–to live life with. You gradually, on a time-table all your own, grow in courage and willingness to heed those whispers in your heart from that God of yours who loves you, who adores you, who waits for you with joy and excitement, who calls you His own.

You have within you a dream placed on your heart by God–a dream perfectly sized and created just for you to step into. It is the beginning of you, the start of you seeing God more fully, the opportunity for you to experience God more completely. He has designed your heart, your passion, your talents, your strengths, your mind, for pursuing a dream that He wants to more fully awaken in you.

Don’t you want to know what it is?

Is it possible you already know?

There is a pretty amazing dreamer, believer, writer, encourager, heart-pursuer named Holley Gerth that you have probably heard about. She’s a life coach, author, and entrepreneur—and she has invited me to join her in gathering up His girls in stepping courageously into the ownership of and pursuit of their God-sized dreams.

You know how it is tough to live this life He gives us well, all by ourselves? Well, Holley, with kindness and wisdom, has a newly published ebook that coaches us in taking practical steps towards pursuing our God-sized dream.

Don’t you just love how we don’t have to do any of this dream-pursuing and figuring out all on our own?

We’re in this together girl. Truly. And I know how a bit uncomfortable it can feel to stretch out a bit and say ‘yes’ to something new. I am actually a bit tentative about writing down what my God-sized dream is and sharing it with you here. So, instead . . . well, I videotaped myself talking to you all about it. . .

‘Cause you matter to me. . . And you, His girl, are the inspiration for the dream God is unfolding.

Subscribers, please click here to come on over to see the video and hear what I have to say.

Okay, girls, now you know. . .

So, come on now, don’t hold back . . . What is on your heart to share? What is your God-sized dream? {If you don’t feel like making a video and sending it to me to tell me all about it . . .  your precious words in the comments will do just fine. ;) } I am so grateful for you.

One of God’s girls and dreamers,

January 8, 2013 — 46 Comments
In Community, Identity ,
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