Emily P Freeman

It’s Simply Tuesday

July 3, 2018 By Lisa Lewis

Three years ago I had the privilege of being on the launch team for this amazing book

Three years later the principles in Emily’s writing are still sifting through to the bedrock of my soul.

It’s Simply Tuesday.

A regular ordinary day that includes morning habits, errands, laundry, paying bills; you know, normal and ordinary.

But these days are precious to me now. Small moment living has become the norm since we are empty-nesters. What I once grieved and rejected, I now see as a beautiful gift, perfectly timed.

I am a slow learner.

When I was 37 I gave birth to our second son. A year and a half prior, we lost a baby at 14 weeks. The world calls that a miscarriage. I called it God’s wake up call.

You see, I had plans for how life would work. I was in charge of my destiny: a second marriage underway, a new home, my dream vehicle in the driveway; now it was time to add to our family. Pregnant in April, plan to take it easy through the summer, baby due at the end of December (tax break!) All moving along as I intended. Until July, 1993.

It was the loss of that baby that took my attention off my self-focus and back on God. Don’t think for a minute God punished me for my selfishness, because that doesn’t line up with His character or His Word. ( For example, Psalm 136:1; Romans 8:1) But I do know that He lovingly shepherds His children and corrects them along the Way (Heb. 12:7) This loss got my attention.

How does this tie in with Tuesdays you ask? He has gently led me along since then, showing me the benefit of quiet, solitude, and contemplation; even when I didn’t appreciate it.

I learned the value of simple moments; of folding laundry as a moment to pray for the feet that fit the socks I matched; of dishes dirtied with sandwich crumbs held by six year-old hands; of a vinyl floor needing to be mopped, yet again, and reminded to be grateful for home.

Children grow, nap times wane and running ragged matched our schedule of lessons, sports, Scouts, Church. Small moments flew without notice; I turned around and the house was full of good wishes for the high school graduate I had given birth to in 1995. Where did the time go?

The temptation to regret, to long for once was, to mourn were all things I chose to walk through. I don’t know how life might have looked over these past five years if I had daily celebrated the beginning of the season of empty-nest; but I do know that in the small moments of my sorrow, God met me with tenderness and compassion that I wouldn’t trade for a billion dollars. Nope. Not a one.

Here’s the point friend: Your small moments are precious; to your soul and to God. He cares about the details. Look for Him in them. Your soul moves at a pace that is nearly imperceptible by our nano-second attention spans. Relax. Celebrate the small. Whether you… Click To Tweet

As we consider together what it means to show up in life, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of being kind to yourself as you practice; whether you’re focusing on work, life or faith, be gracious as you try to connect the dots and make sense of it all.

We all need an encouraging word; please share what gems you’ve discovered along the Way!

Learning to Celebrate the Daily

August 18, 2015 By Lisa Lewis

I am easily distracted these days. Interestingly, the distractions come from within; the thoughts of what needs to be accomplished mix with the memories of what was and is no longer. These distractions have hindered me from actions that I love, like writing. But I’m happy to say I’ve been coming back to center and learning to celebrate the everyday moments of life thanks to a new book.

I recently read the fantastic new book Simply Tuesday by Emily P Freeman. It’s available today! The tagline for this book really called to me: Small-Moment Living in a Fast Moving World. I had been living the SLO life for 30 years until two years ago. Now living in the fast-paced, change-oriented, bigger, faster, better society of the Silicon Valley is like “drinking from a fire hose” as our pastor puts it. Simply Tuesday is a call to notice, to appreciate the ordinary moments of the day and that is opposite living from this world’s expectations. What a beautiful thing because our souls are not meant for speed. A soul is meant for depth, for slow, for connection.

Emily shares her story of learning to embrace ‘small’. She puts into words what my own soul has yearned for; being okay with “right where I am” instead of pushing for more, for notice, for good, better, best. In the chapter “Effort & Outcomes” Emily’s words stopped my striving, never-good- enough heart & mind right in their Energizer Bunny tracks. “I don’t see Jesus calling me to excellence. I do see Him calling me to Himself. And sometimes, on the kingdom of earth, moving close to Jesus looks like failure and embarrassment.”

I have pushed and resisted, fought and argued and demanded that my life be “good, better, best, never let it rest until your good is better and your better best.” Being transplanted from the comfort and familiarity of my former life was painful to say the least. I have not been able to gain the traction I’ve thought I’ve needed to be “successful” in this new arena. The revolutionary thought that simply being aware and available to the movement of Christ in my day truly stopped my whirling internal dialogue. It was as if someone picked up the arm of the record player and turned the swirling machine off.

Simply Tuesday is seeping down into my soul. This book, Emily’s voice, is counter-cultural in this area where I live. But Emily lives and writes in Greensboro, NC and her words come from a place of knowing how extended beyond peace we often live. Simply Tuesday is inviting me to sit on a bench and notice where Jesus is moving in my day. It’s inviting me to learn to celebrate the daily; the everyday moments that make up my everyday, ordinary life. Learning to celebrate that this life is a gift from God moment by moment.

Learning to be present to His abiding Presence. Learning to be thankful for little things like a bird on a bird feeder or the smell of freshly brewed coffee is reminding me of the true beauty that makes up every day. Learning that time is non-renewable and therefore sacred.

This bench is at the park near our latest place of residence. (notice I didn’t call it home? I’m not there yet.) I often see people seated here looking out at the children, the athletes, the trees. This morning I thought of the gift Simply Tuesday is to me and prayed that it would be so for many, many more. I really want to encourage you to get your own copy and gather with others who are seeking connection like I am. They’re all around us; Tuesday people as Emily calls us.

Listen in to Emily chat briefly about her book here. Then go to Amazon and pick up your own copy (and maybe a few for your Tuesday people?). I’d love to know what you’re learning to celebrate!

From 1st to 2nd and the In Between

December 17, 2013 By Lisa Lewis

I have been silent. Hours of time spent by myself in silence.
What used to be something I filled with too many things now is actually a comfort to me. I have been learning to let go and to wait in ways I have never before had opportunity.

There is loss and longing that I face. I don’t deny.

It’s our first Christmas out of our home of 15 years. Our college son flew in from his out of state U and then in a whirlwind hour and a half was out the door driving to our former town. To see friends. To work the holidays where his summer job offered time. Beautiful to have work. And friends to welcome him in.

He is facing the changes in his own way. It’s not his home anymore. Our home where the Hubster and I live will always have a place for our children to stay when they come, but the childhood home? That’s gone.

He sent me this picture yesterdayHis kitty, who lives with our neighbors now. If you look closely you can see his hand in the reflection. She was inside. He couldn’t hold her. She would lie in his arms like a baby. I ache.

I have been reading a lot in this season. Wonderful books. Encouraging. Deepening. Challenging books. A Million Little Ways by Emily P Freeman in which she helps us see. A Confident Heart by Renee Swope in which she helps us look at ourselves through the lens of Truth. Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey (more on that later!). I have also been reading an Advent devotional called Emmanuel published by She Reads Truth.

I am reminded that this is not my home, that I am a sojourner here, not just here but HERE. I am living between the 1st and 2nd. Jesus’ Birth the first Advent of Jesus. The looking forward to His 2nd return as King. How am I doing?

All of these writings have given me encouragement, comfort and a sense of being understood. I am the poeima of God, made to live the art that is my life. I no longer need live in the shadows of the past. I am gifted to serve the community in unique ways.

This too early out of bed morning I began Jeff Goins latest book The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing. And right there in the introduction was a gem for this day: “The challenge is what we do with these times, how we use–or waste–our waiting. The slower times contain a wealth of wisdom for us to tap into, but only when we recognize them.”

How am I doing? I am learning. To believe what is true. To be honest when it hurts. To be open to possibilities. To give grace to those around me who are also living life in the open. In between the now and not yet.

There is JOY in this place. So many people and circumstances for which to be thankful. Change is hard but change is good. Only God is constant.

Only God.

30 Days of Giving #10: Reflect

November 10, 2013 By Lisa Lewis

Happy Day! Today is a day when people who claim the name of Christ as theirs gather together all over the world to corporately worship God.

“Happy are the people who know the joyful shout; Yahweh, they walk in the light of Your presence. They rejoice in your name all day long, and they are exalted by Your righteousness.”

I heard a teacher once say we are to be the reflection of Christ to the world. Much like the still water reflects the image of the hills behind it in the morning light.
Sounds lovely. Looks lovely. That works when you are completely still.
But what happens when you move? when the storms of life come? The reflection is blurred.
If we are only to reflect God to the world then we either have to sit still on the sidelines of life or we run the risk of a blurred reflection of God.
Which of course is what we do as we live our lives.

Emily Freeman has written a great book, A Million Little Ways, that brings out a different image of how we reflect God to the world. It’s actually not reflecting at all.
God’s life in us comes out of us as we are fully who and how we are intended by our Creator to be. It is the art of our life that most accurately shows God’s image to the world. in A Million Little Ways.
This book is a transforming book. A must read. I am thrilled by the freedom Emily’s words bring to my heart. Her reflection on God’s Word shows me how I can be free to move through the world being me; not stifled by trying to be a carbon copy of the most upright person I know or by thinking I am to stoically sit and reflect the image of God to the world.
Read Emily’s book.

30 Days of Giving

November 1, 2013 By Lisa Lewis

I have been blessed – and challenged – by many bloggers’ 31 Days of … posts through October. They were wonderful. Beautiful. Graceful. Fun.

I have also been reading and participating in two online communities focusing on two different books. One is A Confident Heart by Renee Swope. The study is being led by Melissa Taylor and the Proverbs 31 OBS team. It’s a good and hard book- focusing on my developing a confident heart trusting God’s promises.

The other book is titled A Million Little Ways by Emily Freeman. The book group is through the in Courage book club, Bloom. Emily’s book is also good and hard as she gracefully shows me the now and not yet of living this life as the poeima of God (read the book! It’s so worth it!)

In holding out what I am learning from each book I recognize that I am a giver. Part of how God shows Himself to the world through me is through encouragement offered to others. In a.million.little.ways. It may be greeting the clerk by name at the store when I check out(they wear name tags for a reason). It may be an email, or text, or tweet, or blog post. It may be a handwritten note sent through the mail. Lots of ways to give encouragement.

So I am going to challenge myself to give to others through encouragement for the next 30 days.

You can receive the daily encouragements in your inbox if you sign up on the right and subscribe to my blog.

Will you open the door and come along with me?

Embracing Change

October 15, 2013 By Lisa Lewis

I love the saying “Both-And, Not, Either-Or”. It really captures how I look at life. Especially now in the middle of some of the biggest changes in my recorded history.

SO it makes perfect sense that I am reading two books and joining the online community to process what I’m reading. I love to think about and then discuss good books. Anyone?

This week I started an online book study with Proverbs 31. It’s the second time I have done a study with them. I highly recommend how they provide options for interacting. Here’s the cover:

You can find them here

I will also be participating in a book group for this brand new book by the lovely Emily P Freeman.

I am half way through this book already. It is compelling. It speaks to my soul. It is life changing.
Those are some strong statements. I mean them to be. I think everyone should read this book. I can’t wait to participate in the book group with these women

I am embracing change by the both-and approach: I am both grieving the loss of place and stepping forward to make new connections.

How do you approach change? Do you like it? Avoid it at all cost? Look at it sideways from afar?
I’d LOVE to HEAR from you with your answer to any one of these questions!