Little Blessings (Pt. 48)

September 9, 2012 by · 2 Comments

I feel bad that this series has tapered off…trust me, my life is abounding with blessings. And I need to keep counting them, even on the rough days.

God is doing some really cool things, and I’m excited to share them with you, hopefully soon.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend. :)

Now, the list. 😉

:) Ice cream dates with my girl. Like, the kind when I end up wearing half of her sundae before the date is over. Choosing to smile over our precious time together instead.

:) This 5k. Which I managed to run a mere 25 days after having my gall bladder out. Nowhere near a PR for me, but I love the cause. Was worth the pain that running FOUR hills involved, and I managed to still break 30. 😉 (Ok, I’ll stop…some of you have heard me talk about this a little too much! HA.)

:) Symphony concerts with friends.

:) Changing the life of a child. So thankful for my Bible study group and their decision to sponsor a child. You can, too!

:) Hide and seek with a two-year old who skips five every time she counts to ten. LOVE her.

:) Parades and candy and perfect, sunshine-y 70 degree weather.

:) Piano duets with a certain little girl…a strange mix of beauty and chaos. So profound that it triggered a blog post I’m hoping to use as a guest-write. We’ll see. :)

:) Flowers and barefoot dancing.

:) The promise of fall being here very soon.

:) Seasons…and that He performs miracles in each one. My Father is Good.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, Compassion, just life, Maelie, where I am

Five-Minute Friday: Graceful

September 7, 2012 by · 6 Comments

Today I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five-Minute Friday.

Join me!

The rules: Write for five minutes. No editing, revising, or overthinking. Just write.

Today’s Topic: Graceful

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s me laughing Really. Really. Really. Loud.

Because graceful? Is soooooo not me. In terms of physical anyway. I’m a decent athlete/runner, but I have zero grace.

You know, the kind that dances and looks so beautiful and elegant.

Um, no…never known that feeling.

In fact, I remember my first dance classes as a kid and how they didn’t go so well. While my dance teacher didn’t kick me out at all, I seem to recall being “encouraged” to explore other areas of life.

Maybe that’s why I’m an artist and a musician. :)

Have you ever seen that lovely episode of Friends when Phoebe runs? Here’s a clip for ya.

Golly, sometimes I wonder if that’s me. In a strange, paradoxical way, I’d be kinda proud if it was. This clumsy, totally lovable girl, making her tiny, memorable, mark on a great big world.

In all seriousness, though…graceful.

I’m a blessed child of God who has had the gift of Grace lavished upon her. My life is walking testimony of the fullness of His Grace.

And as I laugh over my clumsy tendencies and shake my head and giggle when I fall over nothing (which is often!)…I remember that I have real Grace.

May I never forget that, and may I choose to extend it to others, too.

Five Minute Friday

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, Five Minute Friday, just life, remembering, where I am

Compassion…Change a Life

September 4, 2012 by · 12 Comments

A few of you know that for several years, I’ve wanted to write.

That’s kind of been a bumpy road.

Finding a good fit for me has been hard. I wrote a few articles for a local online newspaper, but it wasn’t really my thing. (And I have a hard time sticking to a theme…hellOOOO! Just read the random of this place.) 😉

Several months ago, I decided that stressing over what might be next for me as far as writing (if there even IS anything) wasn’t worth it.

This blog is my space…my place. And in some very real ways, a piece of home. And so it’s where I’m staying. Just to do my own little thing.

However, one of my long-term dreams has been, for several years, to blog a trip for Compassion. For those of you unfamiliar with what that might entail, Compassion takes bloggers with them on their trips to visit sponsored children. Those bloggers are able to provide new perspectives because they are seeing and experiencing with new eyes and hearts.

I don’t make it much of a secret that I’d love to do that.

But that really can’t happen at the moment. For one thing, I have a two year-old girlie. My place is with her for now. And the bigger reason is they tend to choose bloggers who have higher amounts of traffic and comments. (That’s not a subtle hint. Or a not-so-subtle one, either. Just the facts. ;))

Last week I was browsing the Compassion site and came across something…

Want to blog for us?

Um, YEAH! (Pretty sure that was audible, though Maelie was the only one to hear it. :))

It turns out that Compassion is asking bloggers to write for them during the month of September to raise awareness and ask readers to consider sponsoring a child.

I can do that. In fact, I would LOVE to. :)

I can’t sit here and tell you that I understand the extreme poverty, hunger, and sheer need that these children face. Yes, I have lived near people very much in these circumstances.

But I have also never, ever been without. I have never been asked to enter in to the suffering experienced by so many children around the world. God has blessed me abundantly and given so much MORE than I could ever ask or imagine.

I honestly don’t know whose eyes see this. If my blog is anything like the many I read but don’t necessarily comment on, I could have a lot of readers.

Will you do me a favor?

First, leave a comment. I want to know you’ve been here. You can just say hi or tell me your favorite joke or compliment me on my awesome word usage. (Well, sometimes. ;))

Second, would you pray? For children around the world who are in life or death situations. Such a small amount of money each month would turn those situations around and give them HOPE.

Third, would you consider sponsoring a child? I can’t guilt you here. I can’t force it. Nor do I want to. But I can give you the opportunity to think about it. Pray and see what God might have you do.

I had this crazy, but super-cool, idea that it would be awesome if, through BarefootMel, I could get 100 children sponsored this month. (There are currently 3,108 waiting for sponsors. That’s a LOT!) All you have to do? Is click the button on my sidebar, pray through the children you see, choose one, and that’s that!

The lives of 100 kids changed forever. Or even MORE!

THAT’S something that can be done NOW. Love it.

I do want to point out that the blogger who gets the most children sponsored through his/her blog gets a spot on an upcoming Compassion trip as a blogger. That’s not why I chose to do this. It’s ultimately about seeing lives changed, and that’s what I want more than anything…just being up-front. :) But it would be pretty awesome to get to participate in a Compassion trip.

That’s all.

Oh! I almost forgot the best part…we have a new family member. :) His name is Putra, and he is a nine year-old boy from Indonesia. My husband and I decided we needed to finally put some walking with our talking. I have to tell you that I’m already in love, too. I can’t wait to share pictures with you!

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, Compassion, family, Indonesia, where I am, writing

Small Moments

August 28, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

About a year ago I took a job at a little coffee shop about ten minutes from my house. It was a job I only worked at for four months, but during those months, I met some pretty great people.

One of those was a coworker…for some reason we worked together quite a bit, and he would spend a lot of time working on things there while he wasn’t actually on the clock. He’s a believer, passionate about missions, a phenomenal musician…which gave us plenty of good conversation topics. We also had Peru in common, and once we downed almost a whole bottle of Inca Kola between the two of us. (Helllooooo sugar. But GOOD sugar. ;))

You know how some people just shine for Jesus? He’s one of those. It was evident in everything he said, everything he did.

When I stopped working there, I saw him a few times after and once went to a concert he was performing at his church. After that, we kind of lost touch though I’d see a status update here or there on Facebook.

But somehow I missed his big news…until tonight.

He’s heading to Nashville to record. With a Grammy-winning producer.

I am truly so, so happy for him.

Sometimes I smile at the irony of small moments…how someone can be in your life for such a short period of time but leave an impact. He’s like that. And I really can’t wait to see what God is going to do through him.

It’ll be BIG.

Blessings to you, Judah…I’ll be first in line to buy your album. :)

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, coffee, friends, just life, music, remembering

Little Blessings (Pt. 47)

August 27, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

:) A run after being out for two weeks. It felt good. Really.

:) Taking the time to really clean the house (well, part of it ;)) and finding a pair of sandals for Maelie I’d forgotten we had. They’re on the big side now…hoping they’ll make it to next summer. We’ll see!

:) Free books. Since I write anyway, I figured I might as well read books (for free) and review them. First review coming soon!

:) Dark chocolate.

:) Watching my daughter learn to pray. Sometimes she prays for bizarre things…but I love watching her faith grow.

:) Sunshine and the fact that we still technically have over three weeks of “summer” left.

:) Jewelry making. Kind of on an earring kick these days…anyone need any? I make them…but I don’t really wear them. (I know I’m weird.)

:) Friend time with some Starbucks thrown in there, too.

:) Reading a really good post today that I’ll probably write about tomorrow.

:) Having a Father who can heal broken.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, just life, uncategorized, where I am

Aaaaahhhhh…

August 26, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

It was one of those days that I didn’t intend to be a day for sanity, but it turned into one. I have my wonderful, lengthy-nap-taking (today, anyway) daughter to thank for a lot of it. 😉 And the rain, ’cause I LOVE a rainy day. Pretty sure if it was relaxing, it was part of my Sunday.

I slept ’til 8. I never do that. It’s kind of my own fault, but maybe more of the fault lies with the author of the book I started at 10 pm last night. Yeah. After one, I made myself turn off my Kindle and go to bed. (Guess what I’m doing as soon as I’m done writing tonight????) 😉

I went to 10:45. Well, we do that every Sunday. But I really love my church family and friends. So it was definitely relaxing. And we sang a few of my favorites today…always a plus for this music lovin’ girl.

I ate a burrito. I guess this was relaxing in that I can nix Taco Bell from my I-can-eat-this-after-having-my-gallbladder-out list. Bummer, kind of. At least pizza seems to be ok. THAT would be devastating. I should point out that I ate On the Border the other night and was just fine…so it’s clearly Taco Bell. Clearly. 😉

It rained. Like, not pouring-so-much-there’s-an-extra-pool-in-our-backyard kind of rain, but it was still gray and drizzly enough to be the perfect Sunday afternoon. I wore a hoodie and sat on the back porch and drank coffee while…

Maelie slept. Oh, yes she did. (Thank you, rain.) And while she slept…

I created. One of my favorite craft-y things to do, besides painting, is make jewelry. I fixed a bracelet for a friend first, and then I started playing with wire to see what I could come up with. I made a ring that turned out ok…and daisy earrings that are pretty sweet. They still need a bit of perfecting, but daisies out of wire that are worthy to wear as jewelry? I think they’re one of my favorite creations so far. :) Oh, and I worked on a painting a little, but painting on the back porch when it’s raining doesn’t really work. The air was too wet, and the paint wouldn’t dry. I’ll finish tomorrow. :)

I took dinner to our neighbors. Grandpa S (as Mae calls him) is having surgery tomorrow, so we figured they didn’t need to worry about dinner tomorrow night on top of that. Plus, it’s always nice to go over and chat with them. We are pretty blessed with our neighbors. :)

We hung out with Mae and each other. Minus the part about Tobin completely skunking me at cribbage, it was a good family night. Nothing big or exciting…just us. It was nice. :)

I sang to my girl. Still one of my favorite parts of the day. I love that she’s now starting to sing along and even match pitch. Scary, I know. But also cool. She’s out for the night…

And I’m gonna go finish my book.

:)

G’nite, friends!

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, church, coffee, family, friends, just life, Maelie, Tobin

Fill-in-the-Blank Friday

August 24, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

I found this link-up awhile ago.

Love the idea. :)

So, tonight, I’m linkin’ up!

My favorite thing to do on Friday is hang out at church. I know that sounds a little weird, but every Friday morning, Maelie and I go to Immanuel to help with wrapping bread and delivering it to places in our area. We also get to see some pretty great people/friends then, too. A little blessing that’s an important part of our Friday and of our week. Oh, and I also like looking forward to the weekend. Who doesn’t?! 😉

This Friday I did the above. Plus a no-nap afternoon from the princess, coffee with a friend/playtime for our girls, and then dinner with them plus the hubbies. A good Friday. Defintely.

The best thing about a weekend is having all-of-us-together time. Even though life isn’t always easy with a two year-old and we’re very-imperfect human beings, I love that we can do little things together like play outside, go for walks, have ice cream dates. I also really look forward to church.

Now that summer is almost over I’m feeling the strange paradox of sadness and anticipation. I love the free and wonderful of summer that bring with it flip flops and swimming and sunshine and extra friend time. At the same time, I love fall. Early morning running, coffee on the back porch, sweater and jeans weather. Perfection.

The best thing I did this summer was ummm…??? I don’t think I can choose just one thing. I love friend and coffee time in general, and there were some oh-so-good times that included just those. Probably the highlight was the trip that Maelie and I made to the farm with our dear friend. We loved it. And she is still talking about it. :)

The thing I’m looking forward to about fall is leaf-crunching while I run. I…ahem…will actually go out of my way during a timed run if I see leaves that need to be crunched. And, of course, the sweaters and jeans…and the combat boots, too. 😉

If I had to be stuck in one season for the rest of my life, I would choose spring. (Funny that I did this for several years already. And let me tell you all…year-round summer is not all it’s cracked up to be.) I’d choose spring for the fact that it can kind of be anything on any given day. There’s a chance of snow but also a chance of a really beautiful, sunshine-y day. I also love the new life that emerges…such a beautiful picture of how our Father is continually teaching us to grow.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, coffee, family, Fill-in-the-Blank Friday, friends, just life, Maelie, remembering, Tobin, where I am

Thursday Thoughts

August 23, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Hmmmm…that’s such nifty alliteration.

Ahem.

Actually, no. I didn’t even think about it ’til it was already written. That could potentially make me even more cool.

It was my first normal Thursday…”normal” as in Bible study, lunch with friends, playtime for Mae, minus the guitar lesson today…but, still. It’s nice to be back to the only form of routine we know.

I still really love Thursdays. :)

I’m not throwing coffee into the mix tonight, though. I’ve been extra tired since last week and figured I don’t need to add anything that may potentially keep me up. Right now, Sleep. Is. Good. :)

Today was a day of unexpected blessings. Seeing a dear friend at Bible study…and being able to connect with her a bit. I’d missed her. A get-together tonight with some friends, which I decided to attend almost-last-minute. It ended up being really, really good…nice to chat with people I don’t always see. Some time to catch up with a dear friend…she always makes me smile.

There was also time to process this afternoon. I really use that word too much…no worries, I’m completely aware of it! :)

I’m getting restless, and I know it. I love my daughter so much. The days we spend together are wonderful, even the tough ones, and I wouldn’t trade being home with her for anything.

But I need an outlet.

I was hoping it would be my book. You know, that thing I’d planned to have finished several months ago? Yeah, that one.

Unfortunately, I can’t always just pull words out of nowhere.

I can’t fix my laptop (the one that seems to have gone permanently ka-put) so I can actually write from the couch or in bed…I only get so much done sitting in a chair at a computer desk.

Maybe the one thing I can do is try to get a little boost of confidence from somewhere. A writer’s group, maybe? A friend passed on some info today about one. I think it’s time. I need to decide if I’m going somewhere with this or not.

It seems like everyone out there thinks they can write a book. I know that was a pretty general statement…it’s just that I so badly want it to be me. The one who actually finishes what she started and maybe even sells it.

It seems like such a far-off dream.

I’ve always been ok with being a dreamer, but I’m also realizing more and more that I need to decide.

I hate the unfinished.

For now, while I wait for the words to return, I’ll putter around here. Sometimes deep, sometimes not.

But always…always…I’ll be me.

This place is still my heart. And I hope you’ll still stop by.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, friends, just life, random, where I am, writing

Dependence

August 22, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Sometimes I forget it’s where I should be, this place of dependence.

Because I get wrapped up in all that surrounds me.

I act as though the blessings around me aren’t fulfilling, aren’t a testimony of His mercy and grace in my life.

As if that free gift, the only thing I ever truly need, isn’t enough for me to feel complete.

Can I be honest with you, friends?

I hate the lies that I, all too often, allow Satan to feed me. What’s worse, I believe them.

When they start to overtake even a tiny corner of my mind, it’s all downhill.

His grip is powerful but not as powerful as my Father’s.

Life, lately, has seemed to be just this…allowing aspects of it to become overshadowed by untruth. Words hurt, lies creep in, and I let my heart get so wrapped up in those other things around me that it no longer belongs completely to my Father. My wholeness is found in the imperfect of this world rather than the perfect Love of Him.

Deep breath…

…because His mercies are new each and every day. He is my Rock. I won’t be shaken. He’ll lift me up and help me to stand. Give overwhelming, all-sufficient grace that is more than enough for each day.

Sometimes I think being dependent in this way is the best place to be.

Because when life is perfect, we somehow forget about the need.

But I? Most certainly need Him.

Father, keep me in the place where I never, ever forget that.

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, encouragement, music, what I'm learning, where I am

I Really Love This…

August 20, 2012 by · Leave a Comment

Maelie had a play date with her sweet friends this morning. (M & E are just a few weeks older than she is.) I just think this is way too adorable…SO much cuteness! :)

I can’t believe how much they’ve grown up! So fun. :)

Sig

Filed Under: blessings, friends, just life, Maelie
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