The Unwanted Testimony #EverydayJesus

July 16, 2015 by

Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day! 

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On most occasions, I like surprises. Specifically the kind that involve one or more of the following: Inky pens, chocolate, journals, books, Jesus memorabilia or free childcare.

(For those of you who love giving gifts, please take note. #KiddingNotKidding.)

However, some surprises are less than well received on my end. Those “surprises” like army schedule changes, someone jumping out from behind a corner to scare me, cars that don’t start, or checking account balances that somehow are way lower than anticipated.

Also in that category are unwanted testimonies. [Read more…]

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The Most Powerful Something #EverydayJesus

July 9, 2015 by

Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day! 

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I have shared this with you before: I am a doer.

When things fall to pieces, blow up, or anything in between, my nature is to come barreling in, guns blazing ready to fix whatever the problem is.

Sometimes, that is a blessing. Other times, this sister has got to check myself.

Because sometimes, God wants us to just be still and let HIM do His job.

And that is hard for me.  [Read more…]

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A letter to the Broken (#EverydayJesus Link-Up)

July 2, 2015 by

Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day! 

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Faith fact: Ministry is hard. Like cry-until-your-eyes-are-puffy hard. But it is totally worth it, times ten.

I am currently experiencing the hardest season of ministry of my life. You know that part in the bible that talks about bearing one another’s burdens and mourning with those who mourn?

Yeah. Totally wish that wasn’t in there. Because I have been grieving, encouraging and praying for several close friends and I swear– it feels like my heart is in about a million pieces.

But here is the good news: even in our hurt, God is there. So this is a word He shared with me to pass along during our most grief-striken, broken moments.

I pray that this “Letter to the Broken” speaks to any hurting, cracked or shattered hearts that might read it. [Read more…]

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At Work Before We See It #EverydayJesus

June 18, 2015 by

Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day! 

PS: Just as a heads up, I will be on a “Blogging Vacation” for the next 10 days or so as I am co-facilitating a national conference in Kentucky, then spending some time with family in Kansas. So until then, be blessed! 

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When things fall apart, it is so, SO easy to start doubting God.

His love. His plan. His purpose.

But if I have learned one thing in my years walking (ok, sometimes barely stumbling) with Jesus, it is that He is always behind the scenes at work long before we see it.

He is like the guy who is the first one to clock in each day and the last one to leave. (Only He doesn’t take vacations or extended lunch breaks.)

I remember an experience from a few years ago where now I see that God was at work, long before we saw it. [Read more…]

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Video Blog: Joy-Full Fun #EverydayJesus

June 11, 2015 by

Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day! 

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I am not a fun-hater. Really I am not. But sometimes, you might think that.

Not because I deliberately avoid fun, but because I am a professional excuse-maker and rarely go in search of fun.

But this year, with my OneWord REST in full force, that is all changing.

Check out today’s hilarious (and rather informal) video blog about my quest for rest– and a more joy-full, fun life.

BTW: This video blog features a special guest appearance by a very special person, who happens to have blond hair, a dirty face and loves the great outdoors. [Read more…]

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When your Game Face is Tired

June 4, 2015 by

Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day! 

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Fact: I am not the Energizer Bunny.

If I had my way, I would be– the person that just keeps going and going and going… But ’round these parts, I am all about being authentic. So endless spiritual energy is not a thing for me.

And I think if we are honest with ourselves, we will agree to this truth: Even the strongest Christians’ game faces occasionally get tired.

On any given day, at least one of my regular game faces is a little bit weary: my army wife game face, my mama game face, my minister game face, my fitness game face. [Read more…]

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The Throne #EverydayJesus

May 28, 2015 by

Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day! 

***

In all my years of being a grown-up, I have minimal experience with buying “real” and “new” furniture.

Let me explain.

Right out of college, I bought a lot of new “furniture” but it didn’t fall into the “real” category. It was all particle board. (Think: Ramen noodle budget.) Nothing against the lower-quality furniture, but I purchased it with the intention that it would undoubtedly someday be replaced.

Which is true. Six years and three moves later, all that remain are a very wobbly bookshelf that will meet its demise on our next move and a very simple desk in the office.

All of our other furniture is purchased second-hand or given to us by very generous friends/family.

Which is why my recent purchase of a BRAND NEW HIGH-QUALITY recliner for our living room was kind of a big deal. [Read more…]

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Video Blog: The Beauty in Broken Shells #EverydayJesus

May 21, 2015 by

Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day! 

***

I know, I know… They say don’t judge a book by its cover. Well, God recently revealed to me that I shouldn’t judge a seashell by its wholeness… Or lack there of.

Because apparently, broken shells are still beautiful.

If you are reading via email, click here to watch the video.

Dear readers, where do you find beauty in your brokenness? In what ways can you share your story to bring God glory in your everyday? Don’t be shy. Tap into your Jesus-courage and share a comment below.

Let’s not discount our cracks, our fractures, our chips, our scuffs, our smudges, our brokenness. Because only in our brokenness is Christ found.

We are those shells. Broken, but still beautiful.

Whole in Him,

Initials Signature Blog

“You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken.” ~2 Corinthians 8-10 MSG
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When Bumps become Potholes #EverydayJesus

May 14, 2015 by

Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day! 

***

It’s been more than two years, and I still don’t love running with a stroller.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am so grateful for the ability to run– or should I say “yog.” (That’s jog with a soft “J.”) But given the choice, I would rather let my daughter go to “school” and play with her friends instead of load her up and push her down the sidewalk.

Although it still isn’t my favorite thing, I am sort of getting used to it. Now I am less shocked about how heavy that stroller with a kid plus our junk and  a tiny dog attached is when trying to push it up the hill with already-jelly legs. And “embracing” that running into the wind just adds a new level of conditioning.

One thing I am still not accustomed to is how a tiny bump in the road or sidewalk can eventually make a big difference.

I have been running on the same 2-mile-out-and-back path for months now. And some of the bumps are growing bigger.

So big that they are nearly potholes for my poor discount jogging stroller. [Read more…]

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Fishing in Calm Waters #EverydayJesus

May 7, 2015 by

Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day! 

***

I love water.

Specifically, bodies of water. Maybe it is because living in Kansas I didn’t grow up around much water. Or my affinity for exploring the life teeming beneath the surface. Or perhaps I just really like eating fish.

Either way, it is on my bucket list that sometime in the next 20-70 years we shall live by a body of water and own a small boat. (Oh. And ice fishing. Never been– need to go.)

When I was a teenager, I had the opportunity to live in work in Minnesota for two summers. The Land of 10,000 Lakes? Uh, yes please.

I worked on a hog farm (that’s a story for another time) and lived with my Uncle Billy and Aunt Cindy. Uncle Billy was a professional fun-haver. Although our hog farm work schedule was quite demanding for my teenage self, Billy always made sure to fill our off hours with adventures. [Read more…]

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