Life of Eucharisteo

So I’ve decided that someone needs to start a reality blog. Don’t shake your head just yet. Follow me. I think this rabbit trail leads somewhere. Like I said, reality blog. It would be a blog that would follow up on or tell the truth behind FB status’ like “Had a fabulous day with family and friends at the beach. I love my life and everyone in it!” BLAH! BLAH! BLAH! OR they could uncover the truth behind those perfect family portraits. Are ya trackin’?   This epiphany came to me this evening while I was having a lovely picnic at the park with my three girls. You see how wonderful that sounds. Pure bliss! But the story behind the post…..well. So it started with the best of intentions. We’ve been cooped up in the house today packing for an upcoming trip and I thought it would be nice to go grab some supper from our favorite burger joint. Then I decided we’d be resident tourists and check out our local park that we’ve never even...

What IS friendship exactly? I say, friendship is what you make of it. For someone friendship comes in flesh and blood form. For others it’s across miles and oceans and the vastness of cyberspace. I’ve been blessed beyond measure by friendships and here’s a little about what friendship has been for me…. Friendship is coming alongside someone. Propping them up when they can’t do it for themselves. It’s sitting silently while they grieve, holding their hand and just letting them cry. It’s crying along with them. Friendship loves you for who you are. Warts and all. It’s listening. It’s sharing. It’s doing life together. A friend shows up to your house, comes right on in and knows to step over the pile of shoes at the door. She pushes aside the pile of unfolded laundry on the couch, sits down and starts helping you fold. (Underwear and all) She fixes her own glass of tea, and when she can’t find a clean glass she grabs one out of the sink and washes one. Then s...

　 　 It's Friday, and that means I get to visit with a great group over at Lisa-Jo Baker's place. A place where the words flow like fresh water for my soul and encouragement abounds. I look forward to meeting here each week to read the God-given words of the women He's using to change the world. Wont' you join us? It's been a while since I've joined in on a FMF. I have to confess...I normally just watch the clock for my five minutes, so I usually fudge just a little. Today I set the timer. Man that five minutes went by fast! Here you go. My five minutes on..... DIVE The tree is down. The calender is marking the last day of December. I’m standing on the edge of 2012 feeling a bit like Peter standing at the edge of the boat. I feel Jesus calling me into 2013. Asking me to step out. Step out boldly. Leap. Dive. But like Peter, I see the water. The deep, dark, place of uncertainty. I see Jesus. I know full well He is there waiti...

The words spilled out before I knew what was happening. They spilled out like a jar of marbles scattering everywhere. Spilled from my jar. The one I keep inside for just such words. Christmas started out much like it always does for my brood. The day AFTER Thanksgiving starts our Christmas season. We collect our 15 year old tree from the box in the barn. We pull out all the ornaments and reminisce over each and every one. We bake cookies. We listen to Christmas carols for 31 days straight, and we celebrate the birth of our King. Every year I watch my girls revel in all things Christmas, and every year I share in their joy. But for me, it always tastes bittersweet. You see since her first Christmas, I’ve felt like a big fat liar. I’ve done a great job at stuffing it. Stuffing the big secret into my jar and feeding into the fantasy. Why not? I lived it. It was fun. It was magical. It was what dreams were made of and I wanted her to experience the joy of Christmas. At least ...

　 I love the smells of this season. I take comfort in the familiar. Every year the farmers sow their seed and in the Fall we all reap the bounty. For the farmers, their crop, and for me the sights and smells of the familiar. The smells of Fall. Cotton on the stalk. Bales of hay. Freshly dug peanuts. Then there’s boiled peanuts! Smoke from the grills filling the air at a football stadium. Candy corn. Turkey and dressing. Pecan Pie. Those are some of the smells of the season here in the South. Today I’m thankful that God saw fit for me to spend my life here. I feel so fortunate to have grown up in a place so rich with the beauty of God’s creation. So full of heritage and history. A place central to oceans, rivers, creeks, mountains. I’ve had a taste of it all. So often people in small towns want to hurry up and get out. I was one of them. God let me leave this place. He let me see life outside of Small Town, Alabama. I’ve seen wondrou...

On this first day of November, I sit quietly on the couch, computer in my lap, sick baby girl at my side, Little Bill on TV. In this morning’s episode, Little Bill is searching for “his thing”. A year and 100 posts ago, I felt the same as Little Bill. I was looking for “my thing”. Searching for that one thing that I really enjoyed. My creative outlet. My contribution. My gift? My thing. Today I can tell you that I found it. I am not widely followed. None of my posts are pinned on Pinterest. My words have not been re-tweeted. I haven‘t written any kind of book. I’ve not had anything go viral. What I have done…. I’ve written 100 posts. Out of 365 days, 100 of those were spent writing. Spent praying. Spent doing life. Spent giving encouragement, and being encouraged. Spent doing “my thing”. God knows the desires of our hearts, even if we don’t. He knows what will fill us up. What will bring us peace. For me it was writing. He gave me “my thing...

After playing hooky from 31 Days, I'm popping back in on day 31 to say Happy November Eve. The month in which we celebrate gratitude is upon us and I love it! I can't wait so I'm gonna go ahead and say it... Happy Thanksgiving! This October I've counted thanks in pictures. In November, I'll count in words. Looking forward to a great month! Thank you all for being a part of the journey here at Life of Eucharisteo. Love you BIG! Tracey