On Mentoring

As I begin to write about mentoring, I wonder why you are choosing to read it.  Are you longing for someone to mentor you - to help you figure out how to figure out how to do this life that seems more complicated the older you get?  Or are you wondering how to be a mentor - seeking guidance about how to get started or what to do next?  More than likely it's the first set of reasons.  We all long to have a mentor, but cannot imagine ever feeling put together enough to be a mentor.

This past semester our church college ministry (Yay, CCO!) invited church members to mentor a student or two.  One young woman, requested me specifically as a mentor, so I was approached and asked to do so.  Friends, I am the kind of person who wants to help everybody all the time everywhere.  I know that I cannot do so, and have been in a season of saying "no" to a lot of things.  But I knew this was supposed to be a YES!  We were paired up, and the church provided us with a wonderful little book called The Gospel-Centered Life to work through together through the spring semester.

Let me tell you why this book was so wonderful: it hurt!  Every chapter and activity not only probed my mentee's heart, but it cut through my defenses as well.  Together we shared about our sin, where we get tripped up most often, what embarrasses us, how hard some of our relationships are.  Apart we tried putting into practice things we were learning, because we knew God had good in store for us and we have confidence that He can transform us.  Together we would marvel at the goodness of God and the beauty of the Gospel.  Apart we'd pray for one another and send texts during the week to encourage one another or just to say, "Hey, friend!"

And that's the best thing I learned through this mentoring experience!  When God invites us into someone's life as a mentor, it's not about dumping our life-experience or knowledge into them from a distance.  It's about sharing life together in an intentional way.  It's about being the real you, so together you get to see that God is at work in the ordinary and through the imperfect folks He calls to be His own.

Your church may not have an official mentoring program, but I know there's a gal or a guy (if you're a male reading this) out there who would love it if you'd invite them out for coffee or over for dinner (or whatever dudes like to do).  How desperately we all want to know and be known by another; we spend so much time in this life pretending.  Someone coming along behind you wants a relationship with someone a few steps ahead of them to run alongside them and cheer them on.

I'll leave the prompting and the details up to the Holy Spirit, but in summary, here's the deal:

• To be a mentor, all you need to be is YOU.  I firmly believe you are the best at that!

• To be a mentor, you don't even need to use the word mentor.  Simply pursue a relationship intentionally.

• To be a mentor, walk with the Lord yourself each day.  He provides all we need to grab the hand of another and sojourn from here into eternity, or at least for a semester!

• To be a mentor, an outside resource can be a great help.  My friend and I are going to read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis "together" while she's home with her family this summer.

K, all!  I don't have time to really proofread this, so it is what it is!  Haha.  Have a blessed day and may the Lord lead you to that person or group of people who need a relationship with you, for the sake of the King and His kingdom.

30 Days of Encouragement {Day 26}: Giving

Since it is a holiday, I'll be brief!  I hope you have all had great days with your family and/or friends.  We had a deep conversation about different types of toilet paper over our delicious meal.  Bet you're sad to have missed out on that.  Let me know if you need any recommendations.

In thinking about encouraging one another and how the five love languages can give us ideas, we find gift giving and acts of service on the list.  The two are different, but similar.  Giving someone a gift, at least from my perspective, is not that much different from doing something for them.  That is, after all, a gift of help to them. Yesterday I talked about the helping part, so today it's GIVING.

How perfect that this post falls on ThanksGIVING!  Cool, right?  I didn't even plan that.  We are spending today giving thanks to God for all His provision, protection, and love for us.  And we can also think about ways we can give to others to encourage them.

Obviously a well-timed and carefully chosen present can encourage another.  Love is communicated in the giving.  There are other ways to encourage by giving, as well.  Here are a few that come to mind:

Food  Taking a meal to a grieving family, one who has just welcomed a new child, or is in transition can offer great encouragement and also builds relationships.  It is incredible what a gift food can be!  A friend of mine even brought me a fantastic snack bag at the hospital after our third was born.  I have copied her gesture on several occasions.  I mean, who doesn't want a Snickers when they're nourishing another human! 

A Hug or a Hand Hold These are free and come to us with varying degrees of ease, but what a gift a hug can be.  In some discouraging and sad seasons of life a hug offers both physical upholding as well as soul up-lifting.  If you feel the urge to give someone a hug who sure seems to need it, go for it.  Or ask if it's okay and then hug away if they say yes.  We're not a touchy culture, but sometimes we need to break through that to offer encouragement. 

Mission Support  A final thought that I had on the "giving" encouragement front was monetary support to missionaries or people going on short-term mission trips.  This can be an immense encouragement to those headed out to our on the front lines of ministry in challenging places on the globe.  When offered the opportunity, give as you are able, and pray.  You will certainly be an encouragement to the missionary with your generousity.

I am sure you can think of other ways that by giving you can encourage one another.  These are the few that came to mind as I was considering the topic.  I am reminded of a story in 2 Corinthians 8 about the poor churches of Madeconia bursting at the seams to be generous and to share with believers in other places.  They were motivated by God's love for them.  And Paul writes to the Corinthians,

Just as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in your love for us - see that you also excel in this grace of giving.  (8:7)

Let's excel in this grace of giving, friends: Giving thanks to God the Father on this Thanksgiving day and giving eagerly of all He has provided for us, in order to encourage one another!

Speaking of GIVING,  don't forget to drop a comment if you want to be included in the giveaway!

*****Click here for details. *****

30 Days of Encouragement {Day 23}: Get in Touch

This is the final week of a month-long series.  Start here to find out what it is all about.

I think we're in the fun part of this series.  How about you?  The part where ideas are shared and you can try out the "encourage one another" thing in a variety of ways.  On Saturday I shared about the importance of getting together and spending time with people to encourage them.  Today's topic is similar, but focused more on communicating with the "another" you are trying to encourage, rather than being physically present with them.  You can encourage one another by getting in touch!

In our super slick modern age, there are so many ways we can be in touch.  Messages are constantly flying over the airwaves and through miles of wire, but I wonder what percentage of them are intentionally sent to encourage?  A message sent in love, with words carefully chosen to build up the other person and point them to Christ, will stand out and light a fire in a soul.  Or a phone call made with the purpose of listening, while asking a few direct questions, can change the course of someone's day, or life, to God's glory.

Our means of communication these days include phone calls, text messages, emails, and (my favorite) handwritten letters.  Any of these means of communication can convey to the receiver, Hey, I was thinking of YOU, yes you.  I want to know how YOU are doing.  I want to know how I can  pray for you and hear about what's going on in your life. YOU matter in this crazy world and God loves you and will help you, guide you, teach you, and sustain you.  And I love YOU, you're important to me, too.

It does not have to complicated to communicate that much.  For example, on a beautiful evening recently one of my local friends  sent me a text that simply said, SUNSET.  Can't get much briefer than one word, can you?  But what was communicated in that was, I know you and our mutual affection for gorgeous sunsets and God's beautiful creation.  I thought of YOU while I was admiring the sunset and wanted to make sure you did not miss it.  Yep, I got all that from one word!  What was super fun, to me, was that I had pointed out the beauty of the sunset to the kids not moments before that text beeped its way into my phone.  We were about an hour from home, admiring the same beauty as my friend!

Personally, I believe that snail mail and phone calls are particularly meaningful in this day and age of quick messages and rapid making of plans.  You can go a little deeper and/or hear tones in a way you might miss from a hastily typed message.  They also demand a setting aside of time that is different and intentional.  But as you can see from my story, a simple text can also communicate love and care, too!

Today choose one of these means of getting in touch and do so.  Ask the Lord to bring someone to mind that He can use you to encourage today.  Then plan to do so in the next day or so.  How much power the Lord has given us to spur one another on toward love and good deeds ... encouraging one another -- and all the more as we see the Day approaching.  (Hebrews 10: 24 -25)  His love for us, remember, is our reason to lift one another up.  His Spirit in us is our strength and guide for living out His love in the world.

30 Days of Encouragement {Day 21}: Get Together

Click here to learn what this series is all about.

This is the day, friends!  We're in to the "how" of encouragement.  For the rest of the series I will offer practical ideas for encouraging others.  Our last day on the topic will be Monday, November 30.  There will be a giveaway and everything!  Till then we'll march through a list of ways we can encourage one another.

Our neighbor's front porch, a widow who invited us on our first Halloween here to cove visit any time.

As Crabb and Allender say, words that encourage are motivated by love and directed at fear.  And much of our ability to really encourage another person will depend on the quality of our words spoken to them.  But there are also many other ways we can encourage that surround and support the truth of the words that will come out of our mouths or fingers, if the words are being written.

When I think about encouraging others and wanting it to be useful, genuine encouragement, my mind wanders to Gary D. Champman's thoughts about the five love languages.  In his book, he suggests that there are five broad categories of how people feel the most loved and express love to others: gift giving, acts of service, words of affirmation, physical touch, and quality time.  You'll have to read the book - it's a quick read - to get the full picture, but these categories helped me to think about various ways we can encourage one another.  We'll being today with quality time.

When I did an informal survey on Facebook about what encourages people, several mentioned the importance of people spending time with them.  We certainly all feel unloved if no one wants to hang out with us!  And, I venture to guess, that most of us are encouraged when someone wants to use some of their limited time to be with us.  We can sincerely encourage another person by having and/or making time to be with them.  

This takes effort, fitting under the Availability for Ministry category and making margins in one's life.  Do you know people in your sphere of influence who could us a visit or with whom  you need to make a coffee date?  Perhaps there is a widow down the street.  Maybe you need to invite an acquaintance over to get to know them better.  Are there other folks in your life who desperately need the encouragement of quality time, devoted to them and their well-being, to lift them up?

I am sure we all know at least one.

Do not be concerned about what is outside your ability or sphere of influence.  Think today about making space to get together with whomever God brings to mind when you ask Him to whom you can be an encouragement.  Consider what questions you can ask to know them better and what words you might use to encourage them when you are together.  The goal is not to be a perfect encourager, but to be a faithful one, who seizes the opportunities the Lord places in your way!

For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.  I Thessalonians 5:9-11

30 Days of Encouragement {Day 6}: Discouraging Circumstances

Click here to go to the introductory post in this series.

Today seems like a good day to get ourselves thinking about situations in which people find themselves needing encouragement.  It’s my growing conviction that everyone can use encouragement at any time, and if we listen carefully and ask good questions, we can get to know people better and be and encouragement to them.  But there are also more obvious times and situations in life when people find themselves needing encouragement.   Can you think of some?

I will not be able to come up with a complete list, so feel free to pitch in other thoughts the comments section.  Here are circumstances that can be discouraging:

• Grieving a loss of a loved one
• Starting/trying something new
• Unemployment or other financial trial
• Moving
• Having a new baby or an adoption
• Challenges with kids during different stages
• Caring for aging parents
• Marriage troubles
• When a spouse is deployed
• Any kind of unexpected change in circumstances

A list like this is helpful, because it can be a trigger for our brains.  Do you have a family member, friend, church member, neighbor, even acquaintance in one of these situations?  Then you can ask the Lord, Lord, how can you encourage this person through me?  Part of being an encourager is being on the look out for opportunities.  All of the above situations are great times to check in with people, ask questions, and offer support in word, deed, or company.

Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.

Honor one another above yourselves.

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer

Share with God's people who are in need.

Practice hospitality.

Romans 12:9-13

*     *     *

Tomorrow I give my little talk on Encouraging One Another, then I will start sharing all of that with you, in pieces.  Yeah!  I'd appreciate your prayers for the other speakers and me as we speak and the mothers who will gather tomorrow here in Collinsville, IL for the inaugural A Mom's Heart day-conference.  Learn more about what we're doing and who the speakers are here.

Photo Credit

Open for 2015 {Week 42}

You might be wondering what the "Open for 2015" series is about if you are new to Life in the Valley.  (Welcome, by the way, I am glad you are here!)  The initial post in the series was at the beginning of the year; I had asked God to give me a theme word for the year and OPEN was the on that rose to the surface.  I have been blogging about it regularly, to give myself accountability and to invite you to think about being OPEN with me.  You can read the first post here.

Meditating on being OPEN has opened my eyes to how closed I can be, to God and to others, but it has also been incredible to see how often the theme has come up.  Even this week in his sermon, the visiting pastor said, "OPEN YOUR LIVES!"  And I was like,  Okay, okay, God.  I will keep listening, keep blogging, and endeavor to love and serve you openly!

Today I'm still catching up a little on some OPEN things that have stood out over the last month.  Late summer and fall derailed my bi-weekly blogging, but I am getting back on track.  In fact, November is really fun because I blog daily every November around a single theme.  More on that later, though.  For this blost (that's my condensed word for blog post) I'm going to talk about the importance of remembering.

Do you ever find yourself in a difficult situation or emotional space and all you can envision is a future of despair and turmoil?  If you don't, I want to hang out with you and let your optimism rub off on me!  If you do, then you're nodding your head.  Sometimes life can seem so impossible and hopeless.  We're in the middle of a change in our lives and loneliness, bitterness, and hopelessness quickly want to be our bffs.

I received an email from a friend a couple of weeks ago in which she sincerely poured her heart out about things going on in her life.  My heart was overjoyed that she took me seriously when I sent her a note asking how she was doing, rather than telling me things were "fine."  As I typed out a response to her, I felt compelled to encourage her to remember.  For if we are OPEN to remembering God, loneliness, bitterness, and hopelessness don't seem like such great companions anymore.

As I wrote to her, I was struck by how much I needed to practice what I was preaching.  I have had many moments of fear and despair as I have been preparing to share a message with our local MOPS group tomorrow and at the 'A Mom's Heart' conference in Illinois in a couple of weeks.  As I wrote to my friend the Spirit was speaking to me, Heather, will you, too, be open to remembering how I have provided speaking engagements in the past and been faithful to use them in your life and the lives of others.  Remember, daughter, I will not abandon you.  Remember my track record with you!

My friend was not the only one who needed to remember!

These are some of my favorite verses from the Psalms that always call me back to remembering, to "forget not all His benefits."

Praise the Lord, my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. 

As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
    he remembers that we are dust.
The life of mortals is like grass,
    they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
    and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children

Psalm 103:1-5 & 13-18 

Being OPEN to remembering provides us with protection and strength to persevere!  Reviewing all God has done for us in Christ will lift up our heads and send loneliness, bitterness, and hopelessness packing.  Further, remembering the many ways that God has specifically done more that we could have asked or imagined in our lives gives us strength to stand up and keep going in faith.

Time to Take Action:

Here's some of what I shared with my friend.  Use it today to help you to remember the Lord!  My prayer for her at the end is the same for you today.

For the time being can I encourage you to remember?  Remember how faithful, very specifically faithful, God has been to you with previous [changes] and other trials.  Remember His promises to never leave and forsake you.  Remember how loved you are beyond what you deserve and regardless of your ability to measure up to anyone's standards, especially your own.  Remember that you are in the middle of a huge transition and, thankfully, life is not ALL transition - none of us would make it!  And remember that you can cry out to the Lord at any moment of any day or night; remember that He hears.  May remembering strengthen your faith and your arms to press on in these difficult days.

Photo Credit 

Coming Up: Speaking at a Conference & a Giveaway!

Friends!  I have exciting news to share with you.  I will be joining a group of speakers at a conference for moms in Illinois on November 7!  Just outside St. Louis, MO in Collinsville, IL, you can join us for a day of fellowship, good teaching, heart-filling encouragement, and tasty food, all with other moms who are longing to be refreshed and revitalized as much as you are. 

All of the speakers have attended intensives with Sally Clarkson and have personally benefited from her counsel, wisdom, teaching, and friendship over many years.  But more than that, these women walk with the Lord and have story after story of how HE has transformed them through motherhood and used motherhood to grow their faith.  I am so excited to hear what each one has to share; these women are my sisters, people who I admire and from whom I have learned so much in just one or two weekends of my life.

Topics to be covered

• Spiritual Mothering
• Encouraging One Another
• How do I fill my cup?
• Equipping Moms to Disciple Their Children
• Mom's With Swords: In Defense of the Value and Beauty of Motherhood
• How can I be a Mentor to others, when I don't feel equipped?

I have the privilege of sharing about how we can encourage one another, a topic that is dear to my heart.  We can all use encouragement, at any moment of any day, right?!  I look forward to challenging women to embrace their ability to become an encourager, in response to what God has done in their lives.  Our focus text will be Hebrews 10:19-25.

In my post on Wednesday, I shared the difference Sally Clarkson's book, Mission of Motherhood, has made in my life and how it is helping me to pursue this calling in faith, rather than continuing on an endless search for "the right formula."  That is not her only book that God has used in my life, not to mention getting to attend the intensives!  This day-conference is supposed to be like attending one of those intensives; it is a day to be poured into and equipped, so you are ready to give and keep on giving to your family and other moms.

Please consider registering (that means pray about it, ladies!) for the conference here and bringing a friend along!  Or if you are not able, please share this with any mom friends you may have in the St. Louis area and Illinois.  Thanks!

Hey, It's a Giveaway!!

In the spirit of the excitement building around this event and what I shared in my post on Wednesday, I would like to give away Sally's book, Mission of Motherhood!  One of the women in our group this fall said, "Thanks for picking such an encouraging book.  I kind of want to give every mom a copy."  I could not agree more.  So even if you already have a copy, maybe you could win this one for a friend.

Here's how to get your name in the running!  You get one entry for each of these things, so let me know in a comment how many times to throw your name in the hat.

• Leave an "I'm in" comment.
• 'Like' my Facebook page for the first time.
• Share this post on Facebook, Twitter, or with a friend, if you don't do the social media thing.
• Register for the conference!

Look at that!  You could have your name in the running up to four times.  Don't forget to mention in your comment how many times I should put in your name.  I can't wait to see who wins!

***Winner will be announce Thursday, October, 22.  Entries due by midnight EST, October 21!***

Two Questions to Point You to God and Deepen Relationships

Catching up with a friend at an swim meet last weekend.
She went right past fluff to real stuff.  So refreshing!

Don't you love those moments when you find yourself in a social situation where you want to move past small talk but have no idea how to do it without sounding nosy or awkward?  It is so easy to talk about the weather, ask what someone did over the weekend, or the triumphs of the local sports team.  But then what?

If you dump too many of your own problems on someone, they may never come back, even for small talk.  Or if you ask too probing a question, they also may never come back, even for small talk!  How are we supposed to go deeper in relationships if we can't move past the small talk?

One of my priorities in conversation is to try to draw out the other person, so I (try to!) avoid talking solely about myself.  I listen for things in the conversation that lend themselves to further questions.  For example, if someone is sharing about a difficult situation with their spouse or kids, I might ask how they respond emotionally.  I know how I would react, but they are not me and I can learn a lot about them, and from them, by asking such a question.

Another approach I like to take, is to have a few open-ended questions ready to ask: what they like best about their job, describe what a normal day in your life is like, or what do you do for fun.  Anything to make the conversation advance past how much it has been raining or how quickly the summer is flying by!

As I was cooking eggs to feed the masses one morning before rushing out to Summer's Best Two Weeks, I was thinking about good questions.  Here are the two that came to mind:

What is great about you? 

What is your most-difficult-to-discuss struggle?

Both of these questions reveal a lot about us and how we think about ourselves.  Meditating on them also convinced me that these two questions can point us straight to God; yep, even the one about what is great about us!

You see, what is amazing about who we are and the life experience we have had is all a gift from God.  The Bible says he knit us together in our mother's womb and He knows all about every aspect of our being and our living.  None of it is an accident.  What is great about you is an opportunity to praise the One who made you and has provided experiences and education for you!   What we are proud of or happy about who we are is an opportunity to worship.  We cannot take credit for the myriad things that have been providentially given, so we can give credit where credit is due.

Now, how about that second question?  What is your most-difficult-to-discuss struggle?  Is there anyone in your life with whom you discuss it?  Have you even dared to open up that part of your heart to the Lord?!  It is scary to be vulnerable, even with the One who already knows how bad it is!  But lean in, my friend, that which is most difficult at the moment is an opportunity to entrust yourself to God and watch Him work in astounding ways!  What we struggle with and burdens us is an opportunity to worship.  We can't handle it, but we know the Lord can; we honor Him by talking with Him about it and placing it in His hands.

Before you go asking these questions of someone else, answer them for yourself!  Most of us don't take the time to know ourselves well enough; the tyranny of the urgent is always consuming us.  If we can answer these questions, though, it will launch us to new depths of faith and, as we invite others to consider the same, new depths of friendship.  Will you give it a go today?

Praise the Lord, my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Psalm 103:1

If you feel brave, I would love to hear your answers so I can join you in worship, pray for your struggles, and get to know you better!

Interrupted by Grace 2015: Soul-Filling or Soul-Sucking

I'm blogging daily in April. Learn more about the series here

***THE GIVEAWAY ENDS TONIGHT***

WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED TOMORROW!

Leave a comment (or do more see here) to win yourself a bag of coffee and some chocolate bars!

On Sunday evening at our Own Your Life book study group, the topic was owning your emotional health.  The thrust of the chapter is that a wise woman takes good care to fill herself up so that she has a well out of which to give to others.  And empty well refreshes no one!

Our hearts and souls are vessels to hold all that we deem valuable.  If loveliness of values, greatness of thoughts, and civility of life are treasured there, the people who come into our presence will draw beauty from our lives.  p 133

Sally had many suggestions of "soul-filling habits" and encourages her readers to think about how to weave some of them into their lives.  At the end of the chapter she suggests choosing one thing to do in the coming week to fill up your soul.  A great idea that, during our group time, we each took time to think about and share what we committed to do this week.

In contrast to soul-filling intentionally with good things, our hearts can be filled with the junk that life after the Fall offers us.

If ugliness, anger, coarseness of spirit, resentment, criticism, and darkness permeate the moments of our existence, then our souls will reflect the darkness hiding and residing in our hearts.  p 135

So another thing I asked our group to do on Sunday night was think of one thing they could let go of this week to make space in their soul for the good stuff!  That's what brings us to yesterday's interrupted by grace moment.

For ages I have wanted to get my Facebook checking habits under control.  Often I'll make some weak commitment to myself, not tell anyone, and then go right back to checking every time I have a spare millisecond in the day!  During our discussion my friend Julie mentioned how looking at Facebook at a random time introduces all kinds of thoughts and ideas that at the moment distract her and pull her away from what she wants to or needs to be thinking about and/or doing.  That resonated with me.  That is exactly what happens!

I knew then that I needed to reign in my Facebook checking to eliminate the soul-sucking nature of it.  And I knew I'd have to share my commitment with the group - to only look a few set times a day - so I would get some accountability.  Mondays aren't normal school days around here, so yesterday was my first day to really try out the less Facebook time.  I was interrupted by grace with the clarity of thought most of the day, the increased desire to focus on the kids and be present for them, and embarrassed by how much I thought, I'll check Facebook, throughout the day.  Usually my motivations for checking are for selfish, I-hope-I-have-a-notification reasons, so this process is convicting!  But I want more room for others and for the Lord in my soul and maybe this little step will help me grow in wisdom and have a soul filled with more good reserves.

What's cool, is that Sally gets these ideas from the Bible!

“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."  ~Jesus, Luke 6:43-45

Feel free to join in our group's activity for this week and choose a soul-filling habit to start and a soul-sucking one to reign in or kick to the curb!  For more ideas, definitely pick up Own Your Life, by Sally Clarkson.  Our group has been enjoying and benefiting immensely from reading it.

Interrupted by Grace 2015: Surprise Visit

I'm blogging daily in April. Learn more about the series here.

Coming off of such a fun weekend with the husband, I would not have believed Monday morning could match it.  The kids and I were hustling and bustling to get the house put together, and I was beginning to wonder who would show up for playgroup.  (I always start doing that as ten o'clock approaches.)  Quite close to ten, Katherine requested that I go to the dining room and pretend to be a shopkeeper so she could come buy something.  There was a pile of mini board books on the floor and I started arranging them on the table for her to maybe choose to "buy."

While this was happening a van pulled into the driveway that I assumed, based on the color, was my friend Nancy and her kids.  So I hollered to my kids, "Hey, someone's here.  Katherine, you can get the door."  The scurrying began.  While picking up a soccer ball to put on display, I glanced out the window to confirm who it was and beheld not a brunette driver pulling out her keys and turning to open the door, but rather a blonde, pixie-cut lady.

"OH MY GOSH GUYS, IT'S EMILY!"

It was my turn to run to the door, across the sidewalk and rocks, to hug my friend who'd driven an hour and a half to surprise us by joining us for playgroup with three of her five amazing boys.  I almost cried, but I kept it together.  Composed and calm as I usually am, you know.

Not long thereafter, Nancy came with her trio of offspring and the three of us ladies had a great time talking while we took turns holding the babies they each brought along and the rest of the children played together.

It is always delightful to sit with friends, old or new, and get to know each other better or catch up.  I was interrupted by grace through such a wonderful surprise.  It is always balm for the soul to have any amount of face-time with a "bosom friend," as Anne of Green Gables would say.  I would argue it is even more of a gift to sit in a room with a newer friend and an older friend and awe at how God provides company and companionship for us wherever we go.  Interrupted by grace, indeed.

Do you have stories, even from this interrupted by grace month, of how God has used friendship to show you how much He loves you, to bring a smile to your face, and/or cause you to reflect on His provision for you?  I hope you do!  Perhaps if today's post brings someone to mind, drop them a note, give them a call, or pop in for a visit this week and bless them with a grace interruption as my dear friend, Emily, did for me today.  I sure love the stories God weaves through our lives and how often He weaves exactly the right people into them with such precise timing!

Interrupted by Grace 2015: Time to Work

I'm blogging daily in April. Learn more about the series here.

Since yesterday's post was long, today's will be brief!  We had incredible weather here yesterday, almost like summer.  The kids played outside for most of playgroup and then my friend, Julie, invited my bigger two for lunch and more playing at their house.  Actually, her kids invited mine and then asked their mom if it was okay.  Remember doing that kind of stuff when you were a kid?  I do!  Julie's a generous friend and mom so, after mentally reviewing her cupboards and fridge to make sure she'd have food for them, she agreed to their already-arranged plan, 

I was interrupted by unexpected quiet time.  Katherine watched a show while I cleaned up the morning and got our lunches ready.  We had a really peaceful lunch together, chatting and writing a grocery list.  She went up to her room for rest time and I was able to get our lessons ready for the week.  It was almost unbelievable!  I was so grateful to Julie and to God for the provision of unexpected quiet and space to tackle the two things I really needed to do that afternoon.  The gift was made even more precious to me when exhaustion hit me at about dinner time.  I would not have had the energy to use the evening time to prepare those lessons.  Praise God!

How has God been kind to you in the last week?  Have you been interrupted by grace, maybe surprised by joy or unexpectedly provided for?  Feel free to share a story any time in the comments!


Photo Credit: Elizabeth Ashe