So glad you stopped by today! I'm the co-host for the Thankful Thursday Blog Hop with voiceBoks.

I'm learning to be thankful for the little things. For a cup of coffee beside me when I sit to write, for new opportunities for creativity, for a baby who is starting to feel better, for cooler weather, for the fair starting next weekend. :) What are you thankful for? Keep reading below, then link up with us...





<br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.growwhereyoureplanted.com"><br /> <img src="http://www.voiceboks.com/community/public/admin/ThankfulThursday.jpg"></a><br />

Good girl? Really? I wouldn't have given myself that title... not since maybe when I was really young. I wanted to read Emily's book because she is my friend. I had no idea that I needed this book!

As the pages started turning, I soon realized that these were MY feelings. MY thoughts. A core struggle that I have had since childhood. The difference is that my heart went way astray. A good girl who ended up going bad... sick and tired of always trying to live up to some standard. I have since given my heart and life back to Jesus, but I still have these people-pleasing tendencies.

 Grace for the Good Girl has 3 different sections:

• The Hiding, where Emily basically tells us what struggles we face as a good girl;
• The Finding, where she shows us how to breathe and overcome those struggles;
• The Freedom of Being Found, which tells us the life we have to look forward to when we allow Jesus to take complete control.

This book has brought me to laugh and to cry. I laughed a lot at myself, finally seeing in print the things that I have dealt with forever. I have cried over the pain caused to God, myself, and others because of my "good girl" ways that I never knew quite how to explain. Perfectionist, yes. But this surprised me.

I believe that all women need to read this book. You may be like me... not realizing that you have good girl tendencies. There is something in this book for everyone. Emily has shared her heart in a most transparent manner, and she offers us very practical explanations and illustrations that help us in our walk as believers.

The third section, The Freedom of Being Found, basically says we are safe when.... (you fill in the blank). Heartbreaking stories of hurt, failure, and fear, and the way women have responded, bring us to recognize where our true safety lies.

I am so thankful to Emily for bearing her soul in this book. It has been (and will continue to be) a blessing to me... and I'm sure it will be a blessing to you. Here is a video of Emily talking about Grace for the Good Girl:


Grace for the Good Girl is available NOW at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. I received a free copy in exchange for posting this review.
 
So... on to the giveaway! :) I pre-ordered a copy before I found out that I would be included in the tour, so that means I have one ready to give away to one of you! Here's how you enter: Just tell me in a comment or an email why you want to read this book. Your good girl story. :)

Entries will close Monday night (September 19th) at midnight. I will announce the winner here on Tuesday, September 20th. Good luck!

****And the winner is.... MELODY from Life is a Bowl of Wedgies. :) Congratulations!!

Welcome to Tune-In Tuesday! If this is your first time visiting on a Tuesday, I hope you will find this as a place to worship together. Each week, I share about a song that God is using in my life. One that is speaking to me in whatever season I may be going through. The invitation is for you to jump in and do it, too! Here are the steps:

1. Pick a song that is especially meaningful for you at this time in your life and write about it. Really think about the lyrics… and let them change you.
2. Link up here using the linky tool at the bottom of this post. Use the name of your song as the title of your link. (If you haven’t done this before, feel free to email me with questions.) If you don't have a blog, you can leave a comment sharing your song. ***Please use the permalink to your post, not your blog's main site. Because of the specialized nature of this weekly series, any links that are not specifically for Tune-In Tuesday will be deleted.***
3. Visit other people’s blogs and worship with them.
4. Spread the word. Grab the button in the left column and add it to your post. That way, others can link up, as well. Tweet about it… Try to get others in on the conversation.
5. And the main thing… worship! :) 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My song for today is Fall Apart by Josh Wilson. LOVE this song. Press play below to listen and then read on for lyrics and some thoughts.

Why in the world did I think I could
Only get to know you when my life was good
When everything just falls in place
The easiest thing is to give You praise

Now it all seems upside down

‘Cause my whole world is caving in
But I feel You now more than I did then
How can I come to the end of me
And somehow still have all I need
God, I want to know You more
Maybe this is how it starts
I find You when I fall apart

Blessed are the ones who understand
We’ve got nothing to bring but empty hands
Nothing to hide and nothing to prove
Our heartbreak brings us back to You

And it all seems upside down

‘Cause my whole world is caving in
But I feel You now more than I did then    

How can I come to the end of me
And somehow still have all I need
God, I want to know You more
Maybe this is how it starts
I find You when I fall apart

I don’t know how long this will last
I’m praying for the pain to pass
But maybe this is the best thing that
Has ever happened to me

My whole world is caving in
But I feel You now more than I did then
How can I come to the end of me
And somehow still have all I need
God, I want to know You more
Maybe this is how it starts
I find You when
You will find me when I fall apart

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the last several months, I have gone through a pretty significant spiritual battle. Significant life changes. Depression. Anger. Bitterness. Frustration. Hurt. Feelings of rejection in every area of my life. Heartbreaking feelings of being nudged out of some areas very dear to my heart that I was once involved in heavily. Selfishness.

It could have been a simple fix, if I had just let go and trusted. But my heartbreak didn’t bring me back to Him. Instead of drawing closer to Jesus and to those who love me, I withdrew. Went into hiding for a while. So He held me down a little longer.

Most of you probably had no idea. Most of you saw my Sunday face.

Thankfully, I can tell you that I’m starting to come out of it. I’m actually seeing the reasoning behind it all. Sometimes God has to strip us of all of the things that cause pride and ego in our lives. Often, that is the only way to get our complete attention.

And sometimes it takes breaking our hearts. But after the breaking, He is also there… just waiting for us to hand over the pieces to Him.

This song speaks to me so much. We can’t just praise Him in the good times. We have to praise Him and cling to Him in the hard times, too. And maybe, just maybe, we will find the breaking to be the "best thing that's ever happened to us."

I’m so grateful that He will find me when I fall apart.

If you haven't read about my beach worship moment with my son, I hope you will read it here: A Beach Baby's Worship. Moments like this have helped my healing.

He is definitely a beach baby. Can’t help it. He gets it honest.

Tonight we went out onto the beach, he and I, just as the thick pink line around the horizon was beginning to shrink. It was the perfect time of day.

Fascinated by the ocean, much like I am, he didn’t blink as I held him on my hip and walked the short trip down the sand. He was mesmerized by the sight and sound of the waves. With excited squeals escaping his lips and legs kicking full force, he itched for that feeling on his toes from a few days ago. Finally those toes touched the water and he was able to just enjoy it for a while.

After a good showering of splashed water on both of us, we walked up to a dry spot of sand and I set him down in front of me, my legs encircling his. At first, he just looked at the sand in front of him. Then his feet started kicking. And they didn’t stop.

His rhythmic kicking started forming a cute little heart shape right there in front of us.

As he continued to kick his energy out, I sang I Love You Lord. Reminisced about a campfire 20 years ago when I first learned that song. It is now a theme song of my life… one that I sing in my head when bad thoughts come in.

I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice. To worship you. Oh my soul. Rejoice. Take joy my King in what you hear. May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear…

May it be a sweet, sweet sight to your eyes…

May it be a sweet, sweet smell to your nose…

May my life be such that everything I think, say, and do looks like worship to you.

In the midst of my own worship moment, I looked down at Little Man and realized that he was worshiping too. Kicking those little feet against the sand was his way of saying thank you to God. I love your sand, God. I love your ocean, God. I love sitting here with my mommy, God. Thank you.

Worship is such a simple act. It’s not about what manner we choose to do it. It’s not about the songs we sing. Worship is our way of telling God thank you. Of showing him that we love him with all that is within us.

I’m pretty sure Little Man’s kicking was a sweet, sweet sight to His eyes.

So when the pink horizon shrank enough that it was just a spot disappearing behind the buildings, we got up and walked back to the condo. Leaving behind a cute little heart made by Little Man’s feet. Beach Baby’s worship offering to his King.

Thank you God for letting me see worship tonight through the eyes {and feet} of my baby boy.

Wow, there are some good waves today.

At first, I was frustrated about staying in the condo because little man needed a nap. But as I sit here on the balcony watching my family play in the ocean, I have nothing to complain about. Typing away and relaxing with my coffee beside me. Finally some me time.

We have such a special family. See all those people in the picture? That’s them. Right now, the adults are standing around talking at the water’s edge while the kiddos are playing in the shallow surf. Jeffrey is testing a boogie board made for little people, while Katherine is carrying a bucket that is almost as big as she is. Yesterday, we watched baby Josh feel the waves hit his toes for the first time.

I. Am. Blessed.

I’m trying to take in every breath. To enjoy every moment I’m given while we are here this week. Vacation goes so fast. Just like life.

What moments have you been missing out on lately? Stop today and just try to take in every moment. They go away too quickly.

It was strange. A feeling I didn’t expect. I had just dropped off both kids at school for the first time this year and I felt sad.

This summer was tough. There were times that I wasn’t sure I would make it through. Times when I questioned my ability to be a mother to 3 young children. August couldn’t come soon enough.

I was sure that relief would come over me after I dropped two of the kids off. After all, it was a particularly difficult morning. But inside of me, something else took over. A simple twinge of sadness that said a piece of me was missing. Two of my babies were now inside that big building for the day… for the week… for the school year… for a long time.

I’m glad this emotion took over. Thank You, God, for showing me that I do love my job as Mommy. Thank You for reminding me that my family is my greatest ministry. Thank You for not allowing me to feel relief as silence took over my car.

For this simple twinge of sadness that You gave me, I am grateful.

What are you thankful for today? Link up with us and share.

Welcome to a new weekly event at Grow Where You're Planted! I am excited and honored to be co-hosting a blog hop with voiceBoks! The subject matter of this hop is especially close to my heart, as it is all about being thankful. To link up here, write about what you are thankful for in our lives. Grab the button, read the post below, then link up with us!




<br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.growwhereyoureplanted.com"><br /> <img src="http://www.voiceboks.com/community/public/admin/ThankfulThursday.jpg"></a><br />

Welcome to Tune-In Tuesday! If this is your first time visiting on a Tuesday, I hope you will find this as a place to worship together. Here is an explanation of what we do:

Each week, I share about a song that God is using in my life. One that is speaking to me in whatever season I may be going through. The invitation is for you to jump in and do it, too! Here are the steps:


---

My song this week is Strong Enough by Matthew West. Play the video and listen while you read below.

This song has spoken to me quite a bit lately. At times, life seems overwhelming. Motherhood is a challenge. Life change is a challenge. Depression is a challenge. Strongholds are challenges. I can easily get wrapped up in my own little pity party… and I have for a while.

But I’m seeing light now. In which God is giving me a perspective change… really it’s more like a knock down so that the only way I can look is up. And out...

...to others who have it a lot tougher than I do  ...to others who I just need to love.

God is forcing me to notice once and for all that life on this planet is not about me. And with Him as my strength, I am strong enough to overcome anything that is in my path.

I know I’m not strong enough to be everything that I’m supposed to be; I give up…

WITHOUT God, I am weak. Defeated. But WITH Him, I am strong enough.

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength… 

I. Am. Blessed.

I haven’t done a 5 Minute Friday in a couple of weeks. This one, however, really spoke to me. If for no other reason, I’m doing this one because I need to do it. I need to be reminded that all the little things that frustrate me are actually there to show me how strong God is. Here we go…

GO

I am grateful...

For the toys on the floor that I seem to pick up 200 times per day...
It means the kids are full of life and love to play.

For the dishes that continue to stack up no matter how much I clean them...
It means we have food to eat, no matter what else may be going on.

For all of the little things in the house that need to be fixed...
It means we have a house that God has provided for us to live.

For the noise, the screams, the fights...
It means the kids are healthy and have some grit about them.

For the disrespectful phase that we seem to be going through right now...
It means God has trusted us enough to teach them how to come out of it.

For the financial struggles...
It means God trusts us enough to let go and trust Him (even though we fail).

For the tears, the feelings of failure, the spiritual warfare...
It means God wants to use us for something that we can’t even see yet.

For the years of wilderness that have brought us to now...
It means that God never gave up on us and has a bigger purpose.

For the things in our lives that hurt. The things that we just don’t understand...
It means God is teaching us that He is in complete control.

STOP

What are you grateful for today? Would love for you to tell me… and also to jump in with Lisa-Jo and link up.



If you are finding this blog today and you have experienced any kind of pregnancy loss, I also want to invite you to see my post from July 4^th – The Pain of Miscarriage. I’m doing a survey to help my research to put together a resource booklet for women who are experiencing miscarriage. Would love for you to take the survey if you feel led.

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great!" - Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own

One of my favorite quotes… one of my favorite actors… one of my favorite movies. If you are not as obsessed with baseball as I am, you may have missed “A League of Their Own.” It's Hollywood's version of the AAPGBL (All-American Girls Professional Baseball League), a women's baseball league set up during the war from the 1940s to the early 1950s. At one time in my life (about 15 years ago), I actually wanted to try out for the Colorado women’s professional baseball team. I know, crazy dream… one of many I have never chased.

Some recent things in my world have gotten me thinking more about this quote, and my mind has gone back to times in my life when I have let the “hard” keep me from going after my dreams. One in particular was during my freshman year at ECU. During the first couple of weeks of the semester, I actually went to the first day of tryouts for the tennis team. There were 6 of us trying out for 1 spot, and instead of giving it my all, I quit after the first day. Chicken.

Well, here I am again. I'm working toward something that God has called me to... and I'm scared to death. I feel like quitting... like I won't be ready in time. I'm having moments where I'm just not sure I can handle the warfare that I surely am about to face. But He keeps reminding me of the calling. Of the experiences in my life that have brought me to this moment. That I should keep pushing.

No more looking back. From this moment on, I cannot allow the "hard" of something to keep me from giving my all.

Sometimes, I feel like I just keep banging my head against the wall... 1 step forward, 2 steps back. The same mistakes. The same selfish ambitions. The same self-consuming thoughts. The same pride.

Over and over again...

This cycle seems too "hard" to break. And in my OWN strength, it is.

God never told us that His way would be easy. He only told us that He would see us through. HE alone is our strength. HE alone is our Creator and HE created each one of us with a purpose. If we are too afraid to go through the "hard," how can we really see His true purpose for our lives? This is a challenge to go forward... stop looking back... do what HE wants you to do, no matter how tough, no matter what it takes. The only way to true LIFE is to push on through the hard parts, letting HIM lead you! Don't be chicken!

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." - 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!" - Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)

The image is forever etched in my memory. It was implanted there a few weeks ago, and hasn’t left my mind since.

On that day, I was sitting at Krispy Kreme eating a doughnut (chocolate-covered, creme-filled, of course), when my eyes were suddenly drawn to a scene outside the front window. Two ladies, who looked to be in their 80s, sat at a table on the front patio. They were facing away from me, just chatting away about who knows what. Life? Love? What might have been? I couldn’t pull my gaze away. It was such a beautiful picture.

My thoughts immediately went to my best friend. I set my coffee down and smiled as I was reminded of all the “gotta get out of the house” trips for coffee we have enjoyed over the years. The conversations that have spontaneously occurred over our cups of coffee. The tough times we’ve shared. The joys we’ve shared. The day they told us they were probably moving… The text that said it was official… The day they packed everything into those moving trucks and changed their address to a different city.

Maybe a year ago, her husband and I were talking about a group of women at the church who have been the best of friends through many, many years… who are so in sync that they are just fun to watch when they are all together. And he said to me, “well, you know that’s how you guys are going to be.” I smiled at the notion… at that time believing they would “just always be here.”

So there at Krispy Kreme, in my “doughnut shop ladies” moment, I realized that I was losing something extremely valuable to me. Not losing completely… she didn’t move that far away. But at least losing things “the way they were.” The way I always expected them to be. She’s just not right up the road anymore. That “comfort zone” is gone.

Change and letting go of comfort zones is something that does not come easy to me. I would dare say it is tough for all of us. However, God calls us to move out of comfort zones. Even our friendships can become places of such comfort that we miss out on missions God has for our lives. Sometimes, He takes people out of our lives (or just moves them further away) because He is calling us to draw closer to Him. If we are too reliant on any other human in this world, we cannot be totally dependent on our Savior.

There will always be people with whom we relate the most… those like-minded kindred spirit type people who don’t come along every day. Those friends we love to “do ministry” and “do life” with. But sometimes God lets us share with and learn from each other for a time, so that He can then separate us and use us in different places. He never wants us to stay TOO comfortable. God wants us to rely completely on Him. And difficult as it may be, sometimes He has to pull our strongest comfort zones completely out from under us to accomplish His greater purposes.

Got a comfort zone in your life that you’re scared of losing? A person? A job? A place? Ask God to make you completely reliant on Him. Ask Him to pull your heart so close to Him, that NOTHING in this world can pull you away from His great purpose for your life!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the changing of the seasons. In the past six months or so, several seasons of my life have changed:

• I left work to come home and be a mommy;
• Joshua was born;
• Jeffrey graduated preschool;
• Because of changes at the church AND my not working there anymore, the sense of my “identity” in ministry has changed;
• My best friend moved away.

Accepting change has proven extremely difficult for me. I get stuck in comfort zones that seem to be missing the exits… at least in my mind.

Some days, Katherine goes to bed singing… then she wakes up singing. Definitely a music lover to the core. (I have NO idea where she gets that from!!) :o)

One day last week, in her cute little way, she couldn’t stop singing these lyrics… “Christ is risen from the dead. We are one with Him again. Come awake, come awake, come and rise up from the grave.” If you haven’t heard Christ Is Risen by Matt Maher… listen to it below. In fact, play it while you’re reading the rest of this post. Awesome!



So back to Katherine. After she sang the same lyrics several times, I decided to play the whole song for her on my iPhone. For the rest of the day, she would ask for it again and again with a big smile… “Play Come Awake, Mommy!” “I want to hear Come Awake!” You know what's funny? Come Awake is not the title of the song. Sometimes I think we should let the kids name the songs.

Think about what the lyrics are saying to us. So often, we remain in our guilt and shame. We take up residence. We dwell on the past. We dwell on the regrets. Yes, I do it, too. (By the way, if you missed my testimony as shared about a week ago, you can read it here on my friend Karen’s blog.)

This song has taught me that if I choose to stay in my guilt and shame, I am not doing what God has called me to do. Christ died and rose again so that we would “come awake” and live in the risen mindset. He doesn’t want us to stay dead in our sin… in our shame… in our regret. If we have truly repented, then He is calling us to wake up. To let go of the past and reach FORWARD! In the RISEN life! In Philippians 3:14, Paul calls us to “…press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

If we live defeated lives, we are useless for the kingdom.

How are you doing in the regret area? Have you realized that all of your past sin can now be turned around and used in others’ lives? Do you seek out opportunities for God to use you to help others move out of sinful patterns and lifestyles? Or are you still dwelling on the sin? If we try to forgive ourselves in our own strength, we will just stay in a defeated cycle. But with Christ in control, we can put the sin behind us so that we can come awake and live again. A new life! A new day! A new song!

Oh church! Come stand in the light!
The glory of God has defeated the night!
Our God is not dead! HE’S ALIVE! HE’S ALIVE! 

We can learn a lot from our kiddos. When I keep my eyes open, our little ones teach me something every day. They view life from an innocent perspective. A point-of-view that we grown-ups sometimes miss because of the doubt, regret, and fear in our lives. I'm thankful that God used our little girl to remind me to come awake!