growth Archives - LeeAnn G Taylor - Embracing the Mosaic Life

Conquering Fear with Faith Requires Action

September 20, 2015 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

This week my sister-in-law received news no woman wants to hear.

After going in for a mammogram to address some changes she’d been experiencing the last few months, she was referred for a 3D ultrasound and then for a biopsy later in the week.

She called me, thanking me for encouraging her to follow up on the unusual symptoms that prompted the initial visit to her GYN doctor. She also asked me to pray for her. The uncertainty evident in her voice, we both knew the results of this test could indicate a serious health concern, one no one wants to talk about at the young age of 36.

As a single mom of three kids ages 16, 13, and 11, the “what if’s” whirled. At the same time though, everything in her fought to trust the God who she knew had gotten her through a plethora of arduous situations the last few years.

The fear was there, yes. But she determined in her heart to not let the fear rule. Instead, she chose faith. And choosing faith in the middle of a trial requires action.

Choosing faith in the middle of a trial requires action.

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She chose to reach out to other believers to request prayer for specific needs and to focus her mind on God’s truths.

She asked for peace to replace the fear threatening to take over her thoughts.
She asked for patience as she awaited biopsy results.
She asked for favorable test results.
She asked for strength to walk whatever path was ahead.

In the middle of her trial, when it might have felt easier to try to attempt to control the situation and Google her way to the answers of looming questions, she chose to lean on faith instead of giving into the fear of the unknown.

Whether it’s a medical scare, a period of financial uncertainty, or a broken relationship, it only takes one trying situation for fear to take over our thoughts and wreak havoc on the peace in our heart.

Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us…

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

God’s word reminds us that we’re NOT going to understand everything that happens in this life. But you know, I don’t think we’re supposed to understand everything.

Trusting God is an integral part of growing in faith.

Learning to acknowledge Him in the middle of our trials squelches the fear that is human nature and replaces it with a growing measure of faith.

Our confidence in His provision for our lives grows as we walk through trials. We seek Him, pushing away fear, and embracing an active faith in the One who created us and loves us unconditionally.

I’m not going to pretend this is easy!

In my life, this looks like daily submission to God’s ways, remembering He is in control, not me. However sometimes I really struggle to remember!

I’ve found that constant visual reminders really help. Scripture on my shower curtain and pillows on the couch and in my office chair bring God’s truth to my mind during the day and help to quiet my overly anxious heart. Scripture on the walls helps too.

For me, the process of pushing away fear and instead embracing a growing faith has been just that, a process. I’m learning the importance of trusting God to make good on His promises to make all things work for good in my life (Romans 8:28).

What about you? What helps you combat fear in your life and instead trust God as you grow in faith?

Thank you to Family Christian for providing pillows for the photos for this post from their new home goods line. Affiliate links are included in this post. When you click and purchase, I receive a very small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. These funds help keep the doors open here at The Mosaic Life and support Eva, our Compassion International child in Columbia.

Praising God in the Storm :: Our Miscarriage Story

August 27, 2015 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

Lately a friend reminded me of the power of telling our stories. Stories are the essential connection between people. Shared experiences remind us we’re not alone in this sometimes scary world.

Today I’m sharing one of my stories, one of pain in the moment and how Chuck and I chose to praise God in the middle of our storm. Now, 7 years and 3 beautiful babies later, I realize it was the first of many experiences God used to grow our faith and highlight His faithfulness in our lives.

July 2, 2008

It has been a long few weeks filled with every emotion imaginable. On May 15th, Chuck and I found out we were expecting our first child, due Jan 10th. We were so excited…our “five year plan” of starting a family after five years of marriage was falling right into place.

We kept the news pretty quiet, only telling our parents, our sisters, and a few close friends, until we had our first doctor’s appointment. I think that I thought the news that we were going to have a baby was going to really sink in once we had that first appointment.

What started as excited anticipation during that first visit quickly became nervous anticipation as our doctor became concerned that I was having some early complications. An ultrasound was scheduled for later that same afternoon.

I know it was the “peace that passes understanding” because I went back to work and was calm while waiting for the ultrasound appointment. Chuck, on the other hand, would tell me later that he had a feeling that something was very wrong.

The ultrasound later confirmed this when a heartbeat could not be detected. I should have been 7-8 weeks along. After a devastating conversation with our doctor, I had some blood work done and we headed home to share the news.

The next few weeks proved to be a rollercoaster of emotions, with more blood work and two more ultrasounds. My pregnancy hormones kept rising, but the baby was not growing properly and we could still hear no heartbeat.

The hardest part was not knowing what or how to feel, since at each appointment we were given a small ray of hope that the baby might be okay…maybe we were not as far along as they thought…maybe this, maybe that. It was more proof that only God knows us intimately, and medical science, though helpful, cannot always give us the answers.

Eventually last week we were told that the baby was not growing and that we should expect a miscarriage. After a week of waiting, I began to miscarry.

Through this all we have had an amazing support network of family and friends. God has continually placed people in our path who have been through similar experiences or who knew just what we needed to be comforted at that moment.

Although we are sad at the loss of this little child, we know God has more plans for us and our family.

I have been and will continue to cling to this verse:

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge HIM and he will make your paths straight.”

Although we may not always understand, we must trust God and acknowledge His sovereignty over all situations, even this one.

Friends, it’s time we share our stories. Let’s lift up God working in our lives and shine His grace and glory!

What can YOU praise him for today? Share in the comments and let’s encourage one another to view our lives through the lens of gratefulness, despite our difficult circumstances.

Parenting With Purpose: Day 3 – Maximize Your Mornings

October 3, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

Yesterday I shared part of my personal story of learning the importance of my role in setting the spiritual atmosphere in the home. If you missed that post or previous ones, you can find all the posts for this series on the Parenting With Purpose Series page.

Today I promised to reveal the resource God led me to as I sought a different way to start my mornings and set the spiritual tempo of my days.

Once I realized that my selfish behavior was dishonoring my husband and leaving me spiritually empty, I knew something had to change!

Searching for An Answer

Not really knowing where to turn, I Googled “intentional mornings” and landed right onto Kat Lee’s site, Inspired to Action.

She had recently released an ebook called Maximize Your Mornings, and I quickly found out it was exactly the direction I needed. Her grace-based, habit-focused, baby-steps approach allowed me to ease into waking up earlier just five minutes at a time without feeling guilty.

Honestly, her approach was refreshing since I’d tried and failed at other online programs designed at improving your life at home. (Someone please tell me I’m not the only one who tried FlyLady’s cleaning routine and failed miserably!)

I needed an approach to mornings that provided concrete “wins”.

I Can’t Do This Alone

While the baby steps approach helped break down the mental block I had constructed for myself surrounding my ability to get up earlier in the mornings, trying to turn this new concept into a lasting habit proved more than I could manage alone.

It turns out, God created people to be in community with one another and I needed just that – accountability to stay the course and a group of people to notice when I didn’t follow through with my commitment.

Success…and Failure

Right around the time I downloaded the Maximize Your Mornings ebook, one of Kat’s blog readers suggested starting a challenge for women on the Maximize Your Mornings journey. They called it “Hello Mornings” and I enthusiastically signed up for an accountability group on Twitter, a new social media platform to me at the time.

Not uncharacteristically, I committed to the first week or so and then promptly dropped off. I’d experienced just a tiny bit of success and then there it was again, failure.

Let’s just say I was glad to remember that God can redeem all of our failures!

Through that experience I realized I was trying to fit my morning time into a list of religious checkboxes. My church upbringing was in a culture that often focused more on rules and religious “to do” lists, leading me to think it was all up to me to be a “successful” Christian woman.

And in this season of my life, I thought “successful” equalled getting up early to do a devotional.

Trying Again – The Hello Mornings Challenge

I was relying solely on myself and found out quickly that it was only in God’s strength that my inner night owl would transform into a willing early bird as I sought a deeper relationship with Him.

And so, I decided to try the Hello Mornings Challenge again.

With a new perspective and focus on God’s strength not mine, I relished my newfound freedom in Christ to pursue relationship, not rules.

This time around in January of 2013 I joined a different Hello Mornings group, one that embraced me and my imperfection while helping me stay accountable to my desire to grow in consistency with my new morning routine.

Almost two years later, four ladies from the original group are still checking in with one another on Twitter in the mornings. We provide encouragement, pray for specific situations in one another’s lives, and share praises from the day to day journey. We certainly don’t do it perfectly, but each of us continues to grow and transform as we seek to reflect Christ in our lives and in our parenting.

Wake Up FOR Your Children, Not TO Your Children

As we continue our exploration into Parenting With Purpose, one key message I want to convey is one that Kat emphasizes when she talks about the Hello Mornings Challenge.

The goal is to wake up FOR your children – to pray for them, to prepare for the day, to center yourself in God’s Word, and to get your body moving instead of groggily rolling out of bed when the littles are pulling your hair, patting your cheeks, and asking for Cheerios and cartoons.

Our purposeful choices in the morning, no matter how small we start, will make a lasting impact on the spiritual environment of our homes and our children will begin to notice the difference!

Setting Yourself Up For Success

As I promised, I’m sharing some key resources to set you up for success in making your mornings a time to set the spiritual atmosphere of your home first thing in the morning.

It’s my prayer that these will be tools you can use wherever you are in your morning quiet time journey.

Maximize Your Mornings – {ebook} – This free ebook is available on InspiredtoAction.com and walks you through the process of taking your very first steps in a morning routine. You’ll also find a blog series by the same name of this page.

Tips For Getting Up Early – {blog series} – This is where you should start if you’re just looking for some practical tips to help you get up earlier (and to save yourself from your husband dragging you out of bed like my husband did!).

Hello Mornings Challenge – {accountability & relationships} – The challenge is OPEN for the upcoming six week challenge through Sunday, October 5th. If you’re ready to find out more about how the challenge works and how you can get involved in a group, this is where you need to start! Note that everyone who accepts the challenge will get a Bible study guide, a free worship song, and an awesome document you can use to walk you through your morning time if you need a little more structure.

God Day: A Morning Song – {morning inspirational music} – If you’re just starting out on your morning quiet time journey, I encourage you to just get up 5 minutes early and listen to this song. As I understand it, Jen Stanbro wrote this song in the midst of her own Hello Mornings journey. I know it will bless you and encourage & challenge you as it does me in the mornings.

If you’d like to get to know Jen’s story about being a mom who said “yes” to God in spite of uncertainty, check out her interview with Kat on the Inspired to Action Podcast.

31 Days of Waking Up Early – {blog series – real life} – Need some boots-on-the-ground inspiration for waking up early? Jacque at A Joyfully Abundant Life is sharing her real life experience of creating the habit of waking up earlier. Join her during October for more inspiration!

How To Transform Your Mornings – {podcast} – If you’re a person who likes to listen and learn, then Kat’s latest podcast is for you! She walks you through her morning time journey and explains both her approach and the Hello Mornings Challenge more in detail.

Follow Along!

If you’re not already receiving blog posts by email, you can sign up to follow along with the series and have the posts delivered right to your inbox. Or, if you’d prefer, follow along onFacebook,Twitter, Pinterest, or BlogLovin.

For those of you who would like to dive deeper into the topic each day, join the moms gathered in our private Facebook group for this series. I can’t wait to meet you and encourage one another on this parenting journey!

Exploring the Importance of Soul Care

September 28, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

I sat still, so close to the keyboard and the microphone with the melodies floating through the air in the old barn, my soul transfixed in the moment of worship. Surrounded by beauty, the beauty of the place and the beauty of the people, my soul stirred within me as the evening darkened around us.

I found myself grateful.

Grateful for the space, for the time away from the mundane, for space for my soul to breathe.

The words of the hymn “Be Thou My Vision” slipped past my lips, a harmony rang out and my heart swelled with the truths in the ancient words.

Yes. This is what I desire.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;

It is true that the day to day sometimes squelches our souls.

On our best days, we care for our body with proper nutrition and exercise and then in the same day, neglect our spirit. And we wonder why we feel empty inside.

Instead of that emptiness, today my soul experienced life.

What a gift to be in the presence of life-giving souls like Emily Freeman and Christa Wells for the At the Barn: A Day for Writers event. Emily and Christa offered truth through story and song with humility and refreshing authenticity. They’re faithfully living out God’s calling on their lives, using the gifts and talents God’s blessed them with and sharing their lives openly with others.

Their lives are a beautiful picture of how God uses our own brokenness and imperfections to continue to draw others closer to Him. Often much to our surprise, He uses us in spite of our weaknesses and sometimes even because of them.

So friends, I implore you. It’s time to prioritize the care of our souls.

God created us in His image, we are to be His image-bearers. To carry out that calling on our lives, we must pay attention to the status of our souls. We must listen to the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit within us and allow His presence to be our Guide and Comforter and we learn to calibrate our souls once again.

Join me in reflecting on these words and the music and determine what small step you will take today to care for your soul.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Angry? 3 Things To Do Before You React

August 31, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

I listen as my 5 year old lists her favorite things about the first week of kindergarten.

Art. Gym. Library. Recess. Spanish class.

My heart is filled with joy as I recognize she’s entered a new stage and so far, she’s loving it!

But me?

It only took two days of public school for me to find myself very angry with a newly implemented school policy.

2 days.

My joy-filled heart over my daughter’s love of school turned foul quickly after listening to a simple school-wide voicemail and I knew I had to get a handle on my emotions – and quick!

Time for an adjustment to my perspective.

While I certainly don’t get this right every time, I’m sharing three tactics to use for maintaining perspective when you find anger rising up in your heart.

1. Reach In

When I experience those first feelings of anger, I know I have just a split second to decide how I’m going to react. It’s that initial trigger that stops me in my tracks and helps me start to reframe the situation to gain perspective.

Andy Stanley, in his book Enemies of the Heart, describes anger as a situation in which we feel like others owe us something. When you start to feel anger bubbling up inside, take a minute to consider what you feel like the other person or organization you’re angry with might owe you. Then decide whether or not that’s actual truth or your heart lying to you.

This pause gives you time to use the other two tactics and prevent overreacting and doing or saying something you’ll regret later.

2. Reach Out

After recognizing my anger with the school policy this week, the next step I took was to call my husband. He’s my rock and the one I turn to when I need a hefty dose of perspective.

photo credit: Josep Ma. Rosell via photopin cc

Maybe for you reaching out to another person might be a trusted friend or mentor, but regardless of which wise person in your life you choose, reaching out is essential. While this is not the time to gossip about a situation, a wise godly person will help you talk out a situation, calm down a bit, and help you plan your steps moving forward before you act in anger.

In my situation, my husband helped me slow down, reassess the situation, and realize there was a simple solution. In mere minutes, my anger subsided!

3. Reach Up

When we’re angry, why do we often forget to reach up to our creator, the God who made us and knows us inside and out?

photo credit: ce matin, un lapin via photopin cc

I’m learning (ever so slowly) to reach up to God and remember that it’s His Spirit living within me who gives me power to do things I wouldn’t have the strength or power to do on my own.

When we take the time to remember The Comforter is with us, living IN us, it takes our anger down a notch and begs us to reflect on God’s truths instead of the lies we may be believing in the midst of our anger.

When my anxieties multiply, your comforting calms me down. Psalm 94:19

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What about you? What do you do when anger rises up in your heart to make sure you don’t overreact? Share in the comments so we can all grow together!

Sharing today with Five Minute Friday {Reach} and Essential Fridays. Note, this post contains affiliate links. If you click the link and make a purchase, our family receives a small percentage of your sale (at no cost to you). We’re in the middle of radically trusting God in our finances, and every little bit helps toward our goal of financial freedom so we can faithfully follow God’s lead in our lives. Thanks for your support!

Billy Graham’s Wife’s Secret to a Happy Marriage

August 24, 2014 By LeeAnn G. Taylor

photo credit: Keoni Cabral via photopin cc

The four of us piled in our blue 10-year old mini-van and settled in for the 20 minute drive home.

The day had been a long one, filled with the kind of relationship-building and memory-making our family relishes.

photo credit: rafael-castillo via photopin cc

A big Saturday morning breakfast as a family, a birthday party for the daughter of a couple we adore, an extended family cookout including swimming for the littles, a baby shower for my cousin, and another birthday party cookout for the daughter of a set of dear friends that included three pregnant mammas and 8 kiddos under the age of 8 resulted in an incredibly full day.

After three meals of hot dogs and three servings of celebratory cake in the span of eight hours, we were all sugared up and wired but exhausted from all the fun.

And that’s when I made a critical mistake. I started talking about our family finances.

I know, I know. Bad move.

I should know now not to bring up finances when we’re already physically at the end of our rope for the day, but I had some new information about a financial situation surrounding our health insurance that I had forgotten to share with my husband and felt like we needed to discuss. Right then.

But in a span of minutes, our demeanors morphed from cheerful to irritated as a result of a string of misunderstood comments and ill-placed assumptions.

photo credit: miriam.v via photopin cc

For a moment, I felt like the day was ruined. A whole day of wonderful family memories, spoiled by a few minutes of frustrated conversation over a situation neither of us have any control over. What a shame.

Instead, we remembered Billy Graham’s wife’s secret to a happy marriage. And took action.

“A happy marriage is the union of two great forgivers.” – Ruth Bell Graham

photo credit: quantumlars via photopin cc

“A happy marriage is the union of two great forgivers.” – Ruth Bell Graham

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We took decisive action to change our perspective on the conversation, realizing both of us were depleted from the long day and deciding to come back to the topic when we were both fresh and able to communicate more clearly.

It took us choosing to forgive each others’ poor attitudes and snide remarks for the evening to be spared.

Next time you are frustrated with your spouse’s or a friend’s faults, remember the Bible’s clear direction on how to handle these situations.

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 (NLT)

Ruth Bell Graham had it right. Both for marriages and for great friendships.

Today, as you interact with your spouse, friends, and family, remember to make allowance for faults and be quick to forgive. It might just be your “secret weapon” for relationship success!

Do you have any tips to share on forgiving? What other relational “tools” do you have in your toolbox to foster healthy relationships? Share in the comments.

Also, “Making Room for Forgiveness” is one of 10 practices Bill Hybel discusses in his new book Simplify: Ten Practices to Unclutter Your Soul. I’ll be sharing more about this book soon because I’ve grown so much from working through the ten practices & I’m confident you will too. {I received a review copy from Tyndale & link is an affiliate link.}

Searching for An Answer

I Can’t Do This Alone

Success…and Failure

Trying Again – The Hello Mornings Challenge

Wake Up FOR Your Children, Not TO Your Children

Setting Yourself Up For Success

Follow Along!

“A happy marriage is the union of two great forgivers.” – Ruth Bell Graham

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Colossians 3:13 (NLT)

Sharing with Mommy Monday.