Hard to believe this was already three Sunday’s ago!! Missing my brother, his family, and that gorgeous park that provided the worship background. If you saw the live stream you saw this adorable nephew of mine dancing in the background. Hard to deny we are related #mobilepastor #hunstville 
Proof that I am everyone’s favorite grandma- what did self care look like this week? Stitching and listening to dateline podcasts #wild #grandmavibes #embroidery #targetdollarspot 
#fridayfeels I am feeling really grateful for how folks show up in my life- and for the friendships that made a hard week so much easier. Today @thekevingarcia and I are going to host a live “Your Favorite Aunts” (1pm pst) to talk about the need for primary relationships as an adult- and why we’ve been falsely convinced your significant other should be the only emotionally intimate relationship you cultivate. (This is one of my favorite photos a friend Dirk took of @matthiasroberts and @thekevingarcia) 
#TBT Four years ago. My first book "What's your story" came out! Four years!!! so much has changed in my life, and yet I am still so proud of this book and grateful for the friends and family that showed up for the book launch and celebration. You guys made this one of the best nights of my life! @buessing26542 you went above and beyond! Thank you to @abingdonpressbooks for giving me a shot and to Brian my amazing editor. Let's do it again! I would love to give someone a copy of this book so I will randomly pick someone from the comment sections (both on Instagram and Facebook.) I bought a bunch of copies for an event that had to be canceled due to covid so I've got some to give away!! So comment below with the name of a friend you are grateful for that shows up for you! Also my books are available on Amazon and cokesbury online :) (it would only let me tag the first 20 humans in photos) 
This is not my look today... today I am sitting in my sweatpants, hair in a bun, golden girls tshirt (that truthfully I also wore part of yesterday), no make up, a zit on my chin (that clearly is mocking me,) and I am downing my second cold brew- Why am I telling you this? Because I am no less me on the days when the sun isn't shining as perfectly on me as it was when @vanvophotography took this photo of me. As an enneagram three I am tempted to believe that I am only worthy of love and connection at my best. I use evidence like being single at my age as proof that this is truth. I hate that I don't nail everyday, and that a small heartbreak can derail me all day. I want to hustle for my worth and right on past my feelings. So many of the recently fallen "sheros" have led us to believe hustling is the only way to get "ahead" in this world. But friends I am not a "boss babe" I am someone who is lucky enough to have the kind of community that seems to know when I need the text that reminds me that I am beloved even at what I consider my worst. Truthfully I love the messy side of other people, and I hope to one day love that side of me too. So if you aren't feeling your best today- hear this- you are still enough- wash your face, or don't- but make sure to be as gentle with yourself as you would be with others. Thank you to the folks who texted me so much love today. I really mean it when I say you keep me going. photo/hair/makeup by @vanvophotography go follow this amazing small business owner. 
Big News... Today is Launch day for @irreverent_fm a project I am proud of and excited to be part of! What is it? Follow Irreverent or go to irreverent.fm to find out more, but here's the gist. It's a collective of ex/post-evangelical folks (and others) who are here to share in the journey of shifting ethos and culture. We are throwing a little launch get together live event (April 18th) and we would love to have you there registration on our website. If our meetings are any indication get ready to laugh, be challenged and feel a little less alone! @brchastain_ @revsarahheath @thekevingarcia @dirtyrottenchurchkids @toriglass @justin.gentry @masonmennenga @bbonishi @makingspacespodcast 
Blessed “Holy Saturday” friends - today is the day set aside to be honest with ourself, the divine, and our close friends about the things that we hope for and seem impossible as we sit in Easter vigil. I don’t know what that looks like for you- for me it looked like a full blown melt down with some of my closest friends last night. I let the anxiety wash over me as I was honest about this anxious in between time and some of the biggest desires of my heart. So much seems impossible- some longings seem too deep. I can’t seem to turn away from the Saturday of Holy Week (even when my beliefs shift) there is something so powerful about this time of disappointment as the story tells us most gave up hope. Jesus had failed. Or at least it seemed. So today I am gentle with myself. Allowing myself to experience the honesty only Saturday can bring- I so often want to rush to Sunday, to resurrections, and silver linings but I think life requires us to pause in this Saturday space. What are the deep longings and disappointments you need to allow space for? How have you tried to skip Saturday? Photo/hair/makeup @vanvophotography 
Some desert thoughts: Maundy Thursday is the day that those of us within the Christian tradition pause to reflect on Jesus' last meal and the washing of the disciples feet. Two actions that required Christ's bodily presence and action. There is an incredible sacred "withness" remembered this day. Most years I have done a service to mark the day and it would be one of many services in the midst of a really busy week- Holy Week, or as I used to call it "Holy Crap this week is busy week." If I am honest as busy as it is, I have always loved Holy Week. I don't know if that makes me melancholy, but I appreciate time set apart to reflect on the lamenting side of life. On the fact that Easter isn't a disconnected celebration- it is deeply connected to the reality of death- but that death and loss aren't the final words. This year my friend Lou @loucamou invited me for an impromptu trip to Joshua Tree joining her in her camper for her final night of her vacation. Normally I would have said "no I am far too busy" but something inside me answered yes and it was a wonderful 24 hours of trail running, camper shenanigans roadside saloons, deep and not so deep conversation. As we ran through the desert landscape a thought struck me. The desert is full of things that most would consider dead or barren but they come together to create this incredible ecosystem that takes your breath away. I got so many ideas and images for tonight's theology on tap, as well as this Sunday's sermon and a reminder that sometimes I need to use my body to connect to God's withness. Ok this was a long post- thanks for reading it through may you engage God's withness in some way today. 
I love vintage trailers (especially airstreams) and tiny houses. I have been thinking through what I would do with one of these spaces for years! Staying up late scrolling through layouts, watching YouTube videos and sometimes even creating sketches. I am getting to fulfill that dream as I plan out the next stage of the Reno project of a 1973 airstream I lovingly call “Gidget” or as my friends in Bend have started calling her “the Gidg” (the story of how I got her and all the support I have received is in tons of other posts, and I will be sharing videos in the months to come!) Yesterday I got to talk to the incredible teenager that will be helping me edit all the video content for sharing on YouTube and here on Instagram (who knows this old lady may even do some TikTok haha.) As I told him the story of how she came into my life I was once again overwhelmed by all of the support, and all the things that had to line up for me to meet Gidget. She’s a mess but she’s my mess and I can see something so incredible within her. A podcast studio/ sacred space/ hosting space on wheels. What could be better?? As I think about all the blood sweat and tears I’ve already poured into her I can’t help but smile, good things come to those who wait and have the kind of community that believe in the power of your crazy dreams. Photo/hair/makeup by @vanvophotography (for the record this isn’t Gidget she’s 3x the size of this cute little tin can)