Author

Lois Flowers

Song of the Month: “Thy Will”

by Lois Flowers July 3, 2016

by Lois Flowers

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a guest post for my friend Bethany’s “In ____ We Trust” series. I finished it up in Iowa, at the dining room table of the old farmhouse that serves as guest quarters on my college roommate’s farm.

Was it simply being at Rachel’s peaceful place that sparked a flow of words like I hadn’t experienced for awhile? Or was it the hours of conversation we enjoyed over the course of several days that prompted me to reflect on topics I hadn’t dusted off for a long time?

Maybe some of both.

Whatever the case, when I finished writing the post about a prayer that has literally changed my life, I knew I wasn’t ready to leave the topic. The timing couldn’t have been better, as the tune I had already picked out for July’s Song of the Month fits the theme perfectly.

Be sure to come back Tuesday for more on that powerful prayer. Until then, I have a feeling you’ll be as moved by “Thy Will” by Hillary Scott (of the country group Lady Antebellum) as I am.

July 3, 2016 6 comments

Guest Post: When You Crave Closure

by Lois Flowers June 28, 2016

by Lois Flowers

When my friend Bethany introduced her “In ____ We Trust” blog series several weeks ago, I was curious to see where she was going to go with the topic, but I wasn’t sure how it was going to apply to my daily life. I definitely have areas of spiritual struggle and plenty of room for improvement in many spots, but at the time, I was doing OK in the trust department.

Or so I thought.

In my world, one of the marks of a good blog post is when I finish reading and say to myself, “I never thought of it like that before.” With Bethany’s series, that’s happened more than once.

Trusting in Google? Who would have thought? But yes, I do that. In medicine? For me, it’s more like trusting in health insurance, but yeah, check that box too. Acceptance? Let’s just skip that one, shall we? It’s hitting a bit too close to home for my liking.

All kidding aside, even as I was finding much to relate to every week, I kept trying to articulate this one other thing that I often trust in besides God. Several weeks into the series, I still don’t have a catchy little title for it, but it has to do with happy endings and closure and desperately needing to know how things are going to turn out.

To read the rest of my guest post at Bethany’s blog, click here.

♥ Lois

June 28, 2016 14 comments

If You Think You’re Missing Out on God’s Blessing

by Lois Flowers June 21, 2016

by Lois Flowers

In our comparison-driven culture, it’s sometimes tempting to think that God is pouring out His blessings on everyone but us.

We don’t know the whole story of other people’s lives, of course, or what it has cost them to be where they are and have what they have. But logic like that can often be overpowered by our own God-given longings and desires.

June 21, 2016 20 comments

How to Make a Family Photo Wall

by Lois Flowers June 14, 2016

by Lois Flowers

Several years ago, a photo in Traditional Home magazine caught my eye. It showed the second-floor hallway of a house with its walls completely covered in framed pictures.

This is the picture from Traditional Home magazine that inspired the photo wall on my basement landing.

I love decorating with family photographs, so I clipped out that page, thinking that if I ever had an opportunity, I would make a wall like that in my own house.

Sometime later, we moved into our current home. With its more open layout, it doesn’t have near the wall space for pictures that our previous house had.

But there is a landing on the basement stairs that is visible from the entry hall and living room. And as soon as I saw it, I knew it would be the perfect spot for one of those statement picture walls.

Other home-improvement projects took precedence in our fixer-upper, but eventually, Randy had repaired, refinished, remodeled and repainted practically everything in the main living areas, including the basement stairwell. Finally, it was time to tackle that photo project.

June 14, 2016 10 comments

What I Learned This Spring

by Lois Flowers June 7, 2016

by Lois Flowers

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy—or so the old song goes.

Easy isn’t quite how I’d describe what’s been going around here, though. We haven’t eased into summer break; we’ve charged ahead with all cylinders at full throttle. All the cylinders of my minivan’s poor engine, that is—the same vehicle that logged a grand total of 15 round trips to Lilly’s ballet school last week.

Sounds crazy, I know. But that’s what happens when your daughter volunteers at a morning theater camp and then returns later in the day to participate in long rehearsals for the school’s upcoming performances of Cinderella.

It’s all good, but it doesn’t leave much time for focused writing. So today, I’m going to take a cue from all those “What I Learned in May” blog posts I saw last week and offer up my own little summary of recent observations. Since it covers more than a month, let’s just call it “What I Learned This Spring.”

• Possums can climb straight up tree trunks and walk along the top of wooden fences. They also don’t mind when you take pictures of them in your backyard.

• Accidentally hitting publish on a blog post that you’ve barely started writing is momentarily embarrassing, but it’s not the end of the world.

• It is entirely possible to break your foot and not feel any pain at all unless you are trying to walk (or so I’m told).

• Perennials in your flowerbeds that originated in someone else’s garden produce the loveliest blooms.

• After you spend years avoiding nearly all forms of social media, joining the Twittersphere (@loisflowers16) is not nearly as complicated or scary as you thought it would be.

• When your OneWord for the year is satisfied, you had better prepare yourself for an onslaught of opportunities to be just the opposite.

• Choosing to outfit an entire basement wall in floor-to-almost-ceiling bookshelves is one of the best decorating decisions you will ever make.

• And who knew that listening to your 11- and 14-year-old daughters argue about who gets to go to Lowe’s with Dad on Saturday morning could bring you so much joy?

• The hardest part of teaching a class for women at your church is not the actual teaching, nor the actual preparing. It’s the mental and emotional battles that sometimes result from doing what you’ve been called to do.

• You might think that when one daughter finishes elementary school and the other daughter finishes middle school at the same time, you would be awash in sadness and sentimentality. But after witnessing all kinds of fascinating growth in each of them in recent months, you might actually find that you are quite looking forward to the next chapters in both of their lives.

• Friendships among people who share a love of books and reading are among the best friendships of all.

• Understanding from someone who was once where you are is a rare and precious gift.

• When you’re all out of words, it’s OK not to say anything at all.

♥ Lois

June 7, 2016 26 comments

Song of the Month: “Hands of God”

by Lois Flowers June 5, 2016

by Lois Flowers

Francesca Battistelli’s latest CD has been on autoplay in my kitchen lately, and one song in particular has caused me to reflect on the live-giving friendships I’ve enjoyed over the decades.

Often marked by deep conversation, a love of books and—always—lots of laughter, these relationships have spanned generations and seasons of life, miles and family status.

In my adult years , they’ve developed over tea at coffee shops and breakfast bagels at ice-cream shops. They’ve grown across office work stations and kitchen islands, at MOPS meetings and school reception desks, in church lobbies and women’s Bible studies, and—more recently and much to my great delight—even through blog posts and comments.

I dare not start listing names, for fear of leaving out someone especially dear. But I think that’s OK—you know who you are. What you may not know, though, is how much you mean to me. That’s why the Song of the Month for June is dedicated to you—because to me, you are the “Hands of God.”

June 5, 2016 4 comments