Coffee Date No. 15

Hi, friend. It's nice to meet you here! If you're new here or maybe you've been coming for awhile and are curious about these coffee date posts, let me fill you in. Once a month, on the second Monday, this corner of cyberspace turns into a table for us to have coffee over and share what's been going on in our lives. There aren't any rules, and nothing is off limits because there is more than enough grace here to cover our messes. If that sounds like something your soul needs, we would love nothing more than to add a virtual chair for you here. Bring your favorite yummy beverage, and we'll spill it all together. Linking up is easy, but if you don't have a blog, please feel free to share your conversation in the comments below.  

If we were on a coffee date, I'd ask to meet up at one of my favorite spots downtown. Brews is a local coffee and craft beer bar that the man and I are regulars at, and the atmosphere there is just the best. I would order a huge mug of something hot because even though we're only halfway through August, I am fantasizing about autumn. The pretty colors and cooler temperatures cannot get here soon enough!

If we were on a coffee date, I would probably warn you ahead of time that I might cry. Because the world can be so ugly, but my Jesus, he is so beautiful. So just know that the tears might come. My soul feels so stirred up and my heart is so tender these days, and that has never felt more okay to me.

If we were on a coffee date, chances are, we'd talk about Charlottesville. It's all I see on television and social networking these past couple of days. I'm tempted to say that I can't believe what is happening in our country, but the truth is, I can absolutely believe it, and it makes me sick to death. It makes me feel so deeply ashamed of us. I have a feeling I'll write more about this later, but for now, this is all I've got.

If we were on a coffee date, I'd share this playlist I made about life in the wilderness. And I would tell you about how God is keeping me quiet lately. I come here to write, and he says not yet. So I'm trying to be obedient and follow where he leads, because I'm learning more and more about the beautiful plan he has for me in this space.

If we were on a coffee date, I'd talk about the addiction of being distracted. Because it is so real for me right now. I've been opening my Bible more lately, and the moment I do, I'm interrupted by the irresistible urge to check all the things online. I'm tempted to unplug again, or go to a coffee shop with my Bible and a journal and just leave my gadgets at home. I want to crave communion with the Holy Spirit more than cheap likes with a thousand people who aren't actually invested in the inner workings of my heart.

If we were on a coffee date, I would have to share an incredible podcast with you. Generally speaking, I don't listen to a lot of podcasts. It isn't that I don't like them, I just honestly don't think of them that often. That's starting to change, though. Recently, my friend Megan told me about Jonathan David and Melissa Helser's podcast. In case you don't know who they are, Jonathan wrote a little song awhile back called  "No Longer Slaves." Anyway, the episode that Megan shared with me was a sermon that Melissa gave on being hopeful in seasons of disappointment, but it turned out that wasn't the sermon I most needed to hear. Instead, I scrolled down and listened to the episode entitled "growing roots," and Jesus used it to blow my heart wide open. Even if you're not a podcast person, you seriously have to go subscribe to theirs. Life = changed.

If we were on a coffee date, I would tell you to go preorder this book. It comes out later this month, but I was fortunate enough to read it before it is being made available to the rest of the world. It has wrecked me in the most beautiful way, and I cannot say enough good about it. Suffice it to say, God knew I needed these exact words at this precise moment in my life. I can't wait to see them in the hands of everyone I know.

If we were on a coffee date, I would ask about your heart. I would ask about the ways it's broken and how God is putting it back together again. I would beg to know about the soil of your life, and whether you're feeling hard or soft these days. And I would ask how I could pray, because lately, that seems like the only thing I know to do.

What would you share on our coffee date? Join the conversation by linking up, or by sharing in the comments below.