…what is very interesting and comforting to me is that usually Wordle renders word clouds in big blobs but this one looks to me like a person’s outline and the word “Lord” was rendered by Wordle at the top left and slightly higher…

http://www.wordle.net/delete?index=6745713&d=COHS

Reblogged from Because Of Grace:

View Danette Serr's work here

Something more to read, if your schedule allows, gently click here

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More Words for the Soul

Read more… 4 more words

Hope isn’t the same as optimism. It isn’t the belief that something bad will turn out well. It’s the absolute confidence that every part of your life ultimately makes sense regardless of how it turns out this side of eternity. ~Rick Warren

A Pinterest board dedicated to hope

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More words from The Sponsor

Explanation Expectations…they are what generates little goblins of trouble, you know.

one of the tugs at peace, contentment, and gratitude is my need for demand for an explanation. This demand is the tar that keeps this baby stuck in anxiousness, stress, and tight-neck-ville.

When something goes wrong in life, I ask, “Why is this happening to me, God? Why did you allow this to come to me, God?”

“to me,” “to me”…I will “me-me-me” all the way to the looney bin.

Release the Need for an explanation…

So, instead, this weekend… I am releasing my need for an explanation. Perhaps you might do this with me? I am replacing what I know to be true instead. Perhaps you might do this also?

You are God’s masterpiece. (Ephesians 2:10)
You are forgiven (Ephesians 1:7)
You are a new creature (II Corinthians 5:17)
You are strong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10)
You are accepted in Christ (Ephesians 1:6)
You are loved with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3)
You are overtaken with blessings (Deuteronomy 28:2)

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Previous Weekend Activities

But you can’t do both.

When I kept things to myself, I felt weak deep inside me. ~Psalm 32:3

Revealing is the beginning of healing: Because of Grace, we can talk to God about our hidden wounds until we can face our feelings in renewed health and energy…and, Because of Grace, He hears!

As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength. ~ Psalm 138:8

*Quote from Rick Warren in this post

“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” ~Steve Maraboli

thank you, Garrett Eastman, for this quote from this post.

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Reblogged from Because Of Grace:

Hannah's Prayer~~A Mother's Prayer

For this child I prayed, and the Lord has answered my prayer made to Him.
1 Samuel 1:27

Hannah prayed and prayed for a son.
She named her son Samuel which means, "I have asked him of the Lord"

I hope you have many "I have asked of the Lord" moments today!
Moments where He reveals Himself to you and you know it!

Read more… 63 more words

That first Mother’s Day spent without your own mom is tough. The first Mother’s Day spent without your adult child, your young child, your baby child, or your unborn child is brutal. And if you can just get through the first Mother’s Day, then all the ones after that will be…

Bruisingly tough.

Angie Smith is one of my heroes. In 2008, Angie Smith and her husband Todd (lead singer of the group Selah) learned through ultrasound that their fourth daughter had conditions making her “incompatible with life.” Advised to terminate the pregnancy, the Smiths chose instead to carry this child and allow room for a miracle. That miracle came the day they met Audrey Caroline and got the chance to love her for the precious two-and-a-half hours she lived on earth. In her blog, Bring the Rain, http://angiesmithonline.com/ Angie writes achingly and with hope and faith.

Sometimes I think it’s harder to believe the way I do, because I believe with everything in me that He could have changed the story. This line of thinking inevitably brings me to the question, “Why didn’t He?” Many people have written me with the same question, and I want to tell you that I have thought it through many times, and I have come up with a great theological explanation that I want to share with you.

I have absolutely no idea.

What I do know is this:

The Lord walk beside me and He walked beside Moses, and He knows me by name. He loves me, and I love Him. I pushed my baby through the reeds, and never saw her again. And yet, here I am, worshipping the God who allowed it.

Angie is the author of I Will Carry You.  I Will Carry You tells the powerful story of a parent losing her child, interwoven with the biblical story of Lazarus to help those who mourn to still have hope—to find grace and peace in the sacred dance of grief and joy.

[originally posted on May 6, 2011]

ask yourself …

“what if… it’s not?”

If you’re going over something scary in your mind, over and over and over, ask yourself “what if that really did happen?” and then let the whole situation play out — worse case scenario. See yourself dealing with every little part of it and see that even if the thing you feared most really did happen, you would make it, so you can let go of fear.

Asking “WHAT IF?” releases all limitations, and makes anything possible. When you find yourself stuck, whether because you think your goals are too big, or because your strength is too small, push past those limitations and really be honest with yourself. You will learn so much from this tiny little question.
“what if… it’s not?” from Brave Girls Club

Because of Grace…what if it’s not?

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Additional Questions