So I have these two beautiful little boys…

I wanted boys.

But everything about them surprises me. I’m talking about this a little today at the premier online site for all things boy, the MOB Society. MOB got a major facelift and fun new features designed to meet the needs of boy moms. Go check it out today, and enter to win some fabulous prizes.

Tomorrow, the MOB Society writers will be releasing their very first eBook, From Mom’s Failure to God’s Grace: Stories of Raising Boys from the MOB Society Writers. Don’t miss it!

To get your FREE copy of Surprised by Life: Five Ways to Respond Well When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned, join my Brooke Writes email list!

Shadows…

The caped crusader wasn’t afraid of his own shadow. No, he rode on in pursuit of a greater calling…

Beating his brother.

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(And my first real attempt at using Lightroom 3. Linking up with…)

A few days ago I wrote about how unqualified I am as a conference speaker. Unqualified…maybe. But then again…maybe not?

What does it take, afterall, to be a good speaker? Here are a few of my thoughts.

1. Passion

Do you love your subject matter? Love. It. Be passionate about it. Know more about it than anybody else, and if you don’t, learn.

2. Organization

Don’t stand up there and wing it. Really. It shows. Probably fewer than .000005 % of the world are really good at improv. Unless you’re being asked to stand up and share from your heart, or you’re conducting a simple Q & A, be prepared. Spend time getting ready.

3. Flexibility

Technical difficulties. They’re what I had at last weekend’s writer’s conference. I worked for over a week on my presentation using the awesome Keynote software that came on my Mac. I like it so much better than Powerpoint. And it was goooood. But I couldn’t use it. I thought there wouldn’t be compatibility issues, but there were. So thirty minutes before my session I found out I would have to step back and punt. Thankfully, I had my Mac with me. And while no one else in the room was able to see my beautiful presentation, I was. And I was able to use it to keep myself on track and stay focused on what I needed to say. Be flexible.

4. Passion

Wait…did I say that already? It’s worth repeating. I LOVE helping women be real. I LOVE seeing what God does when women let the walls down they’ve spent years building and admit that their lives aren’t perfect. In my own life, it’s the people who’ve been the most real with me who have had the most impact on my walk with Christ. I want to be that for other women. That’s part of the reason I write here. And it’s part of the reason I’ll be getting on an airplane by myself for the first time ever this April to speak to a group of women about being a weary mom.

That’s right! In less than three months, this country girl who has never flown by herself, will get on an airplane so that I can share my heart with moms who need to know that God is ready to meet them in their mess.

Stacey Thacker and I have been invited to share the Kitchen Table Talk LIVE, and we can’t wait! But where are we going??

It’s a surprise!

And we’re going to spend today at the Hope for the Weary Mom Facebook page giving you hints, with a big reveal at 7 PM EST!

So head on over to Facebook and follow along with our little game…

Where is the world is Hope for the Weary Mom???

(and seriously, pray for me. I’m super stressed about flying alone). 

If you’re a boy mom, don’t miss this announcement from the MOB Society today (FOR moms of boys, BY moms of boys!)

It may have something to do with this picture…ahem.

In the spirit of total disclosure, here are six reasons I was totally unqualified to speak at last weekend’s Roanoke Regional Writer’s Conference (and why you should consider getting out of your comfort zone).

1. I’m not traditionally published.

So why in the world did I spend 45 minutes teaching at a writer’s conference? Let me ‘splain it…

I have great respect for traditional publishers, agents, editors and even the process of getting traditionally published itself. There’s something to be said for tried and true methods of finding brilliant writing. There’s also value in being rejected over and over again. Somehow, the true writers, those who deeply love to write and would do it whether they get paid or not, published or not, rise to the top. And in the end (the end being the day they hold their book in their hand…arguably the real beginning) they’re better for it.

I’m not one of those (yet). But I believe there is tremendous value in my chosen path. I’m writing most every day. I’m finding my voice, building real relationships with people I care about deeply (you might call them readers, I call them friends), listening not just to the market and the powers that be, but to those who drive the market. I’m meeting my friends (ahem…readers) where they are (or at least learning how to) and giving them tools I’m passionate about that can, in turn, help them get passionate about their lives.

I’m learning how to market (which, by the way, a traditionally published author will have to learn too) in a way that builds trust and gives me an opportunity to truly invest in other people’s lives.

I think that’s pretty cool (and nothing to sneeze at). There’s tremendous value in exploration and freeing up the creative process (so don’t knock it).

2. I’m not well-read.

This confession hurts my pride a little (my mom was an English teacher ya’ll). I’m a reader at heart, and I’ve read a lot of the classics (ahem…in high school), but I don’t think in terms of classic literature. I wish I did. I love when people do. And every year I tell myself that I will take time to read them again. But I haven’t.

I work hard at what I do (I’ll bet you do too), and when I’m not writing I like to read things that challenge me in my faith walk, or that are mind-numbing entertainment (cause everyone needs to vegg now and again). That doesn’t leave a lot of time for the hard stuff. But I want to make time.

3. I don’t speak that often.

Three times in the last year, to be exact. I’d like to do it more, but with another speaking engagement headed my way this Spring, and the possibility of three writing and blogging conferences on the calendar too, I have to remind myself that the reason I quit working outside of our home was so I could actually BE home. I won’t change my commitment to our family in this season of our lives. So with every request that comes (if anymore come!), I’ll be measuring them by my family’s needs first.

Despite my inexperience and limitations in the speaking arena, I DO love to teach and I have something to say about niche marketing. I got some great feedback on my session from people who really have no cause to care if I’m terrible or great. In fact, I met the lovely Gina Holmes  (of Novel Rocket) at the conference, author of two (TWO) best-selling Christian fiction books (get them!). This woman who has tipped the scales of the publishing industry in her favor twice after a long and grueling journey to get there, told me that she loved my session and actually learned something from me. Humbling, no doubt.

4. I don’t have a long and winding knowledge of the publishing industry.

Neither am I the world’s largest blogger sporting a major platform. But I’m learning as I go. ‘Nuff said.

5. I’m not the best writer in the world.

You probably aren’t either. But I’m 100% passionate about writing and the things I write about. And as long as God leaves the door open for me to follow Him this way, I will. You don’t have to be the best writer to get others excited about your topic, you just have to be a good one who knows how (or is willing to learn how) to serve your reader with the information they really want.

If the internet explodes tomorrow and leaves me no possible way to communicate through my writing, I will still write.

6. I refuse to remove the hand of God from the writing process.

I work hard at this job. I seek out opportunities to learn and grow in the craft every single day. For me, this process is similar to the hard work I put in to get a degree (two of them, in fact). I’m not really that smart. I just know how to work hard to meet my goals.

But I refuse to eliminate God from the equation.

I refuse to call this journey a “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” or “self-made woman” kind of trip. I won’t create my own destiny friends, and I won’t do anything it takes to succeed. I’ll walk out my calling from God every single day. I’ll give Him my best and work hard for His glory. But if you never see me on the best-seller list, it won’t be because I didn’t work hard enough for it, it’ll be because God’s plan for my life didn’t include it.

And I’ll be OK with that.

I wasn’t sure I should even go to this conference, but it was a truly inspirational, surprising experience. So in the comments, instead of telling me I’m doing a good, bad, or ugly job of all this, tell me how YOU’RE planning to move outside of your comfort zone this year? What will you do to follow God’s call for your life that you haven’t done before? How will you give it your all?

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Want to look with me for the surprises of life? Take a moment to seek out life’s beauty? Join the Surprised by Life community.     Life is FULL of surprises! Share yours!

Need help knowing how to respond well when life doesn’t go as planned? Join my Writer Friends email list to get a free PDF download copy of Surprised by Life: Five Ways to Respond Well When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned.

I’m over at The Better Mom today talking about the time my son pointed a gun in my face.

And I’m wondering…

How will we respond when all the “right things” don’t work?

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Want to look with me for the surprises of life? Take a moment to seek out life’s beauty? Join the Surprised by Life community.     Life is FULL of surprises! Share yours!

Need help knowing how to respond well when life doesn’t go as planned? Join my Writer Friends email list to get a free PDF download copy of Surprised by Life: Five Ways to Respond Well When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned.

Could I have about five minutes of your time friends? I would love for you to answer ten brief questions in this online survey about my blog home. There are some big changes coming up this spring around here and I want to make sure I keep what you love and let go of what’s holding us back.

Click here to take survey. Make sure to click “done” at the end when you’re finished (and I’ll love you forever!!)

(Puppy dog eyes?)

Thank you!

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Want to look with me for the surprises of life? Take a moment to seek out life’s beauty? Join the Surprised by Life community.     Life is FULL of surprises! Share yours!

Need help knowing how to respond well when life doesn’t go as planned? Join my Writer Friends email list to get a free PDF download copy of Surprised by Life: Five Ways to Respond Well When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned.

Every week I drive two hours to take my oldest son to violin/fiddle lessons. It’s a long drive, but there are some payoffs along the way. The most important one is that I get to have my son’s undivided attention for four hours round trip (yeah mom!). The other is that there are some absolutely beautiful old barns gracing the road.

I always take my camera, hoping I’ll have the time to stop and play. This week, inspired by the P52 challenge at Life with My 3 Boybarians, I did.

The sky is blown out a bit, but I simply love this old barn. Why? Because it symbolizes something for me. A time when people worked for everything they had. They labored hard all day and slept hard all night. A time when they greeted the morning before the sun rose, and saluted the day with a glass of lemonade on the front porch, listening to the crickets and showing their children the stars.

But just as this old barn has seen its better day, I’m afraid our country has lost the beauty of hard labor. Lost the beauty of a man who works long and gives his all to provide for his family.

I dream of a piece of that hard life for my boys. Not that I want their life to be hard, but that they might know the value of hard work and never be afraid of it. I long for them to read the Scriptures and know firsthand the principle of sowing and reaping because they participated in the bringing forth of life from hard soil.

I don’t know if it will ever happen. But a girl can dream.

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Want to look with me for the surprises of life? Take a moment to seek out life’s beauty? Join the Surprised by Life community.     Life is FULL of surprises! Share yours!

Need help knowing how to respond well when life doesn’t go as planned? Join my Writer Friends email list to get a free PDF download copy of Surprised by Life: Five Ways to Respond Well When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned.

We danced.

In white slips and bare feet, we turned the music up loud and we danced. Three little girls in their grandparent’s family room pretended to be at a ball with the charming prince watching their every move. They twirled and stepped and spun. Hair flying, arms outstretched in blissful abandon, giggling, laughing, spinning.

Free. Abandoned to the bliss.

At least 25 years have passed since I was that little girl twirling and giggling in my grandparent’s tiny little living room with my cousins. And somewhere in between then and now I lost my spin. I lost my freedom to dance.

That certain knowledge of who I am that came with the innocence of childhood — loved, protected, covered — isn’t so certain after 33 years on earth hearing the lies of the enemy describe my lot.

The ability to really see the beauty of life, to stop and pick up the flowers, to feel the green grass sway around me, and get lost in the breeze as I run through the field…those moments of passing splendor come less and less often as I fight the skepticism that comes with seeing too much pain.

I’ve lost my twirl.

The warm eyes that once told me, “you’re beautiful! No one has ever been just like you! Dance!” turned critical–eyes that saw a flaw here and too much there. And they began to say, “change who you are little one. Be like everyone else. Trim the edges of your dance so you don’t spin out of line.”

And so I began to dance with my arms a little closer, twirling with my eyes wide open. I learned to run through the fields aware of what was around me not because of its beauty, but because of its capacity to hurt. When I did pause a moment to be stunned by beauty, my soul still alert to its bliss, I looked up to see who was watching, and wondered if they thought I was silly.

I’ve lost my innocence.

Somewhere in the muck and mire that life often brings, little girls (and boys) lose their abandon to the simple bliss of life. Sometime along the way we begin to care more about how others see us than how we see the world. We rush through life and miss the brilliant red flowers in the field, placed there by a Mighty Hand to delight us. We forget that we are His pleasure and that the world has been made for His delight and ours. We forget to dance. And then slowly, over time, we forget how to spread our arms wide open, we forget to giggle, we forget to spin.

But I think I might be able to remember.

To pause once more and feel the delight of the world. To bask in my Father’s voice that says (and has never stopped saying), “you’re beautiful! No one has ever been just like you! Dance!” 

If I quieten my soul enough…if I close my eyes and listen hard I can still hear the music in my grandparent’s home. I can feel the twirl in me rising up through the years of lost silliness and doubt. And today, starting today, I want to spin. 

Photo Credit: Little Girl Dancing

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Want to look with me for the surprises of life? Take a moment to seek out life’s beauty? Join the Surprised by Life community.     Life is FULL of surprises! Share yours!

Need help knowing how to respond well when life doesn’t go as planned? Join my Writer Friends email list to get a free PDF download copy of Surprised by Life: Five Ways to Respond Well When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned.

This post is linked up here

In a season of life where days are spent correcting, mediating, physically restraining, and hard loving…

I’m leaning toward the comforts of life.

Warm potato soup and fresh beer bread…made with love.

Big squishy boy hugs at least once a day whether they like it or not…those feet that are losing their babyish look all snuggled up to me.

An opportunity to say, “I love you,” even though you don’t deserve it today.

The first-ever basketball game that brought mama to tears with pride and joy over a little one’s childhood…

These are the things that bring me comfort, joy, in the difficult seasons of life. But I have to be careful, or I’ll miss them. They are the beauty of life that takes me by surprise.

“The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” (Psalm 16:5-6, ESV)

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Want to look with me for the surprises of life? Take a moment to seek out life’s beauty? Join the Surprised by Life community.     Life is FULL of surprises! Share yours!

Need help knowing how to respond well when life doesn’t go as planned? Join my Writer Friends email list to get a free PDF download copy of Surprised by Life: Five Ways to Respond Well When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned.

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This post is linked up with the P52 community at Life with My 3 Boybarians, the Gratitude Community at A Holy Experience, The Better Mom, & Miscellany Monday.