Ordinary Graces (Book Review + $75 Giveaway)

November 14, 2017November 14, 2017 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

I believe wholeheartedly in the glory of the everyday ordinary.

The morning light through the window on the hardwoods of my kitchen floor. The coolness of clean sheets after a long, weary day. The colors of peppers and onions caramelizing in a cast iron skillet.

In her new book of everyday devotions, Lucinda Seacrest McDowell distills the great ordinary graces of this world into one word a day.

Sleep. Flavor. Resource. Restore. Story. Weary. Carry. Baggage.

Sustain.

I’ve been reading out of order, choosing a word that suits my early morning, sipping my first cup of coffee, dark-thirty before everyone’s up mood. I guess you can tell some of my struggles just from some of those words.

But each day, Lucinda’s reflections speak to me. She pulls out a verse, such as Psalm 3:5–

I lay down and sleep; I will wake again because the Lord sustains me.

Then in only a few short paragraphs, she unpacks its simple wonder and reminders that first and foremost, I am God’s beloved, and He is mine. Sometimes there are statistics (apparently I’m not the only one whose anxiety rears up during sleep), references to movies, pop culture, or great theologians. Always, the reading closes out with a short prayer, a moment when I close my eyes, breath in my coffee’s steam, and open my heart.

A lovely devotion perfect for any one, in any circumstance, Ordinary Graces will bless your heart. In the good way of course.

Want to win a copy for yourself or a friend? How about $75 for Etsy? I’m delighted to be participating in this awesome blog tour giveaway with LitFuse Publicity. You can enter to win below.

Are you ready to receive gifts of ordinary grace and abundant life from God and His Word? Join Lucinda in focusing on one word a day through devotional readings and short benedictions in her new book, Ordinary Graces. God has given us many gifts, such as his grace—the gift we don’t deserve and can never earn. Promises from the One who declares we are already loved, already accepted, already created in his image. The question becomes, will we truly receive that gift? Will the reality of it actually change the way we think and notice and reach out?

Celebrate the release of Lucinda’s new book and grace your holiday season with a $75 Etsy gift card giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

A copy of Ordinary Graces
A $75 Etsy gift card
A grace bracelet
A set of Ordinary Graces greeting cards

Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on November 24. The winner will be announced November 27 on the Litfuse blog.

Did you know Lucinda endorsed my novel? She called it a “brilliant debut”. I’m still smiling. You can get it right here.

I adore this book. It is wonderfully written and tells the story beautifully.

Friends · just write life · reflections · writing

Lessons Learned from Red Shoes

November 8, 2017November 7, 2017 Lindsey P. Brackett2 Comments

My friend Kim (aka The Well Dressed Writer) loves red shoes. She says they’re sassy and classy and can elevate an outfit from boring to brilliant.

She’s right.

I like comfortable shoes. Clogs. Crocs. Converse. These go-with-everything clearance finds that slip on easy when I’m headed out the door for the elementary school drop-off.

Y’all. I’m all about the easy.

But sometimes, sometimes, it’s good to be all about the brilliant. Good to find a new place to connect–even if it’s over something as simple as shoes. When I wore these fun (but so-not-me) plaid heels of Kim’s at the Ohio Christian Writers Conference last weekend, they sparked conversations and broke down barriers.

One pair of sassy red shoes. All it took. Because suddenly, I wasn’t just a writer talking about her book. I was a writer wearing cute shoes and others–even the men–made commenting on my shoes a thing.

And I made it through the whole day in the highest heels I’ve ever worn. I’m not going to lie. My feet hurt at the end of it. But isn’t that the way of life? Don’t we sometimes let ourselves hurt and sacrifice just a little so we can pour into others?

Obviously this is about more than red shoes.

I can get pretty obstinate at times about wanting to do things MY way. MY plan. MY goal. MY expectation. But sometimes, when I let myself be given a piece of advice and then I take it (i.e. these shoes will look better), I find myself experiencing a whole new world. One where I can suddenly connect with a woman I wouldn’t have known how to approach. One where I can praise my friend for her fancy and frugal eye. One where I can wear a pair of shoes that caused me fear–what if I trip? What if everyone can tell I don’t usually dress this way?

What if everyone still sees me as just that mom scribbling words in her yoga pants and praying they get read?

Or… what if I wear these shoes and I feel smart and confident and well-dressed? What if all that spills over and out as I talk about my book and my writing journey and motherhood and the chaos of everyday life that makes a non-ordinary day with it’s non-ordinary shoes so very, very special.

Get yourself some red shoes, friend. Or your equivalent. Do something outside your norm and embrace the doors that open, welcoming you inside.

Sweet shoe buddy. Apparently red plaid is a thing I didn’t know about.

writing

What Makes Your Story

October 30, 2017 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

My first morning on Edisto I poured my coffee and wandered down to the beach that’s almost unrecognizable behind the tower of manmade sand piles standing in for washed away dunes.

And I walked right into the sunrise.

I sat in that damp sand in my yoga pants with the bleach stain, closed my eyes, and hoped this was a blessing and a confirmation and a warmth I could cling to on all the cold nights when I wake up slightly riddled with anxiety over Amazon sales rankings and bookstore dealings.

I think it was.

Standing in the sun, driving under the oaks, breathing deep the air that stirs my soul reminds me over and over that I am really nothing but a witness. My story is your story is our story–a retelling of a story that’s older and stronger and wiser than any words we could ever find.

In my small group right now, my leader friend talked about the four components of every story–not plot and character and setting and theme as writers believe.

Creation. Fall. Redemption. Restoration.

The parts that really matter. We all have them in our story. Repeating over and over in small moments and seasons and journeys. Manifesting bigger and bigger and ever-changing.

So I ask you today–what’s creating you? What’s shaping your story? What’s fallen or redeemed or restored within your own life?

And in the end, who’s writing your story?

With my fellow Word Weavers and conference writers, this week we mourn the loss of a great man who knew exactly who wrote his story. Who took time in his last days to tell me he was praying for mine. Who I called soon after my near fatal car accident in February to say, I know he said we should all live like we’re dying but that was a close one. I know beyond doubt Bruce’s health is full restored today and he’s standing in the sun.

I’ll be sharing all about my Lowcountry book tour–and my current favorite podcasts, reads, and recipes–in the Newsletter tomorrow. Sign up for free or follow my author page on Facebook, Lindsey P. Brackett.

reflections · writing

The One Question Undoing Us All

October 4, 2017October 4, 2017 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

How’s it going?

It’s asked so simply, so quickly, so this-is-what-I’m-supposed-to-say that almost always I respond with that ingrained response–Fine. All good. Can’t complain.

Pick your poison.

Because what if we all actually answered that question honestly–How’s it going?

It? Life? Finances? Motherhood? Job? State of the union? Facebook following?

There’s too much, maybe. Really. Too much to say and too little to say about it and too balanced on the edge of a precipice we’re afraid to dive down into deep.

So we’re fine.

Except we’re not.

We’ve got Puerto Rico and Houston and Florida and North Georgia and Vegas and Oregon and California–all drowning or burning or scavenging or sweating or bleeding. None of us are really fine.

Yet I worry over Amazon stats and retweets and Facebook followers.

What if we all answered honestly, truly? I told people to stop asking me how it was going last week because I didn’t know what to say. They want me to say it’s great–I wrote a book and the world is all sunshine and dreams realized.

But it’s not.

Because there’s still bills and math tests and soured laundry and sad people and lost friends and too many expectations I’ve heaped upon myself before I can answer, Fine.

But none of us, if we’re honest, really have time for all the burdens of everyone else every time we ask. All the burdens we’re carrying ourselves are more than we can already handle.

So how do we get there? To the other side? To the place of asking and receiving and listening and loving? Because I don’t want a national disaster to continuously shake me out of my stupor.

Except it always, always does. Anytime we blink and realize the world is bigger than us, our problems, our pettiness, our little worries, we let those small things go just a little bit more. And we free up our hands and hearts to hold and hear when someone else needs to be able to say–

It’s not going great. But if you’ll fold hands with me, maybe I’ll be able to breathe a little easier.

Breathe easier today, friends. You can tell me how it’s really going in the comments, if you’d like.

Available on Amazon or by request at your favorite indie bookstore. Local friends can find signed copies at Books with A, Peal in Cornelia or Home Sweet Home in Elberton.

just write life · writing

Why I Don’t Enjoy My Grocery Store (and other things I’m learning)

September 26, 2017 Lindsey P. BrackettLeave a comment

We moved over a year ago. Ten miles down the road, jumped the county line. New schools, new community, new grocery store.

But I keep going back to the old one.

Because I like my routine and I like what I know and I don’t like it when I have to figure out something new. That takes time. And energy. And mental capacity.

It would be fine if every Ingles or Walmart or Target or –insert your favorite chain store here–was the same. But they’re not. And now my local Ingles has gone and REMODELED. It was bad enough the frozen foods were flanked by the rice aisle instead of the cereal like my old store, but now the register counters are different and there’s sushi next to the fried chicken.

Come on, people. Can’t we let things just stay the same?

Ahem. I think we’ve found Lindsey’s issues.

Whenever I find something that’s working, I want to keep it working. I don’t want to change it. I don’t want to make it better. I want to keep what I know because that’s easy and not mentally taxing. I don’t have to make any new decisions if the old decision is STILL WORKING JUST FINE.

This marketing for a book business has thrown me under the bus, y’all. Seriously. I feel run-over and run-down because what works for twenty-four hours may not work for the next forty-eight. I’m trying to learn a whole lot of information at once because–spoiler alert–I have perfectionistic tendencies/procrastination issues.

I know you’re all shocked by that little revelation.

But as a result, I’m struggling to figure out what’s best for my little book’s sales gain and my emotional capacity. Because–this post is full of random Lindsey trivia–I am on social sensory overload and this experience has me teetering right off the edge into full Highly Sensitive Person meltdown.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go over to Amazon (or a local indie) and buy Anne Bogel’s Reading People. She explains it better and also has figured out how to navigate social media life as an HSP. I’ll be on the porch with my iced coffee and my highlighter if you need to join me.

But I’m still shopping at the Ingles in my old town because I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE EVERYTHING IS ALREADY. Also, I know this: word of mouth sells books way better than the Canva ad I spent 30 minutes creating. So if you like my book, tell a friend, please and thank you.

Anything making you feel a little crazy today?