For the Love... of a Launch Team

It’s been just over a week since I went to Austin, TX.  I have been through there several times, but I’d never really stopped.  But this visit wasn’t just to sightsee.  I traveled from Nashville, TN to Austin, TX for a party.  But this wasn’t just any party.  It was a book launch party for Jen Hatmaker’s For The Love. 

Jen Hatmaker is the author of 11 books

                                    

However, this journey didn’t really start a week ago.  No, it actually started last March.  I had finished Jen’s book Interrupted and started to follow her on Facebook and Twitter.  That’s when I saw her post about applying to join her Launch Team.  I’d applied for a couple teams before but never got on.  I figured I’d go ahead and apply.  After all, Interrupted had been amazing.

Then another amazing thing happened.  I was picked.  I didn’t find out until later that 5000 people applied and only 500 were chosen.  I was part of this group.  I received an advanced digital copy of the book and later a hard copy advanced book.  I also joined a private Facebook group, a community. 

Launch Team love because who doesn't love swag.

                                     

Of course in March, I didn’t know that.  I really didn’t understand much about it at all.  It started small.  Most people posted about the book, parts they liked, quotes, etc.  Then a few started posting about their life, funny stories about their children, pictures, etc.  Before long, people started sharing prayer requests, life stories, and struggles.

In the months that followed we became friends and prayer warriors.  This little group of women (and 4 men) became a community.  They knit together to lift members up in prayer and also we started to gather in small groups all over the country.  People lived out the gospel, as well as the central message of the book we were launching:  Grace. 

When a sister posted about a need, there was response.  Those who could give, gave.  Those who couldn’t be there physically prayed.  Groceries were given.  Refuge was given.  Travel to the launch party was given.  A car was given.  And that is just the physical stuff.  Support was given for those who were having difficulty in marriages, difficulty in raising children, taking care of parents, ministry needs.  Friends were made who’d never met in real life.

It was a safe place for people who were searching, for people who’d been hurt, for people who needed a safe place.

Then a week ago, over 200+ of these women converged on Austin, TX.  I was a scholarship kid.  I didn’t have an FTLBFF (For The Love Best Friend Forever).  I really didn’t know what to expect.  I was flying to Austin alone, in a shirt emblazoned with the book title, in hopes of running into some of my FTL sisters in the airport.  And I did.

All alone at the Austin airport, waiting on my FTL sisters.

                                 

I also made some really great friendships over the course of the weekend.  I was challenged to get out of my comfort zone and I was able to introvert a little, too.  Sure, we did some sightseeing and some shopping.  We even went to the main event, the party at Jen Hatmaker’s house!  And we did church together on Sunday. But those things seem small in comparison to what really happened over the weekend.  Our community, which had largely been online, met.  We came together.  We hugged.  We loved.

Just a few of the beautiful women I was blessed to spend time with.

                                         

Faces I recognized and those that I didn’t came together with stories that’d been shared over the course of several months.  I was able to hug and talk to those who I’d been praying for and hear about continued requests and answered prayers.

I didn’t engage a lot (#ambivertproblems), but I observed a lot.  I still want to cry when I think about it, when I think about the things that were shared during that weekend, barbeque and donuts, tears and laughs, fears and joys, bread and wine, love and grace.

Just a few of the ladies (seriously).

                               

I still struggle with putting it all into words.  A week later and I still don’t think I’ve processed what all it means and how it has affected me, even as I’m awakened by texts from my new FTLBFF’s and praying for my FTL sisters. 

Food + Great ladies = An amazing time.

                                   

And if I can’t completely comprehend what has happened here in this place, I don’t know how to share it with others.  Other than showing them.  Loving them.  Giving grace as freely as it has been given to me.

                                   

Meeting Jen was great.  She was the one that brought us together.
But in the end, this was just a small part of an amazing time.

                               

Why Wednesday? Homeschool

Why We Homeschool?

Now, here’s a topic for discussion, right?  There are so many opinions on schooling.  I know that this is a hot topic, so please bear with me.  This may be long and you may not agree.  I am fully aware that how and where you school your child is a personal choice (even how each homeschooler schools is a debate and a topic for another day).  I merely want to try to explain why we do what we do.

When Chas turned 5, we were living in Springfield, MO.  Since his birthday was in April, I knew he’d be starting school that following September.  I started looking at the school he’d be attending and I couldn’t believe that such a milestone was already upon us.  There was no question in my mind about where or how he would be schooled.

So one day, when the Hubs came home, I started talking to him and telling him about all that we needed to do in the coming months to get him ready for school and talking about this school and all that I’d already found out.  He stopped me cold in my tracks and said that he thought we should homeschooling.  I could NOT believe what I was hearing.  Homeschooling was something that weird families did and only produced weird, antisocial children.  How could he suggest such?!

And on top of that, how on earth could I teach our child the things he needed to learn in school?  How does one teach a child to read?  Or that 2+2=4?  I just wasn’t equipped for that.  After 5 years, I still wasn’t convinced that I was cut out for mothering, now he wanted me to teach him ALL THE THINGS?  So, my answer was simple and firm.  I said, “No.”  There was no room for discussion and no changing my mind.  I didn’t want to hear reasons or direction from God.  My answer was No and that was it.  (It’s one of 2 times in the past 16 years of marriage that this has happened.)

Nathan didn’t push me, but he did continue to pray.  As we investigated the school and found it less than desirable, he still didn’t say anything.  We kept moving forward in that direction because in my mind, there was no other option.  Our son was school age and he would go to the public school we were zoned for.  That’s just what you did.

However, God had other plans and He even worked around my stubbornness.  He moved us from Springfield, MO to Gallatin, TN.  While in Gallatin, we ran into the same problem with a less than desirable public school.  But another option presented itself in the form of a small private, Christian, church school.  We couldn’t really afford it, but they school was small and in true Christian manner, they worked with us.  Nathan even taught classes there to supplement tuition.

I won’t say that Chas got the best education there, but he did do well and learn the things that a kindergartner and first grader should learn.  From there, we continued to move around and God continued to provide good private school options (except for one semester in a public school in CA, but even that was redeemed!).  Chas attended private and mostly Classical schools.

But at one of those schools he was so bullied that my heart was torn in two.  He was hit in one place on his arm until the kids drew blood.  He was so distraught that he once told me that he didn’t even want to live anymore.  I was DONE.  We were in an area where there were no other options.  It was through this that the Lord put homeschooling back in my mind and fostered it in my heart.  I didn’t care if I would be a great teacher.  I didn’t care about my fears of my inadequacies.  My baby was being hurt and it had to stop.  I was finally ready.  Scared out of my mind, but I was ready.  But God being who and what He is, still provided and we found a different (and amazing!) school.

Yet, that homeschooling burden didn’t go away.  So, when Nathan came home one day and told me that he was getting out of the Navy (the 2^nd time I said, “No.”) and moving back to Tennessee, I knew that we were going to homeschool when we got there.  And I was able to prepare.  I spoke to MANY families that homeschool, both Christian families who homeschool for theological reasons and military families who homeschool for practical reasons.

The ultimate reason that we homeschool is because I believe that it is my job to educate my child.  It is a command that we are given in Scripture.  Some do this by sending their child to a public or private school.  We choose to do this at home because if I am accountable for what he learns and how he learns it, then I want to do the best job I can.  I don’t think that will happen at a public school in the current and present culture that we live in.  There is just as much indoctrination that happens as true education and we must be aware.  Instead of working to counteract even the most subtle of errors, we’ve chosen to completely remove the problem.

I’ve had to repent for saying “No” in the beginning and I’ve grieved for the time we lost.  However, I am thankful that even in my rebellion that God redeemed it and gave Chas an amazing education.  I would advise anyone who has a child that is school aged to pray for what it is that God would have you do concerning your child and their education.  Don’t spend time worrying about whether you are competent or what others might say.  Choose what is best for him/her, whatever that might be.

For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards

Today is a very special day.  Jen Hatmaker's new book, For the Love, comes out today.  I have been privileged to read an advanced copy of this book and I must say that it is amazing.  As a person who is struggling to figure out exactly what it means to seek the Kingdom, this book spoke straight to my heart.  

Jen examines the life of the individual, the church, and community.  She speaks honestly about her struggles with the people of God and those in her own family (Parenting! For the Love!).  She takes an open look at the issues that we struggle with as we try to be women who do it all, have it all, and be it all, perfectly.

The beauty of this book is that even though Jen speaks about the tough issues that we face and forces you to dig deep into your own life and thoughts, she also gives you a little break and offers comical respites, such as her own personal Jimmy Fallon-esque Thank You Notes.  Just when you are about to cry your eyes out because you know that she wrote that passage with you in mind, she jumps to fashion crimes and you begin to cry with laughter!

This book is a great way to begin to have those tough conversations with those around you, in your home, in your community, in your life.  It helps us to start figuring out what this life is all about and how it should be lived - For the Love!

This post is part of Jen Hatmaker's "For the Love" Blog Tour which I am delighted to be a part of along with many other inspiring bloggers.  To learn more and join us, click here.

Why Wednesday? Clean Eating/Whole Foods

Why Whole Foods/Clean Eating?

Just to clear things up, I don’t mean Whole Foods Market, though I do tend to shop there.  No, today I’m talking about why I eat the way I do, or at least try to.  There is no simple answer to this question.  I can’t talk about the way I eat without talking about the whole of life.

To start, I think I have to answer the question of why eat at all?  What is the purpose of eating?  We eat to sustain ourselves.  Better said, we eat to live.  Without food, we can’t be sustained.  What follows is what kind of life to you want?  I want a healthy life, therefore I want to eat healthy.

Eating healthy means different things to different people.  I have friends and family that believe that if it says “healthy” “low fat/calorie” or “good for you” on the label or on tv, then it must, in fact, be healthy.  What those labels mean to me is that they’ve probably taken the really heathy parts and replaced them with things to make it taste better or last longer.  That is why I try to eat ‘clean’ or ‘whole foods.’

Clean eating is basically the premise that you eat things that are processed as little as possible or have few ingredients.  I am not a strict adherent to this principle, so if that’s what you are into or if you want more info on that kind of life, I’d suggest you go here.  She’s got some great info and some recipes that are AMAZING!

I believe that the reason that we have so many health problems in our country is because we tend to lack food in our food.  There are so many preservatives, processed, and synthetic parts in our food that it rarely resembles what it’s actually supposed to be.  Try looking at a normal bottle of fruit juice.  To me, the only ingredient should be the fruit, right?  However, that is rarely the case.  Look at a jar of pickles.  You know what it takes to make a jar of pickles?  Cucumbers, pickling spices, vinegar, and water.  Do you know what the common ingredients in a store bought jar of pickles?  Cucumbers, water, vinegar, salt, calcium chloride, sodium benzoate, polysorbate 80, natural flavors, and yellow #5.

With the modern invent of so many convenience foods in our country, from fast food drive thrus to grocery store prepared food sections, we have lost the nutrients in our food.  That’s why we need vitamins, supplements, and drugs to solve problems that could be solved by returning to a diet that actually contains those vitamins and nutrients.

So, that is why I eat clean/whole foods.  When I can.  Because just like everyone else in the world, I don’t always have the time to bake my own bread (I do it when I can) or squeeze my own orange juice, or pickle my own pickles.  I fall prey to the modern conveniences, too.  But that is why it is so important that you read labels and choose wisely.  Perhaps you have to buy spaghetti sauce instead of making your own, read the labels and make a good choice.  Stay away from high sugars and a multiplicity of ingredients (especially if you can’t recognize or pronounce them!). 

Because in the end, all we can do is the best we can.  Make good, healthy choices when we can.  And this helps in those times when we can’t.  Our body was made to heal itself.  So if we are able to eat as clean and whole as possible 75% of the time, then our body will work to repair any damage that is caused when we run through the McDonald’s drive thru during the remaining 25% of time.  Food is meant to sustain us, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it.  We just have to make sure that it is in it's proper place and that we are being good stewards of self and others.

Friday Favorites...

Well, it's that time again.  I'd like to share just a few of favorite things...

1. Alone - I don't know if you know about the History channel's new reality survival series, but it is AWESOME!  We just happened upon it while on vacation.  It's like Survivor, but without other people.  If Survivor is an experiment in sociology, then Alone is an experiment in psychology.  10 men were dropped in the wilderness of Vancouver Island, Canada with 10 items (of their choosing) and cameras to document their journey.  After one week, 6 guys tapped out, but now we're down to the final 4 (all the ones I picked at the onset!) and they've been out there for over a month!  I can't wait to see who wins.

2.  Fitbit - I just got one of these little contraptions for my birthday (yay!).  It's a little wiggy to think of a bracelet that keeps track of your activity and sleep, but it is a pretty cool thing to be able to track these things.  I'm really trying to get fit and healthy and I'll take all the help I can get.

3. Paper Towns - Chas and I went to see this for my birthday (yay!).  I haven't read the book.  I really did mean to, but I haven't been much into fiction lately.  I know that the movie deviated from the book quite a bit, however, I thought it was great.  I won't give too much of the plot away but it you have a teen, it's a great watch for them and adults alike.

4.  Air conditioners - Yeah, I know that I said last week that I like the weather and I still stand by that while I"m standing comfortably by an air conditioner.  Last week I went to a picnic at the park with my parents and their church and there aren't enough adjectives to describe the deluge of sweat that was continually pouring off of me.  Summer by the Mississippi River = heat + humidity.  Now in addition to the indoor variety, I'm pretty excited about the fact that my AC in my car is now blowing those icy cold streams of air, too.

5.  For the Love - I know, I know.  It was on the list last week, but that was just the preorder.  Now, you can actually go to Barnes & Noble and buy it BEFORE it is released.  Not every B&N have it out, but you can check yours.  I found it in mine.  (BONUS:  If you flip to the back you can see a list of all the Launch Team members!)

These are just a few things that have caught my eye this week, what's on your favorite lists?

Why Wednesday? Blogging...

If you have children or have ever really been around a child, you know that phase where they continuously and relentlessly ask questions.  And usually no matter how far from that original question you get, it always ends up devolving into that 3-letter word that can keep the game going indefinitely:  Why?

That game tortured me when Chas was little, but I have to say that it also made me think about a lot of things that I’d never really thought about before or at least not to that extent.  Why are chicken nuggets this shape?  Why is it important to wash your hair?  Why do we call it a pair of pants when it’s a single item?

With that in mind, I’ve decided to start a series of sorts.  I want to explore some of the mundane and the profound in life in Why Wednesday?  Some topics may be silly and some may delve a bit deeper, but all are made so that I can tackle some of my beliefs and find out Why?  Why do I believe that?  Why do I watch that?  Why don’t I do that?

Today, I wanted to start off with something a bit on the lighter side and try to explain: 

Why I Blog?

I’ve always enjoyed writing.  It has been therapeutic for me.  I think it must somehow run in my genes, because I can remember as a child watching my sister work consistently on poems and screenplays and stories in the bedroom we shared.  She even went to school for it.  Most of my early writing was fiction and I even collaborated with a friend where we’d pass off a notebook and write a long story involving the teachers and classmates we encountered.  I still have a lot of those files that I would transcribe on my computer.  However, they are on discs that no longer work on modern computers (I’m old, y’all).

Writing stories, like reading stories, gave a way to escape and enter a completely made up world.  When I wrote the stories, I got to create that world. 

Today, I still write a fiction story or work on an old one every once in a while.  And I vow to one day participate in NaNoWriMo.  However, I’ve realized that as I have gotten older, I have a lot more to say about the world I currently live in than the fictional ones I created.  I have thoughts and opinions and ideas.  I took to social media for a while and that was fine, but I realized that that wasn’t the best medium to say all that I wanted to say.  And it certainly wasn’t great for long detailed posts or delicate opinions.

I had just a couple of friends that wrote blogs and I read a couple that I really enjoyed.  I wanted to enter that arena.  I wanted to put my words out there, too.  I wanted to be able to bear my heart and say the things that were on my mind and relevant to the world I lived in.

Ultimately I blog because it helps me.  It gets me out of my head a bit and allows me to say the things that are often bottled up in me with no way out.  I blog because I enjoy it.  Someday it would be great if I had a large readership and it’d be even greater if I could make money at this, but really I blog first for myself.  And I hope that maybe someday something I write might help someone else.  As one of my (few) blogging friends once told me, “Blogging is good for the soul.”

August Books?

Anyone who has followed be for very long, knows my love of books.  And lists.  So it totally makes sense for me to make a list of books that I want to read for the year, right?  So I did.  And I did really well, for a few months.  But I am so sad to say that I have pretty much abandoned my list.

I've still been reading some, but I haven't followed much of my list for several months.  I've actually had several books cross my path that I had to read, such as For The Love by Jen Hatmaker.  But I've also had a couple cross my path that I just needed to read, like Kevin Yancey's What's so Amazing About Grace?  Both were amazing and I would highly recommend them.

Last month I came across The Hole in Our Holiness by Kevin DeYoung.  I started it immediately.  I am just beginning it (and haven't made enough time for it), but I love it.  I think I am on quite a personal journey exploring righteousness, holiness, and grace and the inner-working of all those things together.

Even with my major deviation from my list, I'm not chucking it out just yet.  Perhaps I'll return to it at some point this year.  I'm not ready to call it a failure, just yet.  I have to remember that the point of my list is to keep me reading.  My goal was 24 books this year.  This doesn't seem overly ambitious to me.  I have friends that will read double that by year end.  I just want to make sure that I am continuing to feed my mind and being challenged.

So, what are you reading?  What has caught your eye this year?