She Lives in Grace
In Him she lives, and moves, and has her being. Acts 17:28
My Blog
This week the story I offer my mind is one of hope – in a simple name of a weekday.
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Do you ever groan when the early alarm clock rings, indicating that you NEED to get up and moving? The tasks are waiting and a mile-long. It's enough to send you diving back into that duvet, isn't it? But rather, what if there's more to a morning than tasks? I sincerely hope my struggle from over a year ago can encourage your heart.
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Ever feel like the things you loved to do are now just too wearisome? I have been there in both my writing and other tasks for the past month. I present to you a spark of motivation again, hidden within the words of this poem. If you've ever lost a beloved pet and then dared to love again, this post is for you. Or you'll be able to understand the feelings of someone close to you who will go through the same. Caution...cute doggie pictures at the end. You have been warned.
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I present to you a fairy tale based on anticipation, determination, and trickery. The story you will read was an assignment for my local writing group, Scribe Tribe. We were assigned a limit of 300-600 words. I am not one word over. As you read my fairy tale, you'll notice the same parallel. Have fun reading a true, little tale about little Aleisha and the night of the Christmas alarm.
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There are no large family gatherings. No children's Christmas programs. No Mannheim Steamroller Concerts. No balancing packages aside coffee house tables. It's all rather missing. We had enjoyed it so much in year's past. It feels like there is a part of Christmas missing. It has all changed. But, there is a part that can't ever change. It's available and revealed in a special and unexpected way this year. The joy can not be stopped.
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I'm so "this". I'm so "that". What do you do with those ugly statements you believe about yourself? Sometimes a reminder of the answer arrives in the mail.
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Do you find it hard to give thanks right now? All of us, at some point or another, find ourselves giving thanks through gritted teeth. Gratitude seems like a slap in the face. If you have ever felt that way, this post is for you.
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Has shame attached itself to some part of the story of your life? Yes. Mine, too. Yet, one baton passed to me changed my trajectory, although I wouldn't see it until twenty years later.
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Hi everyone! It's nice to 'meet' you!
Who am I? First and foremost, I am a daughter of the Most High.
For much of my life, I felt alone. Although always convinced God was present in the universe, I believed he did not care about me personally. Where was he? Why was he always mad at me? Did he cause all of this evil around me? Tough questions. Maybe you have have them, too. Now, through a series of revelations about who He is, and therefore, who I am, I have come to realize the grace of Jesus Christ and just how much it changes every area of my life. My writing reflects this truth. I desire to point to Jesus Christ in all I say and do.
I am not all of the lies I once believed about myself.
I am a saint - forgiven, holy, justified, and sanctified. I am the apple of His eye, beloved, adopted, righteous, made alive together with Christ, a new creation, a fellow heir, and partaker of God's promise in Christ Jesus, Christ's friend. I have the mind of Christ. I am blessed with every spiritual blessing.
I am loved.
I live in Michigan with my husband and family. I am Mom to four sons, a daughter-in-law, and one golden-doodle, Lexi. I love marmite book endings, baking fresh bread, teaching piano, walking with friends, watching my chickens, and creating straight lines in my vegetable gardens. Even though I'm a Master Gardener, my husband teases that he'd hate to be one of my perennials as I move them around so much. I can't do a cartwheel to safe my life and I frequently lose playing "Fast Scrabble". I know all of the words to the opener of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (yes, I know that dates me) and I have an odd fascination with weather-vanes and windmills.
I still send out an old-fashioned Christmas letter, a tradition that I started when first married. Over the years I have found my voice and realize I like to write with a touch of humor. I'm pretty classic and traditional, a large dose of whimsical and a small touch of quirky thrown into the pot. I live with a child-like curiosity and zeal for life. A deeply emotional person (hello Enneagram 4!), I prefer deep conversation over a cup of tea (coffee - bleck!) rather than small talk. I love one-on-one conversations. Want to go out for "coffee"? Just ask! I'm always very game!
And in case you ask, yes, the cover picture on the opening page IS actually me in Jamaica with my husband for our 25 wedding anniversary. It mirrors my freedom - from lies, from addiction, from depression, from people's opinion of me. Rest is available in Jesus Christ. It really is. I have grabbed ahold. He will never let me go. It's a win-win! To me, grace is not a "thing"; it's a person - Jesus Christ. In him, truly for the first time, I live.
I wouldn't have believed this possible ten years ago.
Living in Grace changed all of that.
Father changed all of that.
My favorite verse paraphrased from Ephesians 3:20 sums it all up for me. "Father can do abundantly more than all we think, ask, or imagine."
Even for me. For you, too.
Glory!
*****
Aleisha Cate