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» Continue ReadingFor most of my life, I’ve been in love with the idea of being in love. In fact, now that I’m older and a little wiser, I’m finally coming around to the idea that love is hard work, it’s sacrifice, it’s a rewarding labor. As residents of a world that is infatuated with infatuation and addicted to the allure of finding that special someone, how do we, as parents, point our children to the beauty of Christ? To the True Love of their maker? So on this Valentine’s Day, I stop to consider: Am I presenting the beauty, the adoration, the love of Christ in such a way as to draw my children’s affections? Do I speak of Him and my relationship with the Lord so as to cause them to desire such a love for themselves? Join me at Mom Heart Online today as I share ways we can help […]
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» Continue ReadingIt’s one thing to describe what it is to be a Christian, it is another to actually live out the truth of who and whose you are. Most of us can pretty easily launch into a definition of what it is to be redeemed, to be bought at a price, to have our sins paid for, and to be a beloved child of the King… …and then, if you are like me, we go throughout our days living like we don’t know those things to be true. This week, in Chapter 3 of Because He Loves Me, The Identity Gift, Elyse Fitzpatrick helps us to see, in practical ways, how having our identity IN Christ actually changes the way we view our daily lives. Do you feel intolerant of others’ mistakes that inconvenience you? Do you get angry when your children embarrass you with poor behavior? Do you feel sorry […]
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» Continue ReadingPerhaps the hardest thing about love is being convinced that you must actually work at it. Oh how I adore those things that come naturally to me! Or is it the ease and simplicity of feeling good-about-myself-without-trying-very-hard that I adore so much? What– really –do we truly enjoy that requires no effort at all? Yes, I know what you are thinking…a meal delivered or house-cleaning service…you wouldn’t mind not applying effort in those areas from time to time. But, a meal made and a home cleaned come at a price and with effort…of some kind from someone. There’s a cost to everything wonderful and worthwhile. So I’m pondering, this Valentine’s week, on the labor that LOVING is. True love isn’t always magical and mysterious, star-gazing and endlessly alluring. Instead, true love is most oven realistic and revealing, requiring focus and a deliberate endeavoring to seek out what is worthy of adoration. I have […]
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» Continue ReadingEver since I started making my own version of Martha’s Apricot and goat cheese stuffed chicken breasts a few years ago, I have fallen in love with any combination of goat cheese and the sweet tartness of apricot preserves and dried apricots. I’ve spread this mixture on crackers, served them as a cheese platter at fancy fundraisers, and now…remade it into the feature of a lovely stuffed pork chop recipe. Though I’m a decent cook, I don’t always write down my recipes, and not all my concoctions turn out to be worth repeating. Not only did my culinary experiment work this time, I also wrote it down. So, here it is…Comforting enough for a weeknight, special enough for company… Print Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 45 mins Total time: 1 hour 5 mins Ingredients 6 thick pork chops salt and pepper Filling for pork chop: 1 cup chopped […]
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» Continue ReadingWelcome to Week 2 of our study through Because He Loves Me! Did this week hit home for you as it did me? Joy, at Grace Full Mama, posts on Chapter 2 today. Please join us there! We encourage you to join in the conversation through the comments and/or link up a blog post you’ve written in response to this week’s chapter. (Link-up open all week!) <div align=”center”><a href=”http://www.gracelaced.com/category/Because-He-Loves-Me” title=”Because He Loves Me Book Study”><img src=”http://www.gracelaced.com/uploads/2013/01/BHLMbuttonGandG1.jpg” alt=”Because He Loves Me Book Study” style=”border:none;” /></a></div>
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» Continue ReadingI was recently asked this question by a new friend while out on a coffee date: “As a homeschooling mom of five, how do you find time to spend in the Word?” I shared how every couple years, when I’m not pregnant or nursing through the night, I find myself going back to the 5:45 club, and that on the off years, it is a struggle that ultimately employs the use of audio Bibles, family worship, and creatively squeezing in time with the Lord throughout the day. But ultimately, aside from the different tips and scheduling helps one can employ, this is what’s really at the heart of finding time: “You know,” I said, “it’s ultimately not an issue of time, but an issue of desire.” You see, I’m convinced we determine what we have time for based on our appetites. I clearly feel the pinch for time. I am […]
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» Continue ReadingI’ve been blessed with some opportunities lately to combine my artistic skills and interior design interest. Casa Verde, an Aveda Salon and Spa, hired me to redesign the decor of their three rooms for spa treatments. The three rooms are themed individually: Earth, Water, and Fire. If you follow me on instagram, you’ve seen sneak peeks of the process throughout the last few weeks. I have just completed the Earth room this week, and am excited to share it with you! I hope there are ideas you can take away from this project that will inspire you in your own spaces at home! I was given the freedom to create the color and concept of this room from start to finish…It was so fun! I chose paint colors: Behr “Squirrel”, Martha Stewart “Bedford Gray”, and Behr “Powdered Snow.” (If you’ve been following my kitchen remodel, you may recognize these paint colors!) […]
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» Continue ReadingDepending on where you live in the world, you may experience the grandeur of God’s handiwork in nature on a daily basis, or on occasion when you take a drive to the coastline or up to the mountains. Everyone experiences the daily wonder of a sunrise, a sunset, and the magnificence of the Creator of the universe holding all the stars in place…and yet, we so often take it for granted. All of it. In our productive, industrious lives, we somehow plow right past all the wonder and implications of living amidst the daily miracle of life and creation. We are so busy working to sustain our living that we forget what it is to have life. And so it is with the truth, the gift, and the gloriousness of the Gospel. The Gospel: “…the incarnation, sinless life, substitutionary death, burial, bodily resurrection, ascension, and eternal reign of the Son […]
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» Continue ReadingNo mother sets out to discourage her children. No one wakes up saying, “I hope to fluster my children today and make them feel inadequate.” or, “I will allow my kids to determine the way I speak to them. I will decide what tone of voice to use based on whether they are compliant and well-behaved.” Of course we don’t think that way! And yet, that is what we often communicate in a day’s time. We’ve had some challenging days around here. There have been long hours poring over math problems, hard moments in relationships, quiet periods of soul-searching, fervent times of prayer, and determined strides made towards recovering from this remodeling chaos we are so grateful for, but so weary from. Challenging circumstances and stretching situations in life may be the context of your current discouragement, but simply cannot stand as excuses for discouraging your children. We have a […]
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» Continue ReadingThere’s a phrase that’s been going around our home lately: “Your actions show what’s important to you.” Because it’s not just what you say, but what you do. I find myself saying to the kids: If you are repentant, you turn from your sin. If you love someone, you act in a way that is loving. If you desire to know Christ, spend time with Him. It’s not just for the kids, though…it’s for me, too. If I want a clean home, I need to clean it. If I want meaningful time with my kids, I need to talk and play with them. If I want to nurture my relationship with my husband, I can shut down the computer for the night and spend time with him. And so, this week I did. All that. Rather than talk about all that I wanted for my family and in my home, […]
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» Continue ReadingWhat feeling arises when you think about goals you set last year and the ones you hope to achieve or become in the new? Do you feel an anxious drive to succeed or do you struggle to find motivation in the face of guilt and defeat? I have known both of these responses. And both responses have found their common denominator in my sinful pride and self-sufficiency. Desiring to be more than we were last year, hoping to grow more disciplined, aiming to be more joy-filled and gracious….these are not merely self-improvement goals, or ways to form your family to look more like the Christian “ideal.” Instead, it is, for a child of the King, already ours already in Christ, but is realized through obedience and perseverance. Join me at Mom Heart Blog today as I share about pursuing goals, and trusting in His strength in the pursuit. Be blessed, […]
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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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