ABOUT ME
Hi! My name is Lauren. Welcome to my blog! Whether you ended up here intentionally or quite by accident I hope that my story will lead you to a relationship with the most important person in my life… Jesus Christ!
I am a true Texas girl, born and bred. I am married to my very best friend and together we have four amazing boys! I know, I know..... five guys and one girl! Needless to say, our home is loud and usually messy but filled with laughter. My husband, Ryan, has a sense of humor and has taught me so much about the gift of laughter. We laugh a lot… mainly because life is hard and it seems like a much better alternative to crying;)
My whole life “people” have described me as “strong.” When people describe me as strong it makes me laugh…. really laugh out loud. I mean, I like a strong glass of iced tea, I LOVE a strong cup of coffee and some might even describe my accent as strong, but me? Strong? Not really.
What is true is that I have walked through some REALLY tough circumstances. Circumstances that others looking in might think were “too much.” But truth be told I am ordinary… so very ordinary. My journey is one of “fear and trembling,” ridden with tears, “why me’s” insecurity and heartache. And isn’t that the human condition?
I laugh when people call me strong, because given the choice I probably would trade all of that strength for a life of ease and less heartache. Like most of you, my natural inclination is to hide and remain silent. SILENT because I don’t want to tell my story… I don’t want to have lived through the things that I have lived through so that I have something to share.
I am not brave. I am not noble. I am quite happy being silent and ordinary. And yet… I find myself in this broken, fallen world with this--- broken, human heart. There were many times where I thought I would be crushed under the grief of what I had to bear, and yet I didn’t break. NOT because I am strong, but because I walk with someone who IS strong… someone who gave HIS life and gave Himself through death for you and me. Phillipians 2:10 says, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” He IS strong!
This blog is a testimony to HIS strength. Not mine. Every ounce of my being wants to give up and run… run for safety... run to escape this busted up world. My surrender to the Lord has literally been in complete fear, with hands that physically shook at the reality of what the Lord has asked me to walk through. My surrender hasn’t come from a place of strength or even knowing that “everything would be ok.” In fact, most of the time it hasn’t been OK, and it won’t ever be ok.
But what is true is that as I sit in the midst of the burnt ashes that we call the human condition, CHRIST has been faithful to me. He has been faithful in spite of my circumstances, NOT because of them. I started this blog not because I am strong or because I want to tell you about what I have walked through and how I have been victorious. I started this blog in the midst of my own heartache because the Lord is teaching me dependance on HIM each and every day. And what I do know, is even though I am tempted to keep silent and silently walk through my own circumstances under the guise that I need to "focus on my own particular set of circumstances right now", I cannot keep silent. What grieves me even more than walking though brokenness is allowing satan to get the victory. Christ has the VICTORY!
Whatever your circumstances are I hope that this is a place where you can come knowing that Christ is enough for you, for your particular set of circumstances. People often think that God calls “strong people.” The reality is God calls PEOPLE…. ordinary people… and in the midst of their circumstance HE changes them because HE is strong not because they are.
Well grab a strong cup of coffee and the strength of God’s word and come sit awhile… this is not a place for the strong or those who have it all together. This is not a lifestyle blog or inspirational tips to make your life better. This is my journey… hopefully your journey… full of insecurity and angst as we learn to lean into Rock of all Ages and “work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phillipians 2:12).”
Well… more of my story to come…. I am so glad you are here!
I am a true Texas girl, born and bred. I am married to my very best friend and together we have four amazing boys! I know, I know..... five guys and one girl! Needless to say, our home is loud and usually messy but filled with laughter. My husband, Ryan, has a sense of humor and has taught me so much about the gift of laughter. We laugh a lot… mainly because life is hard and it seems like a much better alternative to crying;)
My whole life “people” have described me as “strong.” When people describe me as strong it makes me laugh…. really laugh out loud. I mean, I like a strong glass of iced tea, I LOVE a strong cup of coffee and some might even describe my accent as strong, but me? Strong? Not really.
What is true is that I have walked through some REALLY tough circumstances. Circumstances that others looking in might think were “too much.” But truth be told I am ordinary… so very ordinary. My journey is one of “fear and trembling,” ridden with tears, “why me’s” insecurity and heartache. And isn’t that the human condition?
I laugh when people call me strong, because given the choice I probably would trade all of that strength for a life of ease and less heartache. Like most of you, my natural inclination is to hide and remain silent. SILENT because I don’t want to tell my story… I don’t want to have lived through the things that I have lived through so that I have something to share.
I am not brave. I am not noble. I am quite happy being silent and ordinary. And yet… I find myself in this broken, fallen world with this--- broken, human heart. There were many times where I thought I would be crushed under the grief of what I had to bear, and yet I didn’t break. NOT because I am strong, but because I walk with someone who IS strong… someone who gave HIS life and gave Himself through death for you and me. Phillipians 2:10 says, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” He IS strong!
This blog is a testimony to HIS strength. Not mine. Every ounce of my being wants to give up and run… run for safety... run to escape this busted up world. My surrender to the Lord has literally been in complete fear, with hands that physically shook at the reality of what the Lord has asked me to walk through. My surrender hasn’t come from a place of strength or even knowing that “everything would be ok.” In fact, most of the time it hasn’t been OK, and it won’t ever be ok.
But what is true is that as I sit in the midst of the burnt ashes that we call the human condition, CHRIST has been faithful to me. He has been faithful in spite of my circumstances, NOT because of them. I started this blog not because I am strong or because I want to tell you about what I have walked through and how I have been victorious. I started this blog in the midst of my own heartache because the Lord is teaching me dependance on HIM each and every day. And what I do know, is even though I am tempted to keep silent and silently walk through my own circumstances under the guise that I need to "focus on my own particular set of circumstances right now", I cannot keep silent. What grieves me even more than walking though brokenness is allowing satan to get the victory. Christ has the VICTORY!
Whatever your circumstances are I hope that this is a place where you can come knowing that Christ is enough for you, for your particular set of circumstances. People often think that God calls “strong people.” The reality is God calls PEOPLE…. ordinary people… and in the midst of their circumstance HE changes them because HE is strong not because they are.
Well grab a strong cup of coffee and the strength of God’s word and come sit awhile… this is not a place for the strong or those who have it all together. This is not a lifestyle blog or inspirational tips to make your life better. This is my journey… hopefully your journey… full of insecurity and angst as we learn to lean into Rock of all Ages and “work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phillipians 2:12).”
Well… more of my story to come…. I am so glad you are here!
