Good News

Over the last couple weeks, I have been reading through Proverbs. Just one a day. It's not the deepest of studies, but I'll take what I can get these days in between diaper changes and never-ending laundry.

A wise friend told me recently that our time in the Word will look different in every stage of life. "But," she said, "it needs to look like something." So, I pray before I begin to read that God will give me some kind of word to cling to that day, even though my time looks small.

Something. Anything. He knows exactly what I need, so I trust that He'll give it to me through His living Word. And He always does.

This morning I was overwhelmed as I read Proverbs 25:25, "Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land." I got that burning lump in my throat and big ole crocodile tears in my eyes because I know about this kind of news. I'm living in this truth right now. In real life.

The ministry in which my husband and I serve just welcomed back a large group of students from a week at camp in Colorado. While they were there, they were presented with the great news that Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, making a way for us to live with our Creator for eternity in Heaven! As with any new information that's presented, these students had a choice: leave it or receive it. 

What an incredible joy it is to say that 23 of them received Jesus into their hearts! 

Praise the Lord, oh my soul!

That is good news from the "distant land" of Colorado. And it has refreshed my soul, just like the verse says it would. So I am happily filling my schedule with coffee dates and lunches with sweet friends so that I can take in every word that they'll be so gracious to share with me about the week.

It might mean less sleep and a messy house, but let's be real. I haven't had a full night's sleep in almost 5 months and my spiritual gift is not housekeeping. But the stories of God working in my friends' hearts (and probably an extra cup of coffee) will rejuvenate and energize me for the days to come.

God is full of goodness. My heart is full of joy. 

Laundry can wait.

Here We Go!

Have you ever done something that scares you? In the muster up all your courage, hold your breath, close your eyes and jump kind of way? That's me. Right now. This idea of a blog has been rolling around in my head for weeks now. It began when one of my sweet friends told me I should write a book about my past. We decided the title could be something along the lines of Don't Do This: A Guide to Exactly What NOT to Do. A book. Ha! That's off the charts for my fear register. So, the compromise was a blog. Here we go!

After our discussion I began reading blogs belonging to incredibly talented writers and favorite authors of mine. Their words paint vibrant pictures in my head and take me on beautiful journeys that land me right at the end of a paragraph. 

Just two days ago, as I snuggled with my baby girl, I daydreamed about the lovely parts of my life and how I might be able to piece together some dreamy vocabulary for my first entry. And then, as pictures of sunny fields full of wildflowers blew through my mind, the baby threw up. 

She threw up. All over me. 

It was almost an audible voice from God, that spit up. I could just about hear Him say, "If we're going to do this, you're going to do this My way." And that is exactly what I plan on doing. As much as I would selfishly love to write about a picture perfect life and family, I'm not going to. I can't. My life is not perfect. And even the most beautiful parts of it are covered in spit up. 

If anything, my life is a perfect mess. But how much fun would it be to read about someone else's down-in-the-valley, yucky mess and then, "the end. well. see ya later." So as I begin the process of complete authenticity, you'll always get to hear the end:

Jesus.

Grace.

Unworthy sinner.

Unbelievable Savior.

I hope that you'll join me here at Sipsey Valley in finding grace and hearing from God in the middle of life's everyday messes. It's not always pretty, but it's steeped in His grace.