Think big! Aim high! Grab the gold! Go for the gusto! Have I annoyed you yet? Are these even motivational anymore? Were they ever?
It’s even worse when Christians say it. Aren’t you tired of being told that if you don’t go after it then your faith must not be big enough? That your quiet life is incriminating evidence that you aren’t being faithful to your calling?
What if a quiet life is your calling? What if being faithful in the small things is exactly what is required of you?
It’s true, sometimes we’re called to step out and do big things. This can be beautiful, right, and holy.
But staying in and doing small things can be beautiful, right, and holy as well.
I’ve grown weary of dream bigger and do more and so I spent a year writing a book about celebrating my smallness instead.
Maybe that seems ironic.
It’s funny that the often perceived big life of being a published author has been the catalyst for teaching me the importance of small beginnings and slow starts.
There are so many little weird, twisty things that come up in this business that remind me over and over again that the only place where my soul will find true rest in my work and in my life is in celebrating my smallness in the presence of Christ.
Celebrating my smallness does not mean hanging my head down low and not saying any words and being quiet all the time. It doesn’t mean hiding out or holding my tongue.
Instead, it means knowing my true home is Jesus and anything good the world has to offer is just a shadow. It means getting all my accolades from my Father, laying down ladders and picking up crosses. It means sitting down on the inside.
It looks like playing cars on the floor, pushing a cart through the grocery store aisle, studying on the weekend when everyone else goes out.
It might also look like standing on a stage in a spot of bright light or having my words bound on a bookstore shelf knowing all the while that my worth is bound up in the life of Christ alone and my life is hidden in him no matter what.
And so celebrating our smallness looks different depending on the day, the event, the season. For me right now, celebrating my smallness looks like having a party. Does that sound weird? I’m learning it isn’t.
My fourth book, Simply Tuesday, will release four weeks from today and I want to celebrate it with people like you because having a party is a way to celebrate progress. I think that’s important and also, it’s fun!
If you want to be there, I want you to be there. That’s as simple as I can say it.
The only draw-back is the capacity. We wish we could say come one come all! But then we might have a fire marshal situation on our hands.
So here’s what we’ve decided: if you would like to come to the barn party to celebrate the release of Simply Tuesday, enter you name in the hat by filling out this form below.
UPDATE: The entry period has closed – if you signed up for the party, look for an email in your inbox by the end of the day Saturday July 25. Thank you!
We’ll introduce a few other simple, pre-order bonuses in the days to come so if you sign up here and your name isn’t randomly selected for the Barn event, you will already be signed up for the bonuses.
Thank you for your support, for being part of this lovely community and the kind of reader who makes launch parties worth it. I hope to see you soon!
Have you signed up for my free video series yet? Visit SimplyTuesday.com to receive the first of four videos today, practical ways to create space for your soul to breathe even in the midst of your busy life.
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