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Beloved Music: A Gift for You

by with One Comment BlogCommunityFaith

There is barely a moment in each day that I am not listening to music.

When I write it’s instrumental Christian songs.

In my office I stream Ellie Holcomb or if I’m in an artsy mood, Norah Jones.

In my car it’s the local Christian radio station.  Sometimes I pop in an old CD of a band we met on the streets of Seattle on a family vacation.

On occasion I’ve been known to get a little too excited about Madonna, Adam Ant and Tracy Chapman.  They play the soundtracks of my teen years, along with Amy Grant, whose LP’s I played on my bedroom  turntable in my teens, using a hairbrush as my microphone.

There is nothing quite like music to soothe my soul and remind me of the truth of who I am:  eclectic, spiritual, spunky- a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.

And my very favorite selections remind me of who I am:  Beloved.

I’ve collected 40 songs that speak truth to me and I thought maybe you’d like to listen to them too.  Each speaks to my soul.  The collection is on Spotify.  Are you a follower?  If not, just download the free app to listen to the collection: a little gift to YOU!

A few lyrics from one of my favorites by Jordan Feliz:

Head full of questions, how can you measure up?
To deserve affection to ever be enough
For this existence
When did it get so hard?
Your heart is beating, alive and breathing
And there´s a reason why
You are essential, not accidental
And you should realize
You are beloved

Here’s a list of what you’ll find: just click here to listen!

Enjoy! Let me know which ones speak to you.

Blessings,

Amy, Blue Jean Girl

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Finding Community

by with 3 Comments BlogCommunity

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I have a circle of women to “do” life with. We have  trudged through the ups and downs of motherhood, milestones, joys, and losses.  We are call-in-the-middle-of-the-night, get-the-same-tattoo kinda gals. (Yes, there are 6 of us with a “sisterhood” symbol on our ankles. We’ll be able to track each other down in the retirement home someday.)

These women have loved me at my best, worst, and all the places in between.  I have tried to do the same for them. They are my people, my tribe, my sisters.

Community is hard.  It’s messy.

And it takes intention and a whole lot of vulnerability and forgiveness to keep loving each other through all our humanness.

Something I’ve realized through writing and connecting with women online is that so many do not have these sisterhoods.  We move a lot or are isolated by illness or fear or just the busyness of life.  Most write to me that they don’t have church doors that swing wide open to greet them on Sundays, a girlfriend to help pack boxes when they are in the process of moving, or a familiar face that shows up in the hospital room before surgery (with a gift of leopard pajamas.)

Women are more connected than ever with devices and social media. But loneliness is rampant.

InCourage Community Groups are one way women are reaching out to each other, using social media to do what it was intended to do all along:  connect us.

I’ve been part of an (in)courage writing group and it has bolstered me in ways I needed as I got brave in the writing world.

 

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So this time around I’ve teamed up with another writer friend to lead an online group. Tammy and I (attempted) a little vlog to tell you a bit about our new tribe which will begin connecting next week and can be found here.  Our group is specifically for women without a church community, but there are options with {in}courage groups for every season of life.

Find one and go introduce yourself.

Even if you’re blessed like I am with a strong network where you are, extend your circle.  We are always better together.

{And oh…if you could see the hyena-laughter in the blooper reel on this one?~~ priceless.  Thanks for grace as 2 non-tech savvy ladies try to get real up in here}:

 

p.s. You do not need to be a writer. No matter what your passion or season in life may be, there is an (in)couragers community group for you. There are over 70 groups to choose from. I invite you to join me and many other women by registering today for the encouragement our hearts all need. You will be blessed.

To view all the community groups and pick one that’s just right for you, click here.

Our group for “Women Outside a Church Community” can be found here.

 

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A Gift of Story

by with No Comment BlogFaith

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Photo credit to Cindee Snider Re

“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul. When writers make us shake our heads with the exactness of their prose and their truths, and even make us laugh about ourselves or life, our buoyancy is restored. We are given a shot at dancing with, or at least clapping along with, the absurdity of life, instead of being squashed by it over and over again. It’s like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can’t stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship.”

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

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Friends, behind the scenes of the blog I’ve been working on a few writing projects.
Things that make my heart skip and the keyboard clack and my insides flip a little.
In a good way.

I’m really excited to share one of these projects with you today~
I have a little story published here and assisted in the layout and editing of this FREE gift to the Outside the City Gate community. I love the connections and sharing that is happening over there~ the people and words are gifts to me.  And we’d like to invite you in, too.

The Book:

“We have woven together a mosaic of words and combined them with photography to create a FREE eBook. And this book, a labor of love, a collaboration voices, is not us standing in our Sunday-best, but writers and artists gathering the truthful pieces of ourselves, our stories, and giving them away. We offer them with the sincere hope that you might recognize some of your own story in the collection.

So we reach out today, to give ourselves~ the raw and truthful words set against a backdrop of photos. We have other plans for this book down the road, but our first priority is to share it freely with anyone who is part of this growing community: Because any gift of words or perspective comes from HIM alone. So, from us, to YOU~ please take our words, our gift. We hope you’ll see some of your own story in them.”

blog_397090_2374814_1395189811Click here to read a bit more about the book and request your FREE copy.

The other talented writers you’ll find in these pages:

Duane Scott
Tammy Hendricksmeyer
Diane Bailey
Nacole Simmons
Beth Stiff
David Rupert
Kelli Woodford
photography by Cindee Snider Re

So hop on over and grab your copy..  I know you’ll be blessed by these honest stories of faith from the backroads.

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So God Made a Teacher

by with One Comment BlogFaithFeaturedMost Popular Posts

Paul Harvey gave the world a great gift when he made his “So God Made a Farmer” speech at the Future Farmer’s of America Convention in 1978.

In 2013, his words became a Superbowl Commercial for Dodge.   It touched my Midwestern-raised heart.

My grandfather was a farmer, my uncle is a farmer, and surely my cousin will be: A Farmer.

Missed that commercial ? Watch it here.

Mr. Harvey’s words are true and rhythmic and were my inspiration for this piece. Whether you are a home school, public school, private school, college, or preschool teacher: This is for you.

Because in the same way that God knew his land needed to be tended, he knew the hearts of children would need  to be held and mended. So God made a teacher. Here’s my version.  I’m no Paul Harvey… but I did my best.

And on the 8th day, God looked down on His children, big and small, and said  “I need a caretaker.” So God made a teacher.

God said, ” I need somebody willing to plan and pray before dawn, love without limits over and over, to teach language arts in grade school and algebra to college students.

I need people to spend all day next to chalkboards and PowerPoints, to plan and grade for hours, eat dinner quickly, and then work past midnight.  I need folks at school productions and football games and to bump into students at the grocery store.”

[Tweet “So God made a teacher.”]

“I need somebody with arms strong enough to hold the egos of young men, yet gentle enough to wipe the tears of preschoolers.

I need protectors brave enough to be heroes when tragedy strikes.”

So God made a teacher.

It had to be somebody to encourage, advocate, and challenge.  Despite the backdrop.  Whether it be in the classroom, on the college campus, or in the preschool parking lot. Someone to stand in the common areas: in the hallways and at recess,  to notice all the things kids of all sizes try to hide.

God said “I need someone to be the only hug that child of mine receives when she finishes 2nd grade.”  And someone to high-five that freshman boy who thinks he doesn’t want a hug. Someone who tells each of them to “come back real soon to visit.” And means it.

So God made a teacher.

God said “I need somebody willing to sit in the bleachers and in the auditorium and watch that girl try to find herself on the stage and on the volleyball court. To watch her almost make the cut, over and over.  Then dry her eyes and say: “Maybe next year.”

I need somebody who can scoop goldfish into toddler’s hands and shape an insecure boy with no father figure into someone self-confident enough to tackle college.  Someone who can make a basketball team out of gangly self-centered boys, with nothing but an old gym, numbered shirts and no budget.

So God made a teacher.

Someone who, from July’s pre-planning to the last spring pep-rally will finish a full year’s worth of work by the first of June.  Then,  during what parents refer to as their “summer vacation,” put in another 200 hours planning, purchasing, and praying for their next students.

So God made a teacher.

God had to have somebody willing to ride the buses on field trips and to get pencils and scissors for those who couldn’t afford them or whose parents simply forgot.  Someone empathetic enough to stop and turn after seeing a hurt feeling form on a child’s face on field day.

So God made a teacher.

God said, ” I need somebody strong enough to teach young minds to subtract and divide with pencils while multiplying the love in their hearts. Someone who will stop all of her planning for a day to decorate desks and doors for Valentine’s Day.”

It had to be somebody who would read them “Goodnight Moon” and “The Great Gatsby” and make them fall in love with Shakespeare. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, and rake their self-esteem.  Someone to plant seeds in little styrofoam cups and replenish their snacks and lunch money and their souls and finish a hard week’s work with a twenty-mile drive to a graduation party.   Somebody who’d weave a class of misfits  together with the soft, strong bonds of sharing.

Someone who would laugh,  and then wink at parents, and reply, “I know” with understanding eyes, when their student says: “I’m leaving for college and won’t miss this place a bit.”

So God made a teacher.