Last week I wrote about my struggles to keep relationships going, to know how to move past hurt, disappointment, and the little conflicts that plague all human relationships. Relational grace starts with a grasp of how God relates to us. Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” God is glorious and has always been glorious. He exists in glorious relationship within the Trinity. He created a perfect creation and world for...
Before I jump into talking about God’s grace in my relationships, I want to share a little of my story. I feel like I’ve been the “new girl” my whole life. You see, I was a military kid. My dad joined the Navy as a Chaplain when I was in second grade. I ended up in three different schools that year. We didn’t move as much as many military families, but it was a new home and a new...
Charitie Lees Bancroft wrote a beautiful hymn called “Before the Throne of God Above.” One of my pastors at church recently quoted it, and this line struck me: Before the throne of God aboveI have a strong, a perfect plea;A great High Priest whose name is LoveWho ever lives and pleads for me.Isn’t that a beautiful thought? At the point that your are most ashamed, most caught in your own fallenness, your selfishness, your failings, Jesus is interceding for you...
“Forever is composed of nows,” wrote Emily Dickinson. My life is made up of these nows that make up forever, so I thought I’d share a collection of recent ones today. This collection reminds me that, although my life seems mostly crazy and challenging, it is full of beauty to celebrate and thank God for. Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” my drawing princess I think there’s some theology...
I just finished reading Ted Dekker’s novel, Eyes Wide Open. I like his books because they get to the heart of life and, in crazy and sometimes disturbing ways, point to the Gospel. These books always get me thinking. This book was about a pair of friends stuck in a world of their own imaginings, a world that is very real, and scary. The only way out is to grasp and hold onto a greater reality–of who they really...
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2:5-7 My family and I have the honor or serving in many ways in our church. We have a community group that meets in our home. We teach kiddos on Sunday. And I’m a neighbor, wife, mom,...
