Favorite Quote Friday

Sorry my posts are so sparse. I have a million good reasons, but I won't bore you.

Sometimes living life is more important than blogging about it!

I would just like to say that I love my husband. I am so thankful for him and for all the sacrifices he makes for our family. They are many and he makes them willingly. So thankful.

Today's favorite quote is brought to you from Beth Moore via the amazing study I am doing on Mercy.

"The power of the resurrection means that 

nothing but the tomb is meant to be empty."

I pray you will let that sink in.

I have and it has challenged me.

Challenged me to take my emptiness to the cross, to actively believe that all my painful experiences can be redeemed. It has challenged me to see "my junk" differently, from a Kingdom perspective, to see that any space that has been left empty has actually served to make more room for His grace.

It has challenged me to choose to let God fill up all those empty places rather than just leaving them empty and rotting. I think its easier to let them remain empty, but God's plan for each of us is to fill those places of empty heartache with grace, comfort, mercy and JOY!

As we move into the Christmas season, for many of us, there is a mix of joy and sorrow that comes with this time of year. It's a mixed bag, this life.

But nothing is meant to be empty but the tomb. Nothing. So let's choose to let God fill it with blessings. Because He'll do it, I promise.

Favorite Quote Friday

It's time for Favorite Quote Friday!

And once again, it is being brought to you from Streams in the Desert.

I give you May 30:

Certain songs can only be learned in the valley.

So true.

When I read this a few months ago, it stuck with me. I have shared it and thought of it often since then. There are season in our lives that can be hard to understand and we may never truly understand that what's or the why's.

Sometimes, we don't need to know why, we just need to remind ourselves who is really in control. Who is leading us through that valley. And who will be faithful to bring us to the other side.

And usually, we need to come to the place where we can choose to sing the song He's teaching us, even especially in the valley.

Be blessed this weekend, ya'll.

Choose joy.

Did you see it coming?

So a few months ago, I posted about something God has been speaking to me this past year: that you can have it all. In case you missed it the second time, I repeat:

you can (indeed) have it all.

Over the past few months, I have shared this idea, this dream, this vision with many other women. Women in my mom's group, women at church, women I have known for years, women I just met. If you're anything like me, when God shares something exciting with you, you want to share. And I have.

It has gotten mixed reviews.

Saw that one coming, did ya?

Good for you. You don't get a prize. You get to keep reading. There's more.

There's always more.

Sometimes I get the blank stare. Sometimes I got a nod. And sometimes my excitement is shared with equal enthusiasm. My heart soars when I share this vision with a sister and we begin to dream together, trying to imagine what God could have in store for us! Trying to wrap our minds around how this could be possible. Because it seems impossible.

That last response is my favorite response.

Did you see that one coming?

I confess that the overall response has been discouraging and often I have returned to the Lord questioning if I really heard Him accurately. I know how it sounds. It sounds crazy. It sounds like something someone would say who doesn't want to just be home with her kids all day. Someone who doesn't really recognize the high calling of raising kids. Someone who needs more hobbies.

I can have it all? What? Yeah, right, girlfriend, you clearly don't know my life. You don't know me!

How many articles have we all read that clearly explain why we CAN'T have it all. I have read quite a few myself.

The thing is....all things are possible with God and my God is able to do immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine.

I have an active imagination.

I bet you do too.

I was born to believe the impossible. Frankly, I think we all were.

This week, I'd like to unpack this idea a little more. I know that God is drawing me into this idea deeper and I don't want to go alone. Everything is more fun with friends.

the deep end

I love this old picture of Jay and I. My how things have changed since then. For starters, that "lovey" he has in the his mouth is now a beautiful shade of grey. So gross. Not sure what I was thinking when I bought a cream colored lovey. Joke's on me!

At least he finally grew into his head. Jackson, not the lovey.

I wore that little yellow sweatsuit when I was small. I also grew into my head eventually. Life is good.

My hair was a lot longer then. I miss it.

This picture was taken when we lived with my parents for 18 months. Wowza. It was a tough season to be sure. We moved out a couple weeks before Dad's diagnosis. Now, those 18 months are a beautiful gift of time.

I spent the morning with a new friend who has quickly worked her way into my heart forever. I am not going to tell her that b/c I don't want to sound weird and scare her away, but what a gift this morning was.

We have a lot in common. She has 4 boys, I have 3. Not a girl among us. In the course of about 2 1/2 yrs, she lost both of her parents and now her only sister lives an ocean away.

Wrap your big head around that one. Wait, you grew into your head too. It's completely proportional. Promise.

While our boys ran circles around us this morning and ripped her home apart, bit by bit, we shared war stories, we cried, we compared notes, we laughed. We're both working through the same Beth Moore Bible study in our mom's groups (Mercy Triumphs) and are finding that it's speaking volumes to us as we process grief.
 
It's nice to find common ground with someone. Its nice to be able to dive headfirst into the deep end. Its nice to be ok with jumping out to fetch a sippy cup before plunging back in. I love the deep end, I live for the deep end. That's where God-sized dreams start as a merely a glimmer, where relationships are established by a short, meaningful conversation, where our weary hearts can be refueled by a cup of coffee and rest.

Ah, the deep end.

Its where God is calling us, whether we know how to swim or not.

I'm not a big swimmer, but at least my head will keep me buoyant while we float around in the deep end. Let's do it together!