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 ...
Category Archives: Self
I Can’t Do It
As a mother, I feel this way quite often. When I haven't had much sleep and I have to get up and take care of children, when I'm on day ten of sick children, or when I'm cleaning up messes...again, I often think... I can't do this. I hear other women say the same thing, too... "I think God may want me to (stay at home with my children, change jobs, homeschool, etc.), but I just don't think I can." We often feel like we aren't up to the task at hand. And the truth is we aren't able. Often, I can't do the hard things. At least not by myself. But, God, who is much bigger than I, has called me and equipped me to do them. Paul struggled with this same thing. And he found that God was always sufficient in his weakness: But ...
Right of Way
There's a little town next door to ours that lays claim to "the highest per capita income" in the state. Now I'm not really sure of that statistic--I can think of a few other places with just as few "shoddy" neighborhoods and just as many chic inhabitants--but that's what they believe of themselves to some extent. We like visiting the downtown area because there are cute shops and wide, tree-lined walks with lots of street-side dining. It's a relaxing place to spend an afternoon or get an ice cream after dinner. One aspect I am less impressed with though, is the driving. Twice in one day I drove through a particular intersection that I've learned to watch very carefully. It's a 4-way stop, but you'd never know it. There seems to be a "law of the land" that supercedes state driving regulations and somehow authorizes the person with the fanciest vehicle to ...
A Northern Exposure Life
Our house here is situated on the lot so the front of the house faces east and the rear (where the kitchen and family room are) faces west. I miss the wonderful southern exposure of our home in Portland; the main areas of the house were bright all the time, which was important to me when half the days were gray! When we bought this house long-distance (after spending maybe 10 minutes in it) I thought the east/west thing would work out ok here though because there is so much more sunlight to begin with. What I didn’t take into account is between the porch overhang in the front and the patio in the back, there isn’t all that much natural light inside for most of the day. So here I am in a “sun-drenched” locale, with the lights on from breakfast to bedtime! Even more strange though, is that the two ...
Imperfectly Real
The center stone of my wedding set has a 'feather.' That’s a rather romantic name for what amounts to a chunk of diamond missing where one facet should be. I don’t know if the feather was always there—the set belonged to my husband’s mother before me. The jeweler called about it when we left it to be sized. He put the diamond under his loupe and made a diagram of all the imperfections that make this stone unique. Someone else may have a ring that looks like mine, but like snowflakes and fingerprints, no two diamonds are exactly alike. I know what distinguishes mine from others. In a diamond, the nature and quantity of inclusions can diminish the value of a stone, but in our modern age of lab-created colored gems, expert Walter Schumann explains, “Inclusions are common. They are not indicators of lower quality, but show the difference between a natural ...
Lightbulbs
by Sarah I love my children. I have two girls, ages 4 and 6. They are my heart and my purpose. Even when they make me crazy, as children are wont to do. I received a gift when I became a mother, and it was more than just a baby. It was insight into the heart of God. I have learned more about the nature of God since I had my first child 6 years ago than I learned in the 25 years prior. I can’t tell you how many times I am in the midst of a mommy moment and the light bulb goes on above my head. “Ohhhh… I get it.” The other day Ella, my oldest, was trying to stack her markers end to end to touch the ceiling. They weren’t all the same kind and weren’t a ...
Heaviness
I am in a place right now where I find myself often teetering on the fence between "fine" and "overwhelmed". All too often, I'm struggling to overcome the heaviness life can bring. I suppose that isn't too surprising with my 6 sons and their antics (especially those of a certain set of 3 year old twins) that constantly keep me on the edge of my seat. But, I can guarantee you that there are days of heaviness in the lives of every woman I know. Doesn't matter how perfect their life looks. Even the woman down the street with the perfect house, perfect lawn, perfect cars and perfect kids occasionally has days filled with heaviness. Heaviness can come from an illness, a mood, a situation or concern in life and so many other things. But regardless of where it comes from, the challenge is getting rid ...
Is my conduct worthy?
"Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ" Philippians 1:27 nkjv This week was a bit of a milestone week for me. After seven years of being an exclusive stay at home mommy I went back to work. Our youngest is in school for a full day now which gives me some time to have a part time job. (Plus I knew that if I was home my husband would expect our shower to be clean!) It's an on call position which is even less demanding than a part time job. I am a 911/Police dispatcher. It is a job that I held for quite a few years while my older two children were babies and starting school. It is what I love to do. This Monday began my training. For the past seven years I have been warm and cozy in my Christian ...
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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...
