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Where my soul is these days, creating for Instagra Where my soul is these days, creating for Instagram feels like choosing a Slim Jim over a homemade chicken pot pie. 😬

For the foreseeable future, I want to spend more time crafting and creating in other places more than I do words for Instagram posts. 

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Do I love the just-me-and-God life or do I love wh Do I love the just-me-and-God life or do I love what others see and think about my faith? 

Do I wake up excited about the reality I get to do everything today WITH JESUS, and offer Him to those around me, or about building my own kingdom, 
about proving myself awesome, 
about indulging my every whim, or 
about fearing what is out of my control?
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fleshing it out on my blog today 😬

// new blog post //
parenting — a sharp scalpel and delightful oppor parenting — a sharp scalpel and delightful opportunity for self-giving and Jesus-giving love
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faith · 11/14/2014

Trying Softer

As general rule, the harder you work to control things, the more you usually lose control. The harder you try to impress someone, the more you force the conversation and come across pushy or awkward. The harder you cling to a person, the more likely they are to pull away.

Sometimes trying harder helps. But what about:

Try harder to relax. Try harder to fall asleep. Try harder to not worry. Try harder to choose joy.

There are limits to trying harder. JOHN ORTBERG writes that

“often the people in the Gospels who got in the most trouble with Jesus were the ones who thought they were working hardest on their spiritual life. They were trying so hard to be good that they could not stop thinking about how hard they were trying. It got in the way of them loving people.”

The problem with always trying harder is that I get fixated on my own efforts. Often I grow judgmental. I capitalize on perfectionism, and find myself spending too many moments in comparison.

Maybe instead of making grand gestures to God, I should surrender my will to the Spirit for just today. Softer.

Trying softer means focusing more on God’s goodness than our efforts.  It means being more relaxed and less self-concious. Less pressured. When I try softer, it leaves more room for humility and grace. It means asking God for help.

If trying harder is producing growth in your spiritual life, keep it up, friend. But if it isn’t, meditate with me on this.

A little softer.

In: faith

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loving today — and excited for the day Anna join loving today — and excited for the day Anna joins us in conversations about life and Jesus and friends and clothes and school
Shamelessly using Operation Lose Pacifier as an ex Shamelessly using Operation Lose Pacifier as an excuse for an extra caffeinated treat (with @journeywomenpodcast + @jtenglish in the background)
windows down, @crowder or @travisgreenetv or @kari windows down, @crowder or @travisgreenetv or @karijobe, volume high, release all that is in you and receive all that is in Jesus
Where my soul is these days, creating for Instagra Where my soul is these days, creating for Instagram feels like choosing a Slim Jim over a homemade chicken pot pie. 😬

For the foreseeable future, I want to spend more time crafting and creating in other places more than I do words for Instagram posts. 

Here I’ll share moments. On my blog I’ll share heart. 

✨ To easily keep up with new blog posts, click the link in my bio to opt-in and have them delivered weekly to your inbox. ✨
church clothes church clothes
walkin’ walkin’
Do I love the just-me-and-God life or do I love wh Do I love the just-me-and-God life or do I love what others see and think about my faith? 

Do I wake up excited about the reality I get to do everything today WITH JESUS, and offer Him to those around me, or about building my own kingdom, 
about proving myself awesome, 
about indulging my every whim, or 
about fearing what is out of my control?
.
.
.
fleshing it out on my blog today 😬

// new blog post //
parenting — a sharp scalpel and delightful oppor parenting — a sharp scalpel and delightful opportunity for self-giving and Jesus-giving love
Also scouring the interwebs for a frame for this b Also scouring the interwebs for a frame for this beauty. @gingerrelle, you talented friend, you.
“Lent should never be morose — an annual ordea “Lent should never be morose — an annual ordeal during which we begrudgingly forgo a handful of pleasures. Instead, we ought to approach Lent as an opportunity, not a requirement. After all, it is meant to be the church’s springtime, a time when, out of the darkness of sin’s winter, a repentant, empowered people emerges. No wonder one liturgy refers to it as “this joyful season.”

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