the WRITE STUFF

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When I was 18 I worked for a summer camp as a lifeguard. Halfway through the summer, I was brought in as a counselor because one of the counselors had to leave because of a family emergency.

Fast forward 12 years to a young family walking through my front door last week. I'd been following their story for a few weeks and when I heard they were making their way through Dallas, well, of course I wanted them to come for dinner! Their smiles are contagious. Their children are well-behaved, smart, and charming. The parental units are writers. They love Jesus and they're from southeastern Pennsylvania, near where I grew up. What's not to love?

Halfway through our evening we realized that the counselor I replaced that summer was none other than Maile Smucker herself who now sat across from me on my back porch with her legs tucked up into a chair. What are the chances?

Shawn Smucker, her husband and the penner of beautiful words over here, wrote a book called Building a Life Out of Words and you should read it. Okay? Not just because meeting them felt like meeting family, but because he's doing daring and beautiful things with his own family and with his words.

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A few weeks ago I signed up for an online writing class and then a week later, for the first time in my life, had to drop out of a class. I hated to do so, but I just had too much on my plate and couldn't make it work. But, let me tell you, if you're dabbling in writing or want to sharpen your skills, Andi Cumbo has made it affordable and fun. She's interactive, she's kind, she's sharp, and she's talented. Take the class.

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My pastor just wrote a book with Jared Wilson (one of my favorite authors on the subject of the gospel) called The Explicit Gospel. A friend asked me why they didn’t include Dallas in the seven city Explicit Gospel book tour. To which I replied, “Isn’t that just like normal church for us where every weekend is the explicit gospel?”

Just got me thinking though: you literally cannot sit through a sermon or teaching or service at my church without hearing the gospel clearly. It comes through like this: you’re broken, you cannot do this life (any part of it) without His broken body, sacrificial love, and far-reaching grace. By His grace His children are not under the law any longer (including the evangelical codes of moralism so prevalent in the Church today), so live like sons and daughters, chosen, loved, redeemed. I love that.

I love that.

Because I need that. I need it every week. And I need it every day. There's never a time when I don't need it.

Link Love for the Week

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Link love for the week (Do people get tired of links I like? I mostly just want to spread the love, encourage some bloggers, writers, and designers, so it's partly for them that I do this, partly for you.)

Paul Burkhart writes on seeing the Father: "So let us take heart: In those moments you just want a fresh experience of God, trust that regardless of how He may or may not meet you in that particular way, you nevertheless do know the Father and have seen Him."

Derek Lee Bishop is a musician out of North Carolina who just put out an album called Better Days. I've only listened to a clip so far, but it seems gentle and lyrical. Here's the thing, though, all proceeds go toward Gospel for Asia and Project Red Light Rescue (which is where I work). So I'm encouraging you to give it a listen and buy it if you like it!

Fabs Harford (whose blog you should be reading), wrote for Relevant this week Fasting From Intimacy: "The goal of fasting is not for God to remove our hunger, but for us to learn that in the midst of hunger He is trustworthy. The feeling of hunger is the point of the fast. God wants us to feel hunger so we are reminded we are not supposed to be satisfied and we are supposed to long for Him. We fast to reflect that we trust God regardless of what our bodies tell us. He is our authority, not our bodies."

Len Wilson wrote some reflections on Gary Molander's new book and I can't get enough of this article. I just keep stopping on one paragraph and letting it really refresh my creative soul. It's hard to create on demand, it's good to read someone who gets that.

Phraseology Project is my new favorite thing. Every day! New and beautiful things! So many beautiful ways to put words together.

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About six years ago when I left NY to finish my degrees in Writing and Design in TN, a wise man put his hand on my head and blessed me. He said, "The world needs more of you" and I didn't know what he meant. What he meant, I came to realize years later, is that the world needs more people who find what they're passionate about and do it. The world needs less pastors, ministers, books, and more Christians who just grab a hold of the gospel and live it out within their chosen profession.

I thought of that this morning when I found this blog highlighting some design done for a major church-focused leadership event. More and more some of the finest design I find is coming out of people professing to be Christian. I love this. I love these because Biblical principles work in the marketplace and in the church and in the family and in our personal lives. I love seeing people succeed!


A few weeks ago I wrote about how the way we talk about ourselves reflects and illumines what we believe about God. I cannot think of a more humbling experience then confession truly what we DO believe about God, as well as taking an honest inventory of how those beliefs are affecting our walk. Mark Altrogge hits it on his blog here (note: if you only subscribe to one blog, make it this one. Seriously.)

I have a persistent friend. At least I think he's a friend. He sits on my shoulders. Inserts himself in every conversation. Nags at me when I agree or disagree. His name is guilt. And he needs to die.

Are you a double space after every period putter? Read this article. And please stop making spaces. For the sake of grammarians and typographers and the future of type. But mostly for yourselves. It's just bad form.

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Link Loving for the week:

Don Miller writes about how the backout of Howard Schulz from the Leadership Summit at Willow Creek was handled. I love watching Christians handle bad news. Partly because I want to learn how to react better personally, but mostly because good leaders see big pictures and I want to see the big picture.

Deep in my soul, I'm lonely. I don't hide this or pretend to have it figured out. I'm lonely. I know the answer to my loneliness is not more people or marriage or more social events. The answer is to see the point of my loneliness and then walk in the joy of the gospel. This article is fantastic.

A reader recently gave me a link to Fabs Harford's blog and I've been loving what she writes. This post on obedience and the gospel was spot on. "I’m not the girl you have in your head. If you knew the darkness in my heart you’d want the internet police to shut down my blog forever."

On a personal note: I know you know that I love my roommates. I tweet about them. I talk about them. I facebook tag them ad nauseum. No, really, it makes you nauseated how much I talk about them. I know. But really. Sometimes we are all laying on our living room floor (because it's our favorite place to live) and I am startled by how living with them is not about quality of life in the American Dream sense, it's about quality of life in a LIFE-giving sense. They give life. They breathe it. They are wise, tender, humble, funny, gentle, challenging people and I'm so blessed to have them in my life. So here's a sneak peek over each of their shoulders (to prove how amazing they are):

Jenna is in Africa right now, writing about her journey with worth and Jesus. "My presence has clarified her worth. I had redeemed her without even knowing it."

Season is blogging here about why she doesn't blog. "I want to listen to those sitting people who have had time to think. I want to listen to the ones who did not over-exert themselves in passion, but humbled themselves with slower work, and are now greeted by a tree with shade."

Liz writes here about moralism in the church, "But is that not who the church is to the unbeliever? We're like a moral compass that points to a north that doesn't align with theirs. And who wouldn't disregard a broken compass?"

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Link love for the week y'all (Did ya catch that? I put me some Texas plates on my car and suddenly I'm saying y'all.) Some of these are from the past month, but I just saved them up for after the hiatus:

Thoughts on Friendship from Jared Wilson: "That might sound awful, but it's hard to be friends with someone if you feel like you have to always keep the pastor hat on. This leads me to the next encounter that inspired this post. It is this quote from Douglas Wilson's Future Men..."

How to Talk to Little Girls by Lisa Bloom: "Teaching girls that their appearance is the first thing you notice tells them that looks are more important than anything. It sets them up for dieting at age 5 and foundation at age 11 and boob jobs at 17 and Botox at 23. As our cultural imperative for girls to be hot 24/7 has become the new normal, American women have become increasingly unhappy. What's missing?"

What Men Really Want by Max Dubinsky: "Men love to bond. The very same woman we can’t stop thinking about in her underwear, we want to go see midnight showings of Harry Potter with. Men want to go rock climbing with you. We want to ride bikes with you. We want to play games with you. If we are history buffs, we want to tell you about the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, and have you ask questions."

Thoughts on Church, Mission and Discipleship by Bob Spencer: "If you conduct church as if your congregation is not in fact a gathering of disciples on mission but simply a needy crowd, then that's what you will have. "

Tiny Texas Houses: This is just for fun. But man, what fun!

(This is a Tiny Texas House and I want to live in it!)

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Unpacking yesterday’s post:

I read once in a book four things to remember about who you marry.

If you marry, you marry a sinner. That is, you cannot escape the sheer fact that your spouse will sin against you and in front of you. He or she will fail you time and time again in certain areas. You will feel acutely the weight of their sin by the fact that covenant have made you one.

If you marry, you marry a man/woman. You marry someone who is perfectly designed to be just that. Ill-equipped, very literally, to be anything but what they are created to be. And that means that he may not understand why you fuss with makeup, but will probably appreciate it. And you may not understand why he grunts on the bench-press, but you'll appreciate it too. He won't want to share every detail of his day and you won't won't understand his primal urges. That's okay. You're not supposed to be the same.

If you marry, you'll be married to a husband/wife. This means, simply, that wives, you ought to respect and submit to your husband, not to every man who has leadership gifts. And husbands, you're called to love and cherish your wife, not every girl who looks at you with doe eyes and is needy. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't want to join together in helping your single sisters and brothers out, but intrinsically, you're weren't meant to do that with every man or woman. Just your one.

If you marry, you marry a person. A real, live, living, breathing, thinking human being. With feelings. And needs. Some as simple as eating three times a day, some as complicated as being heard thoroughly and fully. But it's a person. Just that. A person. Simple.

I'm writing this because I see a tendency among singles in churches: we're getting our emotional, spiritual, mental, and sometimes physical fill within the context of community and it's keeping us just satiated enough that many men are putting off seeking wives and women are feeling frustrated by the feeling of "putting themselves out there."

Stop seeking perfection in your future or present spouse: reflect the image of God, live a fruitfilled and multiplying life, and marry the one who is not perfect, but the one perfectly crafted for you.

in

Some link love for the week. Sorry the blog's been a little silent. I think I'm in a season of trying to redefine what the purpose of sayable.net is. In the past it's been descriptive narrative with a spiritual bent and I feel like it's turning into more of a lesson in Bible study. I miss the descriptive days. I miss the noticing and observing that I felt adept at and I want to be back there in some ways. So excuse me please. I'm just searching around in the deep parts to figure out what the heck I'm doing in these parts.

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Shrinking Spirituality: A lot of what I've learned in the past year I credit to less spirituality in my life and more of just Jesus. This little nugget brings it all home.

Ira and Adrienne: Two lovely friends from New York have relocated down to the Dallas area and I'm grateful that they're here and that they get me and my NY quirks. They went home a few weeks ago to get married. I wasn't able to make the trip, but these amazing photos make me wish I had!

Love Accommodates: Love this. I love this because I want love to be the marked measure of my life. I want my epitaph to read: She loved well. I don't even want to be concerned with being loved in return, but it sure is nice when that's the motivation. Christ initiates love. Always.

Healing and Purpose: Anne writes about letting healing be the goal, instead of simply relief. I think we all understand the cry to be lessened of our pain, emotional and physical. But real and true healing takes time. And it isn't finished until HE finishes it.

Typewriter Art: Um. Hello amazing patience!

Waiting for Eliot Smith: Tyler Blanki writes about soul pornography, the sort that keeps us always unsatisfied because we're waiting for airbrushed perfect personalities and stories. It's in real and raw people that we see the redemptive God more fully glorified.

Normalcy: Amy Beth does it again. 26 and fostering three minors.

This, well, this is just beautiful.

DARK SIDE OF THE LENS from Astray Films on Vimeo.

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Some link love for the week. Just what I've been reading about, thinking about, pointed towards and sometimes grateful for. Ignore that I just committed a heinous crime toward grammar and just go click yourselves on some of these here links.

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Stella's Voice: Did you know that human trafficking is the highest illegal export from some countries? It makes more money than drugs or weapons. People, real live people, snatched from their homes, and sold to make a profit. Watch this short video.

Josh Garrels: A few years ago a friend kept trying to get me to like this surfer dude who, my friend said, it felt like the Holy Spirit fell when he sang. I trusted my friend, but the Spirit-rolling-surfer dude was suspect. People, please listen to and support this guy. His lyrics are poetry. His voice is smooth. His music is solid. His heart is sincere.

From Keetra: Loving this art recently. Her use of color is spectacular and attention to detail is perfect. I love her use of negative space and the simplicity of these prints. Oooh. I like.


The image and glory of God: A few years ago my pastor here did a series on manhood. I'm interested in all things male and female--the study of people fascinates me and I want to know how to best serve my gender and the opposite one. I'm not through this series yet, but what I've heard is fabulous. If you're a guy, listen and serve God better. If you're a girl, listen and serve your brothers better.

I just want someone who...: Jared Wilson wrote a tweet recently saying "People who say that "they just want to marry someone who loves Jesus" are liars." I was hoping he'd expound on it and he didn't let me down. Great little post that I wish there was more discussion on. Perhaps add your two cents?

Two sisters: I love this photo essay done on two sisters I've gotten to know a bit down here in Texas. The entrepreneurial scene here in DFW is really booming and these girls have not only capitalized on that, but they've also done it with great precision and beauty. Love that!

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I meant to do this every week, but, well, you know how it goes:

Oh, but first this: Did I not tell you that I spent my Monday here? I did. It was lovely.

I could play for hours here. Luckily I will at some point. Because I get paid to play with colors and letters. My job is nice. I like it.

I know every hipster, oldster and otherwise is all about the wood. But really. Oh sweet really, I'm all about the wood.

Ann does it a lot, astound us, and here she does it carefully and intricately. What beautiful rawness.

This movie looks like a piece of art and I want to go stare at it for a few hours. Anyone wanna go with me?

This article and this post have been the source of a lot of wrestling and thinking for me this week. I have a slew of responses in my heart and from my roommates that will formulate into posts, perhaps next week.

Seryn, a local band, making music so beautiful you want to cry sometimes.