It's Better to Show Up Late, Than Not at All...

I hate being late.  Being late drudges up old feelings of imperfection, that I have long battled.  It causes all of my What ifs to rise to the surface and show their toxic faces.

What if someone notices?     What if I'm not good enough?     What if someone did it better?    What if I just had it 'together' like everyone else?    What if I didn't screw it up this time?   What if I just showed up on time??

Today was one of those days when I found myself in an internal dialogue about how I was late, and had missed my chance...again.

All summer, I have longed to visit the cutest little u-pick flower patch and pick myself some flowers. Not flowers for anyone else, flowers just for me.  I had driven past the darling hand-painted sign over and over, and for one reason or another decided to put it off until the next time, because I didn't need flowers.

Today, I realized that the next time(s) were dwindling as autumn is quickly ushering in colder weather.

Today, I decided that it was time for me to follow the signs.

Instead of turning right off of the highway, I turned left.

I put all fear of being too late aside, and stepped into the most lovely, whimsical flower patch.

Signs of autumn were all around.  Some flowers had died, leaves crunched below our feet and the air had the slightest chill, but in the midst of it all, I found the most beautiful flowers, and they made my heart sing.

I have learned lately, that it is better to show up late than not at all.

I wonder what it would look like if I decided to show up to my life in all of the areas that I thought I was too late?

Mailing the thank you cards that have been sitting on my counter for months.  Apologizing for wrongs that have long passed.  Making a phone call that made more sense to make three weeks earlier.  Sitting with someone who is hurting, and has been hurting for awhile. Bringing a meal to someone who had a baby 6 months ago. Realizing mistakes and fixing them, even if it doesn't affect the outcome.

What if showing up late brought even more beauty than showing up on time?

Why?

Yesterday, as I was in the middle of a paper chase for the next leg of bringing Finley home, I was taken aback by this sign.  I was in the lobby of Bethany Christian Services, waiting to drop off newly notarized documents, when it caught my attention.

Why? 

They answer they had listed was one of our why(s), so I instagramed it and moved on with my paper chasing, rolling the question around and around in my head searching for more why(s).

Fast forward twenty-four hours, to a Christian Reformed church where Steve and I sat side by side in a pew listening the wife of his thirty-eight year old cousin speak at her husband's funeral. In her quiet strength, she encouraged everyone to ask, Why?  

Why do you do the things you do?  

Through my tears, I was floored by God asking this question for the second day in a row.  

So, on this sunny, November afternoon, I am deep in thought as to why?  Challenging my choices and seeking God in my answers.

What are your why(s)?

A Project Purge Link-Up!

The excitement is building as we get ready to officially begin our purge on Monday.  We have explained our mission and the heart behind it. Now, it's time to link up if your up for the challenge.
If you feel called to clear your clutter for charity, link your blog, blog post, Instagrams or Twitter url's below and be ready to be amazed at the power of community.

Project Purge & Your Story

A story. We all have one. 

Unfortunately, in modern day America, it seems as if everyone is trying to live everybody else's story.

Which means that if our friends have the newest trend, we too need the newest trend.  If everyone in our neighborhood drives nice cars, then it must be time for some new wheels to grace our garage. And, even more startling, is the competition of stuff between children.

It is time to start changing the path of our story.  It is time to stop and ask ourselves why we have the possessions we have, and what purpose they are serving in our lives.

By asking ourselves these questions we can turn our excess into justice, Jen Hatmaker by supporting The Manasseh Project, who through community education and collaboration... provides support for victims of human trafficking and empowers the people of West Michigan to end modern day slavery.

Why Project Purge? Why now?

Because we have a story.  They have a story.  And, if we combine our stories we have the power to say, 

This is not the way this is going to end. 

In the words of the great Donald Miller, 

The story you live will be up to you and God. I think God is pretty creative, and I think you're fairly unique, so my guess is it's going to be a good one.

Make it a good one.

If you would like to make Project Purge a part of your story, please contact me or Katie, and be sure to head over to the Terpblog for all of the details of how we {you and us} are going to rock this mission.

Project Purge: 15 Days of Giving It Up

In the last year, I have found myself in the midst of change.  God has been stirring something within me, telling me that the world is upside down, and that it's not okay. 

My journey in the past year has brought me to places I never expected and introduced me to amazing women along the way.

One of these women,  is Jami, the heart behind Holy Yoga, Revelation Wellness, and the fight for wholeness among women.

Jami, has recently been called to help a cause near and dear to her heart and has invited us to help her with her cause.

Our first mission: Have a garage sale to raise money to sponsor the Manasseh Project at this Year's Art Prize.

And, when Katie and I are called on a mission, we get fired up and have only one choice but to say yes.

So, we did.  We said Yes and have been brainstorming ever since.

And, what we came up with was this

What if...

we went trough our homes and got rid of the "stuff"

 we didn't need & blessed the women of the Manasseh Project?

 we blogged about it?

 we INSPIRED others to join us for the journey?

ENCOURAGED  other WOMEN in other 

cities to do something similar?

in our small part of this BIG world 

decided that We could make a Difference?

we lived SIMPLY to Dream BIG

and gave LOVE?

In the end, Katie and I decided that we could indeed do all of these things, and take the first step in turning the world right side up.  So, for the next two weeks we will be on a mission and want to invite you along for the ride.  We will be posting the nitty-gritty details of how this will work, why it's worth fighting for, and how you can get involved.

Because in the end, we are called to save lives, and if we cannot save them all, why don't we start with just one?

<center><a href="http://hpartyoffour.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="our five...un.tied" src="http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t504/terpblog/projectpurgeb-01_200.jpg"/></a></center>

<center><a href="http://hpartyoffour.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="our five...un.tied" src="http://i1063.photobucket.com/albums/t504/terpblog/projectpurgea-04_200.jpg"/></a></center>

Top Ten Reasons to Start a Picture Blog...

As of late, there has been much talk of picture blogging. Two friends Friends everywhere seem interested, but haven't been able to pull the trigger.  Here is my battle cry for all of you who are still on the fence...

I originally began my picture blog after stumbling upon one in a place where I find much of my inspiration... blogland.  It was a rough time for me as a mom.  I was had pneumonia twice within two months, and Gibson was struggling with many health issues as well.  It sounds dramatic but I feared each new specialist, each MRI, each blood draw and every x-ray because I was waiting for the shoe to drop.  I was beginning to realize how precious life was and wanted to capture as much of it as I could.

My first post was almost two and a half years ago.  We have taken two trips around the sun, and I have never regretted my decision to just start...and I think you should just start too... here are the top ten reasons why...

Picture blogging is...

10. Cheap Therapy: Let's face it, being a mom can be a tough and relentless job.  This is a way to slow down and reflect upon your crazy, hectic days.  A way to look for the silver lining and remember all of the reasons you love your kids.

9. Quick and Easy: While a narrative blog may seem daunting, a picture blog is the exact opposite.  It just takes one picture to snap, edit {if that's your style}, upload, and write a simple caption for. That. is. it. Once you get into a routine, it only takes 5 minutes, I promise.

8. A Family Affair: Your kids will take great pride in your picture blog and smile each time they see themselves online.  My kids have recently started coming up with suggestions and often say, Mom, this could be our picture of the day. Melts my heart every time.

7. A Stress-free Scrapbook: I tried scrapbooking over and over, but I just was not cut out for it.  I admire them, oh, how I admire them; but I would get so stressed out trying to keep up and make it look just right.  I would avoid it at all cost and end up feeling guilty.  I no longer feel guilt because I have my picture blog, and that is enough of a scrapbook for me. Even better, there are no paper scraps to clean up afterward.

6. A Net for Catching Days: Life with kids is fast, furious and often missed because we are flying through it.  Picture blogging is the net that catches moments you may have otherwise overlooked.

5. A Way to Connect: I have three friends that picture blog, {Kt, Bethany, and Sara} and I love looking at them each day. I often laugh and love catching glimpses into their everyday lives.  However, with only three friends on board, my sidebar is looking pretty sparse.  We'd love to have you join the party!

4. Shows your Kids that You Care: When you take the time out to capture your child's first day of school, the fort they worked so hard on, and even their first attempt at making their bed they notice and it matters.

3. Tells the Story of You: Is there any better story to spend time creating? It breaks my heart thinking of the day that I am the woman in the grocery store, telling a young mom, Enjoy it because it goes by so fast. I know that day will come, but I find comfort in the fact that I will have our story to remind me of those fleeting days.

2. Fosters Creativity: 365 pictures is a lot of pictures, and if you want to keep it fresh and new you have to be creative.  You will find yourself looking for new ways to portray the mundane, and you will find complete joy when you come up with a post that is outside of your normal box.

1. Forces you to Live Wide Awake: When teaching my students how to write essays I always tell them that they need to live wide awake.  I tell them they need be aware of the world around them, the sounds, the smells, the everyday moments they would otherwise be too busy to notice.  The same is true for picture blogging.  It introduces you to a world that you may not have noticed before, a world you wouldn't want to miss.

If you need even more inspiration, this post is just what you're looking for.

Tips:

1. Just Start: Don't over-think it.  It's kind of like having a baby...not completely logical and it will take a lot of work, but you will never regret it.

2. Don't be too Hard on Yourself: It's OK if you miss a day.  Fill it in with a different picture.  If I feel guilty about missing a day I simply don't write the day on the picture. Just forgive yourself and move on.

3. Use the Less than Perfect Shot: In my opinion, those are the best, and they tell the story.

4. Use your Cell Phone: It's OK and they are great shots.

5. Buy a Year Subscription to Picnik: For $24 you have access to lots of great fonts and the two features I always use: vibrance and vignette.

6. Edit HTML: See this Public Service Announcement

Now all you have left to do is to come up with a name for your blog.  Happy Blogging.