Hi Friends, You and I live in a world that loves to keep busy. Sometimes even our self-worth is tied to it. All my hands have made We have so much to accomplish, so much to do, so little time. Running around, succeeding, failing, pulling ourselves up by those self-sufficient bootstraps, we’ve got this! And just as we feel most proud of our productivity, most comfortable with our early rising, moonlighting, scheduled-in-half-hour-blocks kind of lives, He comes. He sets His hand gently on our heads. God makes us lie down. He is so kind. Loves with a beautiful gentleness that is determined to make us great. In His perfect wisdom, He knows just when and how to prune us. And yet, when we feel like we have it all together, and He takes away a few of the spinning plates, it can feel like failure and a demotion. The false sources of identity are stripped away, and we are left wondering who are without all the activity. Who are we if we aren’t putting out fires and leading the charge? But if we are willing to wait, it’s here that we find He is doing something far deeper, far greater, far more desirable than all our striving and running and “busy” could ever accomplish. As we take the time and make the space, as we submit to the hand of God and are willing to look “unproductive” on the outside, we begin to hear a familiar voice that cuts through accusations of shame and failure, through the white noise of constant activity, and reaches to the core of us. Be still and know that I am God. The knowledge of who He is: this is what He writes on our souls in the waiting. And He tells us the truths of who we are. Embracing the silence feels risky, and if I’m honest, I’m afraid to be still. —Anna |
I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Hi Friends,Ever feel utterly helpless when you hear about injustice? Pain, suffering... and the lack of truly helpful solutions can feel like the nail in the coffin of it all. And yet, Jesus. Let’s talk about that.In bold below is a chorus I wrote about this, and below that are a few thoughts. The Lord is good, He is kind, He is just See how He lifts up the poor from the dust See how He sets them on thrones like princes Clothes them in His righteousness Things are not as they seem. So often...
Hi Friends, Shawn and I are back from Mexico, and we are grateful for so many things… the time away, the sunshine, and my amazing parents who dazzled the Blanc boys for a week with crafts and world famous Sloppy Joe’s. (After a childhood’s worth of guesses, I’d say the secret ingredient is oregano, but you can’t ever be too sure…) Something we loved about Puerto Vallarta was watching the intermingling of tourists and local residents. It seemed like a lot of locals would get off work and come...
Hi Friends, “Do you ever read these stories and think, what am I doing with my life?!” My cousin and I were chatting over tacos. He and I both love to read, and we were discussing an autobiography about the life of a well-known pastor. And after reflection, my honest answer to his question is… no. Not anymore, anyway. It’s not that the lives of the saints or the stories of Christian “greats” aren’t inspiring or helpful. It’s just that, at this point in my life, I’m beginning to see that the...