What a week! And I'm not just talking about Jess and Nick's smooch on "New Girl"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY8WimVNHfw
( incase you missed this steamy piece of goodness...I just about fainted with joy)
January has been a really wonderful month.
This marks my 31st consecutive daily post. As I look back on this month, its been helpful to have these posts collecting to remind me that life is much more full than I think. Writing every day has given me the perspective that each day we're here has tremendous potential.
Truthfully, that realization hasn't come with an overwhelming sense of daily inspiration. Actually, it has come with the discipline that its taken to write every day. Almost every evening this month, I've crawled into bed with my computer at around 10:45pm, told Jon "I'm blogging now!" ( so he can play video games for a half hour or so) and sat there staring at a blank screen wondering what the heck I would write about.
Each time I searched my heart, mind, and day out, there surfaced some nugget of the presence of God. Whether in encouragement, revelation, fun moment, song or even just a laugh... He's been there. To stop and document has meant, for me, recognizing that days aren't void of purpose and meaning.
As I take a break from the daily obligation of posting, I look forward to a bit more free space in the evenings without needing to squeeze a post out of myself into the wee hours. However, its been a fun little journey to get my blogging voice back. I'm excited to blog when I feel like I have something to blog about rather than blogging just to blog!
This break feels appropriate as tomorrow I leave for three days to lead worship at a women's retreat in Santa Cruz ( Northern California).
I also get to spend time with one of my favorite people, Brenda, who could certainly help me in a time like this. Brenda is a mother of 3 adult boys ( that's how I know her actually, her son is a good friend of mine) and is a real treasure. She is the only woman I know, especially at her age and place in life, who really.. really... loves herself. It radiates from her. She talks about it with so much grace and joy that its almost disarming. She came to a women's retreat of ours a couple of years ago and when she spoke about how much she loved herself as a daughter of the Lord, the girls of our church looked at her like a magical alien unicorn... like we had no idea her kind could exist.
Anyhow, I could go on and on and on about Brenda... but the point was, I'm going away for three days to worship with some women up in Santa Cruz, spend some time with one in particular who has paved the way for this journey I'm on, and maybe even take some time for myself to *gulp* ... rest.
Thanks for those of you who have read and supported my posting during this month-long adventure. I promise a future full of intentional posts full of the nuggets of God's goodness and truth I collect along my way.
Off to pack and then retreat! Happy February, y'all.
Sincerely,
Carly Calmes the First