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Happy Go Stuckey

Tethering Grace & Togetherness

Mess. (Five Minute Friday)

May 1, 2014 by HappyGoStuckey 14 Comments

Honesty: very rarely do I feel completely put together. I love getting “fixed up” but time (read-my littles) doesn’t always permit. Instead I usually try to fake it with my favorite earrings and a dap of lip gloss.

But today, I was a mess.

We were planning on staying in but when the walls were a little too close together for it to be pre-lunchtime, I hurriedly thought of an errand to run and the yoga pants got swapped for a pair of jeans. They’re really the only jeans I wear and they have a small rip by the right pocket. A rip that was there when I bought them. I figured, “I’m not even 32 yet. I can rock a little classy rip in my jeans.” Trouble is, my kiddos like to stick their fingers in the rip and make it bigger. Sigh. They think it’s hilarious and it kind of is.

But even those slightly “Hip” jeans couldn’t save me today. The way-too-messy-to-be-on-purpose sock bun wasn’t even my problem. It was my cluttered, messy heart and mind.

Today started with a bang and by the time I came back from the gym my early risers were rising even earlier. Leaving no time to start slow and take in a bit of scripture and prayer.

It doesn’t always have a direct and immediate noticeable affect on my attitude. Today it did.

Before I knew it, the mom who tried to spruce up a bit on the outside felt frustrated and well, a desperate mess of a mess.

That was me, trying to listen to the story being told to me by one little while the littlest little was pitching a ROYAL FIT at a very heightened volume in the middle of Costco. Every little thing I tried to do today was like walking through a swimming pool of jello. Which for mamas of littles, isn’t necessarily out of the ordinary. But my messy, cluttered heart and mind could not deal. And I took it personally. I felt defeated. I felt like a mom who shouldn’t have any more kids. I felt like I couldn’t, wasn’t handling the two I had. I felt, I felt, I felt.

But for GOD.

Praise Him He is the righter of our wrongs. The cleaner-out of our messy thought closets. And when we are just… so far from being together… So far from having it all together with children who behave and hair that stays in place— HE is what we need. More of HIM. Less of our insecurities.

Much, much less of us. And More of Him. And more, much more of saying “yes” to whatever it is He wants of us. There is nothing you touch, no skinned knee that needs a kiss and a DocMcStuffins Band-aid,  no attempt at cooking ground beef in yet another *exciting* way, no neighbor that just needs a bit of grace… nothing that doesn’t fall under the heading of, “bringing Glory to God.” So let Him have it all. 

Five Minute Friday It’s friday (almost) and that means we write for 5 minutes together and link up here! 

Things I learned in April
Grace for the Working Mother and her Guilt (Guest Post from Lisa-Jo Baker)

Comments

  1. Holly Barrett says

    May 1, 2014 at 10:44 pm

    More of Him and less of our insecurities. Yes! I need that in the middle of my mess!

    Reply
  2. Meredith Bernard says

    May 1, 2014 at 10:51 pm

    You and I were having the same day a few states away. 😉 And I missed my quiet time first thing this morning and that didn’t help me even one. little. bit. But GOD. Yes!! So thankful He rights my wrongs and works with my mess. Appreciate your words and your heart.

    Reply
  3. Rachel Lundy says

    May 1, 2014 at 11:06 pm

    Yes! More of Him! We try to look clean and presentable on the outside, but on the inside we just need more of Jesus. More of Him to clean up our messy thought closets as you say!

    Reply
  4. Rachel Lundy says

    May 1, 2014 at 11:07 pm

    Yes! More of Him! That is just what we need, no matter how clean and presentable we look on the outside. Inside, we just need Jesus.

    Reply
  5. jenpcv says

    May 1, 2014 at 11:11 pm

    Hmm…earrings and lip gloss are about as good as it gets for me! 🙂 Hope tomorrow is a little less messy, and that you get your quiet time in to keep you sane. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Jacqueline Heider says

    May 1, 2014 at 11:44 pm

    Awesome post! Thank goodness He cleans up my messes!

    Reply
  7. Rachel Quigley says

    May 1, 2014 at 11:48 pm

    Ha ha…you had me laughing out loud…which isn’t a good thing right now since my hubby is sound asleep next to me! Thanks for sharing…I loved it! It’s so great when He steps into the middle of our mess and meets us right there!

    Reply
  8. onerebelheart says

    May 2, 2014 at 9:00 am

    I love this: “way too messy to be on purpose”! There’s a fine line between messy on purpose and just plain messy. 🙂 Lovely post!

    Reply
  9. CW says

    May 2, 2014 at 9:30 am

    Sounds very much like the day I had yesterday…though let’s keep being honest: I wouldn’t have traded the yoga pants for anything!

    Reply
  10. amypboyd says

    May 2, 2014 at 10:05 am

    I think But God are my two favorite words.

    Reply
  11. Jolene Underwood (@Faith_Eyes) says

    May 2, 2014 at 11:34 am

    Love hearing your heart and just you, living a real life with real messes. Thank you for sharing. Glad to “meet” you through FMF!

    Reply
  12. Karrilee Aggett says

    May 2, 2014 at 11:43 am

    “Praise Him He is the righter of our wrongs. The cleaner-out of our messy thought closets.” Yes – this!!! Amen for this!!!

    Reply
  13. lisa @ being stepmom says

    May 2, 2014 at 9:32 pm

    I’m with CW… the yoga pants would have stayed! teasing. sort of.
    More of Him – yes!

    Reply
  14. Sharon says

    May 4, 2014 at 1:01 am

    I was mesmerized by the fun way you expressed yourself so transparently and then offer the God Factor to make the mess blessed by His Grace! I also loved the picture of being a mom of “littles” because now I get to think of myself as being a mom of 3 “bigs.” My bigs are soon to be 22, 24 and 30. I’m grandmom of one “little” thirteen month old and all will be at my house this week. You made me smile. Thanks!

    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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happygostuckey

I saw a magazine cover this week advertising the h I saw a magazine cover this week advertising the headline, “Ditch Gratitude!” 

This is my “No thanks,” face.
My grateful face.
My you-can’t-make-me-face.
Because no matter how long the list of things we still don’t know, I know I need gratitude like water.

Questions remain. Uncertainties abound. Reasons for concern greet us with each January dawn.

Hope remains and so do questions. The two have never been enemies, but cozy next door neighbors.
I’ll keep my gratitude, thank you.
Some of the rhythms we took up in ‘20 we will co Some of the rhythms we took up in ‘20 we will continue to sigh into in ‘21.
Baking sourdough, watching it bubble and rise and fill our BlueHouse with the scent of a good, long, posture of patience— I absolutely need a second serving of this.
While we wait, and whatever it is that we wait for— may the space between be made sweeter by the knowledge that we never wait alone.
You can’t tell by their joy, but the day I snapp You can’t tell by their joy, but the day I snapped this photo was somewhat of a regular day.

What looks like a winter beach vacation was actually the tail-end of a masked lunch stop in the middle of a pandemic road trip.

This sparkling moment of sun-splashed fun was sandwiched between brutal conversations about regular life, especially the hard parts.

And this is how it is. 
These bits of life that we never see coming, they are enveloped between all that makes us tired, weary, sighing pilgrims in a world that was never really meant to be hospitable in the first place.

This photo reminds me to look again at our year, our season, our circumstances.

To look a second and third time.
To keep looking as long as it takes to see that the joy of our right now isn’t gone, it just might be hiding in the shadow of all that’s hard.

Brokenness is never vague. And we don’t have to search very long to see it both within ourselves and around us.
Sometimes the weight of that fact is crushing.
And then, sometimes it reminds us even more clearly of the light shining in darkness.

Joy is an act of defiance against despair and I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling rather defiant at the moment.✨✨✨✨

@hopewriters #hopewriterlife 
#feastingandforaging #hopelenses #getaftergrateful
Endurance can feel like standing still. Especially Endurance can feel like standing still. Especially if what we’re called to be about is the same as yesterday and last month. 
It’s difficult to meet each day with the same fervor and joy for what we are called to do, especially when at present, the progress seems small and immeasurable. 
But even then, perhaps especially so — our faithfulness matters.

When we cannot yet see the other side, the light at the end of this particularly long tunnel, we begin again.

Not because we will always wake with fresh energies and bright, sparkling hope for what comes next, friend. But because the God of Endurance (Romans 15:5) dwells within us.

“It is the grace of endurance granted to you by the God of endurance that provides you with everything you need to continue to be what he calls you to be and do what he calls you to do between this moment and the moment when you cross over to the other side. When difficulty exposes the weakness of your resolve and the limits of your strength, you do not have to panic, because He will endure even in this moments when you don’t feel able to do so yourself.” — Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies

#hopewriterlife
Stuckey, party of two. Always ready to run out for Stuckey, party of two. Always ready to run out for paper towels... especially if the store is in convenient proximity to a quick date for croissants and dirty chai for two. Love my forever coffee companion even more at the start of this new year. Wherever he’s going, I’m riding shotgun.
We have learned... The inestimable value of a goo We have learned...

The inestimable value of a good camp chair, for they have been used for everything from soccer benches and coffee dates to theatre seats and church pews.

What our neighborhood streets can offer in the way of an outing—from the colors of spring to the sparkle of Christmas.

To hold plans with the loosest hands possible.

To rejoice in things found. Time. Margin. ...and enough toilet paper to share with a neighbor.

To give grace and accept it for ourselves.

The hilarious joy of a group text complete with “have you seen this meme yet?” 

To pivot. And then pivot again.

To find more joy in candlelight closer to home, instead of the bright lights of traveled cities.

To perfect our pizza dough recipe and truly learn to prefer it over dinner out.

To work with yeast and flour again and again— until the message of waiting for something really good dusted our apron fronts and kitchen floors.

And in our house, we learned how to be unexpectedly unemployed. We learned how to honor that new found space with needed grief and desired hope. How to be grateful for true friends who prayed with us, held questions with us, and hoped with us. We were reminded of our true identity and that it will never rest in a job. 

In a year in which we’ve all lost quite a lot, you and I have been given so much as well. Some of what we’ve lost we have learned to be without. Some, we won’t go looking for again.

In 525,600 minutes and in all the things, found and lost and found again— there is far and away more to be grateful for.

And we choose joy.

✨Happy New Year, dear friends!✨
Not rushing too quickly into a new year over here. Not rushing too quickly into a new year over here. Though the one in our rear view window is one we wouldn’t choose to repeat, still it was one full of God’s nearness.

One day I’ll write it all down.
But for now I’ll just say,
we were not alone. 🕯
“Once in our world, a Stable had something in it “Once in our world, a Stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.”
C.S.Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia

Joy to the World, friends.
Behold. The most apropos Christmas Eve 2020 desser Behold. The most apropos Christmas Eve 2020 dessert ever. Made from a wonky gingerbread cake that did not cooperate.
We shall not go quietly into 2021.
We will fight back with beauty and joy and candles... and fresh whipped cream made by an eleven year old with sparkly green eyes. 🎄❤️✨
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