I hope one day you get to meet Jami Nato. I'm so glad she exists. Seriously love Jesus in this sweet, spunky, short woman. Her words slay me and fill me up. That's what truth does. But truth mingled with the glorious mess of the Lord's redemption in the human experience does it in a community kind of way, a heart-to-heart-living-room-talk-with-the-kids-running-through-the-house-shrieking kind of way. You'll be brought face to face with your crap through her fearless writing, but you'll be faced squarely with the power at work to save too. Here, have a little taste of her and Nato's story. You're welcome!
Meanwhile, on the other side of reconciliation, the journey of life continues. Right now they're at a new "mountain"...
"i find 2 things compelling:
1) in God's kindness he let us know it was about to get nuts. why does he even care about us in this way?
2) in that same kindness, he has let the storm completely overwhelm us.
there is no way to get to where we need to be but to climb a giant mountain, in a storm, and only see the few inches in front of us. his mercy is full here, on this arduous climb.
each step, has been planned. and He has always made a way for weary travelers, hasn't he? i know i won't even climb this whole mountain or even a small part of it, there will be a lot of him carrying me. and not in the cheesy footprints in the sand kind of way, but in the blood falling from his brow for me kind of way.
in light of his goodness on the cross for me thousands of years ago, i know i can trust in his goodness now. he laid down his life for me in the greatest act of generosity, trustworthy-ness, and kindness in all of history, so he'll do this too. he carried the cross up the hill and now he'll carry me up this mountain. and when i look into his face, i remember who i am. because without the storms, i had forgotten.
if ever it was said that there are situations which make us feel small, it is now. there's no question of who is doing the work on this mountain." read more here.
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Y'all, Shannan Martin's heart beats in sync with mine for adoption + impoverished neighbors. She is straight up real about brokenness, the beauty and the pain of it, and her mess is full of hope. She is my soul sister. You will love her! Here are her and Cory's kids.
"But my child gave me the gift of ripping the mask off my ugly, making me face it every single day, no where to turn, no where to hide. Loving him has set me free from the stunning arrogance that I could fix him, or anyone. It's not within my skill set. It was never meant to be.
Loving imperfectly, and unconditionally, has struck my soul like a bell - This doesn't even come close to the way God loves us. I sort the laundry and stir the soup and hold my tired, scrappy little boy to the echo of its reverb.
Loving Silas, and watching him start to love us back, prepared us to welcome another hurting boy into our life, arms-out, heart-bare, pride and expectations and all the world-wise conventions smashed to bits back at the curb." read more here.
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I feel like Jessi Connolly of Naptime Diaries, co-founder of the Influence Network, has a bit of a superstar status in the blogging world. She inspires me, no doubt, but maybe for different reasons than the general audience. What I love hearing her talk about most is her real example as a church-planting Pastor's wife. Her support and love for her hubby in this huge, hard calling bears the overpowering aroma of surrender and it is a sweet, sweet smell to the Lord. The strength she has gained from laying down her life is a raw and beautiful picture of the Gospel rooted in a soul. It humbles and sharpens me. Following along with their church-plant, Gospel Community, on Instagram is one of the most invigorating things to me.
I keep going back to this vulnerable post of hers lately:
"It wasn't just that were were poor, we were absolutely poor in spirit. Nick would come home from those days of looking for jobs and sit beside me on the couch. When he looked to his left, I know he didn't see the bride of his youth or anything near to the woman he married a few years back. I was fifty (sixty?) pounds heavier, I'd lost any resemblance to the confidence young gal that I used to be. Groups and crowds made me nervous, I cried all the time. Our babies overwhelmed me and I just had literally no vision or hope out of the season we were in. I was broken and poor, poor in spirit.
But we found the gospel on that couch. Because we sure didn't have cable or money to distract us. We didn't have the expectations of what we could be for one another to rely on. We only had the truth that on our own we were broken and together, we had the tiniest shred of belief that Jesus would be more. We'd spend hours upon hours on that couch, curled up together or fingers barely brushing one another, discussing the Good News and what it really meant for us. That though we were broken, God cared for the broken. That though we were poor, we were rich in Him. All on that modern sofa that represented all we had hoped in ourselves, our Father gave us hope in Him.
We eventually sold the sofa, for money we desperately needed, but we kept the gospel. And now, on great nights or awful nights or the ones in between - it means the world to me that I can look to the left and know - we've got Good News." read more here.
LISTEN //
gimmie that girl - joe nichols
glorious unfolding - steven curtis chapman
ulysses - josh garrels
GOOD READS //
I'm a story teller and my story is one I want to tell in full someday. Some seasons are for soaking up and some are for sharing though. I'm an avid journaler and process a lot on paper but in the soaking-up seasons its more like cataloging pieces that resonate with where I'm at, that'll stir up rich, raw memories in the sharing seasons. Lately I've been stumbling upon quotes and, wanting to save them but not wanting to blow up Facebook feeds with them, I've been setting them as captions to pins. Enjoy a smattering of them!
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