What comes to mind when you hear the word grace? Do you think of a formal church service? Maybe a girl’s name? If asked to define it, what would you say? Those who grew up in Sunday School might remember the acronym: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Maybe you’ve heard some other catchy definition. Maybe you … Continue reading Grace, and Why It’s Amazing
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When Depression Moves In
What happened to my joy? The question tugged at the corners of my soul as I trudged through each day. A dark cloud hovered over every waking moment. And sleep? That was a struggle, too. I had one bed-wetter and another child with night-terrors, so the sleep I did get was often fragmented and restless. How I … Continue reading When Depression Moves In
A Matter of Focus
Sometimes I get distracted. Sunday night, hubby came home from a week-long business convention in Pennsylvania. We stayed busy while he was gone – the big kids went to STEM camp each day, our littlest enjoyed several play dates with her besties, and I wrote lots and lots of words. When the weekend rolled around, … Continue reading A Matter of Focus
An Anchored Soul
Panic gripped my heart as I read the text from my sister – “Emergency Alert: Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.” My sister and her family moved to Hawaii three weeks ago. Just in time to enter the path of a ballistic missile. I fought back tears … Continue reading An Anchored Soul
Just a Taste
Samples. They're my kids' favorite part of shopping at Costco. (They might actually be mine, also. I'm just too grown up to admit it.) Just a taste. Enough to make you rush over to that cooler and grab your own box of goodness to take home for dinner. Jesus' coming at Christmastime was a bit … Continue reading Just a Taste
Good Gifts Gone Bad
by Meredith Mills @DazzledByTheSon Sometimes you’ve got to give yourself a time out. For several months, I’ve been very intentional about writing regularly, trying to post here on a weekly basis. But last week, I chose not to write. At all. God told me not to. I had lots of work to do - A … Continue reading Good Gifts Gone Bad
Pondering Perfection
“Please don’t let me mess up. Help me not to make a mistake.” I stood in front of our church congregation, filling in as a member of the worship team. I would be leading out on the next song. My stomach was in knots as I thought through all that could possibly go wrong, things … Continue reading Pondering Perfection
Subduing Sin
By Meredith Mills @DazzledByTheSon Why can’t I just say “no”? I was a slave, bound by my own desires and cravings. Food was my master and I regularly did its bidding. Hungry or not, it didn’t matter. Delicious food or mediocre, it didn’t matter. I couldn’t stop myself. I was powerless to change. And I … Continue reading Subduing Sin
Not Safe, but Good
by Meredith Mills @DazzledByTheSon Of all the activities we do as a family, reading together is one of my favorite. We’ve sailed to faraway lands, met giants and even escaped from a cyclops. We’ve been imprisoned with missionaries, dined with royalty and ridden a flying horse. Oh, the adventures we’ve had! The best books, my … Continue reading Not Safe, but Good
Redeemed and Set Free
by Meredith Mills @DazzledByTheSon I’ll never forget what I saw that day. I had heard of slavery, but to me it was a remote problem - a shameful period in our nation's history and a distant atrocity in far-away lands. And then I saw them. Flesh and blood people trapped in the insidious web of … Continue reading Redeemed and Set Free