Beauty from Ashes - A Continual Process

Last night in Girl’s Group, a group of high school girls who meet in our home , our lesson 2 helped us process 6 ways that we minimize sin or struggles i n our lives.    We are studying  The Gospel-Centered Life  by Robert H. Thune and Will Walker.  I love this book !  I am learning great things as I prepare for our group time.  But I was not looking for ways that I "pretend."  I was immediately interested and open, but looking?  No.  I often pray for a teachable heart for my family, myself especially!  So I was primed for a "teachable" moment!  I want to insert right here that I am just a Christian, rising and falling and testifying to the miraculous grace in my life.   If I encourage just one person that there is hope in Christ, then glory to God, because it sure isn’t about   having it all together.   It’s about God having it all together and sharing Jesus with us.   Proverbs 24: 16 says, “ for thoug...

I remember the white bunk bed, I got top bunk because I was the oldest.  My little sis would ask me to hang down my arm and hold her hand until she went to sleep.  We had a code knock with our brother who was in the next room.  3 knocks for "I love you,"  and one final knock for "goodnight."  That's a picture I'll always hold onto.  I loved that time of the day.  Sometimes we would all get the giggles and not be able to stop.  It's still fun to get the giggles.  It's so rare as adults, but so fun when you collapse on the floor, tears streaming down, laughing so hard you can't breathe!  For a moment we let ourselves be little kids again. Well, that little girl in me would crawl up into that cozy spot and say my prayers.  I would confess my sins to God.  Then I would lie there in bed,  restless, until finally I had to get up and go confess my sins to my parents.  They didn't tell me to do this, I just didn't believe G...