Thinkers, Makers & Doers unto the Glory of God.
Thinkers, Makers & Doers unto the Glory of God.
My Dear Church,
I have a great desire that you would look upon my life and see it, not as hidden, but as transparent.
Through this letter it is my hope that you may understand both the great joy and the great challenges I find in leading you on a regular basis.
Read MoreDear Pastor,
In the wake of recent events, I’ve penned this letter out of grave concern for your well-being.
It seems lately that some of your kind have fallen away.
It’s been said that where there is smoke, you can expect fire. For those of us watching, it was obvious in those circumstances what was going to happen.
Some of us have scattered, while others have stayed. Some of us are exiles, hoping that one day amends can be made for the injustice we found within the walls of the churches we once knew as home.
Read MoreSeeds of discipline sown in times of adversity will be reaped as discipline’s reward in times of harvest.
You may have read my husband’s post about how we didn’t kiss until we were married. If you missed it, you can check it out here.
Shortly before I met Matt, I decided the next person I kissed would be my husband. And to me there was only one way to ensure that was the case. Our first kiss had to be on our wedding day.
I had kissed other guys before and after thinking about it I realized I was sowing seeds of commitment that could never be reaped. It was time to sow seeds of discipline.
Read MoreIn unfamiliar social situations I am going to do one of two things:
I’m either going to jump in the deep end with all my clothes on and embrace the situation or I am going to avoid the pool altogether.
My preference is the former. I love people. I love making people laugh and love making people feel like they can be completely themselves around me and not have to apologize for it.
Read MoreWhen I had my first child I had no idea how to prepare myself emotionally.
For the first few months of her life I didn’t even feel like the same person.
I recently told my husband that during that time I felt more alone than I have in my entire life. Even when he was there I felt alone. He was always there for me, by the way. He was incredibly helpful and loved our little family well. But there was a sadness that crept over me like a blanket sometimes.
Read MoreLock in and learn to enjoy where you are.
What you plan to do or where you plan to be is predicated upon loving and living where you are right now. It may very well be that the person you need to be to excel later in life, is hinged upon growing through the rise & grind that you're living in now.
Dreams are wonderful and your passion matters.
But a dream without any deadlines is a pipe dream. Wanna flesh out your passion? Set calendar dates and make intentional progress towards your vision.
The sooner, the better.
Read MoreWhen I was 14, I remember riding in the passenger seat of our family mini-van, looking out the window on a bright summer day. I turned to my mom and said, “One day, I’m going to do something big for God. I don’t know what it is, and I don’t know how, but it’s going to be big.”
The conviction in my heart was so strong. If I could have grabbed my mom’s head between both of my hands and downloaded the knowing that I had straight into her being I would have. Because I didn’t want to just talk. I hesitated to tell her because what if that’s what it was? Just fourteen-year-old talk?
Understand that I had not just returned from summer camp or had some experience where I saw Jesus flashing like a neon sign. I just knew. But what I didn’t know was what “big” looked like because what people consider “big” is not usually what God considers big. But I was willing to do whatever it took to get there and I was okay with whatever it ended up looking like. Even then I had a sense that God could do miraculous things with a life that is radically surrendered to Him.
Read MoreI had a close friend once tell me that there are two times in your life where those you know will really show up to support you, at your wedding and at your funeral.
When my wife and I were married, it was a party, but it didn’t come easy. We paid for most of it out of our own pockets. We had the right music, the right cake, and had waited for the right moment to kiss each other for the very first time.
Yes, before our wedding day, my wife and I had never kissed.
It wasn’t because we didn’t want to. Trust me, we REALLY wanted to. I certainly wanted to. I would consider myself as much of a man as any guy, so when I say I wanted to kiss the woman I loved, I really wanted to kiss her. In fact, there was plenty more I wanted to do too. (Cue Marvin Gaye music).
But before I say too much, you need to know something about our story.
Read More**Disclaimer: I know that many of the people who normally read this blog do not fall under the category of “woman in her child-bearing years,” so you may be questioning how this would be relevant to you but I would encourage you to keep reading anyway. I will only be moderately oversharing, so you should only be moderately uncomfortable. Embrace it. It’s good for you.
I just had my second child. I did not expect to be pregnant for as long as I was. Even at my last appointment the doctor seemed to be baffled that I was still pregnant. My first daughter came at 38 weeks so this little one shouldn’t have been far behind. Well…she was. My due date passed and then days and then I started getting texts and calls and advice…lots of advice on how to make things move along quicker.
I tried basically everything except castor oil, the consumption of which expels everything from your body just short of vital organs. Then the induction was scheduled. The day before I decided to try to help Mother Nature along one more time. So, I went for a 2 hour walk. Oh, the waddling. I’m sure I was a sight to behold. Shortly after, I started having contractions. Not big ones, just steady. There was nothing telling me I was about to have a baby and needed to head to the hospital.
Read More
I like “Sour Patch Kids.”
You could even say I’m passionate about those little, chewy gummies. The sweet and the sour hit me with a combination that I really enjoy. Sometimes, I even experience a sudden rush of blood to my face when I eat them. My wife knows these are my choice movie snack while watching a good film. I know for her, it’s “Milk Duds.” I’m sure in the proper setting you have your preferred snacks and “go-to” junk food, as well.
Junk food is like momentary fun, disguised as food.
It’s the stuff that’s high in calorie, but has no real nutritional sustenance. It’s the kind of food that hits you hard, but leaves you empty. For a brief moment, you get elevated and your glucose level spikes to provide a burst of energy, then the wave settles and you’re left just as empty as when you first consumed [insert choice junk food here], and aside from the short-lived high you discover that there was really nothing in what you ate to help your body long term.
So let me ask you, have you ever experienced this while sitting in church?
Read MoreI just got done reading part of a book about loving your body. Like, saying to your legs,
“I’m so thankful that you work and you get me around. You are really great legs. I have great legs.”
Right now body image is a huge mystery to me. I’m in the last trimester of pregnancy with my second child and I couldn’t be happier about her arrival for two reasons:
1. She will finally be here! I get to look into those eyes, touch those little feet and hands, I get to feel utterly helpless and she actually will be.
2. I get to take control of my body again…kind of. I mean, I will be like a human buffet for months and just because the kid is outside of my body doesn’t mean that it’s not still sustaining her.
But I am looking forward to the new season. With a newborn this season is short but it also feels like an eternity.
I’m going to be honest. I do not feel beautiful being pregnant. I’m already tall and I’ve never been super slim. I’m about average build. BUT, when I’m pregnant I feel like The Hamburglar or Big Bird or the guy who dresses up like the cow from Chick-fil-a, not a real cow. I feel imposing. Like if I walk up behind you I might scare the snot out of you but then you see that I’m pregnant so I’m really just cute and cuddly. Not only am I tall, but I have this layer of “baby love”.
Read MoreOur culture is one of excess. We binge and purge. Everyone. There is really no exception. I’m not just talking about food. I’m talking about entertainment, spending, leisure, sex, social media, the list goes on. If you think you’re the exception then you can stop reading right now, I suppose I’m not talking to you.
I’m talking to people like me.
For example, someone might say (myself included), I don’t watch a lot of TV. Well, that’s nice. Neither do I. BUT when I find a show on Netflix that I like, I will watch it until there is no more to watch. Binge. I will deprive myself of sleep, I will shirk responsibility. When I have a bit of free time, guess where it’s going? And sometimes, if you’re lucky, you get your spouse in on the action and you waste your lives together. What does it matter? There are only a limited number of shows you can watch, so eventually you will come out of your entertainment induced stupor and once again embrace the light of day.
Read MoreGod has given all of us a passion. Something we just love doing. I love conveying that passion through music. I can be as vulnerable as I want to be. I let people see a side of me that I wouldn't normally be comfortable with. But, on the other hand, with music I never really felt like I fit in anywhere specific. I've got power when I want it but not a huge range. I feel like I stand somewhere in the middle of soul and folk. I can sing low and I can sing loud. Man, I can blow your hair back. But I don't always want to. I don't always want to be heard.
I got a vocal scholarship for college, but I didn't really connect with classical training. So, because I'm a PK (pastor's kid) I found myself leading worship and I love it. There is nothing like leading people into a greater awareness of God and the reality of who He is. Although, I soon realized if I'm standing on a stage for people to see me, then the moment I leave the stage it's over. People may pat me on the back and say I did a good job but it ends there. Still, if I decide I have this one chance when I'm singing or speaking to move people; for them to leaving thinking, or inspired, or changed by God, it's then that I tap in to something eternal, something bigger than myself.
Read MoreFirst, I would like to apologize for our silence. Pregnancy and an odd combination of varying circumstances had put us out of commission for a while. But we're back and we couldn't be happier about it!
I feel like a certain amount of responsibility comes with a name like "We are the Vigilant". You might be wondering why we picked such an intense name for a blog, ministry, etc. Why not pick something a little more palatable? A little more "vanilla," if you will? And all I can say is, it just clicked. It touched on something that was our heart's cry. Not that Matt and I would just be vigilant, but that people would be inspired to wake up, to be aware, to say WE are the vigilant. Anyways...since the name of the blog implies we are watching and looking out for what's coming next, I guess that means we should at least be ready for whatever that is. So, I guess that also means we get to be the first to change, the first to adjust.
Read MoreThe first time I ever stood in front of a crowd to speak, I made sure to dapper up. I slicked my hair back, put on my best sweater and pair of corduroys, made VERY certain to smell nice, stepped on stage, and then…
I totally forgot to hold the microphone close enough to my mouth so anyone could hear me. During my message no one bothered to say anything. It wasn’t until after the event when I asked a friend what they thought, that I actually knew what had happened. My friend’s response?
“It was good,” they said. “I just couldn’t hear you.”
Read MoreSo, we knew we wanted to share about this past year. We wanted to share where we are coming from. But first, I want to say that this past year has been a “butt kicker”. There have been moments where we loved it and where we hated it. I’ll be honest, the majority of the time I hated it, but for what we’ve learned and how far we’ve come, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
This past year we also started MissionBrand. This is a company specifically designed to support missionaries through the sale of custom apparel that my incredibly talented husband designs. We learned a lot from this experience, too. Things don’t always go the way you expect them to. We received an incredible amount of moral support and encouragement. A lot of people have said that we inspired them to take steps of faith out into the unknown. This meant so much to us! Would I do it again? Um…Oh God, please don’t ask us to do this again. Will He ask us to do this again? Probably.
In January 2013, we said goodbye to some incredible students that it had been our privilege of ministering to since 2009, both as volunteers and then as their youth pastors. This was one of the most challenging things we have ever had to walk through. During that season, we had some of the most rewarding and heartbreaking experiences of our lives. We learned a lot and we didn’t do everything perfectly but, by God’s grace, we did our best.
Read MoreThinkers, Makers, and Doers unto the Glory of God.
We're writers and creators intent on sharing our passion with the world. In addition to each article we share, you can also get a free copy of our book, Everyday.
Infused with blues and folksy roots, Casey Shirley strives to create music that is both eclectic and deeply personal. Listen to the single, Abraham's Song, now.
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