Friends. We all need them. They come in all shapes and sizes, countries and regions. This writing business has challenged me to find friends over the waves of the internet. People I’ve never met have read my words and I’ve read theirs.
Today I have some friends I want you to meet. They’ve fed my soul over the last 11 days and I think they’ll feed yours as well.
The first friend isn’t a writer, but rather a musician. Lauren Daigle. Her song and album How Can It Be have spoke such words of truth to my heart time and time again. So the first order of business is here…
From there, I want to share some other 31 days writers that have encouraged me on my faith journey.
The first is Jen Daugherty. Just her web address alone (faithmustardseed.com) confirmed she was someone to follow. Jen is talking about Brave for this month of October. One of my favorites of hers is called At the Edge, where she describes a bungee jumping experience…
“When you’re standing at the edge, you can’t see the bungee. You can only see the leap.”
I hope you’ll visit her site, here’s the address again.
Next on the list: Alisa Stoner. Alisa and I know each other in real life and not just via the internet! We share a common bond of homeschooling and also a love of writing. I’m so thankful to be sharing this 31 day challenge with her. I love her blog, Dreams Running. And for 31 days, that’s exactly what she’s talking about – dreams. Her post yesterday called, Living Your Dreams on the Way to the Promised Land especially resounded with me.
“We don’t feel like we’re living our dreams when we’re just being faithful with a normal day, but that’s the only way to our promised lands. The only way to our promised land is by living each day in Him. Doing what we know is right. Living for His glory now–before it ever feels glorious.”
See what I mean? Yes, she is one to follow.
So right after I read Alisa’s post, I read a post by Katie Reid called Delays Construct Character and I couldn’t believe how much alike the two sounded. She said,
“Sometimes God restores by taking us down a road that we weren’t expecting. Sometimes God renews our perspective by rerouting us. Detours and delays can be frustrating but they aren’t the same as dead-ends.” Which is what Alisa was getting to with “Living for His glory now- before it ever feels glorious.”
For 31 days, Katie is writing about Restoring our Soul. She calls herself a tightly wound woman and she’s trying to unravel that, which is why her blog title reads, “Finding Grace in the Unraveling.” As another tightly wound woman, and one who can visualize unraveling a string of yarn, Katie’s blog is one of my new favorites.
Finally I want to share with you a lady named Sarah Koontz. Sarah’s blog is titled, “Embrace the story God has Inscribed on Your Heart.” For October she has chosen to share quotes with awe-inspiring pictures to go with them. They are beautiful. But my favorite post that I want to share wasn’t actually part of the 31 day challenge. It’s called It’s Time to Stop Apologizing for Being You.
She put to words what I do a lot…apologize for things that are, well, just ME! She greatly encouraged me with the words, “It is so easy for me to see the beauty in others, but I struggle to find it within myself. Maybe you can relate? When I look inward, all I see are the things I don’t like. But recently, I found myself wondering…What if all of the things I dislike about myself are actually gifts from God to be used for His glory?”
Can you see how all this is feeding and watering my faith seed? God is working and speaking through you wonderful people! Thank you so much for pouring your heart and soul out and then pushing publish for all the world to read. It has meant a lot to me!
And Sarah, if you read this, here’s a picture of my little guy I think you’ll appreciate:
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I’ll see you tomorrow!
Julie Steck 