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Fragments of Faith

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There comes a moment when you realize the pieces of your life don’t fit the way they used to. And maybe they were never meant to.

This space is for the woman who is learning that her identity isn’t found in what she’s been through, what she’s done, or what’s been done to her, but in who she belongs to.

Fragments of Faith exists as a place to gather stories, Scripture, and truth for women in the middle of becoming. Here, we talk about faith, healing, purpose, and what it looks like to trust God with the broken and beautiful pieces while He creates something new.

If you’ve ever felt fragmented, unsure, or in a season of rebuilding, you’re in the right place. You don’t have to have it all figured out to be held by Him. by @fragmentsoffaith_

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8 months ago

When God has placed a dream on your heart, it is not selfish to pursue it. It is an act of obedience to act on your calling. by @fragmentsoffaith_

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2 years ago

Since I have met new friends this week, thought I would say hello 👋

My name is April and my first book, “Pieces of You” launched this week 🙌🏻

I have spent the last 20 years as a corporate trainer and speaker helping leaders define their vision, values and communicate more effectively. I learned something along the way: even with the best personality profiles and leadership assessments, if you don’t know “Whose you are” you will never really know who you are. I wrote “Pieces of You” to combine what I have learned in the corporate world with faith and help women ‘discover who you are and whose you are.’

Fun fact, I was once asked to teach a “Women’s Leadership Academy” and I said “I don’t do all girl groups”… I taught it… and loved it. Now, I am surrounded by girls all the time! I wrote this book for women and I am a mama to 4 girls!

For now, I’ll share some pictures of this week that show more about who I am.

I am a wife to Kip. We have Lauren, Lydia, Anne Marie and Maria and a lot of animals!

I started a ministry called @lydiasplaceinc and we serve young adults who have experienced foster care and housing insecurity. 💜

I spend my days working as a speaker, driving carpool to dance, loving my people and I hope I can encourage you along the way! by @fragmentsoffaith_

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2 years ago

Seeing a sloth was absolutely on my bucket list for Costa Rica, and we got to check that off right as our van pulled into the resort. This friend was literally in the tree when we opened the door to find our room.

I had seen a sloth before, but hadn’t seen one actually moving around and I don’t think I realized just how slow they really are.

As I watched him climb down, here’s what I started thinking about… That sloth wasn’t moving slowly because something was wrong with him. That’s how he was created to move.

I wonder how often we look at people around us and think we should be in a different place than we are.

Someone else seems to be further along, and has the family or the accomplishment we wanted. And before we know it, we are questioning not whether we are doing enough, but even more, “Am I enough?”

But God didn’t create us all with the same gifts or the same path.

It’s easy to get lost measuring our progress against someone else instead of recognizing what God is doing in us.

“But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”
Galatians 6:4

I don’t think that sloth was worried about how quickly the monkeys were moving through the trees! And I wonder if we might enjoy our own path a little more if we stopped comparing it to everybody else’s.
#sloth #slothlife #faith #walkbyfaithnotbysight #biblequote taken in Costa Rica by @fragmentsoffaith_

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2 days ago

We are in Costa Rica this week and these ants are everywhere! They are all marching in long lines carrying pieces of leaves that look way too big for their bodies!

I finally used google lens to ask what they are doing… turns out, they take the leaves underground, where they use them to grow their food. They all have different jobs and work together to get the job done.

There is a lot to learn from these little creatures: it’s easy to get so caught up in wanting to do something big that we overlook the importance of the little things. We want to make a difference and know our effort matters. And if we are honest, we most often want to see some results!

But I wonder how many things God is doing that we can’t see because we are so focused on the big goal.

Those ants are busy carrying their leaves, one piece at a time. And together, I assume they are accomplishing something pretty amazing underground.

Maybe we underestimate what God can do with the little things we do. A conversation, a little effort, a kind word, one right next step, showing up when someone needs us…

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.” Proverbs 6:6 (KJV)

I love that the Bible actually tells us to pay attention to ants!
#ants
#costarica by @fragmentsoffaith_

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3 days ago

I am sitting in the back of the plane today.
Last week, I was in the front. I had two hot meals served to me, bedroom slippers waiting on my seat, and flight attendants who couldn’t do enough for me.

Today, I annoyed the flight attendant when I asked for a granola bar.

Last week, I was traveling for work. This week, I am traveling for fun.

I didn’t earn that seat up front. It came with a position. And as soon as I wasn’t traveling in that position anymore, my seat changed.

Sometimes we get a title, a position, a little recognition, or special treatment and it’s easy to think we deserve it.

But the truth is, we aren’t any more important when we are sitting in the front than when we are sitting in the back… God gives us opportunities and positions, but He never intended for us to find our worth in them.

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:11

So here is my reminder today: your position may change, but who God has called you has little to do with where you are seated. by @fragmentsoffaith_

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6 days ago

This week, I traveled to Sofia, Bulgaria to meet a team and at least half the room came from Israel.

We spent the day together on October 7 and if I’m honest, I had forgotten the significance of that date. When we met for breakfast that morning, I could see on their faces that something was different.

Three years ago, their lives changed dramatically. The fear, the loss, the uncertainty… I watched as members of the group gathered together for a time to remember what happened and the people they love.

When I opened our day, I acknowledged the significance of the date, but also that I couldn’t fully understand the magnitude of what they have lived through. I haven’t walked in their shoes. But, I made space to listen and to learn about their experience.

Then we moved on to talk about communication, relationships, and how to work better together.

But I couldn’t shake the stories of the bomb shelters, the fear when they couldn’t get to their children, and especially of the family and friends they lost.

It doesn’t really matter what we believe about politics from afar when you meet people who have walked a road we don’t understand. I think that’s true everywhere.

I wonder how differently we would treat people if we remembered that … if we were a little slower to judge. A little quicker to listen. A little more willing to extend grace.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

Sometimes, I think we believe carrying someone’s burden means we have to fix what is hurting them. Usually, we can’t.

But we can listen. We can care. We can acknowledge that what someone has walked through matters, even when we don’t understand it.

I went to Bulgaria to help a team strengthen their connections with one another and I came home reminded that connection begins with something pretty simple.

Seeing the person in front of us as a human. by @fragmentsoffaith_

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8 days ago

I love to tell God the plans! I tell Him where I think I could matter. Where I could make an impact. How I think He could use me. And He almost always redirects my path (sometimes it’s almost like I make Him laugh!)

A few years ago, I wrote a book and thought I would make an impact speaking to women in churches. I pictured stages and rooms full of women.

Sure, there have been women’s events and some stages but more often, God put me in front of a group of 9 year old girls in my living room.

When Lydia was in the fourth grade, I wanted her to have a group of friends who would encourage each other and grow in their faith together as they got ready for middle school.

So ten girls started meeting for Bible study. They named themselves the Bible Buddies. At first the scriptures came to life through games and crafts.

But here’s what I didn’t see coming: those girls took what we talked about and lived it.

They encouraged each other. They prayed for each other. They kept showing up. They got older, and their faith started becoming their own.

And other kids noticed… turns out they wanted something like it too.

The next year, a group of boys started and then more groups of kids started meeting in living rooms with other parents leading.

That wasn’t my plan. That was God working through a bunch of kids who were willing to live out what they believed.

“Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”
1 Timothy 4:12

I thought God might use me to influence people from a stage. Instead, I got a front-row seat to watch a group of girls influence each other and then watch their influence reach other kids.

Maybe that’s the part I keep getting wrong when I give God advice about my plans.

God is looking for people willing to be faithful right where He puts them - and these girls did just that!

*If your child is interested in being in a group and/or you are interested in leading a group, I would sure love to talk to you! These groups were never meant to exclude anyone- we just need more leaders so more kids can be a part! by @fragmentsoffaith_

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12 days ago

Yesterday, I wrote about being tired… here is what happened next.

When I walked downstairs and saw the water in our basement, I panicked.

Kip was out of town. I had a house full of girls. It was Sunday morning. And I had absolutely no idea what to do first.

So I made one phone call to a man who has done some work at our house.

I woke him up and do you know what he said? “I’m on the way.” He didn’t just come. He brought his dad. Then his mom showed up. Then John came.

And suddenly, I wasn’t standing in all that water by myself.

They stayed ALL DAY.

They left to get fans and squeegees and supplies. Then they came back and kept working.

As I watched them wading through my messy basement, I kept thinking about something my dad used to say:

“You vote with your feet.”

You show people what matters to you by where you are willing to show up.

Not just when it is convenient. Not just when you have plenty of time. You show up when it is hard and even when you have something to lose.

But what got me most came later.

I received a text: “I sent you the invoices for the previous work, but there will be no charge for Sunday. That’s what neighbors do. They show up when you need them.”

Wow. I had spent the last few days focused on all the things that had gone wrong and right there in the middle of one of them, God reminded me of something that was very right.

There are still people who show up, people who see the mess and walk right into it. People who don’t ask what is in it for them.

People who vote with their feet.

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” Proverbs 17:17

Sometimes God’s provision doesn’t arrive as the problem going away. Sometimes it pulls into your driveway, rolls up its sleeves, grabs a squeegee and says,

“I’m here.” by @fragmentsoffaith_

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13 days ago

I have been away from writing for a little bit, not because I couldn’t write… I just didn’t feel like it.

It feels like Murphy has taken up residence at our house for the past few weeks.

The garage flooded. Then the basement flooded. My car started leaking oil.

And then I found a snake in the yard. I am TERRIFIED of snakes and so that just might have been the final straw!

And with every one of these things, I know all the right thoughts… I am blessed to have a house with a garage, a basement and a yard.

I know that. But I am also tired and trying to hold down work and carpools and all.the.things!

Because sometimes it isn’t one big terrible thing. It is just one more thing, then another thing, and another.

Each one requires a phone call. An appointment. A decision. Something to clean up or fix. Something else added to a list that already felt pretty full.

And I think sometimes we are so quick to remind ourselves to be grateful that we don’t give ourselves permission to say, “This is a lot.”

But those two things can coexist.

I am super blessed… AND, I am tired.

I am reminding myself that gratitude doesn’t mean we have to pretend something isn’t hard.

Maybe you are there too. Nothing is completely falling apart, but you are exhausted from holding together a hundred little things.

Jesus has something to say to us there:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

He doesn’t say, “Come to me once you have reminded yourself how blessed you are.” He doesn’t ask us to minimize what feels hard.

He says, Come.

So that is where I am today.

Still grateful. Still blessed. Still tired.

And still coming to Him.

(And maybe I can show up here again because I am having a quiet minute at the airport away from some of the chaos😜) by @fragmentsoffaith_

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13 days ago

Fourteen years ago, God gave us Lydia and this week had been all about celebrating her!

One of my favorite parts of being her mom has been getting to watch as God shows us more and more of who He created her to be.

Lydia notices people and she loves BIG. If you are one of Lydia’s people, she is in your corner for always!

I don’t know all the step’s God has planned for Lydia, but I know He made her to bring fun and light with her everywhere she goes. He created her to go all in on whatever she is doing and to give her whole heart to whoever she loves.

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:14

Happy Birthday @lydiakatefarlow! I sure do love who God made you to be. by @fragmentsoffaith_

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22 days ago

One of the kids at Anne Marie’s school has been teasing her about wearing glasses.

He told her they aren’t even real glasses. She said “they keep saying they’re just blue light glasses.”

So Anne Marie asked me to get out her prescription so she could take it to school and prove that she actually needs glasses.

The file folder with her prescription was close to where we were sitting when she asked and I could have pulled it out in about 30 seconds. Still, I told her no. Not because she couldn’t prove him wrong, but because she didn’t need to.

Her prescription is real whether he believes it or not and I want her to learn something that I am learning myself:
Not every claim deserves a rebuttal.
Not every accusation requires evidence.
Not every person who questions you deserves access to your file folder!

Sometimes we spend so much energy trying to prove ourselves to people who have already decided what they want to believe.

We explain… we defend… we gather evidence… we replay conversations in our heads and think of all the things we should have said. But Jesus didn’t answer every accusation made against Him either.

“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth.”
Isaiah 53:7

There is a confidence that comes from knowing what is true without needing everyone else to agree with it.

So no, Anne Marie isn’t taking her prescription to school. She doesn’t need to carry around proof for something she already knows is true. And neither do we.

Some things don’t need defending. They just need to be lived. by @fragmentsoffaith_

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a month ago