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Happy Go Stuckey

Tethering Grace & Togetherness

Just Because You Are Willing… (FMF)

March 7, 2014 by HappyGoStuckey 9 Comments

It’s a big thing to be willing. For many (myself included) willingness is a hurdle in and of itself.

Often we might think we are willing, but the fear that is yoked to our willingness is so big and bad, it chokes any excitement over what God might have us to do.

Fear can be a real bully.

Fear tells us so many lies. Actually, it’s the evil one who tells us the lies… he just uses our fears, insecurities, doubts, etc. as the carrier pigeon.

Whether you fear if you can ever really do what it is God has asked, or you fear if every “good” thing you do is really motivated out of pride–

Either way your willingness takes a swift punch to the gut by the fear that follows quickly on its heels.

Bianca Olthoff said something last October that stood out to me on this–

“We need not be adequate, but we MUST be available.” 

She went on to say that “Clarity is knowing what God wants you to do. Courage is believing God is actually going to DO it!”

Whoa. Such truth.

Clarity is a beautiful gift. Clarity can come from pain and joy, and it often involves both. But, Courage? A DAILY battle. But we must keep fighting that battle. We CANNOT give in to the hissing lies whispered in our ear.

“You are not parenting this child right. You’re doing something wrong..”

“You aren’t what that Bible Study needs… you don’t have enough experience.” 

“You never finish anything.”

“You are ordinary. So ordinary that you have nothing to offer.” 

Keep fighting. Don’t expect that because you are willing, you won’t have to fight off the lies of fear. More importantly, keep asking God to answer that door when the great liar knocks. But don’t expect him to ever go away. As long as you are a threat, he will keep knocking.

And a woman who fears the Lord and desires to be obedient and courageous, a woman who carries the light– is a threat to darkness. 

Five Minute Friday

Linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker and the amazing Five Minute Friday crew!

The Favor of Imperfection
Tuesday Favorites & A chance to do something BIG from your kitchen!!

Comments

  1. dorgitman says

    March 7, 2014 at 3:28 pm

    Stopping by from FMF, and thank you for writing that, because that’s exactly my battle! There’s actually tears in my eyes as I write this. Your blog is lovely and upbeat. Many blessings to you!

    Reply
  2. Emily Simmons says

    March 7, 2014 at 3:28 pm

    Oh, Cynthia, I needed to read this today. Thank you so much for being willing to share these words.

    Reply
  3. Holly Barrett says

    March 7, 2014 at 4:24 pm

    Whoa – a threat to darkness! Being willing and being available is totally worth it when we threaten the darkness. Great post, Cynthia!

    Reply
  4. richelle @ "our wright"-ing pad says

    March 7, 2014 at 4:31 pm

    hey… are you a motivational speaker in another life?

    great words… super encouraging and challenging 5mf write this week. thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  5. Meredith Bernard says

    March 7, 2014 at 5:09 pm

    How true…”a woman who carries the light– is a threat to darkness.” And you are so right, as long as we are a threat, we will be attacked. And God is always wiling to provide a way out. If we are willing to accept. I appreciate your words of encouragement today. Thank your for your willingness to write and share from your heart! 😀

    Reply
  6. amypboyd says

    March 7, 2014 at 5:59 pm

    What beautiful words of encouragement. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  7. Charlie says

    March 7, 2014 at 6:42 pm

    Oh, my! I don’t know how, but I think you wrote this with me in mind. I needed to read it today! Thank you!

    Reply
  8. Dolly@Soulstops says

    March 7, 2014 at 8:19 pm

    Cynthia,
    I just kept saying “Amen” as I read your post…Thank you 🙂 Wise and true words 🙂

    Reply
  9. Micah says

    March 8, 2014 at 5:40 pm

    Oh wow. Some great truth in this. Loved these words in particular –

    ‘it’s the evil one who tells us the lies… he just uses our fears, insecurities, doubts, etc. as the carrier pigeon. Whether you fear if you can ever really do what it is God has asked, or you fear if every “good” thing you do is really motivated out of pride–Either way your willingness takes a swift punch to the gut by the fear that follows quickly on its heels.’

    Speaks so much to what I often find to be my struggle whenever I seek to step out in obedience to Him. You break it down so well. Great post.

    Reply

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Hey There!

I'm Cynthia and I'm so glad you're here. I am an introvert with an extrovert's love of gathering people together. I love good books and capturing moments. Whether you visit me here or on my own front porch, I'll be the one holding the Iced Coffee for us both.

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Joy is the courage of people who don’t have all Joy is the courage of people who don’t have all the answers, yet.

While you sit in a season of waiting,
the calendar can often be a cruel companion, reminding you that days go by, weeks, months— with what feels like very little change in the right direction.

Perhaps you can easily assent to: 
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but you strain to see just how it will be when: “...a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12)

Wherever you and I are today— whether we wander, wait, stand firmly planted, or some pressed together combination of all three — we can take heart.

We are not alone.
And this will not be wasted.
What seems to be an unending blank space, an indefinite pause, is a space for new things.

Long before all is made right, and whether or not it all is tied up neatly with a perfectly crafted bow— we can know this:

We do not have to know the outcome to be faithful today.

✨Joy is not disregard for reality as much as it is obstinacy against despair.✨
Hi 👋🏻 I’m Cynthia and I’m a bit weary. T Hi 👋🏻 I’m Cynthia and I’m a bit weary. There. I said it. These days I’m gravitating to the true & the beautiful as rest for my weary self... and I wonder if you are too.

So much so, that I’m starting a new little offering, it’s called “The Feast: Wonder for the Weary” and the first issue goes out this weekend. It’s a bit more personal (okay this first one is WAY more personal. 🤭) It will be a little bit of everything, all with the goal of offering REST to both the feasters & foragers alike. If you’re already a subscriber— no need to do anything, if not— click through my bio to “keep in touch” and join the feast.✨
We are a people of both lament and praise. We hol We are a people of both lament and praise.

We hold questions without answers— yet we hold them in hands already full of good things.

We hold our daily bread, our daily gifts, and we hold the daily closeness of the God Who Sees.

The God who is no stranger to our lament, and Who Is the reason for our every hope.
He does not grow weary of our asking. Of our need to be told again, He will. 

You friend, are not invisible.
You are seen and cared for by the God who does all things well. (Even when they feel anything but.)
Married love ambition: making the kids roll their Married love ambition: making the kids roll their eyes at our “gushy-ness” as often as possible. 

President & CEO of the Lance Stuckey Fan Club— in every season, but especially on days like today.
Rainy day Mocha date, courtesy of our own toasty k Rainy day Mocha date, courtesy of our own toasty kitchen.😍🌧📚

On this chilly Saturday, we spent entirely too long browsing for books at our library and then all came home to a fire, mochas, and cocoa, respectively. Of all the things we do not know at this very moment, we know the gifts abound, and are worth counting.

PS, if you haven’t spread whipped cream on a foil-lined baking sheet to freeze, and then cut out cute shapes with cookie cutters to top your coffee or hot cocoa, may I suggest you get thee on that at once.
“If God sends us on strong paths, we are provide “If God sends us on strong paths, we are provided strong shoes.” — Corrie Ten Boom

✨File under, things to save in a fire.✨

The prayer journal pictured here contains six months of the hard & the sweet.
Six months of prayers asked & answered for ourselves and for others.
Six months of seeing through prayer, not how it changed our circumstances necessarily but how it changed us.

I always appreciate a record like this— being able to clearly see the paths we are led down, rocky though they may be? Priceless.

The ways God has come near us & drawn us to Himself again and again are written on these pages and I’ll treasure it forever.

Also pictured: Psalms Illuminated Scripture Journal. Highly recommend. Thank you always, @allifarnell
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it th “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

While scrolling through my photos today, my heart was heavy to realize how far back “before” was.

Before masks and distancing, before loss, before other, more personal bits of hard. Multitudinous change, neither all bad nor all good.

With our free time, we’ve introduced our girls to Tolkien, Bilbo, Frodo, and especially Samwise the Brave. They are officially hooked and we are delighted to watch them discover another world where evil doesn’t win, and the courage of the small matters much. {they close their eyes at the Orcs and we haven’t had a nightmare yet!}🤞🏻😂😬
I’m leaning increasingly more into the analog th I’m leaning increasingly more into the analog these days.

It started with the Sourdough and a dozen different kinds of jam last year.
I suddenly find great calm in activities that stand in direction opposition to hurry, the textbook definition of ✨work in progress.✨ And really, if you could see the other side of this piece, you would believe me. 🙃

Thank you to @thebarmyfox for making embroidery so accessible!
@thenester says, “It doesn’t have to be perfec @thenester says, “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful,” and I believe that the weeknight meal equivalent is, “Just because it’s easy— doesn’t make it a second-tier supper!”

Thank you, Spaghetti with Meat sauce for being both a ministry to mom AND a crowd pleaser. Especially on a dreary January-ish day. It is ✨quite alright✨ to make something we’ve made a million times just because we know it makes the people happy.🍝
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