06 Friday Dec 2013
Wondering what to get for the kids on your list?
Want something new and fun?
My grandson Ethan is crazy about his Kendama.
If you haven’t heard of this toy check out the website.
If you’d like to see it in action here’s a Youtube clip from a Sacramento News Show.
A low tech gift they’ll love.
06 Friday Dec 2013
Posted in Blogging, Passions & Pursuits
Tags
A few months ago I found a site called Copyblogger.
I want to get better at blogging and the fastest way to do that is to become a better writer.
I think the next step is to understand the structural elements that make a blog ‘user friendly’.
I’ve started paying closer attention to the design elements many of you here at WordPress incorporate into your blogs.
You inspire me.
I recently saw an Essay Contest on Copyblogger and I decided to submit an entry.
I forgot to embed the code announcing that I was participating and now that the entry period has closed I can’t access the special Blog Button.
I’m bummed.
I did the next best thing and used a photo.
So, it’s out there.
My essay.
I wrote it and sent it to Copyblogger.
It makes my palms sweat just to think of a ‘professional’ reading it.
I did it to push myself out of the little comfort zone of my own mostly invisible blog.
I remember learning to play golf and wishing I could do it in private to spare myself the humiliation of whiffing the ball with others watching.
I think blogging is like golf, you have to learn to do it publicly.
No hiding until you get it all down pat.
Would you describe yourself as a blogger to someone who asks what you do?
I can’t quite get up the courage to say it.
It seems like a stretch to me, at least now.
We’re going to Africa again for about 7 weeks and my goal is to move to a self-hosted WP site before January 1st.
On our trip last year blogging was a great way to tell the stories of the ministry and the people in Ghana.
I’m hoping that once I get it set up it will give me more control over how the site looks.
There is so much I have to learn and so much room for improvement!
I’d love to hear any advice you have to offer.
How did you learn to blog, to write, and to make it all look good?
Did you find sites or books that were helpful?
What do you think makes a really great blog?
Talk to me bloggers, I’m all ears!
04 Wednesday Dec 2013
Posted in A Woman's Life, Being Christian, Faith, Marriage
Tags
How do you know you’re growing spiritually?
As Christians we attend church, read our Bibles, maybe go to a mid-week service or Home Bible Study, but how can we actually tell that we are growing in Christ and becoming more mature as believers?
Our experience is described as a race.
Do you ever wonder where you are in the course of your own race?
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The key question is, are you further along than you were a month ago, a year ago?
Forward progress is crucial.
Wouldn’t it be great if there were milage markers in the Christian life?
Maturity would be measured, not time spent or distance covered on the course.
When you’d grown enough you’d pass another marker.
Well, yesterday I passed a marker.
In September I wrote a post called Are You Spoiling Your Own Marriage?
http://kellyjgrace.com/2013/09/13/are-you-spoiling-your-own-marriage/
Yesterday morning this is what I saw as I went into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
The truth had set me free.
I felt no irritation, no little tape played in my head rehearsing my husband’s flaws, and I literally had no negative response.
I just threw away the used package and put the other back in the drawer and closed it.
Our lives are chock full of little opportunities to learn big lessons.
And once in awhile God lets us see what He sees.
The sanctification process has been working producing spiritual transformation in us.
He’s made us a little more like Jesus.
A little more of the character of Christ has been formed in us.
God changes our thoughts by showing us the truth.
In September He showed me my heart.
Yesterday He showed me a little of His art.
The way He makes beauty by replacing selfishness and criticism with love and service.
02 Monday Dec 2013
Posted in Faith
Tags
Everything God made was good and intended to give us enjoyment and satisfaction.
Don’t even try to argue with this truth.
We have optic nerves and corresponding brain cells that perceive a vast array of colors and hues and bonus; the world is a virtual kaleidoscope of color. We have taste buds that enable us to actually enjoy the lush sweetness of a strawberry and the crisp tartness of citrus. Our sexual organs could function for reproduction without also delivering such sublime pleasure.
If God included in His designs the specifications that addressed our enjoyment as well as our needs, then doesn’t it stand to reason that His will for our lives will follow that pattern?
But for the most part it is we ourselves who are the roadblock, we are the chain link and barbed wire that separate the enjoyment and good God intends from the life we actually live every day.
I started reading Genesis again and this hit me like a Tsunami of spiritual truth.
As soon as Eve doubted God she began writing the Playbook for Doubt that we all now know by heart.
Faith is the most direct route to the good and enjoyment God designed for us.
Doubt casts a shadow on His love and good intentions.
And there’s something completely illogical and intellectually dishonest in trusting Him for our eternal salvation and doubting Him in our everyday lives.
01 Sunday Dec 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Whatever we might be stressing over God wants us to know He will perfect the thing that concerns us.
That word perfect means to complete, to finish, to bring to an end.
Psalm 138 is a Psalm of David in praise for answered prayer.
Whenever I’m waiting for God to work at perfecting something in my life, I run through my memory banks and remind myself of all the times He’s perfected things in my life.
It’s a way I activate my patience and faith.
It’s the way I calm the anxiousness that steals my peace and joy.
Try it next time you start playing the worry tapes in your head.
29 Friday Nov 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
This Christmas help us to spend less money...
But more time.
Let us not give to those who expect...
But rather to those who need.
Let us not buy presents...
But rather be Your presence,
to a world lost and dying.
Let us incarnate You.
29 Friday Nov 2013
Posted in Life
Every month Emily Freeman has a link-up on her blog called ‘Let’s Share What We Learned in __________’, fill in the current month.
These are the things I learned in November.
1. The Holy Spirit talks to me about my own sin. Satan talks to me about my husband’s. A powerful reason to always consider the source!
2. If you forget the whipping cream for the pumpkin pie you can substitute Haagen Daz vanilla ice cream. You can probably substitute Vanilla Haagen Daz for just about anything and not get complaints.
3. Puppies are better at making grown men talk baby-talk than are actual babies. I just witnessed a deer-hunting, ocean fishing, football coaching, red-neck guy who never baby-talked to any of his 5 kids, baby-talk to Bella, an 8 week old English Golden Retriever. I don’t blame him. If she doesn’t melt your heart, then you don’t have one.
4. If you have eye surgery for a macular hole and they don’t fully numb the optic nerve you can see an amazing display of colors yet feel no pain. Think of adding drops of purple into vibrant neon yellow and swirling it a bit. The do the same with deep blue through a fuchsia-red. I told them to film it and show it at IMAX theaters, but of course I was under the influence of something the Anesthesiologist called a ‘girls just wanna have fun cocktail’.
5. It is now safe to venture out shopping on Black Friday. I was dreading it, but Black Friday morning at Walmart is a breeze because everyone else shopped on Thanksgiving Day. WHAT? That’s just crazy. I got a parking space, 4 sales associates asking to help me, and was on my way home in less than 30 minutes. Photos: parting shot of Mike who is helpful, strong, and nice. Walmart should promote him. My haul of Quads & Convertibles.
6. Blogging a Series is easier than coming up with a new and interesting topic for a post every day. I miss #31 Days 2013.
7. Albert Einstein regularly and promptly answered letters to kids. He seemed to enjoy the ones from children and was very thoughtful and never condescending in his replies.
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/07/11/do-scientists-pray-einstein-letter-science-religion/
8. brainpickings.org is an excellent website.
9. Always back-up your computer. Always. It’s the Tech version of A Stitch in Time Saves Nine.
10. You will not remember in a year’s time which box the Christmas Lights were packed in unless you actually mark the box.
11. It’s never too late to reinvent yourself. If you don’t like something in your life then change it. Stop the internal dialogue of whining, complaining, and blaming. Take responsibility and start the change process now.
12. Jesus received three gifts, one from each of the wise men. This came to me clearly in Walmart this morning. I’m practicing reasonable gift giving and keeping my focus on worship and thanksgiving for the gift God has given me in His only begotten Son.
13. Wondering whether to do something or NOT? Thomas Gilovich who studies regret found 75% regret Not doing something and only 25% doing something. Excelling in school, taking advantage of opportunities, and spending time with friends and family are the top 3 things people regret NOT doing.
http://psych.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/Gilo_%26_Medvec_95.pdf
http://psych.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/Gilo.%26.Medvec.94.pdf
14. PicMonkey is a great site because it’s easy and free. After a week I bought the upgrade for additional fonts and effects. Totally worth it!
http://www.picmonkey.com
Would you share in the comments something you learned in November?
You can read what others have learned at the link below.
Thanks to Emily for the reminder that there’s always something we can learn.
http://www.chattingatthesky.com
28 Thursday Nov 2013
Posted in Faith
Has Jesus called you out of the boat to walk on water?
If you’ve known Him very long, He has.
He’s still in the business of training disciples and He knows just how to raise the storm and make the waves crash all around us.
And if we have any curiosity about greater faith and walking toward Him, He calls us to get out of the boat and move toward Him.
When faced with a storm you gotta get out of the boat!
James says it this way,
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
James 1:2-8
We long for the completeness, for the maturity, to be steadfast.
But we have so little faith we get freaked out by the wind and waves and don’t listen to Him saying, “Hey, it’s me, cheer up, COME”.
Faith is the take home point of Christianity.
Without faith you and I are cut off from God’s grace and love.
We’re paralyzed by fear and panicked by the storm.
Sometimes I ask God to show me my life from His perspective.
I want to see every trial as the teachable moment He intends it to be.
I want to get the principle He’s trying to teach.
I want to experience the growth He knows I’m ready finally on the brink of realizing.
Have you noticed the talk about’leaning in’?
I think Sheryl Sandberg’s book has dropped it into the stream of consciousness, but it is a phrase every Christian should apply.
If we’d lean in to Jesus we’d find He can teach us to walk to Him on the water.
We’d discover that everything is possible with God.
The limitations we think exist for us can give way to opportunities.
The insurmountable problems we face can be successfully resolved.
And the fears we hide behind can lose all power over us when we see God’s purpose with inspiring clarity.
What do we have to do to have boldness of faith?
Faith gets stirred in our hearts when we really hear God’s promises.
Not with our ears, but with our hearts.
Think of the last time you were spiritually excited?
How long since you’ve felt God challenging you to take hold of a promise and step out in faith?
Trials are really special opportunities to walk by faith.
That’s what James is saying.
Consider it a unique joy to have the opportunity to trust God in a storm.
Let Him show you His power.
Jesus asked Peter, “Why’d you doubt Me?”
But Jesus immediately spoke to them, reassuring them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said.
28 Then Peter called to him: “Sir, if it is really you, tell me to come over to you, walking on the water.”
29 “All right,” the Lord said, “come along!”
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.
30 But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.
31 Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and rescued him. “O man of little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
Matthew 14:27-31
Faith is the assurance that God is true to His word.
His promises are always kept.
He’s made you lots of promises.
Which one do you need right now in your life to help you walk on water?
27 Wednesday Nov 2013
Posted in Blogging
Where do you find the best tips for blogging?
I find them in the Marketing aisle of the Internet.
It’s easier than ever to access excellent advice and detailed how-to-information for many aspects of marketing that have powerful application to personal blogs.
We are storytellers.
I’d like to be excellent at it, how about you?
We can all learn and improve and in 5 or 10 years the web will be so crowded only those who have will survive.
Have you ever read Quicksprout?
Neil Patel is a Marketing Guru and Entrepreneurial Wizard.
I get his Quicksprout Newsletter and always, always find something useful.
Find out more about Neil here.
http://www.quicksprout.com/about/
Today my Inbox contained a cool Infographic from Quicksprout on the power of Video for communication that connects.
You’ll find a link at the bottom of this post.
Do you incorporate video in your blog?
I’ve added videos by others, but never of my own content.
That’s going to change soon.
I’m a Bible teacher and Inspirational speaker.
Good writing requires exactness and precision and helps create a tight focus on message, but it rarely captures the passion that the human voice and face infuse so naturally into presentations.
My first goal for 2014 is to learn to add video and podcasts to my blog.
Would you like to grow in your ability to tell a story that connects?
Nancy Duarte (pronounced Duar-tae) is a Silicon Valley Communication professional dedicated to helping others create dynamic presentations that “motivate, inspire, and persuade”.
She’s made the study of highly connecting communication her life’s work.
You can feel her passion for it in everything she says and writes.
I’ll let her tell you about it herself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nYFpuc2Umk
You can also get a free download of her new book, Resonate,
through the link.
http://www.duarte.com/blog/
Those who stop learning get passed by.
Don’t be too cool for school.
Now it’s your turn.
Where do you get helpful ideas to improve your blog?
25 Monday Nov 2013
Posted in Being Christian, Faith
God is always at work in our hearts.
He never slumbers or sleeps and He is constantly engaged in the work of making us more like Jesus.
But God never wastes His efforts.
There’s a purpose behind everything He does and allows.
Even when it brings us to tears.
The tears might come first, but the joy of fruitfulness will soon make us forget the tears.
Let Him plow, He purposes a crop.
Samuel Rutherford
We need the correction that brings us to tears.
The work of God that plows up our fallow ground and uproots the weeds that must be destroyed before a good crop can grow.
You and I want what God wants, but we honestly don’t like His process very much.
There’s an interesting passage in Isaiah 28 that should give us hope and remind us that the uprooting and plowing don’t go on a minute longer than necessary.
Listen to me, listen as I plead:
Does a farmer always plow and never sow?
Is he forever harrowing the soil and never planting it?
Does he not finally plant his many kinds of grain, each in its own section of his land?
He knows just what to do, for God has made him see and understand.
He doesn’t thresh all grains the same. A sledge is never used on dill, but it is beaten with a stick.
A threshing wheel is never rolled on cummin, but it is beaten softly with a flail.
Bread grain is easily crushed, so he doesn’t keep on pounding it.
The Lord Almighty is a wonderful teacher and gives the farmer wisdom.
Isaiah 28:24-29The Living Bible
God uses the minimum amount of force with us.
We can trust His wisdom in knowing just what it takes to help us grow spiritually.
When He disciplines us it is always for our good and it will produce righteousness.
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:11
He intends to fill your barn with those peaceable fruits of righteousness.
I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.
“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
Joel 2:25-27
Memories of the tears and shame are replaced with abundance and satisfaction.
Shame is gone.
The barn is full.
And we’re satisfied.
When the tears come remember the plowing is for a moment and He purposes a crop!
