an unexpected partnership.

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. Proverbs 14:30

Have you ever had that sickening feeling inside, that sense that someone else has something better than you? That someone else is getting your “just desserts”? Have you ever felt that torment of bitter comparison, wondering what makes them so special and you not-so-much?

No? Oh…um…me neither.

Just kidding. I think we’ve all been there. Jealousy sneaks in and erodes like a cancer before we’ve taken it captive and dealt with it. The Bible shows us over and over again what a nasty business it is.

In praying through this very thing today, I made a startling discovery: jealousy and unbelief walk hand-in-hand. 

Think about it: If we truly believe that God is the Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) and that He has provided everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), would we really feel inclined to pine for someone else’s stuff?

If we are spending so much energy looking at another person’s success, status or possessions, making ourselves sick with asking “why,” then it could be that we are not believing that God has given us everything we need in this moment, at this time.

Choose to believe in God’s specific goodness to you, at this time, and jealousy instantly loses its power.

Life may not look the way you want it to right now. It’s okay. Truly, God is good, and He is preparing you for your future season. We go from glory to glory (Psalm 84:7, 2 Corinthians 3:18), whether our hands are full or empty. He is with us in the summer and the winter, and through every change in between. Let go of what is past, open your hands to what is coming, and give thanks for what you have today.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to rot anymore. Believe Him. Rest in His promises, and the tranquility that comes from trusting Him will bring life to your bones. 

a year ago today

A year ago today, we stood in our living room, looking around awkwardly. We held it together on the outside, but inwardly we wondered what on earth we were going to do.

The wedding was perfect. The honeymoon, glorious. Ten sweet days of celebrating, exploring new territory and relaxing--the only responsibilities we had at the time.

And then...we were "home." But was it really? I didn't have any of my things in your house, and you didn't know what your house was going to look like once I finally got settled. "How is this supposed to work?" we thought. Was marriage supposed to feel this...uncomfortable? Thank God for best friends and helpful articles from people who have been there. People who tell the truth and say, "Yeah, this feels weird, but it's normal. It's ok. I was there, and now I'm here, and it gets a lot better."

Because if I didn't know it got better, and SOON, I might have had a panic attack.

But it did get better. I "nested" as soon as possible, starting with a room I could easily claim as my own: the kitchen.  Somehow, that did the trick--it's amazing what putting up a few of your own cookbooks will do.

We opened gifts and displayed some of our things. We unpacked, packed, threw away, organized--all that boring moving stuff. But through all of that, we figured each other out a little more day after day. We asked questions, we talked things through, we felt the awkward pauses and pushed through them.

We celebrated, explored new territory, and, finally, we relaxed.

We developed our routines...at least, for that year. And they were good. It was all good, really--even that difficult day a year ago today.

I took a stroll around our neighborhood tonight and, as I walked up to our front steps, I remembered that feeling I had a year ago of looking at our door and realizing, "This is my door now. This is our house." And that same surge of excitement from 12 months ago rushed over me again, because there is absolutely nowhere else I'd rather be.

not for the timid.

2 Timothy 1:7

…for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

I went ice skating last week. I’m not what you might call “athletically inclined,” so this was more about me doing an act of love for my active husband than fulfilling a personal desire to learn to skate. 

My first few times around the rink were downright stressful because I was trying so hard not to fall. That ice is slippery stuff, and I don’t like bruises. So I faltered around for a while, and decided quickly that I needed a rest. My husband continued around the rink because he actually enjoys skating. I watched him go, envious of his boldness. I admired his willingness to try new things, regardless of whether or not he might fall as he learned. I even envied the little kids who seemed to have great balance—and great fun—as they glided on the ice.

And suddenly it dawned on me: I’d much rather focus on learning to skate than on simply not falling. One was a positive focus; the other was wholly negative. How can you be free to skate if you’re afraid of falling?

How can you really do anything if you’re afraid of failure? 

I’ve lived so much of my life trying to avoid failure that I often don’t enjoy living. If God has not given me a spirit of fear (and timidity, as some translations say), then why am I so timid? What does He really want me to accomplish in this life, in my relationships and in my walk with Him, that I’m too distracted to see because I don’t want to get bruised?

He’s given us a spirit of power, love and of a sound mind. He’s prepared us to truly live. Are we walking that out? I think He’s destined all of us to be excellent skaters, if we’d only stop worrying about the ice and let Him teach us how to glide.

And I think we’ll have a lot of fun doing it, too.

whoops.

Well hey there! I haven't blogged here in several months...sorry about that. I've recently been a guest blogger  with my friends over at seacoastworship.com, so that's been taking up some of my writing time. I'm also teaching at the Seacoast School of Worship a little bit, so that's taking up some brain space as well. All in all, life is truly grand. Travis and I are about to celebrate our first year of marriage, which I can hardly believe...why does time go by so quickly?

I will be sharing some of my worship posts on this blog, along with whatever else I can think of. I hope you are well, wherever you are and whatever you're doing! Thanks for reading.

-S

it's beginning to look a lot like...

It's Christmastime!! I LOVE Christmastime. I started listening to Christmas music back in September--mostly for research, but partly for pleasure. That's a little different for me, since I usually resist the introduction of anything Christmas-related before mid-November. This year is a little different, though. Not sure why, but I have just been very excited about Christmas coming...maybe it's because it's my first one as a married woman. Regardless, the hope that Christmas represents is one of the greatest gifts we have on earth, and that is something to celebrate no matter what the month. *cue piano music*

We decided to do things a little differently as far as church decor this year, which means that we basically built everything from scratch. I thought the results were pretty fantastic, so I decided it was blog-worthy and have included some instructions if you're of the Pinterest-persuasion.

This is our "North-pole"-inspired sign that was built from scratch by a carpenter here at the church. It's made entirely of old barn wood! We painted it white, glued red ribbon all the way up (Mod-Podge is a wonderful thing), and added the signs and snow later. If you look closely at the signs, they have been painted for an antique effect, which is actually very easy to do! See below for the instructions. 

We added Christmas-related words, like "Rejoice," "Emmanuel," "O Come All Ye Faithful," etc. to guide people into the worship center and children's hallways.

We took our very tired wreaths from Christmases past and revived them with some inexpensive red decorations and ribbon. It worked wonders!

And these...these are our masterpieces: homemade winter trees. We cut down some tree branches from the woods nearby, sponge-painted them with primer, and mounted them to the stage. I. LOVE. THEM.

And here are just a few more antiqued signs, hand-painted by the masterful Jeanne (of Jeanne Mitchum Photography--she does everything well). These are hanging in the back of the auditorium, tying the tech booth into the scheme of the whole room. 

To antique a piece of wood, 1) choose your base color. This will show through your top coat when the product is finished. 2) When the base color has dried, apply a layer of school glue to the whole piece. 3) Before the glue has dried (not wet but still tacky), apply your top color. As the glue and paint dry together, the paint will crack, revealing the base color and giving the piece that antique look!  

And when I say, "we," in this post, I really mean the geniuses below: John and Jeanne. John is the master of crafty, and Jeanne is just plain awesome with a paint brush. (There she is, throwing fake snow on the top left. Very serious business, this.)

Weeks like this make me love my job even more. We hope we have created a home-like atmosphere for the people attending our church this Christmas season. At any rate, we had fun.

So how do YOU decorate for Christmas?

for the birds.

I'm a bird nerd.

I'm drawn to things with birds on them--artwork, jewelry, etc. Birds were a theme at my wedding. It almost got to this point with me:



But it's not just because they've become very cool in our culture lately. I've become more interested in them over the past several years, especially after seeing the birds of paradise segment in "Planet Earth." I think they are one of the most fascinating species of animal that God created. I'm even at the point where I think I might enjoy bird-watching...but we'll see.

I saw one today during one of the parking-lot-walks that I often take during the day (sitting at a computer all day is the killer of creativity...and physical comfort). This little guy was sitting on top of a telephone pole, chirping at the top of his lungs for no apparent reason. I couldn't help but stop and listen to him, admiring the freedom and downright gusto with which he sang his song.

Each bird has its own song, you know. Its song is different from every other bird's song, and it's specific to breed and gender. And no bird seems afraid to sing.

I then think of the people around me. Each person has his or her own song to sing. It's different from any other person's song, and it is given them to benefit and beautify the world around them. And I do mean everyone: the cashier at Target, the guy driving like a crazy person on the interstate, the elderly woman with Alzheimer's at the assisted living facility...the person you don't like so much, the person you love...even you. Sometimes the beauty of the melody is muted by our hang-ups, but when we are finally freed up to truly sing our song, the world is changed for the better.

What's your song? What experiences do you have that need to be sung? What personality did God give you that is meant to be contributed to the chorus?

Furthermore, who can you teach to sing? Who can you harmonize with? And whose song do you need to listen to?

painful tuesday.

Difficult week so far, this week. A friend and coworker passed away unexpectedly, a highly respected pastor left his post for less-than-happy reasons, and multiple marriages are falling apart at the seams--and it's only a day and a half into the week. Oh, and then there's all that mess going on in the Middle East...

Lord, we need Your help.

Perhaps you're going through your own season of chaos as well. Maybe you're like me, when the weight of all that's going on in the world leaves your head spinning and your heart gasping for air. I don't have anything to offer you--except the truth of Who God is. And so I offer these songs of worship...may they remind you of Him and draw you to His side, even when you don't understand.

Every blessing of peace to you.

there's joy in the village

One of the highlights of my week these days is singing with the residents at our local assisted living facility. Sometimes the routine of it can feel like drudgery, but once I get in there and start singing with them, I am always grateful that I came. Music has that kind of power...especially the old hymns.

Serving the forgotten generation brings such joy. I wish you could see them, waking out of their fog to music that they've known for decades. I wish you could hear Miss Vivian crow like a rooster when we sing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm." I wish you could experience the atmosphere shift in the room when the critically ill, Alzheimer's and dementia patients forget their anxieties for a moment and truly enjoy the music. I wish you could hear the grumpy ones speak up suddenly and teach me an old song I've never heard before, and then hear the rest of the group chime in to sing along.

I wish you could feel what I feel, when I look out on these precious people and realize that, though their days seem bleak right now, Jesus' heart burns for them just as much as it does for me. He longs to comfort them and to bring them joy.

Some days, He uses me to help do that. And I'm so grateful.

By the way, I asked Miss Vivian to be my grandma. She said yes. :)

Who is the forgotten generation in your life? Have you considered how you might reach out to them with the love of Jesus?