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11 Comments» Continue ReadingDear baby boy, It’s safe and protected where you are right now. You are rocked to sleep as I waddle up the stairs with laundry. You don’t know how tired I am…from where you are, it feels but warm and soothing. And that’s how it should be. In a few short days (or perhaps even hours!) you will enter the world in which so many friends and family have anticipated your arrival. Our arms will be welcoming and my breath will be warm on your cheeks. But darling, this world is not a soft and gentle place. Your skin will immediately know the dryness of the air…but my dear, that is just the beginning of it’s harsh influences. You will arrive in a world that is conflicted. It isn’t sure what is truly right and what is wrong. It doesn’t always know what’s worth fighting for. Nor does it understand […]
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» Continue ReadingI am so pleased to introduce the sponsors of GraceLaced for the month of April. Please take advantage of the discounts and giveaways that some sponsors have offered to GraceLaced readers for this month. For in-store purchases, please save and print above image for $10 off purchase of $50 or more in the month of April. Moses Kountry Health Store is carrying a natural pain reliever: Europharma Curamin, including the Extra Strength. It gets to the source of the pain rather than masking symptoms like a drug and won’t hurt your liver like acetaminophen or Tylenol. Moses Kountry Health Store is offering 10% off for those that mention this ad: Curamin is available at Moses Kountry Health Store, and here (Use code: CRMN for online purchases.) Please visit Moses Kountry Health Store for all your health food and supplement needs! Visit Treasured Word Etsy Shop for lovely Scripture verse memory card holders and accessories. Treasured Word is […]
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» Continue ReadingWe are exactly 1 week away from Number 6′s due date, and there is great excitement and anticipation around here. There is so much unknown with a new little life. What journey will the Lord lead us on with this child? What joys and challenges will we uniquely face in raising this child that He has created? Sometimes motherhood is what we expected, or more…but sometimes motherhood ushers in a journey of faith that we did not intend to go through. Do you identify with this? I’m at The Better Mom today, sharing about trusting the Lord when He takes you where you never intended to go in motherhood. He is faithful, even there…where you didn’t plan to be. Join me at The Better Mom today.
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» Continue ReadingFriends, we are in our second to last week in the Because He Loves Me Book Study! I’m grateful that you’ve joined me here the last 11 weeks! I planned this study so that it would finish up right before Number 6′s arrival…I’m cutting it close with the last chapter landing next Wednesday, two days before the due date! I’m excited to share that we will be finishing up the study with a bang, as Crossway books has extended an amazing giveaway of Elyse Fitzpatrick books and a beautiful ESV Bible! So please, invite friends and spread the word on the giveaway next week, as these will be wonderful resources for young and mature believers alike. ************************************* This week’s chapter, “Gospel-centered Relationships” hits a tender spot in my life– a place of great affection, conviction, and sensitivity. Why? Because, as you know, our family was involved in church planting for […]
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» Continue ReadingI’m finally posting about my third spa room design project for sponsor and local Aveda concept spa, Casa Verde Salon and Spa. You’ll remember that they hired me to redesign each of their three spa rooms, beginning with the “Earth Room,” for which I painted Birch trees. The second one I completed was the “Water Room,” a room that combined a little industrial with a little modern French Recoco. That room received a lovely calla lily painting. For the “Fire Room,” I painted a crimson oriental poppy… This is how the “Fire Room” looked before… And this is how the room turned out, after a fresh coat of paint, new furniture and accessories, and custom wall art detail… I found some glazed poppy plates from Home Goods and hung them with plate hangers, and turned them into 3-D wall art… The drapes are from Target, but all […]
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» Continue ReadingDoes this statement seem wrong to you? God is good if he causes my labor to be smooth and perhaps 15 minutes long. What about this one… God is good if we weren’t so tight financially. Or this… God is good if things were less stressful and my kids don’t get sick. These statements are clearly untrue, and yet…I betray what I believe by the conditions on my happiness. Friends, I am about a week and a half out from my due date, and unlike my first pregnancy, I KNOW what is coming…I know the pain of labor, the exhaustion of long nights of newborn + other littles, the hormone swings, the unexpected sicknesses when you have multiple kids, the delicate balance between taking it slow and keeping up with what must be done, the dependency of a newborn, and the cost of diapers. I know, and I’m tempted to […]
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» Continue ReadingChalkboard art is everywhere. It’s super charming, and so simple to create. Well…okay…let me back up. Conceptually, it’s so easy, but in reality, chalkboard art requires lots of practice and a steady hand. If you are new to chalkboard art, here are some helpful how-to tips. And, for inspiration, these are my favorite chalkboard artists (you can buy their prints on etsy here and here!) Remember when I tried my hand at it? That was NOT a 15 minute project… I posted about the amazing baby shower thrown in my honor on Tuesday. As a hostess gift for each of the 9 hostesses of my recent baby shower for Number 6, I needed a personal, but affordable gift. I decided to make them each a set of personalized blank notecards with their initials and unique sentiments. There are so many ways you can use this idea. It’s pretty simple…Here’s how […]
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» Continue ReadingIf you are like me, you may have spent the majority of your Christian life motivated by the wrong feelings and aiming for the wrong goals. You may have forgotten the Gospel, while in pursuit of the Christian life. It’s not guilt, but gratitude for redemption, that should drive our pursuit of the Christian life, and yet, so many of us find ourselves in the cycle of fear and pride. It’s not the formula of regimen and knowledge that determines a mature relationship with God, but the fruit of the Spirit exemplified in our lives, yet we so often look to our checklists for affirmation: Remember, real progress in the Christian life is not gauged by our knowledge of Scripture, our church attendance, time in prayer, or even our witnessing (although it isn’t less than these things). Maturity in the Christian life is measured by only one test: how much […]
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» Continue ReadingI really did not expect to be celebrated for the sixth time with baby boy #6. Never did I imagine so many loving friends coming together to do so, and to do so with such flair. My sweet friend, Annalea, who way back when interviewed me online and co-hosted a Christmas blog series with me, has now entered my world of real-life friends after her family moved cross-country last summer from Illinois. It was such a delight and dream for her, along with 8 other dear friends, to host such a lovely party for me. They knew me so well…and it showed in the details. Annalea’s sharing about it over at her place today, so pop on over and take a look at this celebration for this nugget that will soon arrive, in just 2.5 weeks!
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» Continue ReadingI’m far too self-aware to act like a perfectionist– everyone knows that perfectionism is outdated, unachievable, and uptight these days. We are the generation of the imperfect, the handmade, the authentic. We are those who embrace being a mess. No one tries to act like they have it all together anymore. It’s not fashionable. Right? I’m not so sure. Not after the way I’ve been acting lately–the realities of my honest expectations laid to bare before my own family, those who know me best: The house isn’t clean enough. The kids aren’t following through enough. We’re not organized enough. The chores are being done well enough. I’m not prepared enough. We don’t talk enough. You don’t understand my needs enough. I don’t love the Lord enough. Maybe perfectionism doesn’t come in Martha Stewart or Pinterest packaging. Perhaps it isn’t as easy to spot as pedantically holding fast to the schedule […]
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» Continue ReadingThe last significant time the Lord Jesus spent with his disciples before his crucifixion was over a meal. He chose to memorialize his broken body and spilled blood in the everyday elements of bread and wine. The table– the family meal– is a significant place of connecting, training, investing, and nourishing more than our physical bodies. On the Good Friday, I’m at Mom Heart today, sharing about meaningful mealtimes around the dinner table, and tips for how to achieve that intentional time. Join me there!
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» Continue ReadingIt’s been a LONG time since I’ve posted in the Looking Lovely section of this blog! If you spend an afternoon with me, you’d know that this blog follows pretty closely to the ebb and flow of my everyday life–there are some seasons that are more contemplative than others, and some that are a little more consumed by crafting/cooking/fashion– but regardless, pregnant or not, I always have an interest in hairstyling, fashion-scoring, and making the most of all that God’s naturally given you to present all that he’s forming IN you. And today, I’m going to finally write a little about…my hair. I’m 3.5 weeks away from Baby #6, which will also put me at the start of really warm months here in the Southwest. I don’t know about you, but I simply can’t stand to blow dry and style my hair and bangs in the summer months. I live […]
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Hello, friend...I'm Ruth. Welcome to GraceLaced, where you will find my imperfect, but grace-filled musings on the Gospel, motherhood, crafting, art, domesticity, cooking, and the often-times overlooked joys of finding grace in the everyday of life. Read my full profile here.
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