I know that our fires were not the same But I’ve survived one too. The flames touched us both in different ways But I was burned like you. Maybe you ran as far as you could. Maybe you fought it with all that you had. Maybe you froze, paralyzed. Maybe you sobbed, watching flames consume… … Continue reading I’ve Been Through The Fire, Too.
One thing I know about the human condition...every one of us wants to be seen. Heard. Fully known. And sometimes, maybe we don't feel those things. We feel unseen. We feel like no one understands us or wants to hear what's really going on in our heart of hearts. It's a longing that we have, and sometimes we go to great lengths to try to be seen, heard & known by others.
Healing is in the little things...
When I say that I'm a Christ-follower... Don't shy away Because you think that I think I'm Good Better Holier. Don't clam up, because you think you can't share your brokenness. I'm broken. Don't be silent about your messiness. I'm messy. Don't pretend to be perfect, together. I'm not. I'm imperfect. I'm never together. If I look like I've got it all together... Just talk to me for a few minutes. I might say that I'm doing ok today... I also might melt down and turn into a puddle.... Continue Reading...
I'm not exactly sure what I expected when I sat down and opened up my Bible a few mornings ago to "abide" (John 15:4). Something I haven't been so great at lately. I think, without really thinking, that I expected to be guilted. I think that maybe I expected to be shamed for not sitting … Continue reading Wrecked By Grace
"She's too big for that," I would say to Guy, as he carried a 6 year old Grace up the stairs to bed every night. "You're setting the bar too high!! I'm not doing that!!" "I'll do it as long as I'm able to," he'd say with a grin. Her arms would be wrapped around … Continue reading The Last Time
The negative thoughts take laps around my head... Each one racing to take first place... Consuming my brain space. Anxiety growing, Agitation growing. Round and round they go and go and go... Then, an intrusive, quiet whisper asks- "What is it that you are meditating on?" Thoughts stop mid-lap. I realize that I'm doing it … Continue reading Racing Thoughts, the Intrusive Whisper and Painful Obedience
I have the choice this year...this day...this minute...the choice of where to put my mind. Where to dwell, linger, what to meditate on. (It is a choice. It's my choice. It's an action, a putting or setting of my mind.) It's real easy to go negative, to allow my mind to dwell on someone else's … Continue reading Muddy Thoughts
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."
So...who am I imitating?
We need you. You are not forgotten. Please, don't give up yet...there are some of us out here who are looking for you. For your stories. For your wisdom. For your advice. We want to know about that path that you've walked to earn that beautiful Crown of Splendor that gracefully wraps around your head. … Continue reading To The Ones Crowned In Splendor (or…to the ones whose heads are graciously wrapped in silver or white or gray splendor…) **and a note to the rest of us awaiting that crown**
Nicole Dotson 