For the Love of Book Release Day!

• This post is part of Jen Hatmaker’s “For the Love” Blog Tour, which I am delighted to be a part of along with many other inspiring bloggers.  To learn more and join us, CLICK HERE.

About six months ago, I was chosen to be a part of the launch team for Jen Hatmaker's newest book For the Love. If you've read any of my recent-ish blog posts, you'll know that I love her writing, and so being chosen to be a part of this team was so exciting for me!

We got a link to download a pdf of the watermarked draft copy of the book, and I started reading right away. I could not put the book down. Six hours later, I finished, and had that sad feeling you always get at the end of a really good book, like you're saying goodbye to a dear friend. I laughed so hard throughout most of the book, and wept a bit as truth and grace washed over me. The very first chapter, Worst Beam Ever, was so freeing that if you bought the book only for that one chapter, it would be money well-spent. Here's the really good news...there are so many chapters full of nuggets of wisdom and grace and truth; and alongside those chapters there are some that are so hilarious that you'll cry from laughing so hard, and quite possibly embarrass yourself if you happen to be reading the book in the waiting room of a doctor's office.

The launch team participants were given the opportunity to write an endorsement for the book. Here's mine - For the Love is a must-read book for any woman who is overwhelmed, overcommitted, and feels like nothing she does is enough (#everywomaneverywhere). Jen Hatmaker says all the things about all the things in her wonderfully witty way that will have you laughing out loud in the doctor’s waiting room (#awkward), and then nodding along in agreement (#preach), and then shedding tears of relief as you realize her words to be true and suddenly you find your first taste of freedom as grace washes over you. You’ll feel as though Jen is your new best friend and she is speaking truth and love and wisdom into your life, showing you how you can live an abundant life free from overcommitment, guilt, shame, and sin; growing in love and deep relationship with your friends and family members. She will give you renewed hope for the church, especially if you have been hurt by church people in the past. If you are weary and heavy-burdened, her book can help lighten the load as she points you to Jesus, the Giver of rest.

You can find many nuggets of the truth and grace I'm talking about if you search #forthelove Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It's a virtual party going on - come join in the fun!

Mamas of Littles...Take Heart!

I ran across my daughter's baby book this morning while trying to empty a cabinet. I paused in my decluttering to look through the book, and the words I had scrawled eight years ago brought back the memories of the countless and seemingly unending hours of nursing, rocking, changing diapers - the hours I swore would never end for me, even though evidence around the world is quite contrary to my thinking at the time.

Mamas of littles, take heart! I just finished a 30-minute Haitian Creole lesson, completely uninterrupted, as my daughter sat in the other room and entertained herself.

The babies, they DO grow up. As one of my sweet friend has reminded me in the past, "The days are long but the years are short." I can hardly believe I am here with an eight-year-old daughter and five-year-old son (who will be starting kindergarten in the fall!). Cannot even believe it. They open their own car doors (and I don't worry about them smashing their fingers). They get into the car all by themselves! They buckle themselves into their seats! And it is GLORIOUS. All I have to do now is unlock the car doors for them.

Mamas of littles, take heart! You won't be having to load them into the car and buckle them into their seats forever. They really do become self-sufficient, and sooner than you might think.

I have taught my kids to put their clothing in the laundry room. Ideally, it ends up in the color-coded baskets next to the machines. We don't live in an ideal world, and I find socks in the cracks of the couch frequently, but sometimes I am surprised by the lack of clothing lying in the living room floor.

My littles are not so little any more. I'm constantly amazed at what they can accomplish. I am fascinated by how their little minds work. We have the most interesting conversations these days. They know my expectations of them and generally speaking, aim to meet them (treat others kindly, have a servant's heart and help others both when asked and sometimes even when not).

I know these years will be gone in a flash. My husband and I just celebrated ten years of marriage this past August. It has gone by so quickly. In ten years, my firstborn daughter will be graduating from high school and moving on to the next chapter in her life. I can hardly stand to think of it.

Mamas of littles, take heart! The babies do grow up. You won't be changing diapers, wiping noses and hinies and little hands forever. I know it feels that way. I swore my children would never grow up. Oh how wrong I was!

The Name of Jesus Christ

"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." This thought crossed my mind when my alarm woke me up on Sunday morning at 7:30, which felt like 6:30 thanks to Daylight Savings Time. It was so tempting to shut off the alarm, roll over and drift off to sleep again. But I really love going to church on Sunday mornings and when I miss, my week feels off and empty. I got up, got ready, got the kids ready, and off we headed. We were a little bit late, which never makes me happy because it means we miss out on a little bit of the worship music. That is one of my favorite parts of the service, singing praises to my God, and I don't like to miss out on even one note!

Fortunately, we arrived about halfway through the first song. Then next song started, and it was one of my most favorites ever. My sweet friend Rebecca Sehnert wrote it with our worship pastor, Mike Naber. The first time I heard this song was at the end of December, 2013. That Sunday was my worship team rotation, and I was singing with Rebecca, Jenny, and Mike. Our rehearsal notes said "Special for Rebecca. Mike backups." So Jenny and I didn't really learn it, as we thought it would just be Rebecca and Mike singing. Because we didn't have a rehearsal that week, we found out about 7:45 that Sunday morning that we WERE going to be singing along with them! So we spent some extra time after the service run through and before the service started learning the song. It was a sweet time with my worship team sisters and I'll never forget it.

The song itself is SO powerful. It just makes my heart and soul so very happy. There's so much truth in every single line of the song. My favorite part is the bridge; there is something so amazing about saying or singing the different names of Jesus. This song brings me closer to God than pretty much any other worship song I've heard (and I've heard a LOT, having served on worship teams since 1998!).

Thank you, Rebecca and Mike, for your obedience to what He has called you to do - so many lives are blessed and enriched as a result. Helping people prepare their hearts for worship and engagement with our King is holy ground.

You can hear the song by clicking on the link!


The Name of Jesus Christ

The Name of Jesus Christ
Rebecca Sehnert & Mike Naber
The Name above all names
The Name that gives me strength
The Name I love to say
Jesus

The Name that conquers fear
The Name that draws me near
The Name I long to hear
Jesus O Jesus

Let every heart cry out
Let every knee humbly bow
Let every hand be lifted high
At the Name of Jesus Christ

The Name that breaks all chains
The Name of truth and grace
The Name I live to praise
Jesus O Jesus

Wonderful Counselor
Emmanuel
God with us
Prince of Peace
Everlasting Son of God
Powerful
Mighty Lord
Our Defender
Our Savior
Jesus Christ
Our eternal hope and strength

©2013 Rebecca Sehnert & Mike Naber LifePoint Church

Comparison is the Thief of Joy

I saw this word art on Pinterest a while back and it struck a nerve at the time. I struggle to remember that there is only one of me, and to quote Martha Graham, "There is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. 

The world will not have it."

When I read the pinned quote, my mind jumped immediately to how many ways I consider myself not good enough. But while in the car driving home from the grocery store this morning, I realized that it works the other way as well. To compare what I have to what others do not have, to wrestle constantly with why I was not born into a life of poverty, has the great potential to steal the joy of my many blessings.

I asked the Lord the other morning why I'm so richly blessed. The answer I got back was, "I've blessed you so you can be a blessing." And so I try to start each day asking Him to show me how I can be a blessing to others.

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Well, good grief. I hit publish on the last post, and then looked at my list of blog posts. This one has been sitting in draft mode since November 2012. Y'all. That's just sad. So I'm getting out of my own way, stopping the blocking my own expression, and the world will have it. Who knows how I was going to continue on with what I had started to say. But the first three paragraphs feel important, so here you go. :)