My husband and I have been trying to start being active again. When we started dating we were both avid gym goers, then life got in the way (as a lot of you can probably relate). We wanted to start hanging out more together but with work and home responsibilities… that became a bit difficult. So what did we decide to cut out in order to spend more time together? The gym. Although we wouldn’t change our dating history for anything, we are having some trouble getting back in the work out routine again.
So we are taking it slow. We have been going on walks mostly every night of the week together.
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Little people streamed into the lower elementary school, bunching up to giggle, chat, and await the morning’s first bell. Office staff bustled about, answering phones, greeting parents, trouble-shooting things I could only guess at.
Moms and dad alike ushered their children into the lobby: sporty mom with her toned legs and bright smile, fashionista mom with her cute skinny jeans, ballet flats, curled hair, and sparkly accessories, stylish dad holding backpacks and snow gear, coach-dad high-fiving the boys…
Teachers walked by briskly, attending to last-minute details, flashing big smiles to adoring pupils.
Waiting beside my six year old for the bell to ring, I sported a messy bun and zero make-up.
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God is always near.
Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. Judges 6:17
Sometimes I feel like Gideon. Hiding out from enemies, staying on the down low. The quiet. The ‘don’t stir things up’.
And I feel alone. This season of doing hard things, life changing things has felt rather lonely. Of course our son is here, and my husband is still my best friend. But when I sing hymns it isn’t “One Day At A Time, Sweet Jesus”, it is “One minute at a time.”
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I recently had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of Jennifer Hand’s 31 Days to Coming Alive. Written as a daily devotional, her words captured my attention, and really got me thinking…and going deeper.
God could have made one common animal, but Genesis describes how He made varieties of animals, plants, ecosystems, environments, even the land and the sea. The powerful part of God? He spoke all of creation into being with His words. – Jennifer Hand, 31 Days to Coming Alive (bold mine)
I couldn’t help but stop here and ponder. God spoke all of creation into being—with His words.
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We easily notice our reflections when we see them, don’t we? Mirrors. Windows. Water. For some reason, We automatically take notice when we see our own reflections. But how often do we consider the depth of what our reflections mean?
We see a physical body when we look at our reflections, but let’s go beyond that. They say “the eyes are the window to the soul,” but have you ever tried to look through your own window?
Genesis 1:26 gets at this depth too.
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make make in Our image, according to Our likeness…”
While “image” and “likeness” mean basically the same in the Hebrew, Medieval theologians believed “image” referred to “natural reason” and “likeness” to “original righteousness given before the fall.”
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Hello my friends! I can happily announce that I am now officially Mrs. Laura Allard 🙂 I was married to my husband Rock last month and it was the most beautiful day of my life. May God have all the glory!
As a newly married woman, my husband and I are striving to keep God at the center of our marriage. Even for a couple who’s foundation is based on Jesus, it is still hard to stay focused on God’s Kingdom. With the newness of everything about being married (down to the redecorating the house with all of our new gadgets) we still must make time for the One who matters most.
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I find myself yelling at my girl-child far too often. And so, the only way I can combat this rising tide, the only way I know to stop a raging tongue and troubled spirit, is Truth. With a capital T.
So I’m going through the Proverbs and I am writing out every verse, every word on patience, on anger, on a wayward tongue.
And wouldn’t you know, before my eyes crawl over any of the above, I am pierced by Proverbs 3:3 … “Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.”
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A Bible Scholar I am not, but as these eyes stare up at me in wide-eyed wonder, oh how I wish I were. Their question’s simple, yet after decades of claiming its truth, I still struggle with explaining it plainly. In a way these childlike hearts could understand. I’m over-thinking it, clearly, as it shouldn’t be that difficult. I cling to grace each day. Surely I can explain what it means to a group of 5 year-olds.
Her heart-shaped sequins glisten as she reiterates the question:
“So what does grace mean, anyway?”
I feel like a deer in headlights as I stare back at her long lashes and find myself quoting Romans 5:8 without really realizing why.
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