{Improve Your Blog in One Simple Step}

Y'all might not know it, but blogging is one of my favorite things to do! My first post, nearly five years ago, was probably pretty lame. I know my blog design was pretty lame although it served its purpose well. But over time, the purpose evolved. Hopefully, it's all gotten a bit better. Even still, I had a hard time finding my groove - if you know what I mean. What I'm learning is that consistency is key, and you have to work at being consistent. How do you do that? I'm so glad you asked! Here's what has been working for me:

First things first! Get organized. Pick out a notebook or an app and start using it! Evernote is a great app for organizing your ideas, and any kind of notebook will do - as long as it has a sturdy cover and plenty of blank pages. Keeping all your ideas and inspiration in one place makes it much easier when you're wondering what in the world to write about next.

Once you have all your stuff in one place, you're one step away to a better blog! Exciting, isn't it!? So, what's one easy way to improve your blog?

Get a schedule. Yes, make a plan and work the plan. Now, before you throw up a red flag and claim that working from a writing schedule squelches creativity, hear me out. Having a writing schedule brings a sense of accountability to the table. Creating space to write will foster creativity and hone writing skills. I use a simple monthly calendar and schedule blog posts one month in advance. You can be as detailed as you would like. I make note of the category and/or title on the date the post will go live. I schedule writing time accordingly. Just get something on paper!

January was the first month I consistently put these things in practice. I set a goal for my blog and was able to hold myself accountable because I was organized and worked from a schedule. And, I did it!! Woo-hoo! If I can do it, you can too! So, because I love calendars and freebies, you can download a copy of a blank monthly blog planning calendar! Take a look!

Happy blog planning!

{#RealLife | No. 4}

Sometimes, you wake up tired. Yeah, that was me today. I was up at “normal” time but my sweet husband promptly sent me straight back to bed. I was so sleepy. Like my eyes felt like as heavy as softballs in my head.  For me that usually means that I haven’t been making rest a priority. True rest, the kind that creates space and breathing room. Yeah, I have a bad habit of that. I’m doing better. I figured out somewhere along the way that my inability to rest was directly related to my weak trust in God. My malady was Don’t-Know-How-to-Take-My-Hands-Off syndrome. Rest cures that. So, today I slept in and took a nap. 

So, because today is a rest day let's keep this one short.  Maybe you can find some space in your life for rest.  Be intentional. Schedule it. Make a date with that comfy chair or your favorite blanket. Go to bed early, take a nap. Get ahead of the exhaustion curve by making rest a priority. Oh, and just so you know, taking a rest doesn’t make you a slacker. So, go ahead and flip open your calendar and schedule yourself a nap. I promise it’ll make you feel better! 

{Five Minute Friday | First}

It's Five Minute Friday. That means unplanned, unedited, straight-from-the-heart-to-the-paper writing. Yep, you just write whatever comes out based on a word you're given. If you have five minutes, you should give it a try!  Find out how here.

This week the prompt is {FIRST}. 

Ready? 

GO. 

“I have this complaint against you, you don’t love me or each other as you did at first.” That’s the sentence I hear ringing loud and clear in my mind when I think of first. There’s something about what a first represents. There’s significance. Anticipation. Appreciation. Gratitude. Excitement. Those things are built in most of the time. But time ticks on and we forget. We forget those feelings that swell up deep in our gut and make us nearly explode with gratitude.

What if we get back there? What if turn the mundane and routine on it’s head by reconnecting with what makes our firsts special and significant? You know, what if we approached our tired, boring routines with the same amount of anticipation and gratitude as we do those first time moments in our lives.

Yeah. What if we do that.

Especially in our relationships with each other and with the Lord. I heard Dr. John Piper say something last weekend as he spoke at Passion 2016 that landed right smack-dab square in my heart. I’m paraphrasing here, but it went something like this: Our job is not to keep ourselves alive but to keep ourselves in love with Jesus. And, isn’t that the key to everything else we do? Yes. Love Him like we did at first. Then, we can love each other the way we are supposed to love each other. Let Him be first. And then we can approach our tired, boring routines with a fresh eyes and ears and soft hearts. It reframes everything else. And it's what we need. It's where we find strength and joy and hope. It's where we land - His unfailing love - when we think we can't handle another boring, mundane minute. 

Yeah. What if we do that. 

Stop. 

{God Take Me Back in 2016}

The Lord has been reminding me of something this week, and I am so thankful. I appreciate that He graciously and lovingly corrects us when necessary. I am especially grateful for those times He drops something right in front of me and whispers, "Beloved, this is for you." See, there has been ALOT going on. The last half of 2015 was challenging. I sat across from a sweet friend this weekend and she said, "You must feel like you've been through the ringer." And, I do. Mostly because there has been too much noise, too many voices, too many things competing for my attention. That's when He does it. That's when He drops that just for me something right in my lap. I can't ignore it. I can't explain it away. I can't deny it's exactly what I need in that particular moment. This time He used a song. 

I heard the song the Sunday after Thanksgiving at Passion City Church. They were leading it for the first time ever in a worship service. In a moment, one song said everything that needed to be said by me to the Lord. So I sang it prayerfully during that sweet time of worship and tears rolled down my face. He heard and saw. 

Somewhere between the Thanksgiving turkey and the Christmas tree, I forgot about the song.

On New Year's Day I saw something on social media about the release of the new Passion album. It was available! That's new. The album is normally recorded live at Passion Conference and released in March or April. I was so excited! Please Lord, let this album be available on Apple Music so I can download it with my monthly subscription. And, it was. YAY! I immediately added it to my music and started scrolling through the track list. You know where I'm going with this, right? 

Song number five. The title caught my attention. It was weird, ambiguous. Now, it makes perfect sense of course! I tapped the title, and as soon as I heard the first note, the Lord reminded me of that moment in a room of a thousand people where He saw me. And there were tears. Then He reminded me again a few days later when I was chatting with a friend. 

So, it's my prayer focus as I head into the new year. Here it is. Simple Pursuit. One that changes everything. What are you pursuing into 2016? 

Simple Pursuit | Ben Catelon, Matt Redman, Nick Herbert, Sam Bailey | Passion: Salvation's Tide is Rising

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{#RealLife | No. 3}

Happy Monday, sweet friends. Did anyone else have a long week? I did. Sometimes that happens. And I'm here to tell you it's ok. I used to think that it was the opposite of ok. I used to believe that it somehow meant I was bad at doing all the things I have to do, bad at being a wife and mom. Now, I know that's a lie. So go ahead and take five. Go ahead and call your friend for a coffee date. Go ahead and find a quiet place to sit alone. It really is ok to enjoy a little time to yourself. I think it's more than ok. I think it's necessary. That's what I did this weekend in the midst of a long list of things to do and places to go. I sat alone for 45 minutes. Then, I enjoyed a cup of coffee with a special friend. And I was all the better for it. 

You don't always have to be "on." Let that bring some immediate relief and rest. Be encouraged.