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Happy Go Stuckey

Tethering Grace & Togetherness

On Being Good Listeners

April 18, 2016 by HappyGoStuckey 7 Comments

We do a lot of listening. We hear well-meaning voices of input and take in respectful feedback. Let it loll around in our minds like a scrap of fine sandpaper— sloughing off and making smooth what we have.
We are better together and we should give a measured and occasional ear to tools such as google analytics, which tell us what our guests are looking for and if they even stay long enough to pull up a chair…

But sometimes–
The voices are louder than they should be. Sometimes the voices of the internet are quite shouty and they say things, untrue things that cause us to forget what we already know in our hearts.

 

And isn’t that just the way adversity needles its’ way into hope? It shrieks out our audacity in believing what God has called us to. It is low whispered lies that slander identity and paint us with the broad strokes of not nearly good enough.

But we listen anyway.
We feel nauseated at the bounce rate and the screaming silence of words that fall flat. We may stand happy and stiff-armed, presenting our gift with hope— until we look to the side and see them.. with their glossy gift. So we slink back into the shadows where doubt speaks louder than truth and we forget what we already know.

But here’s what I do know.
Most of social media is not the place to go when we feel anxious.

Too much looking from side to side makes me twisty inside. When I don’t stay in my own lane, I want to retreat further and further into things not so hard— like laundry and netflix and reading and things that I know well how to do. I can fold socks like a boss. I can flip on Gilmore Girls and laugh like it’s my job. But creativity? That takes work.

And this isn’t good, but it’s true– When I spend all my energy looking over the fence, weeds begin to grow in my own lovely little spot of land.

But, Friend?
We need to hold tighter to what we have been given in the noiseless hush of midnight. Snatch the whispers of the Creator of your soul. Hold onto them with white-knuckled belief no matter the din rising all around you.

“What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the rooftops.” –Matthew 10:27

If a thousand others say no— but God still whispers yes— keep going.
Keep making art.
Keep doing that thing He’s sketched on your soul.
Keep loving those people no one else loves.
Keep struggling.
Keep listening.
And know that Adversity is not Failure.

Did you hear that? Because we may need to hear it again– Adversity is NOT Failure. Opposition is not an off-ramp. Struggle is not where we are meant to stop. 

We know who we are. If we really stop and listen, we know who we are– that we are His children. The children of perseverance & patience. Children who know that the God who made us as creatives is the God of “Enough to go all around.”

He is the God of more than plenty.

What I’m Loving Lately
What I Learned in April

Comments

  1. Lynne Lorentsen says

    April 19, 2016 at 11:51 am

    Cynthia, thank you. Just love your voice and your truth. Super timely topic for me!
    ~ A fellow Hope*Writer

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      April 20, 2016 at 7:42 pm

      Hey Lynne! Glad to see you here. Thank you for your feedback– I would imagine many of us hope*writers struggle with this very thing– but I’m glad we have each other for encouragement.

      Reply
  2. Heather Hernandez says

    April 19, 2016 at 1:17 pm

    This is so great Cynthia! It’s exactly where I feel myself so many times. Thanks for the encouragement!

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      April 20, 2016 at 7:41 pm

      Thank you Heather! It’s definitely been my struggle lately, and I’m glad it lifted you up as well. Happy you stopped by today. <3

      Reply
  3. Greer Oharah says

    September 8, 2017 at 2:19 pm

    So you must have been reading my mind this morning. This is the exact truth I needed to hear – thank you!!

    Reply
    • HappyGoStuckey says

      September 8, 2017 at 2:43 pm

      I’m definitely preaching to myself here too Greer. 🙂 So thankful it encouraged you.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. What I Learned in April says:
    April 29, 2016 at 12:56 pm

    […] Opposition is not an off-ramp from what we know we should be doing. I wrote this post entitled, On Being Good Listeners. I know I am not the only one who feels adversity and misinterprets it completely. Not […]

    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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Just in case you need the reminder, not everything Just in case you need the reminder, not everything blooms at the same time.

If you find yourself in a season that requires all of you— all your energy, time, and mental space— Take Heart.

The truth that life is made up of seasons and no season lasts forever— is perhaps the greatest comfort for those who suffer.

Seasons slowly fold their way into another, taking their place in line.

Often what we wish would bloom right now, doesn’t. We can’t force it. 

Still, we can’t miss the beauty of what stands in front of us while we wait for other things.

I know that so many dear friends are in a season of waiting. Perhaps you’re waiting in secret, waiting for something you’ve not even spoken aloud.

We can wait together, you and I— knowing that the beauty of today is not a gift we want to squander as we wait for what’s around the next corner. 

Pictured: the Tulips at The Biltmore, followed by the beautiful, but still bloom-less rose garden.
I’ve always wanted to paint, but I guess this is I’ve always wanted to paint, but I guess this is almost as good. 🥰 

Finished this lovely piece for a very special birthday and I really love it!
Thank you for the free pattern, @dmc_embroidery !
It’s that time of year again! Here in Augusta, e It’s that time of year again! Here in Augusta, everything is shades of green— ⛳️🌿🥬🌳— including some of our favorite foods! Our Masters celebrations look different from year to year, but we ALWAYS have at least one meal made of Pimento Cheese, Arnold Palmers, & Green Jacket Salad. If only we could get someone to smuggle us out a 🍑 Peach Ice Cream Sandwich, we’d be good!!

I’ve linked my favorite recipe for Green Jacket Salad today so you can grab it and bring a little Masters into your meals this week!
Happy Easter from the grateful, hopeful, Stuckeys. Happy Easter from the grateful, hopeful, Stuckeys. He alone is our Peace.

Surely he has borne our griefs
  and carried our sorrows;
 yet we esteemed him stricken,
 smitten by God, and afflicted. 
 
  But he was pierced for our transgressions;
 he was crushed for our iniquities;
 upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
 and with his wounds we are healed. 
 
  All we like sheep have gone astray;
 we have turned—every one—to his own way;
 and the LORD has laid on him
  the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:4-6
It’s officially Guac-A-Clock. 🥑Ringing in the It’s officially Guac-A-Clock. 🥑Ringing in the fact that it’s almost Master’s Week in Augusta with pollen and Pellegrino aplenty.
When all is well, we often forget to pay attention When all is well, we often forget to pay attention.

We forget to look for daily provisions and mercies as we do when they are life and water to us.

It is not sunny optimism, but hope-filled obstinacy that pushes us to count our gifts instead of our trials.

To know that when the season is hard, and awkward, and everything seems backwards— we are not forgotten.

You may well know, it’s not an easy task. It’s hard work. Like those last few reps of lifting weights— when your muscles burn and you need to quit. What does the coach always say? “Don’t stop. These are the ones that count.”

Perhaps we think of gratefulness like this— It’s still important when we’re sitting with so much grace around us that we hardly remember our thanks.

But when it’s hard?
When it hurts?
When we cannot possibly see the light at the end of this particular tunnel— ✨there✨ is where we make the list of all we know to be true.

That is the place where it counts.
Where we squint if we must, to see what God is doing for us and in us— and definitely in spite of us.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll just be over here filling pages with provision I never want to forget. #solideogloria
Just a little flower garden while we wait for spri Just a little flower garden while we wait for spring to come in earnest. 🪡 🌸🪴🌼🌿 

This is a flour sack towel and although I don’t recommend it for stitching, (too loosely woven,) I do love the way it turned out! 💗
“Sometimes, placemakers make new. Build fresh. S “Sometimes, placemakers make new. Build fresh. Start from scratch. But most of the time, they repair. They restore. They protect. Sometimes, placemaking is nothing more than the refusal to unmake.”

@christiepurifoy // Placemaker

#internationalwomensday #mothersofdaughters #getaftergrateful #weareplacemakers
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Mine was one year ago today and I love the pictures from it so much I made them into a chatbook.

My Mom & I visited the @biltmoreestate to celebrate her being healed from cancer— We enjoyed the most beautiful afternoon tea, saw the Downton Abbey exhibit and were even surprised with a bit of unexpected snow.
It really was ✨magical✨ and proof that short getaways really can be the best!

Planning travel might be my favorite part— Where will you go next? 🧳 🛫⛰🏰
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