Faith & FamilyRun Like a Herd of Buffalo August 22, 2013Two inspiring posts in a row? What’s happening around here? I promise this won’t become an everyday thing and design will go out the window, but there are some big things happening around here and I seem to need/want to share a little inspiration. This is a spiritual post, so read on if interested π Have you ever heard the phrase “run like a herd of buffalo”? I first heard it in a book that I read years ago. It was a book on faith and it was talking about trusting and running this race we call life well. You see, as the book described, a buffalo can only see clearly for ten feet in front of them. Yet, they run at like 50 miles per hour. They also can’t see side to side very well. They stare straight ahead and run. The analogy that the book was making is pretty clear and a really good one. We can only see a short distance in front of us. We have no idea how any situation will turn out. We don’t even know if we’ll be around come tomorrow. And so often, that uncertainty inhibits us and keeps us from running the race. We look side to side and see or compare ourselves to other runners. We look side to side, wary of possible risks and horrible outcomes. And that looking side to side slows us down. Instead of just trusting and running, trusting and running. You see, if we’ve really given a situation over to God then there’s no outcome that we should fear. Even if it doesn’t turn out the way we imagined or hoped, if we’ve given it to Him, it’s turned out exactly as He wanted and in the end, He really does know best. Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you,β declares the Lord, βplans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. This has been my story for the last couple of years, especially with the blog. I’ve been worried about taking risks because what if they didn’t turn out well? I’ve worried so much that it has very often kept me from acting. If we don’t act at all, then we’re protecting ourselves, right? Well, wrong. Not “acting” as much as I would like with the blog has given me a very clear picture that yes, God can and will bless things, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to do our part. We have to trust Him, but then put ourselves to work. Something clicked in me back in the spring where the blog was concerned. I started processing some of this and that’s why I initially bought the ticket to Haven. But Haven and lots of soul searching over my summer off have really put it into perspective. After a conversation with Emily A. Clark (this sweet lady keeps showing up in my posts!), I sat down and I journaled a prayer. I journaled asking God to help me to be more diligent with the blog than ever before. But most of all, I prayed a prayer that Emily told me about. While Kristin and I were talking to her, she said that in the beginning of her blog journey, she prayed and asked God to bless her blog if it was His will. I journaled that prayer that day. I told God that I most of all, want to glorify Him with the blog. Yes, it’s an awesome outlet for me and I LOVE designing, but at the end of the day, it needs to be something that makes strides for Him. He knows the future of what all of this might become. I prayed that if this was the way He had for me to glorify Him, that He would bless it. If it wasn’t, I prayed that He would take it away. Since then, I’ve prayed that over and over. When a worry creeps in, when I start looking side to side, I pray, “Bless it or take it away.” And y’all, He has blown my socks off. Every single time I’ve prayed that, it seems like something huge has happened. I’m serious! And please don’t think I mean that we should all just pray and ask for things and He’s always going to come through. There have been many times in my life where that is not the case and looking back, I am so thankful each of those situations turned out like it did! I think it’s about realizing that we have to first trust and give it over to Him, and then put ourselves to work, all the while being okay with any outcome He provides. I wish I could share them all today, but I promise in the next few weeks, some big things will be happening around here. I’m so sorry to do that to y’all. I always hate those teasers because I’m like, “Tell me now!!!” But I promise it’ll be soon. I just had to share what was on my heart. I am so blown away right now by God’s faithfulness and by what He’s doing. Where the blog is concerned and in all other areas of my life, I’m trying to trust and run like that herd of buffalo. How are you running?
cassie says August 22, 2013 at 8:57 am so excited to see what is coming! π and happy for you! Reply
Lindsay says August 22, 2013 at 10:38 am Thank you, Cassie! Your comments always brighten my day π Reply
Jenn @ Home Style Report says August 22, 2013 at 9:04 am I’m so happy for you and can’t wait to read the big announcement! I love your message here! Reply
Kristin @ bliss-athome.com says August 22, 2013 at 9:13 am Yay Lindsay! This is so great! Can’t wait to hear the news :)I love your heart and motivation behind your blog. I have prayed over my blog from the very beginning. I don’t want to do it and dedicate the time to it if it’s not what God wants for me. He has been so faithful and there have been so many blessings in it. I love how He is so intentional with each one of us. Love ya girl! xo K Reply
Lindsay says August 22, 2013 at 10:25 am Kristin, you are so right!!! It’s sometimes so hard to make those decisions, but we shouldn’t want anything that He doesn’t want for us! So glad to have met my blog friend! Love you too! Reply
Kayla says August 22, 2013 at 11:49 am Lindsay, thank you so much for sharing your heart! You cannot even know how much this has blessed me today! I so needed this encouragement and feel so fortunate to have other bloggers in this little community who all can share in these feelings and experiences!!! I’m so excited for what is to come for you!!! Blessings!!! Kayla Reply
Lindsay says August 22, 2013 at 12:54 pm Oh Kayla, I am so thankful to hear that! Every time you post stuff like this, you know that it’s going to alienate some and resonate with some. It’s always a risk, but I felt strongly that I was supposed to share it and I am so thankful that God used it to encourage you π Reply
Jennifer says August 22, 2013 at 12:45 pm What a lovely analogy! I’ve never heard it before—thanks so much for sharing that with us. I fully believe in leading a purposeful life where we use our talents, no matter what they might be, to glorify the Lord. Reply
Lindsay says August 22, 2013 at 12:53 pm Thank you, Jennifer! I had actually forgotten about the analogy, but it used to be so powerful to me and I really tried to live by it. Here recently, God reminded me of it with some of these things I’ve been processing π Reply
Bethany @ Dwellings by DeVore says August 22, 2013 at 2:53 pm Thanks so much for sharing your heart! I really needed to hear this and was so encouraged by it. π Can’t wait to hear your news! Reply
Lindsay says August 22, 2013 at 3:08 pm I am so glad, Bethany! As I told Kayla, it is so hard to post stuff like that sometimes, but I really, really felt like I should…thank you!!! Reply
Miss Charming says August 22, 2013 at 7:46 pm I needed to be reminded of this today. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Lindsay. (And I’m excited to hear your news!) Reply
Lindsay says August 23, 2013 at 3:10 pm I’m so glad π I love when it what someone feels called to share lines up with what others need to hear π Reply
Laura @ The Turquoise Home says August 22, 2013 at 10:41 pm Love this! So glad I’m not the only one praying over my blog. π And I’ve seen God move in huge ways as well. Keep walking in faith! Laura Reply
Lindsay says August 23, 2013 at 3:09 pm Thank you, Laura!!!! And you are not the only one…I keep hearing that from other bloggers π Love it! Reply
Julia @Cuckoo4Design says August 25, 2013 at 3:14 pm Yes, this was a teaser but also a great post. Can’t wait to hear it. Reply
Angie says August 26, 2013 at 9:43 am I sooooo needed this post today! Thank you for writing such inspiring thoughts. I always enjoy reading your motivational posts just as much as the design posts. You have a beautiful soul voice that’s so captivating! So excited to hear your news! I’m off to run like a buffalo now! Reply
Jesse @ Scout & Nimble says August 26, 2013 at 1:43 pm Lindsay…this post was so great…you should keep posts like this coming…you were meant to touch others! So inspiring! Love the analogy and I had never heard it before. Cannot wait to hear your news!!! π Reply
Stacy Verdick Case says August 27, 2013 at 5:40 pm Thank you for this. I prayed this morning that I would be shown a way back to faith (I was running short) and here you are. Reply
Susan says August 28, 2013 at 2:17 pm Hey Lindsay, I loved this. I have felt the same way so much where fear holds me back but then after praying about it God shows up so much in amazing ways! Reply
Haley says October 10, 2013 at 3:22 pm Holy moley Lindsey! I am a brand new reader to your little corner of the internet, and I have to say… I’m so glad I found you! This little reflection is so wise and hopeful! Being the middle of a life-wobble myself right now, I can’t tell you how much I needed something like this spoken into my life. Thank you! Reply
Marieanna Dulas @ Healthy Desires says December 26, 2014 at 3:16 pm this is so beautifully written! Thank you for the reminder that God has big plans for us all! I feel like I have reminded myself of this a million times and yet I get caught in the stress and worries of the world instead of praying, doing my part and knowing that what happens and what I’m given each day is all part of His great plan for me. God is so good and using your talents to bless others! π thank you Reply
Carri Howell says December 26, 2014 at 11:21 pm I’m just wondering what the name of the book is that you got phrase, “running like a herd of buffalo”? Reply
Roxanne says January 15, 2015 at 9:14 pm I just discovered this post, beautifully said! I would love to know the name of that book you referred to. Reply
Cara Steinmeyer says February 26, 2015 at 12:35 am Hi Lindsay! I just wanted you to let you know that this blog post had forever changed my life and for that, God will truly bless not just your blog, but your whole life!! Even if you don’t stumble upon my comment, I just had to say thank you! Time for me to go run like a Bison now! π God Bless You! Reply
Lindsay says February 27, 2015 at 12:58 pm Cara, thank you so much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful and encouraging comment. You made my day! I can’t tell you how affirming it is to hear that someone connected with what I felt God telling me to post π Reply
Bonnie says March 19, 2015 at 4:51 pm wow! Just happened upon this today. Maybe it’s a God thing. I needed the inspiration so much. Would love to know the name of the book and author. Sounds like a good one. Thank you for your honesty and may God bless you going forward. I am looking forward to what’s coming. I will be praying for you and your readers. Where two or more are gathered……… Reply
Sophia says August 25, 2015 at 8:47 am Thank you!! I was just browsing online and this is exactly what I needed to read, even years after you wrote it. God Bless Reply
Jessica Crawford says September 11, 2015 at 9:23 pm I just came across this on Pinterest and it hit home with me across the board and in so many ways. I’m so glad I was blessed by it and over two years after you wrote it. Thank you! Now I want to read the book about running like a herd of buffalo. Reply
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