Step One: Open the Door

Not my door...theirs.

Last week a big group of lovely ladies posted about their God-sized dreams for 2013. My dream is to intentionally use our home to connect with others, love on whoever God brings through our door, and invite God to use this year to whatever purpose He deems good.

This week Holley urged our team to take a small step to get started, to create just the smallest forward movement in faith, then trust God to grow the momentum and do His big thing.

This past week was full of projects, catching up, and a quick visit to see the nieces, full of the raw materials good excuses are made of. Yet, I'm resisting that ever-constant urge to do so. Yes, life is busy. But I'm choosing to move forward.

In the Do What You Can Plan, Holley writes this about the Proverbs 31 woman: "She does what's simple and straightforward. But she does it with consistency and excellence. Over time, that adds up to much more than her actions each day might convey to those observing."

Admitted, the Proverbs 31 woman and I have never quite seen eye to eye. She stands there all cute in purple, subtlety revealing her strong, defined arms. She gets up early, and sews, and is good at everything that I am not. And yet...the root of my jealously, my feelings of inadequacy, is rooted in exactly what Holley describes..."she does it with consistency and excellence." She shows up, does what she needs to do, and lets God amplify her actions. Beautiful. Convicting.

So this week, I took a step forward by opening our door (figuratively...it's quite chilly here), by turning the mental lock that keeps me safe but keeps others out, by saying yes to the opportunities God brings.

Here is this week's list of yeses:

• Hosting this week's Bible study
• Reaching out to a friend to spend some time together
• Beginning to plan an annual get-together that seemed like it might be too much this year
• Obeying a God-push to text a friend

It's a short list, but it's a start. Are you saying yes to new things this year? Will you share? Praying our lists will continue to grow. Consistently. In excellence.

 Linking up here today. Join us?

God-Sized Dreaming & My One Word

For the last few weeks I've been getting to know my fellow members of Holley Gerth's God-Sized Dreams Team, and I've been inspired by the size, direction, and progress of their goals. While I'm not in the position to write a book or teach or speak at conferences, I am equally excited to see how God works in 2013.

God-sized dreams are not the same as grand-sized dreams, as I am, thankfully, often reminded. God-sized dreams simply are the heart longings for more of what God has for us. And yet that isn't always so simple, is it?

So after searching, praying, fighting the little voice that says my dream is lame, here's my dream for 2013: to grow in hospitality, to use our new home to build community, to say yes to and pursue opportunities God brings into our lives.

Last March we felt God leading us to stay in our city, despite grad school offers in different states. Within a few weeks of making this decision and beginning to look at purchasing a house, a coworker informed me that he and his family were moving, and we had the following conversation:
K: "So I hear you're looking for a house."
Me: "Yes."
K: "Well...I have a house."

He then proceeded to describe his family's house and he quickly covered every item in our "Things We Hope for in a House but Know We Won't Actually Get Them All" list, right down to the number of bedrooms and space designated for our someday-piano. We received further confirmation about our decision when Nate was offered a new job that lightened the financial commitment and happened to start on the same day as our closing. Throw in an international mission the week before we closed, and the month of June drove us to the brink of brokenness and covered us in overwhelming, sustaining gratitude.

These converging blessings made one thing very clear: this home is God's alone. We are simply to use it to glorify Him. And so, my one word for 2013 is:

I seek to invite others into our home, to invite conversation, to invite the messy beauty of connecting with others, to invite God to use this year to whatever purpose He brings. I'm praying this one dream will grow into more, that opening our door will open another. And I'm guessing that if we are faithful in saying yes, we'll look back one 2013 once again in awe of the perfect plan of our Creator, the One still creating, moving, refining.

And of course, I'd be a fool if I didn't invite you to come along...would you share? Are you dreaming this year? Praying for your dreams today. Hoping 2013 will be one of God-inspired awe.

God-sized dreams aren’t really about size at all–they’re about 
embracing  and pursuing the desires God has placed within your heart 
that perfectly fit who you are. God-sized dreams are part of your purpose 
and they lead to more joy, meaning, and hope in your life. 

Holley Gerth 

Want to be inspired? Check out other God-Sized dreams and link up with us!

Reflecting on the Whirlwind

We spent about 25 hours in the car over the last week, and road trips inevitably bring about reflection. 2012 can be described as nothing less than a whirlwind. We attended weddings and funerals, celebrated and endured heartache, closed a door and saw God open another, blessing tumbling all about us.

I think back on 2012, and I see it as an altar year, as a year we will revisit to remember God's faithfulness. We wrestled with where God was leading us, seeking direction and peace. We traveled, we settled. We said goodbye and we welcomed new life. The winds blew, picked us up, reshaped us and set us back down again. Grace has way of doing that, with both force and gentleness. It was a hard year. It was a good year. And we are thankful.

And since I'm terrible at keeping up with photos, here is a review of 2012 in pictures! (Starting in May...)

Natalie graduated! Watch out world.

After much deliberation, we said goodbye to our first apartment. So many good memories here!

And in June we moved into our first home!

We celebrated two years of marriage. Bliss!

We saw a lot of this little one in 2012. Can you blame us?

We were so happy Lydia and family came to visit in the new house in July!

We celebrated the marriage of Michael & Jenny! Our family of Six Chords is now complete.

In September we celebrated Kiley & Nate's marriage.

So blessed by these friendships!

In August we finally attended the National Balloon Classic. What a treat!

In September we welcomed our second niece: Grace Elizabeth.

Later in September we traveled to Chicago to see the Ryder Cup.

Seeing the best golfers in the world was stunning.

And so was bringing home a little piece of it.

In October we celebrated my birthday a few months late by seeing Les Miserables.

Seeing it with great friends made it even better!

At the end of October we celebrated our 5-year anniversary of our first date. Lots of reminiscing!

In November we filled our annual Operation Christmas Child boxes. Love this ministry!

And Grace kept growing and growing!

Later in November we saw Lecrae and 116 Clique in concert. 

Again...this was made even better by great friends!

We also did some serious painting throughout the house. So far we're still smiling!

In late December, Nate survived scooping our first snowfall!

We ended the year celebrating in Nashville.

Again...great friends made the memories so much sweeter.

Here's to a happy 2013, y'all!

2 Ways to Start Off 2013

We just rolled into town from our great Christmas/New Year's excursion, but I wanted to let you know about two great resources, as we start off the new year. And for the next few hours, the first one is free!

Do What You Can" Plan: 21 Days to Making Any Area of Your Life Better
By Holley Gerth
Who doesn't need some extra help and encouragement as we make goals for 2013? For the rest of the day, this e-book is free! I don't have a Kindle, but it only took a few minutes to download it to my PC. So easy and so worth it.

Beyond Ordinary: When a Good Marriage Just Isn't Good Enough
By Justin & Trish Davis
I began following Justin & Trish's blog a few years ago, and it has been full of encouragement, conviction, and blessing for Nate and me as we navigate the first few years of our marriage. Theirs is a beautiful story of redemption, and I am excited to dig deep into the truth of this book. Take a look!


Have a great start to 2013, dear ones!

Readying and a Room Reveal

We tend to specialize in Christmas crazy around here. We say yes to people, parties, and trips and no to keeping up on laundry, dishes, and sleep. We are slowly learning how to balance the rushing with the resting, to pause the crazy for the Christ-centered. But we once again find ourselves scrambling.

Our tidying goals are unmet, presents are yet unwrapped, exhaustion is creeping close. And yet, in the midst of falling short once again, I find comfort in knowing we haven't completely missed the point. We've spent hours preparing a room for guests. We've cleaned the house top to bottom to invite in friends. We've shopped intentionally in anticipation of seeing loved ones. Yes, we're tired and yes, schedules are overbooked, but advent isn't missing.

We take time to focus on our loved ones, seeking to give gifts to make them smile. We take time to focus on Love, seeking to use gifts that glorify. We anxiously count down the minutes before company arrives. We ready our home to welcome them. We anxiously count down the days until His arrival. We ready our hearts to welcome Him.

We have room to grow but are thankful for grace. Praying you're finding joy during this Christmas season. Happy Advent, dear ones.

*               *               *

Here's a peek at our first fully completed room in our home! So thankful for the many opportunities to host friends and family.

Guest Room: Before
Perfect for its previous teenage tenant, though not as much for our guests.

Guest Room: After

And if you've read this far with me, can I whisper happy a moment? This happened a few days ago....surreal moments full of anticipation. Can't wait to see God show up!

Our Story: Part VI

If you'd like to catch up on our story, click here and scroll to the bottom.

Anticipation

Early December was filled with little steps toward becoming a couple, including this gem of an evening.

Northwestern Winter Formal 2007...all with our future spouses.

Krystal and Emily...the best picture posers I know

We shared our first slow dance to the song "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." We laughed. We kept talking. The following weekend we went ice skating with a group of friends, and I glared at him as he paid for my skates. (This dependence/submission thing does not come easily for me. :-) I looked at other couples in the rink holding hands while they skated and wondered about our path. Though it was well into a Friday evening, he asked me to be sure to not check my mailbox until the following day. My mind kicked into high gear at his odd request, but I tried not to push the matter any further.

The Search
My excitement, however, didn't stop me from sleeping late into the morning and walking to the cafeteria unshowered and dressed in sweats with my roommate. We ate quickly and dashed over to the RSC to see what Nate was hinting at the night before.

I opened the envelope with the block handwriting I was growing to love and found a scavenger hunt clue.

My roommate wished me well and returned to our room, while my friend Krystal and I ran across campus. We quickly found the clues at the at the Bultman's Center's potted plant, the library, and my RD's apartment. The last clue directed me to call his best friend Michael, an intimidating feat to say the least.

I bolstered my courage and made the call at about 2 in the afternoon and heard the following message: "Hey, this is Mike. Leave a message." I attempted to leave a sensible message, waited what I thought was an appropriate amount of time, and called again only to hear the same message. I learned later that I went through the clues faster than Nate had anticipated, so he asked me to wait.

Snowing and Swooning
I spent the afternoon and evening trying to accomplish something, as it was the Saturday before finals week. I kept checking my phone, hoping I had missed a call. Finally at 7:30 pm, Michael called.
"Hi Anne. This is Michael."
"Hi."
"So...do you have plans for tonight?"
"Uh...no." What else would I have planned?
"Ok, good. Keep that way, and I'll call you back soon."

To pass the time I dug through my closet trying to figure out what to wear. I settled on a plain black t-shirt thinking it would look nice enough without trying too hard and would keep me cool enough to counter my nervousness. Finally at 8:30 pm, Michael called again and said he was coming by to pick me up.

As focused as I had been on what Nate would do next, I was completely distracted as Michael and I left my dorm and headed toward their beloved Colenbrander Hall. There was no wind to speak of, a true oddity for northwest Iowa, and the silent snow was breath-taking.

As we made it to the green, Michael's tone turned slightly more serious.
"Anne, you may know that Nate and I are in a relationship...it's complicated."
"Yes, I know." Their facebook friendship is something else...
"But I think it's time to end it."
"Oh really?" Is this going where I think it is?
"Yep, it's time for him to move on."
"Oh...I see."

I smirked as we kept walking, wondering how our little campus suddenly seemed so big. After Michael almost fell on the ice, we finally made it to the back of Coly. And there stood Nate, alone in the parking lot as the snow gently drifted down. Michael stopped and said something, but I didn't hear. I just kept walking straight to him. After a swooping hug, he said, "Anne, I've really enjoyed getting to know you, and I wanted to know if you would honor me by being my girlfriend."
"Yes, of course!"
"Look behind you."

As I turned back toward the building, I say the phrase "Will you?" spelled out in Christmas lights, one letter per dorm room window. I laughed and hugged him tighter. "Do you mind waving at the window between the words?" he asked. As I waved, the blinds of the window went up revealing a group of faces, those who had helped with Nate's plan.

Ending the Night
Despite the impending finals, we extended our night together by watching The Lake House, Nate's favorite chick flick, and trying to read each other's body language to figure out if holding hands was ok. (Nate decided we weren't there yet... ;-) He walked me home, we prayed in the lobby, and I went upstairs replaying the perfect day.

Pulling two all-nighters during the following finals week was totally worth it.

*               *               *

Nate, it may not have snowed last night, but waking up to the snow 

this morning reminds me again of God's goodness in giving me you. 

Happy five years, sweet man!

A Quiet Yes

A shelf in my childhood bedroom is lined with journals filled with the daily prayers of a little girl. A drawer in my desk holds notebooks of poetry and short stories. On those pages is a record of handwriting improvements and sentence structure sophistication; confusion, resolution and pieces of truth that sometimes resonate fresh once again.

While I've written for as long as my memory reaches, something holds me back from writing for others to see. Even my quiet, little corner of the blogosphere, I wrestle with what is worth writing for my sake and what is worth others reading.

But a few weeks ago I read about a writing opportunity, and I felt that little gut-push, the one that squeezes the heart and says, "You know you need to do this." You know what the crazy thing is? They thought so, too. So for the next six months, I'll be teaming up with Holley Gerth and her God-sized Dream Team.

Would you come along on this adventure with me? I don't know where we'll end up, but I'd love to have some familiar faces along the way!

Here's to ending 2012 saying a quiet yes with a hopeful heart for 2013!