Just by Being Me

  Writer. Heart for God. Lover of Tea. Mom. Wife. In the words of Hemingway: "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."  

[jenniferfrisbie]

Look for the happy today... #thehappinessdare #biginthesmall #gifts #itsallinthedetails #beauty @dukeslee

[jenniferfrisbie]

Summer days are swiftly being checked from the calendar. The routined life as we know it is approaching as we begin our second full week of July. Back in May, as the school year ended, I was full of apprehension at losing my routine. Knowing the days would be filled with less of what I "had" to do and more of lounging at the pool. # But now I feel an urgency. A desire to make each day special for them even in the smallest way. If tea parties during our morning devotion makes the memory then so be it. Pre-packaged gluten free cookies and mounds of organic berries coupled with a steaming pot of tea (complete with a bowl of ice for sensitive tongues) set the mood as we begin to dive into His word. # I know without being intentional it will never happen. We will miss the spark within each day if our eyes aren't trained to spot the lovely. The gifts thrown our way in every detail of the every day. # As @christiepurifoy says so eloquently in #rootsandsky "We are learning how to tend a year by planting ourselves within its days..." Yes. By rooting ourselves down into every minute of this space we live in...searching for the awesome in the ordinary, we find the gems planted below the surface. The soil produces fruit we never thought we'd eat. # Give us this day... # #musings #findthatbeauty #thehappinessdare #onebeautifulthing #lookingforlovely #summerdiscovery #thissideofgrace

[jenniferfrisbie]

Trampoline and sprinkler for the win! #summer #friendslikefamily

[jenniferfrisbie]

There's no doubt that I'm a tea drinker. But when your friend shares their cold brew iced mocha recipe you gotta just jump right in. @threestorycoffee cold brew with unsweetened almond milk, cocoa, honey and a splash of vanilla - blended and served over ice. #notpaleoperfect #butcloseenough #itssimplytuesday #1000gifts #alwaysroomforicedcoffee @mrs.herrin @beckykeife

[jenniferfrisbie]

When my sissy does my hair and then I cheese it real big... #willowtree #readyforfireworks #irefusedtowearredwhiteandblue

[jenniferfrisbie]

We watched as June flung the sweat from its brow with close to 100 degree temps every single day...yet July has brought with it the rains hoped for by a parched, cracked ground. It's been cooler, too - with temps shocking our tanned bodies back into light jackets and those things called socks. Like days of rest, the earth takes it in with a sigh of relief. # And we inhale the scent from this side of open windows as the faux spring rains bring in a fresh air that's been missing for weeks. They spit softly through the screens onto marble windowsills that must be as shocked as we are at this sudden change in course. # But thankful. Always thankful for the refilling of the cistern. The crevice in which we hold hope when things like much needed rains and shutting off the AC for a bit don't go unnoticed. It's those little things that really aren't so little after all... #1000gifts #lookingforlovely #findthatbeauty #thehappinessdare #thissideofgrace #rhythmsofrest

[jenniferfrisbie]

The adorableness of this face... 💕 #willowtree #willowleigh #summerfun

[jenniferfrisbie]

Eggs, dill and garlic scapes! Thanks, @missouriemily for the lovely haul! 💕 #eatclean #supportyourlocalfarmers #backtobasics #growitright #fullplatefarm

[jenniferfrisbie]

89. Farm fields abutt the pristine backyards of newly constructed homes. A pleasant reminder to the indwellers that "they" were here first. #1000gifts #number89 #findthatbeauty #onebeautifulthing #inhalingtheoutdoors

[jenniferfrisbie]

I often struggle with my "now" vs my "not yet." Even last evening, among friends, I expressed frustration over not being satisfied in this place. Waiting for the "not yet" and how impatient that can feel. Embracing "nows" can take discipline from me. I must commit to invest in the "now" or I miss it completely because my eyes are so far up ahead. # @christiepurifoy writes in #rootsandsky "I have often heard followers of Jesus explain dark times with talk of the now and the not yet of the kingdom of God. That kingdom inaugurated on earth in the muck of a stable bathed in starlight. Our 'now' is the victory over death Jesus achieved in an empty tomb. Yet this world still rocks with wars and tumors of wars. This world is still held in the strong grip of decay. Sin and death and all their attendants, from depression to famine, still have the power to make is weep." # "Now is my anxious depression. Now is a tyrannical to-do list that offers no satisfaction when I check something off. Not yet is far away, so far even hope cannot reach it. I was a child when I first learned to say, 'This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it' (Psalm 118:24) Back then these words were sweet and easy. I hadn't yet experienced the heavy burden of yesterdays and tomorrows. I hadn't yet discovered how that burden makes it so difficult to feel at home in our today." # "What might happen if I loosen my grip on the perfection of the not yet? What if I stop acting as if not yet is something I can achieve? Something I am supposed to muscle into existence? I want to learn to live in today..." # May all of us - especially me - learn to live in our today... #quotesfortheday #morningmeditation #leaningintotruth #thissideofgrace #godcentered

[jenniferfrisbie]

#Repost @oasisintltd with @repostapp ・・・ Africa Study Bible fun fact! Did you know 1 in 4 Africans practice Christianity? And since Africa is the second largest continent with 1.2 billion people on it, that means roughly 235 million Africans are Christian and these numbers are growing. This is why the Africa Study Bible is so vital! It's time for our Christian brothers and sisters' voice to be heard and for them to receive the needed resources to grow. . . . Be a part of getting this important resource to Africa by giving today at www.oasisint.net #Africa #African #Christian #church #africastudybible #give #christians #grow #growth #resource #studybible #bible #millions #christianity #fun #fact #funfact #continent #vital #brother #brothers #sister #sisters #itstime #getinvolved

[jenniferfrisbie]

This has seriously been the week for happy mail! Thank you, @harvesthousepublishers for the opportunity to read and review this new devotional for teens by the lovely @forgirlslikeyou! If you followed me when Wynter's last book was released you'll know how much our family LOVED it. I am fairly certain this one's not gonna disappoint. 💕 #imgodsgirl #youregodsgirl #devotionsfortweens #reviewcomingsoon

[jenniferfrisbie]

"Sometimes I need reminding that I'm not her. That I don't have to be who she is or have what she has. I don't have to do that thing she does well, because I do my own thing well. ...yet I forget." # Join me at the blog for a little post on comparison, being happy, and a bit about fuzzy socks... Find the direct link in my profile.

[jenniferfrisbie]

Mermaid, I tell you. This child would live in the water if it were feasible for her. #willowtree #summervacay2016 #pooldaysarethebestdays

[jenniferfrisbie]

"But I am not a woman who ever lived the full knowing. I am a wandering Israelite who sees the flame in the sky above, the pillar, the smoke from the mountain, the earth open up and give way, and I still forget. I am beset by chronic soul amnesia. I empty of truth and need the refilling. I need come again every day - bend, clutch, and remember - for who can gather the manna but once, hoarding, and store away sustenance in the mind for all of the living?" --Ann Voskamp #1000gifts #findthatbeauty #daretolive

[jenniferfrisbie]

I slept in today. My alarm called me out of bed at 5:07 and I promptly returned to the covers. Sometimes you just need that extra rest, you know? But I was pretty frustrated with myself as I finally surfaced (for real this time) well after 6:30. I washed my face and kicked on the electric kettle in my bathroom that's ready and waiting for me each morning. As I rushed through a morning routine to make me look somewhat human I had to stop and wonder what had me so cantankerous. I checked my calendar and was reminded that I had nothing pressing until 10. I had children still sleeping, a hot cup of tea, a stack of books and journals calling my name and I had the best gift of all. Time! Sometimes I think we look for the rough in our day before we appreciate the smooth lines across our freshly turned page. Today was the "tomorrow" that Anne Shirley talked about. You know the one..."without any mistakes in it..." And here was a gift to unwrap in the very first moments of the day, yet I insisted on pushing it aside to be annoyed with myself over sleeping in. To create mistakes on the first few hours of a fresh 24. I quickly erased my first mistake. Just took my proverbial pencil and scribbled it out as though it never happened. I then took my seat in my favorite corner of the bedroom with an already lipstick stained cup and my stack of lovelies... "Breathe," I said out loud. "Relish in the happy of this moment. The gift of no hurry." And as I read into chapter 4 of @dukeslee's #thehappinessdare I am conveniently reminded that this right here is what she's talking about. The dare. A dare to find happiness in every nook and cranny of the day. And I just experienced my first "happiness dare" moment of the day. #thehappinessdare #findthatbeauty #eyeswideopen

[jenniferfrisbie]

And she's off to camp! (With tons of sweet girlfriends, I might add) #camplife #cwcc