Category: About Me

Coming into focus…

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Today my sweet friend from Anavista came over to help me understand my A6000 a bit better. Meaning she started from scratch and went over photography 101. You know… important basics like aperture, shutter speed and ISO! She took me through all of the various settings on my camera and just did an overview on […]

Launching changes…

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Today via FB live shared the vision of The Encouraging Voice and the changes coming this year. There’s still an incredible amount of details that need to be determined and yet I’m ready to continue getting this going one step at a time.

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it’s coming into focus…

And that’s how life goes, right?

There’s so many things that are “pending,” or “in progress” and yet we still have to keep moving in one way or another. The most important things in life seem to escape us if we don’t put intentional time and effort into them. So here we go!

The Encouraging Voice is going to be launching website changes, process changes, and all sorts of things. I want to connect with you the way that’s best for you and start planning the various aspects of this thing better.

Encouragements. Testimonials. Merch. Social Media. Events. Community Impact.

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the messy office of dreams!

I want this to be interactive and just as much about YOU as it is about me and my steps. It has to be really. This thing has to be about you and me being whatever God has called us to be and do. Stepping up to be faithful and obedient. He’ll take care of all the rest. Whatever we need, however He’ll lead us. By his strength, might and wisdom.

Let me know your reactions and opinions. What’s helpful? What’s not so helpful? What are you doing to follow the dreams God’s put in you?

For now subscribe so you can be a part of these changes and see this come alive in a whole new way. The next steps are planning the changes, details and setting up the launch dates for everything to start happening!

Thank you friend.

Be brave. Be great. Be YOU.

 

2017 is Tricky so Far.

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I still turn around and surprise myself all the time. Time and again I realize that I have this assumption that I’m going to get to a point where I’ve got this ‘life’ thing all figured out. It’s both comical, annoying and not really surprising.

I figure things out, God shows me something new, I learn something about myself and so then I’m like; “Okay, I got this!,” only to turn around and realize I lost it again. Life just gets so tricky. Each new year or season comes with its new level or different type of responsibilities, challenges, and situations. And I didn’t really lose it, it’s just a lot of moving targets. We have a lot on our plates and a lot of areas of our life that we’re growing in (hopefully).

That’s why I know his word says in Matthew, Chapter 6;

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendorwas dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

We lose the focus. We forget that it’s about our relationship with our Heavenly Father instead of just running around trying to accomplish all these tasks. Yes, we have some incredibly awesome things to get done. We have been commissioned to do a great many, amazing things! But if doesn’t start with the Father’s Heart, then it’s all for nothing. If we start from the wrong place we’ll get proud, greedy, jealous, all sorts of ugly things will start growing in the garden of our hearts. If we allow ourselves the proximity of being in his heart, then when things don’t settle right or we begin to have the wrong focus we’ll discern it.

So I have some big things I want to accomplish this year. 2017 is supposed to be a year of release! Get launched out into those big beautiful dreams and soar! Except not really. Kind of. He put it on my heart in December that he’s established us here in this new home, freed us of our debts and burdens, to settle us here and be founded. In order to build a truly authentic and impactful business, ministry or whatever it may be, there has to be a strong foundation. 14650477_910032716763_8228108285412353503_n

So what is my foundation? What’s your foundation on?

Jesus. Seek first his kingdom. 

My aunt sent me a book this past fall before all this titled More. It’s about finding your calling and purpose. I’m all excited! Yes! I’m going to finally get this all figured out. I don’t have any more financial excuses anymore. I can run after this thing! Only to read the first half of the book and it’s all about starting with Jesus. Your relationship with Jesus. Honestly, I started getting a little annoyed after the third chapter of this. I’m like, I know, I know, I know. But the Lord was asking me, but do you really?

I’m like my kids. I start giving them directions to do something and they run off before they even hear everything I had to say! Here I am running off excitedly to do these great things and then I get annoyed and surprised that they’re not working. Like, what am I doing wrong? I know how to do this.

It was never about going at it alone. That’s what we try to do. Tell God, I got this. In truth, this was all about you getting to know your incredible Heavenly Father, and in doing so finding yourself. The entire journey is simply the arena that we get to experience all of the vast and infinite measures of his character of who he is. Where we get to grow and become who we were destined to be. It’s a beautiful, hard race.

Lord. Father, keep reminding me of what this is all about. Let me always seek your heart in all that I do. That your name and glory would be known. I can’t save the world. I can’t heal their hearts. But you can. Keep molding me and directing my steps. 

Be Willing; Adulting.

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If you and I were to hang out for coffee we could find common ground in about 2 minutes. That would be all it would take to find one of many things we could relate with each other on and this is true because no matter who you are there’s two basic things we all do;

  1. We look back and would change things in our past if we could.
  2. We look forward and hope and dream that things in our future will turn out a certain way (or maybe hope that somethings won’t repeat or happen again)

We might wish we had better opportunities growing up, that someone took the time to invest in us, or that we hadn’t made some poor decisions that made a mess of things. Maybe you’ve been through hell because of the decisions someone else made and you’re dealing with repercussions or trauma from it. Then there’s also the stuff we hope comes our way; the better job, getting ahead or being able to go on that sweet adventure some day. Maybe you’re still waiting on that special someone to start the next chapter of your life with. It can be fun to dream and get excited for what’s coming but it can also get discouraging when you don’t see your efforts pan out yet or feel like you’re losing time.  growthovertime.jpg

After that I’ve found that folks kinda hang out in one of two camps; either they are striving to grow and work towards those future goals and dreams, or they’re fearful, complacent, or ignorant of any of that stupid growing nonsense and are just fine hanging out where they are. This could be out of immaturity and selfishness, it could be out of fear or trauma, or it could be someone who’s just been beat up so much in life that they’ve just laid down and stopped trying to get back up again.

What does the Bible say about God’s promises and plans for us? Well, that link is a starting point. God has some incredible things to say about you and your future. Trust him and lay all of your plans before him. He’s going to do amazing things in your heart and your life. Babe, all you need to do is to be willing. God can do amazing things through a person that’s willing. If you’ve read any account in the Bible of someone used by God you’ll realize pretty quickly they were far from perfect (except Jesus, of course!) I think most of us, if we’re honest, can look at our life and see ourselves doing adult things and having adult responsibilities, but most of us don’t feel all grown up yet. We still feel like we’re getting there, but not quite there yet.

It is a journey and you don’t have to have it all figured out yet. Just be open to what God’s going to bring your way and the great wisdom you’ll find in seeking his heart. He loves you dearly and calls you his child. Be willing to grow. Be willing to face your fears, knowing God is bigger than anything you’ve faced or ever will face. He will never leave you. Adulting really comes down to being willing to grow and taking responsibility for what you have control of. It can and does get overwhelming, but if you let it, it’ll all work together to be a part of your testimony. Then you get to be that amazing person that invests in that young punk, stubborn kid, that just needed someone to care and see past the shenanigans…

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Collective Worship, 2015

This is my Life.

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When you think of adulting unfortunately you often think of all of the responsibilities that weigh you down from being able to do the things we’d rather be doing. I have to get up and go to work in the morning. I have to get that paper done by Tuesday. I have to do my laundry. I have to pay rent. We really look forward to ‘Friday’ and those times we get to let lose and enjoy those days off or going on that vacation.

What if your life was all about everything you just loved doing? What if adulting was more about getting to where you get to do things just because you can now, not because you have to anymore? Like yeah, I’m going to go visit my cousin for a week and help her with her new baby just because I can. Or, yeah I’m going to go host that financial workshop out of state next year just because I can. Doesn’t that sound amazing? Well, it’s all true. All legit things that I get to do now just because I can. bestisyettocome.jpg

And you know what, there’s still legitimate adulting that needs to happen in that other sense. The laundry still has to get done, the house still needs to get cleaned, and the bills yes, still need to get paid. Sometimes you take the job you don’t like, so that you can get the job you really want. Sometimes you have to sow and invest so that you can do the other cool things. It’s so different now and it feels way better. The responsibility is definitely more on me now to have self discipline and be a woman of my word because I’m self-employed. If I say I’m going to do something, I better do it. If I’m going to be a mom and a wife, well I better live my vows and honor these guys. I may not have a boss expecting me to show up at 8am and get that task list done by 5, but I definitely have people that count on me every day both personally and professionally.

This is my life. I’m going to be doing a lot more things just because I can. Just because it would be an incredible investment. Just because that person just needs a little bit of someone’s time to encourage them. Just because it’s who I am.

And that feels like true adulting. 

Won’t you be my Sponsor?

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Okay, here’s the deal. I decided a couple weeks ago that I was going to run 100 miles before going to Haiti in October. So here it is. I’m gonna give you the official rules and regulations for #100miles4haiti and I would just be blown away by any of you that end up participating.

Sponsor. You can sponsor me for either a dollar amount or so many miles. There’s a few different ways to do this depending on whatever works best for you. Just message me if you have any questions.

Pray. Please pray for the team, for me, and for the amazing people we’re going to encounter in Haiti. I am incredibly honored to be a part of this and the work God is doing through people.

 Run. (or walk) Okay so all you folks that would like to get moving, here’s your chance. You can run with me if you’d like and we can just set up a day that works for both of us. Or you can just run/walk whenever you’d like…

#100miles4haiti. BUT no matter what you choose to do, post something to social media with the hashtag to raise awareness and tag me in it. I would love knowing you’re rooting for me and I would feel so loved and energized by it! I’m going to be posting pics, videos and notes with the hashtag and we’ve got a few weeks to get this accomplished! I figure I have about 3 and a half months to pull this off which means around 29 miles a month, or 7-10 miles a week which is totally doable.

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You excited yet?

I guess the only real question left is…

Won’t you be my sponsor?