Blog – Grace Thread

Jun

2019

It’s Okay to Trust Your Heart

Are you surprised, too, that summer’s arrived? Summertime can sometimes make us feel like kids freed from school–ready to stay up late, play outside, watch movies, eat ice cream, and ask ourselves a dozen times a day, “What do you want now?”

It’s an interesting question – “What do you want?” To answer honestly, you have to get in touch with the true you, deep inside, and what she truly desires. Answering “What do you want?” means trusting your heart.

And that can prove tricky sometimes, especially if you’ve been taught good Christians know their hearts are “desperately wicked” and not to be trusted (Jer. 17:9), instead of the truth that you possess a beautiful, wise heart made new through salvation in Christ. (Ezek. 36:26; 2 Cor. 5:17)

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Jun

2019

God Is Not Working on Your Flaws

When you looked in the mirror this morning, what did you see? A person with shortcomings and rough edges? Someone who has a loooong way to go before she measures up? A gal who struggles most days with feeling “not enough?”

You’re not alone, my friend. Most Christian women struggle with the “not enough” epidemic. Me too — for much of my life.

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May

2019

We Can Stop Apologizing Now

I sat down to read a magazine this morning. Not an earth-shattering confession, I know, but an unusual occurrence around here. (And just one more way I’m pursuing playfully alive today — my 2019 word of the year.)

As I flip through the pages of Real Simple (May 2019), I make it as far as pg 10, “The Editor’s Note,” where Leslie confesses she is a recovering chronic apologizer. Which is why she loves this issue’s essay feature: “Women on what they no longer apologize for.”

Color me intrigued! I flip to page 126 and read all seven articles, right in a row. Short and sweet confessions of women no longer apologizing for things like loving cats or hitting the snooze button or being vulnerable.

And it gets me thinking . . . Leslie (and these 7 honest women) aren’t the only ones who have vowed to stop apologizing. I’ve been a chronic apologizer for much of my life too. Many of us are. Maybe you’d have to raise your hand too!

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Feb

2019

The Struggle Is Real

Do you ever struggle with doubt and wonder where God is? Wonder if He sees, if He knows what’s going on in your life?

The other night I had a fight with doubt.

If I were a meteorologist, I’d tell you it felt like a category 1 hurricane, with some mild flooding, and an impressive tsunami of emotion to top things off. The next morning the aftermath nipped at my heels, trying to pull me back down into the fears.

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Jul

2018

How to Hide Till You No Longer Recognize Yourself

Have you ever noticed that religion can teach us how to hide?

You can hide your sorrows behind “God is good.” You can hide your anxieties behind “Casting all your cares.” You can hide your burnout behind “godly Christians spend and are spent for Jesus.”

But when you hide, eventually a deep ache grows inside. You may masterfully squash your longings and shield your true feelings, but sooner or later the real you leaks out–or risks being silenced for good.

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