For the last almost-three weeks I have been in Dallas, trying to keep track of the time as it flies by.

The bulk of the first two weeks was spent enjoying my three nieces who were visiting from their home in Raleigh. We had so much fun, experiencing a Texas safari, swimming every afternoon at the pool, and boating on Lake Texoma. Those girls have some energy. I have a new appreciation for moms everywhere!

And then last week was filled up with coffee dates {nope, not that kind}, lunch meetings, and the Echo Conference. One of the highlights was having the opportunity to introduce some friends to my parents, show them where I grew up, and serve them one of my dad’s famous margaritas. Good times.

The last couple of days things have settled down and I am getting ready to disappear for some much-needed alone time. Tomorrow I am heading to the lake for a couple of days to read, think, process, dream, and finally finish some homework a friend gave me in January {yep, just call me slacker}.

Then, Friday, Nashville.

Oh, how I’ve missed Nashville.

What’s going on in your world? Is your summer flying by too?

Wisdom Brewster Laid Down at Echo

Programming is really about planning, preparing and executing great ideas to create atmosphere. Hustle is not about how we work, it’s about how we approach our work. Hustle is a mindset one embraces. It’s doing whatever it takes and refusing to accept excuses or hinderance from allowing us to do the things we have been made to do.

Why does programming matter?

At Cross Point, we want to create an atmosphere where our communicators can win every time they stand up.

Here’s our process:

Meet and review what needs to happen {big picture} over the next 12 months.

2 Vision Series, 4 Regular Series, 1 Summer Series, 1 Christmas, 1 Easter.

Then break it into Series View.

Work one series out. The first filter we have is to not be safe. How can we stretch, grow and experiment?

Our competition is not other churches. It is the NFL, the ML, the couch, and the lake. We have to create environments that distinguish themselves from the clutter.

“If content is king, context is God.” Gary Vaynerchuk

Then comes the fun part. Brainstorming ideas. Executing a creative meeting.

Find creative ways to make your creative meetings…creative.

Use the 3 Doors method.
1st door – Large group comes prepared with a lot of ideas.
2nd door – Small team with a lot of trust. Ideas are edited and fleshed out.
3rd door – Pitch ideas to communicators.

Don’t be safe. Be original. Try to challenge the systems in your space.

And always think through the 5 different venues you have to present a concept. How can you present a concept from stage, in print, on web, through social, and virally?

Faking Your Way to Creativity

{Notes from Carlos Whittaker’s Talk at Echo}

There is no creative class.

Myth: In order to be creative you have to have a Mac and shop at Urban Outfitters.

It is the mindset that matters. Everyone on the planet was created on in the image of the Creator.

We can’t let our preconceived notions of what creativity prevent us from creating.

Everything is a remix. Nothing is original. << It’s Truth…from Ecclesiastes 1.

Check out these references:

Blog Post: “How to Steal Like an Artist. 9 Things Nobody Ever Told Me.”- Austin Kleon 

Video: “Everything is a Remix”

Video: “The Greatest Gift”

Want to learn more about missional living and our call as Christians to care for orphans in their distress?

Join me and a host of others from October 21-22 in Phoenix for Together for Adoption (T4A) Conference 2011. Over 1,200 people will gather together at Redemption Church (Gilbert Campus) to explore the theme Missional Living, the Gospel and Orphan Care. One of the primary objectives for this year’s conference is to create a forum to consider the good news of the Gospel, explore its implications for how we think about and implement orphan care strategies, and discuss how we can move toward greater collaboration as the people of God for the sake of orphans worldwide.

General session speakers include: Darrin Patrick, Tullian Tchividjian, Tim Chester, Bryan Loritts, Juan Sanchez, and Jeff Vanderstelt.

Worship Leaders: Shaun Groves, Aaron Ivey, and Jimmy McNeal

General Session Hosts: Shaun Groves and Johnny Carr (National Director of Church Partnerships at Bethany Christian Services)

Register for Together for Adoption 2011 Conference in Phoenix for just $75 Monday, July 25th, through Saturday, July 30th. This limited-time discount is over $30 less than the current early bird special.

See you in Phoenix?

Today I am guest posting on Jennie Allen’s blog. I had the pleasure of spending some time with Jennie several weeks ago as I was finishing up at Thomas Nelson. And I just adore her. She has the kindest spirit. She is fun. She has a heart for adoption. {She and her husband just adopted a three year old boy, Cooper, from Rwanda.} And she lives in one of my favorite places, Austin, Texas.

I have seriously considered quitting my job {oh yeah, I already did that}, packing up my belongings, and moving next-door to her so we can be the best of friends. And eat Mexican food every day.

Oh yeah, and Jennie is on the cusp of some HUGE things. Her first curriculum, Stuck, is being published by Thomas Nelson this fall. And she is working on a trade book. God has BIG things in store for Jennie Allen.

Jennie asked me to share thoughts on the following words: Risk. Change. Faith. Waiting. Uncomfortable. {I know I thought they were pretty tough words too. Next time I am hoping the words will be: Annoyances. Ice Cream. Holiday. Animal. Amusement.} Well, anywho, check out the post here. 

Be sure to go here to follow Jennie on twitter. 

And here to subscribe to her blog. 

What are your thoughts on the word: Uncomfortable?  

I have trouble fancying myself a creative, or a writer, or a blogger for that matter.

I don’t know. I guess that I just think we all do what we do. And I blog. Which necessitates that I write. Which necessitates that I create. That I be creative.

Defining myself as a creative almost presumes that creativity oozes out of me. Which is certainly not the case. At least most days. Most days I labor over planting seeds, cultivating crops and harvesting ripened fruit. Only to wring my hands and squeeze until I am blue in the face for a worthwhile drop of juice.

For me, the process is always evolving but it always consists of these staples.

1. Surrounding myself with inspiration. Reading good books and blogs. Listening to great music. Talking big ideas with challenging friends. And always being up for an epic adventure.

2. Finding a safe blank canvas. It’s the weirdest thing but the only place I really enjoy writing is in the “Edit Post” space in WordPress. It just feels like a comfortable shelter for my thoughts to live before they are ready for the world.

3. Honing my skills. Always asking the question “What can I do better?” and searching fearlessly for the answer.

4. Giving myself time and space. As an extrovert, shying away from the crowd so I can give my ideas the time and space to take root is definitely the most cumbersome part of the process.

What does your “creative process” look like?

This post is a part of Darrell Vesterfelt’s series on the “the personal creative process.” Check out the other posts here. 

Read this yesterday in Streams in the Desert, and it really resonated with me.

God will often extricate us from the mess we have made because “His love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 6:34). Yet if we had only been patient and waited to see the unfolding of His plan, we would never have found ourselves is such an impossible maze, seeing no way out. We would also never have had to turn back and retrace our way, with wasted steps and so many tears of shame.

I know that I tend to jump the gun, neglect the waiting, and end up in a big ol’ mess. I am so thankful that He is there to extricate me. And that “His love endures forever.”

Do you need God to lead you out of a mess you have made?

I have noticed the strangest thing.

The more “free” time I have, the harder it is for me to get things done.

Since I left my job at Thomas Nelson three weeks ago, I have felt more behind than ever. My inbox certainly isn’t anywhere near zero. My blog has been for-all-practical-matters abandoned. And my life, and my home, are just plain messy.

I wouldn’t say I have been wasting time…exactly.

In fact, my priorities seem crystal clear.

For once in my life, I haven’t been all about “getting things done.” But rather “loving others well.”

And so I’ve chosen waiting in line in the Texas heat so that my three nieces can experience the magic that is an In-N-Out burger,  juggling two leashes and my favorite 3-almost-4 year old for an evening stroll around the block so that the dogs can go “poopie”, and listening to Macon {the 9-year-old skeptic} and Anne Shelton {the 7-year-old daredevil} recount their first-and-totally-epic trip to Six Flags Over Texas.

And hopefully the other things can wait…

Do you have a hard time getting things done in your “free” time?

Tomorrow I am packing up my car and my dog and heading to Texas for three weeks.

Three weeks.

I haven’t spent that much time in Texas in the last ten years. And of course, I pick three of the hottest weeks of the year. {I need to have my head checked.}

“Why would you submit yourself to such torturous heat and humidity?,”  you ask.

Well, several reasons.

First and most importantly, I am going to spend some quality time with the family. While my immediate family is typically spread across the Southern half of United States, for the month of July everyone is congregating in Dallas. And I realized this might be my only opportunity to experience a true “summer vacation” with my three adorable-but-growing-like-weeds nieces. I am stoked to be a part of their daily lives for several weeks.

I want to hang out with friends, old and new. There are a host of people in Texas that I love that I never get to see. I hope over the next few weeks I can change that.

I need to get out of Nashville and force myself to find some time and space to dream. So far, my job search has consisted of me reacting to one opportunity or another. Don’t get me wrong, I realize how extraordinarily blessed I am to have opportunities to react to. But I also know how desperately I need to pause, take deep breaths and allow myself to process through what I want my life, and my next career move, to look like. Even though it totally freaks me out.

And lastly, I am attending the Echo Conference. Some of my favorite creatives are descending upon Dallas, Texas, from July 27th to the 29th. And you all know, I am a girl who hates missing a good conference.

I am going to miss Nashville, my church, my friends, my people, but I am sure looking forward to my Texas-sized road trip.

So, the question of the day is, what music, podcasts and/or audio books do you recommend for my road trip tomorrow? 

Oh, and if you are in Texas. Look me up. I would love to see you!

is a question I get asked a lot.

I hear it from friends, acquaintances, and strangers.

Folks who want to help me find the missing pieces to my life puzzle.

You know… the missing pieces.

The job.

And the man.

If I could just let them in on what the perfect piece looks like they will help me sort through the riff-raff and uncover the one hidden piece with the just right fit.

I am grateful for the help.

There is one problem.

I haven’t let myself define what those pieces look like.

Yeah, I can answer  their questions in broad strokes.

I would like a man who is strong, kind, and funny.

But surely there are other things I would like in my dream man.

I would like a job putting my strengths to work for a cause that I believe in.

But there is more I should be able to pin down – what am I good at, what does my dream role look like, and what do I want to avoid.

I find myself terrified of pinning down the specifics.

Ambiguity is safe. Ambiguity leaves room for me to settle. Ambiguity attempts to save me from my setting my expectations to high.

But unfortunately ambiguity also keeps me from understanding my God-given desires. And ambiguity denies me the thankful “aha” when God brings them to fruition.

This summer I am forcing myself to answer both these questions with specifics. And so when the right job, and the right man, come a knocking I will recognize them as the missing pieces to the puzzle that is my life.

Have you clearly defined what you are looking for?