Blog : Give Me Grace - Page 26 of 101

The Process, The Promise : on book launches and bravery

Posted on April 21, 2015April 21, 2015 by lisha epperson

It’s National Infertility Awareness Week and I launched an e-book yesterday!

The Process, The Promise : a journal for infertility prayer is live on Amazon Kindle.

And more than that, I told you, my friends, all about it!

This is huge!

Can I tell you a little of the back story?

I published my e-book quietly on Amazon over a month ago. That night I hung-out in lower Manhattan with Deidra Riggs. I’d traipsed through the city that snowy night to celebrate a milestone in her writing work. She’d just submitted the final edits for her new book Every Little Thing. The night was not about me.

We sat down in the lobby to catch up when she tried to engage me in a little talk about the “big for me” thing I’d done. I posted a single announcement on Facebook. No fanfare, no grand proclamation, but she saw it.

“So, I see you wrote an e-book.” she said, or something harmless like that – something one friend would say to another. Right?

Well I brushed it off. With an emphatic but weak-spirited, “no, let’s talk about you,” I ended any talk about my work and words. I have a gift for deflecting, I can be assertive and wimpish at the same time. It worked. After all, she was writing a real book, with a real publisher and in my mind her experience trumped mine. Mind you, this is all me talking. She asked brightly and made every effort to step into my writing world, but I wasn’t ready.

I’m learning to embrace the call to be a writer. I’m still swishing the word around in my mouth, getting a feel for its taste and texture on my tongue. Some days, I’m still not sure.

But I love it and while the muse has me in her clutches – I want to go for it.

I do a lot of talking about going for your dreams, leaning in and listening to God. I live a warrior song of courage and hope to craft a life of God-breathed bravery. It’s the premise of my book – embrace the process, receive His promise – all will be well. That day I disappointed myself.

I know there’s grace for my weakness in this area but I was afraid to let someone, who in my mind is a “real writer” lower herself to my level of inexperience. That was wrong. I was wrong. At the Winsome Retreat last weekend a friend reminded me that we are gifts to each other and the divine connections God’s blessed me with are for real and on purpose. I shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help, an opinion… to share my journey with a friend.

I’m inspired by the “do your thing” attitude of writers who get this right. I want to be more like them. In theory I am, and most of the time I do, but that night – I felt like a little girl in a lunchroom who backed down when it was time to stand up for someone she believed in. Herself.

So I’m looking at you Diane Bailey, Chelle Wilson, Marcy Hanson and Kate Motaung. Your hard work and belief in your words helps me believe in mine. I may not have told you but I’ve quietly watched you do the thing. Write and publish. You guys rock.

And Deidra, forgive me for being a wimp. Happy birthday!

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the release of my book than by rejoicing in the words/ work of others. Check out the courageous offerings here …

30 Days to a Better Step Family by Diane Bailey

Lessons Learned From My Downward Facing Dog: Sermons Preached by Sando by Chelle Wilson

No Maybe Baby: My Journey Through Infertility by Marcy Hanson

Letters to Grief by Kate Motaung

And … Deidra’s book Every Little Thing : Making A World of Difference Right Where You Are releases in October 2015! You can pre-order now.

It’s National Infertility Awareness Week! Leave a comment to enter a chance to win this piece of “heart jewelry” in celebration of any mama. #NIAW

I’ll select a winner using Random.org on Saturday and announce the winner during the #GiveMeGrace link-up.

and here’s the other part of the e-book launching business… you know the drill – do me a solid and BUY and share the book!

Purchase a copy of The Process, The Promise here.

Conversations at Grace Table : Practical Hospitality in the Minivan

Posted on April 20, 2015April 20, 2015 by lisha epperson

In February I wrote about the frustration I felt surrounding my family’s busy schedule – the pockets of time I lost in a perpetual cycle of “I don’t have enough” and “not now”. I felt bad about it and shook my head over it for a while. Then God helped me spot areas in my life where His hospitality and generosity eclipse my ability. It’s simple and practical and it happens without my thinking about it. I’m learning to ease into a hospitality that works.

I pulled up to the corner near 125th Street to make an early evening appointment at the National Black Theater. Three pre teen-aged girls jumped out of my minivan – cute and stylish, if a little nervous. I ask them for a quick picture before they run upstairs to meet figure skating star Rory Flack. In spite of feigned impatience – they pose. Lit like the glory of a setting sun, I felt warmed by the spirit magic of a gaggle of young women on the verge. Their faces, against the backdrop of a setting sun, filled my heart with cotton candy colored clouds. It’s magic. Magic happens in and around my minivan. All the time.

First let me say this – I love these girls. Watching them grow from 1st graders to full on preteen loveliness has been a treat. Granted, sometimes it feels like it’s all I do…shuttle girls around the city, but when I think about it it’s probably one of my most satisfying ministries. My favorite call to service…my way of joining in the radical work of doing the will of Christ in the world. In opening the heart of my minivan I make opportunities happen. Taking them home, returning them at day’s end to their families, expresses the radical love – the call of service in tuning into the spirit of motherhood. This is the practical hospitality of mothering girls. I know how to do this.

So a ride in my minivan is never just a ride in the minivan.

At the table with Kris Camealy and friends, breaking bread over a discussion about practical hospitality. Read the rest of my offering here.

Give Me Grace : Come Away

Posted on April 18, 2015April 25, 2015 by lisha epperson

And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” – from Mark 6:31

I wish I could share the stream of online communication…the instant messages and vox notifications that resulted in my last-minute trip to the Winsome Retreat. It grew from a whisper…I think I said something about being strapped to a car with Elise Daly Parker and Kristen Kill. I was joking, but God heard my heart. There’s something about speaking your heart, casting a dream to the universe that sets in motion some kind of inevitable response. One way or another you’ll get an answer.

I adore Kim Hyland and looked forward to Winsome – one day. But with Jumping Tandem scheduled just a few weeks apart, I didn’t consider it an option. A funny little remark in the middle of a stream of excitement about the upcoming event led to the realization of my dream. Without knowing it, I opened the door to the possibility of going – just by putting it out there.

This year has been full of divine appointments, moments where I sense a nudging to come away, to rest. But it hasn’t been easy to do. I’ve been a little heart-sick over a few things I don’t share online and I’ve needed the soul-care of my God. Sometimes I wish I could slow the pace just long enough to cry or breathe – to exhale before the inevitable breakdown. I don’t always show that side – but it’s there. I’m strong but vulnerable and that’s as it should be. I’m grateful for tears. When they come I release them as a sacred offering and communion with God.

I’m in a season of questions and just enough doubt to discourage. Tears and time have a way of freeing me. Time away is holy refreshment.

He answers with an invitation to come away. More than once this year God’s pulled me away to hear Him speak.

I’m not sure why I needed to travel more than 6 hours to the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania, but it might have something to do with waking up in the morning with a perspective changing difference in view from my window. Or maybe I needed to hike with Amy Breitman on the grounds of White Sulphur Springs : a meandering stream is more than enough to get my mind wandering, wondering. A mini-tour of the historic mansion and the old school dining area, complete with plastic covered tables, and the faint smell of peach cobbler, opened my heart to a divine peace.

He suggested I come away. I took His hand. I said yes.

Take a chance by giving voice to your unspoken dreams. He hears.

When He asked you to come away, did you say yes? Tell me about your invitation.

Let your handmaiden find grace in your sight…#GiveMeGrace

♥ Continue reading “Give Me Grace : Come Away” →

She Loves : Thin Places

Posted on April 13, 2015April 13, 2015 by lisha epperson

“There is an indefinable mysterious power that pervades everything, I feel it though I do not see it. It is this unseen power which makes itself felt and yet defies all proof, because it is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses. It transcends the senses.” – Mahatma Gandhi

All winter long I’ve walked my usual route along 5th Avenue, towards 110th Street with my head down. Burrowed deep in the warmth of my favorite scarf, I’ve hidden behind my typical NYC cold weather armor: dark puffy coat, the soft, worn wool of my favorite scarf, a hat or head wrap. I’ve padded myself thick. Layered deep between wool and a cozy cotton-blend fleece, I’m warm. But I’ve covered myself in a shell. I haven’t looked up in months.

The cobbled stone of a city sidewalk is all the margin I need. Each stone a breadcrumb on a road … luring, leading, calling me to the thin places. To remember the life-changing experiences that brought me face to face with God. A brush, a touch, an awareness so near. Yesterday, I walked in the thin place. And I knew God like I knew my name.

The trees that line Central Park and the ones that border the sidewalk along 5th Avenue meet in that friendly way trees do. They lean long towards each other, almost like they’d like to escape the barrier that separates them. Down below, each sturdy trunk keeps its peace and place but, look up and you find a festival of connections. The higher you look, the harder it is to break through this web, to single out a solitary branch.

But you can always see the sky. God always provides a gateway, an aperture, a point of contact where we’re offered a chance to touch the edge of heaven. He calls us, moment by moment, to experience life on the verge, just before the throne.

In spring and summer lush leaves beckon one to “search for the window” or spaces through which to see. In fall and winter, having surrendered their glory for a season of quiet, these same trees are bare. They command me to “look up and live” as my pastor would say, to notice the network of branches, the connections and spaces. God wants me to keep my eyes open for the thin places.

I’m thinking about the thin places…the God glory portals of grace. Join me at She Loves today. I’d love to share a little more.