Not long ago I found myself singing loud in the living room, swaying and belting out an old Rich Mullins tune. The words he sang started to take root in my heart:
"Sing again the song first borne in your heart when you first gave your heart to Him."
That was it. Those words seemed to define the journey I had been on. Something was waking up in me that I'd felt I'd let sleep for far too long.
You see, the last few years have been hard- I've been stretched beyond what I thought I could bear, questioned who I was as and what my life was all about. There has been grief and crises, a big move and plain old normal life issues all piled together and in wading through, I began to just cope and react and not really thrive. When you begin to emerge from difficulty or particularly harried seasons as mom with young children, its sometimes hard to even recognize yourself. So when a moment of delight comes, when you find yourself singing your heart out or fully embracing beauty, it can give you a little jolt. Perhaps like me, you've found yourself in a moment of joy, reclaiming a bit of your true self and said, "Hey, don't I know you?"
I'm joining the blogging tradition this month to write for 31 Days and I'll explore how we can Remember the Girl Who Sings If you are weary, if you feel like your passions and purpose or even your personality have been buried a bit, if you feel like a piece of who you really are is lost or asleep- I'd love for you to join me. (I know I'm already behind, welcome to my life, friends. :) I will have us all caught up through the weekend!)
Each week will have questions for personal reflection and assignments for you to hunt for Joy. We'll explore together:
- Our foundations and identity- what forms our affections, joy, and calling? What shapes us and what do we orient our lives around and....What is it that brings freedom and makes our hearts sing?
- Where does Joy go? In seasons of suffering, of apathy and inevitable lulls, is it possible to cling to joy- to still sing? What about if we've forgotten how?
-What have we been lugging on our journey that we need to let go of? Bitterness, expectations, patterns and rhythms that don't serve us well? This is where we'll shed what's weighing us down.
-Where can we see marked blessing and growth, even in the lean, rough years? Is there a remnant of hope to be found? We'll hunt for beauty and offer thanksgiving.
-How do we bring Song into our lives today? How do we walk and live as those who flourish with passion and purpose right now?
I'm so excited to write and journey with you. Thank you for being here. If you'd like to join the conversation with others on this journey and connect with me too, I'd love for you to join the Facebook page here: Hope With Feathers on Facebook- say hello and let's get to know one another in that space?
With great hope for a meaningful month together,
Kristen
NOTE: This series is now ongoing. Writing weekly about this topic was a little more my jam, so please use the keywords "The Girl Who Sings" in the search box to see all the posts- more to come!