something's broken

A year or more ago, I read a line by Ann Voskamp that echoed me so much, that for a long time I had it on my side bar.   It read: "I am a broken momma, of broken children".

I knew I was broken.  {still am}   I was struggling so with the impact of my brokenness.  At the time, though, it was a new thought to consider my children broken.  After all, they all had backgrounds that could easily cause brokenness, and they all had me for a momma, that could easily cause brokenness..and together with me, we are all living after THE FALL, which is a world of brokenness.


and God loves us.   brokenness and all.


from time to time i forget that we are all broken.


i get judgemental of this person's choices, or life style or ways.  i think, they are a christian, they are a leader....they SHOULD NOT do this or that....

last night, my son and i were discussing a perceived misbehavior of someone we both knew....and after i complained about it, my son said: "Mom, he's just human."

ah...yes..he is.  human broken...just like me...

and our brokenness is being tended by Christ, for those who accept his loving balm.  the wounds, the cracks, filled in with grace and love.    but still broken.

and some times we try really hard to look like we aren't broken.  maybe we did not realize that we are still broken people, in a broken world.   and expect the rescue saving of Christ to presto, instantly mend the brokenness.

but it just ain't so.

he does instantly give us his life..but the brokenness of our soul and body is mended slowly, over time,  and not fully, this side of heaven.

so earlier today, I read Ann again, and her new worlds helped me resolve some judgement I was carrying around about a couple other folks.  Ann said:

"if the broken would just love the broken — this might free us all from the chains of rejection."



yes..we are all broken.  and let's just love the broken, realizing it is all of us.  it is letting ourselves and everyone else off the hook of perfection expectations.   Ann goes on to say:

 "God’s putting together all the pieces of the puzzle and He’ll fill what’s still missing with His peace."

yes.  he fills in our brokenness with himself.  he gives peace in the middle of brokenness. 

another friend shared a short passage from a novel she is reading by Beverly Lewis that said:

{{{What if we simply made it our heart's work to pray more and judge less?"}}}

and I thought..yes...yes.  how about that.  pray about those things I was judge and disliking...rather then complaining about them.

our brokenness needs prayers....not complaints

Read Anns wonderful thoughts here: Because  we all have these days: when we are just hanging on by a string.

His love floods!

you know...i had been feeling off-kilter a bit.  so busy i was distant....falling again into the mud-puddle of imagined disapproval {failed performance}...envisoning the splatterings of shame and grit of dust....long dried from too long of only a snippet here, and a snippet there of any God speak....

thinking...when I get time, when I catch up, when the kids are back in school...then i will have time to draw close...

abba did not want to wait on me. :)

he decided to draw clse to me in the middle of my busyness to remind me that it is not how well or good or consisten or much I love God.....

It is how much HE loves ME.y

God used this sweet man to bring me near.  to remind me  what real love is.   This is the love I see in my momma and papa.   This is the love I want to see in my sons for their wives one day.    This is the love I want my daughters to experience.   this is the love of God for me.

the real deal.




(The song is Beautiful Exchange by Hillsong)

The Blessing of Grace....

This is what is on my heart today....the blessing of Grace..... the gift from God of belief.

Eph 2:8-10

For it is by grace

{undeserved, unearned, favor, blessings, love}

you are saved

{eternal salvation, and continually being saved, from ourselves, from our situation, from the world and our enemy, being continually restored, redeemed}

through faith

{through believing God, by believing God is who he says he is, by believing he is doing what he says he is doing, by believing I am who God says I am, by believing his word is alive and active in me, by believing my prayers of a "under the blood" momma, therefore considered righteous, are powerful and effecting, by believing that all things work together for the good for me and my children and my parents because we love God, by believing God.}

and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God --

{not only is this grace a gift, we can clearly see that, but the act of faith, of believing God, is a gift. God gives us the gift of being able to believe Him, to trust him, to walk with Him, to believe His word, to no longer walk alone, to pray and know our prayers are heard. To believe is a gift from God.}

not by works, so that no one can boast.

{nothing I do, no performance, no right or wrong, or figure it out, or try harder, or read the right book or be perfect can earn me grace or faith...nothing I can boast about....only be grateful.}

but we are God's workmanship

{masterpiece, poem,}

created in Christ Jesus

{in Jesus we are being created into a masterpiece by God, stitched, knitted, woven, painted, designed...all the lose ends tucked in...}

to do good works

{good things, right now, here, in my family are the good things God has for me to do. And even as he is still stitching the scarf, the scarf is around the neck providing warmth. Not waiting to be completed, but doing the good things, while I am still a work in progress.}

which God prepared in advance for us to do.

{He saw just what would be needed, is needed, and has woven in all to be able to complete the good things he planned. He saw the weakness, wove it in, he say the despair, wove it in, he saw the personally clashes, and hurt-heart challenges and wove it in. He saw the preciousness and talents of each family member and wove it in...to his masterpiece...}

And he sees this for each of my children, his children.....working all things together for their good, for the good things he has planned in advance for them to do....he is all the while crafting.

That is what is on my heart and mind today....the gift of grace and faith and what God is all the time working, creating us into.

What a blessing...