Thinking Aloud

When I began this series, I hoped to end it with lots of answers and a specific plan. There were blanks in my story I wanted filled.

And yet, I stared at the ceiling the other night with many of the same questions going through my mind. What will happen next? What does God want me to do? What about…?”

In the quiet of the night, a whisper came to my heart, wrapped itself around my worries…

You don’t need to know what, you only need to know Who.

Just like that, I realized this journey wasn’t about what I imagined.

Yes, we’re to understand our past, who we are, and where God may wants us to go in the future.

Yet ultimately it’s not about us, it’s about Him.

Our role in the story is to say “yes” to what God asks of us each day.

As we do, our story unfolds as He plans…

word by word, line by line, page by page, all the way to

The End.

* Have you written your Story Statement? We’ll revisit those in the last post of the series tomorrow!

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TODAY’S QUESTION:
Catch up on anything you missed in the Rest of Your Story Challenge (click “next” at the bottom of each page).

This isn’t what you think. It’s not about mushy, pie-in-the-sky, singing-in-the-rain romance. (Although there is a little rain as you’ll soon see. And there’s a big surprise for you!)

Nope, this is about a different kind of love, a different kind of story…yours.

But let’s start with the rain first.

One day as I gathered books and stepped into the hall I saw a familiar face wearing a smile and holding an umbrella. My future husband came to walk me through the rain. And my love story came to life.

Years later, during a difficult storm in my life God used that memory to show me that He, too, wanted to walk me through the rain. And my love story came to life.

Almost half a decade of hurt and hope went by. I shared what God had done with other women. It helped heal their hearts too. And my love story came to life.

We’re made for love. And it comes whenever the divine shows up in the ordinary, whether that’s through family, friends, a cause that captures our hearts, or totally unexpected moments.

Lean in and I’ll whisper a secret…

It’s not about happily-ever-after.

It’s about eternity.

God is the Author and He is love. (Hebrews 12:2, 1 John 4:16)

That means we’re all living a love story.

And not just on Valentine’s Day but forever.

Now that’s worth celebrating!

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TODAY’S QUESTION:
Share a love story from your life.
(Remember, it doesn’t have to be a romantic one…just a time when your heart felt real love.)

Purpleclick:
I AM SO LOVED… by my family. Especially my dad, who just helps me know the love of the Father in such tangible ways. I cherish every moment!

(February 15, 2010 at 12:16AM)

As you know by now, I’m a “live from the heart” kind of girl.

That means some days (okay, a lot of days) my emotions try to get the best of me. So I’ve been asking God what to do with all these feelings.

As I prayed and pondered, this little sentence popped into my heart…

Emotions make great messengers and bad bosses.

Emotions aren’t sin. They’re actually really helpful. They tell us what’s going on in our stories. Even Jesus was a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”

So imagine a messenger running up to you (mine has a ponytail, cute t-shirt, and a mocha for me in her hand…thought you’d like to know).

If we listen to what the messenger has to share with us, turn to our Boss and ask, “What should we do about this?” then all is well.

If we turn back to the messenger and our back to the Boss everything changes.

Our emotions speak into our stories.

The Author gets the final say.

p.s. Keep thinking about your Story Statement…we’ll get back to them soon!

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TODAY’S QUESTION:
What are your feelings saying? What’s true?

Purpleclick:
Tears well up easily… especially that time of the month. And they well up most of the time as I’m reading or typing during this challenge. Yes, emotions are not a bad thing… I wish people will not equate being emotional as being incoherent/not objective. I feel deeply… I can’t care less. It takes time to process, with the Author Boss and other close individuals, and I am thankful for their patience and love.

(February 15, 2010 at 12:01AM)