Jan 2, 2011 | Stories, The Good Word
Sometimes looking back on the year that was, you feel a simple sigh of relief that you made it through alive. It is amazing how days, weeks, and months come and go, and you pick up baggage you thought you’d left behind. 2010 was a year full of challenge for Hero Hubs and I, filled with moments of great joy, moments of heartache and sorrow, and moments where we looked at an email or a spreadsheet and then looked at each other and thought, we have to trust that God’s got us — there’s no other way.
At the end of a long year and a long visit in the States, the year ahead seems a bit daunting as it stretches out in front of me. There is so much unknown. There are so many uncertainties. Hope and pressure seem close companions. Risk and challenge are two arrows, simultaneously shooting from a bow bent in our direction.
I took a moment to think about what the Lord encouraged me with at the start of 2010. And although the words are 365 days old, I realised they are full of life and appropriate for what’s ahead. So I thought I’d share them again here, as excerpts from this post, shared at the start of 2010. I hope that the glorious goodness of unconditional love will enfold you in the year ahead. May many of the moments where life brings you to your knees this year be moments where you’ve joyfully chosen to kneel.
“IÂ was thinking of sharing an encouragement with you about the New Year […] But then for a couple of days I was struggling, not really able to put my finger on the source of it, but just ill-at-ease about life in general, and fearful awake and asleep. It took me a while to figure out what was really going on in my heart. […] I could see that I was ultimately struggling to trust God, and therefore trying to figure out how to move forward in my own strength.
But finally, this morning as I was reading, the true issue, the root, and the heart of the matter came to the surface. I was struggling to believe that God really loves me. […] Sometimes, when things are tough, when life gives you lemons, when things aren’t going your way, when your bank account isn’t pretty, there’s a snake in the grass ready to whisper in your ear…Does God really love you? And if you are caught unaware, little seeds of doubt can begin to produce big fruit — fear, mistrust, an unsettled mind, perhaps even a desire to throw out the baby and the bathwater.
But what good and glorious news I have to share with you this morning! What good and glorious news brought me to my knees, weeping in the shower? God loves me. That’s it, and that’s the truth. He really loves me. He really cares about what happens in my life. He really wants a relationship with me and He really wants what’s best for me.
He knows everything about me. And He still loves me. And I am so glad to hold that truth in my heart in a fresh way today. It is absolutely glorious. […]
So if I could still issue a New Year’s challenge to you, I might encourage you to get into the Bible like never before. […] But perhaps today, more than any of that, I just want you to know how much He loves you. No matter what you do. It’s unconditional love. He doesn’t need you. But He really, really wants you. You bring Him joy just being who He created you to be. You bring Him joy just being. His desire is for you. And He’s been chasing after you.”
If you would like to read the post Happy New Year, Love God, in its entirety, click here. (And I hope you do!) I really needed the reminder, and I hope it’s meaningful for you, too.
Whether all seems sunny and your 2011 is kicking off with a bang, or you are fearful or discouraged, or even just a little apathetic about what’s ahead, I hope you’re encouraged to know that the God of the Universe loves you, and has a glorious plan for your life, day after day.
May you walk it out in the year ahead!
xCC
Jan 1, 2011 | Reviews, Stories
I was asked a few days ago (or maybe a few weeks ago…life seems ablur at the moment) what my favourite posts from 2010, or this space in general were. When I first think about it, the ones that stand out are stories like Mr. Potato Head’s Roaming or Being Fed-Exed a Brick.
Taking a good moment to think a little harder, ones like Where You Live Should Not Decide and Staying the Course or Fweaking Out stand out as moments where I think some of you were encouraged and inspired, and I was blessed to be a part of that process.
After a little more thought, I decided instead of posting what I liked best from this year, it would be nice to hear from you. What were some of your favourite posts from 2010? If you are a blogger and want to share a post from your site, please link it up in the Linky below. If you want to take a moment to think of a post from my site that meant a lot to you, I’d love for you to link that up, too. I’m not expecting a server crash, so link up all you want! The category dropdown and the search engine to the right might help you find what you’re looking for (if it’s a post you read around here) or if you want to just leave a comment and I’ll try to find the link for you, I’ll be glad to.
It has been a blessing to write from the heart here, and to sense that I occasionally have the privilege of hitting the nail on the head and sharing something on God’s heart, that has been meant for some of you at specific moments and for specific reasons that I knew nothing about. What a joy and a privilege, I just have to use that word twice!
Thank you for joining me here. Thank you for encouraging me by dropping in, even if you don’t say a word.
I am confident that 2011 is going to be a year full of change, full of growth, and full of life. And my hope is that for me, and for you, for this space and many others, the best is yet to come. Happy New Year!
xCC
P.S. Please do take a moment to share a link below. I love hearing from you and knowing what content keeps you coming back!
Dec 25, 2010 | Stories, The Parenthood
Late one evening three years ago, on a chilly Southern Christmas Eve, two little elves scurried out on a last minute errand. They hadn’t forgotten a gift or a card or an ingredient for a Christmas treat. On a tiny inkling, they tip-toed the aisles of a Walgreens, until they found what they were looking for.
Staring at boxes boasting early results and better accuracy, the elves discussed the choices quietly amongst themselves and came to an agreement. They gingerly presented the goods to the cashier, made their purchase, and hurried home.
Half an hour later they stood in an upstairs bedroom, staring at two pink lines for the second time in ten minutes. They laughed and cried and wondered and marveled at this special gift from above. The timing of this surprise discovery could not have been more magical. To this day the elves agree: that gift is by far the best Christmas gift they’ve ever received, bar One other Gift of immeasurable significance, which actually arrived in a similar fashion, around 2000 years earlier.
It feels safe to say the very best gifts don’t come in any boxes at all.
Merry Christmas,
xCC
Dec 23, 2010 | Stories
I suppose I didn’t keep you up this evening mulling and scouring over ten photos! You clever lassies figured it out before I had time to get up and get a bowl of cereal! (I eat cereal every night before bedtime right now.)
Well, guys and gals, here’s the scoop. {For the ones of you who didn’t read the comments of the last post or figure it out, anyway}.
The photos were all taken with the same camera. They were not taken by yours truly, but by Hero Hubs. And all of those photos, taken within the past couple of weeks by Hero Hubs (you may have figured some of this out, hey?) were taken with a new camera. And not just any new camera. Our new camera.
Oooh, ooh! Did Canon reply to the mountains of emails? Negative, captain, they did not.
It turns out that even before some of you, dear friends and readers, were being so wonderful as to clickety-clack your keyboards and write encouraging emails to Canon (which really blessed me!), someone else had it in mind to bless us with a new camera when we next returned to the States (unless it worked out for them to send it to us with visitors before we returned for the holidays.)
So, some beautiful boxes, wrapped in Christmas paper by some beautiful fingers, were waiting for us here in the Carolinas. They contained a beautiful, shiny new camera with two lenses, and a lovely bag, and a bunch of other bells and whistles that I might bore you with if I go on. And we are SO blessed, SO encouraged, SO thankful…SO many words that seem SO overused when trying to describe how you feel about receiving something that is just so kind and so generous you don’t quite have the words to fully respond.
The wonderful donors responsible for this act of delightful kindness would prefer to remain anonymous, so may I perhaps suggest we all just say a special prayer as we read this, that they’ll be especially blessed by the presence and goodness of Jesus during this holiday season, and in the year to come? The Lord knows who they are, and, being fully assured that it’s more blessed to give than to receive, I am excited at the thought of the return of blessings to them, because of the seeds they’ve sown.
{Dear sweet donors, you know who you are — again and again and again, thank you.}
Now that I’ve connected the dots on the Guess-the-Connection Photo Challenge, I hope you’re excited as I am about our very special Early Christmas Present. Wow.
I hope you’ll get back to enjoying Presence and not just thinking about presents! We are excited about enjoying and especially capturing the presence of family together this holiday season, and having an awesome camera at our fingertips to help us do it! There are some absolutely adorable cookie-decorating-cousins photos waiting to be downloaded and uploaded from today!
For so many reasons, which deserve their own blog post, this story is a beautiful example of how the Lord redeems rough stuff, and, just as I’d trusted when I first shared the story, God has worked this out for good in our lives. Whoo HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
xCC
P.S. In case you’re wondering…we were seriously blessed with an awesome camera kit. We have so many more exciting photo-magic possibilities at our fingertips than we did before. As I type Hero Hubs is busy reading the manual and testing out features. And to answer the question you might really be wondering, it’s a Nikon. 😉
Dec 23, 2010 | Stories
Care to hazard a guess at what all of these photos have in common?
Shall I give you a moment to ponder? I’ll fill you in in the morning {if you don’t figure it out first!}
xCC
Dec 17, 2010 | Stories
Perhaps at least three of you have been secretly wondering… Has the (unintentional) clothing fast ended now that CC is in the land of plenty? The land of insultingly low prices at surprisingly good quality? The home of the Mom who says “You need this and it’s only $6, so who cares? I’ll buy it!†The home of the brave and the land of the free gift with purchase?
You get the idea.
Well friends, yes and no. The “fast†has ended, and I am very thankful for some fresh maternity options to show for it, because I. Am. So. Pregnant., but I think something new has taken its place.
Inside the dressing room of the nearest Ross (a super-cheap department store similar to T.K. Maxx in the UK, for which, sadly, there is no South African equivalent) I have discovered a different CC trying on clothes, mostly because it is f-f-freezing around here, I didn’t pack properly (but not on purpose!), and stuff. just. ain’t. fitting now.
It is as if something has broken, and I’m really glad, and I don’t want it to be “fixed.â€
Instead of trying to come up with all the reasons why I need this particular item, I have found myself deliberately putting things I really like back on the rack. Instead of justifying a previous fast with a present feast, it seems like my want vs. need-o-meter has found itself dialed onto a completely new setting.
I still like stuff and I am overjoyed that I’m no longer covering up jeans that no longer fit with a carefully placed rubber band and a wide belt. We found some wonderful maternity jeans for $12 at Ross (about ZAR 80/GBP 8)! But I am finding a different version of myself in the dressing room, who values cash for different reasons, and wonders how it could be better spent, if I don’t get too busy spending it on myself.
We strolled into the GAP the other day, specifically because we had a 40% off coupon in hand. The familiar GAP-esque, earthy, woody smell was familiar to my nostrils. The style and the feel of things seemed really similar, even though it’s been a long time since I’ve darkened the doorway there. But as HH and I perused the racks, we sort of looked at each other with slightly puzzled faces.
“It seems like the GAP is selling something I’m not buying anymore,†I said.
I was glad Hero Hubs knew exactly what I meant.
I don’t know if all of this will make a hill of beans of sense to you, dear reader. But nevertheless, I’m excited to report that some little widget, secretly implanted in my brain by the materialism and marketing fairies, has begun to malfunction. I’m weighing a $30 purchase against sponsoring a child to be able to eat for a month. I’m thinking about the reasons I don’t need, instead of the reasons I do.
And I’m hopeful that this ‘malfunction’ will help me focus more on Presence than presents again this Christmas, and perhaps even all the year through.
xCC
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