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Dear Teenage Daughter, You Aren’t Entitled and Grace & Truth Link Up

February 21, 2020 by Lauren 34 Comments

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Dear Teenage Daughter,

You aren’t entitled to obey only when you feel like it.

You aren’t entitled to make all your own decisions.

You aren’t entitled to an allowance without contributing to the chores in our household.

You aren’t entitled to stay out as late as you want.

You aren’t entitled to all the fineries and material goods that your friends can afford.

You aren’t entitled to free speech at the expense of others’ feelings.

You aren’t entitled to a 24 hour parent ATM.

You aren’t entitled to treat your parent like an on-call uber, cook or maid.

You aren’t entitled to take your anger and frustration out on those who love you.

And you aren’t entitled to the freedoms of adulthood with none of the responsibility.

 

But Dear Teenage Daughter,

I am not entitled to reciprocate when you lash out.

I am not entitled to a stress and drama-free home.

I am not entitled to build a protective bubble to keep you from hurting or stumbling.

I am not entitled to singular control over my time and resources.

I am not entitled to a clutterless existence.

I am not entitled to make all your decisions for you.

I am not entitled to discipline out of pride or anger.

I am not entitled to lay on a guilt trip when you’d rather not be with me.

I am not entitled to behavior from you that makes me “look good”.

And I am not entitled to keep you a little girl forever.

 

But just maybe, there is enough grace to cover us both.  I love you.

 

For of His fullness [a]we have all received, and [b]grace upon grace.  John 1:16

 

Now for this week’s featured post!

People are Hard to Hate Up Close by Laurie Hess of Meditations in Motion.

Laurie has said here what I have struggled to say before, with a great personal story touch and even a social media call to action!  Let’s get personal, drop the generalities and love each other better.  Click here to read the post.

 

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 UpGrace & 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.

 

 

Maree Dee

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

Lauren Sparks

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

Heather Hart & Valerie Riese

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
 

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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When Life is Not a Hallmark Christmas Movie

December 19, 2019 by Lauren 28 Comments

Photo by Naitian(Tony) Wang on Unsplash

My husband and I watched Christmas Town last night – the first Hallmark Christmas movie I have convinced anyone to watch with me this year.  I admit I haven’t always appreciated them.  Some seasons they seemed much too simple, cheesy and formulaic.  I mean, they do all follow the same basic recipe.  Girl from big city with lousy relationship somehow finds herself in a quaint little town with snow and Yuletide decorations galore.  She happens upon a rugged stranger and sparks fly.  But there is always some obstacle to them falling in love.

 

The roadblock, which is eventually overcome, usually takes the form of a job in another city or the previously mentioned lousy relationship.  In the end, true love and happiness win out and the Christmas spirit is prominently displayed.  The scripts contain no bad language and only one or two chaste kisses to seal the new relationship deal.  It’s all very neat and cozy and sweet.  And I just felt like I needed it.

 

I LOVE Christmas.  It’s somewhat of a family joke.  I love the music and decorations and horrible Christmas sweaters.  I want to do ALL of the events – concerts and light tours and parties.  I record all the classic Christmas specials and beg my husband and kids to watch with me.  And even though I live in Texas, I dream of a white Christmas and serene family gatherings.  But life isn’t really like a Hallmark Christmas movie, is it?

 

This is the third year in a row that my family experienced something really difficult right at holiday time.  It’s hard, and somehow seems unfair due to the bill of goods we’ve been sold by card makers and retailers and story books alike.  There isn’t always enough money.  Decorations don’t always look perfect.  Jobs don’t last forever, and relationships aren’t always easy.  And that may not be the Norman Rockwell-esque picture of a modern Christmas, but I think it’s a lot like the first Christmas.

 

Scandal surrounded the birth of our King.  Tongues wagged at the teenage, unmarried and pregnant Mary.  Having little money to speak of, she walked or rode a donkey for mile after dusty mile with her betrothed.  With no decent rooms available, they bedded down in a barn.  When her contractions started, she was without her mother or midwife or ANYONE who knew of the birthing process.  Mary must have been so frightened as many women didn’t survive childbirth before modern medicine.

 

They must have been so thirsty.  Did Mary and Joseph have to drink the same water the animals were drinking?  What must the smells have been like in that barn.  And after Jesus came, did she have clothes to replace the ones covered in blood and afterbirth?  Were the cattle really “lowing” as the popular carol states?  Or were they freaked out by the screaming and crying associated with childbirth.  And amidst all the chaos, our Savior was born.  Our fate forever changed.  (Find the story here.)

 

Nichole Nordeman’s “What Child is This/ Fragile” might be my new favorite Christmas carol.  Between the verses of this song written over 150 years ago, the singer weaves in reminders of our current state:

This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste to bring Him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary

On and on the rain will fall like tears from the star.

On and on the rain will say how fragile we are.

 

The heavenly mixed with the earthly.  Weakness buoyed by strength.  This, this is what Christmas is all about.  His first coming was messy, just like our Christmases now.  But He made Himself low and joined us in the mess out of love.  And that’s how it will be until Jesus comes again.  His light will penetrate our darkness.  He will bring joy where there has been none.  He will love us and rescue us time and again when we don’t deserve it.  There’s nothing too messy for Him to step into.  Jesus our Savior is with us, within us until He comes back here in bodily form to reign as a mighty King.  Then all will be perfect forevermore for those who believe.

 

Do you know Jesus this Christmas?  Not just the little baby in the manger, but the Savior who came to earth.  He took the blame for all your sins and put them to death with Him on the cross.  All you have to do is believe that He was born to die for you.  Once you believe in His saving grace, He enters into your life – messes and all.  He offers the ONLY forgiveness of sins and gives help and hope this Christmas.  If you want to know more about His birth in a stable and death on a cross I would love to meet or correspond with you.  Drop me a note here or keep it confidential by visiting the CONTACT tab on this page.  I pray if you haven’t already, that you receive the best gift available today.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

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!

 

And look up these great writers I link up with every week:

InstaEncouragements, Literacy Musing Mondays, Hello…Monday,

The Good. The Random. The Fun.

BloggerClubUK, Tea and Word Tuesday, Purposeful Faith,

GraceFull Tuesday Link-Up, Hearth and Soul Link Party,

Let’s Have Coffee, Welcome Wednesday, Recharge Wednesday,

Worth Beyond Rubies, #TellHisStory Link Up, Porch Stories,

Encouraging Word Wednesday, Tune In Thursday,

Stories of Hope, Moments of Hope, IHeart Verse Link Party,

Legacy Link Up, Fresh Market Friday, Feature Friday Time,

Friendship Friday Blog Hop, Faith on Fire, Traffic Jam Weekend,

Faith ‘n Friends, Dancing with Jesus, Grace & Truth, Booknificent

 

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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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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