Blue Christmas: Grief & Grace

Blue Christmas: Grief & Grace

Today…

May your grieving heart find a seat at Jesus’ table of grace.
May your grieving heart find at least one snippet of joy each day as you move through the holiday season.
May your grief land on the soft pillow of God’s grace, as you let Him remind you that your tears are precious & counted in His palm.
May your grief feel lighter today, and even lighter tomorrow.

18: Communication

18: Communication

God’s love language is PEOPLE. He sent us a savior so that we would be free from the old law and embrace his final word of grace, and to me that says that people are pretty important to him. One way to honor that is by honoring his love language, honoring people. Which we can do when the goal of our communication is true, right, noble, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.

17: You're Right On Time

17: You're Right On Time

Tell me the truth: how many times have you had some variation of the thought: I’m behind or I’ve got to catch up or I’ll never get to do all they’re doing. If you’ve scrolled any social media ever, the answer is probably: at least once. But if we’re all being honest, it’s way more than that. We see these people doing all these things and we see ourselves doing less.

And then we experience the old burden of feeling behind in life.

16: Offense & Forgiveness

16: Offense & Forgiveness

There is plenty of advice on how, why, and when to offer forgiveness. And there is so much behind the act of forgiveness that doesn’t just include the offense, it can be tough to know which direction to go. Honestly, the only thing I could think of over months of thinking about this, is committing to it. Deciding that once we decide to forgive, that’s it. We have forgiven and nothing may be held for that offense from that day on.

15: Gray Hair & Wrinkles

15: Gray Hair & Wrinkles

The first time my husband found a gray hair on the top of my head (because I’m not quite five feet tall so eventually someone was going to find the first one and it wasn’t going to be me) I am pretty sure I vehemently denied it. He thought it was hilarious. I thought it was the absolute opposite! I can’t very well look atop his head to see how well his hair follicles are faring through marriage and parenting and the ups and downs of careers and pandemics and such. Right? Right. So let it be, man.

14: Presence

14: Presence

There is no way to live in the year of our Lord 2021 and not experience the tension of wanting or feeling the need to be in two places at once. We can’t do it with our bodies so we do it with our minds. Our bodies show up where they’re supposed to, when they’re supposed to, but that’s it. We go through the motions & are “here”, when really, we’re waaaaay over there.

If you want some ideas on what the absence of presence does & how to move into a present life like the girl in that picture up there, listen in.

Praise Through It Together

13: God & Therapy

13: God & Therapy

Why do I need therapy if I have God?

A great question… attempted to be answered in this podcast episode.

A quick hit answer: you have a series of hurts you’ve encountered over your lifetime. (None of that is your fault, by the way). Those hurts have burrowed down in your heart.

(Told you it was a quick answer!)

If you or someone you know wonders, What’s the point of therapy if I read my Bible and talk to God everyday?, then this episode is for you/them. A couple stories, a couple good illustrations, a great case made for why therapy is for everyone.

12: Tired Faith

12: Tired Faith

Does your faith feel tired?

I can relate. And it's got me wondering... what's true about having tired faith?

Well, I know this:

What’s true is that faith is like anything else: you’ll find a lot of messages on how to do it quote-unquote “right”. And I’m pretty sure there’s not a cut-and-dry answer to that. Listen in for some thoughts and encouragement on the daily struggle of tired faith.

11: Waiting

11: Waiting

As kids, we didn’t really have a good concept of time. Our expectations were that five minutes equals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Done! What changes as we get older is that our sense of time changes; we know that instead of just counting to five we actually have to count to 60 five separate times. What does not change is the fact that we hold our own expectations of what should happen and when exactly it should happen.

9: Salvaging the Wreckage

9: Salvaging the Wreckage

Sometimes it feels like life is catching fire and you’re powerless to stop it. All around you something is going wrong, one way or another, and you’re just trying to get from sunrise to sunset without setting off any landmines. And when that kind of season is upon us, I think we tend to tip-toe and just make do. We tire of showing up, we tire of trying again and again. We feel wrecked right along with whatever has come undone.

What if we saw the value of salvaging what’s left, rearranging, and finding the delicious inside the disaster?

6: Flipping the Character Coin

6: Flipping the Character Coin

I just know that I have to start dreaming again. I can’t wait for all the things that are out of my control to get better or to change enough so that I feel free. I just can’t do that to myself. I have to plan vacations for next year. I have to think about first grade for my daughter. I have to decide that I want to learn to ski next winter. Even if none of it happens, I have to dream. I have to be optimistic and hope that they do happen.

5: Going All In on Hope

5: Going All In on Hope

I just know that I have to start dreaming again. I can’t wait for all the things that are out of my control to get better or to change enough so that I feel free. I just can’t do that to myself. I have to plan vacations for next year. I have to think about first grade for my daughter. I have to decide that I want to learn to ski next winter. Even if none of it happens, I have to dream. I have to be optimistic and hope that they do happen.