At The Picket Fence

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

Community Doesn’t Just Happen in Front of a Barn

I sat on the floor of the playroom our church had so mercifully created just upstairs from the coffee shop. As I built a foam castle with one child and made goofy faces at the baby, the mother of these sweet kiddos poured out her heart to me.

She needed encouragement…reassurance. She needed to hear someone say “You can do this!”

And as we talked I was struck by the fact that if someone were to peek through the window and take in the scene before them, it wouldn’t look anything like the image of community that is so often portrayed in our Instagram feeds.

You guys, there wasn’t an old barn in sight.

[Read more…]

How to Receive Correction

Raise your hand if you like being corrected?

Yep. That’s what I thought.

It’s never fun being on the receiving end of correction. That’s why I’ve put together some tips for how to do this with humility and grace AND preserve your relationship with the corrector. Yes, it IS possible!

If you missed parts one and two of this series I really encourage you to go watch them first to lay the groundwork for this final installment.

Last week I heard from a reader who told me that she was actually able to put into practice the tips I shared for giving correction during a recent job performance review and I have to tell you that hearing how this series helped her totally made my day!

And I would love to hear from you too! So, tell me…

Has there been a time when you found yourself on the receiving end of correction?

How did it make you feel?

What did the corrector do well?

What could they have done differently?

Let’s chat!

Thank you for joining me as we tackled this challenging topic!

How to Give Correction

Imagine you are one of the most powerful leaders of all time. Your influence has been felt by thousands of people and you were specifically chosen by God for this role.

Now, imagine your father-in-law pays you a visit and while he’s there he offers you some advice. Yeah. Talk about having the potential to go really, really wrong.

But, what if it didn’t go wrong? What if, in fact, the advice was given and received in a healthy way?

Today we are continuing with our series called ‘How to Give and Receive Correction’. If you missed part one you can watch it here.

And today we are jumping into part two…How to GIVE Correction.

 

So, what about you?

Was there a time in your life when you feel like correction was given the right way?

What about a time when it wasn’t?

Have you ever given correction to someone else and used some of these steps?

Let’s talk! I’d love to hear from you!

And the Soul Felt It’s Worth

Merry Christmas dear friends! This will be my last blog post before the big day and I’m so thrilled to be joining a group of authors to bring you some encouragement for your hearts AND an awesome giveaway as we honor the true meaning of Christmas. Now, sit back, take a deep breath, exhale and let these words wash over you today. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We stood in the hallway outside the third grade classroom door afraid to speak to each other, waiting for what felt like an eternity. Behind that closed door, the future of our stage careers was being determined by a room full of 9 year olds and the enormity of the moment had rendered us all silent. Or perhaps we just hoped that if we didn’t talk, somehow we would manage to hear a snippet of what was happening inside.

Only 5 minutes earlier, I had been sitting at my desk when my teacher announced that our class would be putting on a production of ‘Mother Goose’. She asked that all those who would be interested in playing the lead part raise their hands. I can’t say what exactly possessed me at that moment, but before I realized what was happening my hand shot up along with those of three others around the room. All eyes turned in my direction and I instantly regretted my implusiveness. We were told to go wait out in the hallway so that the class could vote for the winner without us seeing who voted for whom and thereby avoiding any hurt feelings.

[Read more…]

It’s Just One Month

I don’t know about you but, for me, December is a month of mixed emotions, ranging from joy-filled moments to ones that have me wanting to pull my hair out.

There are so many expectations and we put so much pressure on ourselves to create magical memories. And for years I have felt the added weight of wanting to make sure my family had opportunities throughout the month to grow in their relationship with Christ.

We celebrate advent and read all of the appropriate Baby Jesus books and encourage a spirit of generosity and heavily emphasize the real reason for the season.

[Read more…]

The Harvest

*In the days ahead we will be gathering together to reflect on the past year and offer thanks for all we’ve been given and I thought it would be appropriate to share this excerpt from our book ‘Life in Season’ to remind us of how important it is to get to the harvest.*

My friend Shauna is a farmer’s wife. Now, before we go any further, take any preconceived perceptions you have of farmer’s wives and just throw them away. I have yet to see Shauna standing in front of a barn wearing an apron and holding a pitchfork. She is beautiful, incredibly stylish, very put together and one of the nicest, most sincere women you will ever meet. Shauna comes from a long generation of farmers, was raised as a farmer’s daughter and married a farmer who comes from a long generation of farmers. And she embraces this lifestyle with complete grace.

She takes lunch to her farmer out in the field and keeps dinner warm for him in the oven so that after a long, exhausting day he is greeted by a hot meal. She cans fruit and bakes amazing concoctions and loves nothing more than to look out her kitchen window at the field of crops just beyond. What I have recently come to learn about Shauna though, is that she is also incredibly knowledgeable about all things farming. She is a wealth of information about their crops, farming equipment and the business as a whole. I’ve never listened more intently to someone with such fabulous hair describe the inner workings of a combine.

[Read more…]

When Following God Doesn’t Make Sense

It’s so hard to follow God when He answers our prayers so differently than we imagined He would. I know I’ve experienced this many times in my own life and today I’m so thrilled to be welcoming my friend Stephanie Shott to the picket fence to share the lessons she learned when God answered a prayer in a way that didn’t make any sense at the time. I know we can all relate to this and I pray you are encouraged by her words!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I thought he had lost his mind! Costa Rica? That’s on the other side of the globe!

For seven years my heart heard drums pounding hard in the distance. I visioned lions lying in wait for their prey and Swahili spoken in villages full of precious people in need of Christ.

My prayers and plans had taken root in Africa but my new reality was beginning to unfold in an unfamiliar land and in an unexpected plan.

I knew God was calling us to the mission field for seven long years before my husband heard the call. Day after day I cried out to God to place on my husband’s heart the same passion He had placed on mine. At times the burden was too much to bear.

[Read more…]

A Different Beautiful

Friends, we are so thrilled and honored to be welcoming Courtney Westlake to the picket fence today. She has such an amazing and inspiring story to share with you and we know you will be so blessed by her words. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wanted to jump into the conversation happening a few feet away from me, to explain, maybe to defend, but I held back.
I craned my neck a bit, waiting to hear what my children would say to the little girl who had just asked about my daughter’s red, peeling skin.

[Read more…]

When Life is Falling Apart

Friends, we have such a treat for you today! It’s not often that we have the opportunity to share with you an excerpt from a book that was actually JUST released this week so we are especially thrilled to be welcoming our friend Micah Maddox whose book Anchored In is in stores now! 

Please help us welcome Micah to the picket fence…

There are moments in life that are so devastating there are no words to utter. You see people surrounding you and their lips are moving, but the words cannot be absorbed due to the burden that consumes your mind. You try to move forward with a normal routine, but the world seems to move in slow motion as problems persist, paralyzing your best efforts to press on. Life can hurt deeply. It can scar the tender parts of your heart and make you feel like your life is completely drenched in a sea of problems that cannot be remedied.

[Read more…]