Chasing Blue Skies

encouragement for every season of life

  • Home
  • Kristen
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Back Roads to Belonging
    • Girl Meets Change
    • Serving You (for military wives)
  • Subscribe
  • Instagram
  • Archives
  • Free
    • for everyone
    • for military spouses
  • Contact

Choosing Thoughtfulness over Defensiveness

in (In)Courage· Belonging· Colorado· Courage· Seasons

I unwrap my brand spankin’ new 2021 calendar, the old timey kind made of card stock that you hang up somewhere like it’s the 1900s. I love new calendars, and I love fresh starts. But this year, I’m disheartened to find several of the same old disturbing problems following me into 2021. Certainly, I find this to be true in my personal life, concerning situations that affect me and my immediate family only. And even with a more wide angle view, I find this to be true on a broader national landscape too, concerning issues that follow and trouble many of us.

The calendar pages display definitive ends to seasons, but real life does not.

Looking out my office’s picture window, I take notice of the snow that’s hanging around in spite of the fact that our last snowstorm was a few weeks ago. One interesting thing about living in Colorado Springs is that while it frequently snows over the course of our fourteen months of winter (heh), it melts quickly. With over three hundred days of sunshine a year, it doesn’t stick around. But this latest snow has stuck around, encouraged to do so by cold temperatures the sun can’t overcome.

In life, too, it can feel like the warmth can’t overcome the cold.

Winter will do what winter does: bring chilly temps and snow. It’s best not to fight the facts on the weather — or our own troubles. While we can always count on God making all things new and hope getting the last word, we aren’t guaranteed right-here-right-now expiration dates on our troubles. We aren’t even guaranteed they will come to an end while we trod along on this broken and beautiful planet.

So, I make a cup of hot sweet and spicy orange tea. I pull out the red and black buffalo check flannel socks and stretch them over my size 11 feet. Even if I don’t particularly relish the season I’m in, I can still do what I can to restore a mindset for the good things it brings.

Chief of these is to get my hind-end in the Word of God each day, because in the words of Ann Voskamp, “God’s Word to you is never a passing word or line — God’s Word is your very lifeline. In tumultuous times, there is only one voice that can calm seas. When the sun rises in the window every morning, it comes on fire with a message to say, The One who is the Word wants to have a word with you.“

I read the Word to communicate with God and to know what He wants to communicate with me. And I read it to best know how to communicate with others, too.

I have a choice each and every day: I can demonstrate the light and warmth of Christ to others or I can douse it.

In general, when it comes to processing things, I’m a crockpot set on low. It takes time for me to know how to say what I think about something. But there are those topics and viewpoints that can provoke me to quickly provide a knee-jerk response. And every time I do so, almost without fail, I regret what I say or write. I regret the way I’ve communicated it.

However, every time I’ve taken a beat (or a day or a weekend) to think about what I want to communicate, I’ve never regretted it. Pausing before posting doesn’t lessen the validity of my viewpoint or the courage of my conviction. But it lessens any biting tone or defensiveness I might bring to the conversation.

In general, I want to be one who engages with thoughtfulness rather than defensiveness. I want to reflect Christ by dealing with and not deflecting from the matter at hand. I want to be a belong-maker.

Join me here at (in)courage to read the rest of this post.

Sharing is caring!

0shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

Related

Share10
Tweet
Pin
10 Shares

Filed Under: (In)Courage, Belonging, Colorado, Courage, Seasons

« Letting Go of Expectations and Letting in the Light

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

On Instagram

$1.99 ebook deal-extraordinaire!🎉💃🏻🎉 R $1.99 ebook deal-extraordinaire!🎉💃🏻🎉 Right now, get the digital version of Back Roads to Belonging for $1.99! ⁠⁠
⁠⁠
This book can be a gift for anyone feeling lost or lonely no matter her life season, but I believe it's an especially timely gift to yourself or a loved one who may be missing her place and people during the lingering pandemic. ⁠⁠
⁠⁠
Tap the link in my profile for links to both Kindle & Nook.☑️☑️⁠⁠
⁠⁠
And if you read this book and found it personally helpful, perhaps consider sharing it 'round your circles, too? ⁠⁠
⁠⁠
#backroadstobelonging⁠⁠
photo credit: @jenlintsphotography
An accomplishment for this week: Taking daily walk An accomplishment for this week: Taking daily walks outside, because outside is where the pretty lives even if it's also where the cold lives, too. ⁠⁠
⁠⁠
Another accomplishment this week included introducing my daughter to an '80's staple of pop culture: Dirty Dancing.💃🏻🕺🏻 My inner 8th grader still knows all the songs, and my daughter was able to understand the origins of "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." and that it *doesn't* refer to an actual baby. What can I say? I've found one homeschooling subject I feel qualified to teach. ⁠⁠✅
⁠⁠
Happy Friday, dear hearts!⁠⁠💛
⁠⁠
⁠⁠
Trusting God with the ones you love ~ I found this Trusting God with the ones you love ~ I found this easier to do when the ones I love lived in my house full time. It turns out that having them move out from under my roof is a real lesson in seeing the holes of my trust.⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠
You might say learning this has been A WHOLE THING. ⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠
I first saw this book on @annvoskamp's instagram feed, and since Ann never steers me wrong, I promptly bought it and am now halfway through it. ⁠I skip some chapters as they don't (yet if ever) apply, but those that *do* apply have been a real help and comfort. ⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠
In short, author @jodie_berndt's prayer prompts and stories reflecting an array of circumstances and outcomes has been a real gift to my mama heart. ⁠⁠⁠
⁠⁠⁠
⁠Being a parent is hard no matter the age of our kids, but I'm so thankful for books like this that ease our trials and deepen our trust along the way.⁠⁠⁠
#fromthebookstack
This verse came alongside me like a friend not onc This verse came alongside me like a friend not once but twice in two days:⁠⁠
⁠⁠
"The angel of the Lord encamps⁠⁠
 around those who fear him, and delivers them.” ~Psalm 34:7⁠⁠
⁠⁠
I don’t know what hardship you're encountering today, but I hope you also encounter this message:⁠⁠
⁠⁠
As God surrounds you, may He deliver you *to* a better place, yes. But may He deliver you *from* anxiety, loneliness, fears, and wrongdoing.⁠⁠
⁠⁠
And along the way, may He give you a friend who prays for you and walks with you from where you are to where you will be. ⁠⁠
⁠⁠
#whereIbelongWednesday⁠⁠
#backroadstobelonging
Follow on Instagram
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021 Kristen Strong · Site by Design by Insight · Chasing Blue Skies Logo by Aliza Latta