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Ten Things About Me | #lifeunmasked

6:30 am By

I’m attending a blogging conference in a couple of weeks to learn more about the back end (I almost wrote backside) of blogging and creative writing. The best part will be meeting some of the great people I’ve spoken with online. I’ve done this a few times now – met people in real life after interacting only online – and it’s fun once you get past the initial “oh-my-goodness-I-have-to-speak-extemporaneously” freak-out.

Lindsey, Nish, and Joy

Lindsey, Nish, and I in Bolivia

I’ve also learned that avatars don’t really help you recognize people. I mean, after all, they’re so small and, well, two-dimensional. It never ceases to amaze me how photos can be so like and yet so very unlike the real thing.

Since I know this is true, and since I’ll be meeting some of you soon, and since it’s life: unmasked day here at the blog, I give you ten random things about me in real life.

10. I have a red hard plastic shell for my laptop and a keyboard cover because I am the biggest klutz and I scratch, dent, spill, and drop things near computers all the time.

9. I get cold, and conference rooms are notoriously cold. If you look for me at a conference, you’ll probably find me huddled around my laptop for warmth wearing a big sweatshirt.

8. Or… I might be wearing layers to cover a spill. My clothes usually have a stain on them somewhere… because I am a klutz.

7. Clothes must first of all be comfortable. That is my first fashion priority. And since traveling gets my digestive system all confused and disoriented, I pack and wear comfortable clothes whenever possible.

6. I’m not afraid to ask questions. Not even in large groups.I consider it a spiritual gift – breaking the ice.

5. I have a purple feather in my hair. Or two. Or three. (I know this is super-popular with the little girl, but it’s cheaper, faster, and less permanent than hair dye. And I just had a hankering for some color.) They are small. They play peek-a-boo.

4. Sometimes women’s conferences make me a little stir-crazy. I don’t have a high tolerance for cheese, small boxes for large complex issues, or generalizations about women.

3. I won’t attend every session. I learned last year that attending everything wore me out. Plus, sometimes it’s more important to have a long sit-down with a friend or take a nap.

2. I love my morning coffee. Especially when the weather turns cold. I can’t drink regular coffee after about 4pm though, or I can’t sleep at night.

1. Breakfast is my favorite meal. Scratch that. Every meal is my favorite. I love food, especially flavor-rich food. Grab some Mexican or Indian with me?

life: unmaskedWelcome to life: unmasked, a blog link-up for bloggers willing to get real, take off our masks, and show how we are finding God (or how God is finding us) in the mess of everyday life.

Will you join us? (Fellow conference goers, if you’ve written a ten-things post, feel free to link up here too.)

It’s very simple. Write a post (or just share some photos or a video — be creative!). Grab the life: unmasked graphic (copy the code for it from my left sidebar) for your post. Next, share the link to your specific post (not just the general link to your blog) in the linky tool below, or if you don’t blog, share your story in the comments.

Please visit at least two other posts (maybe the one directly in front of you in the linky-list?), and leave them an encouraging comment. If you tweet, use the hashtag #lifeunmasked so we can find you there, too.

Let’s build an unmasked community, a safe place to be real with one another.

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Sponsor a child in Bolivia with World Vision

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Filed UnderConferences, Life: unmasked 12 Comments

God Came There

10:35 am By

The hall wore vertical stripes like a matron trying to hide her spreading hips. Yellowed light from 20-year-old wagon-wheel chandeliers froze cameras unable to resolve the flash-or-no-flash dilemma. Plates on tables presented forgettable food.

But God came there.

Joy and Ann

Through the words of timid but obedient women, He spoke gentle firm correction to this woman who had lost sight of His purpose in and for her and this blog.

God pointed out that obsession with comments, discontentment with personal status quo, and hiding in a technology shelter to escape from problems and stress are symptoms of a bigger failure to accept and receive His plan — whether large and public,  small and personal, blissful or painful.

We don’t get to choose our stories. God engineers those stories into our lives so that we can share the lessons He teaches through pain and sorrow and failure to others who are walking those difficult roads too.

As we absorbed these truths and began to ache with our failures, God comforted through the hugs of women, once tiny half-inch square photos on an LCD screen, now flesh and blood friends. He showered us with grace and second chances, forgiveness and mercy, reassurance that even this brokenness is valuable and meaningful.

Through Sally Clarkson, He challenged us to fill our souls and write from the overflow:

You can’t give away what you don’t possess in your own heart. Integrity of message comes from obedience of life. So many women do not have a backlog of a full soul. We need to fill our souls with wise counsel and the Word of God, before we will be able to share it with others.

Through Bonita Lillie, He reminded us of the author and value of my story:

You are the keyboard in God’s hand to reach the world. You are God’s instrument. There is no limit to who we can impact through this medium. This can free you to be who you are with the message that you have with the style that you have. No-one can give the message that you have.

Through Kristin Welch, He pointed back to my family:

I want my family to like that I blog. They need to know that it’s one of my jobs, but they need to know that they are a priority. Ask them what they are comfortable with you sharing on the blog, in word and in image.

Through Angie Smith and Ann Voskamp, He urged me to learn His Spirit’s voice and share His message (not mine):

You don’t have to come to the keyboard knowing what you’re going to say. It comes from God to us to heal us and then through our story to heal another. Story is the way the Spirit of God binds our wounds. When these words find their mark, God heals two hearts – yours and mine.

When we serve people, we think we are due some appreciation. But when we serve Christ alone, we are the servant of all and we are liberated from the bondage of praise and power and people-pleasing.

Am I willing to receive my identity in Christ and lay aside what I am trying to achieve?

I heard God last weekend. He assured me that my life and this blog are His, to do with what He wills, not (necessarily) to make me popular. And if I choose to gift it to Him as my act of worship, He will take my bread and fish and feed a multitude.

Faith Barista Fresh Jam Badge

Linked as part of this week’s Faith Jam on how God speaks to you, and to The Relevant Conference’s linky.

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Heart-felt thank-you to Miss Selby’s Soaps for sponsoring my trip to Relevant. Please stop by her site and check out her beautiful line of handmade natural soaps and bath bombs. She is offering all of my readers and all Relevant attendees a 20% discount on your entire order – use the coupon code “joy”!

Filed UnderAd-free, Blogging, Conferences, Faith and Doubt, Faith Jam

The Relevant Conference!

10:00 am By

Today is the first day of The Relevant Conference, where two hundred Christian women are gathering to learn more about writing and blogging and to be encouraged and encouragers of one another. Many of us have become good friends through emails, phone calls, Skype, and Twitter, praying for one another and counseling each other through faith and life challenges. This weekend will allow us to deepen and broaden those friendships.

I’m especially looking forward to hanging out with everyone at the beach house party sponsored by (in)courage by DaySpring. Many of the (in)courage writers will be speaking and/or attending Relevant. They are extremely talented writers whom God has blessed with wisdom and skill in encouraging and exhorting women. And in turn, they bless hundreds (maybe thousands?) of women like me. I am looking forward to meeting them in person and thanking them for sharing so boldly.

Miss Selby's Soap LogoI’m able to attend The Relevant Conference thanks to Renee of Miss Selby’s Soaps, a blue-ribbon sponsor. Renee is a godly and encouraging woman who makes fabulous soaps and whose business God is growing like crazy. It is a joy to partner with her.

She is currently making some limited-time-only scents for the fall and Christmas season. Oh. My. I snagged an apple pie and a pumpkin spice bar, and I love them. They smell good enough to eat while lathering up, yet the scent isn’t overpowering and doesn’t linger on your skin (which is a quality I love). Don’t forget they are 30% shea butter — you won’t find soap with this much moisture in this price range anywhere.

It gets better. My bathroom smells like a bakery… which is a huge improvement. Say it with me, everyone: “Never ever ever put carpet in the bathroom.”

Note for all you guys: good soap isn’t just for women. These aren’t [all] girly scents. My husband really likes the Pumpkin Spice, and Miss Selby’s Soaps are in huge demand at her son’s high-school.

If you’re looking for a natural soap without all the weird stuff or gifts for hostesses, house guests, or the holidays, give Miss Selby’s Soaps a look. She is offering a special sale for you readers — enter promo code “joy” for a 20% discount off your entire order!

For all you ladies attending Relevant, the first 50 of you who ask about Miss Selby’s Soaps will receive a free sample. Look for the bright pink bow on my tote bag… or around my neck if I get really brave.

Filed UnderAd-free, Conferences Leave a Comment
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