Realizing the HOW

There are exactly 25 minutes left in my Thursday.

I have NOT written my Grace on a Thursday post. I must have said those words to myself fifty times between yesterday and today. Don't miss the irony that it's hard for me to give myself grace for not writing one. Funny, huh, since it's kind of the whole point. Well, no one said unwrapping that gift is easy.

I just need to let it go and ask for your grace to do so, K?

Actually, in the same amount of time I could have spent writing a post, I emailed and arranged a calendar of AMAZING guest posters for the Grace on a Thursday series. That starts next week, people. You are going to be blown away. I haven't read one word of a single guest post yet, and I already know that I'm going to be so blessed by the words of these ladies.

OK. Moving on.

My commitments to two things this week have totally taken me OUT of the blogging world. I apologize for my lack of writing and reading and commenting this week, friends. But I picked sticking-like-glue to my 40 days/40 bags project because I know if I lose momentum, I'll give it up. I also stayed committed because I know it has an end. All the more reason I'm excited for Easter!

And I chose my family this week. Tomorrow, I'm leaving for our church's women's retreat, and I know you know it takes double the time you'll be absent from the house to prepare for actually being gone. I just didn't want to leave my husband who so generously supports my going on these kinds of recharging trips with heaps of dirty clothes, crumbs on the kitchen floor, and my incomplete sewing project still sprawled all over the family room.

So both the kids and their rooms are all clean, everyone has clean underwear for at least three days, and there is no threat of anyone starving while I'm gone, since I bought for them a half-flat of the best organic strawberries on earth at a local farm today. Worst-case scenario, they play outside (since the chores are done) and eat strawberries all weekend. Not too bad. Seriously, if they only ate these strawberries from heaven this weekend, they'd be really well off.

On an unrelated note, I have to tell you about this. Tonight I got an email from my friend Aly (whose latest post on forgiveness is so so good, by the way) that planted a seed of thought. One big seed. She told me to read this post and challenged me to go to this. I felt a twinkle in my heart. I resonated with Emily's words and how she felt in 2008 in a major way. I spoke to my husband about it (with a "check out this craaaazy notion" tone) and I was shocked by his response.

He said no matter what, I need to go. He said I could sign up today if I wanted. Whoa.

I'm saying Whoa. Hold on! And a little tiny piece of me is saying Wow. I'm there!

Suddenly I need a quiet bench for more than just rest from this week. I'm excited to spend some time in my own thoughts this weekend. I plan to ask God what His plans are for me. {Do you think He'll tell me?}

I try to always remember that God has a vision for my life. He has a story for me. It's all His story, after all and He makes my story matter.

And He makes your story matter, you know. If you've been reading my blog for more than five minutes, you should know that's my deal: to remind you that your story matters, both to God and to the world around you. Your life is so. profoundly. purposeful.  

Our job is to keep our eyes open for the HOW. {Not the If.} I know that sometimes the How is realized on the quiet bench.

Perhaps this weekend I'll figure out a tad more of what God's planning for me. I'll let you know.

I hope you have a good one too!