Loving Boldly

Courage.

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Something we all wish for yet feel as though we lack.

It effects the innate core of us. Makes us wonder if we can survive the possibility of failure. We wonder if we will even be good at it before we even take the first step to start. Then slowly but surely we take that slow step forward, inch by inch. We find ourselves looking back over our shoulder, looking for words of affirmation, a sign that we’re on the right track.

We wrangle ourselves in the what ifs.

We engulf in the worry if people will like us, or if we will be accepted. We try our hardest not to look stupid.

I struggle with this daily.

Courage.

…to be the one who can laugh at myself even when I feel stupid.

…to reach out to someone despite worrying that they will think I have ulterior motives.

…to be “too nice” sometimes so that others who need someone to reach out to them feel loved.

… to do the unexpected.

… to pay it forward more often.

… to befriend someone who needs a friend even if they live thousands of miles away.

See I think courage and love go hand in hand. Wouldn’t you agree? After all it’s easy to fall in love but it takes courage to put faith in that love to conquer all that the world puts in it’s path. It’s easy to tell someone you love them because their friendship means the world to you, but when they fall off that pedestal, make a mistake, need forgiveness, do you have the courage to love them through it?

I recently had the chance to spend some time talking and praying with someone who I now am blessed to call a friend of mine. She recently took a trip with Compassion International and while she was there she blogged about her experience. There was one day she told the story of a game she was playing with a group of children and as she took her turn and began running she fell down in the dirt. In the midst of feeling embarrassed and beginning to cry, the children surrounded her and began dusting off her clothes.

Courage.

In Maggie’s words:

“how can it be that the start of a second i’m standing here in africa, feeling so incredibly embarrassed that i fell — my once-clean outfit is now covered in dirt — and the end of that one second i’m feeling the love of Christ like i never have before?

these children don’t care about my clothes. they don’t care that my now-dirty clothes look just like their always-dirty clothes. why couldn’t i see that before?

we don’t speak the same language but my tears spoke to them quicker than the rate my tears were falling onto my cheeks.

they saw me hurting and they rushed to my side.

earlier this year, when i agreed to travel with compassion, i had absolutely no clue the lessons i’d be learning. i thought i was agreeing to travel to teach lessons. geez, how selfish does that sound?

like how life is SO not about how clean your clothes are, or what your house looks like, or whether you have to share a car with someone else in your family.

life is about loving on each other — all the time — in the name of Jesus.“

You can read the rest of her story here, and I really hope you will.

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Loving Boldly.

What an incredibly powerful concept.

Is there someone in your life you wish you could love boldly?

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Chugging Along.

Life lately seems a lot like a rolling train.

The scenery may change, but the methodical sound of the movement of the train stays the same.

We wake up, eat breakfast, run errands, have play dates, eat lunch, nap, play, eat dinner, baths, then bedtime.

I fall in bed every single night exhausted, working to turn my thoughts off.

To think back on the day that just happened.

Wonder what I could’ve done differently.

Remember the laughter, the snuggles, take away the good memories.

Not the whining, crying, temper tantrums, potty accidents, sassy back talk.

You know how they tell you that all the pain you went through with your first child becomes a forgotten memory resulting in your decision to do it over again?

I think that same gift applies each evening as I lay in bed.

Calmness washes over me and I’m able to refocus.

And the next morning I awake with a sense of renewed energy.

A clean slate.

For me. For my kids.

A chance for all of us to take the day and make the most out of it.

Before I know it they will be all grown up.

Getting married.

Starting their own families.

Although if I’m honest I’m praying Jesus comes back before then because I want to take advantage of these special moments with them.

I don’t say this because I feel like a train.

Forced to do the same thing day in and day out.

I write this as a reminder to myself.

A reminder that each day is it’s own.

Some days will be filled with the best memories and others not so much.

There may even be nights where I need a pep talk to remind me that I’m a good mom.

When I think of this old steam train…chugging along.

This steam train that holds so many memories and if it could speak, could tell so many amazing stories.

I find solace in our quiet similarities.

For each of my days is filled with amazing memories and stories for me to tell.

Ways for me to give my children hope.

To tell them stories of proud moments, silly moments, moments that stood out above all the rest.

And today…

for me…

that makes all the chugging along worth it.

Do you ever have days like these where you feel as though that monotonous chugging of life’s daily tasks couldn’t possibly outweigh the memories being created?

Meet Flawed Perfection Jewelry

Hi friends,

I’m so excited to introduce to my friend Megan, from Flawed Perfection Jewelry. Megan is one of my very favorite blogging friends and she’s launching a brand new line her shop today. I hope you’ll pop by her shop and check it out.

Here’s a little more about the awesome jewelry coming to Megan’s shop.

Take it away love…

Hi, I’m Megan, the owner and designer behind Flawed Perfection Jewelry. Thanks for having me today to share something exciting that I’m doing!

I’m launching an all-new Swarovski crystal line in early June. Due to the high costs with adding the new line, I’m offering some of the new designs from today, the 16th, until Friday, the 18th at special prices. The whole idea with this line is that you have the exact color or color combo to match what you’re looking for, whether it be for your wedding or bridesmaid dress, your favorite blouse, or even your kids’ birthstones!

Here are the designs that are available in the pre-sale. All of them are available for the next few days in this section of my shop.

A few important things to note:

• The pre-sale only runs from today, May 16th to Friday, May 18th.
• Each of these items is being offered at 20% off their retail prices.
• When the line launches, they will be full price. (This line will not be on sale very often due to the customized nature, so this is a great deal!)
• After the pre-sale ends, you will receive an e-mail from me with links to your Swarovski color options. If you want an idea of how many Swarovski colors you’ll have to choose from, take a look at this (more available than pictured there). We can work together to come up with the right mix of colors to fit your perfect design(s).
• All orders will ship the first week of June.

For more info, please see my blog. Thank you for helping me bring this new line to life! And thank you for letting me blog here today

-Megan