Grace & Truth Link Up

  • Hi, Mom. I’m Home…and Grace and Truth Link Up

    ByLauren Christian, forgiveness, grace, Grace & Truth Link Up, salvation
    20 Comments

    The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[a] so that we may serve the living God!  Hebrews 9:13-14 NIV

     

    For high school graduation, a relative gave me a laundry bag.  A practical, if unimaginative gift.  It said, “Hi, Mom.  I’m Home.”  During my college years I wore out that bag and a couple of baskets! Every time I planned to go back home to visit my parents, I saved up as much dirty laundry as I could.  Then hauled it many highway miles with me.  In fact, I saved my dirty clothes for so long that I never had any clean ones to pack for the trip!  I wore straight out of the dryer for the entire visit.

     

    My mom didn’t do the laundry for me (she wouldn’t if I’d asked anyway).  I happily washed and folded my own clothes there because Mom’s machines required no quarters.  And at Mom’s house I didn’t have to worry that my jeans might get stolen from an unattended machine.  Totally happened to my Rocky Mountains (Anyone else remember those?).

     

    When my sister and I came home on the same weekend or for the holidays, that washer and dryer ran around the clock.  We made sure to clean every shirt and pair of socks we owned while there.  After which we hauled everything back to school to hang in our closets – sparkling clean and pressed.

     

    Do you know what dirty laundry we never have to carry around?  That which we perpetrated in our own lives.  The blood of Jesus washes us cleaner than any detergent could.

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    Christ made the ultimate sacrifice of Himself so that we could be forgiven of our sins and made “whiter than snow”.  I thank the Father that nothing I’ve ever done can be held against me because I’ve trusted Him to expunge it.  No stain sets too dark or too stubborn for those who love the Lord and accept His gift of salvation.

     

     …let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  Hebrews 10:22 NIV

     

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

     

    My writer heart just loves Lois Flowers’ Telling Our Stories (and a Giveaway).  Not only is her post a great philosophy for good writing, but I think it helps with good communication overall!  And the giveaway is so sweet!  Thanks, Lois.

     

    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)

     

    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

    HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    LAUREN SPARKS
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

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

    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!

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

  • Jumping from June to July…and Grace and Truth Link Up

    ByLauren Christian, entertainment, Grace & Truth Link Up, monthly review, Uncategorized
    22 Comments

    I threw a party.  For the reunion of my favorite show Friends.  That’s how I kicked off my month and it was fun! 

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    Friends themed decorations and name tags for everyone featuring supporting characters of the beloved show.  Ugly Naked Guy?  Frank Jr. Jr., Spackle Back Larry?  They were all in attendance.  Did you watch?

    We piggybacked on my inlaws’ generosity and took a little jaunt to the beach.  My daughter and her friend baked themselves crispy fried on the first day despite many warnings and pleadings to reapply the SPF.  We took in the Texas State Aquarium where we saw a flamingo couple guarding a nest.  Shelby fell in love.

     

    I began serving as a subject matter expert for NETA to help them develop their next certifying exam – an interesting process during which I get to meet fitness instructors from all over the country.  We have two Zoom meetings under our belt and several more to follow.

     

    Shelby attended her first of two summer camps.  This one sits only an hour away from home and gives her dad and me a nice respite from caregiving.  Super bonus – she has a blast!  The report I got?  She had a great week and was the happiest camper there.  That’s my girl!  My youngest volunteered at three sessions of children’s day camp at our church and lead worship for the youth.  That’s my other girl!

     

    The whole extended family (almost) sat out in stifling heat with zero breeze to support my niece in her dance recital.  That’s love.  My husband and I caught the That Sounds Fun Podcast Tour with Annie F Downs when it came through Dallas.  It was funny and endearing and I felt like God had a message for just my husband and me.  Now THAT’S a good show.  And the same week we got to pick up Georgia peaches from The Peach Truck and deliver to family over a Father’s Day celebration.  I have a good one and I’m married to a good one.  And there was much rejoicing.

     

    It’s been a movie month for us.  So glad to see new quality films coming to theaters.  We got to Finding You, which may be my new favorite.  After taking it in with my husband, I took my daughter to it the very next day.  It’s a sweet and clean romance (a rarity) with a lot more going on than the love story.  I can’t wait until it’s streaming so I can see it again.  We saw Queen Bees.  Not as clean but funny and sweet.  And at home we caught an edited version of football movie The Replacements and an oldie – The Fortune Cookie starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.  Last, the whole family plus my sister enjoyed In the Heights.  I may be in the minority, but I love, love, love a good musical.

     

    Lastly, I was glad to see Juneteenth become a federal holiday!  And that about wraps up the last 30 days.  I hope all the daddies out there had a great Father’s Day.  Shout out to the ones in my life and especially my Heavenly Father.  And as always, I love you, I thank you and I hope July treats you well.

     

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

     

    I found Katie R Dale‘s blog bipolarbrave.com for the first time this week.  And I’m so thankful.  Her vulnerability in sharing her struggles with mental illness and the intersection of God’s healing and grace gave me much pause for thought.  If you suffer from, are curious about or have experience with someone else’s mental illness, do a deep dive on her sight!  Especially It Happened One Summer.  Thanks, Katie.  Grab the button below for your site.

     

    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)

     

    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

    HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    LAUREN SPARKS
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
    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, subscribe!

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