What Keeps You Going?

Today was one of those days. Nothing really went wrong. I had a pleasant cup of tea and snuggled my dogs before planning write. And then... nothing. Just not really in the writing mood.

I kept finding things to do to distract myself. Ever been there? Laundry, dusting the piano, watering flowers. Finally, after a few hours, I sat down in the office chair to try writing again.

It was hard. Like studying for an exam in college after you've just taken cold medicine. Nothing was wrong. I just wasn't feeling it. I've found that this happens sometimes.

We all have moments of elation in our callings. We go to conferences and get so excited as we catch a vision of where our writing might take us. We meet wonderful friends online and swap work, so happy to get positive feedback on our precious WIP from mentors and critique partners. We have those moments--those often quiet moments--where God whispers, and we know... we just know... the things ahead are nothing like the things behind. We know the calling is worth the work it takes to get there.

But then there are other moments--the everydays--when it's so much easier to sit back and not write. To turn on the TV, or grab a book, or get lost in Facebook statuses. Before we know it, another day has passed, and maybe we didn't pull up Microsoft Word at all. Maybe we didn't feed our calling. And maybe a little part of it dimmed.

If we're not careful, we can slip into this it's-still-my-dream-but-I'm-just-not-feeling-it-now routine, that, over time, undermines our calling. Whatever you feed, grows. All it takes is one glance at my weed-filled garden to prove that! So feed your dreams. Feed your calling.

But how do we feed our God-dreams? Through daily discipline. Through the mornings we don't want to get up early and the afternoons we feel tired and the nights we want to watch TV. I am so bad at this sometimes. I let myself get caught up in a bunch of distractions.

I would encourage you to write down your dreams and a timeline for when/how you want to achieve them. Pray about these goals, and ask God if He has more.

We have to be intentional if we want to dream big dreams. They aren't going to come true on their own.  How do you build a stairwell to the clouds? One step at a time. :)

What do you do to help stay focused when your daily routine seems busy or boring? How do you make yourself say no to distractions?

Pray Well

I don't know about you, but sometimes when I pray, I come away feeling more burdened than I began.

Let me give an example, and this may sound pithy, but I think it works to clarify. You know those photos people post on Facebook of lost dogs? Yeah, the terribly sad ones. I always try to pray, even if it's just for a few moments, the dogs or cats will find their way back home. But often, as I think through all these different scenarios of things that might have happened to these poor people's beloved pet, I end up stressing myself out and coming away from the prayer feeling burdened.

This was never God's design.



If we're not careful, this can become a vicious cycle that actually turns us away from, rather that toward, God.

Today I was listening to KLove with the following verse was read:

Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. (John 14:1 NLT)

Don't let our hearts be troubled? Trust in God and in Christ? Isn't that what I'm doing when I send up these frantic prayers? Well, maybe not . . .

Today I want to challenge you--and myself--that if prayer leaves you feeling vulnerable, fragmented, and worrisome, then something is wrong. Prayer is designed to put us in connection with God, and His presence will always make us whole. We may not always like His answer, but it's best for us, and something deep within our soul recognizes that. When we hear from God, we find peace. We feel settled.



Prayer should be a conversation with God, not a one-sided street where we beg God to do what we want and hope He hears us. We need to do less "convincing" and more listening. 

Time and again, I am amazed when God reminds me He's been two steps ahead of me all along. I don't have to figure it all out and suggest a game plan to Him. I don't have to talk Him into doing things my way. I don't have to beg Him to be good or to care about my life. He already is good, and He already does care. More deeply than I know.

What I do need to do is trust.

See, without trust, the trouble sets in. With trust, on the other hand, we can find freedom. Have you ever dated someone you didn't trust and found yourself constantly trying to govern their behavior? Don't treat God that way. He's in the business of healing us, not breaking us down.



So let me point out several areas where we can trust God, and thus avoid the troubling of our hearts...

• Trust who God is. Do you really believe God is good? That He loves His children? That He loves you and died for relationship? That He knows your day to day moments and is highly invested in redeeming your life, and your heart? This seems like such a simple concept, but it's difficult to put into practice. When challenges and disappointments come, we tend to doubt God's nature. We wonder if He is still good. We wonder if He has forgotten us. God is I AM-- who was and is and is to come. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Taste and see that He is good. And can I also just say something else? He gets us. He loves us. It's no surprise to Him that we doubt His love. So ask Him to show Himself to you, to make His love real in your life in a whole new way. Ask Him to remind you of His goodness, and He will.

• Trust who you are. You are a child of God. A friend of God. Sometimes in the church, we harp on our fallen nature a lot. We hear about how fallen, how bruised, how broken we are, and how far we are from God's original plan. Yes, it's important to recognized our flawed state because it's the first step to receiving grace. However, I think we make a major mistake when we oversimplify our characterization of humanity as broken. We are still infinitely valuable to God--despite the fall and even in it. We were created to do good things--created in the image of God. Did you catch that? You were created in the image of God. Not just Adam or Eve or Noah or David or the apostle Paul. You. Your friends, your spouse, your children. God cares about you just as much as He cared about them. You don't have to talk God into caring, or listening. He already cares much more than you realize. Instead of trying to talk Him into getting in your boat, step inside His. It's a much more fulfilling ride, I guarantee, because God is the one who designed your heart in the first place, and you were created to crave intimacy with Him. You are uniquely valuable to Him as an individual, so don't dismiss the creation He so desperately loves... yourself.

• Trust God's promises. Has God promised you something but hasn't delivered yet? Are you feeling like Abraham... old and desperate for affirmation of God's promise? Sometimes we have to wait before we hear from God, but He always answers us, and He always listens. Hold fast to the promises God has spoken into your life and into your heart. He has not forgotten them, and He has not forgotten you.

When we begin to reshape our perspective of God, ourselves, and His promises, we begin to pray differently... we start seeing prayer as a way to ask God what He wants rather than as a means to our own end. God is not your personal genie. He's got too much more in mind for our lives to give up His heaven-sized plans for our earth-sized ones.

What about you? Do you ever find yourself growing weary in prayer? In what ways have you learned to trust God, and how does that help your heart?

DIY Project Week 20 Ribbon Necklace

This week's DIY project is officially the easiest DIY in the history of all DIY projects. Not to mention, it's SO cute. Doesn't it just scream, "I'm from Anthropologie but not really!"? :)

I saw this pendant at JoAnne's Fabric last week and fell in love. I didn't feel like putting it on a traditional chain, though, so instead I opened for a skinny ribbon in a cream color. It's about 1/4".

Then, I cut the ribbon so the necklace would fall at a long length (though you could adjust it to any size), threaded it through the hole in the pendant, and tied a dainty little bow. The bow is also something you could customize according to the look you want... I think a thicker ribbon with a long bow would be lovely, but I wanted to call attention to the pendant, so I kept the ribbon subdued.

And whala!

What I especially love about this necklace is that it's so comfortable. Nickel necklaces will sometimes irritate my skin, especially in the heat, but this one is very cool and classy no matter the temperature.

Hope you are inspired to create your own!

The Next Right Thing

 Many of you are writers. Coming up on conference season, you may find yourself with a whole lot of dreams and hopes and a whole lot of disappointment and frustration as you try to achieve them.

Maybe you absolutely love writing a story, but life has put weights on you one at a time that are becoming difficult to carry. Would a publisher ever be interested in such a risky subplot? Would ABA want something like this? Would CBA? Are my readers going to be mad because I said the word "crap"? Can I get published if every single year I fail to final in the Genesis contest no matter how badly I want to win that whole thing? What if I don't have a litany of superstar authors backing me up, willing to endorse me? What if I clam up during my appointments with editors, and I can't even remember my name let alone my story?

And then life, sometimes, very simply just exhausts our dreams. We go into survival mode for one reason or another-- busyness, emotional exhaustion, physical exhaustion-- we shove our dreams into a corner, and little by little, we let them starve.

Don't let your dreams starve. 

Sometimes, in the middle of the summer, you may find yourself sitting on the coach with a laptop in your lap and an empty tea mug beside you. The page count on your WIP is not what you'd planned. Butterflies are fluttering around just outside your window, begging you to ditch your story and go play outside. Maybe you have kids and are running around completely frazzled, trying to keep up with their summer activities.




Maybe you find yourself asking, "What's next?"

It's a natural question. When we invest our hearts in something like writing, it's only natural that we want to keep them safe. We want the best for our story. We want to see our calling come to pass through publication.

Sometimes it seems God likes to ignore that question. But more likely, He's trying to get us to change our focus. To ask different questions. Better ones. To grow. To learn. To trust.
If you find yourself stuck in the hum-drum routine of daily writing and wondering if your heart is still in it, and if God still cares at all, let me encourage you with something my pastor always says:

If you can't hear God telling you His plan, take the next right step.

See, the next right step is a whole lot easier than having to figure out a master plan of getting published, getting an endorsement from Terri Blackstock, and hitting the NY Times Bestseller list. The next right step is a lot more visible, and a lot more manageable. And that's where Satan tricks us. So often we fall into the trap of believing we have to have it all figured out.

We don't. We just need the next step. So maybe that next step is beginning to design your one sheet, practicing your pitch, or simply writing a few words down on page 57 of your WIP.

But don't devalue the next right step just because it isn't the final one.

Have you ever found yourself frazzled because you don't know what's up the road? How do you refocus and find productivity in the day-to-day, often mundane moments?

Why Destruction Bothers Us, and Why It Ought To

A couple months ago, I drove past a commercial lot that was being cleared. Oak trees with huge, spreading limbs were being uprooted and knocked down by claws and trucks. I wasn't particularly attached to those trees. In fact, I'd never really noticed them. But as I watched this process of clearing out trees that had taken decades--maybe a century--to grow so mature, I wanted to cry. There was something fundamentally sad about it all.

I think as Christians, we have a tendency to resist acknowledging destruction and the sorrow it brings. Somehow, we feel as if confessing the reality of death-- of decay, of undoing-- shows a lack of faith. That if we were really good believers, we wouldn't feel so utterly weak sometimes from the weight of this world and its harsh realities.

But recently, I've been thinking about this tendency. I don't think it's Biblical. In fact, I think it's just the opposite. I want to challenge you to consider an alternative: that perhaps the very nature of destruction, and our deep desire for something more, actually points TO God rather than away from Him.

Life in the garden was different from life today. In God's initial plan, animals didn't eat each other, there was no breech of trust, and people didn't die. I have to believe this shows God's heart for our existence. He created us for something more, and deep in our blood, we desire that something.

What if despairing the state of the world doesn't show a resistance to God? What if it actually shows a desire for Him?

Source: Uploaded by user via Chelsea on Pinterest


Several months ago, I listened to a John Eldridge sermon where he challenged the audience to consider that the deepest dreams and desires of our hearts serve as reminders to us of our deeper calling. Like glimpses into Heaven, these moments of beauty remind us that there is more to this life than darkness and despair. There is something more to live for, and our calling is real. To tune in to these moments of honesty is to tune in to our calling.

So I want to encourage you. If you are facing a difficult time right now, do not be afraid to come clean with God about how frustrated you feel. God is not working against you. I would even go so far as to say He is every bit as upset about the state of His beautiful world as you are. Ask him to show you the beauty even in the destruction, and the power of His redemption.

I'm going to be talking more about these beautiful moments and how we can capture them with our writing over at The Writer's Alley tomorrow, so be sure to stop by. Until then, thanks for reading. :)

DIY Mineral Eyeshadows

About a year and a half ago, I first posted this blog about make-your-own mineral eyeshadows, and it's been one of my more popular posts ever since! I realized many of you who have been following my Monday DIY projects probably missed this post when it was originally written, so I thought I'd do a throw-back this week. These were SO fun to make, and I think I might actually make some more colors within the next few days. Hope you enjoy! 

Recently, there's been a buzz about the safety of traditional cosmetics and soaps, particularly calling into question their use of preservatives and harsh chemicals, such as colorants that may be associated with cancer. Concerned about the safety of my makeup bag, I decided to look into making my own makeup. What I didn't realize is how easy and fun it is!

Check out my new collection of mineral eyeshadows:

It only took about an hour or two to make all of these, and I got all the supplies for $20. Not to mention, I've barely even put a dent in the supplies I purchased. I expect to be able to make four or five times as many eyeshadows as what you see pictured (keep in mind that these are mini-eyeshadows in 5g size jars).

All you need is some colored mica, iron oxides, and some kind of agent that makes the mica smooth and easily applied (I chose Sericite). Here are my supplies. The jar on the left is a full size colored mica (waylarger than I expected the jar to be), a jar of Sericite, and a jar of brown iron oxide. You don't have to use the iron oxide, but it will help your eyeshadow be more pigmented. You'll also need a small container to keep (and mix) your eyeshadow inside, as well as little scoopers for each color you use.

I also ordered three sample sized micas that arrived in baggies. They were only $1 each. One is dark purple, one is brown, and the other is a fairy dust silver.

Using these supplies, I mixed a variety of micas, iron oxides, and Sericite until I found color combinations I liked. Keep in mind that you'll have to experiment because some combinations will give you a very sheer shadow, whereas others will be significantly more pigmented.

I used a ratio of 2 scoops of Sericite for each 4-6 scoops of mica/iron oxides. The more Sericite you put in, the lighter and less sparkly your color will be. You can also add a couple drops of Jojoba oil if you like. I wanted to do this but didn't have any on hand.

Here's what the final product(s) looked like:

I purchased my supplies from Coastal Scents and was very happy with their promptness in shipping the package. They also included a free mineral eyeshadow sample. I've read great reviews about Bramble Berryas well.

Any questions? It really is as easy as it sounds! You'll be amazed how sparkly these shadows turn out!

DIY Week 18: Burlap Dry Erase Board

I first saw this DIY project in an e-mail from Julip (which is a really snazzy nail polish company), and I knew I was going to have to make it. It proved to be just as easy as promised!

All you need for this project is an empty frame, a piece of burlap, a dry erase marker, and some scissors. I got the frame at TJ Maxx for around $7, and a whole yard of burlap at JoAnn's for $2.50. Not too shabby!

Once you have your frame and burlap, take out the inner paper and use it as a guide to measure how much burlap you'll need to cut:

Then, frame the burlap just as you would a picture, and you're set!

The words on mine look a bit blurry because I used a dry erase marker. If you were willing to really commit to a particular saying, I think a Sharpie would give you a lot more precision when writing out your quote. I liked the idea of using a dry erase marker so I can change out the saying from time to time, but I'll probably redo the words because they do look a bit blurry. Also, be prepared that you might have to go over the words multiple times with the marker to make them dark enough.

Hope you enjoyed this week's DIY project and that you're inspired to create your own! :) 

Your Calling Is Unique

I'm reading a book right now called You're Made for a God-sized Dream, and it's all about finding our calling, summoning our courage, and then taking steps to walk in that calling. Something this book touches on that has really stuck with me the past couple weeks is the idea that our callings are all unique. No one... no one... can fulfill your calling quite like you can.

God says, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Source: grownupshoes.com via Drybar on Pinterest

We've probably all heard that verse so many times, we could quote it aloud in our sleep. But here's my question: Do you really believe God's plans for you are good? That He KNOWS what He is doing, and desires to give you hope?

Have you ever gotten on Facebook or Twitter and discovered the following?

• 27,938 words written today in my WIP! I can't believe how easy it is to write between 5-6 in the morning!
• Great news! Jane Austen has just agreed to come back from the dead so she can personally give my book a glowing endorsement!
• Just got off the phone with my agent, and she said not only is my writing the best she has seen in years, but three publishing houses are competing for my book, offering three-book contracts! AND she says I'm her favorite client so she's buying me new shoes.
• I found out I got a perfect score in all seven contests I just entered, and now I'm going to get a bunch of expensive commemorative pens as prizes! (And let's be honest: who doesn't like a fancy pen?)

Before long, if you aren't careful, the comparison game starts up, and the 500 words you were able to squeeze in during your lunch break seem so insignificant, you begin to wonder if you should just give up entirely.

Ah ha! And that is our problem. Don't you see? A little part (or maybe a big part!) of us believes someone else could fulfill our calling better than we can do it ourselves. Maybe if Jenny B. Jones or Laura Frantz could write our book, then it would be a good story. If someone who weren't spending time chasing toddlers (or in my case, college students!) around all day were imagining the scenes, they would have so much more creativity. If someone with a different degree (or a degree at all) were to write my book, they would bring more to to table. Yada yada yada. It's all lies.

The enemy is trying to halt you in your day-to-day productivity by feeding you these thoughts. 

When you allow these sorts of ideas to take residence in your mind, you willingly give away the beautiful purpose God has for each moment of your day. You take this gift God has given you (and only you), and you throw it down, into the dust. Then you walk away and say, "Try again, God. You gave me the wrong gift here. Maybe when I wake up tomorrow, You could give me something a little less intimidating."

But don't you see? The whole point of a God-sized dream is that... well... it's God-sized! 

If you could accomplish your dream on your own willpower, it wouldn't be big enough. God says, "I know the plans I have for YOU." Not your favorite writer, or artist, or barista-- although He knows His plans for them too-- but for you. Stop trying so hard to be what you think you ought to be, and start being who you were made to be all along. Yes, it's scary. Yes, you'll probably never feel like you've arrived, but in some ways, that's the point. God wants to take you on such an amazing journey that the only way you can get there is by trusting Him. And I don't know about you, but that's enough for me.

In the words of Dr. Suess, "Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You." 

DIY Week 17: Belle Hair

Let's be honest. Who hasn't wanted hair like Belle? The unfortunate thing is once you hit about twenty years old, styling your hair like a Disney princess is no longer all that socially acceptable.

So when I discovered this handy bow on my praline wrapper, I knew I had something special in the works!

This week's DIY is probably the easiest yet, because this bow came to me pre-made... what's especially fun about it is that I bought this praline bag in the Atlanta airport on the way back from spending time with my Alley Cat friends. I knew buying the multi-pack as going to be a good idea!

So look at what they did. So simple, yet so versatile. They took a nice piece of ribbon, then attached a twist tie to it. I decided to use this concept for a hair bow, but really, the possibilities are endless. Think: front door wreaths, cute pins for cardigans, even bows for shoes!

All you would need to do to make one of these yourself is tie a ribbon bow, then secure a twist tie through the middle of it.

For this Belle-styled hair, I just did a side braid, then secured it with a regular old hair elastic band. 

Once that was in place, I put the bow in and secured the twist around it.

How cute would a bow like this be in a messy bun?

Hope you've enjoyed this week's DIY project and that you're inspired to create your own!

  

Turning Off the TV

I don't know about you, but too many of my evenings are spent in front of the TV.

Dancing with the Stars. Modern Family. Psych. The Big Bang Theory. Elementary.

All of these are shows I don't want to miss each week. And that's not even counting the shows I watch blindly as I work on other things.

It's so easy to allow television shows to become like white noise when we're tired from a long day. I don't usually have a problem wasting the day away with TV in the afternoon hours, but for some reason, we've gotten into a habit doing that in the evening. Before you know it, it's well after midnight and you're half asleep on the couch, wanting to watch "just fifteen more minutes" before hauling yourself to bed, eyelids half-shut. Been there before?

So Matt and I decided once a week, we're going to have a no TV night. Sort of like being on vacation. Only, without the vacation.

Let me tell you, it was HARDER than I thought! For the first hour or so, I can't tell you how many times I was tempted to turn on Netflix and start up a Psych rerun or to check the DVR list. But as the evening went on, we chatted with each other like we usually only do on weekends and even found time to play a board game (which Matt annihilated me in, not that I'm keeping track). As I write this, it's only a little past 10 o'clock, and I'm planning on a cozy evening with Becky Wade's My Stubborn Heart. When was the last time that I really read a book when I wasn't feeling sleep deprived, super late at night?

Have you ever tried something similar? Did you find that it helped you reconnect with your spouse/family? I think we're going to try to start doing this at least once a week every week. You just don't realize how accustomed you grow to the noise of the world until you turn it down a few notches, and then it's amazing what you can hear.

If you're feeling overwhelmed this week, I would encourage you to think through what you are making time for that perhaps you don't really need to make time for. Prioritize the most important things and feed those with your greatest energy. It's amazing how much better you feel when you do!

DIY Project Week 16: Wire Wrapping Stones

While we were in Canada, I found these blue and white shells I thought were so beautiful! I picked up a few to make keepsake jewelry from, and I'm so excited with how this project turned out!

I chose sterling silver chain and hooks because I have a minor allergy to nickel, and sterling silver isn't that much more expensive, but you could use a variety of colors and metals depending on your preference.

Wire wrapping is so much fun and so easy. Just be sure you get a wire that's thin enough it's easily bendable. You can find these supplies at a craft store. Also, consider that less is more here. I actually unwrapped and redid this necklace because I felt the first version converted up too much of the shell.

Have fun experimenting with wire patterns, and when you're done, just bend the wire so it won't poke your skin or clothing.

So, I started with this:






And here's how the finished product turned out!







Have you ever made jewelry? Have you experimented with wire wrapping?

Blessed

Thanks to a busy weekend with Mother's Day and my birthday (huzzah!), I haven't finished my DIY project yet this week. So in the meantime, I wanted to share this quote I found on Pinterest today. Don't you love it? Hope you are having a blessed afternoon! I've missed all you blogger friends while I was away in Canada!

Source: flickr.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

First Sale!

Many of you already saw on Facebook and were so sweet to congratulate me, but I wanted to announce the big news officially on my blog as well...

Guideposts bought one of my short stories for their upcoming Christmas collection, A Cup of Christmas Cheer!

I can't tell you how excited I am to work with the excellent folks at Guideposts and to be part of this collection. Now I just have to finish writing the story! :) Wish me luck!

DIY Project Week 15: Fixing a Multi-Strand Necklace

I don't know about you, but when a favorite piece of jewelry breaks, I have a little memorial service in my heart. There's nothing worse than the feeling of your favorite necklace sliding down your neck in what feels like movie theater slow motion as the clasp breaks.

Such was the case with this little beauty. I bought this necklace from Heart of the Bride, an organization similar to Back to Africa, that helps empower women in Africa by giving them a trade. I absolutely love the color of these beads, and what's neat is that women in Africa not only made the necklace, but the beads themselves--and out of paper, no less.

For months and months now, this necklace has been lying in my projects-needing-help pile. Do you have jewelry like this? You aren't quite willing to give it up, but you can't wear it anymore?

Here's an easy way to fix a broken clasp on a multi-strand necklace.

First, you want to clip off the old clasp. Try to retain as much of the string as possible, because you may be able to use the string/nylon it was originally strung on, making your job much easier in the end. That's what I was able to do.

You may have to take off a few beads from the ends of the strands so you have enough string to work with.

Now that you've clipped the old clasp off, slide on a crimper bead. You'll also need a crimper tool in order to do this correctly.

Continue crimping each strand onto the new clasp, one at a time, until you've finished all the strands. This can get tedious, but I promise the end result will be worth it!

 

And tada! You're finished! Now you can remember what you loved about your necklace in the first place. :)

Have you ever had a necklace break on you? Hopefully this will help you know how to fix it!

DIY Week 14: Repurposed Glitter Flats

First off, my apologies for posting this blog so late in the afternoon. I had to make a run to the store for more glitter because I couldn't find mine! Now that's an emergency if I've ever heard of one.

I don't know about you, but I'll take any excuse to play with glitter. When I saw some people on Pinterest using Mod Podge to spray glitter onto high heels, I thought, why couldn't I do the same thing with a pair of flats?

So I dug through my closet to find some flats that had begun showing signs of wear.These were the lucky winners, an old pair of Gap flats from the Audrey Hepburn collection several years ago (remember that? LOVED that collection).

Then, I took some Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue I had lying around the house, and used a sponge brush to sort of paint the glue glob on the shoe. I decided to do this project in sections: front, left, and right. I didn't wait for each section to dry (although I'm sure that would be a good idea-- I'm not patient enough!). Instead, I just made sure I fully covered one section before moving on to the next.

Once I spread the glue, I sprinkled the glitter on, then gently shook off the excess.

And whala! Happy shoes!

Here are some things to remember:

• This is going to leave a mess. Be sure you put down a plastic bag or some newspaper to catch the falling glitter.

• More glue is not always better. I learned this the hard way, as you can see from the goopy-ness of the following picture. If you make a mistake like this one, though, this project is really low stakes because you are just dealing with glue and glitter... easy to clean up! Just take your brush, brush off the excess glue, and tap more glitter on to cover up the problem.

• I chose black glitter because my shoes are black. You can choose a contrasting color if you want, but just realize that you're going to have to pay close attention to the glue application.  Using the same color helps cover up mess-ups.
• I also used a fine glitter rather than the chunky glitter you often see used in crafts to give these more of a store-bought look. You can find fine glitter at any craft store... just be sure you pay attention to the size of the glitter pieces in the bottle.

And that's all there is to it! What do you think? Do you have a run-down pair of shoes at home you could jazz up?

Where Are We Getting Validation?

Today, Robin Jones Gunn posted the following quote on her Facebook: "Faith is seeing light with your heart, when all your eyes see is darkness."

Wow. So beautiful, and so true.

Only halfway through the week, and I've already gotten some very good news as well as some not-great news regarding my writing. Do you ever have weeks like that, where suddenly all the answers you've been waiting for seem to come at once? 

It's amazing how often we confuse things going our way with validation. Have you noticed that? This idea challenged me as I read Jesus Calling yesterday. The passage said when our will and God's will are in sync, we tend to feel in control of our lives, and I would take that a step further by saying we also tend to see our circumstances as validation of our calling.

The problem with that response is that, while circumstances can certainly be encouraging or discouraging, they do not substantiate, nor create, nor validate our calling.

Only God can do that.

Things not working out the way you wanted them to does not mean God has forgotten about you, changed His mind about His promise, or has stopped loving you deeply. It just means that for whatever reason, your desires have gotten out of sync. The good news is, Proverbs says when we delight ourselves in the Lord, He gives us the desires of our hearts, so that our desires come to meld with his own. I think one of the biggest times we feel this conflict is when we begin to look for validation outside of God alone.

I was so excited yesterday when I received good news. More on that to come soon, I promise! I felt like everything was falling into place, and God was reminding me why He put me on this writing journey in the first place. And maybe He was doing just that. But then today, when a very nice not-right-for-us-now rejection came, those feelings of affirmation vanished as they were once again replaced by "keep waiting."

We often ask how to sustain our hearts and minds during the waiting game. 

But I think we're asking the wrong question. 

I think a better question would be how to look toward God alone for validation, regardless of what is going on.

Circumstances change. Contracts are signed, stories are rejected, and there's a lot of waiting going on in between. If we're not careful, our emotions get caught on this roller coaster ride. Some of that is a natural emotional response, but I think God is calling us not to waste the time He has provided. 

If you are waiting, learn to put your hope in God alone. Apply yourself to learning the writing craft. Discipline yourself to become a better writer. But above all, realize that your calling is about deepening your relationship with God. No publisher or agent or future readership can validate that, nor can they take it away.

I've always thought it was a euphemism when people said, "Don't worry about contracts. All that matters is that you're following God." Easy for them to say, when their story isn't on the line, right? But really, I'm learning there's so much truth in that sentiment. Right now, your focus may be finding an agent or a publishing house. Maybe it's expanding your already-existent audience or moving to a larger publishing house. Maybe it's sales numbers or bestseller lists. These goals are fine to make, because they give us forward motion. But the thing is, they are never ending. If we attempt to find our validation in goals, we will never find it at all. Instead, we must look to God, where our validation has been all along.

Do you find yourself looking to things like contracts or sales numbers for markers of success? How can we shift our focus to the more profitable goal of fulfilling our calling each day?

DIY Week 13: Rescue Dog

Meet Radar!

This week's DIY is a bit... erm... unconventional... but it really has been my project for the week, so I just had to share. This is Radar. He's a shelter rescue my husband and I snagged from a nearby animal shelter yesterday morning.

We first saw this cute little guy a few weeks ago at a dog adoption event. When I looked him up online later, I discovered what I'd feared... he was at a kill shelter, not an animal rescue.

If you've been around my blog long, you know I have a passion for helping animals. So when I realized this little guy could be in trouble, I knew I had to do something. I asked the lady who runs the shelter to let me know once he had reached his time limit, and she e-mailed me earlier this week.

The plan all along has been to foster him until he can find his own family, but man is he stealing our hearts! It's going to be hard to let him go whenever he does find his forever home.

Have you ever fostered an animal? Any guesses as to what breeds Radar might be? I've gotten everything from Rat Terrier to Minpin to Chihuahua.

The Really Big Dream

The really big dream. Do you have one of those?

I've been listening to an audio series by Ransomed Heart that's all about dreams lately. In it, John Eldredge says that extravagant dreams do not make us strange or set us up for failure. Instead, they show a longing within us for the kingdom of God, for something much fuller and much grander than our everyday existence.

Source: lasvacasnovuelan.blogspot.com.es via Elena on Pinterest


It's easy to look at dreams as opportunities for disappointment. And if we're not careful, before long, we begin to harden our hearts against hope in the name of guarding them. But really, all we're actually trying to do is keep ourselves from failure and a sense of disappointment.

In the audio series, John asks listeners to think of a time of sheer bliss--maybe a moment on the beach or even just a quiet time with a cup of tea in your backyard-- and to also think of several dreams that excite you but seem unreachable. These moments, he says, show a longing within us for the kingdom of God. 

Think about a time when you've seen a brilliant rainbow or a spectacular sunset. Think of the way that energized and inspired you. Now consider the way dreams can do the exact same thing.

See, I really believe we should be spending more time affirming and encouraging our dreams instead of discouraging them. For, if we don't feed the dream that God has placed within our hearts, who will? 

What if, instead of looking at dreams as fancy that ought to be tempered, we looked at them as powerful instruments of the most high God? What if we considered that dreams are often the very whispers of God's will in our lives, and yet we fail to move to the next level of faith because we are so filled with dream killers?

Some of these dream killers include...

• Doubt
• Naysayers
• Blindness to purpose
• Rejection
• Fear
• Feelings of failure
• Attempts to protect our own hearts

Have any of these dream killers swept in and silenced the dreams of your heart? In no time, they can leave a dream dormant, wreaking havoc upon our hope.

But consider 2 Corinthians 4:7. "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that this everlasting power is from God and not from us."

A new question then arises. Do we really believe in God's ability to bring to pass the dreams and visions He has purposed in our hearts? And if we do, then why aren't we living like it? Why do we allow fear and doubt and destructive thoughts to have free reign over the things God has called us to be and to achieve? 

The whole process is really pretty simple if we didn't complicate it so much. God calls, and He equips. We don't have to see how He's going to do it or already have all the gifts and skills it's going to take to get to the other side of the dream. We just have to allow ourselves to be vulnerable and to keep dreaming, trusting God to give us what we need at each step of the journey. 

When we rely on Him, He shifts our focus from our own current abilities to our kingdom desires, and enables us to achieve those things.

Do you have any dreams lying dormant in your heart today? Maybe it's time to allow God to breathe life back into those things and move forward along the journey. I hope you're encouraged today to stop viewing the dreams of your heart as silly or outlandish, and to start investing in them. If God put them there, and if you really believe He can do all things, then you also have to believe He can and will accomplish His purpose through your dreams. He hasn't forgotten His plan. Your heart should be your compass, not a casualty.

The Blog Party Continues - Let's Talk About Dreams!

Before I do anything else, I want to announce that the winner of last week's giveaway is...

Lindsay Harrel! 

You can thank the random number generator for the win. :) Congratulations, Lindsay! I hope you enjoy this book and the teas.

Today I want to keep the party going by talking about  dreams.

Source: simplifiedbee.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I've been listening to an audio sermon by Ransomed Heart ministries that's all about dreams, and let me tell you, it has been so mindset shifting for me. Next Wednesday, I'm going to chat a little bit more about what I'm learning and what it means to have a vision for the unseen... to believe in dreams that are yet to be. I can't wait to dive into this topic!

But before we do, I thought it'd be really neat if we could all share some of our dreams.

So here's what I'd love to hear from you! Would you share...

1) A dream of your heart you're currently striving toward

and

2) One of your all-time greatest bucket list dreams. I want you to think big.

Source: Uploaded by user via Jill on Pinterest

Here are mine. The dream I'm currently striving toward is publication. This is a huge dream of mine that I daily have to depend on God for. Every time I try to shrink this dream down to what feels like a more manageable status, I find God re-inflates it and reminds me that with Him, nothing is impossible... no matter how impossible it may sometimes seem.

Photo from http://www.halekulani.com/style/photo_gallery/

My bucket list dream is to stay at the Halekulani in Waikiki. The Halekulani is pretty much the greatest hotel in the world... and no, I haven't stayed there yet. But the past few times we've been to Waikiki, we've got to the Halekulani for frozen lemonades to watch the sunset, and let me tell you, there's nothing else like it. Someday, I'm going to stay here, even if it's only for a few nights.

Can't wait to hear from you all!

Garden Time: DIY Project Week 12

I was thrilled so many of you participated in the blog party last week! Thanks for stopping by and introducting yourselves. I'll be announcing the winner of the giveaway on Wednesday, so be sure to check back. Also, the party was such a success that I decided to throw another one this coming Wednesday. So be sure you drop by and say hello!

 

 

 

For this week's DIY project, I set out to conquer my garden. If you want to call it a garden. See, flowers and I have this very loving relationship. But watering them in the heat of the day with wasps flying around my head... erm... not so much. This year, I am deterimed to do a better job about that. I just have to keep repeating... I will not let the flowers die. I will not let the flowers die.

For this week's DIY project, I decided to spray paint some of my pots black. The pots I have on my back patio are black, and I love how the black color makes the flowers really pop. Since I already have many pots for the front and didn't want to buy all new ones, I came up with an idea. Spray paint.

Now, as it turns out, spray painting flower pots is much easier than I anticipated. However, the clay ones take up a whole lot more paint than I expected! I'm going to have to buy some more. But in the meantime, I thought I'd share a picture of how one of the pots turned out!

 

 

I had to share this picture... it isn't one of the black pots, but aren't the flowers just the cutest? I found them at Walmart of all places!

 

 

What about you? Do you have a green thumb? What sorts of flowers do you like to plant in the spring? I need some recommendations!