A Lesson in Stacking Blocks

Stacking blocks…do you remember those? As you can see from the picture above they’ve become a bit more sophisticated these days. But, the concept is still the same.

I don’t know about you but I was taught to stack the pieces in order from biggest to smallest. And something innate told me that whenever I was playing with a child using this toy I should teach them the same thing.

Well, yesterday I was playing with an almost 3 year old and I decided to mix things up on her. Without help, she stacked them like this:

I took off the top piece from each stack and moved them around. She immediately told me I was wrong and fixed it. Deciding to start over I emptied the stacks and proceeded to replace them all like this:

The little girl got quite upset and proceeded to empty the stacks and replace them correctly. We went back and forth like this a couple of times. But, eventually, she stacked them like this:

I smiled. And I wondered what future generations would do, what they wouldn’t do, what they would dream, what they would risk…if we we didn’t teach them they were wrong and incompetent if they didn’t stack the blocks in the proper shape and size order.

Did you stack the blocks the “right” way as a child?

In the Mundane

Something my pastor said on Sunday has been resonating in my head all week…we don’t miss God because He’s far away, rather we miss Him because He’s so close…we fail to see Him in the minute details of life. I will be the first to admit that I’m guilty of that. And oftentimes I’m guilty of it because I think it sounds cheesy or cliche to think that God is in those minute details. But, the times when He opens my eyes to that truth my heart is overcome with worship and I fail to find the words to express His greatness.

So, here’s to seeing God in the details
in every human interaction
in the sunset
in the rain
in the song that comes up on shuffle
in the encouraging text from a friend
in the mundane
in the routine
yes, He’s much bigger than all of those things
but He’s in them nonetheless
and when I pause long enough
I see indescribable beauty in “everyday” life

Where have you seen God in the minute details of your life recently?

Inviting Others into Your Dream

What is your dream? What’s the big idea sitting on your “someday” list just waiting for attention?

I think we all have them. Sometimes we may be afraid to admit that we do, but I think even then they’re there in us somewhere no matter how deep we’ve tried to bury them. I’ll be the first to admit that there is always some degree of fear when I verbalize a dream or big idea to another person for the first time. We fear being laughed at, being thought foolish.

And I have that fear despite the fact that I’ve been blessed with incredible people in my life who support crazy dreams and big ideas. They have their own and together we share, encourage, and push one another to go beyond dreaming and start doing.

Ben Arment is a master of the process of making dreams a reality. A conversation with him always inspires me to DO something. Ben had a dream called STORY. He invited other people into that dream and God brought it to life. I wonder what this world, what the Church would look like if we invited others into our dreams and surrendered them to God to bring to life more often.

I’ve learned in recent months just how important it is to have people in your life who support your dreams. I’m blessed to have a couple friends who do just that. They encourage my ideas and push me to think bigger. If you don’t have someone you can get lost in big idea conversations with for hours over dinner or coffee, find that. I think it’s the first step towards DOING something. Invite someone into your dream. Find someone who doesn’t think you’re crazy, who wants to encourage and support you. Someone who believes in your dream as if it’s their own. It’s more fun that way. :)

Live out your dream. Don’t just live in it.

Throwback Sundays…”Aha”

I thought it might be fun to “go retro” and have “throwback Sundays” here on my blog. I’m going to pull a post out of the archives, dust it off, and maybe give a little insight into what’s changed…or stayed the same :)

I couldn’t think of a better first “throwback Sunday” post than Aha. It was the first post I wrote on Visual Worship. And it was just a year ago this past week. It was a lightbulb moment and a conversation that sparked a journey I would never have imagined at that point. You can check it out here.

A Lesson in Living

It’s been quiet around here this week. I’ve been too busy with the offline to worry about the online. Some may call that bad blogging strategy, but I’m okay with that. This week was another chapter of the lesson in living.

I spent most of the week in Mobile, AL. I went down for Integrity’s Seminars 4 Worship. Hanging out with my friends Luke McElroy and Stephen Proctor and seeing them in their element was a blast. I love celebrating success with my friends! It was a week of meeting great new people, thought-provoking conversations, and heart-filling moments. It was an experience I walk away from excited to see how God will use it someday in the future.

Wednesday was my favorite day of the week…a day of just living life. The idea of space…taking a step back to savor relationships and life…is something I’ve made time for a lot since moving to Nashville. I’m still processing it all in my head, but there is something to the art of living that is powerful. For a “to do” list person like myself, it’s a struggle…I fight the addiction to doing. But, I think it’s a fight worth fighting because winning the battle is a great feeling.

This was life in pictures on Wednesday