The Power of Prayer

June 26, 2013 ~ Emily ~ Leave a comment

I’m a journaler. There’s a box in our garage that contains a mismatched pile of diaries, notebooks, and journals from junior high forward. Some of them I’m tempted to throw away because they are so very embarrassing, but then I think about what all those words represent, even the humiliating ones. Those words represent a journey, a mind and heart being molded along the primitive roads of life. All the emotions and thoughts, pain and joy found on those pages are part of a process that never really ends.

Aside from the ocasional embarrassment, I truly enjoy rereading my old journals. More often then not, God uses past struggles or epiphanies to encourage me in the present. This happened recently as I was flipping through my current journal.

February 12th, 2013 (my momma’s birthday!!)

Sometimes I look at the date and just stare, amazed at how quickly the days progress, making November slide right into February.

I have vastly underestimated the power of prayer. I’m very aware that God answers prayer and that it’s a powerful tool to see change and miracles happen. But prayer goes beyond God’s actions. Prayer isn’t about cause and effect. Prayer is about submission and community, intimacy and surrender to the Lord Almighty. Prayer is less about God moving in our circumstances and more about God moving in our hearts. ( <– Tweet this! )

I was just lost in time for a moment, taken back to the year I was living on the Central Coast of California, working as an innkeeper at The Cass House. I was fresh out of college and the job, living situation and location just fell into my lap – absolutely a God thing.

After acknowledging how He orchestrated my circumstances, I left Him out of my daily life. I mastered life in Cayucos on my own and then became discontent when things didn’t go my way. I didn’t meet the love of my life, community took effort I wasn’t used to giving, and I missed my family. Instead of brining those feelings to God consistently, I let them stew and grow until the aroma dominated all of my senses.

I was still pursuing God and He did great things in my heart during that time, but I can’t help but wonder what would have happened had I not been so intent on directing my own life. I fI had been bringing my desires to God, maybe heartbreak would have been easier. If I had sought God for comfort and community, maybe I wouldn’t have felt so isolated. If I had been pursuing God’s plan, maybe I would have had more peace about making tough decisions.

Being a woman dedicated to sharing her heart with her Abba may not have changed my circumstances – and that’s certainly alright when I reflect on what I did experience – but I would have had a heart yielded to God’s will instead of a striving heart trying to manipulate God’s will.

Prayer puts us in a position to be transformed by God. It may not alter our circumstances, but it will alter our hearts. ( <– Tweet this! )

I generally always need to be reminded not to strive or manipulate, but I really needed to be reminded that prayer does more for our hearts than our circumstances. Prayer binds us to our Heavenly Father and brings peace and comfort. I need that.

photo credit: bingbing via photopin cc

Rhythm {Five Minute Friday}

June 21, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 1 Comment

The moonlight made walking easier as we followed single file through the sand. What seemed like hours was only minutes and we had arrived at one of many clearings. The only thing that differentiated this clearing from the others was the group of people beginning to assemble – mostly women with a few kids in tow. The silvery light made everyone glow as I squinted to distinguish features. Seeing the other parishioners, as I guess you’d call them, was far from my mind as they began to sing.

An unrecognizable melody filled the vast space around our moonlit gathering place. Voices high and strong continued to weave a mesmerizing story as the people formed a tight circle. Though I couldn’t understand any of the words, I could understand the heart behind their songs. Each syllable was in praise of the Creator, the artist behind our surroundings. As voices grew stronger and the tune changed with each new offering of worship, there was a spontaneous movement toward the center of the circle. One person leaned in and leaned out, letting the music sway their body. Even with eyes closed, others let their bodies move along with the instigator and within seconds our gathering was an undulating mass.

These songs and this movement was to an unfamiliar rhythm, but I knew it was all in honor of the Father whose love has stretched far beyond any of the countries and traditions represented in the moonlit clearing.

Not from the night worship gathering, but this gives you an idea of the lovely voices I was talking about.

Book Exchange Inspiration

June 19, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 4 Comments

Earlier this week I shared some how-tos for hosting a book exchange. Here’s some more inspiration for book exchange themes, invites, favors, and decor!

Theme

Casual Evening Event || Birthday Party || Afternoon Tea || Back To School

INVITES

Hollowed out book || Letterpress || Vintage Library Card || Library Card Sleeve

Faux Book Covers || Book Page Pinwheel

FAVORS

Book Page Ornament || Book Cover Coasters

Book Page Covered Mason Jar || Paint Chip Bookmark

DECOR

Book Page Flowers || Table Runner || Wreath || Book Centerpiece

How To Host A Book Exchange

June 17, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 10 Comments

Ever since Lindsay told me about her family’s book exchange tradition for Christmas I’ve been jonesing to participate in one. And when I have a bee in my bonnet I generally can’t wait for long… Solution? Host a book exchange myself!

Last Thursday, 18 women gathered at my house to swap books and do life together, if only for just a couple hours. In a perfect world, the event would have looked like this, but even with its Facebook invites and commercial sized hot water pot, our book exchange was a great way to connect women of different generations and share some good reads.

How To Host a Book Exchange via Primitive Roads

There are plenty of ways to throw a book exchange. Here’s what we did:

The Concept: Show up with a book you’ve already read and leave with a book you’ve (hopefully) never read but is highly recommended by another guest.

The Method: Bring a book you’ve read and liked – preferably the kind you want to tell everyone you know to drop what they’re doing and devour immediately or the kind you stayed up all night to finish. We asked that books be wrapped along with a favorite quote from the book or an explanation of why you enjoyed the book.

The Exchange: Books were exchanged white elephant style, with a twist. In order to promote getting to know one another better, each guest listed three random facts about themselves which were read out loud (by the host). The first person to guess who the three facts were describing got to pick a book. Our group was pro stealing so we abided by the third steal stays rule (after the third steal, the book is out of commission).

The Invite: The invite could have been super cute, however, I went the Facebook route to reach a larger amount of people (pulling from two people’s circle of friends). If you know most of your guests personally, sending an actual snail-mail invite is a lovely option.

The Food: A simple tea and cookies spread. I wanted to break out my tea cup collection, but after thinking about where a large amount of people would put a cup and saucer while balancing a plate of dessert and eating and chatting, I decided mugs would be a better option. I borrowed a large hot water pot to accomodate the guest list and set out a selection of decaf and caffeinated teas.

Several guests are gluten-free so I made Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies, Oat Flour Brownies (tasty, but a bit crumbly), and White Chocolate Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries. Plus, a friend volunteered to bring a pie which was delicious and rounded out the whole spread.

I could see many food options working for a party like this: savory appetizers, seasonally themed, or just fruit, cheese, and crackers…

The Books: Used books were encouraged, though new was absolutely acceptable. Just in case you were curious, here’s a list of the books that were exchanged.

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young
The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
Once Blind by Kay Marshall Strom
Loving God With All Your Mind by Elizabeth George
Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers*
Forgotten God by Francis Chan*
The Grace and Truth Paradox by Randy Alcorn
Captivating by John and Staci Eldridge*
The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian
Let Prayer Change Your Life by Becky Tirabassi
Stranger On The Road To Emmaus by John R. Cross
The Last of The Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Face To Face by Steve Wilkins
Phantom of The Opera by Gaston Leroux*
The Gift of Pain by Paul Brand and Phillip Yancey
Radical by David Platt
Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austin

*I’ve read

Need ideas for your event? Check out this book exchange inspiration!

What book would you bring to a book exchange? Have you hosted or participated in a book exchange? I’d love to hear your ideas!

Disclosure: This post contains my affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Primitive Roads!

photo credit: Silvia Sala via photopin cc

Twitterature Link Up

June 14, 2013 ~ Emily ~ 7 Comments

Linking up (again) with Modern Mrs. Darcy for some short, casual book reviews.

Every Body Matters by Gary Thomas

Developing radical spiritual strength by addressing physical fitness? That’s the plot. I may not fully agree with the conclusion, but the book is motivating and thought provoking. #workingonmyfitness #Hesmywitness

Grace In Thine Eyes by Liz Curtis Higgs

Biblical story of Dinah set in the Scottish Lowlands. Continuation of a fantastic series. Some intentional deviations from the original, so don’t skip the author’s notes! #tissuesnecessary #teammcdonald

Epilogue: Visit Liz’s second author website, My Scottish Heart, for a virtual tour of Scotland, etc.

As For Me And My Crazy House by Brian Berry

The best thing for your marriage is a healthy self. The best thing for your family is a healthy marriage. The best thing for your ministry is a healthy family. All of the above addressed with wisdom and humor. #ministrymustread

Composing Amelia by Alison Strobel

I could identify with some of Amelia’s situation -newlywed, twenty-something living in Los Angeles needing to move to a more rural locale when her pastor husband gets a job. Realistic portrayal of marriage, change, mental illness, and different stages in a faith journey. #emotionalrollercoaster

Epilogue: Reinventing Rachel is cued up on my Nook!

The Novelist by L.L. Barkat

No doubt Barkat is a skilled writer. This is a subtle how-to chronicling the main character’s struggles to craft her first novel. It will suck you in and make your scratch your head. Poetry and literary references abound.

Epilogue: An interview with L.L. Barkat via Kindred Grace and 10 Things Every Novelist Needs, a blog post by the aforementioned Liz Curtis Higgs.

You Are A Writer by Jeff Goins

Do you NEED to write? Me too. I’ve never been more inspired to BE a writer and devote hours to my craft. Part personal experience, part advice, part cheering squad, Goins makes it seem possible to make writing an occupation. #startcreating #noteasybutpossible

Epilogue: I’m A Writer – beautiful post written by Kristen of Five In Tow.

DISCLOSURE: I received The Novelist and You Are A Writer for free via Story Cartel in exchange for an honest review. This post contains my affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Primitive Roads!