Further Up and Further In

Somewhere about the final chapter of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe series, main characters Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy proclaim, "Further up and further in!"  After all they had seen, all they had done, all the places they had already visited and conquered and declared the victory, their final words cry out for even more.  "Further up, and further in!"  In Narnia and this world alike, where God directs the adventure, there is always more.

A few months ago I pressed, "pause" on writing.  Life got busy. We moved a family of six 5000 (!) miles around the globe, set up a new school house, embraced the Christmas season with even more boxes to open and yet, there is more.

More experiences to share.  More words to untangle from my spaghetti brain.  More prompts from the Lord to travel, "further up and further in" this writing adventure.

So I step.  Inspired by an amazingly grace-filled woman aptly named Ann, I travel further up by looking up.  And His abundance flows right down to my feet.  One thousand times one thousand I receive from the author of my own adventure - Grace, Peace, breath, life, even the very bread I eat - and do I even say, "thank you"? Can I even remember to give thanks? 

I step again, traveling further in.  "Pray always, rejoice continually, and give thanks to the Lord in all circumstances" (1 Thes 5:16-18). I travel further in by submitting to God's will, enter in to His very presence in prayer, pause long enough to re-experience the joy He offers - for joy is a gift, and stop to merely say, "Thank you" for what I see and for what I can only imagine.


I don't really know how to travel this road further up and further in, but I am starting today by responding to Ann's challenge tojust say "Thank you,"  Thank you for the gifts the Lord has brought.  Thank you for the gifts He continues to bring.  And thank you for the gifts He promises to bring - for there is always more.

Won't you join me as we count them out together?  Won't you start your own list?  Just to see how much more is in store for you...and me?

My One Thousand Gifts (#s 1-7):

1. A Savior, my Savior, who rescued me from the death of sin
2. My man - who has loved me when I was unlovable and has pursued my heart for over 20 years
3. Samuel - my firstborn and constant surprise
4. Emilie - the mirror of my own heart, if not my own face
5. Sarah - the personification of childlike faith
6. Jack - the joy of the Lord captured in a 4 yr-old
7. A family...my family...the place I call home.  My heart longed for 'more' through years of higher education and professional pursuit.  Praise God that He always offers 'more.'

All of Life is an Answer to Someone

Tonight I watched a live telecast ("Yes to God") with Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministries and Ann VosKamp, author of One Thousand Gifts.  I couldn't go to bed without sharing the Word I heard!  And you can watch the re-broadcast too on Wednesday, noon EST here! 



Simply, all of life is an answer...an answer to someone. 

Will I say yes to the enemy of my soul?

Yes, I am a mess

Yes, I am a hypocrite

Yes, I failed to live the life I preach to my children

Or will I say yes to God?

Yes, I am forgiven

Yes, I am cherished

Yes, I am restored and made whole and given grace and lavished with mercy

"May my heart be like water
and the Holy Spirit like a wind
and at the slightest breath of His Word
may I respond
with YES." (Ann VosKamp)

Yes to His blessings.
Yes to His grace.
Yes to His Life for me.

The Art of Mom-ology

Praise report, my friends!!

Last week, after checking my blog, a friend asked me to write a book review of Thin Places for her local MOPS newsletter.  (MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers.  You can read more about them here.)

I only had a few days to turn this blog post into a bonafide book review...but we did ti!!  The mothers of the Crosspointe, NC MOPS Chapter are now reading all about my newest favorite book too!  Check out the publication here.

May God shower you with blessings this weekend  as well.
Tracey

Thin Places

I just finished reading Thin Places a memoir by Mary DeMuth.  A brave compilation of unfortunate childhood memories, Mary does much more than dredge up her sordid past for the sake of wallowing in it's raunchy pit.  She creates an opportunity to see things anew; to gain a fresh perspective on the past in order to move on to the present.

"Much of what God does in my life is healing the past in order to embrace the future" Mary writes (p189).  The time has come for me to do the same.  The time has come to stop running from my past in a vain hope of leaving it all behind.  The time has come to remember...so I do.