--> thankful <--

We spent Thanksgiving in our little apartment. 

My parents drove up & we spent the day cooking/watching football. 

I also love spending thanksgiving morning watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

I love broadway, so seeing the musical numbers makes the day extra special. 

We sent our extended family selfless so they could feel like they were with us. 

My duck face is so strong. (& ugly)

Daphne slept most of the day… as usual. 

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because I need the reminder to be thankful.

I know it sounds terrible, but my heart can be quite negative.

I need the reminder.

I am thankful for: 

1. My relationship with Christ.

2. A loving husband.

3. A cuddly puppy that greets me after a long day of work. 

4. Our new(ish) little space. 

5. A job that challenges me to be a better person every single day.

6. My Mommy. 

7. Group Texting. -- some people hate being apart of these but I have been loving my group texts with my family and my PBU buddies. 

8. The little plants that grow inside little pots that hang out in my little apartment. These stupid plants make me soooo happy. Taking care of them is so calming. 

I pray that this thankful heart remains throughout this entire holiday season (&beyond)

What are you thankful for?

xo,

Lynn Raye

-- a song in the desert -- day 1

Lately I’ve been feeling like I am stuck in a desert. I’m far away from family, a worship community that I love, & all of the comforts of living near a city. Out here in the valley, I have become quite thirsty. My heart feels faint when I think about all of the directions Crossroads is going in without me. The lump in my throat grows knowing that I wasn’t home to mourn the anniversary of Brian’s death with my family. As the bills pile up & things get tough, I long to hug my mom and have her tell me exactly what to do.  My wants and worries keep me up at night. I ask God to give me back all that has been taken. I beseech him to lead me to what’s familiar.

David wrote Psalm 63:1 while stuck in the wilderness, fleeing from his enemies. All that David knew was stripped away from him yet he trusted God in the midst of his agony.  You see, even though David was physically in the desert… his heart was not dry. His physical thirst and longing were nothing compared to his thirst for God.


We need to be like David.
We need to rely on God to satisfy us more than all of our earthly wants.
What would our lives be like if we instead of worrying throughout the night, we spent our time mediating on His word?

Read Psalm 63 out loud today as a prayer to God. Let these words be the cry of our hearts.

O God, you are my God;
    I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
    my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
    where there is no water.
2 I have seen you in your sanctuary
    and gazed upon your power and glory.
3 Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
    how I praise you!
4 I will praise you as long as I live,
    lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
    I will praise you with songs of joy.

6 I lie awake thinking of you,
    meditating on you through the night.
7 Because you are my helper,
    I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
8 I cling to you;
    your strong right hand holds me securely.

9 But those plotting to destroy me will come to ruin.
    They will go down into the depths of the earth.
10 They will die by the sword
    and become the food of jackals.
11 But the king will rejoice in God.
    All who swear to tell the truth will praise him,
    while liars will be silenced.

xo, Lynn Raye

New Family

Marriage is so bizarre.

You start a new family

you inherit someone else's family

you share your own family. 

It's just weird. 

On Friday night I had the privilege of cooking dinner & hosting my in-laws. 

I wanted the meal to be perfect... MADE FROM SCRATCH. FRESH. ORGANIC. 

Trying to impress/win over/be myself

around a new family is hard.

I find myself a bit difficult to love. 

I live in extremes and it's easy to misinterpret my passion. 

Trying to figure out my place in this new family has been hard for me. 

& there have been many ups and downs.

But God makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28)

This family was predestined & created by God for His good. 

It will take time. It will take faith. It will take prayer.

But it will work. 

& it will be worth it.

As I was chopping veggies & stirring sauces,

I thought about how much effort it was taking to make this meal work.

Sweat was dripping.

My back was aching. 

I worked that morning so I was really tired...

& it almost felt pointless. 

But when they arrived & saw my table full of yummies just for them...

I realized it was worth it. 

It takes work 

but it's worth it.

(it's not perfect but it's made from scratch, fresh, & organic... Just like my new family)

xo, Lynn Raye

Summer Walks

Every evening Teeds & I take our little pup on a walk around the hood. 

We talk about our hopes, dreams, & plans for the future. We hold hands & dance & explore. 

Teeds & I have big BIG dreams

and we serve big BIG God. 

Living in this little city has been hard for me…

But walking around last night with my favorites put my heart at ease. 

This is where we are right now. 

This is where God has planted us. 

I will find joy. 

xo, Lynn Raye

ps if i'm lucky, I get coconut chocolate ice cream after :)

{Marriage}

Four months ago I married my best friend. Four months ago Taylor and I became a unit & began navigating this world together. It has been the most beautiful and challenging four months ever. When I think back to November 8th, I feel so many different emotions. 

FYI-- Our wedding day was not the best day of my life… 

I was really sick.

I couldn't talk. 

I didn't sleep much the night before & I was kind of miserable. 

It was cold.

I hate PDA. 

My eyelashes didn't feel secure. 

Thing didn't go as planned. 

People from far away had to leave right after dinner and I didn't get to booty pop with them. 

Some people didn't even show up. 

I think at times, the whole day was kind of a mess. 

How crazy do I seem?

How ungrateful?

But it WAS a mess.

My wedding was a mess. 

It was a beautiful mess. 

It was a beautiful mess filled with highs and lows. 

Expectations that weren't met and surprises that blew the expectations out of the water. 

It was a pretty cool picture of what life actually looks like. 

We spent all of this time and energy preparing and planning. There were people who let us down, and people who went above and beyond.  A few months before, a family friend passed away and I didn't know how to keep moving. 

There were many meltdowns. There were many joys.

& in all of it, God remained good. 

He remained in control. 

That's life. It's beautiful & it's an absolute mess. 

As I reflect on the last four months & my life with Teeds, I can say with confidence that our wedding was not the best day ever. 

I don't think that best day or best life ever actually exists.

There's no such thing as your "best life now" (sorry Joel)

Truthfully, I'll take the messy days over the lies of the best days.

The mess means that God is working... the story isn't finished. 

Today, I am thanking God for my messy life and the messy wedding that brought Teeds and I closer than ever before. 

xo, Lynn Raye

You are the God of peace.

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid"
John 14:27
This life gets crazy.
Today, I am thanking God for His peace.


xo, Lynn Raye


Hurt.

There was a shooting (again) in the neighborhood that I work in.
Shootings aren't foreign for this little neighborhood, but whenever they happen, I feel them with my entire soul.
You see, children in this neighborhood SEE this stuff daily.
This is the lifestyle that they see as normal.

Violence is just second nature.
There are battles being fought in these streets every day.
Sometimes they are fought with hands,
other times, with weapons.
I am hurting for this neighborhood.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

I serve a God who has overcome all of this.
He has a plan for this neighborhood
& I trust Him in my hurting.

Please join me in praying for peace.

xo, Lynn Raye

New Community.

I am moving.

We are moving.

I am losing community.

In four short months, I will be moving 2.5 hours away from the community that inspires me to love Jesus better. My church families and close circle of friends mean so so so much to me & i'd really like to figure out a way for all of them to move to WB with me this fall. I'm not sure that will happen but a lady can dream can't she?

I am a planner.

I plan everything. 

My outfits are pre-planned, my meals, my day... etc (I'm a little crazy)

When I began preparing my heart for this move, I was met with great anxiety & fear. 

How will we make friends?

What if no one likes me?

Where will we worship? 

We certainly can't find another church plant to love and grow in, can we? 

God must smile big when I bring my silly fears to Him.

Ladies & Gents, we haven't even moved and I am already feeling love from our future town.

About a month ago, Teeds and I visited a church plant in downtown WB.

The visit wasn't really random because I had been stalking them for about a month before the actual visit... (Like I said, a little crazy)

Even though I had been listening to their podcasts and fervently following them on Facebook, I was still so nervous to walk into the chapel for service that Sunday. 

After a bit of coaching from Teeds, we headed in. 

Almost as soon as we sat down, people came over to say hello. The greetings weren't just a "hi" and a "bye", these people wanted to know our names and stories. So there we were, the service hadn't even started and I was totally smitten. As the worship team led one of Teedle's favorite songs, I could tell that he was also falling in love. After a beautiful message by Pastor Dan about "inside out religion" (can be found here), we were sold. To top it ALL off, the church was experimenting with a "meet the pastors" lunch after the service. Of all days! The day WE visit. Oh, God makes me smile so big. 

He was there! He had planned all of it!

Oh what joy!

Teeds and I stayed to have some Pizza (carrots and chips for me) & chat with our new favorite people. It turns out that the mission of the church is very similar to the church I currently attend. They are ministry focused & care about the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of the people in their community. My social work heart smiled ear-to-ear over this! The best part is, we were only there for a couple of hours & we felt like we were home. We saw the love of Christ moving in the ministry team and their love for Him was absolutely contagious. 

What a beautiful day.

I serve a God who is bigger than worry, fear, and doubt.

He is already moving in WB & I can't wait to see what else He has planned for Teeds and I.

Last Friday, I got THIS in the mail with a sweet message from Pastor Dan and his wife, Joy! 

(Sweet, huh?) 

I am moving.

We are moving.

I am finding community.

xo, Lynn Raye