{"id":1094,"date":"2013-08-26T16:45:48","date_gmt":"2013-08-26T20:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oshetablogs.wordpress.com\/?p=1094"},"modified":"2013-08-26T16:45:48","modified_gmt":"2013-08-26T20:45:48","slug":"the-very-best-birthday-presenthttposhetablogs-files-wordpress-com201308seekthepeacept2-jpg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/shalominthecity\/2013\/08\/the-very-best-birthday-presenthttposhetablogs-files-wordpress-com201308seekthepeacept2-jpg\/","title":{"rendered":"The Very Best Birthday Present"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"seekthepeacept2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A couple of years ago I wrote a book called, \u201cCarried Away: Post Katrina Confessions of a Foolish Builder\u201d.\u00a0 A mini-memoir of our evacuation from New Orleans and first year in Boston based on the parable of the foolish builder\u2014 a teaching of Jesus that was pivotal during that turbulent season.\u00a0 When I had a hard time getting an agent, someone told me to start a blog. \u201cYeah right!\u201d I said, \u201cblogs are for Mdivs and modge podge mavens\u201d.\u00a0 Then my husband echoed that suggestion saying, \u201cyou really should blog you have a lot to say\u201d. \u201cWhatevs!\u201d\u00a0 I retorted and went about my way.\u00a0 I entered my book in a writing contest and\u2026 shocker of all shockers\u2026didn\u2019t win.\u00a0 And my husband said, \u201cyou should blog, you have a lot to say\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re crazy\u201d I accused. I began nurturing a festering insecurity that maybe I\u2019m not really a writer, maybe I\u2019m just a stay at home mom who happens to write a little something here or there.\u00a0 Until I met up with a friend whose gifted ears hear the truth in between the small talk, and she suggested that writing is a God-given outlet and a blog his chosen medium for me.\u00a0 And then I told my husband what she said and he said, \u201cI told you, so.\u201d (Again\u2026whatevs!!!!).<\/p>\n

So I started Carried Away because I wanted a platform, to get an agent, to get a book deal, to get tons of speaking engagements, to get that brass ring of Christian Woman Speaker Writer Celebrity.\u00a0 But, the more time I spent the blogging world, I realized two things:<\/p>\n

1: I needed to find my voice: the unique way I communicate and the conversations that get me excited.<\/p>\n

2: Platform and book deals don\u2019t matter to God as much as harnessing the power of words to encourage the Body.<\/p>\n

So I sat this summer and asked God, \u201cWhat\u2019s my voice?\u201d and \u201cHow can I be an encouragement?\u201d.<\/p>\n

And this is what I\u2019ve realized:<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a suburbanite turned urban church planter<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a military brat turned pacifist<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a feminist who submits to her husband<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a hot headed peacemaker<\/p>\n

I love the teachings of Jesus and asking the question, \u201chow can I create Shalom, or wholeness where I see brokenness?\u201d.<\/p>\n

I found my voice<\/strong> in these topics and I\u2019m excited to encourage other women in these streams.\u00a0 So, I tossed this around in prayer and a passage in Jeremiah really spoke to this blogger\u2019s dilemma:<\/p>\n

Seek the shalom of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in the shalom of it shall you have shalom.<\/a><\/p>\n

Jeremiah 29:7<\/p>\n

(unexpected bonus: my old blog\u2019s name is mentioned in this passage!)<\/p>\n

So for my birthday, my husband made this new header for my blog\u2019s new direction.\u00a0 Not much is going to change in terms of content, but\u00a0 \u201cShalom in the City\u201d explains more of my heart and hope for this blog.\u00a0 Sure, a book deal would be excellent, but a more vibrant, Jesus-looking marriage, family, friendships, neighborhood, City, and Body is even more exciting.\u00a0 So, going forward when I write about being a Third Way Woman, a mommy,\u00a0 or a church planting wifey, I\u2019ll always ask myself, does this post create a sense of wholeness or healing where there\u2019s a noticeable brokenness?<\/p>\n

I hope you\u2019ll join me on this journey by entering your email in the top right field and check out my new \u201cAbout Page\u201d. <\/a><\/p>\n

Yours Because We\u2019re His,<\/p>\n

\"signature\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A couple of years ago I wrote a book called, \u201cCarried Away: Post Katrina Confessions of a Foolish Builder\u201d.\u00a0 A mini-memoir of our evacuation from New Orleans and first year in Boston based on the parable of the foolish builder\u2014 a teaching of Jesus that was pivotal during that turbulent season.\u00a0 When I had a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3037,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Very Best Birthday Present<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A couple of years ago I wrote a book called, "Carried Away: Post Katrina Confessions of a Foolish Builder".\u00a0 A mini-memoir of our evacuation from New\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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