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Hey everyone! As promised, the new series officially kicks off today! I’m excited to share this journey with you:). As I mentioned in the last post, the last few months of 2018 had me feeling like I was in a funk.

I knew that I couldn’t have been the only one experiencing this, and as it turns out, I wasn’t. In this new series, I want to offer us some hope – in the midst of the funk we may be feeling, we can place rhythms and routines into our life that help us stay connected in community, and more importantly, connected to Our Creator. We may be walking through seasons of feeling “off”, but we don’t have to navigate the journey by ourselves. In fact, we shouldn’t try to do it alone.

One routine I firmly believe in: Visiting Others. I know, it sounds too simple to start with just visiting an encouraing friend, but trust me. the power of a visit impacts further than we can imagine.

This past year was a learning year for me and my family. One constant that I can recall though: we had some great visits with friends:). Family and friends made their way to come see us and explore our new surroundings, and we were able to go visit friends and family and share in some deep conversations and of course…coffee:). Meals were prepared together, laughter and jokes filled rooms, hugs and more hugs filled the doorways. And in the midst of navigating the funkiness inside, I was reminded of the power of sharing time with others. Each visit uplifted us, encouraged us, and even challenged us to keep growing. Each visit also sent a message loud and clear- we had people who loved us and took time to share with us and even pray for us. Whether it was one hour or one week, we spent time visiting with each other and it was a blessing.

Friend, do you know that you are loved in the midst of your “off” seasons? You are. Do you know that spending time with those who love you can brighten your day and stir up hope in your heart? It can. You don’t have to try and navigate the difficult times alone- because when we make time to visit with life-giving people, the ones who get us and understand us, we can soak up the encouragement that God provides through our sweet time together. Does visiting people solve all of our issues? Nope. Will sharing time with others eliminate difficulty? Not at all. However, the encouragement we experience within those visits can refresh our spirits when we need it most.

Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, You see us and You know us-inside and out. All of our thoughts and experiences are before You. And in those times where our mind doesn’t quite know how to process the tough and funky spots we are navigating, we ask You to shine the light of Your Word into us so that we can see how to process and proceed. We thank You Lord, for surrounding us with Your love, and for placing us into our communities. We take comfort today as we remember that we are never alone on our journey of life. You promised to be with us, and You’ve surrounded us with others who want to encourage us and build us up. Thank You Lord for those times that we are able to spend with others, remembering Your truths and Your purposes for us. Thank You for providing us with times of refreshing when we need it God. We ask that You would help us to also be people that refresh those around us. You are so kind Lord, and we choose to remember Your goodness and faithfulness even in these funky seasons of life. Amen.

Go The Extra Mile: Friends, we are gonna talk more about sharing life with others in another installment of this series, so I encourage you, check back for the latest posts. In the meantime, check out this song as we kick-off the new series and be encouraged today!

peace-liz