THE AWKWARD MOM

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Category: quotes (page 2 of 2)

Friday quotables #3/Freebie Fridays: FREE printable chalkboard art!

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Elisabeth Elliot circumstances quote-page-001

Today’s quotable is from Elisabeth Elliot–with a free chalkboard printable of this anchoring truth:

The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.

Turn here: Roadsigns for a Grateful Happiness

Reading Time: 4 minutes

A friend of mine who eventually lost his wife, and the mother of his four children, to Lou Gehrig’s disease once recalled to me a profound moment with God. While he still cared for her as her body spiraled downward, he had lain on his bed, overcome by loss.

But God seemed to be pointing him toward thanks. Not able to immediately turn to full-on gratitude, my friend simply started small. He thanked God for the ability to breathe; for the bed he wept on; for the air conditioning. From there, his gratitude snowballed, steering him into praise.

My friend’s attitude has revolutionized my approach to my bad days; to my pain.

Friday quotables #2: For when loving is hard and success is vague

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friday quotables

“I am still tempted to assess the ‘good’ of a day by whether it pleased me versus whether I pleased God and was loving toward others. I am still tempted to live as if I own my life and still fail to remember that I was bought with a price…

“When you’re living for you, the call to love others is always a burden for you.” read more

The Flipside of “Being Myself”

Reading Time: 4 minutes

girls at party

There’s a scene that always makes me grin from the movie Hitch (you know, with Will Smith). Hitch is a dating consultant, coaching guys get the girls they’re crazy about. Here, he’s advising a client who’s purchased a recommended pair of shoes for his date.

Hitch: The shoes are hot. You went to the place I told you, right? read more

The Necessity of Talking to Yourself (and Not Just Listening)

Reading Time: 3 minutes

It’s pretty much the only time, I think, when I should talk more than I listen.

You’ve been, there, I know: times like my morning a few days ago, when I tucked my feet beside me on the back porch, cup of tea in hand–mind splintered, floating in a deluge of concerns. I’d curled up to pray, but prayers kept colliding with the flotsam in my mind. I felt adrift; perhaps even a bit unmoored. Pretty sure I was just staring for a good portion of the time.

dock talking to yourself read more

Memos to myself: On the embarrassment of failure, Part II

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Memos to myself embarrassed by failure

Missed Part I? Get it here.

  1. Remember the mourning. Looking at Scripture, it seems God sometimes simply asks for us to witness what is not right in this world, and to participate with Him in lament. Maybe you’re flirting with failure in part because of someone’s hard-heartedness; because the forces in this world were stronger. I wonder if sometimes we’re not just given a glimpse into why this place is temporary; why it is passing away; why this place and this body and this fallen version of me is not forever. Sometimes failure, I think, can shape a mental sticky note to me: You are not, Janel. But He is. When you mourn with God, you are blessed. And you will be comforted.

Memos to myself: On the embarrassment of failure

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Memos to myself embarrassed by failure

Hey.

Let me just lay it out for you here: I, uh, may have actually started these memos for me, while I huddled in my bedroom chair on a Sunday morning, hoping it would be a few more minutes before the kids popped in or started fighting. read more

Friday quotables #1: For the day when you’re beyond your capacity

Reading Time: < 1 minute

friday quotables

“[The disciples in the storm in Mark 5:45-52] are in a situation that seems impossible, exhausting, frustrating, and potentially dangerous. They are far beyond their strength and ability. As you read the passage, you have to ask yourself why Jesus would ever want his disciples in this kind of difficulty. It’s clear that they’re not in this mess because they’ve been disobedient, arrogant or unwise, but because they have obeyed Jesus….

“[Jesus] takes the walk [on water] because He is not after the difficulty. He is after the men in the middle of the difficulty. He is working to change everything they think about themselves and about their lives…he says: ‘it is I’…He is actually taking one of the names of God. He is saying the ‘I AM’ is with them, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the One on whom all the covenant promises rest. It is impossible for them to be alone…. read more

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