Holders of Grace

Good Friday. If you lived this day, 2,000 plus years ago, you would probably wonder  what could have been good about it. How could it possibly be good to watch the man,  who you knew was the Savior of the world, die.  Not just any death, but the death of a criminal.  Not just any criminal, but the vilest of criminals. How could there EVER be ANYTHING good about that? I love how God works. He sent Jesus to die for our sins. The disciples were scared and confused this day. They were hiding and broken.  They felt that the light they had found in the world was gone.  We know that the story didn't end on Friday. We know that on Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead! We know that this day was necessary. It was needed to give us direct access to God. But Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit.  Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. Matthew...

Well hello there!  Welcome back to my sporadic posting... because that is what has happened. I can make all kinds of excuses. The truth is I have been too mentally and physically exhausted  to sit down long enough to write a blog post. And that is ok. But, I have something to share. We have been going through a season of spiritual warfare.  All kinds of things happening in the life of our family.  Things that were heartbreaking and discouraging. Broken relationships and broken people. Too much to do and not enough time to get it done. Also amazing triumphs that can only be attributed to  God and the power of the Holy Spirit. When conflict arises in our lives, how do we react?  Do we immediately go to anger, or do we go to our knees?  Do we take it all personally, or do we recognize that  there may be something deeper happening that has nothing to do with us? Honestly, I usually react with anger fi...

Today, my youngest turned eleven months old! This past year has just flown by. I love Facebook TimeHop...yet hate it all at the same time. I love seeing all of the memories that come in that are full of joy and love. And, then I think about how my sweet kiddos have changed in the last year,  and I get a little sad.  It is so true: The days are long, but the years...they are SOOOOOOO SHORT!!!! When I think about the fact that my sweet little babies, will Lord willing, grow into adults, I get teary. My chest gets a little tight, a slight panic sets in.  Who will they be? Will they stick to the things we have taught them? Will they make wise decisions in their life? Will we still be talking to each other when they are adults? Will they be parents? What will they decide to do with their lives? Will we become friends? So many questions, and so many prayers! I thank God that I do not know their futures.  I am thankful that t...

First off, sorry for the absence for a week. We, like many, have been dealing with the flu!  I was down y'all.  I am never down, and I was down to the point of my husband  taking time off work to care for our kiddos, because I could not, down.  So I obviously was not up to writing.  Here I am again.  Humbly submitting what God has been teaching me over this time. When we are sick, life stinks, because it keeps going!  The kids still go crazy in the house, the dishes still pile up, the bills still come in,  and the world keeps spinning even when we stop.  But, I am doing much better and I am starting keep up with the world again.  And today, God gave me this song as I was doing my quiet time.  "Broken Ladders" Selah This beautiful song is covering me today. As I listen, I keep asking myself why I try so hard to reach and make myself  what I feel is worthy of God. Worthy of His love an...

I will let everyone in on my struggle. To spend time, on my own, with Jesus. I know that this is a common struggle because I have sweet friends who keep me accountable. We ask each other if we have had our quiet time today...and most days that is a struggle for me. Today, my quiet time kicked me in the rear, and it stings. Along with the book of the Bible that I am trying to read through, I try to read from Proverbs. If you did not know, there is a Proverb for everyday of the month, so look at the date and read the Proverb. God is pretty cool in giving us easy ways to read His word, especially if we are trying to establish, or in my case, re-establish getting into His word daily. Today, I read Proverbs 19. There is so much wisdom in this little chapter, however, what stuck out to me today was this:  Proverbs 19:13b-14  a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping. Fathers can give their sons an inheritance of houses and wealth,     but ...

Throughout your day, what do you fill the dead space with? The silence? The time when there is no conversation. Do you fill it with music?  With the news?  With a TV show that you don't really pay attention to, but have going in the background? My "dead space" is often filled with things that are less than what they could be. I have been convicted of this lately. I regularly fill the dead air in our house with the TV, or my most recent obsession the sound track from "The Greatest Showman." (Seriously though...best new musical in a LONG time. I highly recommend!) In all of this, I have noticed something with my kids. They start to reflect whatever it is I am watching or listening to. This means my three year old has been walking around the house singing, "Never Enough" which is totally not the message I want sinking into her little heart. If you give the song a listen you will know what I am talking about. I am consciously making the effort t...

It has been a few days since my last post. I wish I could tell you I have something amazing to bring you today, however, I just do not have anything amazingly spiritual or super deep to talk about today. Today I am exhausted! We had an incredible weekend.  Friday, I spent most of the day cleaning and preparing for my newly five year old's birthday party.  He wanted a PJ Masks party, and I wanted to give it to him.  So I spent the day finishing cleaning, baking a very green Gecko cake, and decorating.  Thankfully we had some very good friends staying with us,  and my hubby and I were very thankful for all of our friend's help! Saturday, we went to Winter Jam in Tampa, with our youth group.  This was an all day affair to wait in line to get good seats, and yes we did have good seats.  My parents drove in late Friday night to take care of our four crazies all day Saturday. Bless them!  Sunday, we had an amazing day celebrating ...

Hooray it is a new year! That means all kinds of things.  Right now that means getting us back on track after the craziness of the holidays.  My husband is a Youth and Children's pastor and the Holidays are always a crazy time for us.  The end of 2017 was no exception. I also homeschool our kiddos.  My oldest is in first grade and my middle two are plugging away with preschool.  They usually just play a lot while I work with my oldest.  We also have a chore chart that I LOVE, but have gotten very lax with.  Plus a behavior chart to keep everyone in line.  Ok usually my wishful thinking with that one. Our routine has gotten so far out of whack,  that I am very glad for a new year and a new week.  Today, I started back full force with my online job, school, and the chore and behavior chart... and the kids are having none of it! My oldest girl is fighting off a fever virus that has had her down for a few...

For Christmas my children got a ridiculous amount of new and fun toys.  This means that their already overflowing play room needed to be purged. A little background on our play room, what we call The Den.  We bought our house and it had an extra office type space built into the garage. It started out as an office, and our play room was what would be the formal living room, but with four kids that just isn't a thing in our house. That room became the school room, the toys moved to the den, and the office is also our guest room. Because the den was built into the garage, you have to step down into it.  Before Christmas, our threenager, affectionately named "The Tornado", had managed to dump every toy from every bin and drawer in the room. This resulted in the den no longer being a step down, but pretty much even with the true floor...yeah... I was not happy.  My husband was not happy.  We decided for our own sanity to tackle it after we...

...and here is why. Every time I do, I fail. The tradition of the New Years Resolution has been one of those things that I used to participate in.  I would say things like:  I am going to read my Bible first thing in the morning;  I am going to clean my house everyday;  I am going to not yell at my kids. And then, the morning rolls around and I am exhausted  so I hit snooze just one more time, and then I have missed my alone time to read. Or the end of the day comes, and the kids are finally in bed,  so hubby and I sit on the couch and promptly fall asleep. OR my kids find some new form of destructive behavior for the umpteenth time today,  and I end up red faced and embarrassed because I lose my temper again . All of these things are good things to resolve to do, don't get me wrong.  But, the reality of the New Years Resolution is that I am taking God out of the equation.  I am setting myself up for ...