{Post-It | Day 9 of 31}

Ready? GO.

Because I have no clue where to go with this particular prompt, I will make a list. I love to make lists. On post-its, in notebooks, in my calendar. But mostly, on post-its. I can imagine the suspense is killing you, so here are nine of my favorite things to do with post-its.

1. Leave love notes for my husband around the house.
2. Leave love notes for my kids on the bathroom mirror.
3. Leave notes with Scripture on my bathroom mirror.
4. Use them as bookmarks (multiple post-its in one book, color-coded).
5. Collect them (all colors, all sizes).
6. Leave reminders for myself in the car. (i.e. get gas)
7. Make a short shopping list, usually for Target.
8. Doodle (with a sharpie).
9. Doodle some more.

Post-its are the best.

STOP.

{Muddle | Day 8 of 31}

Ready? GO.

I had to look this word up because it immediately conjures up a picture of someone shuffling along, head down with little or no focus on where they’re going. The definition certainly makes room for that picture to be accurate. Words like confusion, bewilderment, disorganized, and disorder were part of the definition. Then I came to this one: to busy oneself in a confused and ineffective way. Well, then.

That definition landed in my gut with a big thud. Who wants to wake up one day and realize that despite being busy, you’ve been ineffective in accomplishing what you’ve set out to do? But, so many times in my life, I’ve ended up in exactly that spot. Busy. But, perhaps busy with the wrong things. Or busy with the right things, but going about it all wrong rendering my efforts ineffective. Am I the only that cringes at the possibility? Can I be vulnerable with you for a moment? It’s one of my biggest fears — ineffectiveness. I do not want to waste the time I’ve been given, nor do I want to waste what God has put in my hands to do while I’m here. So, what then, as a believer in Christ, can I do to guard against getting caught muddling along through my days? It’s oh so easy to do in the midst of dirty laundry, carpool lines, grocery shopping, and all the dozens of other things I have to do in a day. But, here’s something:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing songs, and hymns, and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:16-17, ESV)

Don’t muddle. Live with intention. Do you see it? We don’t have to compartmentalize God. And we don’t have to buy into the lie that we can only be effective for Christ if we’re doing something extraordinary. So maybe it comes down to asking this question: Am I representing Christ the very best that I can in any given moment? Just asking the question keeps me accountable. 

I love how Eugene Peterson says it in The Message paraphrase: So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. (Romans 12:1-2)

Yeah. That’s what I want. How about you?

STOP. 

{Five Minute Friday | Test}

It's Five Minute Friday. That means unplanned, unedited, straight-from-the-heart-to-the-paper writing. Yep, you just write whatever comes out based on a word you're given. If you have five minutes, you should give it a try!  Find out how here.

This week the prompt is {TEST}. This is also Day 7 of the 31 Day Writing Challenge! WOO!

Ready? GO.

For most of us, the word doesn’t conjure up happy feelings. Maybe once we’ve been tested and have passed the happy feelings come, but not usually before. Yeah, before a test there tends to be a lot of hand wringing and last minute studying. A test measures what you know, but it also reveals what you don’t know. Ah, there’s the value of the test. Identifying specific areas of weakness provides an opportunity for growth. I need this in my life all the way around — as a wife, mom, friend, as a leader, and as a girl who wants her life to reflect the best of who she is in Christ. Don’t we all? I'd say we do.

That’s why I appreciate the prayer attached to the end of Psalm 139 (one of my favorites).

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. 

Um. Yeah. Praying that kind of prayer takes a bravery of sorts because it’s another one God will always answer with a yes. And, it might hurt a little as God begins to point out areas where He needs to go to work in us. But even more than bravery, it takes an incredible amount of trust in and vulnerability with God. But see, David intimately knew God. He knew Him to be faithful and full of unfailing love, so David was completely at ease with giving God full, with the unrestricted access to his heart and mind. I want to be like that more often than I manage it now, the unrestricted access. I want to come before God and say here’s my heart, search me. Here’s my mind, test my thoughts. Then, correct me. The last thing I want is something that’s hidden in the depths of my heart or mind — some way of thinking, some sinful attitude or behavior to be offensive to Him or keep me from the path He intends for me. But those things are often the hardest to see and know about ourselves. But, here’s the thing: there’s always something that God can be working on in us. To say “no, I’m good” would mean we’re either perfect (um, no) or proud (that’s more likely). I’d much rather be saying Lord, keep growing me into the girl you meant me to be, rather than holding Him at arm's length insisting that I don't need any work. To believe for a second that I’ve arrived at a place where God's finished working on me means I forfeit the beautiful and wonderful things He has for me in the next season of growth. But we have to ask Him the hard questions and pray the scary prayers that invite Him to work in us. Who better to trust, though, with the testing of our hearts and minds? There is no one better than the One who created us. He had a vision and purpose for our lives before we existed. And He’s good. So good. 

I believe we have to be intentional about moving toward Him. So, may I encourage you today to take a step of faith toward Him by praying these verses of prayer along with me? Because, God, more than anything we want to be women who reflect the light and love of Jesus brightly. Do a work in us that only You can do. 

STOP.

---

{You | Day 6 of 31}

Ready? Go.

I love the scene that unfolds on the pages of Scripture near the end of John 3. Jesus and John were both baptizing new believers. Someone comes to John with a concern about the increasing popularity of Jesus. He’s basically asking why more and more people go to Jesus instead of coming to John to be baptized. I hear more of a “What’s up with that?” kind of tone. I so love what John modeled for us next. He graciously and humbly reminded his friend that everything he was doing and had done in his ministry was meant to point to Jesus. And then, this: "He must become greater; I must become less.”  Just, wow. 

I wonder what would happen in our lives if we postured our hearts to live in that space? What if every single day we prayed "more of You, less of me”? What if we invited Him to be the lead story in every area of our life? It’s one of those scary kind of prayers. You know, the kind that might hurt a little as He begins to work on us. But, I believe it’s the kind of prayer that He’ll always answer with a yes. Because, here’s the thing: it was always meant to be about Him anyway. It’s not about us, though pride would have us believe otherwise. So, I’m sitting in my favorite chair, whispering this prayer even as I type: Lord, let it always be You.

STOP.

{Silence | Day 5 of 31}

Day 5 {Silence}

Ready? Go.

I’ve always appreciated the silence. Maybe that has something to do with my introverted tendencies. Yeah, there’s that. I used to think of silence as the absence of something, like noise and/or activity. But, it’s really more than that. Silence creates space. In our daily routines, silence creates space for rest. In our conversations, it creates space for listening. I’m all about creating space these days. I find that my heart and soul crave room to breathe. 

It’s funny, isn’t it? In the silence you hear things you might otherwise have missed. I find that particularly true in my prayer times. See, there are times when I run out of words. The Lord has graciously reminded me again and again that I don’t have to always have words to fill the silence.  But you know what? He hears the cry of my heart when my words won’t do. He knows me. Some of my most beautiful and meaningful moments have been wrapped in the silence and stillness that comes just from being in His presence. Not saying a word. Just being with Him. Kneeling down. Setting my heart and mind on Him. Meditating on His word. Remembering who He is and what He’s done. When I grab hold of Him like that, words don’t really cut it anyway. That kind of silence creates space for awe and wonder. I never want to lose that. I never want to get over Jesus. I never want to become bored with the truth that the Creator of all things knows my name. Yours, too. And He loves us with an everlasting love. Go ahead. Find a quiet place and just let that sink in. 

STOP.