So often I find myself thanking God for His mercy and grace, paired together as I express my gratitude for both. Mercy and grace are similar in that they’re both loving manifestations, but they are different. Perhaps you’ve heard it said, “Grace is receiving what you don’t deserve, mercy is not receiving what you do.” […]
Neither do I condemn me
I accidentally got caught up in a little condemnation this morning. Sneaks right up on us, doesn’t it? We’re processing, thoughts, prayers, people, you name it, and boom. For me anyway, I’m suddenly keenly aware of how I could “do better.” Be better. I prayed that out a bit, and Our Father reminded me that […]
Highly Qualified
I was thinking about how to reframe my mistakes so they didn’t pack such a shameful punch. What did I come up with? My mistakes are learning certificates, not condemnations. And this life thing? I’m HIGHLY QUALIFIED. I have many learning experiences I want on one hand to forget and bury, and yet I also […]
Making excuses
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” -Matthew 26:41 So often as I’ve claimed the grace and forgiveness offered by my Father, I feel like it’s too easy. Even as scripture tells me I am no longer associated with my sin, no […]
Panning for gold
As I prayed through the fact that God doesn’t see our sin (Psalm 103:12), I tried to conceptualize how, being omnipotent, He could possibly “not see” my human distractions and missteps when He was literally inside this vessel with me, experiencing the same things I was. I think it’s kind of like an e-store filter. […]
Dispute
I couldn’t tell you how it started really. I can tell you that I didn’t say much, this person said a whole lot with intensity, and it was my faith on trial. I can also tell you the peace I felt in the moments during and after is the stuff of “passing understanding”. Just wow. With […]
Apologies
When someone hurts me/us, I’m initially met with confusion, aka, “I’ve got to be missing something, this person I put trust in wouldn’t hurt me like this on purpose, it must have been a mistake.” Assuming the best of people is an important perspective to take, but discerning where harm has been caused by mistake […]
Trusting too easily
Over the years I’ve found myself repeatedly pouring out pieces of myself hoping to be fully seen and known…and still loved “despite me”, as though I had to “sell” the best parts of me in order to be accepted with all my “bad”. I’ve found that the pieces of me revealed in confidence (and if […]