Three Word Wednesday

Full-time purpose

March 8, 2017 by Kristin 20 Comments

“Why don’t you have a job, Mom?” my inquisitive 9-year-old girl asked recently.

She’s been asking all kinds of questions about my life before she can remember. She’s wondered about my college days, about my newspaper reporter job before she was born, and her babyhood. I knew the inquiry about my lack of a job was an information-gathering prompt and not an assessment on how I spent my time.

But the question still gave me pause and prompted me to think about purpose.

Honestly, I’m grateful not to have a normal job. If I went to an office or a newsroom like I used to, I would miss out on some things with my kids and wouldn’t have time to do other things I believe I’m called to do.

I manage three vacation rentals at nearby Kentucky Lake and volunteer with my kids’ school and local crisis pregnancy center. And, of course, I write here. Only some of that brings in part-time income, but all of it is part of my purpose in this season.

Each week, Kate Motaung hosts Five Minute Friday and last week’s prompt was PURPOSE. When I saw the prompt during the weekly Thursday night Twitter party, I had intentions of writing, but I couldn’t focus my thoughts. But then Cate’s question came. And in church a couple of days later someone read Romans 8:28 – one of my all-time favorites.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28

Purpose.

I may not have a full-time job.
But I have a full-time purpose.

{Tweet that.}

I’m a wife, mom, friend, writer, property manager, volunteer, and adoption advocate. Greg’s business as an attorney has been blessed in ways that free me to not have a normal job. And that’s pretty much what I told Cate when she asked me why I didn’t have a job.

Jobs can be fleeting, but purpose, even while it can change with life’s seasons, is more lasting and intertwined with who God created us to be. I hope my girl recognizes that and strives to put her identity where it matters.

*****

I know it’s Wednesday, but I’m linking with Kate Motaung and the Five Minute Friday crew anyway.

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Here I Am

March 1, 2017 by Kristin 18 Comments

Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say
That you’re my God …

{From “Here I Am to Worship“}

Church is always an adventure with kids. But here we are, finding our way to “our seats” in the second row on the near side of the sanctuary like every Sunday morning.

I feel like we announce our presence when there are any pauses in songs with the toddler flinging her cup because after being once desperate for it she’s moved on to something else, the middle boy wanting to play and move when he gets distracted from the words on the screen, and the oldest asking questions.

Our row typically includes much movement, some extra kids, and the crinkling of fruit snack packages.

This past Sunday, I was fresh off two steroid shots the day before because the low-dose one I got three days earlier wasn’t clearing up my poison ivy. I was still wanting to claw my arms, chin, and neck off, but the two new shots were working.

And making my hungry, thirsty, and restless.

So I ate some fruit snacks (hello, mom purse) during the songs … and, yes, I shared with the various kids around me. I drank from a water bottle. I tapped my leg more than usual. I wrangled my youngest who ended up falling asleep on Greg, which is a rare treat and one I was slightly jealous was happening on my husband.

There was a tornado of normal kid and mom activity in my row Sunday. And then those lyrics from a worship song I’ve heard hundreds of times before stopped me in the moment.

Here I am to worship.

Our speaker Sunday morning talked about the transfiguration of Jesus and how that affects our worship. Yes, we have mountaintop experiences, but much of our lives are lived in the valleys. Remember the mountaintops and allow worship to remind us what God has done. Worship allows us – wherever we are – to come before God, who sent His Son as the sacrifice His righteousness requires for us to approach Him..

We are loud and messy and distracted and busy and itchy and so far from perfect.

But here we are to worship and bow down because of who God is and what He’s done for us – on the mountaintops, in the valleys, and on a cross once and for all.

And there’s absolutely no other way I could live because Lord knows without Him we would be louder and messier and more distracted from what truly matters.

*****

I’ve got two music giveaways happening now, so be sure to enter to win, if you haven’t already.

Passion’s Worthy of Your Name

Reba McEntire’s Sing It Now: Songs of Faith & Hope

*****

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We are friends

February 22, 2017 by Kristin 12 Comments

Two of my dearest friends and I have an ongoing group text. It started after one-third of our group moved to a different town. We have hashtags that regularly make their way into conversations, laugh at things nobody else would care about, and share our daily lives this way.

It’s really the only group text I enjoy, honestly. And that’s because I know these two women deeply.

We are friends.

Kay Harms, author of “When You Find Another,” defines friends as people who speak into each others’ lives on a mutual basis. She compares different kinds of friends to different kinds of apples.

Jaclyn and Sarah are my Golden Delicious Friends, according to Harms’ definitions. (But, really, give me a Honeycrisp apple to eat any day!)

The texting sustains us until we are all back together. Then we manage to pick up where we left off, fill in the gaps, and make new memories. This is true of both the ongoing group message with Jaclyn and Sarah as well as other texting conversations I have with friends between face-to-face visits.

“The loveliest friendships of all feed our souls with the sweet and beneficial conversations they provide. They encourage us and push us forward to be all God created us to be. They comfort us and restore our souls when we feel broken, wounded or weary. They make us laugh and bring us joy. They remind us of who we are and whose we are and why we are who we are. And they give us faith and courage to keep on going.” – Kay Harms in “When You Find Another”

Friends remind us who we are
and where we belong.

{Tweet that.}

Golden Delicious Friends encourage one another – thus infuse with courage – in their dreams, but they also spur each other on in everyday life. There are more common Red Delicious Friends and tart Green Delicious Friends. All kinds of friends are nourishing for our lives.

“When You Find Another” challenges readers to consider the quality and health of their friendships and spurs them to action to cultivate meaningful relationships. And that takes courage, initiative, and responsibility.

Sarah has said Jaclyn and I made her be friends with us. And we kind of did. We kept inviting her … to church events, to our houses, into our lives, to hear our stories, and to answer our questions. After some time, she realized we were serious about this friendship thing.

About the book

Sometimes we take friendships for granted, but truly these unique relationships are treasures to be carefully cultivated. In “When You Find Another,” Author Kay Harms calls friendship “an ongoing conversation” and encourages us to consider carefully what we are speaking into each other’s lives. For this simple and sweet book, she invited other authors to join the conversation, contributing stories of friendships found, cultivated, lost and renewed. You’ll find encouragement, biblical truth and tender personal insights in this delightful book, and you’ll want to share it with a friend.

I’m thrilled to be among the contributors to this book. In preparing my story of friendship with Jaclyn, I was able to reminisce about God’s faithfulness in this one-of-a-kind relationship. I hope you enjoy a peek into our story. (It’s on page 95, if you’re curious.)

About the author

Kay Harms loves teaching women how to apply the ancient words of the Bible to their modern lives. She has written Bible studies and a devotional guide.

Kay earned a journalism degree at the University of Georgia and enjoys a freelance writing career. She also serves as a MOPS mentor mom and teaches weekly Bible studies for women at her church.

Raised in Georgia, Kay has followed her husband James to Arizona, where he tends to a local flock of believers in the beautiful high desert of Sierra Vista. James and Kay have two grown children.

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As a contributor, I received a free copy of this book and am part of the launch team. But these opinions are mine and I’ve actually already bought a copy of the book to gift to Jaclyn.

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