S Club Mama

Which came first in my life: Jennie Allen of IF:gathering? Hmmm... I'm not sure it matters because she is the visionary behind IF. Both have helped me grow with God these past five years or so. I read Allen's book, "Anything," a few years ago. I'll be honest, it wasn't as life-changing as I thought it would be. The premise is surrendering your life to God, giving Him "anything." For Allen and her husband, anything included adopting their son and starting the IF:gathering (among other things, I'm sure). But I'm not sure my anything prayer had quite the same trajectory. However, my life had a few detours- my son's seizures and brain surgeries and two more children. I do think praying "anything" opened my eyes to follow God through these hardships (babies may not be traditional hardships but I have difficult pregnancies and I think the baby stage is quite difficult). Regardless, I was thrilled to hear Allen was coming out with a ...

I have been a fan of Jennie Allen for several years now. She is the founder of IF:gathering. My friend Cari and I hosted IF:gathering two years ago, attended another last year and are hosting it again this year. It is such a vital time of encouragement and learning for me. Jennie's new book, "Nothing to Prove," has that same type of encouragement and learning. The subtitle is "why we can stop trying so hard." Don't you feel like you've been trying so hard? Striving for success or a goal of some kind for so long. I have. No, don't misquote me here saying that I don't think goals are worthwhile. I do very well when I have a goal to strive for. However, when that striving becomes overwhelming and exhausting, something is wrong.  Even in the Christian world, we are all striving. Usually, we are striving for good things: doing good works for God, mission work, discipling, evangelizing. These are good things but they can make us exhausted. In ...

I first heard of Jennie Allen a few years ago through Jen Hatmaker's blog. A friend and I co-hosted an if:gathering in our local church (Allen is the founder of if:gathering) and it was amazing. Then I borrowed Allen's book, "Restless," and wanted to mark it up so badly (worst part of borrowing books) because it just spoke a lot to me. Restless. I feel restless in my journey with God, like I don't know my exact place. image via jennieallen.com When I had the opportunity to read " Anything " by Jennie Allen, with a new Bible study included, I jumped on board. Years ago, she and her husband prayed to the Lord to do anything in their lives. Jennie said she felt numb in her walk with the Lord and in life and wanted not this mediocre life she was truly living (aren't we all???). I want that. I want big things out of my life but not for my glory but His. Through reading this and Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest" I am more ...

When I was pregnant with Moose in 2006, I was taking education classes and we discussed autism. I remember thinking, "oh Lord, anything but that." My husband remembers me praying about it, too. It wasn't until 2010 his autism was diagnosed. It was hard and full of emotional questions: was this my fault for past transgressions, was this my fault physically, why, now what. In those 5 years since, I've learned SO much about being a mom, a wife, a human being, a Christian that I otherwise would not have learned if I'd had a "normal" kid my firstborn (Squirt does not have autism). I have learned to pray that God be glorified in these really hard moments (when our firstborn had his first seizure this year and subsequent epilepsy diagnosis). Whether He is glorified in how we handle the situations presented, in our parenting, in our struggles, in our lives. We want Him glorified and so I say "anything" as we await this third child this summer. ...