a book i wish i would have written.

every now and again i read a book that i just feel like mirrors my journals. bittersweet was one of those books for me.

i laughed.

i cried.

i smiled.

i didn't want the book to end.

so many of her words have been my words before and she also managed to put words to those stories i have yet to figure out how to tell.

if you want to find joy in the dailies then read the book.

if you've ever wondered how something good comes from something miserable then read the book.

if you want to laugh and cry at the same time then read the book.

if you want to love Jesus more but understand Him less then read the book.

i'll let you borrow it or i might even be willing to buy it for you because i loved it that much.

here are a few of my favorite quotes to convince you it will be worth your time...

"This collection is an ode to all things bittersweet, to life at the edge, a love letter to what change can do in us. This is what I've come to believe about change: it's good in the way that childbirth is good, and heartbreak is good, and failure is good. By that i mean that it's incredibly painful, exponentially more so if you fight it, and also that it has the potential to open you up, to open life up, to deliver you right into the palm of God's hand, which is where you wanted to be all along, except that you were too busy pushing and pulling your life into exactly what you thought it should be" (Niequist, 201o, p.13).

"There are more questions than answers. What do you do once you've written a dissertation? How do you walk away from a decade of work, even if you don't necessarily love it? How do work and babies and dreams and marriages and mortages fit together in one life, and if something has to give, what gives? We must remember that the answers aren't necessarily as important as the questions and the company, and that if we do find answers, we'll find them together" (Niequist, 2010, p.64).

why i love family dinners a.k.a roll call:

"there's something about seeing your house filled with people you love, something about feeding people, especially on days when it seems like you can't make a dent in any of the larger, more theoretical challenges in life. i do know how to make dinner, and to see the people i care about gobble it up makes me feel like something is right, even when is seems like nothing is. there's something so healing about those quiet moments at the table, when everyone's mouth--or mind of heart--is full, when you feel connected and nourished and content, even if its just for a split second" (Niequist, 2010, p.71).

"let me be clear: brokenness doesn't automatically bring us to the thin place, the sacred place where God's breath and touch as closer than our own skin. heartbreak brings us lots of places--to despair, to bitterness, to emptiness, to numbness, to isolation. but because God is just that good, if we allow the people who love us to walk with us right through the brokenness, it can also lead to a deep sense of God's presence. when things fall apart, the broken places allow all sorts of things to enter, and one of them is the presence of God. I believe deeply that God does his best work in our lives during times of great heartbreak and loss, and i believe that much of that rich work is done by the hands of people who love us, who dive into the wreckage with us and show us who God is, over and over and over. Give up for a while your false and failing attempts at merriment, and thank God for thin places, and for Advent, for a season that understands longing and loneliness and long nights. Let yourself fall open to Advent, to anticipation, to the belief that what is empty will be filled, what is broken will be repaired, and what is lost can always be found, no matter how many times it's been lost"

(Niequist, 2010, p.94).

there are so many other precious parts of this book that i wanted to quote, but instead i encourage you to please go order it. i promise it will be good for your soul. seriously.

in other news, i got a tattoo.