Blessings this Week: 05.15.2015

Important conversations with Uncle Trevor- and being part of the lives of our wonderful nieces and nephews

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Visiting some goats (and his "farmer hat")

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Can I be completely honest, here? This work week was rough on me.

I spent more time complaining and less time finding the blessings. Which, of course, led to an even more negative attitude and more whining... it was bad. Downward spiral.

The whole experience reminded me, once again, how vital gratitude is, especially in busy seasons. And yet, I'm so prone to think that I'm "too busy" to be grateful. <Sigh>

I forget, you know?

I forget that five years ago, seven years ago, ten years ago, this was my dream. I get to share a life with my husband, have a job that I believe in that helps to support our little family, and truly, how many people get to sit in staff meetings and eat lunch with their husband every day?

I'm living my dream! But oh, how easy it is to complain about the very things that were once my head-in-the-clouds ideal?

So. After that realization once again, it was back to the blessings.

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Soft rain showers

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Baby birds all grown up

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How he always makes me laugh

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Prayers offered up by supportive friends

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Sparkly raindrops on all the blades of grass

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In case you missed it... 

This week on ye ole blog, we had a guest poster...

Ask a Pastor: Baptism and the Evangelical Free Church

I really feel that the divisions between Christian denominations are due largely to the fact that we just don't know much about each other. I understand that different denominations feel strongly about different theological points (and that's valid, obviously), but I also believe that the Christ who unites us is bigger than the issues that divide us... and that instead of just writing off an entire group of people, we should ask questions about what they believe and why! 

So, I asked Pastor Kurt to share with us a little about how the EFCA views baptism, and how baptism is practiced in the Evangelical Free Church! It's interesting! Click on over! 

The Tension of Christianity

Christianity feels a lot like... stretching. There's a tension in this in-between time of human history. We have one foot in Old Creation and one foot in New Creation, and we're pulled between our new lives in Christ while living in the same old world. 

And Coming Soon... 

And, I'm very excited to share a sneak peek into an upcoming series here on A Home Called Shalom... 

Do you ever feel... fruitless? Dry? Like you're not producing good things in your life? 

Yeah, me too. 

But the Bible tells us a different story. Simply by our belief in Christ, the Holy Spirit is producing good things in our lives. In Galatians, Paul tells us those things that the Holy Spirit brings about in the life of a Christian: 

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control

And we're going to dig in to that truth this summer. 

Ah! So excited!

I want to be sure you don't miss a thing-- so you can follow my page on Facebook (where I'll put up links to each of these posts... and I also share articles and stories that have inspired or challenged me!), or you can also follow the In Season Pinterest board, where I'll also be "pinning" all of these great posts. 

Okay, that's enough for this week. 

Have a great weekend, and keep finding those blessings, even (and especially) in the busy times.