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what life does

August 5, 2011

And grief washes in and colors everything blue, and you don’t see it coming until it’s already here. There is no warning, just hot salty water on your face. The sobs are deep and even though he wasn’t my dad, he was a little bit.

We have so many layers of person on us. We cry for obvious things, but usually it’s the not so obvious that we need to pay attention to. Like today how I cried when I read this post by Donald Miller. And it’s just a really short post from a few weeks ago about why he’ll be out of the office for a while. But it slayed me. And I don’t even know if that’s a word, but that’s what it did.

It did something else besides reach down deep and shake me up – it reminded me of joy. Joy comes the same way as grief sometimes. She shows up without calling first, but who would mind? She stands there holding her bright pink skirts with two fistfuls of fabric, smile wide across her lovely face. And she looks me in the eye and reminds me of all the gifts, pointing them out one by one. To live fully is to stand in a room with Joy and Grief and hold them each by the hand, giving them freedom to be themselves. Don’t try to boss them. They won’t listen anyway.

Filed Underfaith 29 Comments

31 days :: Coming October 2011

August 3, 2011

It may only be August, but here on the blog I’m already making plans for this year’s 31 days series. Some of you may remember last year, I wrote 31 Days of Grace – everyday in October, we talked a little bit about this thing called grace, and how it changes everything. It was my sister’s idea to have a 31 day series and she invited seven of us to play along. We’re doing it again this year, only this time we want to invite you to come up with your own 31 days series as well! There will be an opportunity for you to link your series up with ours so we can all benefit from the unique giftedness of one another. Check out her blog for the details.

I’ve done a lot of thinking about what this years 31 days will be about. And I’m thinking big, y’all. You may not get it and you may think I’m crazy, but here’s my topic for this October, for better or worse.

Because here’s the thing: if I really believe that this grace changes everything, then this grace changes everything. And I’m not foolish enough to think that a 31 days series will bring world peace. But maybe in a way it will? Because the truth is, there are as many worlds as there are people. And if the grace that comes from the hand of God is extended into my world (and it is), then everything in my world is different. It has to be. If it isn’t, then it isn’t really grace.

We’ll talk more. Suffice it to say for now that in October, we might find out a little more what we’re made of. And what we’re made for. Until then, I hope you’ll be thinking about your own 31 days series. I wouldn’t recommend writing on a blog everyday all the time, but for one month, it’s kind of a fun challenge. Not only that, if you sometimes struggle with knowing what your unique message is, developing a series that runs for 31 days might help you identify it.

If you would like some tips to help you think about what you might like to write about, check out Define Your Bloggy Purpose and answer the seven questions listed there. And then, remember that only you carry the vision for your writing and your message, and while you consider what you might want to write about, it could help you to first know what you don’t want to write about. I’d love to hear if you have any 31 day ideas off the top of your head – what would you love to write about for 31 days straight? Here are the topics from the eight of us to get you thinking:

Nester – 31 Days of Charming Imperfection
Jen - 31 Days to Balancing Both Beauty and a Budget
Jessica – 31 Days of Memory Keeping
Melissa: 31 Days: Inspired Holidays
Sandy: 31 Days of Keeping the Family Together
Darcy: 31 Days of Photo Tips
Emily W.: 31 Days of the Little Things
Me: 31 Days to Change the World

Filed Under31 Days to Change the World 80 Comments

when she speaks

August 2, 2011

It feels like 37 years ago, but I did attend the She Speaks Conference again this year. I was humbled to speak to a room full of women about my journey from writing a blog to writing a book, a phrase that still kind of makes me shudder. Mainly because when you hear “from blog to book” you might be tempted to think that the person who is teaching it values book-writing over blog-writing. And I certainly do not.

I did this session with Andrea Doering, one of the executive editors with Revell Books. She has years of experience in the industry acquiring both fiction and non-fiction titles. She is a professional, and she is a friend. She is also the editor who acquired my book and who I hope to work with for a long time. Do you want to know one of my favorite things she said to this room filled with writers and bloggers at She Speaks? She said this:

“One question bloggers should not ask themselves is, What does it take to get published? If you have a blog, you are already published. People are reading your work. In fact, if you have 2,000 readers, then you already have more readers than 95% of authors who have books in bookstores.”

Andrea and I gave this same talk last year – but last year she didn’t say this. In fact, I said a lot of things this year I didn’t say last year, either. Want to know why? It’s because things are changing, and they’re changing fast. If you have a blog, my suggestion to you is to treat it with respect and make it the best art you have.

But what if you don’t have 2,000 readers? Maybe you have 30 readers. Do you roll your eyes at those 30 readers? Do you think of your work as valuable even if only 30 people read it? Consider this: what if 30 women showed up in a room to hear you speak. Would you see it differently? Would you roll your eyes at them? No way! You would prepare and plan and maybe even get nervous. And you would look forward to meeting with these 30 people who made the effort to show up and listen. Lysa TerKeurst said something similar to that a few years ago and I haven’t forgotten it.

I have a lot more I could share with you about our session at She Speaks and I’m considering doing that next week. Would you want to hear more? What types of things would you like to hear?

Tagged, Filed Undera writer, inspired 74 Comments

how August is like a maid

August 1, 2011

June and July blew through like giddy old friends from out of town. And they made our house feel like home for a while, shared their beautiful memory-making stories. And some heartbreaking, life-changing ones, too. It has been a fast summer, and I don’t want to let go too soon. But today is August.

I do crazy things in August, things like pull out fall smelling candles and start to make soup. I’d like to think I’ve gotten better at not rushing ahead to the next season, and maybe I have in some ways. But this year, I can feel that familiar pull towards autumn, that new shoes and pencils itch, a longing for a schedule that school days brings, hope for a cool blast of air. I should know better, living in North Carolina.We don’t get fall until October. Still, August comes in like a maid and readys the house and all her tenets for the transition. She sweeps under the couch and taps your crossed feet off the coffee table, and as she wipes the surface clean, she whispers Get ready, sweetheart. Change is coming.

Aren’t you thankful for times of transition? We have a Maker who doesn’t just throw the sun up into the sky in a shock of fire, but pulls it up slow every morning and down the same way every night. And if you stare as it happens, the change is hard to see, but if you close your eyes and count to twenty, everything is different when you open them back up again. It’s because a lot happens in the transition, secret things, beautiful things, Spirit led things.

And so I wait for the book to release in a few short weeks, and ask for the Lord to calm me. We look forward to school starting up again, and place any anxiety about it in his hands. I sit with The Man with calendars and fall schedules, and quietly celebrate what every future meeting and event means: that we are living, that we are doing what we love, and that we belong to a community. Prepare us, O Lord, in this month of transition.

How do you feel about August?

Filed Undera mother, breathe 38 Comments
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