And here we are....FALL. No blogging done during the last year.
I feel awful about it.
There is not enough coffee in the world to make me feel better about it.
There is also not enough coffee to solve my issues that have kept me from blogging.
As my friend Kelli said recently,
"If those of us who struggle, as much as I struggle, are ashamed of it, we're never going to get anywhere".
And the thing is, I am tired.
Tired of struggling, tired of feeling like I am failing, feeling alone, and overwhelmed.
and I'm guessing you are too. So many of us are. Don't get me wrong, I have great people in my life who love me well, but I think its the nature of our society today to be stressed out.
Do more. BE MORE. All the freaking time. And when we fall, getting back up is harder and harder.
So how do we stop?
How do we find relief from all the stuff that keeps us in the pit of despair and struggle? Where do we turn to keep getting up time after time when we get bombarded by life?
If you have read anything else of mine, you know my first answer. JESUS. We were never designed to do this life alone. We were meant to be His and draw our strength and hope from Him. This will never change for me. I may lose sight of it temporarily and try to do it on my own, but I will always come back to Jesus. And there he is, arms open wide....the epitome of grace, love & forgiveness.
and because I love Him and want to be His, I crave something else...
I crave community.
Last spring I was introduced the most amazing idea, a Turquoise Table. Kristin Schell of Austin, Texas had found a way to be Front Yard People. Cause ya know.. we tend to pull in after school pick-up or work and go into the garage and either stay inside or just hang in our fenced backyards. I am totally guilty of this. I am guilty of shutting out the very people that I want to do life with.
Answer these honestly...
How many of your neighbors can you name?
How many of them do you know more than two or three facts about?
Do they know you?
Yeah, I got a big old fat F on this quiz. And I pride myself on my hospitality!!!
Kristin came up with an ideal way to combat this. Start hanging out in the front, at a table that anyone and everyone was invited to, and meet those around her. Right where she was, right where they were. Genius!!! She also wrote an amazing book all about it.
Go check it out over at kristinschell.com/the-turquoise-table
And then...go do the next right thing. If you crave community and a full life, go do the next right thing FOR YOU. That looks so different for each of us.
For me right now it's publishing this blog and taking the dog for a walk.
It might be reading your Bible.
It's doing a load of laundry, or unloading the dishwasher.
It might be texting that friend you miss and saying,
"hey, I've got pumpkin spice coffee. Come hangout on the porch with me."
Or maybe it's as simple as taking a shower or as hard as seeking help from a professional.
Whatever it is, go do it. And make sure you have plenty of coffee. It always helps...
I feel awful about it.
There is not enough coffee in the world to make me feel better about it.
There is also not enough coffee to solve my issues that have kept me from blogging.
As my friend Kelli said recently,
"If those of us who struggle, as much as I struggle, are ashamed of it, we're never going to get anywhere".
And the thing is, I am tired.
Tired of struggling, tired of feeling like I am failing, feeling alone, and overwhelmed.
and I'm guessing you are too. So many of us are. Don't get me wrong, I have great people in my life who love me well, but I think its the nature of our society today to be stressed out.
Do more. BE MORE. All the freaking time. And when we fall, getting back up is harder and harder.
So how do we stop?
How do we find relief from all the stuff that keeps us in the pit of despair and struggle? Where do we turn to keep getting up time after time when we get bombarded by life?
If you have read anything else of mine, you know my first answer. JESUS. We were never designed to do this life alone. We were meant to be His and draw our strength and hope from Him. This will never change for me. I may lose sight of it temporarily and try to do it on my own, but I will always come back to Jesus. And there he is, arms open wide....the epitome of grace, love & forgiveness.
and because I love Him and want to be His, I crave something else...
I crave community.
Last spring I was introduced the most amazing idea, a Turquoise Table. Kristin Schell of Austin, Texas had found a way to be Front Yard People. Cause ya know.. we tend to pull in after school pick-up or work and go into the garage and either stay inside or just hang in our fenced backyards. I am totally guilty of this. I am guilty of shutting out the very people that I want to do life with.
Answer these honestly...
How many of your neighbors can you name?
How many of them do you know more than two or three facts about?
Do they know you?
Yeah, I got a big old fat F on this quiz. And I pride myself on my hospitality!!!
Kristin came up with an ideal way to combat this. Start hanging out in the front, at a table that anyone and everyone was invited to, and meet those around her. Right where she was, right where they were. Genius!!! She also wrote an amazing book all about it.
Go check it out over at kristinschell.com/the-turquoise-table
And then...go do the next right thing. If you crave community and a full life, go do the next right thing FOR YOU. That looks so different for each of us.
For me right now it's publishing this blog and taking the dog for a walk.
It might be reading your Bible.
It's doing a load of laundry, or unloading the dishwasher.
It might be texting that friend you miss and saying,
"hey, I've got pumpkin spice coffee. Come hangout on the porch with me."
Or maybe it's as simple as taking a shower or as hard as seeking help from a professional.
Whatever it is, go do it. And make sure you have plenty of coffee. It always helps...
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