Friday, July 26, 2013

July Datebook

It's been a whole YEAR since I did one of these... Holy cannoli, people... 

Outside my window... canopy of trees with light filtering in past the  Transforming Discipleship board my friend Bridget made me for my birthday and a framed picture of last year's FCC New Creation tour...
I am thinking... about the incredible journey ahead of me and how much I have to do and how much I don't want to miss enjoying the journey. I am also thinking about "stuff-" what we have, why we have it, whether or not we need it and how and where to get rid of it... 
I am hearing... the Legend of Zelda and the hum of my ceiling fan...
I am thankful for... the people God continues to place in my path, the way they are able to speak truth into my life, and the doors and windows He opens and closes to help guide my next steps...
I am praying for... discernment, direction and diligence. I want to be more in the moment and I am working through a checklist of things I should arrange better so that I can live fully where I am, regardless of what is going on. I am praying to be more intentional and to listen more.
Toward a healthier me.... getting more sleep and drinking more water...
Inspiring me this week... Brennan Manning. I just finished his autobiography All is Grace. Also, a great story told to me by a friend about handling a delicate situation with more grace than I honestly could imagine having if it were me...
From the kitchen... I played with an old recipe for baked ziti just last night and it was amazing... I mean, I know I was the chef, but it was the best version I'd ever created. I hope I can do it again! 
I am wearing... I'm not even going to try and lie about this... I am not a fashionista by any stretch of the imagination. I like to be comfortable and yoga shorts & pants fit this qualification best. Sooo... black yoga shorts and a garnet v neck... Haters gonna hate!
I am creating... new arrangements of things on walls and shelves, new folders and new habits, some writing projects and some musical stuff... 
I am going... on a few day trips before school starts back up again. I'm not even sure where or when, but I feel like it needs to happen... 
I am reading... Messy Church by Ross Parsley and Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning (again)
Toward a lifelong education... Still studying music and worship at Florida Christian College, which has now merged with Johnson University in Kentucky to become Johnson University Florida. I'm halfway to my BA but am getting really anxious about starting seminary. I'm also questioning my call as a worship leader but I'm still wrestling with that...
On keeping home... I'm trying to simplify and create some different routines and tame the clutter... Less is more... I want so much less...
One of my favorite things... Dinnertime at the table with my family, even though it keeps getting smaller, it's still one of my favorite times of the day to reconnect with those I love most in the world...
A verse for this week:
"The Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things. One thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part. It won’t be taken away from her.”
 ~ Luke 10:41-42                                                                               
A few plans for the rest of the week:  Reorganizing my desk and music, playing guitar, date night with my best friend, Jessi coming to town and having her & Natalie over for dinner, clearing out part of a garage, and maybe some painting...
Here is a picture for thought I am sharing... 



Five Minute Friday: Broken

GO:

I am broken. I live in a broken world filled with broken people. And we walk around protecting our brokenness from one another, afraid we will shatter if we happen to bump up against some part of ourselves that hasn't quite completely "healed."

In this lifetime, I will never be healed. I will walk around in this pieced together jar of clay and do my best to let the light within me shine through the broken cracks that map out who I am. I used to hide those cracks. Sometimes, with some people, I still do. I yearn for a transparent life and yet some people walk around with rocks and a bad attitude. Some protection is still necessary. But for the most part, not so much.

I am who I am. I am pieces and parts of all the decisions, good and bad, that I have made in a lifetime and circumstances, good and bad, that have shaped who I have become. I am a crazy, messy mosaic of idealism and realism and dreaming and doing. I am more than the chipped and jagged edges of my mistakes and trials. My broken is beautiful.

STOP.

Five Minute Friday