{In Real Life} 2013

(in)RL is a free conference that brings woman together in real life. It connects communities, bloggers, and relationships on the other side of the computer. It doesn't require packing or plane tickets but instead happens in the comfort of your living room or another safe space in your community.

This year you'll be able to take a closer look at what it takes to stay rooted in community when sometimes just walking away would be so much easier and tons more convenient.

The (in)RL webcast kicks off on Friday, April 26 and (in)RL meetups follow on Saturday, April 27. I'll be hosting an (in)RL meetup in the Downtown Orlando area. If you're local I'd love for you to join me. If not signup to join or host a group in your city.

Bonus reasons to join:

1. It’s FREE!
2. Everyone who registers on the day registration opens (Monday Jan 14-Today!) gets a copy of our (in)courage 365 Daybrightener while supplies last (US residents only).
3. Everyone gets a copy of our first eBook: “Best of the Beach House 2012.”

Register here.

So will you join me? Let me know in the comments below if you'll be a part of (in)RL this year.

A Prayer for an Imperfectly Perfect Home

An ornament lovingly made by our sweet, Jean Carlos

 (In the month of December hosted a sweet boy from Colombia in hopes of finding him a forever home. This post was one of a series that I wrote the day I took him to theairport to fly back to Colombia. If you’d like to learn more about hosting a Colombian child or international adoption please leave a comment below or contact Embraced by Grace directly).

I never knew a clean house could be so boring. But what I learned through our journey hosting and advocating for a Colombian child is that dirty houses speak of live lived in the mess. Dirty houses speak of being too busy playing to waste time on something temporary like mopping the floor.

I have new stains in my living room carpet. I’m not quite sure what they are or how the

y got there but I’m certain they weren’t there three weeks ago. There’s something sticky and unidentified on my dining room table. And earlier in the week I found Goldfish crackers on my bathroom counter. (Can anyone tell me why this would be?)

As I came home to a wreck of a home after taking our sweet Jean Carlos to the airport to fly back to Colombia I began to pick up, and vacuum, and wipe away the mess. When I was all done I was left with something that was in stark contrast to my heart. You see my heart was in anguish, all broken and bloody in the midst of an all-too-quiet house. The freshly shined countertops did nothing to stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks. And it was in that moment that I realized it…

I have a friend whose house is notoriously messy. She has an eighteen-month-old boy that is constantly moving to say the least. When you go to her home you are not struck by how clean her floors are or her most recent Pinterest-perfect projects. What you do notice is that her home is full of life. Her hospitality is the easy kind. The pour yourself a drink, put your feet up on the couch, and don’t worry about spilling kind. She has chosen to live life in the mess. 

And that is what I would like to do as well…

God, help me to not desire a sterile castle where nothing gets broken and everything is always in it’s place. Instead help me to desire and cultivate a place where we do life amidst the messiness. Please help me to have a home where we experience the bloody brokenness of real relationships, where we’re all having too much fun to clean all the time, and where we spend more time on eternal investments than temporary ones. Amen.

A Prayer for 2013?

 As a little girl growing up in the ‘80s in South Florida, The Shepherd’s Prayer is the one thing I remember most about my mom at Christmas time. Every time we drove the streets of Ft. Lauderdale she would blast this song over the speakers and sing along with the shepherd from her heart. While the song isn’t some amazing piece of musical genius the words are especially poignant at Christmastime and necessary all through the year.

This year as I began to put my manger scene away on New Year’s Day I was struck once again by the cry of the Shepherd. How transformative it would be if we made his prayer our own, both in 2013 and through all our days:

Twas the night before Christmas,
And my only desire
Was peace among kids, and to rest by the fire.
I had just settled down in my favorite chair;
When I heard a small voice, and a cry of despair.
As I stared at the hearth I saw a strange sight!
Our nativity scene, in the flickering light
Seemed almost alive!
And how could this be!
One lonely shepherd was calling to me.

Move me closer, move me closer
Move me closer to the Child.
Let me see Him, let me hold His hand.
Move me closer to the Child.

As you can well imagine, I was a bit surprised.
So with a shake of the head and a rub of the eyes
I took another look, and what did I see,
Without a doubt he was looking at me.

It seems in the hustle and bustle of things
In the wrapping of gifts, and the building of swings,
In assembling his scene, I’d been a bit hurried,
And understandably so, He was a little bit worried.

Move me closer, move me closer
Move me closer to the Child.
Let me see Him, let me hold His hand.
Move me closer to the Child.

You see, candy canes and holly trim
Didn’t mean a thing to him.
If it kept him from his post
Beside the child he loved the most.

So as strange as it must seem,
Whether it was, or wasn’t, a dream.
I placed him back where he belonged
As he sang again his simple song.
And now when we at Christmas share,
We sing his song:
A Shepherd’s Prayer.

Move me closer, move me closer
Move me closer to the Child.
Let me see Him, let me hold His hand.
Move me closer to the Child.
Move me closer to the Child.

Would you consider joining me this year, with the shepherd in the field, and ask God each day to more closely commune with him? I’d love to hear if this prayer resonates with you and how you intend to move closer to the Christ child this year in the comments below.