“No matter how popular we might be, none of us has ever experienced deep unity or authentic union with another. Since the day that our forefather and mother were exiled in the garden of Eden, we’ve been lost, trying to get back in, trying to find oneness with each other and the Lord." Elyse Fitzpatrick, Found In Him
All of us know what it's like to feel alone, sometimes, even, when we're in a crowd of people we can feel that way. We long for true unity and union. This is why Jesus’s presence with us matters. We were made in the image of God. We were made to live in unity with God and others, but without the love and work of Jesus Christ, his grace, we are lost.
Read moreI’ve got something a little different for you today, a peak behind the scenes at my writing process. Here are ten ideas that I use to brainstorm blog post ideas:
This first idea was partially inspired by reading Nina Amir’s, How to Blog a Book. The initial 3-4 months of writing for this blog, I wrote exclusively from an outline that I did for a book I’m working on. I chose my topic first (trusting in Jesus) and then I started researching. I read at least five books on my topic before I ever started publishing any content. Next, I put together a playlist of songs that inspired me. It was at this point that I decided I wanted Oceans, by Hillsong, to be the theme song of my blog and my book. The lyrics lent themselves to organizing the book into 8 chapters. Each chapter had a line from the song, to use as that chapter’s focus, and each chapter had 4-5 blog posts (or chapter subtopics), which fit together under that theme. So I had approximately 40 blog posts ideas from one book outline.
Read moreIt’s much easier to see the speck in someone else’s eye, than it is to see the log in my own. (Matt.7: 3) I want people to act justly towards me. I feel the sting of greed taking a painful hit on my family, and I react in anger towards the selfishness I see so clearly. I’m a mama bear, dangerous, and ready to attack.
Read moreHere is a list of summer reading designed for a young lady, centered around the theme of the Victorian and Edwardian time periods. When I homeschooled my daughter in seventh grade, these were the favorites from her booklist. Together, we enjoyed delving deeply into themes together- and for a while, we were immersed all things Victorian. I have great memories of that year, so I'm sharing this list in the hopes that some more young ladies (and their moms) might enjoy these books over the summer.
Read moreGod shows his love to us through his grace, and grace is an essential ingredient in a strong marriage. If we want a marriage that filled with grace, there are some practical applications we can focus on. Here are six of them.
Read moreSure, we can get outward compliance by shaming our kids, but that is all that it will be. Shame is not the same as repentance. It’s grace that brings about a heart change. I love the practical example, above, from Elyse, which shows what applying grace to our parenting can look ike in daily life. Here’s another example,
Read moreThere once was a man named John. He was born in London, in 1725. His father was the commander of a merchant ship that sailed in the Mediterranean. Little is known about his mother, except that she taught John what he knew about God. She died when John was young. At the age of eleven, John began sailing on long voyages with his father
Read moreJust for fun, I'm joining in with Emily of Chatting at the Sky for a link-up called What I Learned. This is a mix of treasures that I picked up along the way this month.
Read moreThis morning, after days of heavy rain, the sun appeared. I went for a run through the forest. Sunlight filtered through a thick vapor that was billowing off the mossy tree trunks. The water droplets on the tips of the pine needles and leaves appeared as thousands of tiny glittering diamonds. It was so beautiful, tears came to my eyes
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