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No Comments» 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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» Continue ReadingDear friends, I will be hosting the remaining weeks in our study of Because He Loves Me. Joy of Grace Full Mama is unable to continue on with us due to the unpredictability of internet and power outages. Pray for her and her family when you think of her! Thanks for joining me here, and I pray our remaining weeks in the study will be of great encouragement to you! ********************************** To be honest, I’m the kind of person that typically struggles with the premise of a chapter like the one we are in this week, entitled “Walk In Love.” I’m warm and affectionate, yes, but when it comes to walking with the Lord, everything in my nature wants to relegate the imitation of His attributes to a dutiful pursuit of responsibility and character-building. I so easily forget about Christ’s love for me…and my love for him. We desire, as […]
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» Continue ReadingFor those of you who are new to this blog, you may not know the significance of these thoughts to follow. I trust you will relate, however, because everyone’s life includes stories of receiving undeserved gifts and giving up what you think is yours to keep. It’s been exactly a year since Troy and I let go of one of the greatest investments of our adult lives. It was the church we started and nurtured with good friends for seven years. It was the place where my husband served as my pastor – one of the most impacting teaching pastors I’ve learned from in my own life. It was the season where our family learned to minister and to pursue and persevere within the messy and refining realities of living in relationship as the Body of Christ. It was ground zero for witnessing the marriage between calling and enabling–God’s provision […]
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» Continue ReadingWe started the week off here talking about motherhood, and what our kids really need from us. And today, we finish off the week considering what it is to persevere in the task and work of motherhood. Unlike many other jobs and endeavors, the work of motherhood does not yield a weekly paycheck, an yearly promotion, or necessarily an occasional accolade. Why and how do we persevere, then? Join me at The Better Mom today, as I share about the true reward of motherhood…that is truly better than being rewarded employee of the month. Have a blessed weekend, friends!
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» Continue ReadingThere’s a reason why self-help books are so popular. Who doesn’t want to be free from worry, anxiety, negative thinking, lack of motivation, and other debilitating pitfalls? We want, so desperately, for someone to tell us what worked for them, what formula, what changes in diet, exercise, or routine, will cause us to stop being what we don’t want to be. And there’s no shortage of self-affirming, positive-thinking programs for change. We’ve figured out that it takes more than just changing up what we are doing, but what we are thinking. And yet, with all that encouragement to realign your thinking, we so often still miss the true paradigm shift…the one that’s presented here in Chapter 8 of Because He Loves Me. And here it is: “We’re dead to sin and alive to God; we’ve been set free from slavery to sin and endowed with the ability to submit to […]
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» Continue ReadingTo my 11 yr. old Birthday Boy, You are so easy to celebrate. I’ve been writing letters to you since before you were born, but lately, the words are stored in my heart more than they are on paper. There’s much to say, just not enough time to say it all. I promise I’ll get back to it…eventually. I had no plans to have five little boys after you, but God knew his good plan for our family. He knew to make you patient, compassionate, tender-hearted, responsible, brave, intentional, inquisitive, smart, and funny. He knew you would lead the pack, and stay back with the one who can’t keep up. He made you to be a blessing. He made you the boy who cries with joy at the news of a new sibling, who desires to know God more, who helps with his brothers daily, who is fascinated by missions, […]
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» Continue ReadingSometimes my kids see a mom who is impatient and weary. Sometimes they witness a good cry. Sometimes my kids see a woman who’s distracted by thoughts they don’t quite understand. Sometimes they catch a glimpse of how grown ups experience hurts too. Sometimes my kids watch as I fret and worry over things I cannot change. Sometimes they observe their parents wrestle with the questions and the answers too. And so often we think our kids need us to be brave only. Be consistent invariably. Be right absolutely. Be faithful faultlessly. Be wise undoubtedly. Be happy seamlessly. We can try to be all those things at all times, but because we simply can’t in our fallenness, to do so may simply be to inspire superficially. And there’s really nothing more worthless to me than to encourage my kids with hope that is merely skin-deep. But to go further than […]
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» Continue ReadingI am so pleased to introduce the sponsors of GraceLaced for the month of March. Please take advantage of the discounts and giveaways that some sponsors have offered to GraceLaced readers for this month. Treasured Word is giving away 1 Chevy Case Verse Pack + 1 Pack of Gospel Memory Cards! a Rafflecopter giveaway Visit Treasured Word Etsy Shop for lovely Scripture verse memory card holders and accessories. Treasured Word is offering GraceLaced readers 10% off in the month of March. Please use code: gracelaced10. Check out My Pure Clean Home‘s special for this month: For video demos, monthly specials, and everything you need to know about chemical-free clean through Norwex anti-bac and anti-microbial cleaning products, please visit My Pure Clean Home, or click here to see how you can clean up raw chicken germs with just water! Visit her blog here. Facebook Fan page here. Download a $20 off […]
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» Continue Reading“Your growth in holiness is firmly bound to your appreciation of the gospel and God’s love, for it is only an appreciation of his love that can motivate genuine obedience.” (p. 109) And, so it is with this in mind that we begin Part 2 of Because He Loves Me. We are looking, this week, at indicatives (the facts of who we are in Christ) and imperatives (commands we are to respond to in obedience). We are taking a closer look at our how our sanctification works as we believe and obey! Please join Joy at Grace Full Mama today, as she leads our discussion of this week’s Chapter! And join me back here next week, for Chapter 8! I’d love to hear your thoughts! You can do so in two ways… *Leave a comment below, and feel free to discuss with others there! *Write a blog post either answering […]
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» Continue ReadingWhen I was a kid, my parents would take my brother and me on long road trips. It was the 80s, minivans were hot, and seat belt laws were not. My little brother and I would roll around in blankets on the floor of the car, eating snacks, taking naps, and passing the hours with our imagination, since no portable DVDs or iPads were conceived of yet. We loved the Disney trip, we loved the national park — but if you asked either of us today, we’d cite the silly songs sung, the favorite stories told, and the seemingly endless hours spent bonding on our way somewhere, as the best memories of road-tripping. Fast forward 30 years, and I now have five young boys (plus one due in April!) Though we used to take one or two children frequently on planes — even overseas — we simply have no […]
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» Continue ReadingFor all that is joyous and truly freeing about living a redeemed life, there is an equally pervasive weightiness that we experience in the most mundane moments of daily life. You know what I’m talking about. It’s the stuff that weighs on your mind even after you watch the fun movie, go out for coffee with a friend, or get a good workout in at the gym. It’s the everyday struggle of living as a fallen person, with other fallen people, in a fallen world. It’s the rub of disobedient children, misunderstanding co-workers, or relationships in need of reconciliation. It’s everyday…in our homes, while we work, among God’s people. It’s the point at which our redemption reality intersects our “already and not yet.” Paul Tripp summed it up very succinctly for me this weekend at the conference I attended at my church: “God will take you where you never intended […]
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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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