Good, honest, to-the-point truth. And sometimes you just have to sit back and process, but it’s a good kind of process.
Sadness and Madness – Beth Moore. Because we hurt each other – when we’re simply called to love.
“As if it’s not enough that we are surrounded in this culture by Christin haters, we’ve got to have our own hater-Christians. It’s insane. Life is hard enough without hatefulness rife in the Body of Christ. We are called to carry one another’s burdens, not pile relentlessly on top of them. We can still hold one another accountable. We can still ask questions. We can still disagree. But we can do it with respect.”
What Christians Need to Know about Mental Illness – Ann Voskamp. One of my dearest friends has a sibling with a mental illness. And these words by Ann? They need to be spoken. It’s such encouragement to ME to know how to better love her and her family, and I know it’s encouragement to those facing this storm.
“We’re the people who say: there’s no shame saying that your heart and head are broken because there’s a Doctor in the house. It’s the wisest and the bravest who cry for help when lost. There’s no stigma in saying you’re sick because there’s a wounded Healer who uses nails to buy freedom and crosses to resurrect hope and medicine to make miracles. Shame is a bully and Grace is a shield. You are safe here.”
*5* & a beautiful gift – Angie Smith. This woman and this baby girl have changed my life. Truly. There’s no need to go into detail, just simply read the post and learn about little Audrey girl. She would be five now…but in hundreds of hearts, she IS five. Audrey blossom is a gift to the world from God.
“I wait for the blossoms to come, and when they do, in whatever form the are given, I treasure them as long as I can. I praise the God who brings life, and in so doing, I praise the God who takes it. I believe He mourns with me while I wait, but I also believe He rejoices in ways I can’t yet. He sees it as it will be, when all is made right, and it’s beautiful.”
On letting our girls be themselves – Lisa-Jo Baker. Now this is going to sound a little silly, but LJ has treated me like a daughter many times. And I love her for it. There are people in life that I just know are wise and I respect, and she’s one of them. This post made me think of my own mom and how she’s always been my biggest cheerleader.
“Go ahead and climb, daughter. The jungle gym, the slide, the corporate ladder, that mountain top, the back of a South African elephant. Go ahead and climb high.
Go ahead and love, daughter. Fully, arms open, heart exposed, go ahead and love extravagantly.
Go ahead and forgive, go ahead and show grace, go ahead and don’t be afraid to say sorry.”
When An Apology Makes You Drop Your Jaw and Your Cake – Kristen Strong. Relationships are oh so messy. Things bend and break and sometimes the glue holds…and sometimes it doesn’t. This post has made me think and think. I believe in redemption, even when I don’t see it in certain relationships. I believe He is still making all things new.
“I may have dropped my cake.
I know I dropped my jaw.
And all I could do was hug her.
No, she didn’t say I’m sorry. She didn’t ask me to forgive her. But the point of an apology is to model Christ: to redeem, to make new. With the offering of her words, she did this.”
Anything gotten your attention recently and made you think? Laugh out loud? Cry? Please share :)
