Angie Smith's Blog, page 4

Random Goodness.

Hello everyone! {AKA, the few who stick around even though I’m the most unpredictable blogger on planet Earth. Thank you.}

I hope your Christmas and New Year’s season was beautiful and that wherever you are you are enjoying the “recovery” period. January is typically a slow month for writers and artists so Todd and I are loving being at home. He’s in the studio this week recording for a new Selah project (YAY!) and I’ve been trying to catch up on the odds and ends of life that remain from the...

The Brown House

We moved to the brown house a few months after I turned one.

For my second Birthday, my mom set a big tall candle in the middle of the dining room table and let me blow it out as soon as it had burned from the “1” to the “2.” For the next five Birthdays, I would sit at the same table with the same candle.

That house holds some of my strongest and happiest memories from childhood. A good portion of the stories I have written about are from this time, including the year I wouldn’t come out of my...

Love Like This

Todd will be the first to tell you I’m a terrible unpacker.

I traveled a lot this Fall, and more often than not, my suitcase sat by my bed untouched until I was preparing to leave again. I would take out a few things and put a few more in, but the suitcase was never empty in between.

As a child I used to watch my father fold his business clothes neatly, one shirt on another, breathing in the smell of his aftershave as the zipper wound around the edges. While I hated the fact that he was leaving...

Woven

I swing the curtains wide open and pull the most annoying stunt known to children.

“WAKE UP! IT’S GOING TO BE AN AMAZING DAY!”

They are less than thrilled.

A few minutes later we stand in a row, all watching our toothbrushes move in the mirror.

“Where are we going today?” Abby asks.

“Today is the day we get to meet Fernanda!” I’m substantially over-emoting, but we’re a little road-weary and I think if I act as tired as I feel we might be in trouble.

Ellie spits out her toothpaste, wipes her mouth,...

Open

I’m too exhausted to think of anything but settling the girls and falling into bed.

I wash hair, find jammies, and tuck them in.

They’re asleep in an instant, faces still flushed from the second wind they got around 11:30 p.m. {Awesome}

I let the warm, damp towel linger on my face, staring into the mirror at my tired eyes.

I don’t even look like myself.

I’m empty, drained to the bone of any strength I brought with me.

If I had the capacity, I would let myself cry, but I can only think of making my...

Bloom Announcement!

So, do you recognize the gal sitting between me and Jess? It's time for our new book club announcement!!!! Hop over here to watch and hear more about it

~Ang

(in)courage!

Hello friends!!!!! Well Todd and I head out bright and early (note…bright. and EARLY) for Des Moines and I am still trying to figure out a way to meet all of my blog friends there. I have your emails in a folder and if I can pull anything together I will send out a message!!!! In the meantime, please pray for me. You would think that it would get easier but I am seriously sick to my stomach with nerves. Trying to remind myself to breathe!!!

I also neglected to blog about this post I did for (in)courage and I want to send you over there in case you didn't read it. It's so funny how you write something because it's working in your world and then you feel like other people got something out of it. Sometimes I think, "Well that's silly. They are going to think I am so lame for even posting this…" and usually those are the ones that get the most feedback. I love that. We are all trying to figure it out, aren't we?!?! This one has really affected my interactions and daily life…I hope it speaks to you as well.

And I have a new post up today (You will NEVER guess what it's about. Because I am not at all consistent in my search to simplify…) and the comments are super helpful. One of the things mentioned as a resource is this book, which has become one of my new favorites. Honestly, there are a billion books that look just like this in the bookstore and I probably would have just thought it was another pretty book, but it is so much more. You will LOVE it, and you will love Tsh's take on simplifying life. She is an amazing lady and is doing incredible things for the kingdom of God. I can't recommend it highly enough! I noticed how many people referenced it over there so I wanted to share it with you here. So. So. Good. I have a stack of notes from reading it…thank you, Tsh. Your gifting and your heart are both out of this world.

OK, friends! I have another post rattling around in my head from an experience I had yesterday. It involves homeschooling, my friend Heather, and some of the best people-watching moments this side of the Mississippi. I will try to get to that soon….and yes, I have pictures. Well, not of all of it. That's a good thing.

Love to everyone! See you soon

Go on and do one better!!!!!!!

Ang

Boxes

The only thing I remember about house-hunting as an 11-year-old is that I might get a bedroom with rainbow pillows.

We were mostly looking at new homes, so they were all perfectly decorated and impeccably neat, which I also liked.

And even now as I look back I can feel my stomach doing flip-flops because the smell of freshly opened boxes means that life is going to change again. It means new friends and new enemies. It means something new outside my bedroom window. It means I won't know the bus driver and I probably won't fit in. Years have passed and many boxes opened and closed, but they still make me weepy.

Truth be told, I don't really like new adventures. I like old, worn, sit on the same spot of the couch with someone you love kind of things. Because even though new is good sometimes, it's still, well, newer.

As a sidebar I just got a flashback from my first day at a new school in Conneticut. I was in kindergarten and at lunchtime a teacher came out to the cafeteria and announced, "Miss Sandy is here with her sweet treats, kids!!! Come on in!!!"

Well hot DOG. I had a feeling I was going to dig this place. I ran to the back of the sweet treat train and braced myself for goodness.

I watched the kids go through the line and noticed that they only picked up one item each, so I followed suit. I kept trying to catch a glimpse of this Miss Sandy lady because she was single-handedly changing my kindergarten experience and I wanted to tell her I was happy to meet her.

As we got to the end of the line I noticed that the kids were handing something over to a woman who did not look a)sweet b)conscious or c)like the Miss Sandy of my five minute-long daydream.

And as the girl in front of me handed over her wad of cash, it dawned on me.

We had to pay. With real money. Which I didn't have.

And because I like to be subtle (have you noticed?), I threw my muffin across the divider, turned and ran back to my table while several dozen children giggled and called me names that involved violence and pastries.

My mother gave me a crisp dollar bill the next day for sweet treat time, and I got an ice cream sandwich. It was divine, but it wasn't any different than the one at the grocery store. It even came in the same wrapper. To this day I don't know why they made it such a big deal, but it was an unfortunate kick-off to a school year. Later that same year I threw up in front of my entire class. For the record, it had nothing to do with the lunch selection.

Great.

Now I'm really having a hard time focusing because I can smell fresh boxes, ice cream sandwiches, and the smell of barf on velour. This is obviously going nowhere good.

Anyway, I'm not a fan of moving.

So today was a bit of a difficult day. And I really thought I had prepared myself, but I was wrong. I knew it as soon as I walked into the almost-empty house and felt my eyes get hot.

It wasn't just anyone's house, but my Audra's.

And it's empty because on Monday they are moving to Colorado Springs.

And it's exciting and wonderful and all of those great things because I know God is faithful and they feel called to go there, but for me it just plain stinks. For those of you who are new to my blog, Audra has been my best friend since I met her in Buffalo almost 16 years ago. We have lived so, so, so much life together and it's ridiculously hard to think about her not being in the same city as me.

And those stupid boxes did me in today.

It wasn't the first time I had seen her with boxes. Once, it was because she was packing up to get away from a bad boyfriend. Another time we packed because she was coming to Nashville a year after me to start graduate school with me. There were boxes when she came to live with us, boxes when she got married, and so many others in between.

How do you measure the love of friends who have shared this many boxes?

I don't know, or else I would have said it when I was stammering for words, crying as I pulled away from her house and watched her little girls run to her. I watched them being born and now I had to watch them carry piles of clothes up the long ramp into the moving truck.

Ugh.

I need to drown myself in sweet treats now.

Please pray for Audra, her family, and for what God has in store for them…and if you are in Colorado Springs and want to meet an amazing girl, I know of some boxes you can help unload.

A

My First WOF!!!

I am happy to report that I am still in one piece after my very first Women of Faith experience. It was honestly such a great weekend and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I was out of my mind nervous but the other women on the platform were so loving to me that I just felt like a little sheep that was being taken care of. I feel at home with them in a way that totally defies the amount of time I have been a part of the team. I thank God every day for such an awesome opportunity.

The audience was incredible and really made me feel at home…partly because I kind of was at home! My first official event turned out to be Columbus…I'm from Cincinnati and went to the University of Dayton so I felt like a hometown girl. That was really special for me. Lisa Harper, Sheila Walsh, Luci Swindoll, Nicole Johnson, and Kim Cash Tate were the other speakers, and we were blessed to have Mary Mary and Natalie Grant as well as the incredible WOF worship team for our music. It is amazing to see 11,000 women coming together to celebrate the extravagant love of Jesus.

But still, it's totally scary!!!

My next event is in 2 weeks and it's in Des Moines. This is going to be a really special event because it is the only one I get to do with Selah…if you are planning on coming, could you please send me an email to angelac519 at gmail dot com and let me know? If I can figure out a way I would love to set up a way to connect with you all. One of my readers said it should be called "Sunday Brunch," which I think is precious. Let me know and I will get back to you if I can figure out a good plan.

Here's a quick picture of me just as I got off the stage, with Sheila Walsh giving me a big squeeze. She is such an encouragement…have I mentioned how much I love these ladies?!?!?! OH MY GOODNESS. If you haven't gotten tickets for an event this year, I hope you will. It is such a great weekend to share with girlfriends…

Sorry it's so small! A sweet lady sitting behind us sent it to me…I will make sure and add more when I get them

Love to all!!!!

Ang

Welcome!

Well, we are still setting up shop over here at WordPress but I think you all are really going to like it. It should be a lot easier to find posts by topic and all that good stuff, so feel free to hunt around and make yourself at home. I am going to be adding lots of pictures of Audrey and recent ones of the rest of the family but I am waiting to get some back from a recent photo shoot, so get ready for some cuteness. As of now, the search bars haven't been fully connected to what they are supposed to be, but shortly it will all be seamless and good. I am loving it so far…many thanks to Kelsey for her help designing the header as well (you have to check out her new blog…brilliant and you are going to love life through her eyes…lots of great kid stories and all sorts of creative goodness )

While we work out the kinks, let me know if you spot anything that needs adjustment or if you have any suggestions I think it's going to be fantastic!!!

I absolutely must introduce you to Franchesca Cox of Small Bird Studios, who has been working with me to get this new blog designed and running. She has worked so far above and beyond that call of duty that words fail me. We were told by many, many people that I would lose all of the comments from my old blog in the process of transferring over here, and all of my friends had exactly that happen. Because of Fran's perseverance and many extra hours of research and work, I am so over the moon excited that she found a way to bring them all over.

I am always happy to recommend people I have loved working with, but I don't ever think I have seen devotion, kindness, and a genuine gift in someone the way I have with her. Many of my readers had recommended her but I didn't realize when I hired her that she had lost a baby as well. It has been an emotional transfer over to this blog and she was so tender with me and so ridiculously responsive with email…I'm telling you, she is the BEST. She doesn't know I'm writing any of this but honestly, I am so grateful for her and I had to share this amazing experience with you all.

And here's the best part! She has agreed to let me do a little giveaway, so if you click here to re-route to my giveaway page, you can enter to win a FREE BLOG REDESIGN!!!!!!

Her prices are extremely reasonable, so even if you don't win, keep her name in your back pocket. She does Blogger and WordPress, which is fantastic

WELCOME!!!!!! Make yourself at home, friends!!!!

With love,

Angie