What a blessing my family is!  Thanks to my neice Ashley for taking our family pictures.  What a great time we had and the pics turned out good!  Yay!

Grace ~ a beautiful thing

God continues to remind me that He is in control.  My heart seems to fluctuate from doubting His goodness to embracing His heart. But as I seek Him, I quietly hear His voice. God is still good.  I've had so many opportunities lately to share my heart with people.  It just seems to spill out of me when I least expect it.  I can only pray that God will be blessed.  And that people will be affected and changed by our story.  That is really what it's about.  So as I continue to look for opportunities  I think that God is saying that He isn't going to take the pain away but He will use it instead in our lives. Maybe that's what grace looks like.  I wonder sometimes what grace means.  Maybe grace is when I can embrace who I am and find peace.  And maybe grace is finally letting go of my own failures and then realizing that God has already done that, that He never did keep score.  Grace,  it's a beautiful thing.  I'm glad that God loves me enough to trust me with sharing, extending and living out His grace. 

Mary ~ she chose well!

I realized recently that God has been showing up in my life in amazing ways.  He continues to teach me and remind me He's close to the brokenhearted.  Yay!  I'm so glad!  Lately I had been thinking about the story of Mary and Martha found in Luke 10.   I had always thought how easy it was for women to relate to Martha.  Martha is busy serving and I think if we're honest we understand Martha, she's like us.   As women we love that about Martha and she's real!  She's a doer, she might complain a bit.  But she's busy, serving, fixing.  Doesn't she sound so familiar?   But Jesus says to her "Martha, Martha you are anxious and troubled about many things."  Wow, I really relate to Martha.  I could put my name in place of Martha's and I hear Jesus speaking that to me.  But......I really love Mary and I've always admired and desired to be a Mary!  Don't we all.   Jesus said to Martha "but one thing is necessary and Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her."  This past year I believe that God has invited me to be a Mary.  I guess in a sense He let me sit at His feet. He gave me a wonderful gift.  I didn't always understand this gift.  I pray that He continues to show me how to be a Mary. And like Jesus told Mary, He won't take that away.  He continues to whisper into my heart and in fact I believe He's been writing it on my heart.  I guess I need it in writing, so I can really get it! 

Luke 10:39 ~ She had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to His teaching.

freedom ~ another treasure

It seems quite often as women we spend so much time fretting over things and carry burdens we were never meant to carry.  We are so good at making others feel guilty.  I'm learning that often the things we feel guilty for or allow others to make us feel guilty for is just false guilt.  As women we are born nurturers and often we have the gift of mercy and it can sometimes get us in trouble. Knowing to look at the difference is so valid and can be absolutely freeing.  There is good guilt that brings us to repentance when we've looked at it from the standpoint of God's word.  I think I've wasted so much of my life fretting over silly things that God never meant for me to carry.  I'm glad that God has been patient with me and has lovingly given me new eyes to see, new mind to understand, new heart to love.  I'm learning not to allow others to define me.  Unfortuneately it took sanfilippo entering my life to really force me to take a good look at  my unhealthy way of thinking.  God desires us to be set free and live life abundantly.  I guess I'm just beginning to understand what that looks like in my life.  I'm discovering each day God's design for me.   I am so thankful for a God who continues to surprise me with new truths, new understanding, new perspective and freeing me from false guilt to live life in a spirit of freedom.  He loves us that much!

Galatians 5:1 ~  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.