31 Days of Practice {October 2012}

During the month of October, I'll be joining a host of other bloggers who will be joining The Nester for her annual 31 Days...event.  The minute I read about it, I was compelled to join in, but for the life of me I couldn't come up with a topic.  I asked biggest fan club and they each had their own ideas...but none of them clicked.

Then I remembered something Jon Acuff said last weekend.  He said we need a "Practice Space."  Ahhh suddenly a light bulb went off, and I had my topic.

I started this blog back in 2008 and it was primarily a way to keep long distance family up to date with the happenings in our family. Epic Fail.

Then I began down the household track...meal planning, recipes, coupons, you name it. Epic Fail #2.  

And the story goes on. and on. and on.  Until last winter.

Last winter I distinctly heard the LORD say to me that I needed to start writing. And I did. For awhile. Then the pressure of comments (or lack there of) and stats, etc overwhelmed me and I slacked off.

That cycle repeated itself in the spring and again this summer.

Until I went to the Quitter Conference recently, and the speakers talked about dreams and how our dreams could and should have an effect outside of us. They talked about dreams offering hope.  

They talked about having a practice space, where we could be free to fail, and eventually find our awesome-ness.

That conference was only a week ago.  And here is this 31 days event, where I am challenged to write - for 31 days. Straight.

I'm excited. I'm apprehensive. I don't have a long list of topics. I'm praying the LORD reveals them as we go along. Because really, that's my biggest source of inspiration - daily life, family, The crazy we call life.

So I hope you will join me this month, and if you are also participating, please leave me a link in the comments, so that I can see what you will be writing about. for. 31. days. straight.

♥Lori
Day 1 - ABC's of Me
Day 2 - Battle for TIME
Day 3 -Welcome
Day 4 - Homecoming 2012
Day 5 - Savor 7 Saturday
Day 6 - The Road
Day 7 - The D Word {Discipline}
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Savor~7~ Saturday {9/29/12}

Today I am joining with Lisa for Savor~7~Saturday - a chance to stop and count our blessings, for they are many...many more than seven, for sure!

I'm thinking about my Dad this week as we would have celebrated his 66th birthday.  I wonder what kind of celebration we might have had, and what he would have thought about Drummer playing baseball and Dollie going to the homecoming dance.  I'm sure he would have been here with us for both! It's hard to believe he's been with Jesus these past 20 years, but he has and the "missing him" never stops, especially when "milestone stuff" happens. Happy Birthday Dad!

Now for the Savor~7
Scripture~ Right now I am in the midst of two big huge challenges.  First is the #hellomornings ~ Get up early, Bible Study, Planning your day, Exercise challenge.  We finished up week six this past week, and I cannot believe the difference it has made!  I am loving the 1 Peter #KeptStudy we are doing too!

I am also in the middle of reading the Bible in 90 days.  Today is actually day 41, but I am a few days behind. I'm hoping to catch up this weekend and start with a clean slate on Monday, Oct. 1.

Story Tellers~ Let's see, having heard Jon Acuff, Jeff Goins, Matt Chambers and Ali Worthington all in a 24 hour period, I'd have to go with suggesting any of them...

Social~ I think I've mentioned it once or twice, but I attended the Quitter Conference last weekend with Jon Acuff. It was truly a "light switch" moment for me.  The social part is the 400 other people who also attended.  This was challenging for me, as I am a total introvert, but I managed to step out of my little box and meet some wonderful people.

Silly~ Oh, I would have to say the fitting room at the consignment store when Dollie was trying on dresses last minute for homecoming.  She picked up one the minute we walked in and put it back a couple of times before adding it to the pile. I picked up the traditional ones, of course. Then when she put that first one on, she glowed. She twirled. She giggled and said "I feel like a princess...a cupcake princess."  The photo below doesn't do it justice, but the skirt is full of rosettes...like a cupcake would have. It was in that moment that I knew we weren't walking out without that dress.

Snapshot~ Last night Dollie attended her high school homecoming in her sweet little "Cupcake Dress" with a group of her friends.  How can it be? Only yesterday she was dancing around in her tutu watching Sesame Street...  The days go by so fast!  Sure wish I'd gotten better photos though...

Sips~ I've returned to my daily cup of green tea.  I got away from it over the summer, enjoying my iced coffee, but the green tea is warm on these chilly mornings, and it has so many other benefits too.

Sweets~ Gluten Free Ooey Gooey Cheesecake.  Last weekend while we were away, My Man and I walked the historic district of Franklin, TN and stumbled upon a little restaurant that had a gluten free menu.  The salads we ate were awesome, but they didn't even compare to the dessert.  It was a gf ooey-gooey cheesecake.  Oh. My. The. Goodness.  I only had a few bites because of the sweetness, but it reminded me that gluten free does NOT mean awful tasting.

That's it for this week.  Have a great weekend!

♥Lori

Grasp {Five Minute Friday}

Grasp {to take or seize eagerly, to lay hold of with the mind : comprehend}

What a wonder that God would give Lisa-Jo that word for this week's Five Minute Friday.

Not really.
My reader feed has been loaded with various posts on writing and dreaming all week.  Things I grasp to understand these days.

After the blessing of last weekend's Quitter Conference, I grasp to understand what I'm supposed to do, and how.  Being a type-A, over-achiever, if I don't understand it and can't make it work, I want to bail.  Give up. Walk away.
But not this time.
I have to figure this one out.
I have to understand what God is trying to do...in me.

I still get stuck on little things like comments, re-tweets, and responses.  But does all that really matter, or is this just my "practice space"? 

That place where I'm able to find myself and get comfortable with who I am...in my writing, in the blogosphere, in my own skin really.

I've been here a long time.
I've re-invented this little blog of mine several times, never really able to find its true self, its true space.

But maybe it's me.
Maybe its me who needs to move and change...

...to grasp...what God is doing...
♥Lori

Linked with Lisa Jo and Five Minute Friday

What if...

We traveled to the Nashville, TN area this past weekend to attend the Quitter Conference with Jon Acuff and a host of other fabulous speakers.  It was a conference for dreamers, by dreamers.
 
Now, I'm not a dreamer, at least I wasn't a dreamer.  As a child or teen, I never dreamed of what I would do one day, or who I would marry.  Life just kind of happened.  
 
Needless to say, I wasn't sure why we were there at the Quitter conference, until I heard this one word...IF.  

Matt Chambers was talking about finding balance and eliminating excuses.  And when he talked for just a moment about the word IF drowning out our dreams, I literally caught my breath.  

I never thought about it before, 

but the word IF leads to either 

HOPE or EXCUSE.

Think about it...

"I'd love to work on that missions project, IF ONLY I had more money."
"I'd love to help tutor children IF ONLY I had more time."

That IF leads to excuses.

Now think about this...

"It's only an hour of my time, but WHAT IF God could use it to ___________?
"It's only a few dollars, but WHAT IF I used it to ___________?

"WHAT IF..." brings HOPE!

It's my new favorite phrase. It holds so much promise!!

I am only a beginner dreamer, but the fire has been lit, and I see so much promise.  Thank you Jon Acuff & Friends!

This is just one of the many "take-aways" from a loaded weekend~

Happy Wednesday!!
♥Lori

Linked with WIP Wed @ New Life Steward  
                   iFellowship Blog Hop

Still {Sunday Community}

Psalm 107:27-29

They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And are at their wits’ end.

Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.

He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.

Happy Sunday!

♥Lori

Linked with Sunday Community 

Five Minute Friday ~ Focus {#FMF}

The to do list looms long...it's hard to focus on just one thing.

The calendar is teeming with appointments, games, obligations...it's hard to focus, to know where to be.

Focus doesn't come easy for me.  It's a battle.  In my mind. 

To keep the main thing, the main thing so to speak.

The tyranny of the urgent always reminds me that what is urgent is not always what is most important.

This week I had a daughter who just needed time.  
Time.  Time to shed a few tears.  
Time spent with her. 
Just time. 

Life is a series of choices on where to focus my energy.  

Focusing on what is important and not necessarily what is most urgent.

LORD, please help me to keep perspective and maintain my focus.  I always want to be alert and aware of the situations around me that need my attention most...those times when YOU can speak the clearest.  Help me with focus. Amen.

♥Lori

Linked with Five Minute Friday

Baby Steps...

Last week I posted here about becoming more of a Producer instead of such a Consumer and how I almost bailed out of all of it.

And this week with only two other posts written last week - all I can say is I'm working on it.

This past week has been really busy, so realistically, unless I was ultra organized and had posts written and scheduled ahead of time (which is something I aspire to) I wasn't going to post much anyway. 

The baby steps I have taken are these...

*I check Social Media (mostly on my phone) during WAIT times.  WAIT times include car pool, appointments, etc.  It does NOT included times when I'm sitting at home with my family.

*I modified the notifications on my phone.  My iPhone is truly a blessing, but like anything, it can be a real distraction if I let it!!!  Can I get an Amen?

*I some of my app locations on my phone, even creating folders for Producing and Consuming!

*I'm not reading blogs or emails before I finish my Quiet Time / Bible in 90 Days reading.  The only exception to this is Tweeting at 6am with my HelloMornings Friends.  But that is a check in and prayer time...

I read a quote recently (sorry I don't know the original author, please let me know if you do...) that spoke to my heart on this matter.

Don't be a spectator in life, participate in it...

That's how I see this Producer / Consumer thing.  As a consumer, I'm a spectator, basically just watching God work in the lives of everyone else.  As a producer though, I'm able to share what God has been doing in our lives and maybe touch some lives.

Sounds crazy, but this really is my Work In Process...and I'm thrilled with the baby steps I've taken. 

♥Lori

Linked up with WIP Wed @ New Life Steward

                         Women Living Well Wednesday

Graceful {FMF}

Graceful is Dollie, when she straps on her dance shoes and spins, leaps and turns.

That is not me.

I press, and push my way through the things of life.  Mostly, not graceful.

But when I turn the word around I see full-of-grace.  Now that, I can relate to.  Not my grace, but HIS!

I taught a small group study last spring and it focused around grace - and the definition we used was:

"God's free empowerment that gives us the ability to go beyond our natural ability."

That's graceful...doing the things leaps, turns a spins of daily life, empowered by His grace.  In His strength alone.

That I can do...or at least try...thanking Him for a new measure of His grace, everyday...

♥Lori

Linking up with Lisa Jo @ Five Minute Friday