i have been quiet… unintentionally.
just doing the mom thing over here.
staying in pajamas far too late everyday, decorating, christmas shopping, going to programs, ball games, getting groceries, etc.
this post may sound a little Stauart Smalley to you but some days it just has to be said.
Stuart or not.
i just wanted to tell you – in case you forgot for whatever reason today –
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YOUR STORY MATTERS.
it does.
(i want to grab you by the shoulders and make you look into my teary eyes)
it does. it does. it does.
we all have our own.
we are ALL living different stories and we are ALL at different places.
none of us have got it all together.
none of us are THERE.
none of us have arrived.
if you think you are the only one – YOU ARE WRONG.
we are all messing up… messed up… broken people trying to get through a day without causing too much damage.
your story is your life.
and your story is important.
it’s important to you. to your friends. to your neighbors. to your family.
Telling your story matters…. LIVING it out! don’t hide your true self from your people.
They need you.
God knows all the details.
He knows how hard you are trying.
He knows how much you may be struggling.
He is right there with you.
You are never alone.
He makes you strong.
What if you don’t like the story you’re living?
pick something to change and make your story better! It’s yours!
it won’t change everything but it will be a start.
what if you didn’t choose it for yourself but it’s happening to you anyway?
what if you feel broken and stuck?
what if you are exhausted in your story?
that is where the HOPE comes in.
hope is trusting that God has a plan that is bigger than the “right now”.
because your right now might be really tough – or boring – or sad.
what if this hard stuff is just a plot twist? the place where things get intense in the story?
and what comes out of that twist is something better than you could have dreamt up?
God has a plan that is good and loving (not easy).
we can trust in that hope to say “God i know you see me here and i know you love me.”
All of us have had days where we feel like losers.
or weeks.
or months.
but i KNOW that YOU are not a loser.
🙂
i know it for sure!
You were made to SHINE and you just need to get out and do it.
pick one thing to be shiny today.
smile.
be kind to someone.
make that phone call.
write that letter.
give a hug.
get out of bed.
go for a walk.
start a journal.
read something uplifting.
sing loud in your car.
give something – your time, your heart, your money, your words
YOUR STORY MATTERS.
it all intertwines… your hope, your love, your strength, your story.
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Weekend Cheer-Ups - […] I know I need ^^ this, and you might, […]
Angie - Thank you.
XOXO
Jen - I have read your blog for awhile now, and with this post, I feel you were speaking directly to me. I’m a working mom of three little boys who is constantly struggling to keep it all together. I often feel like a failure. I want nothing more than to stay home and raise my babies, but that just isn’t in the cards for me. I feel like a failure as a wife, as a mom, as a person. But reading this today gave me just what i needed. Thank you for ministering through your blog. You are appreciated more than you know by a stranger. God bless you and your family. Thank you for your sweet words.
Sara - Meg, Thanks for your faithfulness to write this. Tears streaming down my cheeks. Overwhelmed in my story with the burden/privilege/weight of having eternal influence. Does that make sense? I’m exhausted. But HE is not.
Erin - Where did you get your “Your story matters” t-shirt…love it….
Louisa - Thank you. I SO needed this today. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Lori - I needed to hear this….thank you.
Tammy - Tears are flowing down my face….going through a difficult time in my life.
SO needed to hear these words tonight. Thank you Meg for taking the time to write this strong and heartfelt message. I know that our loving Father will carry me when I fall, but your post really hit home tonight and I am grateful for it.
Rachel - I really needed this today! It really touched my heart and helped me just let some things go! By the way, where did you get your scarf? I think I NEED it!
Jenn @ EngineerMommy - Love this post. Full of inspirational, thought-provoking ideas!
Carol S. - I first read you were getting “gorgeous” not groceries, lol. I liked that! This sweet post is so much better than one more Christmas decoration perfection post, but I like those too. I’m sharing this with a friend who is sick and down. Thank you Meg for this thoughtful post. I love your kind heart.
Linda - Wonderful post. You always make me stop and think. I love the shirt. Where did you get it?- linda
Ann - I know you are right. But I just don’t feel it. And I am so tired.
Kimberly Dial - Thank you Meg. That was beautiful. Merry Christmas!
karen - Wow, thanks Meg, went straight to my heart, really needed it today….
Barbara (WA) - It is SO hard to believe this is true. Is it?
Diane - Wow. So needed to read your post this morning! THANK YOU!!! Felt like it was written just for me. 🙂 YOU are such and INSPIRATION!!!
Merry Christmas to you and your family! I hope you have a wonderful and blessed holiday season!!
Fabulous Friday Flashes…of Inspiration | - […] Now hear this: What Meg Duerksen thinks of you. […]
Kristen K. - Meg…thank you. Thank you for this ‘early’ Christmas present to my soul. 😉 I am sharing it with my 4 kiddos, too, because you so beautifully wrote what I struggle to tell them – and myself! I am so easily caught up in the tiny details of every day, hyper-focused on myself and my junk…and I forget to see myself and life from God’s perspective. His love is enough! And it doesn’t mean life is perfect..some days, the grace given is just barely enough to move forward…but it’s enough. Next week marks the 5th ‘anniversary’ of my beloved mom’s sudden death, and I’m still devastated somewhere deep down. So many days, I just NEED my mom. You know? So today, I will let the tears flow when they must, and I will purpose to praise God – who carries me and loves me – through it all. So thankful for you, and for your heart! xo
heather m. - Thank YOU : ) ♥!
This is something we all need to hear- myself included. Thanks for sharing what God put on your heart- i didn’t know how much I needed to hear it. You have such a gift and I’m thankful for you and your wonderful blog! And “Be shiny today” shall be my new motto! LOL! Happy Friday Meg!
Karen - thanks!
jo guy - thankyou, needed to hear that today. xx
Ashley from Tennessee - AAAmmmmmen Sistah! Love that verse and have since high school.
We need a holiday home tour. It’s so fun decorating a new home for Christmas.
Hope you and your family are enjoying it!!!
Mignon Jones - Please share where you got that awesome shirt!
Jeanie - Thank you Meg. I really needed to hear this today.
Lesley - Beautiful message, impeccably timed. Bless you Meg. xox
Andrea - Meg, thank you. You are so right…..It was good to read this today….. I wish I would have made the choice to be a stay at home mom despite the different lifestyle we would have had, but I will continue to make each day count with my children and let them know that despite working outside our home they are the most important thing to me….thank you….our stories are all important.
Kristin S - Thank you, Meg.
michele m fry - Loved this and love your heart!! Need this t-shirt, I am a therapist and I tell people all day long how much their story matters, would love to wear to work as a reminder too :]
Valerie - Oh Meg, your words are amazing! They speak straight to my heart. Thank you for sharing them. Have a blessed day xx
Victoria - Thanks! Needed these words today.
Bobbie - wow that was just what the doctor ordered. Rather I believe it was ordered by God. Thx
Kathi - Thank you.
Kara Byrne - Here’s my day… mommy mistakes and all…in a blogpost…
https://byrnenlove.wordpress.com/2014/12/11/pray-for-him/
I promise it’s not spam. : )
Michelle Deckert Richmond - Thanks Meg….I did feel like I was the only one who doesn’t have it all together….thanks for keeping it real. And thanks for sharing “your story”….great post…a lot to think about. Michelle from Canada
Lisa - You just communicated this so well! As I sit here praying off and on for a young couple at our church who are working so hard, doing everything they should and nothing seems to go their way. And yet they are still trusting Jesus to provide financially. And they continue to give. And they just had a 2nd baby and are so thankful. But the struggles can be so real. I want them to read this because I know it’s so hard on them right now. And I’ve been there when life seems too much but now being on the other side, I can see the strength and growth that happened during that hard time. And am so thankful for it now. Thanks for sharing your heart. Praying it touches those who need it badly right now!
marnie - There isn’t a person you wouldn’t love…if you could read their story.
I read that often and it’s true.
Jenna - Wow, just wow. All of this. I needed to hear and be reminded of. Crying the ugly cry in my office right now. Thank you for posting this today.
Kathy - You’re good enough.
You’re smart enough.
And doggoneit people like you!
Lisa - Thanks for writing this and sharing yourself so openly on your blog.
Stevie - This = awesome and true. Thank you for sharing your story with us!
Vicki - And now I am weeping. Thanks for sharing this. Very timely for me.
Michelle - Amen! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and the passage from Isaiah!
Rebekah Lyon - Loved this! Thank you. And (in the best possible way), right back ‘atcha!
Skye - Thank you!
Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - Love you. So much awesome truth here.
Linda - thanks you for sharing this. I really needed to hear it.
carissa fox - I love you.
your heart.
and I love that you share.
thank you friend for shining yOur light!
when I crank up the music in my car today… singing lOud…
shaking off my doubts & faults… I’ll do it extra loud… and think of you.
thank you!
Jessica - Such a beautiful post! Thank you so much! It’s is just what I needed to hear today
Sarah - After feeling defeated and crying the entire way to drop my boys off at school today, then trudging into my office and letting the tears continue, I needed this. I needed to know I’m not alone, things aren’t as bad as they may have seemed this morning, and they WILL get better, I can do something to make that happen. Thank you Meg. The tears are back, but they’re tears of hope this time, not tears of sadness and pain.
Mickie - Somehow you knew this was just what I needed today. This was a morning where we ended up yelling at our son (because he wouldn’t get ready) and he ended up crying and “wishing he had a nicer family!” Sigh… It’s the most wonderful time of the year but can also be the busiest and most stressful. Thanks for the reminder that we can get back up after these moments and be forgiven.
Jennifer - AMEN!!!! I needed to hear this. You are awesome and great too! Thank you, Meg…thank you!
Jan - Thank You, Meg, for sharing this today…it was just what my heart needed! Beautifully said. Waiting on the Lord teaches me so much about myself while trusting in his plan. “You take joy and suffering and make it an offering for Your glory.” Listening to the words of this song iver and over!
Cindy - holy cow that was powerful! thanks so much for your encouraging and lovely words! they were moving!
Kara Byrne - Yep, yep, yep. Needed this today so much. Took the day off because my stress level of being supermom while working PT and husband working overnights has gotten to me. I need to hear the holy silence of the season…without the nagging requests drowning it. Thank you for writing what was on your heart as there are many of us out here that need to hear it. Merriest Christmas wishes to you!!!
Kelley - Thank you! I needed this today!! Getting to be a stay at home mom while my husband works his tail off to support us. Yet we are struggling to make ends meet and I am feeling so guilty for not working outside of the home. Was praying this morning about ways to bring in some income. Thankful for the reminder of hope and trust in our Lord and Savior. And the reminder to start doing something! Thank you! I admire you as a mom and wife and sister in Christ. I know you don’t have it all figured out, but it’s so nice to have a real role model who’s a few years ahead of me in this parenting game. Thank you.
Jack - I think I needed to hear this today! Thank you Meg.