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Things I Learned this Summer, 2019

September 3, 2019 by Bethany McMillon

Labor Day… the unofficial marker of the end of the summer season. There are cookouts and camps, football and fanfare, trips and total laziness. The long weekend allows pause for reflection on the summer season and a chance for a deep breath before jumping into the deep end of fall, too.

This season I kept a running list of things learned. Do you do that? Even after a few months, it’s fun to look back and remember! Here’s my list… Flamingos, Bible verses, and make-up. My learning was varied this summer!

Quotes that stuck:

“Swaying back and forth between trust and doubt is how our faith grows. But as we sway through this dance of growing our faith, God brings us to a place where we deeply believe that His will and His ways are best.”
-Sarah Beth Marr

When I read this quote by Sarah Beth Marr in her Youversion Bible app devotional, “Dreaming with God”, it stopped me in my tracks. It was the second time this summer I read a similar notion.

“Remarkable faith is the braided strands of doubt, hope and wonder at a God who is able to do anything and yet sometimes restrains His power for reasons we rarely understand.”
-Shauna Letellier

Doubt and faith going hand in hand. Working through our doubt to choose faith doesn’t make us doubters, it makes our faith stronger when we intentionally look for and trust God’s mighty goodness.

Flamingos and YouTube:

Flamingos mate for life and live about 40 years. I learned this while watching the Wilds of Africa 3D short film at the Perot Museum with my growing too fast boy on my beloved’s birthday. My beloved is my mate for life and I’d treasure 40 years with him.

I now know how to upload a video to YouTube and how to change the privacy settings- plus what all the privacy settings mean! This summer I hosted an online Bible study. Turns out, making videos was the hardest part for me. But, sharing what I’ve learned from the average people in the Bible who interacted with our marvelous Savior? That part lifted my heart.

Obsessions and Realizations:

I adore flowering trees. I can’t stop being obsessed with them on every walk and every drive. If I ever own acres of land, it will be covered in them.

I get easily obsessed with self-reflection tools like the Enneagram and Strength Finder. When I first took an Enneagram test, I thought I was a 2. I did some more digging (*ahem* obsessively listened to podcasts about it). Then I didn’t know what I was! Am I a perfectionist 1? Maybe. Am I a shape shifter 3? That one really hit some nerves. But then, I heard a comment on Annie F. Down’s “That Sounds Fun” podcast about 4s. “If you think you might be all of them, you are a 4.” So, perhaps, I’ll settle into that one. It does seem to fit more than the rest.

There is PRIMER FOR YOUR EYELASHES! And I love it!

I don’t like to shop for clothes. This was not knew learning this season, but I learned I like it way better in smaller shops. I get overwhelmed in big ones – especially if I have to dig through or things are out of order. Small shops feel efficient and I can quickly survey, see if they have what I am looking for and try it on if they do – or leave if they don’t.

Connections:

There is something incredibly cool about connecting with people on Instagram. When “famous” people comment back to you, or like what you have said, it is the coolest feeling! It’s only happened to me a few times, so it’s super fun!!

So many of the “Letters” in the Bible begin and end with a beautifully written, soulful opening or closing to people the writer loved. I think I knew this before, but this summer, as I read Paul’s letters and those of James, John and Jude, I felt deeply connected to these writers of long ago. In truth, I’d love my readers to feel as connected to me through my writing.

Be ready! Life could throw you a “plot twist” at any minute! When summer began, I had no idea I’d be a librarian come August. God opened each door that led me here and I’m thankful every day for the chance to do this job I already love.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us…
Psalm 90:17

What about you, friend? What did you learn this summer? Have you taken a minute to reflect? What was life-giving? What was life-draining? I’d love to hear.

Blessings, mercy and peace – Bethany

A Prayer for Those Days

August 28, 2019 by Bethany McMillon

Father, I come and kneel low before you. I approach with a heavy load of hard things. Weary. Frustrated. Overwhelmed.

My child, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.
2 Corinthians 12:9

Jesus, your grace is more than my weary.

Your grace is more than my frustration.

Your grace is more than my disconnectedness.

Your grace is more than my heavy heart.

Your grace is more than my sagging shoulders and bleary eyes.

Your grace is more than my not enough.

You lift of my head. (Psalm 3:3)

You release my feet from the snare. (Psalm 25:15)

I trust your grace, your love and your placement. I trust your hand and your heart. I trust your power finds full expression through my weakness. -Amen

***

I heard once from a great theologian (my mom, known by her littles as Nonnie), “When our hearts are sitting at simmer, it only takes a little something for our feelings to bubble over into a boil.”

Are you sitting at simmer? I’ll be honest. I kind of am. Like so many others, we are still figuring out our new schedules and settle into routines. The busyness of the fall hurdles toward us at full speed.

So, this week when I had an issue come up, deep sighs escaped my lips and my heart felt anything but kindness. As I dealt with the issue over the phone, I heard my tone get icy and my eyes couldn’t help but roll. After realizing this wasn’t going to get resolved with a phone call, I met with them in person. I left the meeting thinking everything was worked out.

Imagine my surprise when I came home and learned, after their closing time, the same mistake had been made – again! I went to bed angry and frustrated and woke the same way. The feelings of accomplishment and happiness from the great things of the week far outnumbered this one issue. But those feelings were drowned by the boil over. I’d given frustration the loudest voice.

As I got ready for work, God seemed to whisper over and over again reminders of His grace. My heart began to change.

Friends, allow yourself to lean into His grace today. Remind yourself of His grace – especially when you’ve set impossible standards for yourself. His grace is abundant.

Hugs and blessings, Bethany

PS – I’ve created this free printable of 2 Corinthians 12:9 just for you. May God’s abundant grace be evident to you this week.

Which voice do you listen to?

August 21, 2019 by Bethany McMillon

I clicked the TV off exasperated with the constant background noise. Still I was surrounded by sound. Someone is mowing next door, my growing too fast boy is both Facetiming and a playing a video game with a friend, and the doorbell just rang. Compared to the world outside, my home is quiet. However, this week I can’t help but think of the voices and noise that surround us all the time. Am I allowing myself quiet enough to hear God’s whisper?

It seems we are constantly under siege of voices, opinions, commentaries, even music and books and conversations. Each of these things can be powerful connectors to our people, but they can also be powerful separators from our people and our own souls and especially from God’s voice.

If I listen to the voice that separates, I may believe that it’s just a matter of time until all Christians decide their doubt wins over their faith. I may believe the work will never get done. I may believe more bad things happen than good. I may believe an evening of “sit and scroll” counts as quality time.

The voice that separates isn’t a new one. Elijah, the Old Testament prophet, heard and listened to that voice. Then ran from Jezebel and journeyed 40 days into the wilderness until he reached Mount Horeb.

There, the Lord promised to pass by. God was not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire. He was in the whisper, the still, small voice (1 Kings 19). God CAN be in the fire – He was the burning bush speaking to Moses in Exodus 3. God CAN be in the storm – He spoke to Job as a whirlwind in Job 38.

But, He was with Elijah as a whisper.

As the story continues in 1 Kings 19, God sends Elijah back with instructions to connect with (anoint) three people. God has appointed them for specific purposes. Elijah is faced with a choice – listen to the voice that separates and stay in the cave away from Jezebel and her threat or listen to the Voice that connects and anoint his successor and two new kings. In our noisy and full lives – with music and podcasts and influencers and app notifications and even theological speakers – it’s difficult to listen to the mighty voice that connects and steadies our step, to God’s whisper. We can intentionally choose which voices we will lean toward and echo.

My growing too fast boy has dubbed himself the DJ for our morning commute. Each morning he asks for my phone and chooses the music that will start our day. He presses play, gives me a smile and then leans back. He’s usually quiet the rest of the way. So, for the moment, I lean into the side by side bonding time. Both of us quietly listening, connecting to each other and tuning into the Voice that connects.

Which voice filled your ears yesterday? Which will you choose to echo today?

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Psalm 119:11

Hugs and blessings – Bethany

Roller Coaster First Days

August 14, 2019 by Bethany McMillon

This summer, our family enjoyed several days at a huge amusement park. The park is home to several giant roller coasters – including a strap you in and drop you several stories type. However, our family steered clear of those and stayed on the slightly milder side because, in truth, I am not much of a roller coaster rider. At least not great big ones. And especially not ones with loops and straight down drops. I prefer the kind you can see a little ahead of you – especially if it’s one you’ve ridden several times and know just how it goes!

This picture was actually from a couple of years ago, but I simply can’t talk about roller coasters and not use it. It is one of my all time favorites of our family and makes me laugh every time I see it!

This week I’ve ridden a different kind of roller coaster in my new job. Twists, turns, drops and climbs. Like any great roller coaster, I’m walking away from this ride – this first week – with a smile – and with the vision of the first weeks in a season as amplified versions of life’s roller coaster.

Twists are conversation that leave your mouth agape and your mind spinning.

Turns are unexpected ideas that don’t match our plans or paths.

Drops are rejections and let downs that give us pause and at their darkest make us question our paths.

Climbs are new relational connections and stretching our minds with new learning.

This week, I’ve experienced each one of these roller coaster elements. Conversations and ideas caused twists and turns. A rejection letter about a writing piece I’d submitted for publication dropped my spirit. But kind words and budding relationships and new learning made my heart climb.

Friends, I feel confident that many of us are standing in line for a roller coaster of some kind right now. How will we come out smiling? I think there are a few things we can do to intentionally choose to throw our hands up and enjoy the ride.

Look for friendly faces.

This has been one of the most fun things about my new job. I already have connections with so many people! Listen as people talk. You never know when you’ll have grown up in the same small town or have the same age child or attended the same college or both love the same book. Then, intentionally connect with that person. Be brave! Chances are, they are looking for friendly faces, too.

Find ways to laugh.

Almost every day in the last week, I’ve laughed until I cried – cackling over a dog video with my growing too fast boy on Sunday, giggling until we cried over our misunderstanding of part of one of our training sessions with a friend, chuckling over funky ideas with teammates. When we are on a roller coaster, our first instinct may be to scream! But, laughing is so much more fun!

Say words out loud.

In light of some hard things this week, the kind words of friends meant more than I can describe. If a kind word crosses your mind, don’t assume the other person knows already, say it. Your words can buoy their heart in ways you may never know.

But, most important of all, trust this truth.

Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
Matthew 6:24 (MSG)

Friends, I hope the roller coaster of the summers-ending-schools-beginning season is full of joy and peace for you.

Hugs and blessings, Bethany

Praying for your child’s teacher

August 6, 2019 by Bethany McMillon

One radiated young energy and kindness. Her effervescent smile lit up the classroom. Another is a vivacious mom to boys and lover of sports. A third is an older gentleman with a quiet demeanor and a beautiful ability to speak life into the souls of tweens. One helped identify a struggle, another called out, connected with and began to hone a strength.

My growing-too-fast boy has learned everything from single digit subtraction to Roman history from some of the best teachers I could imagine. Each of them was remarkably different, but what is one thing they all had in common?

I was praying for them.

Sometimes I knew specifically something about which they’d ask me to pray. Others may not have even known it was happening! Sometimes I prayed consistently. Sometimes alone, and sometimes with a group. I prayed for their strength, and their wisdom. I prayed for their leadership and the words they spoke. I prayed for understanding of them and ways I could serve them.

In Colossians, Paul writes to fellow Christians:

Since we first heard about you, we’ve kept you always in our prayers that you would receive the perfect knowledge of God’s pleasure over your lives, making reservoirs of every kind of wisdom and spiritual understanding. We pray that you would walk in the ways of true righteousness, pleasing God in every good thing you do. Then you’ll become fruit-bearing branches, yielding to his life, and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in his fullness! And we pray that you would be energized with all his explosive power from the realm of his magnificent glory, filling you with great hope.
Colossians 1:9-11 (TPT)

Knowledge, wisdom, spiritual understanding, righteousness, energy, and full of hope! Let’s be like Paul and pray this for other believers, and for our children’s teachers!

Friends, when I think about it, the hours are staggering. A child in a self-contained classroom (meaning students don’t switch classes except for lunch and special rotations) could spend over 1000 hours with his teacher during a school year. A child who rotates through her classes spends close to 150 hours in each teachers’ classroom during the school year. How can we, as parents, impact those hours? We can pray for the teachers each day.

Many teachers go back to work this week and this month. And, if I can speak truthfully and vulnerably here for a moment, we are excited – but a little anxious, too, about the new year. I know many of us would love to know we are covered in prayer!

This week, I’m sharing a free printable to download. In it, I give practical, Scripture-based prayer for you to use each day of the week when praying for your child’s teacher or teachers. Download it, use it, share it.

Praying for Teachers (one full size page)Download

Praying for Teachers – 3-per-page Download

Hugs, blessings and prayers for a school year filled with grace and mercy, Bethany

Marigold Surprises

July 30, 2019 by Bethany McMillon

Those who’ve followed my writing since the beginning know I’m a huge fan of marigolds (and sunflowers and purple flowers). If you’re new or want a colorful reminder, you can read more here *Grand Opening 2.0*, here *Sunflowers* and here *Embrace Your Purple*. I never really considered myself much of a “flowers person,” until the last year or so, but…

Y’all, marigolds.

A while back, in the midst of an Instagram writing challenge, I had an idea for a creative picture to go with the daily prompt. I easily found the seeds on an end cap at the grocery store, but unfortunately, when I got home, I couldn’t get the shot to look quite right. I decided to use another picture and dropped the seeds into my flower bed. They haphazardly fell among the mulch. I simply dusted them off my hands, wished I had more of a green thumb and didn’t think another thing about them, until….

A few weeks later, William and I were weeding the flower beds when I noticed a few green leaves sprouting. I thought it was just weed. But on a whim, we decided not to pull it. Days later, I noticed it’s sturdy stem, so I continued to leave it alone, just to see….

Y’all, this week guess what is growing there?! It’s a marigold! In case you are wondering, planting seeds really does grow a plant!

The picture of this plant has been vivid in my mind since I noticed it, and it’s writing a deeper story for my heart. It’s not just an unlikely blooming marigold. I find myself thinking about the other seeds I’ve tossed, unsure of exactly what or how they would grow, and the beauty I’m seeing now as they bloom.

Like this – Exactly one year ago this week, I quietly planted the seed of a dream, committing to consistent writing and being brave enough to share my words. In March, I opened my blog and website.

Or this – A few friends asked what books I was reading, and so I included book reviews on my website. That seed – those reviews – were a piece of a wonderful conversation in an interview. The interview opened the door for my new position as librarian.

And this – When school began in the fall, William consistently mentioned a few kids. One week, I took a chance, connected with the mommas and set up time outside of school for them to hang out. The seed of that text grew to a group of friends that helped make this year wonderful for him (not to mention the mommas whose friendships I now treasure).

In Ecclesiastes 11, Solomon advises,

“Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.”
Ecclesiastes 11:6

And in Galatians 6, Paul reminds Jesus-followers, “A man reaps what he sows.”

In her book, “Placemaker,” Christie Purifoy writes, “We are all gardeners of a sort, and most of our lives are dedicated to tending, keeping and making.”

My marigolds weren’t planted intentionally, but God grew them anyway. He is mighty and surprising and loving in that way. So, I’ll choose to notice, to harvest the lesson He provided through their growth, to tend and to keep.

Friends, what seeds are we planting, sowing, tending and keeping right now? What dreams? What connections? What ideas?

We don’t always know which seeds will bloom, or what will blow away. But if we don’t toss the seeds, we definitely won’t see them bloom.

And, this week, I spy beautiful orangey- gold reminders in my flower beds.

Hugs and blessings, Bethany