Megan Abbott Archives – Facets of Faith

January 2021: The Blessing

01.07.2021 by Jennifer Howe //

Hello, friend. We’re glad you stopped by. We have something special planned for January 2021, and we want everyone to be part of it. We’re calling it The Blessing. We’re counting blessings and extending blessings to our readers and writers. Enjoy!

Friend, the FACETS love you! And we always have, whether you are the quiet, anonymous reader, a gracious reader who comments on words that struck you, or the vulnerable guest writer. You are part of what makes FACETS sweet. You’re kinda the reason this whole thing happened, you know. You are a blessing—you’re kind of a big deal. Did you know that? Over the years, hundreds of you peeked at this corner of cyberspace. Thank you!

Story Time!

Do you know the story of FACETS of Faith? If you’re a long-time reader and pieced together the stories in our posts, maybe you do. It’s a good time to share what we could never have known in 2015—our story. We hope you enjoy it because, to us, it’s full of blessings!

Once Upon a Time…

In 2015, three friends from a local writing circle met at a Panera for the first time and dreamed up a safe, online space for women to have conversations about life, faith, and friendship. There were three of us, then four, then three again. The founding team was set: Tracy, Kim, and Jen.

Two team members had a clearer vision of the project, but one had no idea this was actually going to be a thing for a few weeks. “Oh. Wait! You mean, we’re actually going to do this thing?”

A Vision Became Real

Those were sweet days in the life of this collaborative site. The three of us learned so much about creating a website, and all the details. We picked a name, drafted a mission statement, identified our reader, and talked about invitations to guest writers. We chose a site design and logo. We picked colors to distinguish writers’ posts at a glance. We met for months to plan at our favorite hidey hole. We divvied up the work. Eventually we found our stride.

Tracy is a fountain of amazing ideas and connections! She and her husband, Sam, have been plain sacrificial in supporting the site. It could never have happened without their choice to back the site in every way. And Sam graciously and tenaciously fought the tech battle for us time and time again—from the set up to the time FACETS was hacked. (Thanks for serving this site so well, Sam. You were the invisible team member, until we begged you to write for us!)

Kim always shares her best words infused with her beautiful heart, and her readers love her for it. Her heart has always been for her readers, and it was for our team. If you only knew how precious she was when our team struggled to take things a little slower, a little gentler, and be more loving and relational. If you could see how we came together at such tender moments and tried to be present and listen well, you’d be blessed, too.

Jen is always learning more about who she is as a writer and as a woman. Writing a short bio was a hurdle. Can a few words define a person, a writing journey, and a hope to share powerful thoughts? What do you do if you’re a writer who has more words than allowed and prefers to write herself out of content more than writing herself in? Sometimes that’s Jen. She found a happy place behind the scenes and working on the graphics.

Becoming a Team

Our friendships grew. My goodness! We laughed. We cried. We worked through the challenges of our individual ideas, preferences, and emotions. You know, that’s where friendships are forged or forgotten. We hit bumps in the road, and it was a decision every time. Would we choose to honestly see each other and listen? Would any one of us choose “my way or the highway”…or would it be the high way? These friendships were forged early, and we made the choice to stay in relationship over and over.

Rolling With Change

Things happened, beautiful things! Tracy stepped into a ministry role and became the kind of advocate for women that, honestly, is tenacious and amazing! Many posts reflected her lioness heart on behalf of the weak. Kim’s life blossomed, too: hosting an event for women, a new man in her life, the wedding, a honeymoon, and eventually a blended family dynamic—all while she was working in ministry and trying to get words on the page. Jen was working through old relational trauma, finishing the homeschooling race, and trying to define her “grown-up self” while trying to get words on the page. We were doing life together, though.

And then it happened. We knew it could. A FACET moved to—Bean Town. We were thrilled for Kim. We could leverage technology for our meetings. No big deal.

In 2019 Kim needed to formally step away from FACETS of Faith. It was a hard decision. The whole thing was hard. We love her, and we know readers do, too.

Nature (and a Team) Abhors a Vacuum

There was an empty spot, and Tracy and I worked through it in many conversations over months. We knew something just wasn’t right. A site focused on life, faith, and friendship perspectives cried out for more perspectives.

In December of 2019 we invited Megan to the team. She wrote as a guest in October 2017, and we thought she would be a perfect fit. Her words and perspective are a blessing to us for lots of reasons! She brings fresh, gentle hope to every topic. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading her words.

The 2020 Challenge

That brings us to 2020, the year no one saw coming, and there are no words for it. Our meetings went virtual when we couldn’t meet. We did get a few sweet moments in around the shutdowns. It was complicated. Then, at the end of the summer, Tracy made the hard decision to step away from FACETS.

The Fork in the Road

I (Jen) have stood at a fork in the road lots of times. A creative, strategic internal processor likes to look at all the steps that can be taken and know where the road might go. Maybe it was time to run hard and fast with the site…

Nope, it was time to be still. I needed to hear what God wanted, especially when I can be temped to do what I want.

The Final Chapter

FACETS—the team and this site—it’s been a journey…a privilege…and an honor. Fifty-eight topics. Forty-two guest posts. A post each month from the FACETS since the beginning of 2016. We wrote a lot of words (a super-lot if you count the ones over the laughable 600-to-800-word limit!). Wow! So many powerful, heart-felt words in one space by so many amazing people!

Thank you, writers! And thank YOU, readers! It’s been a blessing.

Standing at the Door

January 2021 is bittersweet. This month we’ll share posts from writers who want to share words related to blessing…

YOU are invited to share thoughts about a memorable post here, of your own reading-writing journey here, of a guest writing opportunity at FACETS, or a prayerful blessing to the readers!

We’re throwing the door wide open before we close it. You’ll see things you haven’t. It might be a post, a graphic with Scripture, or a prayer of blessing. The timing will be rather…random. *Grin*

Dear friend, you are loved! We hope you take the opportunity to make January 2021 at FACETS of Faith something special! Consider sharing with all of us.

Let’s get the word out so no one misses this month. Share on your social. Share in the comments. Share, share, share.

In case you were wondering, the powerful words here are still available for a time. Read, read, read while you can.

~ The FACETS

Finding Freedom on the Road to Calling

07.21.2020 by Megan Abbott //

Hey friends! I hope you are having a wonderful Tuesday! This month, we have each been digging into freedom and calling, and how those two have played out together in our lives. I pray that you will join in along with us and see where God might be bringing you towards freedom. Check out Tracy and Jen‘s posts from the last couple weeks, and next week, please come back to welcome our guest Charlotte! I am trusting that God will speak to you through the words we have each shared over the past month, and that ultimately we will be able to freely live out our calling.

The last couple months have been so heavy. Part of me wants to explain, but part of me believes a lot of us feel it. There is this pandemic, the stress of changed life rhythms, sickness, racism, and so much injustice, everything just feels so, so heavy. Our world is more connected than any other period in history. Take one minute to watch the news or to scroll social media, and you will find at least one more thing to add to the list of things needing care. Right now, the list of things needing care or concern far exceed my emotional capacity.

Squishy-hearted Spiritual Gifts

I really started digging into my faith in college. I remember at some point taking a spiritual gifts assessment, where I am sure it ranked my gifts, but I really only remember that mercy was at the top. It wasn’t surprising. I always felt kind of squishy-hearted; it was something I could see in my life, and thought I understood how to use. A few years into my walk with God, there was a period of time where I remember sitting on the front porch of the house just crying. I cried for hours. I came back inside and got a tissue, some water, and went back out and cried more. There was just so much suffering, and so much to care about. So many people needing love, and care. It was heavy. It was paralyzing. I remember praying and asking God to take it all away. In that moment, I wanted any other gift; mercy was just too much.

For a while, I felt like God had essentially just taken away the gift. I was still me. I still was keenly aware of suffering and injustice, but my heart was not overwhelmed with mercy. I wasn’t numb, but I wasn’t an emotional mess. Over the next few years, God slowly brought it back, little by little. I was working in a really difficult placement during those years. Among all of the good and beautiful, my friends and community were experiencing poverty, abuse, loneliness, human trafficking, sickness, and so much confusion. So much more than I was processing that day sitting on my front porch at college, but somehow, much less paralyzing. God had given me space to grow into my gifting.

Finding the Freedom

I recently retook the spiritual gifts assessment. Wisdom, mercy, and discernment. I look at that combination today, and I praise God for giving me something to balance out all the emotions. I’m not sure if that was His plan, but I see His grace in it. Even years down this road, mercy is an easy one for me to let get out of balance. There is so much “heavy”, so why would an abundance mercy ever be a problem? Looking back at my 20-year old self sitting on the porch utterly paralyzed by mercy, I can see the freedom provided in boundaries. I needed space to be free to grow into my gifting. Instead of trying to run the marathon, I needed to crawl, then walk, then jog, and then train for the marathon.

In this season of “heavy”, I have to work to keep myself in a place of freedom. There is so much to take in, so much to act on, and so little time of restoration. How can I care enough simultaneously about my health, the pandemic, racial injustice, my friend’s heartbreak, my friend who is incredibly sick, the human trafficking I heard about on the news, the massive amounts of unemployment…? I know God cares for them all, and I know my heart was created to care like His, but I just don’t have the capacity. Regardless of the guilt I feel, the Spirit reminds me I was not made to carry every burden.

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good… All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” -1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11

Our gifts are only good to the point God asks us to use them. They are empowered by God. This has been an important reminder for me. I am one of millions with the gift of mercy. If I acted on everything in the world requiring mercy, or even just the things I am aware of, I would be of no use to the Lord. Rather, I am empowered by the Spirit for the service and activities He has for me, just as you are empowered for the service and activities He has for you. I am thankful for a God who loves me enough to help me find the boundaries that provide me with freedom from guilt, exhaustion, and overwork. I am thankful that God is working with me to help me find the balance between information and engagement overload, and ignoring everything.

While your gifts may be something entirely different, I believe there is freedom to be found as we grow into our gifting. Over a lifetime, the way you use your gifts may change once or twice, or hundreds of times, but the same Spirit is there to help you find freedom in using them.

Where do you need to find freedom as you live out your calling? Join us in the comments, or on Facebook and let us know!

Royal Community

05.19.2020 by Megan Abbott //

Hey! Welcome back friends. I hope you are all doing well this fine Tuesday. This month we are talking about the Royal Treatment. If you haven’t had a chance to check out Tracy’s post, you are missing out. Take a minute to go check out the awesome message she shared from Esther. You will get a surprise post from Jen sometime soon, and an extra special guest next week, so keep checking back! I pray that God will bring you joy this week, and that the words shared in this community will be encouraging to your hearts.

Lately, I find myself thinking a lot about community. I am going to take a wild guess and say it is because this is week 9 or so of the stay-at-home order and actual face-to-face community is something my heart craves daily. I have Zoomed, FaceTimed, texted, and called, but just nothing is quite like 3 dimensional friendship. As in-person community has dwindled, and I have had to learn new ways to communicate, and become a lot more intentional in my relationships, I have been reminded just how much my friends help straighten my crown.

The Crown

While I do have a crown, this is not me claiming that I am Princess of Genovia, or anything of the sort. In fact, when we started bouncing ideas back and forth for this month’s topic, the word “princess” was said a few more times than I would have liked to hear. I cringed every time. I’m not a fan. There is something about being “God’s princess” that does not resonate with me. It feels too froo froo, too fairy-tale, too fake. Maybe it is the desire to be strong and independent, and I can’t quite reconcile the two.

The reality, though, is they can be reconciled. My God, my Heavenly Father, is also the King of Kings. He is full of majesty. He reigns over all the earth, and He also calls me His daughter. I may not be an actual princess, but I am something better – I am a chosen, beloved, daughter of THE King.

Royal Community

It doesn’t take a lot of digging to find mentions of community in the bible. In fact, it may take more digging to find absence of community. When the Pharisees questioned Jesus about the greatest commandment in Matthew 22, His first answer was Love the Lord your God. The second? Love your neighbor as yourself. The second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors. We are made to live in community. We see one of the reasons why in Romans 12.

Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.” Romans 12:4-5

We all belong to each other, many parts of the same body. As someone recovering from being pretty sick, I have to say, when one part of the body is sick, the whole body struggles. My legs were healthy and capable, but I couldn’t keep going on long walks because other parts of my body were sick and my legs can’t act independently. The same is true for believers. We are part of one body, and need to come alongside one another and encourage healing where healing is needed. All with grace and truth.

The Importance of Truth-Tellers

Healing doesn’t often happen in just any relationship. I have a few friends that instantly know when I am struggling. Whether it is from distraction, disappointment, anger, hurt, or something else, they know me. They know my heart well enough to see, and they have built the trust with me enough to speak life and truth back to me in those moments.

Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.” -Romans 12:9-10

In case I haven’t said it quite enough yet, we were not made to do life alone. I know when things start to get messy, it can feel a lot easier to disconnect from those friends who know us the most, those who share the truth with grace whether it is what we want to hear or not. The ones who really love us. However, those are the people we need in our lives. They are our truth-tellers. They are the friends that remind us that we are the daughter of the King of Kings, that He loves us, and that there is never a point where we have screwed up so badly our crown can’t be put back on.

I encourage you to hold tight to the truth-tellers in your life. The friends who will help straighten your crown when it is a bit crooked. If you don’t have this kind of community, I pray that as you initiate that vulnerability and truth with your friends, that God will cultivate an environment for your friendships to deepen, and flourish.

Join us in the comments below, or on Facebook and let us know what you God has been teaching you in this time of distanced community.