other than cocktail

Fill in the blank:

I’ve never met a ____________ I didn’t like.

ready or not…

Yep, I’m moving to Nashville with the Hodges!

Some of you already knew this, but Nash is where I was ultimately wanting to land. I decided months ago that while I may not know what’s next for me, I do know that I want to chase down community. (Cue The Little Mermaid: “I wanna be where the people are…”)

Nashville has an incredible church and some amazing people that have already felt like home to me. I just needed to detour to the left coast on my way south. Because again, in my heart to chase community, God knew I needed the Hodges. They have been such a refuge for me. I am beyond thankful for friends who’ve become family.

Brent is the new North Campus pastor for Cross Point Church. So we all get to make this move together. As a family of five. I am really excited to be able to embrace this new journey and season together.

We’re leaving Friday, June 10th to drive from Oregon to Tennessee. That is gonna be one heck of a road trip! Make sure you’re following all of us on Twitter so you can drive cross-country with us! I’m sure it’ll be a wild ride!

Me
Tam
Brent
Kass
Kota

Ready or not, Nashville… Here we come!

__________

photo credit

in other news

I’m eating a Rice Krispie Treat.

And that’s big news today because all I’ve been having is applesauce and toast.

I got really sick on Saturday — couldn’t keep anything in — and ended up having to go to the ER. After three liters of IV and some wonderful meds, my stomach finally calmed down. Yesterday I started eating and drinking again — s l o w l y — and today my tum feels normal enough to venture into slightly less-bland foods.

Cue Rice Krispie Treat.

So far, so good. My tummy’s not revolting. And that makes me happy.

How was your weekend? Would love to hear what’s news in your world…

refine us

Some friends of mine, Justin and Trish Davis, have walked a road similar to mine. But ended up in a completely different place. After infidelity and separation, their marriage has been restored and God uses their story to minister to countless people every week.

I believe strongly in them and their ministry, and felt really burdened to pray for them on Monday. Through that, I ended up writing something for them that they put up on their website today.

I’d love it if you’d link over to Refine Us to read my post and, ultimately, find out more about the incredible ministry and resources there.

Maybe this is for you…

beauty

photo © 2009 Kevin Gessner | more info (via: Wylio) I see beauty all around me.

I find it in painted sunset skies and majestic mountains. I recognize it in the joy-filled eyes of the poor. I discover it in the authentic sharing of hearts.

I see beauty all around me. But I can’t see it in the mirror.

My self-image—that picture inside my heart of how I view myself—has long been distorted from a lifetime of feeling not enough. No matter how hard I try, being good/smart/funny/pretty enough has always felt far beyond my reach.

Looking back over the past few years, I can see, as if in slow motion, how that belief was reinforced even more.

My husband’s 18-month affair with my friend shouted that I wasn’t desirable enough. When he left me after ten years of marriage, I heard that I’m worth leaving more than I’m worth fighting for. And when he told me on his way out that he didn’t love me and probably never did, it reiterated that I’m not valuable enough to be loved.

The fragile remains of that picture in my heart loudly shattered into a million pieces.

I am not enough.

Slowly God has been restoring my heart and, with it, the picture I have of myself.

I know He wants me to see myself as beautiful, but the reality is, it remains a daily struggle for me.

Like Alabama in the aftermath of its tornado, all I see in my reflection is the broken, messy, ugly devastation of my life. And I can’t help but question how there can be beauty in all this rubble.

God responds by lovingly and gently showing me.

As I hear from people who’ve found hope and strength from hearing my story, I get glimpses of the ways He’s making life out of my brokenness.

But I know God doesn’t only want me to see the beauty in how He’s using me. He wants me to see the beauty that’s in me.

If I’m being most honest, that part is probably going to take a while. Possibly a very long while.

I know a healthy self-image will come solely from staring long and hard into Jesus’ face. I catch my true reflection only when I see myself in His eyes.

It’s there I see that I am enough because He is enough.

It’s there I see that I am desired, valued, and fought for.

It’s there I see that He recklessly loves the beautiful mess that is me.

[Originally posted at Deeper Story.]

seek trust rather than understanding

Seek trust rather than understanding.

Those are the words I’ve been hearing for weeks now.

I can’t seem to shake them. But they are definitely shaking me.

Because I want to understand.

I want to know why. I want to see what’s next. I desire answers and direction and clarity. I want things to make sense.

But God keeps reminding me that it’s not for me to understand. It’s only for me to trust.

He is calling me to trust Him when I can trust no one else.

To trust in His trustworthiness even though it doesn’t play out the way I want it to or think it should.

To trust His heart even when I can’t see His hand.

To trust in His constant unchanging character even when He seems inconsistent.

It’s not for me to know or to figure it all out or to see clearer. It’s not for me to have answers or confidence or surety. It’s not for me to understand.

It’s only for me to trust.

open mic

monday morning confession