[quotemadness]

The deeper the cut of sadness, the greater there is room for joy–I think they are very much related. It’s important to understand that you have the capacity always to accommodate for immense sorrow and immense joy, which is not just the pay off – it’s part of the whole experience.

Sufjan Stevens (via pureblyss)

[hannaoliviaway]

Don’t get married because you think he or she is “the one.” Trust me, they’re not. There’s no such thing! But do get married when you see who God is making somebody to be, and it lights you up. When you want to be a part of that story of transformation. That journey to the future. when you are well aware of it will be a long and bumpy ride, but you don’t want to miss one mile. Because you believe in God’s calling on them, and you want in.

John Mark Comer, Loveology (via hannaoliviaway)

[flotsamie]

Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say ‘infinitely’ when you mean ‘very’; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

C.S. Lewis (via writerniche)

[athenagraceco]

“I cling to Jesus with every fiber of my being because He is unfailing, He is absolute, He is steadfast and His grace is deeper and wider than my imagination can even fathom. In Him and Him alone is where I’ve discovered a hope so bright and beautiful than words can possibly describe.”

Adam Young (via athenagraceco)

[grace--and--glory-blog]

when friends of yours & leaders in your church who were due this week give birth & call their baby the name you had chosen, loved & used for a good month or more. so sad. having a big old pity party over here & have considered relocating. i kid but its so hard to think of parting with our name but i dont know how we could still call him that. not when we are close & the church is not big enough yet to get away with it. wah. we were so in love with it. the meaning, what its shortened to, it just felt right & no other name struck us like it did. i know its not the end of the world & god willing we will stumble upon another name almost as perfect if not more & this time we will be announcing it to the world because i am not enjoying feeling like this. but that aside our friends have a precious wee boy with the greatest name & we cant wait to meet him.

[grace--and--glory-blog]

its a boy its a boy its a sweet little boy! I knew it. i was just so attracted to all things for a little boy & just couldnt shake the feeling. mama just knows right? we would have been delighted if we were having a wee girl but oh we are so keen on raising a mighty little man first.

[contrariansoul-deactivated20180]

We often confuse unconditional love with unconditional approval. God loves us without conditions but does not approve of every human behavior. God doesn’t approve of betrayal, violence, hatred, suspicion, and all other expressions of evil, because they all contradict the love God wants to instill in the human heart. Evil is the absence of God’s love. Evil does not belong to God.God’s unconditional love means that God continues to love us even when we say or think evil things. God continues to wait for us as a loving parent waits for the return of a lost child. It is important for us to hold on to the truth that God never gives up loving us even when God is saddened by what we do. That truth will help us to return to God’s ever-present love.

Henri Nouwen (via contrariansoul)

I love this

[grace--and--glory-blog]

oh did i mention i felt our babe for the first time the other night! & keep feeling now like little bubbles blobbing or popcorn popping below my belly button almost its the best feeling. we find out what we are having tomorrow!

[grace--and--glory-blog]

took a day off today to finish off cleaning/organising/ our house & its been so nice listening to worship all day & pottering around i just cant wait to have a good few months of this with our little babe with me & God willing a good few years! pray for us that i'll only have to go back part time minimum if at all. trusting God with my hearts desires.

[grace--and--glory-blog]

haven’t posted in a little while so lemme update!

so we just spent an entire weekend (almost) on our backyard & garden thanks to my parents who just went for it & did so much for us & its now looking so so good with veges & herbs & flowers & its all so tidy & its just great

we find out what our little babe is this week & ive got a nice little tummy now. i just cant wait to start feeling him/her moving around! anytime now baby anytime. almost halfway to meeting it too!

we just launched a brand new program for our primary school kids & made some big changes to our early childhood programs & the first sunday could not have gone better if you ask me. there are always little things you notice you can adjust or make slight adjustments to but i was just blown away really by how smoothly it went & how the team pulled it all off, adapting to all the changes & giving it their all really. we seemed to explode in the number of kids & families we had attend our service this weekend & though its a public holiday weekend so its kind of hard to say hardly any were out-of-towners that i spoke to! they were just locals looking for a place to settle in & if coming that sunday & seeing our program doesn’t attract them to come back for their kids i dont know what will. god works in pretty great ways! i love kids ministry & if i have to spend most nights every week to for a while longer just to get everything fully finished & future proofed for more growth i dont even mind.

it was a big weekend & i loved every bit of it.

[grace--and--glory-blog]

If what it takes for you this year to be present in this sacred, thin place, to feel the breath and presence of a Holy God, is to forgo the cookies and the cards and the rushing and the lists, then we’ll be all right with cookies from the store and a few less gifts. It would be a great loss for you to miss this season, the soul of it, because you’re too busy pushing and rushing. And it would be a great loss if the people in your life receive your perfectly wrapped gifts, but not your love or your full attention or your spirit. This is my prayer for us, that we would give and receive the most important gifts this season—the palpable presence of a Holy God, the kindness of well-chosen words, the generosity of spirit and soul. My prayer is that what you’ve lost, and what I’ve lost this year, will fade a little bit in the beauty of this season, that for a few moments at least, what is right and good and worth believing will outshine all the darkness, within us and around us. And I hope that someone who loves you gives you a really cute scarf. Merry Christmas.

Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way 

[grace--and--glory-blog]

Too often, we say we are defeated by this or that sin. No, we are not defeated. We are simply disobedient. It might be good if we stop using the terms victory and defeat to describe our progress in holiness. Rather, we should use the terms obedience and disobedience. When I say I am defeated by some sin, I am unconsciously slipping out from under my responsibility. I am saying something outside of me has defeated me. But when I say I am disobedient, that places the responsibility for my sin squarely on me. We may in fact be defeated, but the reason we are defeated is because we have chosen to disobey.

Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness

This got me good.

[katedaniel]

Marriage has led me to deeper levels of understanding, more pronounced worship, and a sense of fellowship that I never knew existed.

Gary Thomas, Sacred Marriage (via katedaniel)

[grace--and--glory-blog]

i held a newborn in my arms yesterday. 3 weeks olds. it was the most glorious, precious moment. i have almost 6 months before I hold our tiny baby in our arms but every day in waiting will be worth it & in the meantime i am really quite enjoying having this babe growing inside of me. i felt flutters for the first time yesterday morning (before i held the baby) so i shone a light on my tummy in bed last night, pushing a little trying to see if it would move for me. not yet that i felt but another week or two & i hope to start feeling it! i’ve had such a good pregnancy so far & i know its still early days but i could definatley go through this a few times. i’ve started listening to the bible audibly again & reading to him. its really quite a joy!

[grace--and--glory-blog]

Let’s treat each other well, making more space for every sort of ragamuffin. We needn’t mistake unity with uniformity; we can have the first without the second. The breadth of God’s family is mercifully wide. Grace has no discernment, apparently. Jesus created a motley crew, plucking us from every context and inaugurating a piecemeal clan that has only ever functioned with mercy. We should be grabbing hands, throwing our heads back, and laughing that God saved us all, because surely this is the messiest family ever and He loves us anyway. Our shared redemption should keep us grateful and kind, because what other response even makes sense? May the world see a thankful, committed family who loves their God, adores their Savior, and can’t get enough of one another. This is a story that saves, a story that heals, and the right story to tell.

Jen Hatmaker, For the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of Impossible Standards 

[worshipgifs]

[toknowyourname]

If God has made your cup sweet, drink it with grace; or even if He has made it bitter, drink it in communion with Him. If the providential will of God means a hard and difficult time for you, go through it.

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest