7 Things I Learned in July

Let's not discuss how the year is more than half way over. How about instead of slowing down for a moment and reflecting on July? That's what I'm going to do, although after cranking out multiple blog posts yesterday and working on my ebook edits, I'm feeling short on words today.

So, without further ado, here's what I learned in July ...

1. Shaun Groves is making a Christmas album. I love Christmas music and I love Shaun's sound and ministry. Win-win! Yes, I know, Christmas is months away, but, hey, you can be part of the Kickstarter campaign to fund the album and get some fun rewards in the process. Again, win-win.

2. After years of reading Berenstain Bears, I realized how silly it is Brother and Sister don't have actual names when I was listening to Greg read the story aloud to the kids. Their parents don't either. Then there was an enlightening Facebook conversation about such. And, still more information here. We have a huge stack of these books and they still remain among Cate's favorites.

3. My kids are at great ages for amusement parks. They can actually ride "real" rides! This is only the beginning! {I blogged about our day at Six Flags and offered some tips to tackling amusement parks with kids.}

4. Planes 2 is one of the rare sequels, especially among kid movies, that is better than the original. At least I thought so. The message of thriving in community was loud and welcomed. Plus, I really loved taking my 4-year-old boy on a date to see it one Sunday afternoon.

5. I'm now a regular contributor at God-sized Dreams and Circles of Faith. I actually didn't learn this in July, but you all did! My first post at Circles of Faith was on waiting. God made both of these opportunities possible through other writer friends I've connected with online.

6. July really can be pleasant weather-wise. We've had several stretches of cooler-than-usual temperatures. While it's been lovely, I do need a few more afternoons at the pool with my kids before summers ends in two weeks.

7. Death and life go hand-in-hand. The larger Taylor family attended both a funeral and a wedding this month, within 2 1/2 weeks of each other. Although the events were obviously very different, some of the same perspective about legacy and intentional living was on my mind throughout both.

How was your July? Tell me about it. 
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These monthly posts are linked with Emily Freeman at Chatting at the Sky. Here are previous month's recaps from 2013: June. July. August. September. October. November. And from 2014: January. February. March. April. May. June.

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How to Live While Waiting

I’ve stared at my phone, thinking I could will it to ring.

I’ve wondered if my friend was ever going to understand what I meant to say.

I’ve spent years trying to get pregnant only to realize that wasn’t God’s plan for us.

I’ve journeyed through two adoption processes that were full of anticipation and waited unsuccessfully for others that never worked out.

Waiting has been a theme in my life – and I’m guessing it’s no stranger to yours. I’ve waited and gotten something better than I anticipated. I’ve waited and what I hoped for never came.

Regardless of the outcome, God works in the wait.

Waiting is hard, yet it is something we all do. Every day, many times a day, really.

We wait for lights to turn green. We wait for people to return calls and extend invitations. We wait for the mail to be delivered. We wait for dinner to be ready and bedtime to come. We wait for the next season and the next adventure. We wait for babies to be born, job promotions to come, sickness to pass, people to understand what we meant, the necessary finances to come.

We wait.

Waiting was a theme in God making a momma. My husband and I tried for two years to become pregnant. The waiting broke my heart, but I have since learned I didn’t approach that season in the way God intended.

I waited for a positive pregnancy test like I was wasting my time yet God was busy orchestrating an adoption story. We held our daughter in our arms seven months after we stopped trying to get pregnant. But in those years of trying, I didn’t draw near to God or seek out truth in the moment.
I didn’t worship and live while I waited. Waiting consumed me.

God has since taught me about purpose in waiting.


{Read the rest of this post at Circles of Faith, where I'm happy to be a regular contributor.}
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I'm linking up with the weekly Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood Gathering that my friend Jen Feruson hosts. It's a come-as-you-are kind of online party as well as Holley Gerth's Coffee for Your Heart and Jennifer Dukes Lee's #TellHisStory.

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Summer Adventure & Amusement

We spent 10 1/2 hours at an amusement park on a day the best index was more than 100 degrees. I should have known it would be ridiculously hot because that's what always happens when we chose an outdoor activity in St. Louis in the summer. Duh, I know. But the Midwest is unpredictable, really; it was 82 the other day.

Anyway. Despite my introductory statement, 'twas a fabulous day for our group of three adults and five kids who range in age from almost 4 years to 8 years. If you're a long-time reader, you've heard lots of stories about Jaclyn and I and our five kids in five years when there was a time we weren't sure either of us would have one. Add this one to the memory books!

That's how we roll.

Speaking of rolling, two of my favorite parts of the day involved roller coasters.

1. Everyone in my family of four is at least 42 inches tall. Hello, real roller coaster for us! This is the kind of milestone worth celebrating! So we did! On Pandemonium!

2. My 7-year-old girl rode Boomerang, an intense roller coaster with Jaclyn and I. She won't admit she loved it, but I'm so proud of her for willingly going with is while Greg hung out with the other four kids at a playground. "It tickled my belly! Too much!" was her response when the coaster came to a screeching halt after six upside loops – three going forward and three repeating the course backward.

(Also. Jaclyn and I asked her to take a photo of us afterward. She took the phone and then as she was snapping said, "I'm sorry if these are blurry; my hands are still shaking." They were blurry. But who cares. Adventure was had!)

I realize the peak of amusement park season is ending, but, shhhh, we aren't talking about how school will start soon. Jaclyn and I originally planned this trip because our three oldest kids had free admission tickets from a reading program their schools participated in last semester. Cate reads constantly, so I knew when she brought home the form reading the hours necessary would be well worth it. Turns out it was a $58.99 value per those three kids who are all taller than 48 inches!

So how about some tips for tackling an amusement park with children?

1. Bring snacks. Like the Airheads and Fruit Snacks I had tucked away in my backpack. You will likely find yourself in a long line, possibly in the blazin' hot sun. Distractions (sugary ones!) may be necessary.

2. If a water park is involved, wear your swimsuit. Even if that involves purchasing or borrowing a respectable, comfortable coverup. I wish I had. Changing from sweaty clothes into a swimsuit in a cramped bathroom stall isn't my idea of fun and I wished I dressed like Jaclyn did. Greg and Ben wore their swim suits all day, which worked out well.

3. The 3:5 ratio is good for adults to kids. And mostly sticking together was preferred with our group. When we split up, it was just for one ride at a time and we stayed close to the same vicinity.

4. If you're hesitating about a stroller, bring one. Especially if the kid in question is coming off an illness.

5. Get your money's worth. Well, you know, the best you can. Greg and I ended up picking up dinner for the four of us on the way back to our hotel and eating around 10 p.m. It was worth not buying a second severely over-priced meal at the park but letting the kids exhaust themselves and the opportunities there. Plus we fed them sugary treats around 6:30 p.m. to tide them over.

Oh and, hey, if you're thinking of going to an amusement park on a date without your kids, that is an option too. Greg and I have done it twice {2008 & 2013}. But, you know, the amusement park outing with kids also is a welcomed adventure.

What summer adventure have you enjoyed lately? Are you a roller coaster fan?
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With this post, I'm joining Beth Stiff at Simply Beth, who shares today about her favorite summer activities in her weekly Get To Know You series. Amusement parks are definitely among my favorite summer activities. And then on Wednesday, I linked it with Beth's Three Word Wednesday.

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{Adventure Bible} Truth Prevails

In noisy Chick-fil-A, Cate stopped sipping her Sprite and said, “Do you recognize that music?”

I listened closely, trying to focus on the music muffled by conversations all around us. But I couldn’t make out whatever it was she wanted me to hear.

Cate started humming and then singing ...

“... here I am to worship,

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that you're my God,

You're altogether lovely,

Altogether worthy,

Altogether wonderful to me ...”

In that instant, I felt like I was doing something right. Her mind was being filled with truth, despite all the times I talk too harshly or expect too much. Mixed in with my mistakes are the moments she remembers singing praises to our Creator. Real life is full of messes and miscommunication.

But truth can still prevail.

Getting the messages that matter to be heard of the chatter of this world can be hard. But Cate reminded me last week in a booth at Chick-fil-A that it's worth continuing to try.

Life is busy, but there’s always ways to fill your mind – and your kids’ minds – with messages that matter. We listen to Christian music in the mini van we drive through life. We’ve been reading “Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions for Kids” on the slower summer mornings.

Cate also has her own Bible – not a storybook Bible – for the first time. “Adventure Bible for Early Readers” is working out well for my girl, who is an avid reader. It’s recommended for kids ages 6-9. It’s a NIrV translation and our version has a fancy 3D cover that my 4-year-old boy loves. So, yes, I'm sure it'll be passed on to him at some point.

Inside, “Adventure Bible” has special features, including “Words to Treasure” to encourage memory verses; “Did You Know?” boxes that point out interesting facts; blurbs about people and life in Bible times; a dictionary; and the standard book introductions, subject index, charts and maps. These features are what Cate loves when browsing the Bible herself.

Cate went to church camp for the first time this summer and took her new Bible with her. She liked being able to look up the theme verse in her own book and I realized the page with Philippians 3:12-15 is still dog-eared.

She may be a new Bible owner, but my girl seems to have some understanding about why this book matters. “I like it because it asks questions and it’s the real story of the Bible,” she said of “Adventure Bible.”

Bible storybooks and children’s devotions serve our family well. They are filled with stories and truth we want our kids to know as the foundation of everything else. We’re glad to add this children’s Bible to our life. Cate realizes there is something special to having the word of God in her hands, her mind and her heart.

And sometimes she hears a cue and sings about it.
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I received "Adventure Bible for Early Readers" for free from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review. These are my real opinions only influenced by what my daughter had to say. This post also contains Amazon affiliate links. 

I'm linking up today with Lyli Dunbar for Thought-Provoking Thursday. 

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My Girl Reads :: Chapter Book Recommendations

Cate usually falls asleep surrounded by at least a few chapter books. She carries a book with her when we go to church or basketball games. She checks out at least seven books at a time when we go to the library. And she reads books over and over again.

I've loved watching her devour books this summer, falling in love with fictional friends and retelling the stories.

I got Cate, who is getting ready to start second grade, to look up from the pages of The Boxcar Children long enough to tell me about her favorite series of books. She likes reading mysteries that aren't scary, characters who are funny, and anything about horses.

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner 
I bought the first book in the series at a yard sale several months ago and Cate recently checked out more from the library. "I like learning new things from them," Cate said.

Cam Jansen by David Adler
I originally thought Cam was a boy, but Cate was quick to correct me ... and explain where she got the name Cam. So why does she like Cam Jansen? "She has a photographic memory and I think that's cool. There's always a mystery and I like mysteries."

Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park
These make Cate laugh out loud and sometimes she reads to me parts she loves. "She's funny and crazy," Cate said of Junie B.

Magic Tree House by Mary Pope Osborne
Cate had devoured these. She started reading them in order and then realized there were so many the order probably didn't matter. She's asked questions about the Titanic and Civil War while reading about Jack and Annie's adventures lately and she even got to see a rendition of "Dinosaurs Before Dark" at the local community theater.

Mermaid Tales by Debbie Dadey
We happened upon these at the library this summer and Cate has been hooked. "The mermaids make new friends and cheer up each other," she said.

Ramona by Beverly Cleary
Greg and I read aloud a couple Ramona books in previous years before Cate was ready to read them on her own, which she's been doing for awhile now. "She's even crazier than Junie B.," Cate said about Ramona Quimby.

Wayside School by Louis Sachar
These make Cate laugh out loud. And there are more of them than I originally thought. I know because I bought them for her from Half.com.

Having a chapter book reader has me reminiscing about my own childhood reading adventures. What books do you remember loving or are you seeing your kids love?
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I linked up this post with the Creative Home Keeper's monthly Book Notes. 

This post contains Amazon affiliate links, so if you buy something through these links I will receive a tiny portion but the prices don't change for you. Thanks for supporting this blog.

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Messes into messages

Over dinner last week, three friends and I discussed old-fashioned, paper planners, which we still use. I actually started a new one this month. There's something fresh about clean pages to begin the next 18 months.

Thing is, my life usually doesn't look like my calendar. Sometimes the best laid plans aren't the best. A week ago, my calendar reminded me God's got the details figured out.

While walking into the hospital for my daughter's ENT-related appointment, we ran into an attorney friend who offered unsolicited but valuable advice.

Then my kids were invited to a friend's house about an hour after I realized I need childcare to me available for a dear friend walking through a hard season.

The encounter and text invitation were divinely timed. They impacted Tuesday and the days to come. And, you know, I originally thought the kids and I would be spending last Tuesday at a nearby water park.

Of course, I didn't realize it would be 75 degrees in mid-July. The Maker of it all – our calendar, our relationships, the weather and the universe – still manages to surprise us in such delightful ways.

While God's been orchestrating details, I've been learning about an even deeper level of community. Darkness does that sometimes. Light can be easier to find when people come together and trust each other with their stories.

My heart has been heavy for some people who have been walking through darkness. A friend's marriage is crumbling. A woman I've gotten to know recently is starting over as the program that was helping her abandoned its mission, but, thankfully, she’s still committed to healing. A college friend shared with me a mental health past I didn't realize he had that is still affecting his life today. Another college friend struggled with infertility and is now hoping all goes well with the babies – yes, plural – growing inside her after a successful IVF procedure.

These people aren't satisfied to stay in the darkness. They're taking steps toward healing and protecting and surviving. But like a Casting Crowns song says, life isn't about surviving but rather thriving.

Here in this worn and weary land

Where many a dream has died

Like a tree planted by the water

We never will run dry

So living water flowing through

God, we thirst for more of You

Fill our hearts and flood our souls with one desire

Just to know You and to make You known

We lift Your name on high

Shine like the sun, make darkness run and hide

We know we were made for 

so much more than ordinary lives

It’s time for us to more than just survive

We were made to thrive …

Joy unspeakable, faith unsinkable

Love unstoppable, anything is possible

{Casting Crowns’ “Thrive”}

God’s light seeps through this temporary darkness and changes us. My new friend who is starting over stood up yesterday in church and praised God despite her hard week. And she put the purpose of life into words: God turned her mess into a message.

Life is messy sometimes. But we don’t have to settle for making it through. God wants to author messages out of our messes. These messages speak of God’s faithfulness and love, so let’s not be afraid to share them.
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I'm joining my friend Jen Ferguson for the weekly Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood Gathering, where people share the messages that have come from their messes. Then on Wednesday I linked with Beth Stiff for Three Word Wednesday, Holley Gerth for Coffee for Your Heart, and Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory. 

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{Belong} On Gathering Together

I'm joining the Five Minute Friday writers for the first time in forever. Crystal Stine is hosting this week in Lisa-Jo Baker's online absence. Want to join us? Please do. Set a timer for five minutes and write. This week's prompt is "Belong."  


I've needed this week.

Vacation Bible School. It's been on my calendar these five evenings in a row for months. It's not even our church, but it's an event my kids have loved from the moment they walked in the joy-filled sanctuary a few years ago.

Even though I knew I'd be kid-less from 5 to 8 p.m. five nights in a row, I didn't have big plans. I figured Greg and I would hang out. Then a friend whose kids are also at the same VBS proposed a double date. Then my best friend and I decided to make a girls' night out of one of the evenings.

If I was alone, I could have scrapbooked or worked on my ebook or read or cleaned or ran errands or talked on the phone. But I was blessed with some time I needed more than any to-do list.

I was given a chance to have long conversations with my husband. I had time to sit in the passenger seat as Greg drove us around the lake to a couple destinations that quieted all the noise in my soul. Like an old married couple, we walked into the grocery discussing how times flies and our kids are growing up too fast. I had dinner before pedicures with my best friend whose life is especially messy right now. And I have another date coming up with my husband tomorrow.

Mothering is one of the greatest blessings in my life. But I was feeling empty, like I poured all myself out. This week has refilled me and reminded me where I belong. And, you know what, my kids are learning about how they always belong to Jesus, even when if they're different than everyone else ... like weird animals.

That's a good week for everybody.
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Love Your Ordinary

There's one thing I don't like about Independence Day: It marks the middle of summer. Perhaps I need to a glass-half-full perspective on this, but summer is half way over. My kids go back to school in five weeks. Five weeks from today. 

Summer, slow down please.

I love the ordinary of summer. 

No alarm clock in the morning. Afternoons at the pool. Flexibility with dinnertime and bedtime. The longer daylight hours. Lightning bugs. Snow cones. Impromptu lunches with friends. More afternoons at the pool. Our town's old-fashioned walk-up Dairy Queen. Reading fiction books, both my girl and me. Ben's constant request to go outside.

Summer doesn't have to be fancy to be lovely. That's what I love about it.

Mixed in with our ordinary days have been a week on Hilton Head Island, S.C. with my parents, an aunt and uncle, and my siblings and their families. We spent time on the beach and around the pool. We ate delicious food around various tables. We talked and laughed and reminisced and planned. {You can see tons of pictures of all that here.}

And then the day after we got home, Cate went to her first overnight camp {two nights!} and had a blast. I wasn't anxious about it because she was made for camp. After I helped her get her set up, she walked outside with me to hug Daddy and Ben goodbye. And then without hesitation: "I'm going back inside to get to know the other girls better."

She wanted to stay longer than the camp actually lasted and is already talking about going back next year. When I ask about her favorite part of those three days, she says, "Everything."

Ordinary summers for us also include a couple vacation Bible schools -- one is in the evenings this week and the other is a couple hours each morning next week. We've got plans for an amusement park, a visit with a new nephew, another weekend with my family, and hosting friends here.

Ordinary here is the stereotypical summer days mixed with plenty of socializing. I love it here, this time of the year with these people of mine. Ordinarily, I'd write more here, but I'm busy making these memories that matter.

I want to remember the ordinary because I get the feeling I'm going to look back and the little moments are going to be the big moments. 
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I'm linking up this post with Beth Stiff's Three Word Wednesday, Jennifer Duke Lee's #TellHisStory, Holley Gerth's Coffee for Your Heart, and Jill Savage's Hearts at Home Blog Hop.

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On Death & Life

Death has a way of shedding light on the living.

My husband's grandpa, Tommye D Taylor, who is best known as Papaw around here, passed away Saturday, June 28. He lived 87 years full of loving, serving, making deals in the transportation world, traveling to do business in all sorts of places, and dreaming up all kinds of ideas. We celebrated his life this past week with a visitation on Tuesday evening and the funeral and burial on Wednesday afternoon.

Even those events had his ideas all over them.

Papaw had given many family and friends personalized shovels so we could bury him the day he died. Well, he ended up agreeing to a traditional funeral not long before he passed away, but we used the shovels as he intended.

I wish I had counted how many people had the shovels with their name and relation to Tommye engraved along the red handle. There were many. Papaw loved people more than anything and his people showed up to celebrate him.

Probably not coincidentally, I'm reading "In Light of Eternity" by Randy Alcorn with my small group from church. Thinking about the heavenly reunion between Papaw and Greg's dad, Gary, best known as Granddaddy, gives me a new perspective of heaven. Granddaddy died unexpectedly more than four years ago.

While we miss both these men here, the faith they lived out assures us their deaths weren't the end. 

"Death is life's greatest certainty. Death will come whether or not you're prepared. But death is not an end; it's a transition that will bring us face to face with our Creator."

{Randy Alcorn in "In Light of Eternity"}

Earthly death and the mourning that comes with it prompts thinking of what's eternal and what really matters here.

Every day, but especially in light of death, I'm grateful for community that is lived out in simple ways: A friend grocery shopping for me at 8 pm. A friend bringing me a meal one night and watching my kids the next. Laughing while playing a board game with cousins. A friend who shows up even when her life is hard.

With this great-grandfather and grandfather not in my kids' lives anymore, I'm thankful there are other grandfatherly men around us to influence my kids and encourage my husband. Yes, they left gaps in our lives, but they left a legacy we're ready to share and live.

And there is peace in knowing Christ promises this life isn't the end for those who believe in him {John 3:16}. Now that's something for which we should live.
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I'm linking up this post with the weekly Soli Deo Gloria Gathering and Thought-Provoking Thursday.

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Free indeed

Happy Fourth of July, friends!

We'll be parade-watching, hamburger-eating, and water gun-shooting this weekend with friends and family. We'll swim and socialize. We'll recognize how blessed we are to live in this country during this time. We'll remember that even when life doesn't make sense we have a hope that comes because of the earthly freedom soldiers secure and the eternal hope Christ gives.

If you're looking for some patriotic encouragement, my favorite bloggers that offer such are Beth Stiff at Simply Beth and Kristen Strong at Chasing Blue Skies. They're both military wives who share real-life stories and offer hope.

How will you celebrate your freedom?
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How God Build My Faith & Family

Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood is an online community my friend Jen Ferguson has poured her heart into. She has a vision for women to encourage women through the hard seasons of life. For me, infertility was a hard season. It's a story I shared last week at Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood.

What came next is my favorite testimony of God's faithfulness.
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After 22 months of trying to conceive, my husband and I decided to turn our attention, energy and money to adoption. We had absolutely no idea what that mean or how that would work, but I had more peace than I’d had in the whole let’s-have-a-family journey.

During that season of infertility, I constantly cried, yelled, prayed and hoped: “God, please help us become pregnant.”

Yes, I wondered if God – the giver of life – was hearing me. I would soon find out he most certainly was hearing the desires of my heart.

We began the adoption process, tackling it one conversation, phone call, and prayer at a time. I was tired of recounting the timeline of infertility and putting on a strong face with the professionals, so we decided not to apply to an adoption agency. We decided to just wait and see. Gradually, we told people about our desire to adopt. We started with friends and family as well doctors and attorneys in our small town.

Then two months later, on Christmas Eve 2006, we were at my parents’ house and my sister and her now-husband told us about an 18-year-old girl they knew who wanted to find a family to adopt her baby. Not quite a month later, we saw our daughter via ultrasound and named her Catherine Anna on the way back to Murray, Kentucky, from Bloomington, Indiana.

We were naming her after my mom and Greg’s grandma, but God orchestrated a detail to remind us he cares: Catherine is the birth mom’s middle name. Other details reminded us God was in control, authoring a story for our family.


{Read the rest of this story at Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood.}
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I'm also linking up this story with Holley Gerth's Coffee for Your Heart and Jennifer Dukes Lee's #TellHisStory.

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How God met me on the shoreline

We walked the shoreline one morning last week looking for shells that were worth keeping. The tide was out, so the sandy part of the beach seemed massive. Yet few shells seemed colored uniquely or shaped wholly enough to put in the plastic buckets.

Except to Ben.

He found broken pieces of shells with different colors. He gathered small shells that were perfectly shaped. He wanted pieces that looked like they could be images of animals – you know, like when a kid interprets the clouds’ designs.

Just because a shell was broken didn’t disqualify it from Ben’s bucket.

Usually one to be where the party is, Ben wandered more slowly than the others or detoured from the group. It was then when he discovered treasures.

We were on a morning walk on the beach, gathering natural souvenirs. But God met me there, cueing Ellie Holcomb’s song called “The Broken Beautiful” as the soundtrack for the moment my heart needed to soak in.

I know that I don't bring a lot to the table

Just little pieces of a broken heart

There’s days I wonder if You'll still be faithful

Hold me together when I fall apart?

Would You remind me now of who You are?

That Your love will never change,

that there's healing in your name

That You can take broken things,

and make them beautiful

You took my shame

And You walked out of the grave

So Your love can take broken things

and make them beautiful …

{Ellie Holcomb in “The Broken Beautiful”}

Ben was right. It didn’t matter if the shells were whole because even the broken pieces had beauty.

Our lives are the same way. None of us are whole. But we’re holy.

We’re set apart, which sometimes means we venture away from the crowd. We all have our own damage and hurt and disappointments and fears. But over time the tides ebb and flow, washing away the jagged edges and making the fragments smoother.

God tells us to bring to him all of those pieces – the conflict among people you love, the dispute with people you once called friends, the phone call that has never come, the waiting, the best friend whose hurt stirs up your past, and the busyness that haunts your summer. Despite our tendencies, we don’t need to be anxious because he hears our prayers and gives us peace that passes all our understanding. {Phil. 4:6-7}

He prepared us for this. {Ephesians 2:10}

He’s not done yet. {Phil. 1:6}

He has a plan for me and you. {Jeremiah 29:11}

And it’s going to be good. {Romans 8:28}

Like my boy with his shells on the shoreline, God gathers up all the pieces of our lives, knowing they’re worth keeping. Yes, some are pointy and others are dusty, but God covers them all with love and grace and compassion and mercy and forgiveness and peace.
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With this post, I'm joining the weekly Soli Deo Gloria Gathering, where brokenness is believed to be beautiful. 

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Six Things I Learned in June {at the pool}

Oh, June, where did you go?

You've been a mixture of cool, spring weather and hot, muggy summer. We've eaten well with you and spent more hours than I can count at the city pool. There's been blueberries and muddy fun. We've gathered around the table and shared more than food.

You've been a joy, June.

{And now for some things I learned this month ... at the pool.}

1. Being brave is fun. Just ask Ben. So much joy and courage in that kid. And now he swims without his Puddle Jumper.

{And nobody is paying me to say this: Puddle Jumpers are the best life jackets ever. Ben's used his since he was 18 months old and already jumping off the side of the pool. They even count as Coast Guard-approved life vests for kids 30-50 pounds if you're on a boat.}

2. You can make friends wherever you are. I love watching my kids befriend kids they've never seen before and then play games and swim with them. Of course, we live in a small town so it's likely they will see them again.

3. There are rules everywhere. And, yes, some are silly but it's still respectful to follow them.

4. Swimming late into the early evening makes it hard to cook dinner. Just ask Greg how many texts he's gotten lately around 5 p.m. that go something like this: "Hey. We are still at the pool. I'm not cooking. What do you want for dinner?"

5. Old-fashioned books are easier to read in bright sunlight. So I've been reading an actual book that stays in my van for the pool and another book on my Kindle at home. I'm in the middle of "I Am Hutterite" by Mary-Ann Kirkby when I'm not actually in the water. {You can see what I've read so far this year here.}

6. Saving lives is a big responsibility. I can't believe I life guarded as a 16-year-old girl who didn't even have a driver's license. {OK, so, I only had to jump off the stand to rescue one kid. And he wasn't drowning. He was just terrified as he tread water.} These days, these teenagers seem so young.

So. How's June been for you?
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These monthly posts are usually linked with Emily Freeman at Chatting at the Sky, but she's taking this month off. Here are previous month's recaps from 2013: June. July. August. September. October. November. And from 2014: January. February. March. April. May.

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Trying to Trust God While Trying to Conceive

Jen Ferguson connected online and then met in real life. I'm looking forward to the day we get to hang out in person again. For now, I'm grateful for what she's doing over at Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood, where she's fostering a real life community. Part of its accessibility is resources like guest blog posts that encourage women walking through all sorts of difficult seasons. It's important to know none of us are alone. 

I knew when she was asking for people to consider sharing their stories I wanted to write about our infertility journey that led us to adopt our two children. Today is the first installment on the hard years of infertility. The second part about adoption will publish on July 2.
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I learned the hard way deciding I was “ready” to have a baby wasn’t enough to get pregnant.

In December 2004, I stopped taking birth control pills, thinking that giving those up was submitting myself to God’s will. My husband was already ready and was just waiting – quite patiently, I might add – for me to have a family.

I’ve never been much of a science-minded person. But I knew enough to know when I didn’t have a menstrual cycle for the six months after trashing my birth control pills, I wasn’t going to get pregnant. I called the doctor, who at the end of the appointment prescribed Clomid to help me ovulate.

I walked out of the doctor’s office with what seemed to be the tool I needed to get my way. I probably should have been more nervous about taking a fertility drug, but I was already desperate to fix this.

Somehow I was still shocked that this next step in life wasn’t that easy. For five months, Clomid helped me ovulate, according to many vials of blood work, but it also made me emotional – perhaps “crazy” is a better description – and strained my marriage. Even through the emotions, I was convinced this was all just part of trying to become a mom.

Between the doctor’s appointments and blood draws, I prayed, “God, please help us become pregnant.” I uttered those words six words over and over again – as friends were announcing their pregnancies, on the good days when I had hope, and on the hard days where I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t getting my way.


{Read the rest over at Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood, where real connections matter.}
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Oh, Carolina ...

{If there were a soundtrack for this post, it would be Needtobreathe's "Oh Carolina." You can listen here. And if you haven't heard Needtobreathe's new album, I highly recommend it. All of it.}


Some of my best childhood memories involve beach vacations. The location is different now, but these vacation continue now that us three kids are married and have kids. We're up to 13 of us now.

We'll all gathering this week at a house in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where we'll swim, eat, play games, laugh, explore, read, spend lots of time talking about where we're going and what we're doing next, swim, and eat.

In 2005, we discovered Hilton Head when a hurricane was en route to Perdido Key, Florida, which was the backdrop for many childhood memories. We haven't been back to Florida's Panhandle because we fell in love with South Carolina's Low Country.

{See posts from previous Hilton Head trips: 2005. 2008. 2010.}

In 2012, we were adventurous and stayed at Isle of Palms near Charleston. It was nice. But it wasn't Hilton Head.

So, Hilton Head, we're coming back to you.

Do you have memories tied up in a specific vacation spot?
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Books I've Read in 2014

Reading and summer have always be intertwined for me. Now that my kids are both officially swimmers, reading is even more possible at the pool. Although I've been in the water often lately because it's been so summery hot. {That's not a complaint - I love summer!}

We're leaving for the beach on Saturday, so I have new books on my Kindle and plenty more on my Amazon wish list. And here we are, pretty much half way through the year. {I know, it's hard to believe ...} So today seems like a good time to share the books I've so far read this year. 

I keep an ongoing list over at Goodreads.

Fiction
"Missing You" by Harlan Coben
"Fall From Grace" by Richard North Patterson
"That Certain Summer" by Irene Hannon
"One Perfect Spring" by Irene Hannon
"Made in the U.S.A." by Billie Letts


Non-fiction :: Christianity
"Let. It. Go." by Karen Ehman
"Love Idol" by Jennifer Dukes Lee {Review & Related Posts}
"The Applause of Heaven" by Max Lucado
"Chasing God" by Angie Smith {Review}
"Restless: Because You Were Made for More" by Jennie Allen {Review}
"Storyline: Finding Your Subplot in God's Story" by Donald Miller {Related Posts}
"Front Porch Living: A Faith Journey to the Summers of Yesteryear" by Lori Dunham

Non-fiction :: Parenthood
"No More Perfect Kids" by Jill Savage and Kathy Koch {Review}
"Bringing Home the Missing Linck: A Journey of Faith to Family" by Jennifer Jackson Linck
"Surprised by Motherhood" by Lisa-Jo Baker {Review}
"Trucks, Tantrums and Trusting Him: Confessions of a Boy Mom" by Jennifer Jackson Linck {Review}
"A to Z Summer Fun: Ideas to Inspire Family Fun" by Cathy Baker {Review}

Non-fiction :: Marriage
"Worth the Fight: Lessons Learned in a High Maintenance Marriage" by Kayse Pratt {Review}
"The Marriage You've Always Wanted" by Gary Chapman {Review}
"The Antelope in the Living Room: The Real Story of Two People Sharing One Life" by Melanie Shankle

Non-fiction :: Writing

"Self-Publish: Moving from Idea to Product" by Erin Ulrich & Teri Lynne Underwood
"How to Market and Sell Your eBook" by Sarah Mae

What have you read this year? Recommendations always accepted!

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Find more reading suggestions at the Creative Home Keeper's Summer Reading List, where Victoria's also hosting a link-up for other bloggers. 

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Life is messy.

We had friends over three nights in a row this week. The agendas were different: Game of Things and Settlers of Catan with our best friends one night, discussion of Randy Alcorn's "In Light of Eternity" with our small group the next, and then USA's World Cup game with soccer-loving friends. {Yes, we're a family of four extroverts.}

All the gatherings involved food. And they all involved real life.

Nothing was perfect but I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Crumbs were left on the floor and counters had residue from various dishes. People shared their struggles and asked for advice and prayer around our table. Kids tracked in water that dropped from their clothes and hair after an impromptu water fight.

I feel blessed in the four walls of my house.

Greg and I love marriage so much more now than when we were newlyweds almost a dozen years ago. We get each other and the grace between us more. Sure, parenting is hard but we're seeing growth and progress. And I'm learning to appreciate the moment with my favorite three people.
Even the messy ones.

Because this is life. This is my life. 

Sometimes sadness and conflict and heartache seem overwhelming outside my house even when inside my house is peaceful. In the past it’s been the other way around: Peace has come from the outside.

But even when the messes are with people who don't live in my house, I feel the mud and the dripping water because I believe in community. I don't want to do this life alone and I don't want the people around me to either.

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

{1 Peter 4:8-9}

Sometimes life is messy.

Sometimes mud squishes between my toes and then I cry for my friend. Other times kids come in needing a towel to dry themselves off. I say something I know matters but still am left wondering how it was received. Friends pray together because there's nothing else we can do. "Hospice" keeps weaving its way into conversations about a beloved family member.

But I want to let other people in my house and my heart. I want them to pull up chairs around my table. I want to know what's on their hearts. I don't want to worry about the messes that will eventually be cleaned.

One day we'll be cleaned up and wash off in the ultimate way.

“Heaven will cleanse us of sin and error, but it won’t erase our lives and memories. The people we’ve known here, who God has sent to impact our lives, are his gift to us, as we are his gift to them. To forget these people would be to forget God’s grace and provision.”

{Randy Alcorn in "In Light of Eternity"}

Ah, yes, God's grace and provision. These people and their hearts matter. Our messes are temporary, but right now matters forever.
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Joining my favorite online encouragers with this post: Jen Ferguson's Soli Deo Gloria gathering, Jennifer Dukes Lee's #TellHisStory, Beth Stiff's Three Word Wednesday, and Holley Gerth's Coffee for Your Heart. 

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Growing Pains :: Continuing His Work

She tripped in the shower and then a few days later on a kickball serving as a soccer ball. She feels the pain in her legs sometimes at night. Her legs are longer and her body taller.

Ah, growing pains.

Until the last few months, I would have never described Cate as clumsy. But as she's growing she's figuring out how to move and be and live.

Aren't we all a little clumsy when we are adjusting to something new? Our perspective can be skewed and our routines scattered. Knowledge and conviction clutter our minds. Decisions suck up our time.

Clumsy.

"Then You remind me You made me from the dust
And I can never, no never, be good enough
And that You’re not gonna let that come between us
I get so clumsy
I get so foolish
I get so stupid
And then I feel so useless
But You’re sayin’ You love me
And You’re still gonna hold me
And that You wanna be near me
‘Cause You’re makin’ me holy
You’re still makin’ me holy,
From where I stand
Your holiness is up so high I can never reach it
My only hope is to fall on Jesus" 

{From "Clumsy" by Chris Rice}

We’re going to fall down and mess up and trip over whatever is in our path, especially when we’re adjusting to something new. It's there when our face is on the ground and our legs aching that we remember we need a savior. The bruises fade and wounds heal. The scars may remain, reminding us where we’ve been and just how far we’ve come.

Growth happens over time – and a little at a time. I'm realizing more and more that's so we can adjust with each pain and nudge and revelation.

Even though it seems like my girl has grown up to her 51 inches overnight, it really has been a process. Some days I notice her new height more than others, but I often realize she knows more and can do more with each day she lives.

Cate’s not done growing. Yes, she’s come so far but she still has room to grow. The same can be said of me. And you. And them. Thankfully, God promises us he continues the work he’s begun in us. I suppose that means we’ll have growing pains as long as this earth is our home.
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I'm linking up this post with Jennifer Dukes Lee's #TellHisStory, Beth Stiff's Three Word Wednesday, and Holley Gerth's Coffee for Your Heart. 

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Come on, adventure awaits ...

We woke up Saturday morning without a plan.

Weekends have been busy for months, so it was so refreshing. {Yes, the fact my family let me sleep until 8 a.m. added to the refreshment.} We slowly made a plan, deciding to go out to a favorite local breakfast spot and then stock up on some fresh veggies from the farmers’ market before going to some yard sales. We struck out at several yard sales before our last one offered some great clothes for Ben and my newest nephew as well as some colorful ink pads for my girl and her stamps.

As we finished going to yard sales, my friend Sarah texted me about their morning fishing outing that had failed. She was disappointed for her husband, who wanted to take advantage of Kentucky’s weekend that didn’t require a fishing license.

I told her Greg had wanted to go to Land Between the Lakes to fish, so we ended up making an impromptu plan for the afternoon. After gathering fishing and lunching supplies, I took care of my one lake house management commitment, which happened to be on the way to our chosen fishing spot.

Well, honestly, Sarah and I talked while four of the five kids and husbands fished.

After a few hours, we loaded back up our mini vans to travel the 34 miles back to town. Right as we pulled away, I received a few weather-warning texts about a thunderstorm and possible tornado. While discussing what we should do, the skies ahead looked dark and had occasional bursts of lightning. We decided to seek shelter rather than take the chances crossing a narrow bridge over Kentucky Lake and wish we had taken shelter while it was near.

We ended up spending another hour with Sarah and her family at the Land Between the Lakes Visitor’s Center. The guys kept an eye on the radar and we all decided we made the right decision.

Maybe the day felt adventurous because I’m such a planner. Perhaps planning not have plans is necessary for me to embrace spontaneity.

Regardless, I loved our adventurous day.

The adventures continued Sunday when we went out to my mother-in-law’s house in the country just south of the Kentucky-Tennessee line after our usual post-church lunch. Greg wanted to target shoot and the kids like to run free out there. So that’s what we did. I humored Greg with some target shooting – and liked it. The kids played outside and ate ice cream inside. Ben caught a frog that he helped swim in the bird bath. Cate used binoculars to watch hummingbirds.

Greg talks about wanting to live in the country one day. I’m not sure I’m ready for that. But I do love having country adventures available to us. Like not having plans, shooting a .22 rifle at a target takes me out of my comfort zone.

But, you know, it’s not so bad out there. I should step out more because adventure does await.

Have you had any adventures lately?
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I'm joining the Soli Deo Gloria Gathering, which is back after Jen Ferguson listened to God about revamping the community. This post of mine isn't exactly deep, but it does go along with Jen's focus on FUN this year. 

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{Review} Restless

Some of the moments that have shaped me the most have been the hardest to walk through. But they matter. Those seasons of heartache changed me and showed me how much I need God. The grieving and adapting and resolving are often processes, but those trials continue to shape my perspective of what God is doing and wants to do for his glory – in my life and all around me.

This idea isn’t new to me. I spent time thinking about it when I worked through Donald Miller’s “Storyline.” God’s glory – especially in the hard times – became even more real to me as I read Jennie Allen’s “Restless: Because You Were Made for More.”

Like “Storyline,” this book prompts introspection of where you’ve been and where you’re going – and why that matters. Both authors also use Joseph’s life has an encouragement that what could have broken us can still be redeemed.

After decades of suffering, some of which came by the hands of his brothers, Joseph still embraced redemption.

But Joseph said to them, "Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

{Genesis 50:19-21}

Joseph was able to speak kindly to those who had hurt him because God changed him. God saved his life – and likely others – because Joseph realized suffering was just part of the story. His brothers weren’t going to fulfill him, only God would.

Sure, Joseph’s life was messy. So is mine. I’m guessing yours is too.

But God just needs us to bring it all to him.

Jennie Allen energized me to live intentionally – for God’s glory alone. What we say to people, where we send our kids to school, how we prioritize our marriage and other relationships, who we invite over and in, where we go, how we spend our time and our money, and what we teach our kids ... all of that matters.

“Restless” is a book that encourages and challenges on the same page. It’s packed with truth I wanted to highlight with my pen and absorb with my heart. There is space to write and process and I know I’ll revisit these pages over and over again.

My word for this year is LIGHT. And God’s been incorporating that single yet powerful word into nearly everything he’s teaching me this year. It carried over while I was reading “Restless” and learning more about how God’s glory exists in my everyday life.

“We are souls undone and rebuilt by the Spirit of God. As God surveys this earth, he sees light and darkness. And he sees his light, his Spirit wandering through neighborhoods, offices, schools, Walmarts, Chick-fil-A playgrounds, and eating breadsticks at Olive Gardens. We possess God and are filled with him for the very same purposes that Peter, John, Paul, Mary and Luke in the early church were filled with him. We are filled with God to pour him into the darkness, pour him into the broken souls who are starving for something.”

{Jennie Allen in “Restless”}

And that starts wherever you are. Messes and all.
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I received a copy of "Restless" from Booklook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review. So here it is, my honest opinion, although be glad I limited it. I could share quote after quote and talk for days on this one. 

I'm linking this review with my friends at Circles of Faith, where you can find more book recommendations in a monthly post dedicated to such.

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