be brave Archives - LeeAnn G Taylor - Embracing the Mosaic Life

Five Minute Friday – Here

August 8, 2015 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

We travel on, the road winding as the water from the lake peaks through the evergreen trees. “Is that our lake?” my friend Mollie asks. “It sure is!” quickly escapes from my lips, excitement apparent.

The lake is such a beautiful and peaceful setting for a retreat!

“We should be there any minute.”

And then, all of a sudden…we are here.

“Here” is an unassuming lake house in the middle of a neighborhood on the outskirts of Nashville, TN. We’re gathered with a handful of brave women who share words and hearts each week as writers part of the Five Minute Friday community.

In the past few years, I’ve learned that although I’m as introverted as they come, I too need community. I too need to be brave and venture outside of my little circle of friends.

While the comfort of being known is just that – comfortable – I’m learning there is something special about the process of becoming known.

Thank you Jen for capturing this moment!

So I’m here, baby girl in tow, sharing a little bit of life, breaking through the fear of the unknown, meeting new friends, and enjoying being here.

This post is part of the Five Minute Friday series. Each week writers from all over the world gather together around a one-word writing prompt, sharing words and stories and hearts. The words spill out, unedited and free. This week’s word is HERE.

Consider one way you can be brave this week. Seek out community and authentic relationships, take a risk, and let God handle the details!

It’s Time to Jump!

July 31, 2015 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

Have you ever had an idea for a new project or wanted to learn a new skill or implement a new routine in your life but when you thought about it, you just got stuck?

Instead of jumping in and taking action, you pondered all the ways that something might go wrong or convinced yourself you weren’t really good enough or the right person to complete the task.

Surely I’m not the only one who has experienced this!

Here’s the thing.

When you first learned to ride a bike as a kid, what if you had hemmed and hawed over all the things that might go wrong? Instead of getting on the bike and peddling, what if you sat on the curb wondering what it would feel like if you fell and scraped your knee or how terrible it would be if the neighborhood kids saw you wobbling and laughed.

I’d venture to say you never would have learned to ride a bike. Then, think about all the fun you would have missed out on.

Sometimes to experience or new things in life as adults, we need to channel our inner kid and just jump!

So…what are you waiting for?

Today, take a leap of faith, take a risk.

Instead of sitting on the sidelines, enjoy this precious life we’ve been given!

What is something new you’ve been thinking about taking action on that you’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to begin? Share in the comments and let’s encourage one another to, as Jon Acuff says… just Start!

This post is part of the Five Minute Friday community where we write for five minutes on a one-word writing prompt each week. Today’s prompt was “Try”.

God Uses Small Beginnings

August 2, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

Questions of doubt swirl in my mind. Maybe in yours too.

photo credit: SearchNetMedia via photopin cc

Who am I to make a difference with my small town life?

We live in a tiny town of 1,000 people.

How can God use me to change the world?

I’m just an introverted office-working mom with dreamer husband and a couple of crazy kiddos (and now one more on the way) living in a simple no-frills house, financially just making it month by month.

Does my offering of encouraging words really matter?

I write because I felt God’s prompting, but does my writing really change women’s perspectives and turn their hearts & lives toward the Lord?

photo credit: markus spiske via photopin cc

And then I hear His voice.

Child, I specialize in small beginnings. Just look at my creation.

Acorns grow into stalwart oak trees.

Fuzzy ugly caterpillars grow into exquisite butterflies.

Tiny seeds grow into magnificent flowers.

He speaks again:

It’s your job to be available.

To put yourself into situations to foster growth.

To seek living water and bright sunlight.

And to watch me bless your small beginning.

photo credit: paolo gamba via photopin cc

Small beginnings are the launching pad to great endings. – Joyce Meyer

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photo credit: Jason A. Samfield via photopin cc

I hear his voice quietly in my spirit and then again through His word. It’s more truth sinking down deep and reminding me of His faithfulness in my life.

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. Zechariah 4:10

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photo credit: jenny downing via photopin cc

God is pleased when we’re available to be used and we submit our small beginnings to His purposes. He has designed each of us uniquely and He equips us to make a difference, rejoicing with us as we begin our journey.

Today, I’m excited to introduce you to three of my in-real-life friends who have each made themselves available to God to be used. All three have started blogs in the last couple of weeks, sharing their hearts, their stories, and their lives as they seek to make God known in their own unique ways.

Take a minute to visit and encourage these brave ladies!

Brittany writes at Momolgie, sharing her story of faithfulness through the challenges currently presenting themselves as her husband is treated for stage IV metastatic colon cancer. She also has a heart for encouraging moms, especially pregnant moms and those nursing and caring for a new little one.

Mollie writes at Faith in Plain Sight, sharing her story of how God is helping her move through years of hurt and pain to a life of freedom in Christ, one step of faith at a time. As a single mom, she can identify with Christian women in similar situations learning to navigate the waters of parenting young children.

Amy writes at A Beautiful Mess, sharing her story of freedom from a diagnosis of bi-polar/manic depressive disorder at a very young age.

What small beginning is God birthing in your life? Let’s encourage one another as we each seek and discover God’s best for our lives.

Sharing today with Five Minute Friday, Essential Fridays, The Weekend Brew, God’s Girl, Faith & Fellowship, Beauty Observed, Recommendation Saturday, Scripture and a Snapshot, Sunday Stillness, and Give Me Grace.

Beauty in the Mess

April 11, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

Her little brother is visiting his Mimi for the week and my 4 year old jumps at the opportunity for a rare uninterrupted moment to paint.

Hunched over the 1970s era leaf table with a wide swath of drawing paper taped down, her paint brushes littered among the homemade sticky paints, she diligently creates her work of art.

photo credit: via Eiimeon photopin cc

To me, it looks like a big sticky jumbled mess. Colors are everywhere; paint is on her hands, the table, the floor, her hair…and a bit on the paper.

I know better than to ask “What is it?” and instead say, “Tell me about it, doodle.” {Doodle has been her nickname since the beginning. My little artist.}

“It’s a rainbow mommy. You know, like God’s promises.”

Indeed it is.

Her sweet voice and messy art reminds this weary soul of the truth of God’s work in our lives.

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT)

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

photo credit: TEBart via photopin cc

He is the promise maker and the promise keeper. He takes our broken pieces, our messy, and turns it into a masterpiece used for His glory.

Although we may not see the rainbow in the messy art, it’s not our job to see the full picture. The Bible tells us we can’t see the scope of God’s work, its fullness.

Instead, it’s our job to trust the artist and walk with Him one day at a time. And He will reveal the rainbow, the beauty in our mess, as we say “yes” to Him.

*This post is part of Lisa-Jo Baker’s 5 Minute Friday series, where she empowers bloggers to write for 5 minutes each Friday on a specific topic. Free writing. Writing just for the sheer joy of it. Today’s topic was “Paint.” Also sharing with Essential Fridays, Fridays Unfolded, The Weekend Brew, Recommendation Saturday, Sacred Speco, Beauty Observed, and Sunday Stillness.

Also…while we’re on the topic of saying “yes”…

I just started reading the new book by Kristen Welch, Rhinestone Jesus: Saying Yes to God When Sparkly, Safe Faith is No Longer Enough. It’s a pre-release review copy and the book launches May 1 (although you might can find it in stores sooner & pre-order on Amazon). I started crying in the Introduction ya’ll, so I know this one’s a good one that will challenge me in ways I need it. Can’t wait to share more about it with you once I finish! In the meantime, a whole tribe of people are sharing how they’re saying “yes” to God in the middle of their mess – check it out on Twitter.

Rhinestone Jesus by Kristen Welch

What I Learned In February

March 4, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

It was a quarter of the size of my high school. The tiny college in East TN beckoned me with its rolling hills, small class size, and promise of deep relationships and I never looked back. Instead of graduating solely with degrees in sociology, business, and nonprofit management, a handful of passionate professors instilled in me a love of learning.

Maryville College – photo credit

It’s the love of learning that started me on this blogging journey as I devoured hours and hours of podcasts in 2013, soaking in everything I could about the online world and social media. At the time, I had not a clue that I’d have my own little space in the world to write and share and encourage others. Instead, I was supporting my husband’s venture into owning a small business and the relational and spiritual development ministry God has called him to accomplish through pastoral life coaching.

It was at the end of 2013 after reading Emily Freeman’s book Grace for the Good Girl: Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life and attending her At the Barn event that I heard God speaking to my soul. The message was clear – I need to encourage others with my story of moving from crippling fear to embracing true faith and stepping into the freedom God has for us as believers. It’s a path we all need to travel to open the door to the abundant life full of peace that only Christ provides.

Emily Freeman’s At the Barn event – November 2013 – We Will Make Art!

In celebration of my first full month of writing in this world of blogging, I’m linking up with Emily Freeman at Chatting at the Sky for a reflection of the past month. Here’s what I’ve learned in February:

1. Women thrive in community. Especially this woman. But I bet you do too!

I’ve learned this month about the incredible power of relationships and living in community with one another.

As I started blogging this year, I discovered my in-real-life friend Holly also has a blog and writes at Reclaiming a Redeemed Life {and you should totally check it out!}.

Holly introduced me to the community of women writing weekly at Lisa-jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday.

Many of the Five Minute Friday ladies are connected with the community of women at (in)courage.me, a site that provides “a home for the heart of women”. Here you’ll find {you guessed it} encouragement for your Jesus-loving heart!

(in)courage.me – a beautiful community of women seeking God’s voice

(In)courage hosts an online conference that also provides an opportunity for women to meet face-to-face in their own hometowns since so many of us are only connected via social media with the barrier of a screen between us.

The conference, called (in)RL {because meeting in-real-life is better than online} is FREE and is April 25 & 26, 2014.

The idea is that you watch a video Friday night on your own in your home {cue PJs, hot cocoa, and your laptop all snuggled in your warm bed}. Then you meet up on Saturday with a local group of women gathering to watch the simulcast, fostering in-real-life relationships.

I am so excited to meet some of my online-only friends in person in just a few weeks! You can experience this much-needed community too since there are meet-ups all over the country {and the world!}.

2. I’ve decided to be brave and swim.

No, I’m not afraid of the water but I sure have struggled with fear for as long as I can remember. Fear of failure. Fear of not measuring up {to others’ and my own expectations}. Fear of what other people will think.

But instead of succumbing to the breath-taking waves of fear and doubt, I’ve decided to be brave and SWIM. No more sinking under the weight of “what if”. It’s time to move forward and go somewhere!

I learned that I’m not the only one in this boat {hmm…or in the water!} and that you also are working through what being brave and stepping out into the unknown looks like in your life.

I love that we’re doing this together!

3. People look at you funny when you say you’re going to host a webinar about sex.

Apparently sex in the Christian marriage is not talked about enough because when my husband and I decided that we wanted to share some things we’ve learned the last 10 years about the sexual side of marriage and started mentioning it to others, we got some seriously weird looks!

Let’s be real. It was the women who were looking at us funny. The men got giddy looks on their faces and said “where do we sign up?!”

{Soapbox warning} Ladies, we need to start taking this area of our lives more seriously than we may have in the past. Healthy physical intimacy is one key to a rock-solid marriage…a key that can’t be left out, neglected, or forgotten!

The webinar was held right around Valentine’s Day and provided Christian couples a way to start the conversation about improving this one area of marriage that is so hush-hush in some Christian environments.

essentials to re-igniting the sexual spark in your marriage

To find out more, we’ve provided the resource guide we developed as part of the webinar to give you a place to start.

FREE Resource Guide: Essentials to Re-Igniting the Sexual Spark in your Marriage: A Guide for Christian Couples

4. There are few things more silly than a frog in a snowstorm.

It snowed last month. You know, like it’s been doing all winter all over the country. But for us in North Carolina, snow is a BIG hairy deal. Bread, milk, and eggs all but walk out of grocery stores and we hunker down in our homes like we’ll be stuck here for eternity. In reality, we were only stuck one day and that gave my thrill-seeking husband long enough to realize that even his 4WD wasn’t going to get us anywhere past our tiny {no stoplights} town.

When we did make it out, we ventured over to my parents’ house for snowcream and sledding. Out came my dad’s digital SLR camera and I began shooting away {warning: a barrage of snow pictures is about to begin}.

The silliest one? The frog in the snowstorm. If you can look at this picture without giggling a little bit…well you could use a better sense of humor!

5. You are amazing!

Yes, I mean you!

The comments on the blog and in-person conversations I’ve had with you all {my blog readers} these last two months have been so encouraging and inspiring. You all are brave souls striving to live this life as authentic Christians, intentionally choosing to release fear, embrace faith and move forward into freedom.

Each of our stories and paths are different, but we all are making a difference in the choices we make in the tiny moments of our lives. And it’s the tiny moments that add up to make a life!

Will you do me a favor?

If you’ve been reading the blog and haven’t let me know yet, will you somehow let me know you’re reading? It’s an honor to share with you my journey and I’d love to know who you are and how I can pray for you. You can also share topics you’d like me to address or questions you have.

You can:

Leave a comment on this post.
Connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.
Send me an email.
Tell me in person.

I promise to pray for each prayer request individually. God is growing me in the area of prayer and this is one way I can serve you and we can grow together!

If you know of someone who would enjoy these posts, you can share the photo below on your favorite social media site.

Today I’m linking up with Emily Freeman’s What I Learned community and the Unite, Inspire Me Monday, Mommy Monday, Titus 2sday, Titus 2 Tuesday, Life Through the Lens, and Wedded Wednesday linkups. This post contains affiliate links {full disclosure}.