Stephanie Rische

Blogger and Writer: Capturing Stories of God's Grace

Archives for May 2016

Friday Favorites for May

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Happy Friday, everyone! Here are a few of my recent favorites for this month.

For anyone who is looking for a literary vacation this summer . . .

Here is a fun quiz about the number of literary landmarks you’ve visited. Or you can use it to make it your vacation wish list: How Many of These Literary Landmarks Have You Been To?

For anyone itching to move . . .

Did you know that a third of all Americans would move to another state if they could? This fascinating map shows where people are most content (and discontent) with where they live. No shocker here, but apparently people in Hawaii are pretty happy to stay where they are. See where your state ranks: Map of States Where People Want to Move Away

For anyone in their 30s or 40s . . .

Beth Moore offers these words of encouragement to those who have come of age spiritually: “You didn’t know it was going to be like this. You had no idea what you’d stepped into. You think you must have done something wrong to make it this hard.” To Servants of Jesus in Your 30s and 40s

For anyone who has had a long year . . .

Kara Tippetts started a mommy blog called Mundane Faithfulness several years ago. She had no way of knowing at the time that she would later be diagnosed with breast cancer, and this would become a spot for her to share God’s faithfulness in the midst of her pain. This post was written by her husband, a year after her death. It’s a beautiful picture of how God’s grace shows up even in the hardest of years. A Long Year

For anyone who knows the dread of getting the c-word diagnosis . . .

If anyone you love has been affected by cancer, you will be touched by this true story by a mom whose son Chase was diagnosed with a brain tumor before his third birthday. You will be inspired by this little boy who is full of life and courage and laughter in the midst of a diagnosis his parents never would have chosen. To find helpful tips on what to say to someone who has recently been diagnosed with cancer, visit the Chase Away Cancer site. To read the whole inspiring story, you can order the book, Chase Away Cancer.

 

My Adoption Story (and Baby N’s Too)

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{Photo from lifeversedesign.com}

I’ve always been a little in awe (and maybe a teensy jealous) of people who have epic conversion stories. My story about coming to faith has always felt a little, well, boring. But something happened recently that completely changed my perspective.

Maybe I don’t have a quit-drugs-and-become-a-missionary-in-Africa story, but my story is no less epic. My story, in a nutshell, is this: God adopted me.

You are wanted.

Last year, two people I love dearly felt an undeniable tug on their hearts to adopt a baby. They already had two stellar kids, but they couldn’t shake the notion that their family wasn’t quite complete. That maybe God wanted to grow their family . . . and stitch it together with some different threads this time.

It would have been a lot easier to brush off the idea and stuff into the back of a closet along with the boxes of clothes their kids had outgrown.

It wasn’t practical. After all, there was a lot of paperwork involved. Home studies, red tape, profiles, interviews, bureaucracy, and more paperwork.

It was expensive. The fees were staggering—and that was to say nothing of the emotional toll.

It was an emotional roller coaster. Deciding to adopt means putting your heart on the line, setting yourself up for rejection, wondering if things will fall apart right up to the last minute. And waiting. At every stage, more waiting.

In short, adoption means opening your heart to get broken time and time again.

You are chosen.

After months of waiting, this mom and dad got the word: a birth mother had selected them! But this was only the beginning. They would have to leave their two other kids at home for a couple of weeks and then fly 2,000 miles away to finalize everything.

And even then, there was no way to be sure everything would go through. There was no guarantee that their hearts wouldn’t be broken.

But they wanted this baby. They had chosen this baby. And they were ready to fly to the ends of the earth, or least to the edge of the Rockies, to bring him home.

You are loved.

This little boy hadn’t even been born yet, and already he was loved beyond measure. His parents loved him. His big brother and sister loved him. His grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and church already loved him. The prayers for him crisscrossed the nation, and he hadn’t even taken his first breath.

Finally the day came . . . the day that was the culmination of so much waiting, so many hopes, so many prayers. The papers were signed. The name was inked on the birth certificate. Everything was declared official in court.

They went home to start this new chapter, this new life, this new family of five together.

***

And that is almost precisely my story. I didn’t do anything to make my heavenly Father want me or choose me or love me. God went to great lengths and much heartache to pursue me and chase me down and bring me home, all while I was ignorant of his parental wooing.

I don’t know where you find yourself today, but this can be your story too. You may think you’re too far gone for God to take you or that you aren’t good enough or lovable enough. But he wants you. He chooses you. He loves you.

He went to extravagant lengths to get you.
He paid a scandalous price for you.
He gave you his name.
And he will bring you home.

As of now, Baby N can only coo and sleep and eat—he’s not big enough to grasp the epic drama he’s starring in. Yet already his life has given me a glimpse of God’s love—his impractical, lavish, unquantifiable, unstoppable love. The kind of love that traverses multiple time zones and reams of paperwork to make us his very own daughters and sons.

***

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
—Ephesians 1:5

 

This Is How You Write

writingThis week I’m speaking at a writers’ conference in Seattle. I’m excited to meet the writers and hear their stories, because writers are made from special cloth.

Whether you write in the privacy of your own journal or on a blog or in the form of notes to your kids, there’s something brave about putting words onto paper.

I wrote this manifesto to share with the writers I meet this week—and with you, too. In case I don’t get to sit down with you in a one-on-one session, happy writing!

***

This Is How You Write

Write it down. Scratch it out. Start over again.

This is how you write.

Write. Edit. Delete. Cry.

Breathe.

Rethink. Rewrite. Reorganize. Revise.

Repeat.

This is how you write.

Put on your sweatpants. Get a cup of tea. Plant yourself in the chair and tell your fingers to type.

This is how you write.

Spend time with imaginary people. Fall into a rabbit hole of research. Believe that productivity isn’t always measured by word count.

This is how you write.

Chain-read books. Soak up the different voices. Then find your own.

This is how you write.

Ignore the laundry, the dishes, the clock ticking inevitably toward dinner.

This is how you write.

Eavesdrop at the car wash, the grocery store, the DMV. Store up nuggets of dialogue.

This is how you write.

Get a snack. Check Facebook-Instagram-Twitter-YouTube. Stare out the window. Get another snack.

This is how you write.

Create, like your Father before you. Mark this space as sacred.

This is how you write.

Also: ignore the people who say “This is how you write.”

Do it your own way.

***

What else would you add to the list about how to write?

10 True Things for Those Who Wait

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My niece, waiting for her daddy to come home

As I look around lately, I see so many people I love waiting for something close to their heart. Waiting for a house to sell, waiting for medical results to come back, waiting for a dark cloud to lift, waiting for a long-desired prayer to be answered.

And as Mother’s Day approaches, it seems to me that the holiday can trigger the ache of waiting in particularly poignant ways, especially for those who are waiting for a child to join their family, or for those who are waiting for a child to return home, or for those who long to see their moms again in heaven.

If you find yourself in a waiting season right now, here are 10 true things you should know.

1. Waiting is an act of courage. If you are waiting, believe me: you are brave!

Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
—Psalm 27:14

2. Waiting can make a person weary. But you are stronger than you know.

Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
—Isaiah 40:31

3. God is not oblivious to your waiting.

As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me.
—Micah 7:7

4. When you feel like you can’t wait any longer, there is hope.

I am worn out waiting for your rescue, but I have put my hope in your word.
—Psalm 119:81

5. There are special blessings for those who wait.

The Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.
—Isaiah 30:18

6. Your waiting doesn’t mean God has forgotten you.

The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.
—Lamentations 3:25-26

7. Even in your waiting, you’re not alone.

Lord, be merciful to us, for we have waited for you. Be our strong arm each day and our salvation in times of trouble.
—Isaiah 33:2

8. Talk to God about your waiting. He delights in listening.

Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
—Psalm 5:3

9. It is possible to wait well.

I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint.
—Habakkuk 2:1

10. Your waiting is making you beautiful.

If we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.
—Romans 8:25

***

What are you waiting for right now? I’d be honored to pray for you as you wait. To find out more about my story of waiting, you can read my book, I Was Blind (Dating), but Now I See.

I am giving away a flower delivery with this post! If you share this post, you’ll be eligible to win a flower arrangement . . . delivered to you or someone you love!