Hey Ladies,
I was just missing you and thinking of you all and thought I would do a quick catch-up on my life since it has been so long.
Life for Colin and me over the past few months has been a bittersweet transition, a combination of missing our first home together in Atlanta and fully embracing this new season God has for us with both hands.
Here are just a couple of reasons I miss my life in Atlanta:
Friends.
Friends
Friends
And, friends. Especially friends who can cook like this one:
Here are just a couple of reasons I love my life in Houston:
Getting to know my Aunt Gay again after many years. The purest redemption I have ever witnessed.
Sunshine with Mom.
Jackson.
Watching Amanda transform into an impromptu barista at Bible Study:
Fighting with Mom over our favorite coffee cup at work.
Wearing my favorite slippers at Living Proof. They’re really feminine, right?
Tex Mex.
Tex Mex.
And, oh my goodness gracious, Tex Mex.
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Thank you, Roxanne Worsham.
Watching Jackson bond with his lizard who he first named “Lizard” and then, later, “Longtail.”
Annabeth Jones. She is too busy and wiggly to take pictures but here are a few.
She is the cutest thing on two legs.
Also, she has taken to domestic life. Who knew?
Generations before and generations after.
My Pawpaw and Memaw. My Pawpaw is in his hard hat with his house plans watching his new house get framed exactly like he wants it. The two of them were sitting in folding chairs watching 6 men work. A classic moment.
And here is one very good reason I love my life no matter where I am:
In addition to the big move from Atlanta to Houston, the biggest change in my life is that I am back at the Living Proof offices writing some small segments for the James study with Mom. I was joking on Twitter the other day that I am able to write about one sentence per every fifty pages Mom writes. It is a slight exaggeration, but not much. I am a very slow writer and Mom is a machine. She has to repeatedly tell me, “Remember you don’t have to say everything to say something.” This is probably the best piece of advice I have gotten since I started the project. I think about it multiple times per hour.
Over the past several years I have grown quite comfortable with working at the research level. It is nice and convenient. I can remain detached from the conclusions and implications of the data with which I am working and can’t be held responsible since Mom is the author and I am not. I am smiling right now because I know Mom would be smiling at that comment. But, seriously, writing is a different beast. It is vulnerable. I feel stripped and exposed. I am finding that it takes a whole lot of courage. The ugly truth is I am inordinately afraid of making a mistake. And this is not humility, folks, but a very sneaky and dark form of pride.
In Madeleine L’ Engle’s reflections on writing, she quotes a few lines from Anton Chekhov’s letters that have been restorative to me in this new process: “You must once and for all give up being worried about successes and failures. Don’t let that concern you. It’s your duty to go on working steadily day by day, quite quietly, to be prepared for mistakes, which are inevitable, and for failures” (Anton Chekhov quoted in Madeleine L’ Engle, Herself, 72). Just reading that is liberating.
While I obviously think writers and teachers should think carefully through content and style, perfectionism really is incapacitating. And it can become an idol. All that to say, I am practicing the art of being patient with myself.
So, that is me and probably a lot more than you wanted to know.
How are you?
I read this blog all of the time and I hardly ever leave comments. This is probably terrible because it is so trivial but the thing I wanted to get on here and say the most is that Melissa-I think you have the best hair I’ve ever seen. I really enjoyed those photos.
And besides that very important piece of information (smile) this blog along with the few books I’ve read so far by Beth have changed the way I think about the WORD. I’m so glad someone recommended her to me 🙂
As for what I’m doing, raising two children ages 2 and 1 by day and digging into bible study and prayer by night (right now I’m reading So Long, Insecurity). So with that being said, I will get back to my night time job!
Bill Bright said, “successful evangelism is taking initative in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results up to God.” and I think that can be applied to every area of our life. Success us taking initative in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results up to God. 🙂
Hi Melissa,
I loved your post…the pictures are priceless! It’s amazing to be close to family and be part of the everyday stuff…it really doesn’t get any better.
This has been a roller coaster week, we found out our son and precious DIL are expecting again, a miracle from the goodness of God, we are incredibly blessed and overwhelmed at how God’s plan was so perfect. On the down side of the roller coaster…my husband is out of town and with our kids grown I was home with just our adorable chocolate Cocker Spaniel, named Chip…he was diagnosed with heart disease on Valentines Day and at 2:30am on Tuesday he died. I was with him, driving him to the 24 hour emergency vet and he just left…I was a basket case to say the least. After losing both my parents in the last 8 years I realize that loss is a part of life…that there will always be the “sting” of death. We had Chip for 8 1/2 years (my first pet, ever)and I miss him…more than I thought. So that’s how I am…thank you for asking. Joni
P.S. I loved the writing quote…so what I needed to hear.
Thanks for the great writing quote from your Mom. I’ll add it to some others that I look to once in a while. I love this one by C.S. Lewis when I forget that what I am trying to say is sometimes not of my own making: “Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.” — C.S. Lewis
Amanda? That’s you right. I had to write over you naming that sneaky and dark form of pride!
Thank you, I recognize it in myself, and I’m turning it over to Jesus.
It’s poisoned my life long enough and I believe the Lord will forgive and help me forget about myself and pick up my cross and follow Him!
I spend way to much energy justifying my shortcomings instead of believing and stepping out in faith so in fath I’m writing this to you. I sent a memory verse to your mom this morning and didn’t proof it and left out the reference! Ugh. But here I am again I’m not gonna be ashamed I am justified by my Lord who works all thing together for good. Isn’t He GOOD!!!
I love how you all write your style makes you so approachable even though you are amazing scholars. Praise God for His Living Proof, and gifting you to share it this way.
I’m eternally grateful.
Love, Aloha, in Christ, Christine
Oops, Melissa! I beg your pardon.
nehemiah 8;10 (amplified) -first time i have strayed from NIV to memorize!
Be not greived or depressed for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold.
Shelly, Willmar MN
Melissa,
Thanks for catching us up on what’s going on in your life. I could especially relate to your thoughts on writing and thought you might enjoy this comment which was made by one of my Facebook friends, who is also a well known and respected Christian author. I think she pretty much nailed it…at least this is a true depiction of the way I write:
“”Writing is less about crafting clean and perfect sentences and more about barfing your guts out and cleaning up around the edges.” 🙂
Blessings!
Jeanne
Love the pictures! I feel like a part of the family. I’m so thankful for the LPM blog. Enjoy being in the siestahood. I know your family is thrilled that you’re back in Houston. Have a wonderful day!
Ah, perfectionism. It has been my demon for most of my life. I am happy to report that God hit me with it head-on last winter when I read “So Long, Insecurity”, but I think perfection will always be a weakness for me. I’m working on it, and I have found it to be so freeing to LET IT GO!!! Also, because it takes one to know one, I can spot perfectionism in someone else in a heartbeat. God has given me the chance to share how dibilitating it has been and can be and I thank Him for that.
Thanks, Melissa, for reminding me!
PS…I see your Colin likes his hat just like my Clyde hardly leaves home without his. 😉
Thank you, Precious, for being so open with us. You just refreshed my heart for the day. 🙂
WOW! Thank you for sharing! Over the past few months I have been corrected grammatically by a co-worker to the point of tears. Normally, I would stand before women and young people completely confident in what God had shared with me and or shown me. Through these months of “correction” I have allowed insecurity to take root in my mind and I have questioned if I am smart enough to speak my name…much less my heart! Your honesty is encouraging. I am not perfect. However, I am perfectly used by our Gracious Daddy, Abba Father!
Thank you!
Atlanta is emptier without you, Houston is bubbling over having you there! Love to you all at Living Proof!
Becca King
Melissa, thanks for the update. I always enjoy pictures of the Moore/Jones/Fitzpatrick clan!
Right now things are pretty good at home. The daughter is off at college, and the two teenage sons are getting along well. The older boy has calmed down a lot, and his anger seems to have gone away. We went through several rough years with him. The younger boy came home from church the other night, lamenting that he couldn’t sing the high notes anymore. His voice is changing! I went to my bedroom and cried…
My husband is having some difficulty. He has never been a very positive person – he tends to see the glass as half empty. We are in a tranisitional period at church because our pastor retired after 35 years. My husband has been judgmental of our church for several years (long story), and it is getting worse. It all boils down to the way God’s Word is taught. My husband is a godly man and studies the Scriptures diligently/faithfully in preparation for his Sunday School lessons, but his heart is very hard toward any other method of teaching. It is rubbing off on our boys, and putting a wall between him and I. Please pray for us. Thanks!
Hi Melissa! This is my first time reading your blog, although I have saved it as my home page weeks earlier, and I have to say thank you! Your last paragraphs really helped me. I’ve recently rededicated my life to Christ after about a six year hiatus from living a Christ-centered life. I can say at this point that I am extremely thankful for the willing heart my time away, and God through it, has given me.
At this point I am ready to submit fully, not that it’s always easy. In doing this I’m seeing God transform my life. My life has been one of little worldly accomplishment as I was victimized as a child and it greatly effected me. However, I see as a new creation in Christ, God wants me to fully let this go too so I can truly live in the freedom of Christ’s priceless gift. He is lifting me up in His strength and I am in awe of what He is doing in my life!
I love the quote you shared by Madeleine L’ Engle! It’s a keeper! I too struggle with perfectionism and God has been working with me on this lately. I appreciate you pointing out that it can become an idol, it’s so good to recognize that. I believe that will help me let it go easier.
As an aspiring writer and sister in Christ, I deeply appreciate what you wrote Melissa. Thank you!
Melissa,
Thanks for sharing that. I can totally identify with you, as I am just now starting to write and want to write. I started a blog because I felt it would help me overcome the fear I have, which I have to admit is some of my perfectionist tendencies coming out….but one step at a time. My husband just keeps encouraging me to just do it.
Thanks
Dear Melissa,
You are such an awesome writer! It is so great to hear this from you. I am excited for the James study to be on the shelves and in my hands.
I have to jump off here as soon as my husband is ready to walk out the door to go to our son’s baseball games. Our son, who is our baby, who turned 18 today. We are transitioning into the almost Empty Nest and being Grandparents and also still parents, but now to adult young men and woman.
Gotta get off!
Thank you for your update!
Hope to see you next January!
Hi Melissa, this post finds me in the midst of motherhood in full swing. A bunch of kids playing in my yard, and a lot of back and forth to school, soccer, gymnastics, church, work, and thankfully, PRAYER GROUP!
I remember those early years of marriage and how precious they were to building a solid foundation in which to build our family on. 15 years later, it is easier and harder at the same time, but I am blessed, blessed, blessed to have a man who loves God and his family (in that order) by my side. Would love to know how Colin’s singing career is going?
Sorry you are missing your Atlanta friends, but I just got back from a Girl’s Weekend where we ran/walked a 10K and it is the hardest I laugh all year- so get together with them when you can!
P.S.: You are so beautiful! Man, those eyes!
Beth: i have sent a picture of us waving to you during our first day of our Daniel Bible study last Saturday. I have posted a comment in your Living Proof facebook webpage and changed my profile picture to show all of us waving to you.
You are such an inspiration and a blessing to us. Here’s the text of my email from last Saturday:
Dear Beth: We are the ladies from Ross Road Community Church in Abbotsford British Columbia and we want to say Hello! and also to tell you how much you bless us.
We started your Daniel bible study today and praise God that you are our leader and that your passion for Jesus Christ is so strong that it permeates through the video screen and brings us joy, tears, laughter and amazing excitement for the Word of God.
Your enthusiasm is contagious and we want to say:
THANK YOU BETH, FOR BEING YOU –
GIRLFRIEND, YES, WE LOVE YOUR HAIR
AND WE KNOW
THAT WE WERE DESTINED TO BE HERE, WITH YOU,
LEARNING EVERYTHING WE CAN ABOUT OUR WONDERFUL
GOD
I had never thought about my perfectionism as a source of pride until I read this post. My eyes have really been opened. I have let this crazy need for perfection rob me for years. Working on this ASAP. Thanks for catching up with us. Enjoy this time with your sweet family. God bless you all.
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering.
There is a crack in everything,
That’s how the light gets in.
~Leonard Cohen
Please pray for 6 month old baby boy, Brady, in our church family. Very sick little guy in TN hospital. Surgery on Monday.
Thank you Prayer Warriors!
Your family is blessed to have you home 🙂 Friends are great, but there is nothing like family!
So glad you’re all together! I know it’s hard to move around and leave those you love, even if you’re going somewhere else where you around other people you love. 🙂
Melissa,
How fun to get on here after a busy week and read your post! What an exciting season you are in.
I can hardly wait to do the James study. Keep up your hard work!
I actually owe you a thanks for something…. After reading a post of yours months ago, I was spurred on to get a Hebrew/Greek study Bible so I could go deeper in my study. It has been such a blessing and has impacted my time in the Word so much.
Your brains and beauty are a blessing!
Heather from Lewiston 🙂
Hi! Congrats on your move and thank you for sharing all of those great pics!
On the topic of—-““You must once and for all give up being worried about successes and failures. Don’t let that concern you. It’s your duty to go on working steadily day by day, quite quietly, to be prepared for mistakes, which are inevitable, and for failures” (Madeleine L’ Engle, Herself, 72).”
This really is true for all types of service, I have feared getting involved with ministry of any kind for just this reason! I am afraid of failing at it. When you are involved in ministry you WILL make mistakes and if you have great leadership they will be pointed out (lovingly) but it is still hard. It’s a much easier choice to not do anything and therefore not be accountable to anything! BUT we know that is not a thought from the Lord. We are called to serve, and you are right that striving for a flawless minisrty run is pride not committment. So I love the thought of giving up the worries and just serving. There’s some freedom in that! Now…..getting myself to really let go, that’s going to take some prayer!
Thanks for sharing that, I needed to hear that!
What a great post. Thank you Melissa. I love the way the Lord speaks softly to me, “Living Proof blog” every time there is something that I need to read on here. Oh He is forever good and great and marvelous! My soul pants for Him!! I love the pics you posted, you are a delight. Looking at your pics makes me want to hang out with you, lol. It would be a blast to sit over a cup of coffee and chat. :~)
You asked how we are so, I am great! My husband is in Nashville this weekend so I’m spending the entire weekend with Jesus. And then I have the privledge of going to church tonight and meeting with my amazing small group for good food and fellowship. Also, I am praising, PRAISING God for what He has done for me. I have been dealing with infertility for almost 3 years along with incredibly painful periods. God placed a doctor in my life who answered my prayers and did an exploratory surgery to diagnosis my problems. Now I have to have a 2nd and 3rd surgery to fix everything but my amazing Christian doctor is having a baby so the surgery was put off until Sept. God came through again and another doctor with similiar training (there are only 8 docs in the nation with this training!) is willing to do my surgery and I now have a surgery date of June 1st. Once this is all over I will have a 65% chance of getting pregnant, but it may take 3 years. Oh, how He loves us! It’s a struggle somedays to just let go and trust Him but His peace reigns and He has filled me to the measure of all the fullness of His Spirit! Amen.
God bless you Melissa! Thank you for your insight and wisdom,
Cindy
Dear Sisters- I have urgent prayer request. I need instrumentation in my back replaced. My insurance does not kick in for a few more months. I am in severe pain, sleeping only about 2-3 hours a night. I am worried about the protection of my spinal cord at this time. Please pray God’s healing and protection of my spine while I await my insurance to kick in. Pls also pray for my pain. I am severely allergic to pain meds of any sort and so my pain before and after my surgeries have been something I have had to learn, with the help of God, to endure. Please pray that I will feel less pain- it is really bumming me out right now. I love you my siesta sisters!
Melissa, thank you for your thoughts on writing. Needed to hear it today! I’ll have to add that L’Engle book to my list. Thanks!
A
“The ugly truth is I am inordinately afraid of making a mistake. And this is not humility, folks, but a very sneaky and dark form of pride.” <– the story of my life. Just when I think I finally have it all under control, I get proud of myself for coming so far… and then I make another mistake that shines light on how pathetically unworthy I am. On the flip side, the mistakes also provide opportunities for me to recognize the perfection of God, and how any good that happens out of me is obviously not of me, but Him. I thank God for allowing those humility instillment opportunities. (If not for them, I would surely be the biggest jerk on the planet.)
P.S.- my 5 year old daughter is so much like I am, and I’m trying to pray that “fear of failure” out of her personality wiring early on 😉 It would be soooo effective if she would let that go before her major hormones kick in, lol.
(ok, so the “story of my life” may not be so accurate… more like the story of my death to myself which happens to have taken a lot of time out of my life :-s)
Melissa, my parents are papaw and memaw to my kids! I love that you realize how family is the most important thing after GOD of course! I am sitting here enjoying some family as well- my 4 year old son Blake is playing with his 2 yr old cousin who just moved here from Indianapolis- they have had a long distance cousinship (new word I made up) for 2 years and they are eating up this time now– BATH is coming next! While the girls Payton, Addi and Joely (also been in long distance cousinship for 2 years) are sitting at the end of the driveway having a lemonade stand. We live in the country(not much traffic) in southern Indiana (so almost dark and getting chilly here) but they have made some cash from papaw, memaw, gran and pap who drove 3 miles to get sugared down pink lemonade, which they PAID BIG $$ for! Thanks for asking!!! Loved, loved, loved my birthday card from LPM!! Made me feel so special!
Thanks for sharing all the pictures! What am I doing? Just went to the Priscilla Shirer simulcast last weekend and starting Spring Break this week! My favorite word from Priscilla was “If God loved you enough to die for you, then He loves you enough to speak to you!” Wow, how many of us really need to know that He does speak to us if we’ll just take time with him to hear it.
Counting down the days to Deeper Still in Louisville with your mom, Kay, and Priscilla! Can’t wait!!!
Melissa, it was so good to hear from you! I know you are enjoying this season of life so close to your family! Thanks for the pics. Love the one of Gay and seeing the love all around her!
You wrote this on the 4th and it is the 9th now,10:12pm and I’m just now commenting; does that say anything about my busy, crazy, fun life right now. LOL
My baby is turning 10 tomorrow, party and all. *sigh* Where does the time go? I love him so! He is busy with lacrosse, played 3 games today actually.
My 13 yr old son is changing so much in every area. Love watching him come into his own. He is going thru the voice change right now. He is busy with track running the mile.
Can’t wait to dig into the ‘James’ study!! Listening to Revelation one this past week. Love you guys!
I love your clear expressiveness, truth fullness and your progression in thought! Melissa ,you are your mamas’daughter.
Thankyou, in Christ joshua ,joane pascal.
Beth R
Liberty Lake, WA
NIV Prov 7:2
Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye.
Thank you for sharing your struggle with perfection when writing. I have been “tweeking” a writing project the Lord gave me six years ago. I finally decided to obey and get it done. It has been tough and a blessing at the same time. I’m an accountant and I’m not sure I have a right brain, but the Lord is filling the pages despite my self-perceived lack of ability. On a side note, I live near Houston and Tex-Mex is the BEST reason to live down here. That… and the Galleria. 🙂
Hey Melissa,
I had to respond to your entry because, as usual, you tap into the deep in me. I am praying that you will continue to see the fingerprints of God’s affirmation and confirmation in this move to Houston. I am praying that He will birth redemption in every area that this season has uncovered for you.
I love your authenticity regarding the revelation of pride in writing. The other day I was going through some hard stuff and choosing to worship in the midst of the yuck. I had this CD on by Julie Meyer and was listening to, “Unto the Lamb” (it is available on You Tube if you’re interested). I felt like I was literally worshipping my guts out (the pain) as I was processing and internalizing the truth in the song.
My 14 yr old son piped up from the back seat about a book he was reading. He was reading a soldier’s journal from WW II. It was post D-Day and the gentleman was talking about how the Germans had underestimated the Allied forces. Michael told me how “jacked up” he was because the Allied forces had risen to the occasion (under the grace and mercy of God) and “punched the Germans in the mouth”. In that exact moment I felt the Lord say to me, “That is exactly what you do to Satan when you choose to worship at a time like this.”
I felt like your choice to make the topic of pride public was an example of what the Lord had told me. I can see from far away that you have an incredible calling on your life, Melissa. I can see that God has gifted you with specific qualities to be tenacious enough to ‘follow Him to the wilderness’ and as Cory Asbury sings, “come up leaning on Jesus”.
I have also moved far away recently. I get the grief. I also get that every home we have on Earth is only temporary in light of eternity. So as your mom says, “Let’s do this thing” for the next 60-80 years and get to our real home. The exchange rate is going to be phenomenal! As we say in our family (a lot lately) I can do anything God asks of me for this life to have the bounty of a life of yeses in Heaven.
Jesus bless your yes!
Jina
Judy of Marietta says:
The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deut. 31:8 NIV
I’m glad you are enjoying Houston and being with family! Here’s what’s up with me: I am missing mine…having just gone through a tough season…I’m now back to work after being home with my boys for 8 years…wanting to continue to stay home, but knowing I can’t right now…praying and praying that God will bring me back home…loving that my relationship with my hubby of 18 years is stronger than ever…despite a rough financial patch…loving that I am finally memorizing scripture and actually enjoying it…trying to get myself back on track and moving forward in a positive direction! Thanks for being so raw and honest with us all!
Love,
Donna (the mom of twin boys)
Thank you for sharing – it was something I so needed to hear today.
Valerie
Direct from Fresno “Embrace the word we love to Hate! Patience!” I’m sure someone has already posted that but I just wanted to jump on and say we love you very much. I appreciate so much the hard hard work you have done that makes it so much easier for me to study God’s words. Thank you so very much!
Born and raised in Texas, I have lived in the Atl area for 16 years now. I dearly miss my fam & the Tex-Mex…you said it girl!! I’m salivating just looking at all that yummy food! I enjoyed reading this post, but God got serious w/ me in the end of it when he made me realize something had become an idol in my life and I had not realized it. I could sense I was “off-kilter”, not balanced, not at peace. And now I know why! Thanks girlfriend for a great post! 😉
THANK YOU FOR SHARING!!!
With Blessing,
Kim Safina
“CaliKim”
http://kimlsafina.weebly.com/
Hello Melissa
Just quick to note to let you know that I love your posts.
I Love on this blog getting 3 godly women posts (You, your sister & your mom Beth)
May God continue to Bless you
Have a Blessed day, Cyndi in Friendswood
Best writing advice I ever got is to ignore all flattery and all criticism and just keep writing — and that includes your inner editor who will nag you to death if you allow her to.
Blessings on the writing. James is my favorite, with particular attention to real religion is caring for widows and orphans. I understood that verse better than all others.
Great to hear from you, Melissa!
I haven’t read any of the other comments yet … but did anyone mention your hair?? I love your new color, girlfriend! Boy, oh boy do you look more like your Mama! 🙂
Glad you’re enjoying life back in TX with your hubby, Colin! Enjoy this “newleywed” time. Take it from me … you’ll be hard-pressed to remember this time of freedom and relaxing and doing what you want with your time. It might not feel that way now. But, it is. Trust a Mama with four little ones. I wouldn’t change a thing. God knew better than I in the Mommy department. But it sure is fun to try and remember the day I could just leave the house … just leave without a diaper to change or a purse to carry or a child to pick up! LOL 🙂
Carla
LaFayette, Al.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Philippians 4:6. NLT
Warmest Greetings Melissa,
It is good to “hear” from you again on the blog. I’m glad that you are able to share with us how things are with you now in the writing process. When you said, “The ugly truth is I am inordinately afraid of making a mistake. And this is not humility, folks, but a very sneaky and dark form of pride.”, that struck me. I don’t want pride, sneaky or blatant, concious or subconcious. In any ministry that I do. False humility possibilities scare me. I don’t want that. How am I? I am going at it one day at a time these days, and I really want the right attitude, motivation, and sanctified mind-have mercy; I need lots of that too, and grace…All I know is that when transition times come like now in my life, I want to follow His truths right onto real freedom. Real healing, real progress and maturity in my walk, and most definitely not regression…It’s good to hear from you again Melissa, thanks. Blessings to you always.
I know I’m embarassingly late to chime in here. But I’ve been thinking about your post ever since you posted it, and just decided to take a minute to write!
1st, I adore your hair. Seriously. If you ever decide that you’re done with it, please send it my way!
2nd, I am so excited for you! I know how hard it is to leave friends behind. We moved to the mission field (Chiapas, MEX) 6 yrs ago and I still miss my US friends terribly. BUT! What I wouldn’t give to be so close to my sisters and mom! I think it’s amazing and wonderful and I have to battle with envy when I think of you all getting to work in ministry together. 😉
What’s up with me… it’s long. But the short version is that Chiapas feels like a million miles from home lately, and the isolated feeling is kinda getting old. I’m looking forward to starting another one of your mom’s studies (just finished Esther)… it’s so comforting to feel like I’m kinda there with all these fabulous women! 🙂
Thanks for posting… it’s fun to “get to know you” a little through the wonderful world of blogging.
God bless as you settle in to your new routine in Houston!
Girl, you are beautiful inside and out just like your mama. Enjoy your life in Houston
with your beautiful family. The kids are just too cute for words. One of these days
I need to drag my man to Houston to have some barbeque, hit your mama’s bible study
live and see my friends Brian and Lesley Gavin. Sometime soon, I hope!
As a writer, this post was very encouraging to me. I pulled out a few quotes that I will possibly re-quote again some day, but I will DEFINITELY use as I walk the writing and teaching path.
“But, seriously, writing is a different beast. It is vulnerable. I feel stripped and exposed. I am finding that it takes a whole lot of courage. The ugly truth is I am inordinately afraid of making a mistake. And this is not humility, folks, but a very sneaky and dark form of pride.” I believe these are the sentences I identify with the most, and the pride thing… Well, all I can say to that is OUCH!
I am a witness of the power of perfectionism to incapacitate, and I am slowly learning to work through that.
I purchased a journal recently that says “Just Keep Writing” on the outside. So that’s what I’ll say to you. Just keep writing!
Psalm 3: 3 & 4 (NIV) But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill.
I haven’t been to the blog in a LONG time. Love your post and pics 🙂