Grace Blogs

In Part One of my post, I talked about a day at the pool, while we were on our beach vacation. We were surrounded by girls and women who were wearing very revealing swimsuits. Let me just say that I am so thankful for my husband! Anytime one of these ladies would walk by, he would intentionally look at me, the kids, or the ground. To make things more relaxed and enjoyable for us all, though, I suggested that we leave the pool area and head to the beach, which was less crowded. As we walked down there (with me admittedly frustrated and pouting all the way), this warning sign caught my attention:

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My family recently enjoyed our annual vacation to the beach. It is always such a wonderful time of relaxing on the beach and at the pool, refocusing on our family time, and enjoying God’s creation. We are so thankful for the blessing of being able to have this annual tradition!

However, this year, I must confess I was a little less thankful than usual. As we spent our first day at the pool, I was caught off-guard by the many women and girls whose swimsuits must have shrunk in the dryer before they came to the pool. I know that this is not a new problem, but we purposely schedule our vacation time during the off-times that are less crowded.

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It seems like so many people have been going through so many things, recently . . . but then again, I said that last year, and the year before, etc.  As I leaned over and told someone this week at the funeral of one of our church members, while we were grieving with and for the family, “death stinks!”  Sometimes, I just have to process that, and then I remember that we don’t grieve as those who have no hope, if we are followers of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Thank God for Christ’s sacrifice, that death is not the end for those who are His! 

Still, there is a time to grieve, and I am feeling that right now. 

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Lately, I’ve had some prayers that I’d really like some quick answers to. Thanks to my friend Dawn who sent me this helpful clip, I may be on my way to a faster and easier prayer life. Check this out!

Unfortunately, Ebay is currently out of these. Oh well, for now I guess I’ll have to stick to the old-fashioned ways of trusting God for answers.

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I just have to share something that happened last week.  It was very heart-warming and encouraging for a momma!

Austin (6 yo) walked in my office tonight and announced that Savannah (8 yo) had a problem “they” needed help with. Savannah’s face looked very troubled, and I confess that my immediate thought was “Oh no . . . what has she done?” To my surprise, Savannah and Austin wanted advice on how to encourage some friends to stop being unkind to one of her classmates. She told me of her concern of how this newer classmate feels different, since he started mid-year and is not really at the same level as the other students, and that at school that day

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My family recently watched the old musical Annie. What a charming and happy orphan Annie is! Her happiness stems from hope, because she knows that she belongs to someone and that someone will rescue her. Well, my hair is not red and curly, and I’m certainly not as charming as she is, but I am an orphan, nonetheless. Yes, I’m Little Orphan Donna. Don’t worry, though. I have been adopted by my own Daddy Warbucks, and He’s the richest man in the world!

So, what do you think of when you hear the word “adoption”? Maybe you think of someone giving hope to one who didn’t have hope, someone giving identity to one who didn’t know his identity. Perhaps you

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How beautiful it is to see the body of Christ serving and loving each other! Reflecting on this past weekend’s women’s retreat, I’m struck by how God has uniquely gifted each member of His body to serve and care for each other to build up His church. As I sat and listened to stories from ladies of different ages who are in different stages of life, I saw how each one has a special opportunity to serve, encourage, and care for each other. I spent most of my weekend all teary-eyed, which I’m sure, comes as a shock to all who know me. But, I was so thankful to see how God used ladies who were willing to be stretched beyond

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In Love Your God with All Your Mind, author J.P. Moreland asserts that the American culture has become filled with people who are characterized by what psychologists refer to as the “empty self.” He describes this condition as being dangerous to the Christian because it is “constituted by a set of values, motives, and habits of thought, feeling, and behavior that perverts and eliminates the life of the mind and makes maturation in the way of Christ extremely difficult.”

It’s hard to cover all of Moreland’s points about the “empty self” on a blog post short enough for anyone to read, but I am attempting it, minus his well-presented support for each point (for that, you’ll need to read

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On the Life of the Mind blog, Tracy asked how others encourage their children to love God with all their minds. Tracy, as you know, I have children who are the ripe, old ages of 7 ½ and 5 ½ , so I’m speaking with great authority here.  Obviously, I say that in jest. I know I don’t have the wisdom of those parents who have older children, but I thought it would be great to have a new blog post where people tell their methods of doing this. Maybe we can all encourage and inspire each other with our ideas. Just to get things started, I thought I’d mention a few things we try to do. If

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As I write this, I’m thinking of all sorts or reasons not to put this “out there” for people to see. This is my first blog, and I admit I’m afraid that I’m going to ramble, as is often the case (and judging by the length of this post, IS the case, already). But, mostly I’m afraid that I might say something wrong or be challenged and unable to back up something that I may assert. So, why am I doing this, anyhow? Well, it’s for that very reason! I need to be challenged. It is too easy to live life without thinking through what we believe and why we believe it. I think this is particularly true of many

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