Grace & Truth Link Up

  • How a Church Cemetery Reminded Me of What’s Important

    ByLauren Christian, death, Grace & Truth Link Up, Holy Spirit
    11 Comments

    what's importantEvery day I drive 20 minutes to take my daughter to her dayhab program.  And every day we pass a church with a cemetery beside it.  The church and grounds are gorgeous.  And I love their commitment to history.  This congregation kept and preserved other iterations of their sanctuaries as they continued to expand and build.  And today,  this patch  of  land  and  buildings reminded me of  what’s important.

     

    God handed us a break with the temperatures this week (only getting into the low 90’s instead of triple digits).  So I chose to exercise outside on a mild morning or two (still in the upper 70’s).  I prefer being outdoors for movement these days but the Texas climate rarely allows that during the summer.

     

    what's importantAfter dropping Shelby off, I decided to stop at this church campus to explore and walk.  They have a prayer labyrinth and a walking trail with spiritual landmarks – and a lot of space.  I tried to take a picture of the cemetery while capturing the church on the other side of it, but mucked it up.  I blame the poor vantage point.  Making excuses really.  If you look closely at the picture with the gate, you might just barely see the steeple above the trees.  Oh, well.  My younger sister got all of the photography skills.what's important

     

    What’s Important

     

    Let me make my point.  I think seeing a cemetery every time I went to church would remind me that this place is not our home.  I know funerals and burials make a lot of money now – big business – which is probably why the church is not the preferred plot anymore.  But I think being put in mind of the saints who went before us on a weekly basis could be a good thing.

     

    We spend so much time trying to make ourselves comfortable here and devising ways to live our best lives now.  And the bible does tell us that Jesus came to give us an abundant life (John 10:10).  But I don’t think abundant lives focus on the here and now.  Today reminded me that I need to keep my eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and things in the heavenly realm.  That is what’s important.

     

    We only use these bodies in this place for a short time.  But 2 Corinthians 5:1 NIV tells us, “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”  Through this scripture the Holy Spirit whispered to me, “Everything you do in this body should be focused on that”.

     

    Summing Up What’s Important

     

    I get so caught up in the pain and difficulty – and even the minutia – of my days.  My walk this morning renewed my commitment to myself and my Heavenly Father to turn my thoughts to Him and His purposes.  And to the promises that await me when this blip on earth is over.  Our Father, using that church and the quaint little graveyard, hugged me warmly and reminded me that this is not all there is.  He reminded me of what’s important.

     

    “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,  who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”  Philippians 3:20-21 NIV

     

    The Link Up

     

    Paula Short provided us a great list of encouraging scriptures that I thought might be beneficial for you too.  Plus, she has a new link up for you writers.  Two resources in one!  24 Ways Christ Tells Us Who We are in Him.

     

    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).

    Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

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

    MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    LAUREN SPARKS
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    Now Let’s Link Up!

     

    You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

    Click here to enter

     

    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.

  • Postage Stamps, History and Freedom

    ByLauren Christian, Grace & Truth Link Up
    22 Comments

    Postage StampsWhen I saw that today is National US Postage Stamp Day, I went to get my collection.  The old photo album I keep them in stays buried at the bottom of an antique chest my dad restored for me.  I can’t even remember the last time I got them out to look.  In fact, my husband looked utterly floored.  “How long have we been married?”, he asked.  (The answer is 23 years.)  “Why did I not know you collected stamps?”  Just trying to keep some mystery in our marriage.

     

    Truth is, I just hadn’t thought about it in a while.  But now he, and all of you, know just how super cool I really am.  In the 4th grade, I ordered a stamp book from a Scholastic book order (oh, those were so fun!).  The book included big beautiful, colorful and exotic stamps from all over the world.  They ignited something in me and prompted me to start a hobby I enjoyed for many years.

     

    I learned how to soak stamps off envelops and constantly searched our incoming mail for different or unusual ones.  Christmas time usually brought an abundance of riches as many people abandoned the usual flag stamps for something seasonal and festive.  Whenever I went to the post office with a parent, I hoped to see some new commemorative release or collection.  Sometimes I could find a package of stamps for sale at antique shops, and when my great-grandmother passed away, I got to add her collection to mine.

     

    As an older teenager, I got busy with teenagery things and lost interest.  But I still have them all and am enjoying looking at them now.  I have stamps of animals, actors, authors and presidents.  Crazy Horse, Dolly Madison, Jackie Robinson and Army Surgeon Dr. Mary Walker live on in my book.  I have stamps ranging from 2 cents to 50.

     

    Why Am I Talking About Postage Stamps?

     

    I’ll stop geeking out now and get to my point.  I think I loved stamps because they show so much history. The last few years much has been said about the dark underbelly of our country’s history.  And I get it.  I’ve learned so much.  And I’ve changed how I feel about some things.  I’ve even – for the first time – questioned the pledge of allegiance.  Fortunately as a grown up, I’m not asked to say it anymore.  And I’m glad.  Only because my allegiance belongs to God and God alone.  Not a human, not a country and definitely not an inanimate object.  For example, as much as I love my husband, there are things he could do that could alter how I feel about him and the nature of our relationship.  The same goes for any other person or entity.  Only our unchanging God deserves true allegiance.

     

    But I do love being an American citizen.  With all of its flaws, it is still one of the best places in the world to live – especially as a woman.  I have the right to vote, hold a job, own a home and land, run for political office and have my voice heard.  And most importantly to me, I get to worship as I choose.  And many people made many sacrifices for that.  It is for these things, and many more that I will celebrate this flawed, but beautiful country.  And I’ll vow to keep learning and doing better.

     

    Happy Independence Day to my American friends!

     

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

     

    Grace and Truth’s own Lisa Burgess hit on a hot button topic with Do I Stay Christian or Not?  It breaks my heart to see so many people walking away from the Christian faith – and their reasons are many and varied.  Check out the book Lisa recommends on the subject in her post.

     

    The Link Up

    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).

    Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

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

    MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    LAUREN SPARKS
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    Now Let’s Link Up!

     

    You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

    Click here to enter

    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.