30 More Days of Grace

Seen and not Heard My grandma had the most beautiful penmanship I have ever seen. As a little girl, I remember watching her write so slowly and so methodically and wishing that someday I would be able to write as neatly and beautifully as she did. Sadly, that never happened. Now, as I think back over those times, it isn’t only her penmanship I admire; it is what she was writing. My grandma was an encourager. I remember her spending hours sitting and writing cards and notes of encouragement. She never really talked about. She didn’t announce that she was going to the mailbox so she could mail her 20 cards for the day. She didn’t lament the time she spent or even mention it in passing. For years, she quietly wrote her notes and mailed them. My grandma was a woman whose actions spoke more loudly than any words ever could. My grandpa was a bit of a fiery, angry little man. I remember him standing at the edge of our dirt road yelling at the drivers of cars he thought were driving ...

Kid People: I’m not a kid person. I know.  I know.  I’m a woman.  I’m a mom.  Statistically speaking, I should be a kid person; however, I can absolutely assure you that I am, in fact, not a kid person.   I like my own kid, so I feel like that should count for something, but I’ve also raised that kid and talked to her like a little adult since she was...well...born.  I don’t do baby talk.  I feel like a complete moron when I even attempt to talk like that.  It’s not natural to me AT ALL, and it has to be obvious to even the youngest audience that it is not my forte.   And to all of you kid people out there:  God bless you.  I don’t know how you do it, but God bless your souls.  You have a gift.  Seriously, an amazing gift that God did not bless me with! My brother has 4 kids: an 11 year old daughter and sons that are 9, 4, and 2 (God bless his soul as well).  I spent the weekend with them, a...

“If God closes a door” and Other Cliches that should be Retired: I grew up on Christian cliches. They were plastered on posters in my Sunday School rooms, tossed around freely at church camp, and generally spouted every time the church doors were open. “God will never give you more than you can handle.” “If he leads you to it, he’ll lead you through it.” “When God closes a door, he opens a window.” “Let go and let God.” “God helps those who helps themselves.” “If it’s God’s will…” “Jesus, take the wheel.” Okay, that last one might be a country song and not a Christian cliche, but it fits, right?! I’d love to take apart each one of these cliches, and maybe someday I’ll do a series on them, but today, today I just want to think about one of them. The first one. The biggest offender. “God will never give you more than you can handle.” False. Not true. Bold-faced lie. “God will never give you more than you can handle,” but... I’m not entirely sure where this cliche originat...