Hey, hi, how are you?? You haven’t heard from me in over a month, but you probably already knew that.
All I have to say to the people following along with this blog, is I am sorry for not keeping you updated and letting you in on all that has happened in the last month and some change.
I feel that I need to explain this “logic” that I have been letting myself believe.
You see, I sat down to write a blog many times in Panama and nothing came. It was a frustrating time because 1. I wanted to update people 2. I am the freaking Story Teller on my team and I AM NOT TELLING STORIES. UGH! This process was interesting and challenging for me, because I have been learning so much with the Lord over our month of ATL in Panama and now in North Africa.
But where I have been getting stuck is timing.I’ll have a good idea that pops into my head to write, whether it be a blog post, instagram caption, or just a good word that was given to me; but then I don’t post it in the same day. So, I “logic” in my head that it’s not worth posting anymore because the event has already passed. Now that’s just a straight up RUDE lie from the enemy that I have been subconsciously believing.
So, in this series there will be some journal entries, thoughts or questions, answered prompts, sweet moments, pictures, and more. I hope ya’ll enjoy!
Make sure not to miss the whole series (four total blogs) to read all of the thoughts I had in Panama. I will be posting the next one in TWO days!
Big thanks to our amazing TL Mere and SQL Morgan for gifting us all a journal for the month of ATL. It was a place I went to often and found great comfort processing with The Lord.
8/15/19 – Journal Entry
We got housing! [we did not have a place to stay after our couple days in the first AirBnB] Our same house. So Cam’s $100 will stay in the Venmo [my sweet man prayed and donated to our team for housing] until we need it. We are paying with cash and got it for .75 cents cheaper than last time which is great because we were over by .75 cents for the first three nights. So we went from over budget to under budget!!! Thanks pops for that provision. It’s still kind of unclear what are doing for the foreseeable days. I want more of a structure, selfishly, but spending so much quality time with each other has been such a blessing. I think we were all kind of nervous to just be us together – BUT it has been great so far. We are becoming that family unit we all desire.
Most of the team has given up their phones this month, so we are all finding new things to do to fill some of our time. Alli and Kenz went on a hike, Heather is coloring, Tess is army rolling her clothes and packing like a responsible adult, Kristin is sitting with us in the living room and Mere is packing. We are listening to “Treat You Better” by Shawn Mendez currently. I really like that we are all doing our own thing but still hanging out together.
I got my camera out for the first time yesterday and it felt really good. I am still learning how to shoot in manual, so I have been getting frustrated while taking pictures. Anyways, I am also enjoying writing again. I do not know why I ever stopped. I said out loud yesterday that I felt like I heard God’s heart at points most when I write. I still need to chew on that thought. I have been writing a lot more this month.
8/16/19
2:34 PM
A metaphor while walking the streets into town
Rocks! The gravel, big or small, is everywhere. I told the Lord I desired to write more and He heard me. I have been getting so many thoughts that I can’t even write them all down.
A metaphor: I was walking to town with my team and I kept getting rocks in my Tevas! Little ones in my heels and in the arch of my foot. I didn’t want to stop and get the poking and painful rocks out of my shoes. I did not want to get left behind by the group.
As I kept walking with the rocks in my shoes, my mood began to shift; from enjoying the walk to town to complete annoyance. Come on! How often do we do this in out spiritual walks? The walk of our life is always going to have those small painful rocks along the way. It’s our choice if we let our pride, stubbornness, fear of missing out, fear of man, or anything else get in the way of the path He intended for us.
What little painful rocks do you need to get out of your shoes to get back on the path God made for you? Is your own stubbornness holding you back?
Slow down today. Get the rocks out of your shoes.
I hope you all enjoyed the first part of this series. This is just the beginning. I can’t wait to share more. If you stay along til the last blog, you will not have to read…just look at pictures. 🙂
until next time,
Lauren
