I DO NOT AT ALL UNDERSTAND THE MYSTERY OF GRACE - ONLY THAT IT MEETS US WHERE WE ARE BUT DOES NOT LEAVE US WHERE IT FOUND US. ANNE LAMOTT SAID THIS. & I COULDN'T AGREE MORE.

live in grace. love well. learn in-between.

This simple phrase has come to represent the way my brain processes & filters life. Over time, it’s become a way I strive to live. In short, it’s the tagline of my life.

I like to think of it as a constellation. Or perhaps, a dot-to-dot puzzle, much like the ones I enjoyed as a child. I remember dutifully placing my pencil on the number one, & anticipating the picture to be discovered.  How reassuring it was that I had a starting point, & a string of numbered dots to guide my path.  

Confession: I have to be careful when judging my motives. Most of the time, I’m a combination of contradictory thoughts. I’m frequently find myself caught in the middle. I want to be big & I want to be small. I want to be known & I want to hide. I want to honor God. But I want to receive the credit. I’ve come to learn… I’m human.

The beauty of it all is that Jesus came. He came down.  I don’t have to bring myself up. Fix myself up. Wonder if I'm not enough or too much. Even in my mixed up emotions. My internal chaos. My strivings to be "right". He finds lovely ways to meet me in those places. In the middle. & through it all, He STILL brings glory to Himself. (Romans 5:6)

a need for grace.

Jesus meets me at #1. & His Word has provided me a trail through the confusing maze of my life.  He is a shield around me, my beauty, & the LIFTER of my head. (Psalm 3:3)

Because of who He is, I am who I am.

I’ve learned His grace is otherly. It's not the cheap kind that dismisses or forgives imperfections. It's not necessarily easy to understand. & I'm often convinced we don't truly understand what we are receiving grace from. But when I stop. When I listen. When I look up. I can see the glory that is grace. [Jess Connolly taught me this.]

a need for love.

& At the core of our being, I believe we are wonderfully woven into who God is. God is love. & so we are loved. As women of God,  we are women of love. (1 John 4 taught me this.)

& Because He meets me where I am, I can follow him in peace. With joy. With hope. I too have the ability to pass on this free gift that initially wasn't free at all.

I’ve learned we are all humans with lovely complexities.

Confession: I don’t always live in grace. & I don’t always love well. It’s a constant cycle of living & learning.

learn in-between.

What you have learned & received—practice these things. (Paul said this in Philippians 4:9)

In the midst of life, my mind attempts to collect what is around me & make sense of it all. I try to move purposefully from numbered dot, to numbered dot. & I’m eager to decipher the image each connected dot will eventually reveal. 

Contentment found.  Contentment misplaced. Imperfections admitted.  Forgiveness remembered. Gratefulness expressed.  Life unearthed.  Tears shed. Lessons learned.  Purpose documented.  Rain received. Growth achieved.  Faith increased.  Hope endured.  Joy experienced.  Wisdom gained.  Words heard.  Quotes written. Lyrics sung.  Readings applied.  Love abides. New ways found.  Atmosphere changed.  Progress made.  Grace embraced.

I’ve learned he is about the process. It’s out of his kindness he brings me to those places. Dot-to-Dot-to Dot. As I Live in Grace. Love Well. & Learn-In Between, I’m met where I am, but I’m never the same.

Confession: I read ahead in the story. & I know what the dot-to-dot picture will be!  

God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original & intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. & then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun. 

Romans 8:29-30 | The Message 

This is the Word of the Lord.

Where is your need for grace? Where is your need for love? May we remember God ulitmately meets BOTH. & with Him, we can practice doing the same too.

Live in that grace. Live in that love.

In-between, let’s keep learning.

Let’s not ever be the same.