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Life When You’ve Been Benched

Life When You’ve Been Benched

in Advent· Authors Extraordinaire· Christmas· Creativity· Encouragement· Faith· Faith in Action· Family· Friendship· Holidays· Home· Hope· Rest· waiting· Writing

As an upper elementary and middle school kid, I played softball. Or rather, I tried to play softball. I quickly discovered my…
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Better Than Before

Better Than Before

in Change· Faith in Action· Family· Home· Writing

As I’ve mentioned just once or twice (grin), our house is under construction and has been since we moved here in…
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My Favorite Resource for the New and Experienced Writer

My Favorite Resource for the New and Experienced Writer

in Authors Extraordinaire· Confidence· Creativity· Encouragement· Words· Writing

In 2009 as I began to write and blog with regularity, I felt stirrings to pick up an old dream of…
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What I Learned in January

What I Learned in January

in Authors Extraordinaire· Change· Fun Stuff· Girl Meets Change· Rest· What I Learned· Writing

Happy end-of-January friends! Before we get to “What I Learned” this month, I wanted to let you in on something….
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What I Learned in October

What I Learned in October

in Authors Extraordinaire· Fun Stuff· Girl Meets Change· What I Learned· Writing

May your weekend be a kind friend offering rest, hope and healing. May the anxieties yanking on your heart  turn to peacefulness…
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If You Want to Publish a Book And Your Platform Is Small

If You Want to Publish a Book And Your Platform Is Small

in Change· Girl Meets Change· Writing

I like to write in a way that supports you and is a kind companion to you as you walk through your…
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On Instagram

This week brought to you by family heart-to-hearts This week brought to you by family heart-to-hearts around the fireplace, tulips on the table, and my first trip of the year to the garden store. ⁠⁠
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Never underestimate the ministry of flowers for you and your family. ⁠⁠
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"Home is never simply a threshold you cross. It is a place you make and a place that might make—or unmake—you. In this halfway space, we would begin to learn the costs of stepping into the role God first gave in a garden: to be, like Adam and Eve, the makers and caretakers of a particular place." ⁠⁠
~Christie Purifoy (@christiepurifoy), in her stellar book Placemaker ⁠⁠
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#backroadstobelonging
Holler if you're a fellow expert at coming up with Holler if you're a fellow expert at coming up with worst-case scenarios and making plans to divert them. ⁠⁠ 📣
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In this particular case, I thought I had foreseen every possible problem. I took measures to ensure the best possible outcome. I’m not talking about anything outlandish or expensive. Rather, I used good ol’ hard work and productivity to take care of things responsibly.⁠⁠
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And then came the turn of events only God saw coming, and all my forethought and “responsible planning” didn’t amount to a hill of beans. I didn't asked for or want this outcome, but it was what I had.⁠⁠
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Yeah, it's easier for me to daily assess the risk of doing something than to lean into trust.⁠⁠
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I write more about this at my second online writing home, @incourage. Visit the link in my profile to read more. 💛
I belong where it will snow in April (and May!), b I belong where it will snow in April (and May!), but where spring always comes, eventually. ⁠⁠
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Where do you belong today?⁠⁠
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#whereIbelongWednesday
Remember my post from a few weeks ago about our fr Remember my post from a few weeks ago about our friend Ryan, a USAF vet, who lost all all feeling and control from mid chest down due to a sudden spinal stroke?⁠⁠
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This is his wife, Rebecca, and she is one of my dearest friends in the whole wide world.⁠⁠
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Sometimes when a change comes that turns our world upside down, God works through others to turn it right side up again.⁠⁠
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This gal has surely been a turn-the-world-right-side-up gal in my life, and now I'd love it if *we* could help do the same for her.⁠⁠
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As Ryan undergoes physical therapy and rehab in the spinal cord unit of the VA hospital in Denver, we would like to help Ryan and Rebecca defray the many costs not covered by insurance following this spinal stroke, such as:⁠⁠
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▫️Outfitting Ryan and Rebecca’s home for needs regarding Ryan’s limited mobility.⁠⁠
▫️An outfitted vehicle that’s wheelchair accessible.⁠⁠
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These needs and several more are on Ryan and Rebecca's own dime, and they cost a shockingly WHOLE LOTTA DIMES. ⁠⁠
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If you're interested in helping with these needs and/or sharing about it with your people, please check out the link to our fundraiser in my profile.⁠⁠☑️
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Swipe to see a pic of Ryan and Rebecca and a pic of the GoFundMe page.⁠⁠
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And on behalf of Ryan and Rebecca, thank you for your continued prayers!⁠⁠❤️
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