Grace Defined

I've recently noticed a theme of 'grace' in my life and I really think it's something that we don't talk about enough.

What is grace? 

By definition 'grace' is simple elegance or refinement of movement, ie. elegance and finesse. In Christian belief, 'grace' is the free and unmerited favor of God or God's love towards men who deserve the opposite. It's forgiving AND forgetting. 

I'm really interested in the act of showing grace and what that looks like, mainly because I've been in several situations lately where I've needed it or have needed to show others how to give it. 

How do we show grace? 

Grace, to me, is an exalted level or epitome of kindness. It's not just helping an older person or giving a child something they need or treating your neighbor with respect. It's more than that. It's love in action. It's saying you accept someone despite the struggles you may have with them. It's forgiveness of self and others. 

When should we show and ask for grace? 

Grace is good. All the time. We should be throwing grace around like confetti. The most perfect of all is the One who gives grace the most freely. Without His grace we would be in much worse shape. You can never ask for too much and you can never show it too much. 

Showing grace gives us the ability to move on from those things that hold us back. Now, if you think about it, humbly asking for grace and openly giving grace is the perfect combination for - conflict resolution internally and externally as well as, learning how to live in community with one another, to trust our leaders, to love our significant others, and to raise our children to the best of our abilities.

Some things to keep in mind in 2017:

Show yourself grace when you try and fail. Show your partner grace when they've wronged you but you know divorce is also not the answer. Ask for grace when you know you should parent better but lose your cool one too many times. Show grace when confronting and trying to remedy a situation. Show grace when you know someone needs to be cut some slack. Remind yourself that grace is necessary for refinement. 

Welcome 2017!

One of my many New Years resolutions is to write more.

So instead of scrolling through social media (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Timehop, then back to Facebook or Instagram, or maybe over to Pinterest or Houzz) I've opened up my notes app.

I have so many things to jot down, not just for you {sorry} but for myself. I want to remember everything. I have the worst memory so it's actually really important. Writing has always made me feel better, too. I was that girl, the one with the diary, who wrote religiously. I am still that woman who loves a good notebook to fill... just wish those notebook pages would translate into typed print! Although, the only downfall to blogging publicly is I can't share everything. Maybe I will keep journaling for my deepest thoughts and biggest secrets - sorry, this is not a tell all.

Sidebar: I kept a journal (the thing you hand write in) for G while dating and all through our engagement. I gave it to him at our rehearsal dinner and some low life broke into the truck on our wedding day and stole it.... along with his tux, my wedding band, a watch and his work bag. Needless to say he only read a page of it. I tried to do it again the first year of our marriage but I never finished and never gave it to him. That makes me sad. I'll give it to him tonight if I can even find it.

Ok back to the topic... New Years resolutions are tough. I believe they are anyways. Mainly because it is often an unrealistic goal for the person setting them. Let's see, for me, a practical goal would be... 2x a month posting. I figure if I put it to paper (app) then I am holding myself more accountable. I wish I could commit to more but I return to work next Monday. Yes, maternity leave is ending with Baby #2 and, as with baby #1, I am a mess about it. More on maternity leave and what that has looked like, later.

Welcome, 2017!