four-minute friday: apples & oranges

I think most of you know my friend Mandy. If you don’t, you should. She’s incredible.

Back on the Q’s & A’s post, she suggested I have some friends write for Four-Minute Friday. I decided to take her up on her idea…

I asked her to write one.

So here’s Mandy Thompson… on apples and oranges:

Go.

I think sometimes we can focus so strongly on the differences between us that we begin to see people as being completely “other than” us. We stare at the differences until the only conclusion is that we’re different creatures – different beings – different at a core level.

Like comparing Apples and Oranges.

But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Our outsides may look different in size, color, and even shape, but we all have the same kind of skin, and the same type of insides. And we can all bruise. And if you throw a bunch of apples in a bag and shake them up, they will bruise one another.

We forget this. We just jump in the bag and hurt and harm others.

We also forget that, buried safely beneath the surface, at the core of who we are, seeds are waiting on the moment when they can grow – bring life from that apple. We all have dreams and plans and desires inside of us. We all have gifts and potential to give MORE to the world – more than who we are in and of ourselves.

Each apple has within it the ability to be a life-giving tree… if given the chance.

But do we give others the chance? And do we give ourselves the chance? Or are we stuck nursing our own bruisings? Or too distracted by the outside differences that separate us from others?

Done.

am i the only one who wore headgear?

I used to think the one thing I had going for me was my smile. Which made my snow-tubing accident back in February that much more painful.

As a kid, my teeth were really bad. I could actually fit my pinkie between my two front teeth—yikes! But five years of braces as a teenager, complete with nighttime “headgear”, took care of all that.

Then I went and bashed my face on the back of a friend’s head while flying down a snowy hill on a tube. And my teeth were “jacked up” once again.

The x-rays showed that I’d broken the bone under my top gums. My skull, basically. So after living 31 years without a single broken bone, I went and broke my face!

Oi vey.

After some amazing dental magic (and strong pain relievers!), my teeth were once again back where they should be, and held in place with pseudo braces.

I looked 14 again. Lovely.

I was pretty self-conscious… Embarrassed to smile even. But the dentist seemed hopeful that things would be healed enough for the braces to come off before my fundraising trip.

When I went back in to get them removed, the x-ray still showed a hairline fracture. The dentist said the braces needed to stay on.

Till the end of my trip.

Ugh.

I cried. I was so distraught over doing all this traveling, and having all these meetings, with braces on my teeth. There were already so many other factors making the trip extremely difficult for me, and now I lost my smile too.

What’s that verse? Pride comes before braces a fall? Yeah. Lesson learned.

It hasn’t been as bad as I’d anticipated, although I’m still pretty self-conscious when I meet with people. And I’m crazy paranoid about getting stuff stuck in them when I eat. (Mostly because it’s actually happened!)

But all things considered, my braces have been the least of my challenges over the past six weeks.

So they remind me to keep things in perspective. To walk humbly. To remember that God-confidence far outweighs self-confidence.

They remind me that He is in control even when things feel out of control.

And that I should wear a helmet next time I snow-tube.

Got a good story about braces or a broken bone?
I can’t wait to hear it!

open mic

heart clarity

Throughout the day, I get inspiration for posts I want to write.

Between meetings and meals, and squished in the middle of conversations, I have moments of clarity. Heart clarity.

There’s the sudden phrase that seems to perfectly explain how I’m feeling. There’s the word picture that beautifully paints the experience of the moment. There’s the crystal clear nugget of truth that God whispers to my heart.

These moments jump out at me, taking me by surprise.

As activity and conversations continue around me, everything inside me slams on the brakes. I can hear my heart beating. My slow-motion thoughts scroll across my mind in bright, vivid color.

Heart clarity.

And then… just as quickly… it’s gone.

Gone before I’m able to grab it.

Gone before I can write it down.

Gone before I can pull it tightly to my chest and hug it close.

When I finally have time to sit at my computer and write a blog post, it’s at the end of a long and full day. A day filled with all kinds of wonderful, a surpassed quota of spoken words, an occasional heartache, and a shaken-snowglobe of emotions.

I click “Add New Post” and then stare at the blank screen.

As frustrated tears fill my eyes, I try to recapture those thoughts from throughout my day. But they’re gone. For good.

And all I’m left with is… this.

And welly eyes.

four-minute friday: randoms

Go.

You guys asked me some great questions in the Qs and As post.

Most of them require more heart and thought than I have to give tonight, but there are some random questions I’m gonna force myself to answer quickly. If you know much about me, you know I’m not good with off-the-cuff answers. I think it’s because of the whole favorites thing… And the fuzzy brain thing… And probably a few other things as well…

Anyway…

Here goes. Just for you.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?
The ability to backspace when I’m speaking like I can when I’m writing…

What do you like to do to relax?
Watch a movie/TV. Read (fiction). Cozy up with some blogs. Do nothing with a friend—my favorite!

Hugger or a handshaker?
Hugger!

What’s your middle name?
::cringe:: …Nancy

What do you love most about being a girl?
Not having to use a urinal with strangers right next to me doing the same thing …

I’d love to hear your answers to any or all of these. And feel free to leave me some more questions…HERE.

Done.

truth in ink

I got my first tattoo a year-and-a-half ago.

I wanted a visual reminder of the wholeness God holds for me, the completeness I find only in Him.

And I got it at a time when I felt nothing but broken…

I love my ink.

Depending on the day, or the moment, it serves to encourage, inspire, challenge, or admonish me. Sometimes all at once. In the way only God can do.

Maybe it’s odd, but I value the permanence of my tattoo.

It’s always there. And that reminds me that even when my heart wavers, God’s truth stands firm.

It’s true whether or not I choose to believe and embrace it.

I know what I want for tattoos #2 and 3 — things my heart holds close, that I want to be reminded of daily. I just don’t know what they’ll look like yet.

I have ideas, but I’m not creative enough to form them into finished designs. I need help turning my thoughts into works of art. If you’re a creative designer or an artist, let me know if you’d be interested in working on this with me…

I can’t believe I said that out loud. (Ha!)

And now I’m curious…

Is there anything you would want a permanent reminder of?

Would you ever get a tattoo? Do you have one?

And on a totally different note,
if you live in the Orange County area,
I’d love to see you on Saturday!

fajitas with a friend

a day late but hopefully right on time

I was supposed to fly to California today.

But after two cancelled flights, one unnecessary trip to the airport, and dozens of phone calls, I’m still in Oregon.

(Sidebar, because my sleepy brain is spider-webbing at the moment: I always type cancelled with two L’s, and spell-check always tells me it’s wrong. Canceled just doesn’t look right though, so I’m going with wrong…)

I am booked on a new flight at 6:15 tomorrow morning. Do you know how early that means I have to wake up? Too early!

Way! Too! Early!

I’m really hoping for no more delays and cancellations, because I don’t want to have to reschedule one more meeting. If you think of it, please pray that I make it all the way to Orange, CA today…

I’m exhausted… Really and truly exhausted. Inside and out. (Possibly more inside than out, and my “out” is pretty dang tired!) So I’d appreciate your prayers for strength and grace right now, too.

I’m grateful that I’m not journeying alone.

Thank you for all the ways you continue to let me know you are with me.

four-minute friday: giveaway

Go.

Did you know we have our own blend of Thrive Africa coffee? We do. It’s organic, fair-trade, and air-roasted. And it’s made entirely of African-grown beans.

From Africa.

For Africa.

You can win a pound of Thrive coffee and an awesome travel mug to drink it out of.

My friend Ashleigh is doing a giveaway over on her blog. (She’s amazing like that.) You need to go read her post to discover all the ways you can enter — and you have between now and Monday at midnight to do it.

So go on over and enter your name into the giveaway.

You know you wanna.

Done.

your Q’s, my A’s: places

Madagascar.

Sicily.

Kauai.

NYC.

Those are some of my favorites from all the places I’ve been.


Italy.

Serengeti.

New Zealand.

Anywhere with white sand, blue water, and drinks with umbrellas.

Those are some of the places I’d still like to go.


Your turn.

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