Blog – Page 2 – Grace Thread

Dec

2017

The Joy of Receiving

December is flying past us.

By now we’re all surrounded with
twinkle lights and gift lists,
Christmas carols and flurry,
holiday goodies and party plans.

But sometimes in the busiest seasons Poppa reaches down and whispers something special.

For me it’s the word, “receive.”

Like a soft whisper on the wind, this word follows me lately.

When I first sensed it, I thought, “That’s odd. This is the season for giving, isn’t it?”

“Receive” can seem like a selfish word — like a little child, overly excited about opening her own presents, never giving a thought to anyone else. For us responsible, committed adults, the word, “give”, is the true mantra of Christmas. Give presents. Give cheer. Give goodies. Give love. Give comfort and joy.

I mean, isn’t that what Jesus did when He came to earth — gave of Himself? Isn’t that the very thing we now celebrate ‘mid the flurry and frost? Continue reading →

Nov

2017

Two Ways I’m Learning to Love Life’s Ebb & Flow

Ever live through a season where one thing takes all of your attention? That’s where I’ve been with Amaze Live for the past few months. Some by necessity. Some by design.

On Saturday October 21st, the very first Amaze Live conference happened here in Colorado. What was it like?

God was here. Right in the middle of it all.

You could feel Him in the worship.

You could sense Him in the dramatic poem.

You could hear Him through the Word.

And you could watch Him as women united around grace and experienced the truth of being more than enough in Christ.

I hardly have words, my heart’s so full.

The Slow Reemerge

As I’ve slowly crept out of my conference-focused hole the last couple weeks, it’s been to rest. Oh, I’ve done some laundry, called a couple people, cleaned my house, and even stared at the next few items on my business to-do list.

But more than anything I’ve felt S.L.O.W. Like I’m walking through a swamp of molasses and my feet are taking their own sweet time.

Ever faced a season like this? The kind where you’ve finished a project or a busy time and your mind, body, and spirit loudly agree, “We need rest.”

When I look at nature, I see God’s design in this–with the seasons, planting and harvest, the ocean . . . . Continue reading →

Jul

2017

Faith Resuscitation {help for when you are sick of the brick wall}

Ever have those moments where you’re stumped?

You’ve been working on a problem, trying to fix a relationship, or praying for a difficult situation for a long time now. But instead of finding a solution, it feels like you’re stuck in a toy car that’s driving into the same brick wall over and over.

With each jarring impact you find yourself asking,

Why . . . [UFF!]

. . . is this . . . [ERRRG!]

so . . . HARD? [OW!]

I’ve been facing one of those situations recently. And it bugs me.

Let’s be honest—I’d much rather things were always sunny and easy. {If I owned ducks, they’d always sit perfectly in a row, of course.}

But you and I both know that life’s not all nice and neat – even this grace life.

The last week or so I’ve found myself wondering what to do with this situation because I’m getting kinda tired of the jarring stop at the end of these recurring brick wall runs.

Have you ever felt this way?

Like the situation you face is taking far too long to resolve? Or worried that maybe that particular relationship takes too much work to be worth it? Or that perhaps this is the one problem on earth without a viable solution?

Do you ever wonder if God hears you (‘cuz He sure isn’t doing anything about this at the moment}? Continue reading →

May

2017

When Giants Loom Large and Your Faith Seems Small

A giant surprised me the other morning.

He crept into the bedroom and loomed above me, breathing his stinky, rotten breath in my face when I woke up.

His name? DOUBT.

This nasty guy whispered all kinds of evil and untruth to me. Things like…

You DON’T HAVE ENOUGH time and energy to get everything ready for your event in two weeks…
Your house is a wreck. You really should have time to keep it pristine AND grow your business…
You‘re ALL ALONE. No one will help you…
That spark in your heart that God keeps fanning into flame will NEVER come true. You don’t know enough people or have enough resources much less the wisdom to plan a huge event like the one you dream of…

Yeah, pretty rotten thoughts straight from the father of lies who loves taunting God’s children with, “But is God truly good to you?”

I felt the full weight of Doubt settle on my chest. He badgered me while I cleaned the kitchen. He taunted me while I got my husband out the door for work. I struggled to think of other things. But the fear-riddled story remained.

Now what?

As soon as the door closed behind Dave I sat on the bed, wondering how to face my day. (An unusual occurrence for a high-achieving, self-starter, lemme tell you.) Continue reading →

Apr

2017

Smells Like Cupcakes Around Here

It smells like cupcakes and cake around here! Well, not literally {though come to think of it, I am craving a cinnamon cupcake}, but figuratively it does since

Grace Thread is four years old this April. Woot, woot!

In honor of her birthday, I have a couple fun things to share with you.

How She Got Her Name

One of my favorite birthday traditions is hearing the story of how I was born. Does your family do that too?

My mom calls me every year on my birthday and tells me about the day I was born–how the tornado ripped through town that day, scaring everyone half to death. Continue reading →