Category Archives: Fearlessness

Because of Who He Is We Are Capable

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In the moments of doubt I will remember

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“Do I have to use that??” She said as she pointed to a top sheet wadded on the floor next to her bed.” I smiled to myself because I specifically remembered being in that same place 3 and a half years prior.

“Do you know what this is?” I asked her. She didn’t and so I told the 17 year old how, not too long ago I asked the same question to my husband. I had been in her same shoes. I didn’t understand the purpose of the sheet that didn’t have elastic on the edges.

I told her what my husband told me. “It protects the comforter so we don’t have to wash it as often.” Sure enough, I heard an, “oooohhhhhh I get it.” She had the same response I did. Then I taught her how to put it on her bed.

The next day I made tacos for lunch and after folding my taco a 15 year old girl said, “That is so cool. How do you do that?” I leaned over her plate, grasped the tortilla in my hands, and gently folded it so that all the taco meat was nice and snug just like my grandfather had done for me 16 years prior.

Every single thing I went through had led me to that moment. The moment when my husband and I were the guardians of two girls not too much younger than us. Girls who didn’t get to choose their upbringing, but because of their age and culture they found themselves struggling to find a place to lay their head.

They longed for stability but couldn’t seem to keep a house. Their faces had, “nobody wants me” written all over them. We thought we were crazy. Were we in over our heads? The circumstances leading them to our home only from God but this is not what we had in mind when we signed up to foster.

God laughed at our plans and threw them in the trash just like we knew He would. He gave us an understanding of the girls that we needed to parent them when few before us could. Everything we had experienced prepared us. The organizations we had volunteered with, past work experience, and life experiences were meant for the very season full of hormones and giggles. We had no idea but God did. 

The girls were great. They fit right into our house and we were beyond blessed to have them, even for just a season. Too young? Maybe. But if not us then who? In our area alone there are 593 kids in foster care. There are only 193 foster homes for those kids.

With our home full there is now 192 foster homes that need to somehow make room for 591 kids. A lot of times that doesn’t happen so kids sleep in DHS offices and shelters or they get shipped to a place hours away from their home making it hard for friends and family to see them. We’ll take being too young. We are willing to be uncomfortable and step out of our comfort zone. We may not be able to help them all but we can help 1 or 2 at a time.

In my moments of doubt I will remember that God has prepared us for moments like this. In my weakness, He is strong. He wouldn’t have put us in this place if He didn’t think we were capable.

Are you in a season of discomfort? Everything you’ve experienced has led you to this very place. It’s okay. We don’t have to understand why we are doing it. We don’t have to feel qualified. All we have to know is that God is in control and because of who He is, we are capable.

~ Lovelle ❤

Exciting News!!!

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Sooooo, I’ve got a confession to make…. I’ve kept a little secret for over a year. It’s been a struggle to keep it in and today I can FINALLY share it with you guys! (in)courage is releasing a BRAND NEW CBS Devotional Bible and I have some devotions in it! How cool is that?!?

Here’s the down-low…

  • There are 312 devotions written by 122 writers (INCLUDING ME!!!) with stories from women in all seasons of life.
  • The devotions are organized into 10 themes, and each theme has a distinct color and design in the Bible.
  • Each theme also has its own reading plan to guide you through a beautiful experience of Scripture.
  • There are 50 Women of Courage featured with biographical profiles throughout the biblical text.
  • Each of the 66 introductions (one for each book of the Bible) are original to draw you into the overarching biblical narrative.

There are soooo many more features — each one that has something special just for you!

This beauty will be released on October 1, 2018 and you don’t have to wait for it! You can sign up for a FREE 54-page sampler. It includes two full books of the Bible (Esther and Romans), several devotions, reading plans, and more.

You can also learn more about the bible by hitting up this blog post by (in)courage or checking out the video they posted today on their Facebook Page.

I am so humbled and thankful to be a part of this project. (in)courage has helped me so much in my faith and with life in general. From interning there in college, getting to know all the women on a personal level, and gaining encouragement at some of my lowest points. They’ve walked through so much with me and I truly believe that this bible can help you as you pursue God’s path for your life.

Last but not least, I want each and every one of you reading this to know how thankful I am for you. You’ve encouraged me, walked beside me, and believed in me. I’ve always felt called to speak and write but to be honest, I don’t always feel qualified or capable.

You’ve walked along side my journey and reminded me that God doesn’t need qualifications to use me. He needs my heart, willingness, and obedience to step out into scary waters. The words I’ve written in this bible come from the heart and they have you in mind. I hope you know that.

~ Lovelle ❤

Refining in the Hardship

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We live in a world where we can get anything we want with the simple touch of our fingertip. It even includes 2 day shipping. There are so many times I get upset because I am not seeing myself progress in a “timely” manner. There are moments I get mad because my plans aren’t panning out.

In those moments I am reminded of Moses. He put in a lot of work. He endured a lot of hardship and listened to A LOT of complaints. After dealing with all of that, he didn’t even get to see the promised land. 

Friend, life is so hard. Can we just take a second to acknowledge that? It makes you ugly cry and want to scream into a pillow. It can bring out the worst in you.

There are times that God will ask us to sit in the hardship. We may not be able to see it but the misery is changing us for the better. The hardship leaves us with bruises and scars that remind us just how human we are.

We will fall down and make mistakes. But we will get back up and keep going. We will push ourselves further. Even when we don’t feel like moving anymore. We will look towards that cross because it is full of grace, mercy, forgiveness, and endurance. 

Consider me your virtual cheerleader. I’m waving around pom-pom’s while you take another step. I’m on the sidelines holding up a sign that says, “go girl!” and jumping up and down with excitement because I know you can win this battle.

We serve a faithful God who has a perfect plan for you. As you take life on like a boss, my prayer is that you somehow find His faithfulness woven into your steps.

~ Lovelle ❤

 

Friendships Worth Fighting For

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NeverUnfriended

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Growing up I didn’t really have an example of what a healthy  relationship looked like so I frequently found myself looking for attention and love in all the wrong places. One of those places happened to be in friendships. I tried out friends like I tried on shoes at my favorite stores.

I would try the friendship out out real quick, maybe over a quick conversation involving coffee and some shallow topic. I would then decide if they were comfy enough to continue on to phase two. If they passed my inspection then maybe I would buy into investing some intentional time.

I would  often adore my friendships for a while but when the tiniest scuff appeared I got rid of them because they didn’t fit my expectations anymore. To me, a scuff meant that I could get even more hurt and I’m not about that life.

I continued that cycle for a long time and it was pretty lonely but then I met this girl at church with curly brown hair who was really interesting. She had managed to break down my walls more than any of my other friends and walked with the Lord in a way I hadn’t seen before. I guess you can say we hit it off pretty quick. All was well but then our friendship got a scuff.

“our relationships have subtle, yet powerful, lifelong impacts on us. This means that while they can burden us with unwelcome PTSD, they also have highly reparative capabilities too. The relationship patterns we have learned can become clues that lead us back to the scene of the original crime and equip us with tools to investigate, understand, and prevent it from happening again.”
~ Lisa-Jo Baker Never Unfriended

After some bickering we both left the conversation with some hurt and we weren’t sure how to fix it. We avoided each other for some time and it wasn’t fun.  Weeks passed and she asked me to meet up for coffee.

We had a pretty painful conversation and in the midst of it I remember saying the words,“your friendship is worth fighting for.” before I knew what had come out of my mouth. That conversation pointed out some bad habits I had kept harbored in my heart.

I realized that the personality God gave this woman was worth trudging through the occasional pain and conflict to find a resolution. Her walk with the Lord made me desire to be a better person and I looked up to her so much because she followed Jesus in a way I wanted to. She was worth being vulnerable and getting hurt. She was a friend I couldn’t even imagine unfriending over a petty argument. 

My friend and I still talk about the fight we had but now we look back and are so thankful it happened because it made our friendship stronger. After that fight I learned to stop making my friend carry the weight of unreasonable expectations and I began to embrace her for the person God made her.

My close friendships are like my favorite pair of shoes (my chaco’s) They are durable, comfortable, and I can walk through life with them because those things last forever. 

I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND Never Unfriended: The Secret to Finding and Keeping Lasting Friendships by Lisa-Jo Baker. This book has helped me go out of my comfort zone to make new friends and it’s given me wonderful tools to be a good friend. If you pre-order the book before April 4th you can even get some free goodies!

I promise, after reading the book I can honestly say, your friendships and your soul will thank you. I know mine did. 🙂

~ Lovelle ❤

What My College Degree Means to Me

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Our Circumstances2

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I walked to the stage in amazement. I never thought I would get here but I did. They announced my name and gave me my diploma. I could hardly hold back the tears.

I worked so hard for this.
I almost gave up so many times because it was so hard.
I shed so many tears trying to get to this place right here, right now.

6 years ago I was isolated and alone. I had dropped out of high school for over a year but managed to graduate on time by the grace of our Heavenly Father. College seemed to good for a girl like me.

That’s where the smart people went. You know, the ones with parents that believed in them and actually prepared them for it. I got shoved into a community college and until the first day of class, I didn’t know that college had a different schedule.

I didn’t realize that you didn’t go to school from 8am-3pm. Talk about a wake up call.

I felt so different and stupid compared to the other kids who actually seemed somewhat put together. There were so many nights with little sleep because school and working full time didn’t always mix.

I continued on and pushed myself forward, looking toward the finish line, uncertain of my future. The Lord is so faithful. 

Now I have parents and a huge support system cheering me on. Somehow they knew I could do it even when I didn’t think I could. They never let me give up. They listened to my cries and cheered me on all the way to the finish line.

As I held that bachelors degree as tight as I could with my cap and gown on I was so full of thankfulness. I am thankful that the Lord took a broken girl and did the impossible. He managed to make her a graduate not once, but twice.

He saw something in her that she didn’t know she had. He pursued her with everything He had and He constantly reminded her that His ways are no limit to her circumstances. 

He gave her healing.
He gave her parents.
He gave her an amazing husband.
He proved to her that she wasn’t as stupid as she thought she seemed.
He showed her that she was worthy.

Everything that was taken from her, God in His gracious love redeemed. That my friends is what my college degree means to me.

~ Lovelle ❤

 

 

Skating Through Failure

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Be Used

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My husband was super awesome and decided to take me ice skating for our anniversary. All is fun and games until you step out on that ice skating rink and expect one slender piece of metal on each shoe to keep you balanced.

As much as I tried, the only thing I could think about was how much my booty would hurt if those little metal pieces failed me. It seemed like the more I worried, the more I wobbled, and the closer I came to falling down.

After a few minutes of struggle I finally just gave up not trying to fall and embraced the fact that I may end up hurting myself on the ice. Here’s the irony;

When I embraced the possibility of failure, I actually ended up skating really well.

I feel like life is a little like that slippery ice skating rink. This world tells us that perfection is a necessity and because of that, we end up focusing a little too much on failure.

What if we just embraced the fall?

What if we asked God how He could use our mistakes?

The fact is, we are sinners and as long as we are on earth, WE WILL Fail.

God did not give us a spirit of fear {2 Timothy 1:7} so don’t be scared of failure. Sometimes, even our hardest falls can make the biggest difference and teach us so much.

~ Lovelle ❤