Loss has changed me in so many ways. It has changed me in ways that I thought it would and it has changed me in ways that I didn’t expect. It has changed how I view motherhood and it has changed how I view life. It has given me a…
Life Lessons
Read more
Don’t Waste It
There is something in this world that we never seem to have enough of. We can’t buy more of it and once we spend it — it’s gone forever. We can’t freeze it or hold on to it — even in the moments when we desperately try to. It keeps going…
Faith
Read more
A Growth Perspective
How do you define success? How do you measure growth? Do you think growth only occurs if there is a constant upward trajectory? I’ve been challenged this week about my view of growth and it’s been so good. It can be all too easy to “compare and despair” when it…
Faith
Read more
Blessings on Blessings
Have you ever just sat in awe of what God is doing in your life? Maybe you’ve seen Him working in the tiny details of your life and it reminds you that He sees you and cares about the little things in life? One of my favorite verses is James…
Faith
Read more
Feelings of Overwhelm
Do you ever judge your success in something based on how quickly you succeed? I know I have. It can be so discouraging when something that you’re super excited about doesn’t happen exactly how you expected. I heard someone say that other day that we need to learn to be…
Faith
Read more
Be Humble, Know Your Limits
Have you ever been in a situation where you needed help, and the person that said they could help you tried, but didn’t really help at all? They said that they knew what you were going through, but in the end their advice may have done more harm for you…
Faith
Read more
Perfect Love
Have you ever been afraid? Have you ever been afraid of God? Have you ever felt unloved, unworthy, or unimportant? Have you ever felt like a failure, a fraud, or a hypocrite? Many, dare I say all of us, have at one time or another experienced at least one of these —…
Faith
Read more
Joy (Happy Easter!)
About nine years ago, I cam across a few verses in the book of Hebrews that radically shifted how I thought about the death of Jesus. Have you ever had that? You read a verse in the Bible that you’ve read before, but you catch something this time that you…
Faith
Read more
The Beginning of my New Adventure!
These past couple of weeks have been so full — in the best ways! Growth and change are quite uncomfortable for me and I have been in a busy season of growing and changing as I’ve been working on getting everything set up and ready to go for my new…
Grief
Read more
An Exciting Update!
In 2017 I prayed about starting a blog and as a result, “Embraced by Grace” was born. I’ve posted on and off over the last almost seven years, but have been super consistent over the last year and a half. My life looks radically different than it did seven years…
Garden Lessons
Read more
From Sap to Syrup
We tapped our maple trees for the second time this year and spent part of the weekend cooking down sap. It’s so much fun for us and there’s nothing like the taste of fresh maple syrup — we love it and are so excited to restock ours. The thing about…
Life Lessons
Read more
Rejoicing in Suffering
Do you consider persecution to be a blessing? How about persecution for the sake of Christ? I bring these questions up because yesterday I read Matthew 5 and Jesus brings up persecution when He’s preaching The Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are nothing new to me. I’ve heard them before and read…
Life Lessons
Read more
A Response to Healing
I’ve been working my way through the Bible using The Bible Recap for a while and I have enjoyed it even more than I thought that I would. I’m currently reading through the Gospels and even though I’ve read them before, I’m noticing things that I hadn’t before — which…
Grief
Read more
Choose Your Hard
“Hard now, easy later; easy now, hard later” is a quote I heard somewhere and ever since then, I’ve realized just how much of life that applies to. More than just a catchy phrase, this has become a perspective shift for me. Realizing that this can be applied to nearly…
Life Lessons
Read more
Ready to Forgive
Have you ever read the book of Nehemiah? I’ve been reading through the Bible using The Bible Recap and yesterday I was in Nehemiah. I’m not sure if I’ve ever read Nehemiah before, but it’s actually a pretty interesting book. Nehemiah was a cup bearer to the King of Persia…
Life Lessons
Read more
Humble Obedience
I heard a sermon on Acts 10 this past Sunday at church and I’ve been thinking about Peter ever since. I keep coming back to the fact that Peter was told that he would be used by God for something important, but — to my understanding — wasn’t told what…
Life Lessons
Read more
Heart Change
Have you ever heard of King Nebuchadnezzar? If you have, have you ever learned a lesson from his life? He’s not considered a hero and you won’t find him listed among the great men of the Bible. He was the king of Babylon during the days of Daniel and he…
Holiday Posts
Read more
New Year, New Word!
Do you set New Year’s Resolutions? I don’t — I haven’t for years. I understand why people do, but they never work for me so I quit doing it. What I do like to do is to pick a word that becomes the umbrella from which any goals I might…
Grief
Read more
A Thrill of Hope
Christmas is in FIVE days! For some, that sentence brings joy and/or excitement. For others that sentence brings grief and/or panic. For some it’s a combination of both. I rest in that third category — a mix of joy and grief — and yet, I find “a thrill of hope”…
Marriage
Read more
On to “First Grade”
Do you remember first grade? You’re learning to read and write and maybe ride your bike without training wheels. You still don’t know a ton, but you do know more than you did in kindergarten. You’re a little more confident than when you were in kindergarten and you’re excited because…
Holiday Posts
Read more
Trust and Obedience
Ever since the beginning of time, humans have struggled with obedience to God. We are good at coming up with reasons in an attempt to justify our disobedience, but it all falls short. Obedience isn’t easy for us, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. In fact, obeying God…
Grief
Read more
Grief and Grumpiness
Yesterday, I woke up and read my Bible and was in a pretty good mood — until I wasn’t. I couldn’t put my finger on why I was irritated, but I was. There were dishes that needed to be done, I was having a hard time keeping my older boys…
Grief
Read more
Happy Thanksgiving Eve
Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season for me. It’s always been one of my favorite holidays and I always looked forward to it because it marked the beginning of such a joy filled time of year. The holiday season was my dad’s favorite. I remember him making a…
Life Lessons
Read more
Failing Forward
Something that I’ve learned about myself recently, is that it’s much easier for me to encourage others than it is to encourage myself. Anyone else like that? When it comes to others, I am able to see their potential and speak words of truth into their lives, but when it’s…
Life Lessons
Read more
When Plans Don’t Happen
Do you like things planned out or do you thrive on spontaneity? If you’re a planner, what do you do when things don’t go as planned? This is something that has been a struggle for me that God has been working on in my life for a long time —…
Do Small Things Well
“It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God — but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people — and this is not learned in 5 minutes.” ~Oswald Chambers~…
Motherhood
Read more
Frustrated and Overwhelmed
I’m a big fan of summer. It is probably my favorite season because I really enjoy the warmth and sunshine. There is a noticeable change in my mood once fall starts to roll around. I don’t like being cold and it gets quite dreary with all the rain and cloudy…
Motherhood
Read more
Hard and Holy
Motherhood is one of the hardest, most joy filled things I’ve ever been blessed to experience. I love my children so much that I can’t fully explain or describe it. It has challenged, grown, and taught me in ways like nothing else in my life. It has stretched me to…
Grief
Read more
How Are You Doing?
“How are you doing?” is a question that I was asked more times than I can count within those initial days and weeks after my dad passed away. It’s just what people say and it was completely expected, but it was hard to answer. I had never really thought about…
Life Lessons
Read more
Asking Questions
Are you someone who likes to ask questions? Do you take the time to ask questions for better understanding or simply because you think you already know the answer? Over the last few months, I’ve learned that I need to become much better at asking questions — and then actually…
Life Lessons
Read more
Sourdough and Resiliency
I’ve been baking with sourdough for over a year now and I enjoy it so much! I appreciate the simplicity of the ingredients required (for bread) and love that I get to use my hands to shape it. I enjoy the smell of fresh bread, so when it fills my…
Health & Wellness
Read more
Headed Toward Healthy
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I’ve heard this verse many times growing…
Grief
Read more
Take the Picture!
May 8, 2022 was Mother’s Day. We had baby dedications at church and since we were dedicating our second son, my dad came to church. That afternoon we went to my parents house and spent time with my dad, went on a walk, and then had dinner once my mom…
Grief
Read more
Grief and Eggs
It had been a couple of days since my dad unexpectedly passed away and I decided to make breakfast. Marc had been taking care of everything including any food we had to make, but I needed to do something “normal” and breakfast felt like an easy enough task. I began…
Grief
Read more
Grieving Well
Grief. It’s one of those things that I find uncomfortable to say the least. I don’t enjoy it and I’m not the best at dealing with it. I told myself that I was going to grieve the loss of my dad well because I didn’t grieve the loss of our…
Garden Lessons
Read more
A Lesson from the Garden
Have you ever planted a garden with really great intentions only to let weeds take it over? That’s what we’re currently dealing with right now. We expanded our garden this year even though we knew we’d be adding another little one to our family in April, which meant we’d have…
Marriage
Read more
Teaching Them Young
At what age do you start teaching your children how to treat others? Pretty early in my experience. We teach them to share — or at least we try to — within the first couple years of their lives. We begin teaching them how to be kind to others, how…
Motherhood
Read more
Finding Motivation
Do you have a hard time finding motivation to do things? I know I do sometimes. I’m an externally motivated person, so if there is not any external motivation — I’m much less likely to actually accomplish anything. I thought if I could just make myself an internally motivated person,…
Marriage
Read more
Encouraging People
If someone asked you to think of the most encouraging person in your life, who would it be? Do you have encouraging people in your life? I remember liking encouragement as a kid, but as an adult — especially since I became a mama — I appreciate it in a…
Life Lessons
Read more
The Courage to Change
“Nothing changes if nothing changes.” I have no idea where that quote originally came from, but I’ve heard people reference it multiple times. Change is one of those things that, when I want it, I want it to happen now and when I don’t want it to happen, I really…
Faith
Read more
The Impact of Decisions
When you make a decision, do you always consider how it will impact those around you? I do sometimes, but I certainly can’t say that I always do. There are certain times when the decision I make is because of the impact it will have on those around me. There…
Marriage
Read more
Cancelled Plans
Have you ever cancelled plans with someone? Have you ever cancelled plans with the same person, multiple times? I know that I have. There’s this one person in particular that I have cancelled on many times — more than I can count. I didn’t really think it mattered because I…
Marriage
Read more
Comparison
Have you ever compared your life to someone else’s? Have you ever compared your motherhood, homemaking, and/or marriage to someone else’s? I know that I have and I’m sure that you have at some point too. You might see, read, or hear about how someone else does life and find…
Motherhood
Read more
Mama, Watch!
“Mama, watch!” is a phrase that I hear more and more as the days go by and my oldest son’s vocabulary continues to grow. He gets so excited about things that he learns and he wants me to watch him. From jumping, to throwing a ball, to taking a bite…
Life Lessons
Read more
Learning to Listen
Have you ever said something and immediately wished you could take it back? You weren’t really thinking about what you said when you said it, but as soon as it came out of your mouth, you wished you had taken the time to think about what you were going to…
Grief
Read more
The Blessing of Going “Overdue”
Two weeks ago yesterday, I had the joy of giving birth to our third son! It was our third home birth and it went so well — for which I’m grateful. I was warned not to expect our third son’s birth to be like either of his brothers births. With…
Motherhood
Read more
Baby Steps
Has anyone ever told you to be happy with the “baby steps” when you’re working on or toward something? Maybe it’s something that you have told someone else or have had to remind yourself of from time to time. I never really thought about why that phrase was so common…
Motherhood
Read more
Asking for Help
As I was watching my two year old attempt to get his pajamas on all by himself — we have reached the stage where he wants to do everything himself — I became very aware of a few things. I was also reminded once again how God uses my children…
Life Lessons
Read more
Run Toward Victory
Do you run toward victory? I’ve been reading through 1 Samuel and yesterday I read the story of David and Goliath. The entire account is incredible and I’ve grown up hearing the story, but this time as I read it something stood out to me that I’m not sure I…
Motherhood
Read more
Grace for Today
Do you ever feel like you can barely make it through a day, let alone something that’s coming in the future? As I near the third trimester with my third son, I often find myself wondering how we are going to do with three boys under three. It seems like…
Motherhood
Read more
Teaching The Next Generation
“…And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel.” Judges 2:10 As I was doing my Bible reading yesterday I was struck by this verse. To think about and realize that we are only one generation away…
Life Lessons
Read more
Flour, Water, and Salt
Have you ever made something that only used a few ingredients and been amazed at what can be created with them? I embarked on a journey last year to learn how to make Sourdough bread and while I wouldn’t consider myself a master by any means, I can definitely make…
Grief
Read more
New Mercies and a New Year!
This week in between Christmas and New Year’s is always such an interesting week. The routine of a normal week is still not back because these holidays come exactly a week a part from each other. I feel like this week often brings a lot of reflection and a lot…
Holiday Posts
Read more
Silent Night?
We’ve probably all heard the song “Silent Night” at some point in our lives. I know that I hear it every year at Christmas time and I’ve always thought it was a sweet, calm song to sing. This year, as I was thinking about it, I began to wonder if…
Grief
Read more
The Joy of the Season
Christmas is less than two weeks away which seems crazy to me! I remember as a kid thinking that time went so slow, but now it seems to go by faster and faster. Some years I’ve been more ready for Christmas than others. It can be such a fun time…
Grief
Read more
Four Years
Tomorrow marks four years since I had the honor and privilege or marrying my best friend. It feels like a long time ago and not very long ago at the same time. I know in the grand scheme of life that four years isn’t very long, but I also remember…
Motherhood
Read more
Always Teaching
Life with a two year old has been filled with some of the best moments of our lives and some of the more frustrating ones. Our boy is so sweet the majority of the time and in the less sweet moments, he’s still adorable — he just makes you think…
Grief
Read more
Happy Thanksgiving Eve!
Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I’m so excited for tomorrow — it’s one of my favorite holidays and is really the kick-off of the holiday season for me. I so enjoy all the delicious food and getting together with family. There’s something special about the holiday season and it’s filled with memories…
Motherhood
Read more
Fighting for His Peace
The miracle of life is something that I pray I never take for granted. As I journey through another pregnancy, I’m constantly reminded of the gift it truly is. Life is so fragile and every breath, every heartbeat, is a miracle. As I was anticipating my most recent midwife appointment…
Grief
Read more
Six Months
I can’t believe that it has been six months since my dad unexpectedly passed away. Six months doesn’t seem like a long time and yet it does all at the same time. To think that it has been six months since he held my boys, since I heard him laugh,…
Motherhood
Read more
Humility, Sacrifice, and Selflessness
Can you think of the most humbling, sacrificial, or selfless moment of your life? I honestly don’t know if I fully understood those words until I became a mama. From the moment of conception — or in some cases before — you give up your wants and desires for the…
Faith
Read more
Context and Empathy
“Context, context, context!” I remember hearing this at a camp I went to in high school. I also heard it in a Bible class while I was in college. In both places they were referring to the Bible and how important it is to read verses in their context. When…
Life Lessons
Read more
The Speed of Change
As I was driving the other day and seeing all the beauty in the changing colors of the trees, I realized something. When a tree begins to change colors, it doesn’t happen all at once. All the leaves on a tree don’t change at the exact same time, all the…
Grief
Read more
Changing Seasons
As the colors on the leaves change and the garden wraps up, it’s a sure sign that the warmth of summer has ended. We’re now in the season of preparing for winter and all the snow that comes with it. The changing of seasons always brings up so many analogies…
Life Lessons
Read more
A Model for Community
Have you ever looked at other cultures or different parts of history and thought about how so many things can be passed down generation to generation simply by being a part of a process? How so much can be learned simply by being around someone? I feel as though there…
Life Lessons
Read more
For the Joy!
Have you ever had to endure something that was hard knowing that it would be worth it in the end? Have you ever had to endure something hard not knowing how it would turn out in the end? The first two examples that pop into my head are exercising and…
Faith
Read more
Willing to Go
Have you ever thought that you weren’t able to be used by God? That maybe your past would prevent you from being used in the future? Maybe you’ve thought that God will use someone else to accomplish His work, but you never thought it could be you? The Bible is…
Faith
Read more
Where is God in Suffering?
Have you experienced suffering? Have you ever wondered why God allows suffering? Have you ever questioned why bad things happen to good people? You’re not alone in that. There is a desire as humans to have answers to these questions and while the answers don’t always make sense to our…
Life Lessons
Read more
A Popcorn Lesson
Do you remember what it was like to be a kid? When everything was exciting and new and you didn’t have any cares in the world? I learn SO many lessons from our boys and I recently witnessed our oldest watching popcorn pop in the air popper for the first…
Faith
Read more
We Plant It, God Grows It
Did you plant a garden this year? We did and it’s the largest one that we’ve planted to date! It has been such a fun season as we’ve been harvesting beans, squash, peas, broccoli, corn, cucumbers, and lots of tomatoes! While a lot of the plants are beginning to die…
Faith
Read more
In The Wilderness
Have you ever found yourself in the “in between” where you’ve left a hard/bad situation, but haven’t quite arrived to the finish line yet? Have you ever been in a situation that you felt was hopeless or unfair? A situation where you just want to be rescued and you longed…
Grief
Read more
Better Because of It?
Last December began a new season in my life as I began my journey as a wife! My husband and I were absolutely thrilled and excited as we began our life together. The weather was cold, but the snow held off and we were able to celebrate with some of…