I am so honored that fellow blogger Emily Gardner asked me to be a part of her latest series, “Perspectives on Motherhood and Writing.” She asked great questions about what writing looks like in the season of motherhood. I’d love for you to click over and read the full interview–and check out her lovely blog in the process!
Thanks again for including me, Emily! It was a blessing!
My newest piece is over at RELEVANT today–a consideration of the importance of the Sabbath in our modern lives. I know that God’s heart is for us to be a people who rest Him and trust in Him, and I believe that observing the Sabbath is one of the key ways we can do that practically in our increasingly full lives.
I would love for you to click over, read through it, and let me know your thoughts. Do you observe the Sabbath? Why or why not?
Today, I’m writing for (in)courage about being hospitable in a small home–our small home!
Here is the start of the article. I would love for you to join me at (in)courage!
We have a small home — a split-level condo with two bedrooms and a galley kitchen that never seems to have enough counter space. I know that in most places in the world, our home size would be considered normal, or perhaps even large. But here in affluent suburbia where we live, our square footage is, comparatively, on the compact end of things.
Any time we have more than a handful of people over — such as this last weekend for my daughter’s first birthday party — we run out of seating quickly. Often, guests start spilling onto the stairs, sitting on steps when the couches and chairs are full.
My tendency, in the past, was to worry about the lack of space, to try and fix things by giving up my seat or finding another stool. Because when I saw people sitting on the stairs, my hospitality button got pushed: I didn’t feel like I could provide what my guests needed. I never want anyone to feel uncomfortable in my home — physically or socially — and I was concerned that our small home would make people feel cramped and unwelcome.
Read the rest of the article here!
Up until the end of August, I hadn’t even planned on going to the Influence Conference. But as I saw women talking about the conference online, something kept tugging at my heart. I felt like I was supposed to be there.
Now, I knew it was a big leap. We have a young daughter, my husband was going to be out of town the weekend before, and we tend to have a lot of church events on the weekends.
But Michael and I prayed about it, and we both felt like I should go.
So, I did. Bought the ticket, booked the hotel room, filled the car with gas and drove. I had to be back by Saturday night, so the time was fast but so rich. I connected with so many wonderful women, talked about things that truly matter, and slept in a hotel room all by myself (glory, glory, hallelujah)! The weekend was a gift from God, truly.
I’m grateful.
God opened up many places in my heart last weekend, but one of the biggest things I’m wrestling through is what Lara Casey spoke about on Friday night. She walked us through a workshop focused on some very powerful questions, and although it is incredibly simple, the one phrase that I keep coming back to is this one, which she asked us to answer on our own: “Life is too short.”
Life is too short to make it all about me.
Life is too short to not obey Jesus wholeheartedly.
Life is too short to live out of fear.
These are huge statements, when the rubber actually meets the road. If life is too short to make it all about me, what has to change in how I think, how I respond, what I spend my time doing? If life is too short to not obey Jesus wholeheartedly, how do I have to start living and thinking differently? If life is too short to live out of fear, where do I need to let His perfect love chase away those places tangled up in being afraid?
I’m just starting to scratch the surface of these things, but these questions have the power to change my life, in the best way. Life is too short for anything less than all of my heart, all of my attention, all of my focus on Christ.
So, now it is your turn. How would you answer this phrase?
Life is too short.
And because I know there a lot of women who wanted to go to the conference but couldn’t, I want to share my #influenceconf swag bag with one of you! Check out my Instagram account to toss your hat in the ring–and hopefully, win!
If you know me, you know that I am a committed coffee drinker. And if you know me, you also know that I deeply care about ending sex trafficking in our generation and helping women heal from the horrors of the pain that they have had to live through.
I had the distinct privilege of interviewing the co-founder of Sweet Aroma Coffee, a subscription-based coffee service that uses a large percentage of their profits to help rehabilitate women who are coming out of the sex industry. I love the vision behind this company, and I love that something as simple as purchasing coffee can actually change lives.
Click here to read the full interview over at Darling Magazine. And then click over to Sweet Aroma Coffee to sign up for a coffee subscription that’s truly doing good in the world!
Do you ever feel the desire to be famous? I do. Honestly, I think it’s a desire that is inside all of us at some point or another–and I think it’s a desire that comes from God.
How we use that ache for fame, though–that’s a different story.
Wrestling with this idea is what my newest piece is about over at RELEVANT Magazine. I’d love for you to read it and share your thoughts!
