Fields rolled by and I wondered which farm was her’s. I took photos just in case this was the one.
It wasn’t. But we were getting close to the gravel road that would lead us to our resting place. After speaking at a women’s event in Ontario all weekend, I was traveling with my friend Leah to the Farm to visit with my sweet friend, Ann Voskamp.
I couldn’t wait to see Ann and meet her family. Each one as unique and wonderful as I had imagined. Two boys hid (and giggled) under the porch while we visited. Her girls sat on the swing and listened. Flowers bent in the breeze behind the white picket fence.
And a zip line waited for us in the backyard. I didn’t know about it until dinner time. Listening to each child describe their father’s creation and how much time it took to build, voices echoed excitement. So I decided to ask if I could try it.
Smiles stretched big across their faces. No one there knew that this city girl is a farm girl at heart who loves a little adventure.
I even talked their mama into trying it for her first time!!
The next day we sat on the porch, eating apple slices and talking. We talked about the power of naming things like self-doubt, anxiety and fear, as well as the beauty He brings that we easily miss. How naming them can bring clarity to our thinking and invite God into our everyday moments.
Then we talked about framing the moments and messes so we can see God in them and worship Him there. Will you join us on the porch?
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Lord, we want to see You. We.Need.To.See.You. Open the eyes of our hearts and our souls, slow us and show us how to frame the gifts You give us each day – the moments, the messes, the simple, the sacred. In Your Name Amen!
Join Us On The Porch
Slip a note in the comments below this post by clicking “Share your thoughts.” As a special gift, when you join Ann and my conversation you will be entered for a chance to win one of three copies of A Confident Heart or a copy of Ann Voskamp’s New York Times Best-Seller, One Thousand Gifts.
“Open the eyes of our hearts and our souls, slow us and show us how to frame the gifts You give us each day – the moments, the messes, the simple, the sacred.”
THANK YOU
Thank you for the wonderful work,you are doing,you have really blessed my life with your sharings.May God continue to enrich you.
The message truly resonated with my own struggles to know that what we do in this life matters. I can get so caught up in wanting things to look a certain way, or even for myself to be able to respond a certain way, that I can miss the beauty of the gift of right now. My prayer has been, “God, Please don’t let me miss it. Please let me see the gift that is being given to me and please help me appreciate it in the fullness.”
Yet, the logical side of my brain says, “Are you just choosing to avoid the truth? Are you not recognizing what is really going on?”
That conversation becomes so loud sometimes in my own mind, that I get lost. Thankfully, God has always brought me through and will continue. Thank you for the reminder to look to the LIGHT for peace. We cannot find it apart from Him.