She emailed me in her grief and asked if I’d pray. She had said things not intended for certain ears, but those ears eventually heard and they were hurt. So hurt and angry that they refused to forgive. My friend tried several ways of reaching out and admitting her fault and expressing sorrow for what… Read More Unaccepted Apologies = Unhappiness {Lent Day #16}
I’m not sure how Martin Luther did it, confessing his sins daily and sometimes for hours on end. I read recently that he just about drove his Father Confessor insane with his “excessive” confessions. He was accused of trying to avoid work and studies by staying in the confessional, but that wasn’t the case. He… Read More Amputation, huh? {Lent Day #15}
Yesterday Robert urged me to sit awhile and reflect on the Lord’s goodness to me over the weekend. “Otherwise your heart will grow hard,” he said. He told me that he does it every Monday ~ reflect on all that the Lord did on a Sunday. All of the conversations, the responses, the encouraging words,… Read More Only God Can Do This Stuff {Lent Day #14}
I really wish I could come up with something better, more mature, and deeply spiritual to post for my daily Lenten confession endeavor, but this is all I’ve got today. It’s not your typical Lenten practice. In fact it’s actually the opposite of the fasting and self examination traditionally observed, but it’s what I resorted… Read More Morose Mood = M&M’s {Lent Day #13}
“My dear,” she said after a time, “have you a perfectly distinct, settled view of what Christ is to the human soul?” “I do not know. I understand, of course, more or less perfectly that my salvation depends on Him alone; it is His gift.” “But do you see with equal clearness that your sanctification… Read More Resisting Gifts & Retreat Rejoicing {Lent Day #12}
“Hardship after hardship is with me…” is what Job said in the aftermath of losing just about everything he had from his property, to this servants, to his livestock, to his health, and to his very own sons and daughters. Now, that’s true hardship. And it was one after the other after the other. What… Read More Wonderful Weariness {Lent Day #11}
The sad thing is that I didn’t think I was capable of this. Speaking words that wound. Growing up, I was on the receiving end of a lot of wounding words, harsh, sarcastic tones, raised voices, and unbridled criticism. It was painful then, and the the memories can still produce grief. I would never do… Read More Wounding Words {Lent Day #9}
“Something has gone terribly wrong. And everyone knows it.” is how the chapter on the Fall opens in the book Doctrine by Driscoll and Breshears. The last few days around here have proven it over and over, and I’m not talking about the frustrations inherent in every sewing project, but they are a good illustration!… Read More Imperfect Patterns {Lent Day #8}
The tears were coming so easily yesterday and this morning ~ tears of joy and tears of fatigue and frustration. My friends got to meet their sweet son soon after his birth mother gave birth, and the pictures that followed were just so beautiful. In the midst of all of that joy, there was also… Read More Hopeless, Ashamed, Yet Brought Near {Lent Day #7}
Donwton Abbey had me dumbstruck and up later than I wanted to be last night. Actually, I sort of knew what was going to happen, because as I Googled around to see when season 4 would start, I ran across some pretty big spoilers, hints of tragedy. Wasn’t one big tragedy enough for one season?… Read More Adoption Grace {Lent Day #6}