Let’s hold fast to the promise of
redemption and restoration,
grace and growth,
purpose and provision,
a hope and a future.
God’s transforming power and enduring love are at work. Don’t lose heart.❤️
Promise
life
“Why Not?!”
Around this time last year, I tried my hand at microfiction with The Writer Magazine’s 100-word contest. I don’t consider myself a fiction writer but, with time and a $10 entry fee to spare, I thought “Why not?!” So color me shocked when I finished as 1 of 50 semi-finalists. Ok. Not bad. Was I convinced I needed to begin creating characters and plotting a grand story? No. But I was, and still am, encouraged to keep challenging myself; trying new things, flexing new muscles and thinking outside the box. Step by step, a little more each day. How about you?
Here’s my 100-word story “Dear Kelly” (with a little homage to the classic Les Miserables):
“Dear John,
Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I’m headed to New York. I can no longer deny my destiny. If I stay I will be devoured by bitterness and regret. I hope you understand. Please find a way to move on without me. Also, I have taken Marius. I don’t feel you ever had the time or capacity to give this brilliant soul the care he needs…
Dear Kelly,
A little surprised but also quite relieved. Hope you find what you’re looking for. And Marius was more your pet anyway. I’m allergic to cats.”
She Thought of Suicide
She thought of suicide today
No dark obsession
No detailed plan
Just a fleeting moment
With the weight of the world on her shoulders
Her mind teetering on the edge
“What if?”
She thought of suicide today
And felt ashamed
Comparing her plight
A life seemingly uncomplicated
Despising her weakness
She thought of suicide today
For just a fleeting moment
And then…
She reached out for help.
–LAS
You are not alone. There is Hope. There is Light in the darkness. Hold on. Reach out.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
Inspiration
The dance is familiar
Though she can’t place the song
The gentle back and forth
The explosion of vision
A steady flow
It is inspiration
The Creator breathing into the created
To reflect His glory and make Himself known
-LAS
Ordinary’s Impact
“I grew up with quilts like these.”
I remembered the quilts folded in closets, spread across beds and laid on floors as pallets. I remembered sleeping soundly tucked under their heavy warmth. To my young eyes they were just fabric scraps stitched together, a colorful hodgepodge, a mosaic of everyday life.
So as I stood with my husband in the Baltimore Museum of Art, I marveled at how what I considered such an ordinary part of my life now hung as art, admired and coveted by museums all over the world. Someone recognized the powerful beauty and impact of the stories of these quilts and the women who made them.
What do you have? An ability? An idea? A story? Your presence? It seems so ordinary and inconsequential to you yet it may have the power to shift the world around you for the good and the glory of God.
Sometimes our reflections are muddied by distraction and discouragement but I’m grateful God always sends reinforcements to remind us for whom and for what we’ve been created. Let this be your reminder. Don’t underestimate or diminish the impact of the “ordinary.”
“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” -2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT
Learn more about Gee’s Bend here
Do You Know?
Perfection makes impossible demands
Leaving you parched
Thirsting for drops of validation
Begging to be understood
To be seen
To be heard
But, dear one, do you know how lovingly you were formed?
Every hair numbered
Your life purposed
Your very existence a reflection of God’s glory
You are the apple of His eye
In His image created
Fully Known. Deeply Loved.
—L.A.S
Show Up
Step by step, day by day
Imperfect progress is still progress
Just a Reminder
Keep reaching for the Light, something beautiful is ready to bloom.
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”- John 8:12
Tidings of Comfort and Joy
Tis the season, friends. And no doubt it’s…different. I found myself close to ‘Bah Humbug’ until I was struck by the words of an old familiar carol:
🎶God rest ye merry gentlemen Let nothing you dismay Remember Christ our Savior Was born on Christmas Day To save us all from Satan’s pow’r When we were gone astray Oh tidings of comfort and joy Comfort and joy Oh tidings of comfort and joy🎶
So today I offer tidings of comfort and joy To the believer and the unbeliever To the cheerful and the grieving To the hopeful and the discouraged To the gathered and the lonely
And I pray we all remember and come to know Immanuel, the One who was, is and always will be with us.
“…She will give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”- Isaiah 7:14
“…and He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”- Isaiah 9:6
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Daily Thanks #30
Grateful for…
“The gift of life and perspective”
Barnabas Blessings 