The Saturday Six

One.

In honor of our nation's birthday today, I wanted to share one of my very favorite patriotic songs. Of course it involves David Phelps...and it gives me goose bumps every. time. 

Two.

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I don't know about you, but my heart beats faster {in the best possible way} while touring this three seasons porch. Wonder if these folks have a house for sale next door so we can be neighbors and enjoy evening coffee with them...at their house, of course.

Three.

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I would guess that a lot of you probably already read Ann Voskamp's blog, and I always believe her words are worth reading, but if you've not read this post of solid life advice offered to her teen daughter, you should read it now - and pretend you are her teen daughter. So many lines worth journaling, learning, and LIVING found in this post. Worth the read!

Four.

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Speaking of Ann Voskamp, I took her One Thousand Gifts challenge about three years ago. If you haven't done that, the quick summary is that she challenged people to look around them to find the gifts in every day. Could be super simple things like strawberry jam on toast, or huge things like healing from a disease. It's interesting to me that since officially completing the challenge to count one thousand gifts in the dailyness of life, I seem to miss many of them. So this post by Lysa TerKeurst was a good wake up call for me!

Five.

While I don't have kids, I do have PEOPLE I like to photograph who don't particularly love to smile or who feel they have awkward smiles. {Case in point: although Ryan has a GREAT smile, he hates the way his smile looks when I'm taking pictures of us at restaurants before meals. He says it's because he's so hungry, he's thinking about food instead of smiling, and I sure can't blame him there!!! So we usually go with a photo of him taking a big bite of his food so we can get around the smile.} This article offers ideas of ways to get good photos of non-smilers.{I'm also pretty sure the photo above is not EXACTLY what the author had in mind...

Six.

For the last couple of weeks, I have had the privilege and {truthfully} Divine appointment of reading Susie Larson's book Your Sacred Yes. Susie was on Mid-Morning to talk about this book right before I left the station, and after the interview, my first thought was "sure wish I would have gotten that book!" Imagine my delight when it arrived in my mailbox a couple of days later! I'd completely forgotten I'd signed up with the publisher, Bethany House, for a chance to review it.

I'm utterly convinced God ordained this review for me at this very time, because no book could have been more perfectly suited for my transition out of full-time, outside-the-home work and into this new season of my life. First, I want to say that I believe Susie Larson is anointed and appointed by the Lord, and I would heartily recommend any book she's written, because I believe she's chosen to knit her soul to the Lord and anything she writes has been put on her heart by Him.

This book, though, is for the person who feels drained by busyness...especially when the busyness comes from doing GOOD things intended to bring honor to the Lord. It's an epidemic among believers, really, to do...do...do. More and more. Be involved in it all. Say yes because if we don't, something might not be done. And we utterly exhaust ourselves in the process, leaving us not just tired, but vulnerable to physical, mental, and spiritual burnout.  

Susie knows this, because as a woman in ministry, she's been there. Years ago, she and her husband restructured their lives, because they were admonished if they did not, they would be headed for a burnout that could even destroy their marriage. Drawing from the lessons she's learned in the years since, Susie encourages us to listen to the Lord for His assignments, rather than falling to the pressure of the well-meaning people around us urging us to take on their assignments. She gives permission for two things Christians can be terrible at doing: saying no and resting. She urges us to find freedom in God's yes, which may not always look like the yes expected of us.

I read this book during the last days of my job and my first days away from full-time work and found myself encouraged and affirmed that I was making the right decision in saying a sacred yes to God, even though people might not understand why I was doing so. She left me with much hope that the freedom from busyness and the freedom to rest in this new season is God-ordained and will prepare me for whatever He has next.

If you struggle to say no, if you feel laden with busyness, I urge you to read this book. If you read with an open heart, I believe it will change your perspective to see what God expects of you instead of what people expect from you. And it will give you permission to be the most productive you...you can be - and show you how that productivity is boosted through seasons of down-time as much as it is through seasons of doing.

* Thanks, Bethany House, for sending a copy of this book to me in exchange for the review. And thank you for publishing an outstanding, timely, and needed book. *