Unveiled Graces

Today, as I sit at my computer, I try to sort out God's plan for my life.  Easy right?  At 35, I thought I would be established in an area of Christian ministry.  I felt God's call on my life in 7th grade and went straight through college and on to seminary with that trajectory in mind.  Yet, currently, I hold no position. For complete transparency, I have yet to serve full-time capacity in ministry.  I have never doubted God's call on my life.  At times, I have certainly hesitated in my own abilities, but I have always known my life's purpose is to serve the Lord. So, how have I handled my expectations not meeting my reality?  I sat down and prayed through this question.  Below is what God taught me: 1. My expectations are not my god . I know that for a time in my life I was so focused on ministry, I allowed my personal relationship with Christ to suffer.  Working for the Kingdom does not equate with a love relationship with the King.  My time away from minist

This is a post from a few years ago, but I think that it still applies today... Tonight, I asked my son who his best friend at school was.  He told me a name and then I proceeded to ask if they played together on the playground.  He said, "no, he already has friends."  I then began to pry a little farther and asked who he DID play with on the playground.  My kindergartner nonchalantly responded, "well, everyone already has someone to play with, so I play by myself."  In that moment, I felt a part of me wither inside.  I immediately started going into action mode, thinking of the letter I would write to the teacher, making sure that my son was included in activities.  I then stopped to pray.  I asked myself, "Is this really the crisis you are making it out to be?"  Your son is confident, happy, and feels secure in who he is. We have worked hard in our household to let our children be who they are and tell them to live as Christ wants them to liv

I am sitting at a local coffee shop reading an article of the self-revelation and self-fulfillment of a "Christian mommy blogger."  In the article, she is quoted as saying, "you enter the process of deciding whether you are going to risk every single thing in your life to have the one thing you always wanted. 1 "  In her case, it is a love relationship with another woman.  My heart weighs heavily as I continue reading.  My concern is not the woman's decision about her relationship, but rather her philosophy of hedonism.  We increasingly have become a society that celebrates finding our own truth and promoting the search for self-fulfillment.  God, Jesus, or whatever other name someone wants to attach to the Supreme is merely a means of self-enlightenment.  We use others for our own advantage.  There is no room for sacrifice or dying to self.  I feel overwhelmed.  How can I, a "Christian mommy blogger," compete with the resounding gongs of untr