How do you wait

I wonder if you’re like me at all?

In the absence of sunshine and the sounds of raindrops, I sit here in my office today listening to the song “Wait On You” by Maverick City.

I’ve been working on a little project this year that has my whole heart invested into it. I’ve spent countless hours working on this idea ensuring the relevance of it would be worth the effort. I’ve prayed, stretched myself, bounced the idea off to others, and put the pieces into place.

And now I begin to prepare my heart to see what will come with this little dream in my heart. I wait to see what God will do with something that started from nothing. I begin this journey all over again with trusting God to increase my faith to believe He knows best.

Can I be honest with you?

I don’t like waiting. It’s uncomfortable and scary. It requires vulnerability and trust. Yet it’s exactly what He leads us all to when we take steps to chase after the dreams He puts in our hearts.

How about you -are you waiting for something too? How’s that going?

Hear this…. Those who wait on the Lord will RENEW their strength, they will soar on eagles wings, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint… Isaiah 43:31

Keep waiting my friends. It’s coming. May you wait with great expectancy.

What really matters

I remember years ago having a conversation over a cup of coffee with my dear dad about life and ministry. He talked about the lessons he’s learned regarding making the most of every day. He shared that he’s resolved to living the rest of his days by starting out each morning with this simple prayer:

Lord I yield my life to thee, spirit-filled Lord let me be.

And as he goes about his day, he just continues to find ways to be a blessing to others. Whether it’s someone in his church, a place he’s found to volunteer, preparing a devotional or poem to pass along or by spending time with his children and grandchildren, he can rest his head at night knowing that God has used his life for another day.

Oh how I love that thought!

It’s not always through the grander things in life where we make our greatest impact. It’s often in the small, seemingly unimportant day-to-day simple acts that I stumble upon my purpose too.

And it’s with this thought that I continue to find such inspiration to always be looking for ways to partner with Him. It may be as simple as smiling at the cashier He’s placed before me, holding the door for that mama who has her hands full, or waving the person into the lane in front of me, there seems to always be an opportunity to be used by Him.

Because all of these things matter. They really do.

How about you? Are you often amazed by the simple ways you stumble upon your purpose too?

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them - Ephesians 2:10

Something to be proud of

The more I reflect on the backstories of my life, the more I see I see the faithfulness of God. He’s carried me through so much and I still get choked up when I look around to see where He has me today.

I’ve been doing a lot of writing, reflecting, and gleaning from my past which now has me taking some new steps forward.

In many ways I’ve pulled back over the last few years while our lives were being put back together again - because some forms of privacy were healthy for us.

After a few years now of building memories together as a blended family, I feel the nudge to start sharing some of our journey more transparently with hopes to encourage others who may be able to identify with what this life is like.

I guess the most important thing I hope to convey as I move forward with sharing my heart is that if you are reading this today and you have experienced the stings from divorce, please know that you can still have a strong and beautiful family for the world to see - it just might look a tad different than you originally envisioned.

According to an article on Psychology today, [1]Past statistics have shown that in the U.S. 50% percent of marriages end in divorce and the numbers go up even higher for second marriages and beyond.

Given this statistic, I see a great opportunity to be a voice of support, encouragement, and hope for others who may feel inclined to pursue another shot with marriage and rebuilding too.

A resource that has been incredibly helpful for me has been Family Life (Blended). They put out resources free to Blended families and I highly recommend you take advantage of them if you have been affected with divorce.

Tonight starts our weekend with all of our kiddos. We call this Friday night our (Friday night Family night). We’ll be celebrating with a fun game of family football in the front yard, homemade kettle corn, and pizza. Tomorrow morning my husband will be making pumpkin pancakes for us (he makes pancakes every weekend they’re here). We’ll divide and conquer tomorrow afternoon as our girl has a parade for dance in Holland and our boy has a soccer game in Norton Shores. We’ve been lucky this season to actually have been able to attend most of their activities together. That’s a challenge with blended families, maybe you can relate? Sunday mornings when the kids are here is always a special time. It’s our last day of being together and we always make the most of it. Sitting together during worship at church, a big family lunch, snuggles and some more outside playtime and then the packing begins.

The Monday’s after they leave are always the hardest. Grace is needed.

Here’s to a fantastic weekend.

Cheers!

[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-intelligent-divorce/201202/the-high-failure-rate-second-and-third-marriages

How do you know when you’re free?

At the start of this year I had a few weeks to lay low before my final semester of grad school started and I found myself wanting to write again. As I sat down and opened a new Word document, I wasn’t quite sure which part of my heart was wanting to be heard.

Within a few hours, I realized there was a message waiting to be penned, but I still was a bit reluctant to give it voice.

How do you know when you are free?

One definition I found online puts it this way… not or no longer confined or imprisoned…

John 8:36 puts it this way… So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

And so the words began to flow and thousands of them came. Word-by-word, I have begun to experience new bits of freedom but I won’t settle for just a partial freedom, I want the full thing.

How about you? Is there something holding you captive? Is there a place in your heart that isn’t quite yet free? My prayer for you is that your heart has a touch of freedom today.

<3

What season are you in?

At the beginning of every new year I ask God to give me a word. Maybe you do that too? I like to have just one word to focus on throughout the year while the seasons change. And it’s about this time of the year where I really begin to soak up all that the word has to offer me.

This year the word that I received was the word S O A R and here’s the scripture I’ve penned down in my prayer journal…

Isaiah 40:31 says, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will S O A R on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

I knew that once the kids returned to school this fall that life would feel different for me and it does. For the last few years when they went back - so did I. This past May I finally completed my degree at Western Theological Seminary which feels amazing.

When I started school, I wasn’t sure which direction God would have me go upon completion. I just knew that He had opened the door for me to attend there and that I needed to be obedient with the process. To my surprise, during that time, 1M was launched.

As I’ve been reflecting these last few weeks over my word and wondering when or what soaring with Him really looks like, it occurred to me that it’s right where I am today.

To be honest, I thought soaring was going to look different than this.

I think I may have had the equation off just a tad.

In the quiet and in the stillness of this sweet fall day, I was nudged to just embrace this unbelievable feeling of soaring with Him.

How about you? What season are you in? I just don’t want you to miss what might be right in front of you.

One week at a time.

It’s busy and then it’s not which is the routine we’ve held for several years now.

In the quiet and in the stillness we reflect on the special moments from our time shared together.

While the music plays in the background - its just the two of us again and we’re reminded of how our worlds collided and have never been the same.

We often make our way out onto the ole’ front porch of ours and find ourselves dreaming again of what’s yet to come.

Can you relate?

I know that one day I’ll blink and we’ll be in a new season and I’ll be saying “those were the good old days”.

Lord, please help me to cherish this season right here. Don’t let me wish one minute of it away.

Here’s to building a blended tribe.

One week.

One day… at a time. 💪💖

I want you to know.

Writing is the best way I know how to express a deep emotion I wish to convey. This morning my heart was stirred and filled with such gratitude for my dear daddy as I fell asleep last night just after we rewatched Lorretta Lynn’s biographical movie Coal Miner’s Daughter. There’s just something so compelling that happens when you listen to storyline that has some parallels to your own.

No doubt Lorretta loved her daddy like I love mine.

I was born a preachers daughter. I know I was the apple of his eye.

Although he grew up in a home never hearing he was loved— he was bound to tell us every time he could.

His home may have had white carpet and was filled by 7 but it was far from joyful or complete.

All he ever wanted was to make his daddy proud but granddaddy never could show it if he was.

So he set out to build his own home where there would be loving words, dirty floors, laughter and singing, and everyone welcomed in.

Beyond his great calling to share the Gospel, it was clear to all of us that his family was what mattered most.

From building us an A-framed home tucked far in off the road-to-taking us on family adventures year after year, Daddy lived to make us kids understand the value of family.

One-by-one we grew up and left our childhood home but the memories are etched deep inside of me and continue to help shape my home today.

Dear Daddy - I am proud to be a preachers daughter. I loved our A-frame home. I loved and continue to love all of our Daddy/daughter dates, and I love you so very much. XO

When God gives you a vision

“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

We had only been dating a little while back in 2017 when I caught a vision from God about my future with my Mr. T

It went a little something like this….

There we were sitting on a couch happy as could be. I couldn’t make out all the faces, but I could feel the love and joy in the room.

There were grownups, grand babies, and teenage girls snuggled up close on the couch with us.✨

And although I knew right then that what I was seeing wasn’t for that day, I’ve held it in my heart and continue to hold onto what I know is still yet to come.

Our family may not have started like every family should, but that doesn’t mean we can’t accomplish what a family becomes.

It’s never too late to build something great. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Lasting Friendships

I remember a conversation I had with mom years ago about friendships. She was giving me advice and trying to prepare me for what life looks like the longer you live. As a pastors wife, she had seen her share of friends who who had come and gone and at this stage in her life, there were very few who were still around any longer.

I remember thinking to myself… I don’t want it to be like that for me.

As a little girl, friendships were always very complicated. I never knew who really liked me and I was always trying to see where I fit in. I’m pretty sure this is the way it goes for every little girl because we all know with girls that… there can never just be a party of 3.

And why is that?

I was homeschooled during my elementary years so the only friends I had were either neighbor girls or girls from our small church. I didn’t really get introduced to other types of friends until I started 6th grade and that’s when things got really confusing. I think I had high expectations of what new opportunities were being opened up for me at FCS.

The story goes on much of the same way as my years in school came to an end and sadly, I just never knew where I belonged. I didn’t stand out in any one category and that left me feeling very alone.

When my young adult years came, I experienced friendships through work, church, and college. All of them bringing a deeper connection and restoring what I knew friendships could offer me.

As the years have flown by, I am now realizing why mom is content with her life the way it is. It’s not that she doesn’t need friends any longer, its that she’s been blessed with the gift of understanding what a friend brings into your life.

It’s the opportunity to love and be loved and you can do that with anyone you meet. You don’t need to hang out weekly, tell all of your secrets, and have all things in common in order to be friends with someone. You can just be there for them, pray with them, cheer them on, and point them to Jesus and enjoy the gift of them being brought into your life in the season that they were.

Cheers to all the amazing women God has sent me over the years to call friend. I’m grateful for each one of you!