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End of April…and Grace and Truth Link Up

April 30, 2021 by Lauren 18 Comments

A month that starts with Easter has to be good, right?  Mostly.  I do want to acknowledge that the celebration of Jesus’ victory over death is a joyous day.  And it should be observed every day.  It is only through His death and resurrection that I am forgiven and saved to live in fellowship with God forever.

 

If you don’t know Jesus and the gift He offers us since the very first Easter, click the contact tab at the top if this page.  That link sends me a private email and we can arrange to visit by messaging or talking on the phone.  There is nothing more important that I could do.

 

On Good Friday a couple of friends came by for a visit.  And then we drove out to my Mama and Papa’s house to see them and my PawPaw for Easter.  We sat on the deck (the weather was perfect) talking and eating ice cream.  The day after Easter, my sister and I met in Dallas for lunch and shopping.  This is a good start to the month.  Fellowship – whether it be with sweet family or friends – feeds my soul like almost nothing else.

 

Circling back to the mall trip with my sister, I feel I must be authentic and not only mention the good things, but the hot mess things as well.  Upon leaving the mall, I found a Lexus SUV parked extremely close to my driver side door.  SUV doesn’t seem quite the right word as it was roughly the size of an elephant.  I did not dare try to squeeze in by the normal route for fear that my 2013 Toyota might graze the luxury vehicle and cost more to repaint than my entire car.

 

Yep, I had to crawl in from the passenger side.  Those that know me IRL might be giggling already.  For the rest of you, let me ‘splain.  I am a large person.  And I don’t mean in that “larger than life, center of attention” kind of way.  I’m over 5ft 9.  In college, a flirtatious co-worker measured me from hip to ankle to announce that I had 6 feet of legs.  And now I’m overweight to boot.  I also have an elevated center console between the front bucket seats, making this more challenging.

 

After assessing the situation, I decided I needed to go butt first over the center hurdle.  After removing the drinks from cup holders and everything occupying my front seat, I handed them to my sister.  I almost immediately ripped the shirt I was wearing, so I took it off.  It was dripping in fringe and I didn’t want to get further tangled in it.  I eased into the passenger seat and hoisted my behind up onto the console.

At this point, my head is caught between the rearview mirror and the glass.  My sweet sister is laughing so hard that I started laughing and peed my pants.

Click To Tweet

 

At this moment my sister exclaims, “Why am I not filming this?!?”  I manage to duck my head and slide my backside off the console and into the driver’s seat.  My many years of yoga practice did not prepare me to tuck my knees up one at a time near my adam’s apple so I could get them from the passenger seat into the driver’s side floor board.  Once I did, panting and sweating and still laughing, my sister asks, “Are you alright?”  “I think I may have tweaked my back”, I answered.  “But mostly ok.”

 

Thankfully, I did have a tank top on under the shirt I removed so there was no arrest on the way home.  Just a weird cat call from a dude driving a food truck.  The end.

 

My Allie girl started work at her first job.  A little ice cream and candy shop on our town’s Main Street.  So proud of her initiative and pray it continues to be a good experience for her.  I had to take off a day of my work to go get my second vaccine.  Almost exactly 12 hours later I woke up shivering uncontrollably with a headache and body aches.  It lasted about 12 hours and then pretty well disappeared as quickly as it came.  Glad to have that behind me.

 

We finished up the month with Allie’s annual high school jazz show.  It was incredible.  So much fun to see my girl and her friends in their element.  And she had a large cheering section of family that came into town to see it.  That was fun too.

 

On a trip to the used book store, I picked up Eat Cake.  Be Brave by Melissa Radke.  Am I glad I did!  This author is hilarious.  I kept retelling parts of the book to my family (I was indifferent to their indifference).  That’s how you know you have a good book.  So I  subscribed to her podcast and now want to watch her reality show!

 

I checked out Good Vibrations:  My Life as a Beach Boy by Mike Love from the library.  Can’t say that I enjoyed it.  The author’s self-importance is off putting.  And the dark subject matter?  Depressing.  Destructive drug habits, infidelities, family betrayals and broken marriages made we wish it was over.  But I have a weird thing about not finishing books.  I can’t quit unless it is extremely profane or unbearably dull.  Some applaud the commitment and discipline.  Some call it insane to waste time on something neither enjoyable nor beneficial.  Whatever it is, this is me.

 

The hubs and I watched Genius:  Aretha.  So much tragedy in the life of the queen of soul.  We enjoyed this and the first season of Genius on Albert Einstein, but didn’t make it through season 2 on Pablo Picasso.  Well look at that?  I can quit something.  We did get through The Taking of Pelham 123, even though it took three tries since my sweet spouse kept falling asleep.  (He gets up early.  He works hard.  Whatcha gonna do?) As always, I love you, I thank you, and I pray May treats you well!

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

I just had to share Amy Jung’s article with you.  Will I Pilot Life By God’s Truth or By My Feelings? is just what we all need to be reminded of.  We live in a culture that is screaming at us that our feelings are our truth, and we are all suffering the consequences of it.  Amy reminds us that God’s truth is THE truth, no matter how we are anyone else feels about it.  And that’s good news.

 

Grace and Truth_Rules

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

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We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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Now Let’s Link Up!

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Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

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Artisan Collection Bible Review… and Grace and Truth Link Up

April 10, 2020 by Lauren 25 Comments

During this time of Lent/ coronavirus isolation, I have been spending extra time in God’s Word.  I honestly can’t tell you if it’s the extra time at home or Easter preparation behind it, but I am thankful none the less.  As a Bible Gateway partner I received the opportunity to review a new Artisan Collection Bible and knew this was the perfect time.  I chose the NRSV version because I don’t currently own a copy and waited with bated breath for it to arrive in the mail.  (What else do I have to do?  Actually that is a joke.  I have been filling my socially distant time with all the things I haven’t had time to do while working – to the point of exhaustion and stress.  Pray for me.  My inability to relax is definitely a condition.)

 

I am so delighted with this beautiful version of God’s Word.  The stunning cover art work and golden gilt edged pages feel luxurious.  As does the patented Zondervan NRSV Comfort Print typeface for these aging eyes.  The lightly ruled, wide margins are perfect for journaling, reflecting, taking notes and creating unique, inspired art.  I, personally, have trouble making stick figures look good.  But maybe you are more creatively blessed.

 

You should Easter treat yo’ self to this gorgeous Bible or another in the series.  Easter is not canceled just because we can’t meet in a building.  And maybe you have no excuse for a pretty new dress this year, but this stylish Bible could fill the void.  Or gift one and start a new Easter tradition.  I would be so excited to add this to my collection of Bible study materials – if my teenage daughter hadn’t claimed it the minute it left the box.  I will enjoy watching her study and fill it’s margins.  And since I’m starting to feel a little envy about that, I may just have to order one for myself.  We can find it here.

 

I am so appreciative to the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid for gifting me this Artisan Collection Bible for my review.  And my prayer is that you use this Bible or another of your choosing to spend time with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ this Easter season.  May you celebrate His return from the grave and look forward to His return to claim His throne forever!

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it;

for the time is near.

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Revelation 1:3
Announcement:  Congrats to Kim Hill for winning a copy of Melanie Shankle’s On the Bright Side!  I will be in contact to get your info and get that book in your hands.  And thank you and welcome to all of our new subscribers!  You have no idea how much I appreciate you being a bloggy friend.
And now for this week’s featured post!
I am pleased to point you to When the Answer to Prayer is Bad News by Barbara Lee Harper of Stray Thoughts.  I love how she drew lessons so appropriate for the trial we are all experiencing in COVID-19 from the Old Testament Book of Habakkuk.  And she even linked to our own Grace and Truth Link Up host Lisa Burgess!  God’s Word is indeed alive and active and speaks to us today.  Hop over to soak up this wisdom.
Now for this week’s link-up! Let’s bless and encourage one another in our walk with the Lord.
Grace & Truth : A Weekly Christian Link Up

Grace & Truth exists to point people to Jesus! We hope this link-up will be a source of encouragement every week. If you’re a blogger, we hope you’ll use this space as a way to meet new friends within the Christian blogging community. If you’re a reader, we hope that you’ll encounter new bloggers that love Jesus as much as you do! Most of all, we hope you’ll meet Jesus here.

Join us each Friday for the Grace and Truth Link-Up!

To receive a weekly reminder of when the link-up goes live subscribe to laurensparks.net in the right hand column of this page.

Heather Hart & Valerie Riese

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

Maree Dee

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

Lauren Sparks

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Lisa Burgess

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
1.)  Following your hosts via their blog and social media channels is not mandatory, but appreciated!

To receive a weekly reminder of when the link-up goes live subscribe to laurensparks.net in the right hand column of this page.

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. Please do not link DIY, Crafts, Recipes, etc. We will delete these links. We also reserve the right to remove articles that don’t align with the theme or are deemed by the hostesses to be inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment! We want to encourage community among us, so please don’t link and run!

4.) We sort all links randomly – feel free to link as early or as late as you’d like. The playing field is even!

Featured Post Requirements

5.) Grab a button or link back to encourage new linkers. It is not mandatory, but it is required to be featured.

6.) Each host will choose one link to emphasize and promote via their social media channels next week.

Grab a Badge and Link Back to this Post.

And now, let’s link up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.

 

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About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
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