Stuck

There is something so very calming about walking along the beach. Feeling the gritty grains of sand on my bare feet, and the gentle breeze as it lifts my hair to fully expose my face to the bright rays of the sun. It calms my spirit and feeds my soul.  As if in the overflow... God wants to fully reveal my inner spirit, the real me, to the world. And in that revelation, I feel His peace.

I revel in that peace. It is a balm to the inner wounds of my soul and spirit. I am walking out the process of being healed and made whole. In this healing, I am able to step forward into the ocean's waves...even as they begin to crash at my feet. He guides me, but I must keep moving forward into the depths of His love and grace. 

There is freedom in this intentional forward movement. A dance with the waters, as they swirl around my knees. Oh, the freedom! I love the dance! 

This is what I was created for...this freedom to walk into all He has purposed for my life. 

And more...

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” ~C.S. Lewis

And so I continue to wade into the waters, feeling the waves lift me and carry me,

 "As You carry me, LORD, I surrender to Your path for my life. I feel You guiding me deeper still."

Sometimes the waves get a little rough. They rise up and slap me fully in the face. Still, I move forward as I regain my footing and catch my breath. Sometimes there is a struggle in moving forward into God's will. In breathing again, I am thrilled with the wonder of all He has created. And it fills me and enables me to continue on.

And then it happens. A rogue wave rises out of nowhere and knocks me off my feet! As the waves sweep over me, I struggle to regain my footing...there...there is the sand again. I dig in my heels to steady my body to let the waves sweep past me. Calm is restored. But I cannot move forward. I'm afraid to keep moving. 

So I stand there, waist-deep. There will be more waves. 

"Can You carry me, Lord? I'm not strong enough for this!" 

I dig my heels further into the sand and refuse to move out into the deeper waters. I know He is calling me, but I am paralyzed with fear. I want to move...but as I hesitate, I feel the sands lifting and resettling around my feet as they sink further and further down into the sand ...the sinking sand. And I am STUCK! Unable to move forward into all He is calling me to. Into the wonder, into His grace. I feel the disgrace of the fall ...the shame of being stuck in my tracks. 

And yet He calls me deeper still. Out of disgrace into His grace. As I reach out to take His hand, He pulls me out of the sinking sands. I move forward leaving fear and doubt in the wake of His love and mercy. And I am in awe of this God who loves me so.

Unstuck ... I am free! Free to walk deeper still into this calling. Into His arms...His strength. Into His grace. 

What has you stuck? Let God take your hand and step forward into His grace. When you do ... those things that hold you back will begin to fall away. Leaving you free...UNSTUCK! Free to walk into all He created you to be.   

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Five Minute Friday is a weekly link-up, where Christian writers come together to write about a one-word prompt. This weeks word was STUCK. I had no plans to write today until I saw the FMF word for the week and then a photo posted on someone's FB page of ocean waves crashing on the sand. The word and photo began to meld together in my mind. God began to move me to write and this post was birthed. 

I hope that it blesses you. 
(photo credits: top photo is mine. The second photo is from a stock photo on Canva...I just used picmonkey to edit and add verse).

Kate Motaung: An Interview With the Author of A Place To Land

I'm so excited to be doing this interview with Kate Motaung today! I first met Kate through a really fun online community for Christian writers called Five Minute Friday, where bloggers from all over the world join together each week to write for five minutes on a one-word prompt. 

This community of writers had it's beginning in just one woman, Lisa-Jo Baker, who began with the simple discipline of taking just five minutes to write a post...no editing...just free writing. "Not a perfect post, not a profound post, just an exercise in the discipline of writing." It began in 2011 with Lisa-Jo and bloomed into a community of writers all linking up on Fridays to write a five-minute post.

In 2014, Lisa-Jo handed the reigns over the Kate Motaung. At this time I began getting to know Kate through the FMF community as she took over the hosting responsibilities. Since then, I have had the privilege to serve on Kate's Launch/Beta tester team for her e-course, Start-Up Guide for Online Writers, offered through First Bump Media Learning Center. Which, by the way, I would highly recommend for online writers.

I'm not the most disciplined writer, but some of my most widely read posts have been those I have written for the Five Minute Friday link-up. I love being a part of this community, even though it has been hit and miss for me as to when I might actually get a post up on a Friday. I hope to get a bit more consistent in the future.

Kate has grown the FMF community from a Friday link-up to a full site that gives online writers so much more than the opportunity to write together for 5 minutes each Friday. It also offers a plethora of articles and resources for writers to use to hone their writing skills. 

Kate serves as hostess, teacher, coach, and cheerleader as she leads this community. A group of writers who use their gifts for His glory...five minutes at a time.

I am so excited to introduce you to her latest book...her memoir...through this interview.

The Book

A Place to Land: A Story of Longing and Belonging is a globe-spanning memoir that wrestles with the question, ”Where is my home?” Kate Motaung watched ”home” slip away again and again–through her parents’ divorce, a foreclosure, two international moves, ten rental homes in ten years, and her mother’s terminal battle with cancer.

Add in the challenge of a cross-cultural marriage, and Kate was constantly adapting to a new environment. Through her experiences, you’ll realize–as she did–that no matter where we go or what we do, this world is not our home.

The Author

Please, welcome Kate Motaung, author of A Place to Land: A Story of Longing and Belonging, A Start-Up Guide for Online Christian Writers, and Letters to Grief. She is the host of Five Minute Friday, an online community that encourages and equips Christian writers, and owner of Refine Services, a company that offers writing, editing, and digital marketing services. 

Kate grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan before spending ten years in Cape Town, South Africa. She is married to a South African man, and they are currently living in Michigan with their three children. 

In addition, Kate blogs at Heading Home, Where she writes about a wide range of topics including parenting, grief, diversity, and book reviews.

In all of her writing, her main goal is to encourage readers to keep an eternal perspective. To remember that "we’re just pilgrims here — just passing by on our way to our forever home."

The Interview

What can readers expect from your book?

A Place to Land is a memoir, so readers can expect real-life storytelling. They can expect to travel with me from my childhood in Michigan to my young adulthood in Cape Town, South Africa. I should also warn potential readers that the book does walk through some difficult topics like divorce, my mom’s cancer diagnoses, and her eventual death. 

It is a heavy book, but my prayer is that readers will find it therapeutic to reflect on their own difficult situations (even if it involves tears in the process) and that eventually, they will land in a place of hope.

How did writing your memoir change or challenge you spiritually?

Writing memoir is an incredibly sanctifying process. For one thing, there are so many steps involved in writing a book of any kind—planning, writing, editing, revising, waiting, trusting, sending, giving, laboring some more, promoting . . . the list goes on. I expected that writing and publishing a book would be a monumental task, but going into it I had no idea how much it would stretch and grow me spiritually.

With memoir in particular, because the story itself is your own, many emotions get tangled up in the process. I struggled to know which stories to include and which to leave out—what would strengthen the main theme? What would resonate with readers? Which stories will fall flat? Which sections do I want to share out of my own pride, and not because they will benefit my reader or contribute to the goals for the book? I had a hard time trying to discern how much of my story to tell without telling too much or too little. Doubt came into play, and I questioned whether anyone at all would benefit from the finished product.

Then during the editing process, it’s very easy to take the editor’s suggestions personally. Thankfully, I was blessed to work with some incredibly gracious editors. I never felt as if they were condescending, disrespectful, patronizing, or flippant. They carried my story with grace and support, while still offering helpful suggestions to make the book stronger overall. I never felt as if my voice was removed, altered, or stepped on during the editing process, but I can imagine that for other authors, it might be really hard to hear a professional in the field tell you that certain aspects of your story aren’t worth being published. During this stage, it’s important to swallow your pride and humbly accept advice from others.

When it came to making revisions, there were days when I felt that I had nothing more to give. If I had already put my best foot forward in the first few drafts, what else did I have to offer? I would stare at my screen and not know what to do. This phase really forced me to increase my dependence on the Lord. I had to trust that whatever words He wanted in the book, He would keep there, and whichever words He didn’t want would be cut out.

As I neared publication and my first readers got access to the book, the dark clouds of fear threatened on the horizon. What would people think? Would they think the book was a waste of their time? Would they think the quality was poor? Would they think my story was boring or too sad or self-consumed? At this point, the Lord continually reminded me that it doesn’t matter what others think. Though this is a lesson I need to learn on a daily basis, I keep going back to the truth that only God’s opinion matters. If I’ve offered my best to Him and for His glory and not my own, nothing else matters.

So I guess looking back, the whole publication process is one big exercise in faith— trusting God to open doors and lead the way as He sees fit, and for His purposes. 

What do you hope readers gain from reading A Place to Land?

My hope and prayer for my readers are threefold:

1) I pray that A Place to Land would increase their longing to spend eternity with God.

I don’t presume to have any idea as to what heaven will be like, except for what Scripture has revealed to us. But I do think that the vast majority of us have a diluted, lukewarm view of eternity. We lack a depth of eager anticipation, and I believe that negatively affects our choices and attitudes in this life.

I’ve learned through writing this book that intentionally keeping an eternal perspective at the forefront of my mind does wonders for my countenance, attitude, and actions. It has changed me in ways I never expected.

2) I pray that they would find hope in Christ in the midst of their suffering and grief.

He is the only one who can relieve our pain. I pray that the readers of this book will find their anchor in Him amidst the turbulent trials of this life, holding fast to the truth that “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

3) I pray that they would be reminded that this world is not our home.

For some, that is a comfort, knowing that one day those who trust in Christ will lay aside all their pain and suffering in exchange for a sin-free existence forever in the presence of their Redeemer. For others, this realization could be a bit disconcerting. Many of us make a great effort to find comfort, fulfillment, and satisfaction here in this life, and we don’t like the idea of giving it up.

Before writing this book, I struggled with that a lot. I would get incredibly sentimental over certain material things. Now, the Lord is teaching me that those are all part of what Jesus calls “treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19).

Instead, He calls us to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:20-21). Writing A Place to Land challenged me to consider where I’m storing my treasure. 

Where can readers find you online or hear more about your story?

I’d love to connect on my blog, Heading Home, or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Interested readers can read the first chapter of A Place to Land here or on Amazon. 

Kate, Thank you! It has been such a pleasure and a blessing to have you on the blog today!  

 If you have any questions for Kate, leave a comment below. I'm sure she would love to hear from you. I would too!

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Support in the Aisle

Support...

Support. "To bear all or part of the weight of; hold up" (English Oxford Dictionary).

I belong to a private group on Facebook. In this group are women of all ages,  stages, and walks of life. Most, if not all of these women are believers.  There is a code that is honored within the group that makes this a safe place, a place that welcomes honest and open sharing. In this group…bringing the broken bits of your life out into the open equates to just putting it in writing in a post. Not all share the hard things in their lives, those things that cause pain and regret. But some do. And the amazing thing is…when they do…there is an outpouring of love, sometimes tough love, but always…always support. 

These women have been known to offer prayer, moral support, open their homes, meet for a cup of coffee, and even contribute money when needed. They love each other and desire nothing more than for the woman struggling to be healed and restored to a right relationship with God and others. Each one of us knows that we are all capable of falling into the same traps and lies of the enemy. It is only by God’s grace, not our own goodness, that we have escaped some of the snares of the enemy.  

For these women, there is an open invitation to come and ask for support at any time. Let them know in a post and they will respond. Because these women operate as a body of Christ followers, they represent a small portion of the church. And for me, I have come to see this act of ‘putting it out there’ in a post equivalent to walking down the aisle at church.   

The Aisle…

In a church service, the opportunity to walk down the aisle happens toward the end of the service at the time of invitation. The invitation is given to ask for prayer, or to accept Christ as Lord and Savior, or for just admitting our brokenness. And that makes us feel vulnerable. Can we trust others with our mess? 

 So often we think of that aisle as the 'walk of shame' and so are reluctant to step out and let people know we have failed in some way. Or that we have a need. We are afraid of judgment. 

But the truth is the aisle is our opportunity to step out and step up...to walk the path of forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration, and freedom. As we step out into that aisle, we are accepting the love and support of fellow believers to help us move beyond the conviction of our sin, beyond our present circumstances. It now becomes their responsibility pull us into the fold of loving fellowship, to love us where we are, to look beyond our past and to honor us for who God created us to be...who we are becoming. And yes, to help hold us accountable. 

If we as the church, choose to view the aisle in any other way, then we are choosing to walk as the Pharisees did. They were so afraid to let go of the ‘letter of the law’, sitting in judgment on any who would dare break one iota of their rules and regulations, that they missed Christ, their Messiah. Rules had replaced relationship...and they missed the most important relationship of their lives. 

So let's not give that aisle the designation: walk of shame. Instead, let's look at it as a passage...on the way to freedom. 

Passage...

The definition of the word aisle in the English Oxford dictionary is this: 

A passage between rows of seats in a building such as a church or theatre, an aircraft, or train. 

 So the aisle is not the final destination but operates as a passage. The word Passage is defined several ways in the English Oxford dictionary: 

The action or process of moving through or past somewhere on the way from one place to another. The action or process of moving forward. The right to pass through somewhere.

So maybe shame, regret, need or grief gave you a nudge, but you are still reluctant to step out into that aisle. Just remember the aisle is merely a passage, a passage you have every right to step into. I believe with every fiber of my being that Jesus walks right beside you when you step out and walk forward. 

Keep this in mind. A passage is not just for leaving things behind. It is for going forward into a life of purpose and adventure. 

So step out and move forward, pass through to forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration, and freedom. And if the church will be the church, you will find the love and support you will need for the journey at the end of that aisle. 

 All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel!  He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.

                                    2 Cor. 1:3-4(MSG) 

#FiveMinuteFriday credit: Kate Motaung

Please keep reading:
I'm joining Kate Motaung and the lovely writers of Five Minute Friday. Each Friday Kate gives us a word prompt and we write for Five Minutes flat...it's a free write. I will say that I broke all the rules on this post. I'm posting on Monday and yes, I did write for much more than the designated time limit. 

But the word for this week was 'support' and it just happens to fit in with the message that God had whispered to me on Sunday morning.  

I was singing on the worship team and as the intro music began for the invitation, I heard God say to me, "there is someone who needs to know that there is no shame in stepping into the aisle". I hesitated and missed my chance. There I was with a mic in my hand and I hesitated...the singing began. I couldn't shake the words that I had heard. After reading a post from one of my sister's in my FB group asking for prayer and sharing a very difficult struggle, I knew I needed to share the message here. 

I'm praying that God gets this message to the person who needs to know that she is loved and that stepping into the aisle is stepping into the arms of Jesus.