Tag Archives: friends

When God Brings it Full Circle

When I quit my job at my church in June I left a pastor and his family who I had been doing life with and ministry alongside for 7 years. They were the closest thing to what felt like family I had ever had. About a year a half ago, though, things got messy. Not messy in any scandalous sort of way just messy in the sense that feelings were hurt and relationships honestly looked liked they would end, unable to be repaired. It happens, even in the church, because we’re people and we’re sinful.

But, we pushed on. Ministry continued but relationships were drastically different. It was a lot of work and not a lot of personal. Eventually that got to me because it led to me forgetting that I was working with people and also to not feeling treated like a person. I did a pretty good job, though, of suppressing all of that “for the good of the ministry.” Not  until after I left my job at the church did I realize just how much hurt and honestly bitterness I had built up.

I am glad I didn’t realize it until after I left, though, because it allowed me to leave well. I didn’t leave because of the negative things that had happened, I left because God said it was time to go. Since then, God has healed my heart and helped me to truly forgive.

It’s really cool to look back now and see God’s hand in all of it. Had those relationships not changed, I’m not sure I would have been willing to let them go and leave when God said it was time. He detached me and uninvested me because He knew I’d need that in order to follow His calling me away.

It’s also amazing to see how He has brought it full circle and redeemed and restored friendships. It took time…a lot of time and I’ve just been processing it all recently, but God has proven Himself faithful…as always. I am incredibly blessed to still have a friendship with people who have seen me at my best but more importantly at my worst.

My encouragement to you? Fight for the relationships, despite how awkward or uncomfortable or hard it may be, because they are worth it. But also be encouraged when things don’t go well, feelings are hurt, you feel “wronged,” or you don’t handle a situation well, that God is greater than all of it and He will redeem it.

3 Comments Relationships

Throwback Sundays…What Makes Your Heart Smile?

I love days and moments that make my heart smile. Those times where I am overflowing with contentment, peace, and gratitude. And I’ve had quite an abundance of days and moments like that since moving to Nashville. I have a new phrase I like to use to describe those moments…”sunrise in my heart” (see video) but I still treasure them.

Check out the rest of the post here and share what makes your heart smile. :)

Comment Just Life, Throwback Sundays

Ponder…A Good Friend

A good friend is a connection to life – a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world.  -Lois Wyse

I love this description of a good friend. I have a lot of friends. I have a few good (I’ll say great) friends who are just that…keys to sanity in a world that at times seems completely insane. :) And I am beyond grateful for them!

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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.

2 Comments Deep Thinking, Just Life

Driving Satan Crazy

In talking with a friend the other day he told me the story of how his laptop and cell phone were stolen while he was doing mission work in Mexico. You see, he was staying in a fairly nice house that had a lot of material possessions in it. But, the only things stolen that night were his laptop and cell phone. As he told me the story I looked at him and was like wow, that really stinks. He looked back at me and said, “Nope. I was like praise God!”

Yeah, that look you just got on your face was the one I gave him. That “Are you crazy?” look. He went on to say, “Absolutely, praise God. Praise God that Satan cares that much about me. That I am that much of a threat to him. That I scare him that much that he takes time out to try and rattle my cage. Praise God.”

Wow! I was completely shocked, convicted, and inspired all at the same time. How different my life would be if I approached everything from that standpoint. If I took the perspective of my friend. The challenges and struggles of life would seem much smaller and less burdensome if I looked at them as a blessing because it meant the amazing things God was doing through me were driving Satan crazy.

How do you look at the challenges and struggles that come into your life? Do they cause you to get angry and frustrated? Or do you praise God for them?

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That Person

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying before: “Man is not an island.”

Well, let me tell you, I’ve tried, for much of my life, to prove that wrong. I am by nature an introvert. Most of the time I am much happier being by myself. While I enjoy people around people at times it takes a lot of energy out of me and after a few hours I’m usually exhausted. I love extroverts, I admire their ability to interact with people all of the time and not get tired, but that’s just not me.

Despite my best attempts though, I have been unsuccessful. In fact, as I’ve gotten older especially over the last 3 years or so, I realize more and more just how connected to other people I am and how much we all need each other. Others help us see and understand things about ourselves we can’t see for ourselves. They hold us accountable. They remind us who we are, what we believe, and what we’re all about. They bring us back down to earth when we’re flying too high and they help us up when we’re in the valleys.

At different seasons in my life I’ve had different people who, when I’m with them, make everything seem right with the world. I pray you can say the same. If not, even if you’re an introvert, I encourage you to find that person or even those people. That person who reminds you who you are and what you’re about. Who knows just the right thing to say, just the right thing to do, and helps life make sense when it gets cloudy.

We all need those people. Yes, I can admit that even I am not an island.

1 Comment Just Life