I'm determined to let Joy have its way in me today. There are some days that make finding that elusive internal balance a real chore. Finding a sense of balance - a way of "having it all" - has always been an issue for women, it seems, for as far back as time goes. I heard a Bible lesson taught once, and its message has stuck with me. It was all about the balance of life. The rise and fall, the lulls and the swells, that life’s ocean carries us on. Things come. Things go. People come. People go. Circumstances are bad. Circumstances are good. It’s the circle of life, and it’s only in coming full circle that balance is achieved. Good wouldn’t be recognized as ‘good’ if not for the balance of the ‘bad.’ Sweet wouldn’t taste nearly as delectable without ...
Category Archives: Staci
Spaces of grace
grace: unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification b: a virtue coming from God c: a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace I can’t get away from it this morning. I woke up with these words--a space of grace--trailing again and again across my mind. I wanted to write about something entirely different here this morning, but the right words for that post are just too elusive. And so I’m giving in to the words that are here, and I’m exploring them. I’ve always known these spots existed, these spaces of grace, but I’ve never had reason to put a name or a description to what they were, or what they meant to my life. They are these “pockets of time” in our spiritual journey when we experience moments so filled with His power that we are ...
Embracing change
It was 5:30 in the morning and I was up early, knowing that Round Two of The Moves was just ahead. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee downstairs lured me and I moved to sit in the quiet, still dark living room to enjoy a couple of cups before beginning what would prove to be a long day. My morning prayers had been whispered earlier, in the stillness of my bedroom, as I awoke with, both, a sense of delightful anticipation and a sad pang of…well, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. That was the day, almost two years ago, that Jorge moved to his own College Town four hours away, and truly left our home looking dreadfully close to an...Empty Nest. I thought about what the next hours would sound like as we made the drive south. Did he feel a tad bit sad too? Maybe even a little ...
Broken, but beautiful.
“Wait a minute…” Darlene, the inspiration and heart of the place, paused and looked at me. “You write, don’t you?” I nodded, too overcome with emotion to do much more than mutter that, yes, I did indeed write. She pointed to the large, cracked pottery vase she cradled in her arms and then motioned to the many more on the shelf behind her. “There’s a story here somewhere, don’t you think?” Oh yes. If she only knew… Just minutes before, we’d come upstairs to discuss the details of my new volunteer duties at Coventry, a place for mentally handicapped young adults to come and learn a skill. I’d already taken the downstairs tour and had seen both the gift shop where the finished products were sold to the community and the work and production area where these special needs young adults were gaining pride and ownership as they learned the craft of pottery. The work that ...
Absolutely perfect
A few weeks ago I walked into the house at the end of a long day and sank onto the couch, kicked off my boots, and launched into filling Mike in on all the details. He’s good at that; at knowing when I need to talk something through and - on this particular day - I think he realized long before I did, that I was about to, indeed, talk something through. He pulled off his reading glasses like he does when he’s preparing to give his full attention to something and he listened. It had been a full day, with classes, labs, a meeting, and then a late lunch with one of our sons. The many conversations - rich with nuggets of information that were still waiting for me to patiently mine through - played through my mind and skipped across my heart as I tried to convey it all ...
The Word is Grace
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. - II Corinthians 12:9 I was twenty-four years old - broken in spirit, weary in flesh, and heavy in heart- the night I discovered grace for the first time. Grace wasn't a foreign word to me. I had grown up on church pews. I had listened for years to Sunday school lessons that expounded on the magnificent grace of God. I had heard what could quite possibly be called the greatest sermons ever on the attributes of grace. Of how, though undeserved , grace flowed to God's children, bathing their lives in unmerited favor. I believed this. I trusted this. But I'd never felt it. In actuality I didn't really even know there was anything to feel. As far as I knew, my walk with God was as good as it was going to get. Wasn't I doing everything I knew, ...
The Tides of Time
Poets and writers - for as far back as literature and songs go - have inspired mankind with the promise of renewal. A time of rejuvenation for the soul. For those of us who know God, we know that true renewal only comes from Him. But - although in a somewhat lesser sense - if we’re looking for it, we can find hints of this respite all around us. I believe it is His promise to us. Night eventually turns into day. Winter slowly melds into Spring. For every tide that crashes onto sandy shores, one more is already rising up behind it. Maybe the Disney lyrics to Lion King say it best: "It’s the circle of life and it moves us all through despair and hope, through faith and love until we find our place on the path unwinding…in the circle - the circle of life." I am trying to be very conscience these days ...
Finding color in the gray
"Kommen sie hier, bitte." A simple phrase, yet a very special and poignant one in our home. Several years ago, as we prepared for our trip to Europe, my husband and I devoured a couple of language tapes, trying to soak up enough French to sound legitimate in Paris and enough German to have some fun in Prague. Now, almost a decade later, we remember very little of these impromptu language lessons. But this one German phrase, Kommen sie hier, bitte, remains a staple in my husband’s vocabulary. Translated, it means "Come here, please." But spoken in a hushed voice, accompanied by outstretched arms, it represents nothing short of pure comfort to me. At the end of very tough days, or sometimes at the beginning of a busy one, I’ll hear those three words. "Kommen sie hier, bitte." I walk into his waiting arms, and know that - even if for only a few brief ...
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Genny Heikka
Managing EditorGenny started her career life thinking that the business world was where she wanted to be. But after her daughter was born and she began reading books to her, she realized that what she really wanted to do was be a writer...
