Tag Archives: Emily P. Freeman

Books, Books and More Books 2015

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I’ve always been a big reader! And this year was no exception. It was full of so much goodness. I started the year reading one of my absolute fave books ever; Let’s All Be Brave” by Annie F. Downs (I cannot wait until her new book comes out.) This book fit so well with my word for the year “brave!” This book is so dog eared and underlined and highlighted. Check out my post here: The Book That Is Wrecking my Soul



Bread and Wine–Shauna Niequest
Oh how I loved this book. The recipes weren’t necessary but they are an added bonus. Love that this book reminds us how to break bread at the table and be hospitable. I’ve gifted so many copies of this book.

The Greatest Gift and One Thousand Gifts–Ann Voskamp
This was my second read through of the book The Greatest Gift. Such a great Advent book. One Thousand Gifts was wonderful. I downloaded the app and have been keeping track of my own gifts. It helps us keep stock of our blessings.

Searching for Sunday–Rachel Held Evans
Working at a church, this book spoke to me in so many ways. Reading what individuals are searching for etc. Too many have been hurt by the church and I truly think this is a book that might help individuals heal.

Orphan Train–Christina Baker Kline
Sadly I didn’t read many fiction books this year. But this was such a good read.

On Being A Writer–Charity Singleton Craig and Ann Kroeker
This is the book that truly made me realize I’m a writer. I participated in a six week course on this book. So so good! I love that the authors interacted and commented on our blog posts. They also have some great podcasts.

It’s Simply Tuesday–Emily P. Freeman
Another book that I loved. Emily helps us all take time to breath and bask in our simply Tuesday’s. After reading this book, I don’t dread Tuesdays like perhaps I did before.

For the Love–Jen Hatmaker
This book is so fun…it made me laugh in so many places. But in other places, as a single woman, I couldn’t always identify with Jens stories. But overall, I truly enjoyed this book.



Wild in the Hollow–Amber Haines
Another fantastic read! Loved this book!

Oh so much goodness! In 2016, I need to finish Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg, Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber, The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury (Thanks Katie M. Reid) and Beautiful Uncertainty by Mandy Hales (Thanks Susan Shipe) Beautiful Uncertainty doesn’t come out until 2016 but I was gifted a prerelease copy. As a single woman myself, this book is PURE GOLD!

Last but certainly not least, I’m currently reading “Notes on the Journey: Living with Sarcoma and Hope” by Laura A. Koppenhoefer. The book is a compilation of Laura’s CarePages from approx Sept 2011-Spring 2014. Laura lost her cancer battle on Nov 30th of this year. I’m thankful for a friend who is loaning me her copy of Laura’s book. I’m reading through slowly and savoring my dear friend’s words!

The Top Ten Things November Taught Me!

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I am linking up with Emily Freeman’s monthly link-up today. You can check out all the posts over at Emily’s Place.

(1) It is so much fun to find new clothing lines. Thanks to my friend Lindy for introducing me to LuluRoe. I am so excited to try out my leggings. I also will be purchasing a dress or skirt.

(2) Even.If.Not has become one of my new favorite phrases penned by my blog friend Kaitlyn. I am on her launch team and am so excited for all of you to read her book. Even If Not: Living, Loving, and Learning in the in Between will be released in early 2016. For more information, click here!

(3) Time with dear friends is so so good for the soul! Lunch with KG, coffee with CT, Beer and Hymns with EG and AH. We need to take time to gather around the table more often friends!

(4) We need to find a cure for cancer! I know this isn’t news to anyone. But too many individuals have been taken way too soon. My friend Laura completed her Baptismal journey yesterday. My heart breaks for Laura’s daughters who have now lost both of their parents to cancer. Two weeks ago, our local Taco John’s held a fundraiser for a young wife and mother who was battling cancer. She passed away two days after her fundraiser. And it seems that more and more people are being diagnosed with cancer.

(5) Thanksgiving with the family is the best! Love spending time with my family especially as my grandparents age. Good food, great conversation, competitive Rook games, lots of laughter and so much more!

(6) The gift of community! I especially have noticed it in the last 24 hours. Voxes, Tweets, Facebook messages and the list goes on. In the words of my friend Sally, it feels like one giant cyber hug. And my friends, that is a perfect description. As the Wartburg Seminary community grieves, near and far, there is power in knowing that we do not grieve alone but together.

(7) Peppermint lattes, hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, vanilla egg nog….oh the goodness! I love this time of the year. There is something about curling up under blankets with a hot beverage in hand.

(8) I am a champion chili maker! I repeated as the Lutheran Campus Ministry chili feed champ which is voted on by local officials. This year it was local cops; last year fire men!

(9) Sometimes we just have to reward ourselves for completing a goal/challenge. I bought myself a new tshirt AND tank top for finishing the Write 31 Days challenge. I couldn’t decide so I rewarded myself with two items!

(10) Pinterest isn’t always a fail! I led the Family SS activities two weeks in a row. And the cute cupcake liner angels from Pinterest were not an EPIC FAIL. In fact, they turned out rather cute.

Linking Up Here!

Finding Our Simply Tuesdays

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The weekend rolls around and then the calendar page turns to Monday where we find ourselves heading back to work, school, etc. And then it is simply Tuesday. Have you ever found yourself just stuck there? Tuesday isn’t Monday. It isn’t Friday or the end of the week. It isn’t even hump day. It is just laying out there all by itself. Yet perhaps maybe we are called to embrace our simple Tuesdays.

I just finished Emily P. Freeman’s book “It’s Simply Tuesday.” In the book, Freeman shares about how we are to enjoy those Tuesdays in their smallness. We are to embrace our Tuesday people on our Tuesday benches on that simply Tuesday ordinary day.

“Let’s gently poke our sleepy souls refusing to wait for a big event to wake us up. Let’s stop running from ordinary time but begin to sit in the midst of it (P. 26).”

Yes, let’s sit in the midst of that ordinary time because the truth is that ordinary time is longer and more than the other special days. In fact, in the seasons of the church year, the liturgical color green which is for ordinary time is the longest season of the church year. It can be so easy to get caught up in what seems like boredom and smallness of that ordinary time. But as Emily reminds us, that ordinary time is an important time for us to dwell. It is a time that leads to those extraordinary times and helps us to enjoy those extra special days even more.

The truth is that on those simply Tuesdays, God is there with us. “As it turns out, Jesus doesn’t come riding in on a white horse to save me from my humiliation, my daily work, my endless list. Instead, he whispers a quiet invitation to keep company with him the way he came to earth to keep company with us. It won’t always feel like a rescue. It might feel like surrender.  But on the other side of that space I find Jesus. I find his peace, I find his companionship (Introduction; Location 237).”

I love that I just finished this book as the calendar page soon turns to Advent. Advent is my most favorite time of the year because it continually reminds me of Jesus “Emmanuel”; God with us who comes in the most unlikely place to the most unlikeliest people. God has a way of doing that; showing up in those small mundane simply Tuesday spaces. And it is in those spaces, that we are reminded of God’s love for us; a love that comes not just on Sundays, but every day of the week including those simply Tuesday days.

“Being led by love has to start by recognizing we already have it. I can’t let love lead if I don’t know it’s there to begin with (P. 188).”

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love moves toward (P. 193).” 

God’s love reminds us that God is there in the light and in the darkness, in the joy and in the sorrow, and in the morning and in the night. It is just that sometimes we have a hard time seeing God in those places. But the truth is that God is always there. God promises to never leave us or forsake us. God sits with us on our Tuesday benches with our Tuesday people on those simply Tuesdays and shows us who God has created us to be.

“And even as we stand with our feet firmly planted on our Tuesdays, we’ll let our souls, with childlike wonder, stand high on tiptoe with great hope, knowing the King of our Kingdom will one day come again (P.218)”

And that, my friends, is enough!

I am linking up with Holly at Testimony Tuesday, Kelly and the RaRa Linkup, Jennifer Dukes Lee and Tell His Story, Holley Gerth and Coffee for your Heart and Literary Musing Mondays.


 
 

What October Taught Me

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I am linking up with Emily Freeman’s monthly link-up today. You can check out all the posts over at Emily’s Place. (Sad face….I missed the link-up deadline!)

October came in with a BANG with the Write 31 Days challenge. And, of course, I thought it would be a great idea to do two series: one on my personal blog and one on a blog I just started for church. I am happy to say that this overachiever finished both Write 31 days series.

This is what I learned this month….

(1) I absolutely love hosting friends over at my place. There is something so incredibly holy about inviting them to sit at my virtual table and to hear their stories. I hope to invite more of you to come to visit here. Thanks to Karrilee, Melissa, and Colleen for sharing their stories of God’s grace this month. Please know that the door is always open to all of you!

(2) Throughout my 31 days, I learned that I absolutely LOVE the discipline of sitting down and writing every day during the challenge. I love doing something that stretches me and blesses me in more ways than I could ever imagine.

(3) The Interwebs and SOCIAL MEDIA! I cannot even begin to tell you how amazing it has been to find a community that has blessed me in more ways than I could ever imagine. I am thankful that I got to Periscope with several of the Five Minute Friday crowd while they were at Allume this past month. (Allume or another blogging conference is totally on my bucket list!) And thanks to Susan for this beautiful gift that she sent me. I cannot wait to dive into it!

(4) Project Life App. This has become one of my new favorite apps. My friend Sarah gifted it to me and I cannot get enough of it. I can make pages on my phone or my I-pad Mini, upload the page to Shutterfly and drop into a page. It is so slick. Here is a page I recently made ALL using that app.
(5) ShutterFly. I absolutely love making Shutterfly photo books. And  cannot wait for the orange package to arrive in my mailbox. I have been so far behind. But due to the Fall weather and being cuddled up under blankets at home, I have been able to catch up. 
(6) As my friend Karrilee stated in her monthly wrap-up, Write 31 days totally cuts into our reading time. Amen to that! I just started “It’s Simply Tuesday” by Emily P. Freeman and am LOVING it! On my to-read list is “Beautiful UnCertainty” “Accidental Saints” and so many others.
(7) I LOVE reading others blogs, commenting, and encouraging them. One of my favorite things this last month was encouraging my friends through the challenge, but also meeting new blog friends. I never realized how much of an encourager I am until others pointed it out to me.
(8) I am learning the many ways God has called me to be brave while also learning to be brave in new ways too. The other day, my friend Mary pointed out how she thinks my brave is in “telling our story.” Anyone else think God was trying to show me something over a year ago then when I was called to write this: Being a Daughter: 31 Days of Mental Illness
(9) Adulting totally sucks sometimes! At the end of last week which also happened to coincide with the end of the month, my car had all sorts of problems. I had to have three tires replaced. In addition, my automatic window engine died which of course had to happen immediately after I had rolled down my window so it was stuck in the down position. Thankful it was all fixable and that my Dad is able to help me out.
(10) Spending time with family is wonderful! I loved spending time with my aunt, Grandma and Grandpa earlier this month. As Gma and Gpa age, I treasure the time I have left with them even more! We hung out at the Norsk Hostfest and got to see some awesome concerts especially Martina McBride.
(11) I am a kid at heart! It was so much fun to dress up for the church’s Fall festival. I also love hanging out with my favorite peeps! 
And that is pretty much what I learned this month. What have you learned this month?
(Also after Write 31 days, I am taking some time off from the blog to simply rest. I will see you back here late Thursday night or early Friday morning for the Five Minute Friday. Not sure if this week’s word will top last week’s prompt of  “bacon” And oh how much do I love that our writing tribe picked that word! Love these quirky lovely people!)
I am linking up with these lovely faith-filled ladies:

What I Learned in September….

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I am linking up with Emily Freeman’s monthly link-up today. You can check out all the posts over at Emily’s Place.

Things I learned this month….

(1) I am a writer! After participating in the online discussion on the book “On Being a Writer” by Charity Singleton Craig and Ann Kroeker, I can honestly say that I am a writer. I have learned that writing is indeed so much a part of who I am. There are limitations, but those limitations often push my writing to be better.

(2) In the words of my blog friend Katie Reid, we write to remember. As I remembered the suicide of my college friend Chewy and the anniversary of September 11, 2001 on my blog, I realized how true those words are. It is so important for us to remember those who are dear to us, those historic events in the world, and so much more.

In addition, remembering can be bittersweet too. I watched the finale of CSI the other day. When I was at seminary, a group of friends and I would spend every Thursday night watching CSI together. It was hard not to think of them and all we had been through as I watched the finale. I miss those crazy people!

(3) When Life is Wearing On You, God places people–friends—in our lives to journey with us because God does not want life to wear on us. God places those people into our lives to listen to us, to be there for us, to be that shoulder to cry on for us and to a hold a piece of each other’s stories..not to take our stories away from us but to bear the burden with us.

(4) It is so important to spend time with family! I decided to drive home for Labor Day weekend as my Grandma had suffered a stroke several weeks before. It was so good to spend time with my Grandma, Grandpa, my sister, my aunts and uncle, my dad, my step-mom and my sister. We spent a lot of time picking produce from Grandma’s garden which she gladly shared with all of us. I treasure the time I spend with my family especially as my grandparents age.

(5) SO MANY GOOD BOOKS! I finished “Searching for Sunday” by Rachel Held Evans and “Wild in the Hollow” by Amber C. Haines. I just started “For the Love” by Jen Hatmaker. “Accidental Saints” by Nadia Bolz-Weber and “It’s Simply Tuesday” by Emily Freeman are just a few of the books on my to read pile.

(6) Voxer, Periscope, and Twitter…all the social media! I absolutely LOVE Voxer. And I am starting to love Periscope too. It is so cool to be able to see the faces and hear the voices of my blog friends spread all over the world. I have even begun broadcasting my own Scopes on Periscope. I know that so many feel like the world wide web can be such a negative place, but what I have learned is that there are some amazing communities there as well. I love my blogging community so much. You each bless me so immensely!

(7) “She is far more precious than rubies!” A friend commented that to me on a blog post and then I got a Tweet sharing a picture with those words. It is so easy for us to think we are not enough, to think we are not worthy but the truth is that we are ENOUGH! I have put on the new name tag of “more precious than rubies” and I invite you to join me in putting it on because you, my dear friends, are more precious than rubies too!

(8) I learned all the many things that I forgot about the beauty of Fall. I love watching the seasons change. I love all things Pumpkin. I had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte a few weeks ago. I love the cooler air and watching the beauty of God’s creation changing all around me.

(9) Sometimes we just have to be silly and laugh! Thanks to Agape, Joe Davis and Rachel Kurtz for this awesome photo op idea. Little did you know that I needed a good laugh that day. And this photo op made me smile and still makes me smile!

(10) God’s grace is sufficient! It is a grace that God doesn’t wrap in a pretty bow, but rather simply sets it on the table for us to receive. So often we forget the gift of God’s grace though. And because I am continuing to receive and learn from God’s grace, I will be joining in the Write 31 Days challenge and will be sharing 31 Stories of God’s grace. Click Here to learn more about my Write 31 days challenge.

(11) And most of all, I learned that it is pretty great turning another year older. I am so incredibly loved and you all let me know that on the anniversary of my birth. So many Tweets, well wishes on my FaceBook wall and birthday presents. I felt so spoiled! And I got to top it off with some of my favorite gals in the world at our favorite wine bar. Tiger cake, good wine, some of my bestest friends, and celebrating another year of life! I am so very thankful for my 37 years on this year…and trust that year 37 will be a fantastic year too.