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Renee Swope

Encouraging and equipping moms to parent with God's grace and confidence.

Seeing God’s Gifts in Our Everyday Moments & Messes

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?

 

_______________________

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.

 

 

 

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Comments

  2. Thank you Renee and Ann for the wonderful message…God so spoke to me thru it. I love to take pictures, I have tons, and have burned CD’s for my children to have when I go home with our Lord. But in life, I never thought about framing “messy” things, I love what you two mention about move a little to the sides, to see the beauty God has for us, even in those moments…. When I open my front door each morning, I praise God and thank Him for His beauty, I close my eyes and hear the birds and just feel this rush of warmth… Yes, God is the Master Artist, He has painted a beautiful canvas for us to enjoy daily, on those days that are a little messy, I will shift the frame a little and find His beauty… I love that I’m His Masterpiece ! I just love saying that outloud……” I am God’s Masterpiece”…Love it, love it, love it. Your so right in saying that we need to “see beauty in all things, and it will change our perspective”.

    Thank you for sharing your webpage, I have already visited it, and loved it…, thank you Ann.

  3. Thank you for allowing me to get up off my couch where I’m stuck icing a knee injury, and join you on the porch in the beautiful country. I certainly need to slow down and ennjoy the special “gifts” God gives me everyday.

  4. I liked this conversation so much – too often I just rush through life at breakneck speed and forget to notice the things God is doing in and for and through me. For me this focus is about ‘living intentionally’ – I so need to do this so that I can have eyes to see all the wonders that God places in my way every day.

  5. I so appreciate how real you both are. I have been blessed to read your book, Renee, and I follow you Ann on your blog. I have been so encouraged by each of you. Thank you for sharing your struggles and the way God has spoken to each of you at different times in your life. What a blessing!

  6. I just listened to a couple of the videos – how touching and practical for daily living. I am so glad I took the time to listen and plan to watch more of the messages. You come across as very sincere and open to God’s leading. It is so good that women can share their testimonies and questions/doubts in order to find answers, as well as build confidence in God.

    Sincerely,
    Charlotte

  7. Thank you for sharing this insight. I will have to check out Ann’s book. Does this example fit what you mean?I start the day feeling grumpy about having to run with the dog on an early winter morning only to look up and realize as the sun is rising, there are snow flakes blowing about in the quiet, solitary moments of a new day. I end the run by being grateful the dog makes me have to get up and out so I wouldn’t miss God’s expression of beauty and creativity! The picture is tucked in my heart.

  8. “Right where it is is actually beautiful if we’d just change or perspective…” So absolutely true and encouraging! Thank you!

  9. How beautiful! I needed this suggestion of framing our moments . . . I shall slow down, frame the moments, and worship and praise God, the artist of my masterpiece!

  10. God has blessed me abundantly but I really need to focus on His presence with me moment by moment.

  11. I have been so moved and blessed by the two porch visits. I have needed the messages of confidence in God and shifting our focus from the dark moments to the framing of the light moments. I get too easily bogged down in feelinfpgs of being overwhelmed and try to rely on my own strength that I miss most of the precious moments that should be framed and cherished. Thank you once again for building into and speaking God’s truth into my life.

  12. Thank you so much for posting this video. I’m 28 years old, a first grade teacher and 7 months pregnant with my first baby. I feel like there are so many moments throughout the day that are special, and I wish I could go back and live again, my baby moving, my kiddos at school saying or doing something wonderful, my husband feeling the baby move for the first time, because I didn’t take the time to cherish them in the moment. After seeing your video I’m going to try and slow down and recognize the moments while I’m still in them and thank God for them.

    • So glad you are recognizing this now. My baby is now 17 years old and she looooves reading my thoughts as a pregnant mom, new mom, funny things she said,etc. These are truly precious precious moments. She and I are still very close and I am so thankful for that. There is nothing better:)

  13. Thank you so much for inviting me in on our conversation. It has blessed me at a time in my life that I wonder if I can take another breath or even want to. I look forward to one day reading both these books, when God blessed me with the means to have them. Thank you again.

  14. I needed something today to help me focus more on Jesus and not on my stress at work. Your video was perfect. Thank you for the reminder about all the beautiful things around me and how blessed I really am. Sometimes I get stuck in the junk. Not a good place to be. After the video and an un-stuck again!
    Winnie Morehead

  15. Thank you so much for reminding me that even when things aren’t working out as well as they could, there is still so much to be thankful for!

  16. Ann and Renee! Thank you for inviting us to sit on the porch with you guys! I love how Ann has a passion for life and how she challenges us to frame the moment. So often we take for granted all the beauty around us for noticing all the negative things. From this moment forward I’m going to frame the moments in my life and thanking God for the moments and the beauty in the moments.

  18. Thank you so much for the video’s! To be able to hear your voices as well as read your words is such a blessing!

  19. Greetings in Jesus’ Matchless Name! Thank you so much for all you shared here – especially about focusing, and shifting to include something in or leave something out of the picture I am so in to simple, seemingly small things. Framing in God’s truth, not a lie or doubt, or question, or anything that detracts from who we are in God and who God is. May I see this more and more and strive to do it. Hope to be reading Ann’s book, ONE THOUSAND GIFTS, in the near future. 🙂 God bless you!

  20. I love the reminder to ‘frame the picture’ and to be aware of God’s presence in that moment and that picture. I believe that because we live in a fallen world we must work a little harder to open our spiritual eyes to the beauty in God’s magnificent world. It is so good that we remind each other to do that, and that sometimes we even ‘frame the picture’ for each other. We are at the beach this week with my family and had the opportunity to experience a sunset after a storm passed through. Several people pulled out their cameras, including me, and were ‘framing the moment’ to savor for many years to come. In a way, God’s word does that for us by giving vivid descriptions of moments that we should savor and treasure in our hearts. In fact, when we read God’s word with that in mind, I believe His forever living and breathing word becomes very real for us. Thank you for reminding us to seek God in all we do and experience.

    • I so agree. Thank you for sharing how God’s word helps us slow down and savor life. Your words made me crave time to get more of His word today!