Just a Thank You

Dear Lord, 

Thank you.

For girls who catch my eyes and capture my heart

For blazing gold painted hills

Songs on the radio

The smell of autumn

And raindrops turned gems on a dark drive home

For tears

And the relief they bring

For struggles

Uncomfortable days that stretch me

For clouds that scuttle across the dripping sky

For feedback so I know this life is actually moving forward

Worn work boots and the strong-humble people wearing them

For polka dots

And I could go on and on

Because you've blessed me so much, Lord. 

Help me to keep going, 

keep thanking,

as the days fly past.

Help me to snag the smiles and laughter 

In a blessed net of thanks.

On the Edge | Conversation

Some of you may know that I work as a trail guide. I get to spend a whole hour with strangers on horseback in the middle of the woods. Most of the time these people respect me because I know more about horses and the trails we're taking than they do, so it's a perfect opportunity to have some good conversations. You know, about God and life and such. 

But they're strangers. 

And I'm terrified of talking to them, to tell you the truth. But. (deep breath...) Today I'm stepping out to the edge. I'm going to make a concerted effort to hand my fear to God and start a meaningful conversation with someone on a ride today. You can do this too! Even if you aren't on horseback, make a point of stepping beyond the small talk today and showing someone you love them by talking about things they need to hear. Ask them how you can pray for them, or tell them about what God has been teaching you lately. 

For some of you, this will be easier than it will be for me. But let's take a deep breath, step out, and make a difference today! 

*Update*
God completely blessed my socks off. You know how scared I was about this? Well, I prayed about it a bit, but I honestly didn't expect God to make it any easier than I imagined. But He's God, you know? He doesn't live in my expectations. 
I started talking to a girl behind me on a trail ride, wracking my brain to bring up something about God or church without sounding awkward. It wasn't working, so I ended up just chatting with her about the horses. She asked me if I knew the story behind any of the horse's names, so I told her about one story I knew. Then I remembered the ponies named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I mentioned them, but it took a second for my mind to adjust to the glaring opportunity staring me down. 
"Do you know the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?" I asked, fully expecting her to know it. 
She didn't.
And then God convicted me and worked everything out at the same time.
See, I know the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But not well enough to rattle off at a moment's notice. So God convicted me to learn that story well, as a tool in future conversations. 
But He worked everything out anyway.
When I mentioned that the story was in the Bible, the girl told me that she was actually reading through the Bible! This led to a conversation about her Wednesday night church group and about the Bible. 

God showed up, guys.

He showed up when I was terrified but when I stepped out in faith anyway. 

That. was. awesome.

This Thing Called Grace

"Are you sure you don't want me to press that piece?" 

She asked it like she was desperate to iron out the wrinkles in this life. To smooth the valleys and mountains and make time run silky-straight. 

Grandma has had lots of hills in her lifetime, I think. 

I handed her the fabric with a smile and a shake of my head. 

I guess we young ones don't understand what it's like to have a mess of wrinkles behind us. 

I don't feel the pain of each jarring bump like my grandma does.

She sure could use a good blanket of grace to wrap herself close in.

Because where she comes from, God lives at church and a Bible is a book and grace might be a dancer as easily as forgiveness. 

That life has been awful bumpy. 

And it makes my heart hurt when she frets about being a pain to us and she wishes she didn't cause so much trouble.

So I stretch out my grace blanket, try to pad some of her pain.

"Grandma, we love you. We want to do things for you because we love you." 

And she feels this grace touching soft and her face goes happy sweet.

She brings back the fabric, crisp smooth and warm, and I'm thinking about how a wrinkle doesn't make a dress bad.

But maybe she doesn't see that a dress is a dress no matter how creased. That this dress will get folded and wrinkled and dirty and worn but will remain whole and loved in the eyes of it's owner. 

Life can be like that sometimes. 

No matter how hilly or wrinkled it is, life is still life. 

And we can choose to see it with the padding of grace as a beautiful masterpiece to be loved and worn out. 

Or we can see it as something that needs to be fixed - this life that keeps growing mountains and folds no matter how hard we press our troubles away. 

For some people, each bump just hurts to much to see the beauty of this thing called a life. 

But there is hope. It's called grace. 

And it doesn't numb the pain but it gives a new perspective and a new heart to this life. 

Today I'm choosing grace. You too? I'm glad. This journey is a whole lot sweeter wrapped in His arms.

(tutorial coming soon on little dresses for Africa - my new favorite project with a purpose!) 

On the Edge | Homemade Cards

I don't think I've ever gotten a card in the mail completely out of the blue from a friend. As in, not for my birthday or because we're pen pals. But I know if I did get a random card with an encouraging note inside... I'd have a grin plastered on my face for a while! 

This week's outreach is actually something for people I know who are Christians. Unlike some of the other outreaches, this week I'm focusing on encouraging and exhorting fellow believers. It's much easier to share the love of Christ if you've just been encouraged in your faith, yes? So this activity is an outreach... just in a roundabout way. :) 

To bless four people? It takes just two pieces of card stock and a pile of scrap paper. 

Cut each piece of card stock in half. Fold each new rectangle in half. Grab your wild side and make a collage of scraps on the front of the card. (This part was hard for my perfectionist nature) Let pieces stick out on the sides - we'll chop them off in a second. 

Cut off the extra paper on the sides, and admire the beauty that came from a bunch of unwanted leftovers! Think for a second about how God is making your life into a masterpiece that is far better than perfect. 

Now write encouraging notes in each and send them out to make someone's day!

My life right now

Life's a bit crazy for me right now... here's what I'm up to!