KK Intl. // Krochet Kids International

People doing great things with great intentions. This is my little dose of Tuesday morning inspiration. I pray it inspires you as well. One day...I'll be helping to make films like this. Promotional material to support great causes and big dreams.

Check out their  k i c k s t a r t e r  and their  w e b p a g e !

Just A Quick Little Morning Jot

There's a lot around here in my life that's movin' and groovin'. Thankfully travel season is pretty much over for anything farther than local cities! My last trip to Baltimore was wonderful. A good wrapping up of the season for sure. It seems as though with the change of the weather comes life with it's own changes and beginnings. This morning is was the coldest morning we have had here yet in the good ol' 757. A crisp 34 degrees. My housemate and I started a new morning routine which puts us up before the sun at 6 a.m. The great thing is that I feel so productive and alive! Let's hope I feel that way next week. Other exciting things are on the horizon as it comes to things that are movin' in life. From wedding coordinating, to justice creative initiative projects, to meetings with my beautiful mentee, to progressing in my rock climbing, to bridesmaid responsibilities for a wedding in the Midwest, to all my little creative side projects and future planning... More details in months to come. Oh!! And I get a bed this week!! Exciting adulting things. Guys, I just can't wait to sleep in it...or maybe jump on it. Ya know. Break it in.

This is a brief update on just general life things. It may not seem like much but it's all filling me up. I feel alive. I feel like myself which is a beautiful thing. I'm going to keep writing about Storyline but I gotta take care of a few things before I do. Especially since I'm still doing my own personal processing.

For now, I leave you with this. Morning's deserve a little inspiration & beauty.

- - Sweetly - -

Gabrielle

Storyline Reflections // Part 2

I don't know where to start. I've been sitting in this coffee shop since 3pm...current time 6:30pm. I felt the inspiration. It's one of those feelings I get in my chest. I can't explain it other than it's like I start to lead from that part of my being. Everyone leads with a specific part of their body. It tells you a lot about that person and a lot about what kind of day they are having or what season of life they are in. Well, I'm supposing the only way to begin to know what to write is to just start writing. 

I think I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the things I want to share. Sharing life with others is a huge part of who I am. It's a daily desire. It comes from my chest, a physical feeling that pulls. I often have to subdue the need to jump the gun and pace myself in my sharing. I'm always conditioning my listening ears and receptive heart. It's a process.

Having a whole half journal full of notes I'm finding it hard to cut down to just the most important things. I don't record things that I don't find important or applicable. Any attempt to explain my experience at Storyline will always fall short. So before I attempt to share my experience I'd like to set the stage for you. I want to share where I found myself before the conference because I think it has significant value to the greater impact and purpose behind my attendance. I will say this, I'm very particular about what I write in my journals. I don't start writing unless I feel like I have given the journal a purpose and future. I almost didn't start writing till Day 1 of sessions and breakouts. I'm so glad I didn't wait.

(the following is an excerpt from the very first pages of my journal)

W E D N E S D A Y

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––November 4th 2015––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Let's begin here. Seat 8F. Window. We've departed Norfolk Intl. My connection is in Charlotte, NC and then it's on to Chicago, IL.   I'm on my way to Storyline Conf. The conference was born out of the dreams of Donald Miller who wrote "Blue Like Jazz" and most recently "Scary Close." I have such a strong admiration and connection with his works that I started reading some of his articles on Storyline Blog. (Insert Side Note: My overhead light just went out...it's 8pm...I kinda need that. Good thing I have a whole row to myself––middle seat lamp it is!) Anyway, I decided back in September that I wanted to attend the Storyline Conference that is held in Chicago every year. My boss approved my time off, the Lord blessed me with the funds, I bought my ticket and blinked. Here I am...flying on my own...to Chicago, IL. 

Honestly, I don't really know what to expect. In a way I think I have an advantage going into the conference a bit unaware. It'll leave me with room to discover. If anything, I do feel that the word 'discovery" is a foreshadowing of what a lot of my experience at this conference will be. I'm open for impression. I'm anxious out of pure heart. My Spirit is prayerful that God will reveal Himself and will impress His heart upon mine. 

Key things I know about the conference are as follows: We'll be talking about dreams, telling our stories, and hearing dreams and stories. We'll "leave with a life plan." Doesn't sound too bad to me! I'm excited to learn. I'm excited to dialogue. I'm excited to meet new people and hear their stories. Maybe make a few friends? I'm confident that my attendance at Storyline is with purpose. The purpose will reveal itself in due time. 

• Gabrielle •

on the plane to chitown

Storyline Reflections // Part 1

Last week I flew to Chicago to attend a conference called "Storyline." This conference has been held annually for the past 8 years. You may associate Storyline with the author Donald Miller who has written works such as Blue Like Jazz, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years and most recently Scary Close. Back in college we were required to read Blue Like Jazz for a film class I took. I didn't read it. I had this bad habit of not reading things that I was told I had to read. Of course, this wasn't true for all assigned readings, but if I could get by I would do the least reading I could. I wasn't a fan of reading until I graduated college. Now, I can't put some of my books down and have the problem of reading multiple books at once. You will almost always find one in my purse. If I'm out on the road and eating alone sitting at a table for one or at the bar with my headphones in, you will always find a book in front of me and a pen in my right hand.

A friend of mine passed along her copy of Scary Close to me before she moved to South Africa. I flipped open the front cover and devoured it. Shortly after I signed up to receive the Storyline Blog by email and that's when I heard about the conference. I watched a video about it. I read about it. Still a bit unsure of what it was about I decided that I wanted to go. If it had anything to do with storytelling, art, dreams, faith and if Don would be speaking, I was there. I didn't spend much time contemplating it, I prayed about the financial commitment and time off work and you know what...I came back from two weeks on the road from work and the Lord completely surprised me financially...I cried. Confirmation. I was confident and excited. I booked my ticket. Didn't look back.

I have quite a few friends in the Chicago area so I definitely had accommodations. It was a little exciting to feel like such an adult. I travel alone for work all the time but I had never done anything quite like this. I flew, picked up a rental from the airport, drove to my friends home, drove to the conference, and with empty journal in hand, confidently stepped onto the Willow Creek Campus. I had a friend tell me from prior attendance at Storyline to get up close on the action so I placed myself in third row toward center. Although I was traveling alone, me being me, I made connections and friends with those around me. Everyone had their own story to tell of how they ended up at Storyline. Mine was...I'm not entirely sure what this is or why I'm here but I'm expectant and excited.

For two days I had the privilege of hearing from people like Donald Miller, Bob Goff (Pepperdine Law Professor, Hon. Consul for the Republic of Uganda, author of Love Does) , Shauna Niequist (author: Bittersweet, Bread & Wine, Cold Tangerines), Miles Adcox (CEO Onsite Workshops) , and Jeremy Cowart (photographer). If you have yet to hear of any of these people I would highly recommend checking them out! Each person shared their life story, their passions, their dreams, their struggles and triumphs. I want to say that I appreciated their transparency. I valued their vulnerability. I cherish their wisdom. They did everything they could to make sure they showed their humanity.

I have quite a bit to share from the conference but for now I will leave you with this little gem. I ran into Bob Goff just as he walked in the back of the end of the conference on Day 1. He gave me a hug and said "Hi, I'm Bob! I like your hat! Here let's take a selfie!" ‪ My admiration for these humans stretches a thousand miles and a million years.

& He Said..."I Hope You Dance"

"When I look back on my life...I want to be able to say that I danced because I had freedom to do so. I want to say I lifted my hands because I had strength and humility. I want to say that I sang till my voice became hoarse and out of tune because I had His breath filling up my lungs. I want to say I cried floodgates of tears because of how the Spirit was moving within my life and the lives of those around me. I want to be able to say I submitted my life, that I yielded to the Lord's will, and gave everything that I could...because He gave ALL." 

-Freely, 

Gabrielle