It makes me SUPER happy to highlight others and share with you what has blessed me this week. I pray these blogs truly, deeply, widely touch you. Enjoy!

 

The Revenge of the Proverbs 31 Woman by Ed Cyzewski about a conversation he had with a P31 woman when he was newly married.

Early in her marriage to Bert, she was making dinner and had become a bit overwhelmed with all she had to do. She really needed Bert to wash the dishes, but Bert stood tall in front of her, raised his hands and said, “These are not dish pan hands!”

“So,” Cindy continued, “I threw a steak at him.”

“You what?”

“I threw a steak at him.” She was beaming now with a proud smile. The memory was too delicious. I could only imagine the look on Bert’s face.

“What happened next?” I asked.

“Oh, we had a fight, but we worked things out.”

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A Simple Filter to Help You With Negative Feedback by Carey Nieuwhof. This was sooo helpful. I often give more weight to negative people’s perceptions of me.

Negative feedback from a positive person is almost always valuable. When it comes from a person who is aligned with your organization’s mission, vision and strategy — from someone who’s invested in the future you share — you need it. As much as you might still wince (even just a little), you require this kind of feedback.

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When You Don’t Know How To Cry by Duane Scott. He captures the pain one has when a loved one dies when you have a broken relationship. Hard truth. Real emotions.

Because when people die, we never talk of the negative, mainly out of respect to the deceased but what happens when the tears that fall are ones filled with regrets and not ones filled with grief? Is it okay to give notice to the subtle thoughts within our minds? Is it okay to ask the hard questions?

Because today, I mourn the relationship I never had with my grandmother.

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Baking Therapy by Sarah Markley. Wow. I so feel this. As someone who is living in the space where nothing seems to go as planned, I resonated with her words.

Yeah, so we have to stay home again and I have to cancel two meetings and a lunch date? Roll with it.

She can’t do her math homework because her head genuinely hurts when she sits up? Roll with it. Teach her that there is more than one way to do things.

We don’t have much other than PB & J for lunches all week and the berries and lettuce have all gone bad? Roll with it.

The fevers are too high to enjoy our Halloween plans? Roll with it, hand out candy and meet some of the neighbors.

My husband says he’ll be home at 5:30 {because this Mama needs some relief!} but strides in the door at 8:30? Roll with it and then bake a cake.

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The Career and Family Dichotomy by Seth Haines on The Higher Calling. This post deeply resonated with me as I try to keep my career from faltering while still caring for my daughter. It’s a difficult conundrum.

My desk is stacked with trial exhibits and deposition transcripts when the phone rings. The caller identification reads HAINES, AMBER—my wife. Our youngest, Titus, has not been gaining weight for six months and even our pediatrician is desperate. I know why Amber is calling before I answer.

“They are admitting Titus to Arkansas Children’s Hospital,” she says.

“When?” I asked, hoping she would say later in the week.

“We need to leave in two hours.”

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The Daily Work of Wonder by Addie Zierman at The Deeper Story. Her post reminds me of the importance of stopping, slowing down enough to find my wonder again. I admit, I’ve lost it completely in the midst of our current circumstance. Jesus, help me wonder again.

Wonder is a choice. It comes only when I choose to stay.

It’s that thing that happens when doubt and astonishment and mystery converge. It happens when I stand in one place long enough. When I stare out at the broken cattails or the winter-bare branches or a dew drop until it stops being about me. Starts being about the branch. And then about more than the branch. And then about God.