by Kimberly | Sep 14, 2017 | Books
The kids wake you up all hours of the night. Whether its night terrors, wet beds, loss of their stuffed animal, or maybe still night feedings.
You have an argument with your husband early in the morning that sets the tone for the rest of the day.
Your jeans don’t fit the way you want them to.
The car won’t start.
You burn the cookies.
You don’t love well.
You are anxious about meetings coming up in the coming day.
Whatever hits your world today, the Word of God is your hope. Christ is your hope.
That’s why I think Gracelaced is a helpful book, no matter the season you are in.
If you are female – this book will meet you were you are.
Ruth is a watercolor and lettering artist, mom of lots of boys, wife, writer, believer. I had the opportunity to meet her at the last TGCW conference. Engaging in every way, in person and on the page.
She writes a devotional book for women that is full of truth – just overflowing with it. I know many women who don’t think they can understand deep theology. Theology is just what you believe about God – the study of God. And this book will help you grip tighter to your solid beliefs about God.
This book will help you rehearse the truth of the Word that your soul, your heart, and your mind, so desperately need!
And its pretty!
Other Gospel-rehearsing books for anyone to read:
The Gospel Primer
Cross-Centered Life
by Kimberly | Sep 14, 2017 | Coffee with..., creatives, Women
Though we are no longer Atlantans, I still think of many of the friends that I came to know during our 3+ years of living in the city.
One such friends who welcomed me into her world, listened over coffee, prayer, empathized, cheered on, and encouraged me in the Gospel, was Sarah Bragg. She is a podcaster, wife, mom, author, cheerleader, and gingham-wearing, coffee-drinking friend.
Her podcast has been such an encouraging feed to me over the last year and I encourage you to go read her blog, her book, and hear her talk to many others, championing what they do, and encouraging women along the way.
So, here’s a little interview with her. I hope you love her as much as I do. Friend, I’m thankful for you!
1. Can you tell my tribe a little about who you are?
I am in my late thirties (its strange even typing that), married to Scott for 12 years and we have two elementary age girls, Sinclair and Rory. I worked full-time student ministry for about 6 years and then transitioned to work for a non-profit organization, Orange, who helps equips those to work in ministry. After creating resources for middle and high school students, I currently lead a team who creates small group material for adults. My first book, Body. Beauty. Boys. The Truth About Girls and How We See Ourselves chronicles what I wish I’d known when I was a teenager—how to learn to be content to be who God made me to be. But my most favorite and fun thing that I do is host a weekly podcast called Surviving Sarah where I get to have conversations with different people about how they are surviving life. We talk about all the things that relate to women.
2. With so many other forms of “social”, why a podcast?
Before kids, I used to travel and speak to young women or women groups around the country. I absolutely loved using my voice to inspire and encourage others. But when my kids were little, it was difficult to even put words together to form sentences so using my voice stopped. As elementary school approached for my kids, I would pray, “God what do you want me to do?” And for two years, I felt like God answered with, “I want you to push others forward.” But I didn’t know exactly what that meant. I would tell God that I just wanted to use my voice again. I liked writing but I loved speaking. I was still unsure of what God would do. But in October of 2015, God spoke to my heart and said, “I want you to start a podcast so that you can use your voice to push others forward.” I still get to inspire and encourage women while shining a light on the guest on my show.
3. I know you learn so much from each person on your show, but has something really stood out to you in the past eps?
With nearly 100 episodes in the books, I have had several favorite episodes. For me, my favorites tend to be ones about motherhood since that is the state of life for me. I’ve loved chatting with Sissy Goff, David Thomas, and Julie Barnhill. And one of my all time favorite episodes was with Suzanne Stabile, the author of The Road Back To You, as we discuss what the enneagram is and how when you understand who you are wired or those around you, then you are able to extend grace more for yourself and others.
4. How do you balance it all? Is balance such a thing or just this lofty idea?
I definitely wished that I was able to balance it all. Most days I feel like I’m dropping the ball on something. I think it looks different in different seasons. My kids are a priority, but in this season I can’t volunteer weekly in my kids school. I can’t lead in the PTA. And I can’t bring homemade cupcakes to the Christmas party. I have to be realistic about my schedule and my own limitations. But I can send in money to help with something. Or volunteer once a month in their classroom. It also requires some effort on my part to schedule well. And not just my work hours, but family hours and personal hours. Some days are good and some days are a struggle. And at the end of the day, I have to receive a lot of grace.
5. I love your thoughts on hospitality and your kitchen table, your intro the blog each week. Can you talk about how you use your home for hospitality other than your podcast guests?
I have learned a lot over the past several years about not waiting for perfection until you allow others to step into your world. If we wait for perfection, then we’ll be waiting for a long time. Hospitality is about letting others in. It’s about sharing what you have. It’s about vulnerability. I want our home to be a place where people are welcome and feel comfortable enough to be their authentic self. So we have people over for dinner or impromptu sprinkler fun outside. In fact, our front yard has really become an extension of our home. We spend a lot of time in the front yard. My girls know all the dogs in the neighborhood. It takes effort to know the people around you and sometimes the last thing you want to do after a day of working is to talk but that is what hospitality is. Come as you—even if its messy or untimely.
6. If I was still in ATL, and we could sit down at your fave place to chill and chat…where would we go and what would you be drinking?
Well, that depends on the time of day! But my favorite place to sit and chat with someone is my local Starbucks. I can always count on my drink being just right. And I always see people I know from the community. In the summer months, my drink of choice is an iced coffee with cream and vanilla. In the winter months, I stick to a Misto which is basically coffee and steamed milk.
by Kimberly | Sep 7, 2017 | Books
I think I might be becoming more of a fiction reader. As long a its good fiction.
With being a mom and a creative and a wife, sometimes I don’t have the mental capacity to read a Christian living non-fiction book. Its a lot of hard heart work.
And Christian fiction really doesn’t do it for me a whole lot because it is filled with cheesy loaded Christian-ese, and it is sorta predictable.
This is why I liked about Katherine Reay’s book Dear Mr. Knightley. About halfway through the book I looked on the spine to see Thomas Nelson, a Christian publisher. I was surprised. I just thought it was a clean novel, chicklit, that was fun with a good story.
By the time I finished the book (2 days later), I had fallen in love with the author’s way of storytelling, loved her letter forms for this novel. and couldn’t wait to get my hands on her other books.
If you love non-overbearing Christian fiction, Jane Austen, books, literature, a good chicklit story without a bunch of sex and language – then this is your book.
What I loved about this book from a personal side : growth. I thought back to what I was like when I was 23. I had just started seminary. I moved away from everyone I knew. I was on my own. I was thin for the first time in my life. I could really choose to be anything I wanted. I was growing. I was growing in faith. I had finally come to realize that the world as I knew it wasn’t perfect.
And you know what, I keep growing. I keep going through experiences and daily life that make me think, ponder, and grow.
I like reading books that help me think about who I am – and make it entertaining too.
by Kimberly | Aug 28, 2017 | Books
When I was in high school I remember reading John Grisham books – like devouring them. I read all of this earlier work and still really enjoy him as an author.
Just Mercy reminds me much of Grisham’s work: rivoting, makes you want to keep reading, personal, you get to know the characters. Bryan Stevenson does an excellent work of drawing you in to his world and not just letting you sit on the sidelines. And this is, unlike most of Grisham’s work, a true story
This book will grip you in many ways and open your eyes to life in the south, life for those who need justice (which, by the way, is all of us). And will allow you to see Christ’s redemption for you in a new way as well.
Thank you Blogging for Books for a chance to read this book. All opinions are my own.
by Kimberly | Aug 28, 2017 | Bible, Books
Last night I was at a church in the country outside of Augusta. Friendliest church to newcomers I’ve ever been in. I was quickly shown a seat, many people were including me in conversations, introducing themselves to me, and telling me about the oldest church building in Georgia and that they did baptisms in the creek there and still do them there. Talk about a loving church. A welcoming church.
The book of Acts is all about the early church, the adventurers they had in sharing the Gospel, and how the word of the Cross was shared throughout the region.
In Erica Wiggenhorn’s second Bible study, The Unexplainable Church, one covering the last half of the book, you will find thoughtful questions, great history, and spaces to write your own story – how God is leading you to obey the commands that is found in Acts.
We all have a journey in the Gospel. Acts is filled with conversions, and beatings, joys, friendship, sorry. And today, in the life of Christians, we find relationships, new relationships with Christ, we find our brothers and sisters in Christ being persecuted because of the name of Jesus.
When you study the book of Acts, you find yourself in God’s story. His story is neverending. And so thankful we get to be a part of it.
For a good study on Acts, check out this one., which is the first half of the book of Acts – and then follow it up with this one here. Here is my review of the first one. They are a great set of studies and you will know God’s story better. Thanks SideDoor communications for this book and Moody Publishers. All opinions are my own.
