year of promise

i remember, as we were entering into 2011, seeing a lot of bloggers talking about their "word" for the year. for some it was gratitude, for others it was patience and i decided that my word was promise. 2011 was going to be a year of promise. i wrote it on my chalkboard in the hall and i smiled as i passed it daily. after all, it did seem that 2011 was full of promises being fulfilled. i was planning my wedding, which to me was one of the biggest promises in my life that i felt God was finally answering. the year felt so full of hope and anticipation and that assurance of this being the year of promise excited me.

fast forward to today. 2011 is more than halfway over. and looking back now i have to be honest and say that it's felt more like a year of broken promises. after my fiance and i broke up in march i couldn't stand looking at that chalkboard. it felt like it was mocking me. so finally i erased that hopeful message. i was angry and hurt and broken and i didn't want to think about how long it would likely be until that promise of marriage would ever be fulfilled. so i came across a bible verse that had been speaking to me at the time and i put that in its place. and that's how it has remained.

over the last week or so God keeps bringing that word promise back to me. reminding me that he hasn't forgotten about our word for this year... had i? no of course i hadn't forgotten about it, but i was doing my best to shove it away. so much pain attached to that. little by little, in His gentle way, God has been reminding me that His promises to me are never broken. He didn't cause this to happen. He allowed it, yes, but His plans for me still remain intact... unmoved... unshaken by earthly circumstances.

so this morning i stood in front of that chalkboard and i wept. and i told God i was sorry for not trusting Him completely. for feeling like He failed me and disappointed me. and i thanked Him for staying by my side... for His faithful presence in one of the darkest times of my life. and then i erased the words and in its place i wrote:

2011
is
STILL
the year of
PROMISE

while i might not be getting married this year, there are still plenty of promises in my life that God is fulfilling this year. i hope to share some of them with you soon.

so i continue to take it one step at a time... surprised by how fast this year is moving and all that has happened in a short period of time...  it's not an easy road, but i wasn't ever promised that. i was promised that i wouldn't walk it alone and i can totally attest to truth in that. 

grace and peace,

 

for the love of potential

yesterday i read this post from kelle hampton's blog and as soon as i read the first line i literally laughed out loud. she talked about how she's addicted to the idea of potential and the euphoria that comes with possibility and oh.my.gosh i can so relate to that.

i can spend hours searching for beautiful things to create (thank you pinterest) but how many hours do i spend actually doing the creating? i bookmark image upon image and dream of the day i'll finally do this project or that project. or dreaming about jetting off to this country or that island. sometimes i'll be sitting in my office and the urge to clean my house will come upon me. what happens when i finally get home? not the desire to clean, that's for sure.

i can walk through home goods or ross and my heart starts racing when i see the potential in this hodge podge of stuff and all the decorating ideas shoved deep into the recesses of my brain start bouncing around and then i have to force myself to stop and take everything in slowly. i'm not kidding people. this is really what happens to me. don't even get me started on clearance aisles or the dollar spot at target.

and please tell me that someone else experiences this, too? i doubt i'm alone but i don't blame you if you don't want to own up to it. haha

i guess the challenge is figuring out how to channel this love of potential into the act of doing. i think sometimes it's because we have these expectations that it's going to be so wonderful and we'd rather hold onto the expectation than come to grips with the reality that it might not be so great. take for instance my day yesterday. i went to the park with my sister and her daughter. we met up with my best friend lyryn and her boys. it was hot and humid and there were way too many big kids running around with water guns and somehow i always seemed to end up in their crossfire. regardless, it was emeline's first time at a splash park so kate and i were trying to help her discover the fun that could be had. there were a few special moments tucked in there but it mostly consisted of trying to get her to actually stay in the splash park and not run over to the playground where all the big kids were. and did i mention it was hot? after almost 2 hours we were pretty much done. by the time we got in the car kate and i were miserable. we were hot and sweaty and dehydrated... and i just looked at kate and said, "how do people do this? it's so exhausting." and there was only 1 kid between the 2 of us! on the way home we talked about how sometimes it's just easier to stay home and avoid the stress of it all. but when you look at the pictures (kate posted a few on her blog today) you see the special moments. you see the cuteness of kids running around in their swimsuits, screaming out in delight when they get splashed or the discovery of a little tube on the playground that is so exciting to a 1 year old. and you're glad you went. yeah, maybe it wasn't all you dreamed it would be, but life rarely is.

photo courtesy of my sister kate

it's so easy to look at other blogs and wish we had that life or wonder why ours isn't so perfect. but remember- it's a small glimpse into a bigger picture of what's really going on. we all have hot, humid, sticky, frustrating days. but we also all have beautiful special moments tucked in there just waiting to be discovered.

so while i do enjoy dreaming off all that could be i don't want to miss those moments of actually doing those things that give me joy and are life-giving. it's something i need to remind myself of daily.

hope you find your beautiful moments today!

 

connecting for a cause

i'm always amazed at the power of the internet. yeah, it has it downsides, but it's also a very powerful tool to connect people and stories and ultimately even change lives. if you've been a follower of my blog for a while you might remember when i posted a request a year and a half ago to raise funds for a deaf school in zambia. 38 kids were in need of mattresses and i saw with my own eyes that all they slept on was wood slats. i put out my request and within days we had raised over $1,400. a couple months later i joyfully shared the photos of these beautiful children with their new pile of mattresses and i was once again blown away by the generosity of strangers.

so you see, we have the power to do so much good with this tool! today i'm going to share another opportunity with you. i have a friend, who i have known since junior high, who is desiring to adopt a little girl from the democratic republic of congo (that's in africa in case geography isn't your thing- and it's also next to zambia which is a country near and dear to my heart). her and her husband have 2 adorable little boys and this little girl will complete their beautiful little family.

right now on their blog they are hosting a giveaway for an iPad2. tickets are $10 each and all the proceeds will be going towards their adoption fees. currently they are trying to raise $5,500 to cover their home study and first agency fees. what an exciting way to be a part of this beautiful story! please click on over to their blog, buy a ticket, follow their journey...

it's so incredible that we can partner together in literally CHANGING LIVES! i love it!

thanks for reading and even if you can't give financially, please show them some love on their blog- tweet about this giveaway- let's get the word out so they can bring their baby girl home.

have a great day!