When I was 22 years old, I lived with a family of seven. And when I moved out, I stole their television.
Hop over to (in)courage today to read the whole story.
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Are you new around these parts? Well welcome!
Hi. I’m Annie. I write books for my job.
You can read more about me here.
You can follow me on twitter here.
You can like me on facebook here.
You can follow me on pinterest here.
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Something I don’t do much anymore is write about what it was like to move from Atlanta to Nashville. Now that I have lived here for almost five years, it is home in so many ways.
But an experience a few weeks ago reminded me of those first worst days and made me grateful for the good days and all the history that has been built in my heart here in Nashville.
Head over to (in)courage today to read about the days when all I wanted was history.
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Are you new around these parts? Well welcome!
Hi. I’m Annie.
You can read more about me here.
You can follow me on twitter here.
You can like me on facebook here.
You can follow me on pinterest here.
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My friend Matt asked, on twitter, for his fans to list their favorite song of his. As a singer/songwriter with a deep well of albums, the replies began to fly in.
As a fan and a friend, my mind immediately swirled back to a few years ago, when I was deciding about moving to Nashville, and I thought of the last song from his 2006 album…..
Read the rest over at (in)courage.
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Are you new around these parts? Well welcome!
Hi. I’m Annie.
You can read more about me here.
You can follow me on twitter here.
You can like me on facebook here.
You can follow me on pinterest here.
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I have a whopper of a weekend ahead of me.
Tonight and tomorrow night, I get to speak to a few hundred girls at Camp No Boys Allowed [hilarious] through Fellowship Bible Church here in Nashville.
Smack in the middle of Camp No Boys Allowed, GIRLS OF GRACE NASHVILLE!
[You know how I feel about the GOG. I LOVE it. So I am sooo excited that our spring season has started!!]
So today I’ll rehearse with Girls of Grace and go speak to the Camp No Boys Allowed.
Tomorrow I will be at Girls of Grace all day and then go speak to the Camp No Boys Allowed tomorrow night.
Then Sunday I will be a puddle of a person in the fifth row of the morning service at CrossPoint.
I’m excited.
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All three speaking opportunities this weekend, I’m talking about something that has become a bit of a passion for me: the power of words and how we are using them. Proverbs 18:21 in The Message version says, “Words kill; words give life.” And if we lived like that was true- that everything we say or write can give LIFE- I think we’d be so much more intentional with words.
To help grasp that, I had a friend of mine create these cool notecards that will hopefully encourage women to take a few minutes and write a note to someone they care about.
Everybody loves snail mail.
Everybody has three minutes a day to write a note.
Stamps are not super expensive.
Because I love these cards and think they are total perfection, we are selling them at events but also online! Adorably packaged, they are great to add to a gift or just use yourself to send notes.
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PS- I’m writing today over at (in)courage. Just a little something I’ve been thinking about as I dream about summer.
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Are you new around these parts? Well welcome!
Hi. I’m Annie.
You can read more about me here.
You can follow me on twitter here.
You can like me on facebook here.
You can follow me on pinterest here.
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Have a great weekend! If you think of it, pray for me as I speak- that the words would be from God, that the girls would receive them, and that my energy would stay sky high!
You know my friend Sarah. She’s awesome. And she’s a mom.
I have lots of mom friends, like Melissa. And the conversation about how to be healthy friends while having totally different lifestyles and life places is such an important one.
Over at (in)courage today, I’m writing about what it’s like to be on the single side of that relationship, at least from my point of view.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Have a lot to say about this topic? Want to write your own post? Do it! Put the link in the comments so we can all read!
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Are you new around these parts? Well welcome!
Hi. I’m Annie.
You can read more about me here.
You can follow me on twitter here.
You can like me on facebook here.
You can follow me on pinterest here.
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Remember when I almost got deported from Scotland because I had visited Czech Republic? I was visiting my friends Jake and Melissa.
Melissa is a mom. I have lots of mom friends even though I, in fact, am not a mom. Friendship between moms and singles can be hard to maneuver, but I love Melissa’s perspective. [I'll share my thoughts tomorrow....] I also love that Melissa cares enough to have this conversation. I’m excited to let you in.
So here is what Melissa has to say.
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Beyond Babysitting: How to Love A Mom
I annoy people.
I complain about being tired.
I cause people to look away when they realize they’ve seen me in the same pair of yoga pants three days in a row.
I talk about my kids. A lot.
I’m in the dregs I have three urchins, [5, 3 and 4 months]. The rubber has met the road, and life. is. hard right now.
Living in Europe was supposed to mean long romantic days of carefree exploration. Nooks, crannies and cobblestones. I’m not complaining. I can see a castle from my bedroom window. I hear Sound of Music-style church bells every day at noon.
But for me, one of the hardest things about this season is fighting my own covetous heart. The carefree abandon of European romance hasn’t really met me here.
Instead, my days are structured around naps, snacks, and wash cycles. It can be very lonely, and I realize that I’m often mourning time spent with friends that doesn’t have to be scheduled three months in advance.
Sometimes I have the privilege of leaving everyone at home and going out for a night with the girls. Sometimes a sweet friend offers to babysit so that Jake & I can go out without taking out a loan to pay a sitter. But a lot of times, I have to stay the course, and I would love for my single friends, to enter my world. NOT take over so that I can escape my world, but enter it, be here, with me.
What does this look like? A few ideas:
Come Over Early—my day is divided into two parts (pre-nap, post-nap), and, on many days, it starts at 5:30. Once everyone’s fed, dressed & corralled (around 8), I’m looking for something, anything, to do. Be willing to hang out early.
Hitch a Ride!– I love it when my friends come along for afternoon school pickup. If we need to chat, it’s a good time to talk through ideas without having to schedule a whole separate time for coffee, babysitter, etc.
OR…
Join Us!– 99% of the people in my neighborhood don’t speak English. Often that makes outings feel really lonely. Yes, I know that the playground is a great opportunity to practice my Czech, but sometimes the weariness is overwhelming, though I still long for adult conversation. Your presence at the pool, the playground or the zoo can turn another lonely afternoon into one that feels life-giving and refreshing.
Be patient– When we’re together, realize that my mind is on an infinite balance beam. I’m doing my best to really engage with what you’re saying, but I’ve also got an ear on what’s happening in the backseat. It’s true, my kids are not allowed to interrupt, and they must wait patiently when two adults are talking, but I’m also having to listen for real, legitimate questions and needs that arise. If your story is non-stop, I’m going focus my attention on finding a chance to interrupt you to check on everyone’s status, rather than being able to relax and hear what you’re saying.
Spend the Night!– We’re privileged to have a guest room, and many nights it’s free & ready for anyone who wants to drop by. The best part of slumber parties is that quality time can happen after the kids’ bedtime AND go into the next morning (see #1).
BUT…
Watch that Clock– if you’re at my house and it’s after 10:30, you should know that I’m hurting. I’ve been up since 5:30 (again, see #1), and no matter what time we go to bed, I’ll be up at 5:30 again tomorrow. Every additional minute that goes by is like a chisel slowly chip-chip-chipping away at my chance of functioning well in the day ahead.
Use Me!– Ten years ago I got married, and a bunch of my mom’s friends gave me a bunch of great stuff. Need a spring form pan? I‘ve got one. Need 8 more sets of silverware for your big crowd? Use mine. If I can’t help you throw the fun party with hanging lanterns and stick mustaches and photo booths, I can live vicariously through you if I know my forks will be there. And that’s fun, too.
So come visit— I’d love to walk with you over the 700-year-old bridge or introduce you to my ‘secret’ entrance to the castle a mile from my house [it’s true—Annie’s seen it!].
Or maybe we could just jump on the trampoline and push the swings together.
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Moms out there, do you agree? How do we love each other well? I think this is a super important conversation to have… so no matter where you fall on the mom spectrum – not one, almost one, one of many, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
It remains true in my soul that one of my favorite yes’s was when I said yes to be an (in)courage writer.
Before there were books, before the speaking opportunities and magazine articles, and before you guys were reading (in)courage, we were just a group of writers who loved each other and loved to write about Jesus.
And then that little beach house exploded [in the best way] and thousands of women have found a home there.
I get it. I’ve found a home there too- with the other writers, who many have become some of my dearest friends, and with the readers. Commenting back and forth, reading posts and guest posts, we were one big happy internet-y family.
And then those crazies at (in)courage? They took it all (in)RL last year. Tons of women all over the world gathered in homes and churches and made face-to-face friendships with their online acquaintances. Twas beautiful.
So in real life it goes again in 2013, April 26th and 27th, and I couldn’t be happier.
[Check me out, rockin' the couch at 0:30... or as I like to call it "zero beach trip thirty"]
[I'm gonna overuse that joke... "zero ___ thirty." Consider yourself warned.]
I can’t tell you how enjoyable this (in)RL weekend is. For two days in April, you will meet those online gals that live in your neck of the woods. And maybe? Maybe you’ll make a new friend that will last.
I bet you will.
You need to experience it yourself.
Say yes. Be brave. Meet someone new.
And it’s free, y’all. Pure free.
Since my blog caught the flu this morning and was down for the count for a bit, I was going to wait and post about (in)RL tomorrow [Tuesday] but then I realized you get TONS OF FREE COOL STUFF TODAY [Monday] if you go ahead and register.
One of your freebies is an e-book that is absolutely beautiful and has a contribution from yours truly in it, so there’s that.
Because Jessica Turner is a deals ninja, I’m just gonna refer you to her to figure out what else you should do today thanks to (in)courage and Dayspring. She’s the kinda gal that gets companies like Kroger to pay her to take their food home, that’s how slick she is with the coupony codey biz. So trust her.
I’m grateful for (in)courage and I’m blessed by (in)RL. I hope you’ll join us.
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You (in)? 
Apparently I can’t get over it.
So I wrote about the 2012 ornament debacle again over at (in)courage.
[And I promise I'll stop talking about that fateful Christmas-prep day after this (in)courage post... at least until next year. ]
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Are you new around these parts? Well welcome!
Hi. I’m Annie.
You can read more about me here.
You can follow me on twitter here.
You can like me on facebook here.
You can follow me on pinterest here.
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Merry Christmas, friends.
I love this Friday. I love getting things for cheapity cheap cheap.
In fact, my parents just gave me two pieces of luggage yesterday for my birthday. [In July. Of 2011. And 2012. We just get gifts at any point... it's more exciting that way.] And we bought it with Black Friday sales prices and I could have cried at check-out because of the beautiful discount.
All that to say, I celebrate saving money.
So if you’re buzzing around the internet doing some shopping this weekend, I want to share with you some of my favorite deals I’ve seen while skittering around the internet and watching football and listening to my family discuss why my cousin’s earwax is pink.
So.
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DAYSPRING!
Dayspring is doing a Super Deals Sale right now. I like a ton of the super sale
stuff, but these four are my absolute favorite…..
Ever Grateful – 12″ x 17″ Large Platter … regularly $35, only $14! I use this platter all the time. To put oreos on. Judge me later.
This Is the Day – Bird Cage Card Holder … This birdcage sits on my merch table at every event and people LOVE it. It usually costs $37, now it’s only $12! It’s my fav.
Bless This Home – Tiered Server … regularly $60, only $20! If you host parties, you will love this.
Ever Grateful – 10″ Taupe Vase … this adorable vase is a great gift for teachers or college students or hostess gift - it’s usually $22, but now it’s only $7.79! That’s a great price point, I say, to grab up a handful to keep in your gift closet.
Also, you need to know these two things:
1. Use the code 30SUPER to get 30% off everything else at the DaySpring website, like the absolutely lovely Lisa Leonard Faith Collection. Whoa + booyah.
Also, you can shop the clearance section and add the 30% off coupon and my word you’ll be happy.
2. Spend $50 and you get FREE SHIPPING! So buy a birdcage, a platter, and a few vases for gifts and shazaam, free shipping.
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LISA LEONARD DESIGNS
I absolutely love Lisa Leonard’s jewelry and for her Black Friday sale, if you order anything today, you will get a FREE PAIR OF GOLD EARRINGS when you enter the code “blackfridaydeal“. What a win. Tell your husband / brother / boyfriend / jewelry purchaser… or, ya know, just get yourself something.
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Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and I hope you save lots of doll-hairs this weekend as you shop!
DISCLOSURE: COMPENSATED AFFILIATE LINKS USED
You know what I love about what is going on at (in)courage?
I love that they have built a place where we writers can be crazy honest.
So this month, I told a story about Nutella and a boy and what me and my counselor talk about.
[Have I mentioned I see a counselor? I do. It's one of the best decisions ever. Try it sometime.]
Pop on over to (in)courage and let me know if you can relate.
Also.
Today is my Saturday. I’m probably still laying in my bed or getting my nails painted or reading a magazine or drinking chai or doing all these things at once BECAUSE IT IS MY SATURDAY AND I CAN DO WHAT I WANT.
Ahem.
Also.
On Saturday, we have Girls of Grace in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Anybody wanna come? I can give away a few tickets… let me know in the comments if you want to attend and who you would bring with you!
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Are you new around these parts? Well welcome!
Hi. I’m Annie. I write books for my job.
You can read more about me here.
You can follow me on twitter here.
You can like me on facebook here.
You can follow me on pinterest here.
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