The Miracle of Jesus's Incarnation and What it Means for Us

“The incarnation brings unceasing hope and an end to our exile, wandering, and despair. There is great comfort for our souls in the truth that he is just like us. Here’s why: the incarnation tells us that even though we sin, we are not alone; even though we’re weak and finite, he knows what weakness and mortality are because he was weak and mortal just like us; and even though we continually fail, he has committed himself to be part of a race of failures- and he has done so forever.”

-Elyse Fitzpatrick, Found in Him

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Incarnation means God became a man. Jesus is both fully God, and fully human. It’s a concept full of mystery. What does it mean for us?

faith, graceDawn KlingeJuly 6, 2015gospel, Jesus, grace

An Independence Day Prayer for the United States

“First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” - 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Paul wrote the verse above to Timothy, during a time when the Christian church had considerably less freedom than it does today, here in the United States. It was a time of Roman rule, when the prevailing culture and the government were strongly antagonistic towards those who followed Christ. Paul wrote those words, but God inspired them. There is no question that, as Christians, we are to pray for our country and those in authority.

prayerDawn KlingeJuly 1, 2015prayer

What I Learned- June

Once again, it's time for "What I Learned", a link-up with Emily @ Chatting at the Sky, where we look back on the past month and share the little treasures we gathered along the way. Sometimes silly, always fun. If you want to join in, link up here.

what I learnedDawn KlingeJune 29, 2015What I Learned

Why Does Jesus’s Presence With Us Matter?

“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.

faith, graceDawn KlingeJune 24, 2015gospel, God's love, God's purpose, grace

10 Ways to Brainstorm Blog Post Ideas

I’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.

writingDawn KlingeJune 22, 2015

How to Overcome Evil with Good

It’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.

trust, graceDawn KlingeJune 17, 2015trust, gospel, kindness, justice, grace

A Victorian Themed Summer Reading List for Young Ladies

Here 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.

parenting, resources, readingDawn KlingeJune 15, 2015resources, parenting, reading

6 Applications for Grace in Marriage

God 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.

family, marriage, graceDawn KlingeJune 10, 2015grace, marriage

Grace in Parenting

Sure, 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,

parenting, graceDawn KlingeJune 8, 2015grace, parenting, God the Father