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Faith, Learning lessons, Oneword, Trusting Tuesdays

Trusting Tuesdays {Oneword365 Linkup}: Know your triggers

In September I attended a conference called Debriefing and Renewal (DAR) for people who served overseas and are either leaving the field or going on Home Assignment/Furlough.

It was a rich and worthwhile time, in part because DAR helped to clarify my thinking and confirm some of the Lord’s leading. As much as I’d like a clear plan and direction, this year is being used to create space between “China Amy” and “What’s next Amy.” For the sake of not looking foolish, I’d rather hurry along through this phase; but that doesn’t seem to be the plan.

Triggers

On the first day of DAR we had to draw a picture representing where we were. I drew a road ending in a forest and I was standing at the end of it, smiling. It symbolized I had come off of a clearly defined life path that wound here and there, but as long as I stayed on the path it kept moving along. I am now in this lesser defined part of life (I am smiling in the picture, it’s not horrible, but it is not clear) and here I am in the forest of life. In the picture, amongst the trees are dollar signs.

I can monitor my stress level during transition by how concerned I am about money. While the deep foundation that God has the cattle on a thousand hills IS my foundation, there I days I wonder how many cattle will be on my hill.

Turns out, “money worries” can be a pretty good barometer when it comes to how I’m doing with trusting God about the future. They are not often, but there are nights I wake in the middle with my stomach hurting and churning and I know the root isn’t physical.

I am learning to lean into those moments and trying to receive them as a gift from my body. A gift that says, right now, even subconsciously, something  less than Eden-esque is going on in you. Don’t feel bad that you still have these moments, instead see them as ways to let know of certainty and move towards the unknown.

I have a feeling money is going to be a trust trigger in some fashion throughout my life.

And you know what, if it wasn’t money, it’s would be something else. Right? Right. We each have them. Mine is money. What’s yours?

****

The year with trust … thus far:

January whispered trust uses both hands. She holds the present in one hand and the long view in the other.

February joined in with trust can build a bridge others walk on. 

March offered a legal life lesson. Trust doesn’t happen in a vacuum; ultimately trust is about relationships, valuables, and legacy.

April (with taxes) reminded me we all have trust triggers and mine is money.

******

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Trusting Tuesdays button (Mobile)

Here’s the deal for the link-up:

  • Every third Tuesday I’ll host a link up. Trust + Tuesday + Third = three T’s and I don’t have to mark my calendar with different dates! Just remember TTT. The next one will be on May 20th  and you can get more details here. The link up will be open for one week, after one week, you’ll need to wait until the next month.
  • Please link back the link-up, either by using the Trusting Tuesday picture or simply a text link.
  • I’ve also started a Pinterest Oneword365 board and want it to be a community board (meaning let’s have our Oneword365 posts all in one place!). Check it out!
  • If you miss a month, don’t beat yourself up. This will go on for the next twelve months and isn’t meant to overload you or make you feel guilty. We’re going to be a group of cheerleaders.

[inlinkz_linkup id=392670 mode=1]

Feature photo: Jenny Downing via flickr

Sign up envelope via Tim Morgan on flickr

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10 Comments April 15, 2014

Faith, Family, Learning lessons, Oneword, Trusting Tuesdays

Trusting Tuesdays {Oneword365}:The five stages of tasks of grief and TASKS

You’re probably familiar with the five stages of loss and grief. You might be less familiar with the five stages of tasks and grief.

  1. Plan the funeral/memorial service
  2. Attend/host/participate in said service
  3. Write thank you’s
  4. Make 57,000 calls and hunt through paperwork related to legal and billing matters
  5. Sort, purge, give, save paperwork and material possessions.

We have completed tasks one, two and three, made a significant dent in task four, and will spend the rest of our lives on task five. Just kidding. Sort of. Love you Dad, you paper lover you!

*****

trust March 2014

Last week I intentionally thought about trust in regards to this post. Trust, trust, trust. Hmmmm. What have you been teaching me? Nothing was coming to the surface.

Trust, trust, where are you trust?

And then like a whack-a-mole at the carnival, up she popped. Trust me (see how she can sneak into conversations!), when I say it never occurred to me during the fall and into January when trust was stalking me, to think of trust in the legal sense. As in, “a trust.”

Per stage four of the tasks of grief, the language of family trust, individual trust, and trustee have entered our vocabulary. Isn’t it interesting how the brain works? Though we’ve been using these words, because it was in a legal context, I never thought of them in terms of, you know, real trust.

I truly don’t understand much about trusts, but looking at the basics, a trust protects the assets of a person and guarantees the assets will go to the person(s) designated in the trust.

So, in summary:

  1. There are relationships
  2. There are valuables, and
  3. There is a legacy

In our case, there is the relationship between a man and his family (dare I say “beloved” family without sounding too cheesy?). The valuables are not the focus so much as the legacy. The valuables allow for my father to continue to provide for his wife of nearly 50 years, even though he has died.

Really, isn’t that what trust is about? Trust doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

*****

Sunday morning I woke up with the strongest need for a liturgical service. So instead of turning left, my car went right and I attended a local church I’d visited once before, sitting in the back row on the left side. At one point we introduced ourselves so I knew I was sitting next to Art and behind Marilyn and her husband whose name has left me. They had a time a prayer where people wrote prayers, added to a prayer mural, and or participated in other forms of individual prayer. Near the end of the prayer time we were asked to hold hands for corporate prayer.

I held hands with Art and the man I can’t remember his name. As I stood there, a part of the body of Christ, praying, I started to tear up thinking of the last older man’s hand I’d held.

My dad.

In the hospital and hospice as he prepared to die. Art’s hand was warm, the other gentleman’s cooler, both lovely living hands. I miss my dad’s hand. I cannot put into words why or how holding those hands ministered to me in a deep way. That is part of the mystery and the majesty of the gospel.

We sang Precious Lord, Take My Hand just before we were dismissed. I know, right?!

After we were dismissed I turned to Art and said, “I might cry” –warning him –“but I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed holding your hand. My dad recently died and as I held your hand I was reminded of holding his hand.” Art went from looking a bit suspicious to smiling that smile you get when you’ve been used by God, but you didn’t know it.

He hugged me. And his hearing aid squeaked just like my dad’s used to when I hugged him.

*****

The journey with trust continues. A trust is needed because death is still part of our story. But someday, someday, we will not need trusts. No, on that day, trust will be enough.

January whispered trust uses both hands. She holds the present in one hand and the long view in the other.

February joined in with trust can build a bridge others walk on. Our parents built a bridge out of their lives for our family and others to walk on; so though this is an unpleasant path, we are together in the decision and traveling in a pack, albeit a weepy one!

March offered a legal life lesson. Trust doesn’t happen in a vacuum; ultimately trust is about relationships, valuables, and legacy.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t think God would bring trust to life in such variety and I get a bit nervous the lessons will wane. But that seems the opposite of trust, doesn’t it! Apparently I’ve still got a ways to go.

Trusting Tuesdays button (Mobile)

Here’s the deal for the link-up:

  • Every third Tuesday I’ll host a link up. Trust + Tuesday + Third = three T’s and I don’t have to mark my calendar with different dates! Just remember TTT. The next one will be on April 15th  (Tax day in the US!) and you can get more details here. The link up will be open for one week, after one week, you’ll need to wait until the next month.
  • Please link back the link-up, either by using the Trusting Tuesday picture or simply a text link.
  • I’ve also started a Pinterest Oneword365 board and want it to be a community board (meaning let’s have our Oneword365 posts all in one place!). Check it out!
  • If you miss a month, don’t beat yourself up. This will go on for the next twelve months and isn’t meant to overload you or make you feel guilty. We’re going to be a group of cheerleaders.

[inlinkz_linkup id=383694 mode=1]

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11 Comments March 18, 2014

Community, Faith, Oneword, Velvet Ashes

Breath of {messy} life

Velvet Ashes is exploring the idea of breathing and rhythms this week and I wanted to share a post from the archives. As my dad died, one of the ways we monitored his journey towards death was to count the number of breaths he had per minute. His last hour there was indeed, a change in his breathing and temperature. And then he breathed his last and his lips began to lose color. Breath of life is poetic and metaphorical. It is also the difference between life and death.
 
I’m posting early because, well, Friday.
 
Friday is Pi Day! 
 
breath of life2
 
The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis  2:7
Do I hear an Amen?! Probably not. OK, let me back up.

What has made me a living being?  (Not who has made me living, what has brought life?) Just as Aslan walked through the courtyard of the White Witch breathing on the creatures she had turned to stone, the breath of life has made me, has made you, a living human being. Without breath we are without life. Simple, poetic, necessary.  And, oh so easily, over looked by me, and I’m guessing you.

Mere days before returning to China I got a cold that settled in my lungs, making breathing painful.  No longer could days pass innocently by without thought of breathing. Breath became uncomforably conscious. With the recent history of SARS and H1N1, the Chinese do not look favorably on those who travel with illness, scowling and projecting the unspoken, though very loud question, “Why have you chosen to risk our lives by being near us?”  I did not cough often, yet each cough on the plane brought looks as if I carried the breath of death instead of life.

Cold, dry, polluted Beijing air did not bring quick—or actually much—healing, leaving me to hope in the healing powers of warm, moist, cleaner Thailand air.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Breathe in, breathe out. Cough. Choke. Pain.

Breath of life is not a given. Just ask Tabitha, the disciple from Joppa who was always doing good and helping the poor until she became sick and died. When Peter commanded her to get up, a miracle occurred. The breath of life returned, and arise she did!

Breathe in, breathe out.

The first night in Thailand I woke myself twice, gasping and coughing for air. The next night, I dreamed so vividly of being on a sinking ship. The ship had only women in Victorian dresses and as we prepared to drown, we were told to take off our dresses and watch them sink first. Yes, yes, I know. This is a dream that is ripe for the over analyzing. But don’t. For the second night in a row I awoke to the paralyzing sensation of not being able to breathe.

I am alive because the LORD God breathed life in my body. I am alive because the Son of God has given life where I was dead in my sins. I am alive because the Spirit of God is bearing new fruit in my character.

Breathe in, breathe out. I barely notice you, breath of life, until something is wrong in body or soul. And though this acute awareness will (sadly) pass as something else captures my thoughts and attention, today as I breathe it is with this mantra whispered:

Breath of life.

Breath of life.

Breath of life.

Thank you giver of life. Thank you for breathing life in its messy fullness into me.

Linking up with Velvet Ashes prompt: breath

breathe.va.1

Photo credit aussiegall via flickr

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7 Comments March 11, 2014

Cross cultural, Faith, Learning lessons, Oneword, Velvet Ashes

All fear is not created equal

“Everyone please look up at the bungee tower to see a foreigner jump!” Said in Chinese over the PA system for everyone in park to hear.

Prior to this, two of my students had asked if I wanted to go bungee jumping. It was a lifelong dream, so this seemed like a fortuitous opportunity. It seemed less fortuitous when we each had a sticker put on our arm with our weight publicly written for anyone to easily see. Even though I didn’t know my weight in kilograms, I found out it was at least 10 to 15 kilograms higher than both friends, a guy and a gal. I was less afraid of falling from a crane than having my weighed displayed.

fear

It became even less fortuitous when the “heavy” group was the first one sent to climb the stairs to the top of the tower. And the heavy group consisted of one person.  Me.

So I climbed and at the top were two young Chinese gals getting ready to jump. By getting ready I mean freaking out and doubling over and acting ridiculous. I decided on my end of the platform that if I walked over to jump, I would jump. The decision was not going to be made at the far end. No, the far end was not for deciding, it was for executing a decision.

One jumped, one walked down all of the stairs. It was my turn. I was called over, harnessed, and stepped up to the edge. Fear gripped me so deeply I knew there was NO WAY I could jump. I turned and told one of the workers, “I need you to push me!” and then I heard “Everyone please look up at the bungee tower to see a foreigner jump!”

What just happened? I was no longer jumping just for myself, I was jumping for the face and pride of every non-Chinese the world over. And then I was falling. Foreign and heavy and exhilarated! I can still close my eyes and be on the edge of that platform and physically feel it in the pit of my stomach. Fear and excitement mixed together.

All fear is not created equal

Fear can be tricky. Sometimes it’s our friend sent to warn us of dangerous situations. And sometimes it’s our foe sent to entrap and rob us. My heart was right to be afraid of the height, but what my heart didn’t realize is my head had been sure I was strapped in and followed safety procedures. On that day, my head was able (by asking for a good shove) to override my heart, resulting in an experience and life time memory.

How can we tell if fear is a friend or foe?

Healthy fear protects. Unhealthy fear prevents. A quick litmus test is to check if we are being protected from something bad or prevented from something good.

That mangy dog coming towards you, growling? Fear says, Don’t pet and watch out. Listen to this fear and you will be protected from potentially being bitten, needing stitches or rabies treatment.

I wrote about my greatest fear. What if China is what makes me and the story of my life interesting and without her, I’m dull. I fear I may not matter and people only listened to me because I was a bit exotic. This fear tried to keep me down and prevent me from good (but let’s not fool ourselves that good is a synonym for easy). Fear said, don’t risk, it will cost you too much. Fear offered me fool’s gold that would leave me impoverished in the end.

“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” The Wizard of Oz says after Toto had pulled back the curtain revealing his true identity. He looks over his shoulder and sees Dorothy, The Tin Woodsman, The Cowardly Lion, and the beloved Scarecrow no longer beseeching the hologram on the wall with the booming voice, but staring at the man.

The ordinary man behind the curtain.

I am the ordinary woman behind the adjective.

It is the Accuser who wants us to believe that we have to have the persona of a Wizard to matter. To be of value. To have influence. And if we don’t we are not important.

Do not believe it.

My hope is we don’t throw the baby out with the bath water when it comes to fear. Fear is not the problem, it’s the voice behind the fear. Listen to the voice that protects and promotes growth in the name of healthy, God given fear. Learn to distinguish it from the voice of fear that seeks to destroy, hold captive, or isolate.

Linking today with Velvet Ashes and the grove: fear

fear

Photo credit by deneyterrio via flickr

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8 Comments March 7, 2014

Faith, Oneword

Trusting Tuesdays {Oneword365}: Stalked versus prepared

At the beginning of the year I shared

This fall a new word started to pop up around the edges of my soul.

There are times when God gives us freedom to make choices. And there are times when He stalks us like a lion at a watering hole coming upon a tasty gazelle.

Trust, Amy, Trust.

Trust?! How about laughter? Or Risk? Anything that doesn’t bring to mind a cosmic trust walk. Remember being blindfolded and asked to trust your guide?

But God isn’t playing a cosmic game with us. When he asks us to trust, it’s not for raw sport. It’s for our growth and maturing.

I felt bouncy inside when I discovered in my photos one that fit perfectly with trust.

Word for 2014

It now seems a bit prophetic…

Oneword Feb Linkup

This month I’ll add

When God stalks you, it’s might be for more than your growth and maturing, it might also be for your preparation.

I’ll show you my cards a bit (and probably reveal more about where my security lies). In the deep recesses of my soul, I thought trust was mostly related to NOT financially freaking out as I’m going through a major life transition.

Cue the cosmic laughter.

Again, I do not think God is playing with me; the laughter is more about how incomplete and short-sighted I am. It’s really more of a gentle chuckle from someone who sees and knows far more than you. God knew what was coming, and in his mercy, began to prepare me last in the fall.

I’ve blogged through this process, but the short version is on Tuesday, January 28th my sister and I took our Dad to the ER thinking he was dehydrated after eight days of stomach flu that seemed to be intermittent.  Turns out he was in acute renal failure and was admitted to the ICU. Friday, January 31st Dad was moved out of the ICU after having his gallbladder drained while we all waited for his kidneys to wake up. At this stage we were exploring rehab facilities.

The very next day we were told he had two choices: go on dialysis (a gruesome process due to other health complications) and live three to six months OR not go on dialysis and die within a few weeks. We moved from looking for rehab facilities to long-term acute facilities. After an agonizing weekend, the decision was, thankfully basically removed from our hands and on Monday, February 3rd Dad was moved into “comfort care” and was no longer being treated.

He died less than two days later  and  his memorial service was on Monday, February 10th. Do you see why I laugh at the thought of “trust” being about money? Eight days after we thought Dad was dehydrated, we were planning a memorial service for kidney and liver failure. Money pales in comparison.

Trust, trust, trust.

January whispered trust uses both hands. She holds the present in one hand and the long view in the other.

February joins in with trust can build a bridge others walk on. I wrote earlier this month, “Our parents built a bridge out of their lives for our family and others to walk on, so though this is an unpleasant path, we are together in the decision and traveling in a pack, albeit a weepy one!”

Looking back, where can you see God has prepared you for a part of your journey?

P.S. If you haven’t, sign up for The Messy Middle {quarterly} newsletter and receive a free ebook. It’s easy to sign up for :)

**************

Here’s the deal for the link-up:

  • Every third Tuesday I’ll host a link up. Trust + Tuesday + Third = three T’s and I don’t have to mark my calendar with different dates! Just remember TTT. The next one will be on February 18th  and you can get more details here. The link up will be open for one week, after one week, you’ll need to wait until the next month.
  • Please link back the link-up, either by using the Trusting Tuesday picture or simply a text link.
  • I’ve also started a Pinterest Oneword365 board and want it to be a community board (meaning let’s have our Oneword365 posts all in one place!). Check it out!
  • If you miss a month, don’t beat yourself up. This will go on for the next twelve months and isn’t meant to overload you or make you feel guilty. We’re going to be a group of cheerleaders.

 

[inlinkz_linkup id=372197]

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14 Comments February 18, 2014

China, Faith, Family, Oneword, Personality, Trusting Tuesdays

Trusting Tuesdays {Oneword365}: Can fleeces be used to check the future?

I knew I’d move to China. The question was one of timing. When? When was the time to pull the plug on teaching math to junior highers? Tell my most-fun-on-the-planet roommate the fun was over? Pack up my stuff and get on a big plane?

It was all so exciting! And overwhelming. When? When? When? God and I chatted. Fleeces worked for Gideon, so I thought I’d try my own. Since animal skins weren’t big in my life, I offered two signs that it would be impossible for me to miss. Impossible. Once they happened, I’d know it was time to go.

Amy circa 1993: OK, God, when the Broncos win the Superbowl (American football) and the Kansas Jayhawks win the National Champion (college basketball), I will know it’s time to go to China.

God circa two minutes later: Oh my precious foolish child, guess again.

trust january 2

As history would have it, after four losses in the Superbowl during my childhood and early adulthood, the Broncos did indeed win two Superbowls back to back in the late 90’s while I watched them from a Thai hotel room, complete with Thai, not super cool Superbowl, commercials. And the Jayhawks won a National Championship as I huddled over a computer in Beijing, frantically calling my friend in the States when the internet went out with five minutes left in the game. {To this day Kim, thank you thank you thank you! Best color commentary ever.}

Over the years, whenever I have been in the U.S., both the Jayhawks and the Broncos have been pitiful.

Pitiful.

I have never watched a Broncos Superbowl game with my dad. As much as I hate it, time is running out for us. He’s aging, Do you know how much I hate facing some realities?

As I have thought about this “trust” post, I have tossed around ideas, but none that came together. I put pressure on myself for this to be out of the ballpark and so impressive you forward it and can’t wait to see how the idea of trust develops, starring your calendars for the third Tuesday in February. And therein lies one of two lessons I’m learning about trust.

Trust cannot be forced. The Greek word for “trust” is the same word we use for “faith,” pisteuo and appears in about 30 passages in the New Testament. While I find this poetic, it raises questions and creates ambiguity.  Maybe for you too. Faith and trust can be invited and fostered. They can even be squelched, but they can’t be forced. So I sat and prayed and waited. What came was football.

Just as trust can’t be forced, she also doesn’t focus on the immediate. How many in the Bible needed to hold the long view as they lived in the day-to-day?

I see Joseph abandoned in a jail.

Esther hosting a banquet, knowing she may die.

Ruth risking by exposing Boaz’s feet.

Paul willing to spend several years earning the trust of the disciples and apostles after his conversion.

Name one prophet who didn’t have the long view in mind. I can’t. 

We do not live in biblical stories. But that doesn’t mean we can’t live in God infused stories that often need the long view too.

My family is still waiting for medical test results. I’m continue to wait to hear on a potential job. I haven’t yet caught the eye of a writing agent.

Football wasn’t the profound illustration I was hoping for when it comes to trust. How about a near death experience? A miraculous healing?

Instead, God has kept the lessons this month rooted in reality. My reality, my story, and my interests. As I prepare to watch the Broncos with my dad on February 2nd, it is still not a given we will get to be in the same country and space for a Superbowl victory. But there is hope.

January has whispered another truth. Trust uses both hands. She holds the present in one hand and the long view in the other.

 

Question for reflection:  Where are you being asked to have the long view on trust? What have you been learning this month about your oneword?

::

Welcome to the Trusting Tuesday {Oneword365 monthly} linkup, a place for a small dose of accountability and a big dose of cheerleading on your Oneword365 journey. If you’re here for the first time, click here for more information.

Please include the Trusting Tuesday button (grab the code below) or a link in your post, so your readers know where to find the community if they want to join in — thank you!

Please also try to visit and leave some friendly encouragement in the comment box of at least one other #TrustingTuesday participant. And if you want to tweet about the community, please use the #TrustingTuesday hashtag.

Thank you — I am so grateful that you are here! And see you the third Tuesday of February.

Trusting Tuesdays button (Mobile)

<a border=”0″ href=”http://messymiddle/” target=”_blank”> <img src=”https://www.messymiddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Trusting-Tuesdays-button-Mobile.jpg”/></a>

[inlinkz_linkup id=360894]

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11 Comments January 21, 2014

Faith, Learning lessons, Messier than normal, Oneword

My first public foray with trust

This is how I ended the last post, a call to the weary: And I say, Jesus, please make good on your reassurances.

While I stand by it, it’s not the original ending. The original ending was more desperate. And I say, Jesus, anti up. Please make good on your reassurances.

I believe that Jesus can handle my desperate clawing when I’m in a pit. Yet I also don’t want to taunt him. I am the one in the pit and He’s sitting next to me, charming company that I am during those times. He doesn’t “owe” me anything. He does say that we can come to him when we are weary and so I did.

As you know, the post was written last week at the library and by the time I got home I had an email in my inbox that helped penetrate my weariness. The email from from Alece Ronzino the founder of Oneword365. I’d written her:

Hi Alece,

I’ve gotten inspired this year. Or obsessed. Fine line. Whatever :)

My word for the year is “trust” and I contacted everyone from the Trust Tribe at oneword365.com because I know that I need accountability :) and at least seven of them are interested in a link up every third Tuesday of the month for 12 months.  I’d like to open it up to other tribes but don’t have the energy to go to everyone’s blog and invite them :).

If you want to pass on the invite or have me post on the oneword365.com blog about it, I’d be willing. I want people to keep up with Oneword throughout the year and am willing provide a space for them to gather.

Blah, blah, blah, Amy

This, in part, is what I received back: You are AMAZING! Love all that you’re doing!!! And I’d love to have you post on the OneWord365 blog about it… 

Purpose and affirmation are balm to the weary (as were your comments and prayers, thank you) and an immediate answer to my prayer. Even though I needed to frost a red velvet cake I’d made for small group, I fired up my computer and got to work! Let it not be said that I’m not a tiny bit OCD at times.

Without boring you with the play by play of the weekend, the guest post was finished and sent off to Alece. I also created a page explaining the Link-up and you can read it here (if I do say so myself, I’m kind of proud of it). And I explored, signed up for, and tested html codes for the link-up.

Trusting Tuesdays button

If you don’t know what a link-up is, it allows other bloggers to link one of their posts to the bottom of a post. It creates exposure beyond their blog — but in particular, this link-up is meant to provide a small dose of accountability and a big dose of cheerleading for those on their Oneword365 journey. I’ve named it “Trusting Tuesdays” since my word is trust and the two t’s make it more memorable. It will be the THIRD Tuesday to keep the “T” theme going.

This is where you come in, my people.

1. I’ve never hosted a link-up and it’s like hosting a party but not being sure if anyone it going to come :). Would you join me in praying that at least 15 people link-up this first month?

2. If you want to help spread the word, that would be ducky. TTT (Third Tuesday — trust) January 21st.

3. If you are a blogger, warmly welcome to post on how your one-word is going. I’m looking forward to fleshing out “Trust” a bit more next Tuesday.

4. If you’re not a blogger, you can still participate by leaving a comment on what I’ve written and/or post comments on your word and journey

*****
Why was my weariness lifted relatively quickly and yours may not have been? I don’t know. I do know that God sees you and loves you. I took the quick lifting as a mercy to me, knowing it did not have to be offered; helping me be all the more grateful for it (and I took it as a double mercy that I could work on the page while watching football! Sadly the Colts lost, so not all went “my” way.).

I trust that God will meet you today, in the midst of your weariness.

I am also trusting that next Tuesday will go well. And you know what, it will. Even if no one shows up, it will give me a chance to put Habakkuk 3 into practice :). I’ll see you Friday and then next Tuesday.

Amy

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6 Comments January 15, 2014

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Meet Amy Young

My name is Amy and I live in the messy middle of life. I have been Redeemed from permanent muck and live with the tension of the Already and Not Yet. Read More…

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Don't have to choose between extremes. You can embrace life's Messy Middle.

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  • Becoming More Fruitful is published :)
  • Summer Reading Challenge 2022 is Finished
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meet amy young

My name is Amy and I live in the messy middle of life. I have been Redeemed from permanent muck and live with the tension of the Already and Not Yet. Read More…

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