A Little Help From My Friends

I have about 2354 things swirling in my head. 

Between the Sally Clarkson conference and the beautiful weekend, I could write volumes. 

I want to share one small thing with you and would like your opinion...

I wish I could explain all of this more clearly, but this is just an idea in my head I am not sure I have clarity anyway, so excuse the vagueness...

I received not one but two different emails this week asking for this: 

I'd love any ideas you have on party planning and hospitality.  I'd love any pointers you have on traditions, family time, children. . the things on which you don't compromise when it comes to parties, events, coffee time with friends.

I'd love your input on not only hospitality and the like--but on raising children, walking with the Lord, decorating my home, sewing--you get the idea

First let me tell you that I am very flattered that my table settings and stories of life are encouraging you, but I feel I am highly unqualified for giving advice on homemaking and hospitality!  Especially since you will probably just die laughing at some of the things I have done. When the gal who wrote the email above to me, I wanted to point her to people who have real blogs about those subjects...bloggers who actually have degrees in those types of things. 

I realized that I do this a lot in all areas of my life:

I am creative, but I am not inventive. if you see me doing something it is almost always something I have seen someone else do. 

I am relational, but I also struggle a great deal with impatience, often turned on by those I love the most!

I am intentional, but I have great insecurities that hinder me in big, big ways. I don't do half the things I want to do!

However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that that juxtaposition between what I can do and what I want to do, is what makes me unique (and yet not unique at all! As I am sure you are all nodding your head!)

These talents, or abilities, are all things I didn't know I had, and figured i'd never learn.

You may be surprised to know that I haven't always been hospitable; or at least what i thought defined being hospitable. I haven't always been intentional. I have always been creative, but the creativeness in me now is vastly different than what it was fifteen years ago, before I was married and had a family. It doesn't come as easily and carefree anymore, I have to work at it. I have to chase it! Sometimes I'm too tired to chase it but...

If I can do it, so can you.

So I am thinking about picking one day a week to Call Back; to write about the things in my life that I have learned to do with the help of mentors, books, friends, tears, scripture, sweat, joy, and the complete grace of God.

I have always hesitated to do this because I don't want to sound preachy, or as if I have all things together all the time. Hearing that from others doesn't motivate me one iota. And it is isn't reality. People who tell you they have it all together all the time either have help or they are lying to you.

So here is where you come in...would you be interested in taking a weekly look into my sometimes-not-so-pretty life and the way I see  and do things (and they often change as soon as I figure them out)? 

If so, what would you want to know? Where do you need encouragement? 

I'm guessing these posts wouldn't be too different than what I already do around here, but I would be more intentional on a weekly basis.

If not, that's Ok too. I can (and happily will) dialogue with these gals individually, but I thought that if the interest was high enough I would share with y'all!

Let me know what you think...