The Good Day Turns 4!!!

The Power of a Story

Oh hey, short on time? No worries! I'd love to join you on your commute or daily walk/run, or shoot, even while you take care of that to-do list. We can't let these things get in the way of this friendship. It's just starting to get good! Click below to listen to the blogcast.

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It's crazy to think this adventure started 4 years ago. Well, publicly anyway. God had been preparing me for this path for quite some time.

The question I get asked all the time is: how do you do it?

This question inevitably comes in the middle of one of the various joys which fill my day - so what they're really asking is "How do you find time for a growing blog and weekly podcast in the middle of...

...spending time with Will, our family and friends,

...working a full-time job,

...serving in church and community,

...cleaning, cooking, exercising, gardening,

...oh, and writing a book to be published?!"

And I'll be honest, it's a question I've asked God myself more than once.

Getting married, I wondered if I'd have time to devote to it as I had before;

Getting a new project at work, I wondered if my energy for things outside of work would subside;

Small groups, what a blessing, but indeed a time and heart commitment;

Writing a book - well, it's like writing 27 books before one ever makes it to the shelf, so yeah, it's not for the faint at heart;

Chores and weeds - gosh, they're endless!

God's response, was simply, "Keep walking with Me in this." And that's the most amazing part - He is walking with me - all these various areas of my life are all spent in connection with Him. He's teaching me and shaping me and helping me be a better wife, daughter, sister, friend, co-worker, and yes, writer - through them.

Life doesn't slow down so our purpose can start or continue. Our purpose is fulfilled through living our lives - the good, the hard, the ugly, the sad. His purpose prevails.

And whether we consider ourselves writers or not, this is true for all of us: we live our lives in stories. We think in stories. And, we connect through stories.

So many of you have reached out and told me how much a post or episode or conversation meant to you. It's humbling but it's not surprising. We long to belong. When we hear another bravely share their story, suddenly something beautiful happens. We connect. Our circumstances may be drastically different than theirs or very similar, but connection comes. And even more wonderful, we realize: we are not alone in our struggle.

That, my friend, is the heartbeat behind this work. It is the reason I am not just pressed but energized to connect with other believers and help them share their stories, bravely share my own - all in hopes you might experience the light of God's love shine on you and find the courage to believe God is in your story too. And even more, so you can open up and share what He is teaching and doing in your life with someone else.

Because, here's the thing. No one gets the story they want. We may get some chapters we want, but curveball chapters are inevitable. Monotonous chapters. Heartbreaking chapters. Confusing or deeply dark and sorrowful chapters. And God is in these chapters with us. His presence never leaves us. But to experience His presence and the fruit of His Spirit in these spaces - and these pages - of our lives, we must learn to become aware of His presence.

This is my prayer, may we become people who are spiritually awake and aware of God's presence right here, right now, in the ordinary moments of our days. May we not overlook the significance of the ordinary.

Will and I recently attended a funeral of a man who led a life well lived and his legacy indeed continues. His faith was central to everything he did. And though he accomplished much while on earth, you know what story was told during his memorial service? Toast! I'm not kidding. An ordinary moment became extraordinarily special when he helped his younger brother butter toast - all because he was present and available, not distracted by the early morning chaos but in tune with where God needed him to be.

May we know our story, no matter how ordinary it may seem, matters. It matters to God. And if our story matters to Him, then the person and people around us, their stories matter to God and should matter to us, too.

What if becoming people who are spiritually awake and aware of God's presence begins and flourishes with buttered toast moments, moments of divine connection masked in ordinary packages throughout our days?

Truly, thank you for being here with me. I'm honored and humbled to have you join me on this journey. I wish I could tell you where we're going (believe me, I'm a planner), but that's the beauty of faith journeys - we don't have to know where as long as we trust Who is taking us there. His Word shows us over and over again, His plans are good. And goodness, He has eternally changed me already in these short, four years. I hope and pray this is true for you, too.

You see, I'm prone to hurry, to focus on tasks and productivity and perfecting this and that all along the way and He's reminding me that's not what makes the day good. What makes the day good is time spent with Him, aware of His presence right here in our midst and becoming available, yielding to what He wants over our agendas and preferences and comforts, and growing in our knowledge and love of Christ.

It will be a lifetime of learning how to do this more fully, and if you feel the same, then stick around. If there's one thing I know true of the character of God is He finishes what He starts. This work He is doing within us has only begun.

As I sit in this place of awe and adoration and amazement of just how BIG and yet deeply personal our God is, my only response is praise. Specifically, it's a song I've been singing on repeat on my commute to work. I find so much strength in these words as they become more than just a familiar lyric but the prayer of my heart. You may have heard it, too. It's called Bless God written by Cody Carnes, Brooke Ligertwood and Brandon Lake. It says,

Blessed are those who run to Him Who place their hope and confidence in Jesus He won't forsake them Blessed are those who seek His face Who bend their knee and fix their gaze on Jesus They won't be shaken... ...Come on and bring your offering Sing if you've known His grace Come on and lift up your holy hands He's worthy of all our praise Bless God in the sanctuary Bless God in the fields of plenty Bless God in the darkest valley Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name Bless God when my hands are empty Bless God with a praise that costs me Bless God when nobody's watching Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name Bless God when the weapon's forming Bless God when the walls are falling Bless God 'cause He goes before me Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name Bless God for He holds the victory Bless God for He's always with me Bless God for He's always worthy Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name (hey) Every chance I get, I'll bless Your name (oh) Every chance I get... -Bless God, Brooke Ligertwood

When we think about blessing God and bringing our offering, what is our offering? We may think of an offering of praise, maybe a worship song or hymn sung on Sunday, and it is this but so much more.

Part of the offering I bring is writing. I write because God gave me the ability, the creativity, the insight and wisdom, the desire, and the opportunities. I give Him my life and my will. So, what is your offering? What gifting has He given you? How might God use you - not to make your name great but to make His name greater through you, to help others connect more tangibly to Him?

Think about this and I'll see you here same time, same place next week!

Let's find strength knowing God is all powerful and all knowing and joy as we hear His voice calling us into a great adventure with Him. May the peace of His Son, Jesus, guide our decisions as we learn more each day to surrender our will unto His, trusting His ways are higher and far better than our own. May our souls rest, truly rest from the striving and endless worldly pursuits, as we cling to His love so assuredly.

The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.

I love hearing from you, so go ahead. Leave a comment. Be brave. Maybe your comment will speak life into someone else!

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