Happy Friday!
Recovering from jet lag doesn't happen overnight apparently. My body felt like it was asleep, but I was moving, attempting to create a semblence of order in life and home.
Maybe I was really sleep-walking after all because the laundry basket kept filling and I wasn't sure how...
So, if you've felt a little like a zombie this week, you're not alone.
Content: This Week...
On the Blog (My article was published on GCD!!)
In a Quote
In Articles (my curated content just for you)
On My Screen (an interview I really enjoyed)
On The Blog
The Hands of Grace. My article on the blessing of the local church during the season our daughter was gravely ill, published at GCD.
Advent: The Season of Hope | Book Review. "The holiday season with its crowds and festivities moves at warp speed. I have to rush just to keep up. But Advent asks us to decelerate, be still, and rest."
Read more about this season celebrating our Savior and how it shapes our hope.
On My Shelf
Restore Our Joy I'm so excited to have started this study with a group of ladies, to make some space in this bustling season to contemplate our firm foundation.
Respectable Sins. Just like the Madrigal family's mantra, "we don't talk about Bruno," believers often don't like to talk about sin. I'm reading this for a leadership course, and I'm taking it slow. There's deep conviction, but praise be for God's bottomless grace.
Rekindled. I often forget to share fiction titles I've enjoyed, so here's one about second chances I read from my window seat acros the Atlantic last week.
Quote
I've been thinking a lot about beauty lately. When this quote came up in my Readwise feed, it brought tears to my eyes.
In Articles
A story shared by my friend Jana to encourage us, "if you’re embarking on a new endeavor, walking a hard road, or feeling weak and beyond your limits, link arms with a Christian comrade. May I—a clumsy, self-reliant sinner—gently exhort you to forsake your pride and share what you’re going through with someone else? Even if you’re scared, do it anyway—because that scariness isn’t as scary as doing it alone."
I really appreciated this one by Christa—which I think we can all resonate with in one way or another. It's a messy slog sometimes (often??), finding contentment with who we are in Christ and who he has created us to be, but this is the foundation of doing the work he has called us to do. And this we see more clearly when we're not comparing ourselves to those around us.
Nearing the end of my bible reading plan for the year and the Old Testament portion is wrapping up with the minor prophets. This article shows us how the gospel is reflected in this short book and that striving for justice is empty unless we understand how God brings justice first for sin, then to restore the world.
This question reverberates in us daily, doesn't it? Even when we're not conscious it's being asked. If you don't head over to read the article, remember this: God's grace is sufficient for you.
There were a few things I'd really not thought much about, and I loved how she ties her story into her heavenly adoption, so beautiful. "My earthly adoption speaks volumes of the love my God has for me. My earthly adoption is a picture of my heavenly adoption—that adoption where God said, you have a personality, a temperament, a wayward tendency, but you are mine. I give ou my name. I claim you."
On My Screen
I really enjoyed this interview with Lara, there's a lot of practical, helpful takeaways about how to reduce our anxiety through being still.
A Recipe Idea
I found this baked salmon and dill rice recipe simple to put together and tasted fabulous.
In Snapshots
(hockey season has begun and he's proudly wearing his auntie's number this year since he wore mine last year)
(found these simple delights at Costco. truth be told I wouldn't have tried them if I wasn't required to make drastic changes to my eating habits, but that's a digression for another day)
(a BJJ class culminating in a broken toe and bloody lip-both not mine-while celebrating those who ranked up...just another day in the life of close combat sports)
Previously On My Mosaic
4 Years Ago
3 Years Ago
2 Years Ago
One Year Ago
That's all for this week! I hope you have a great weekend!
~Grace & Peace,
Amber