Today’s 50 Days of Amazing Grace post is a moving piece by Ann Voskamp, titled “What Grateful Love May Look Like.” It contains a link to an excerpt of Ann’s book, “One Thousand Gifts,” and I must say I was completely overwhelmed by it. A must-read, especially as we end the Easter season soon! 🙂
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Have a blessed time reading Ann’s post, everyone! 🙂
Today’s 50 Days of Amazing Grace post comes from Ann Voskamp of A Holy Experience. It’s a wonderfully-written piece titled “What Every Mother has to Know… {Before Mother’s Day}. I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading it — and be as touched by it — as I did/was! 🙂
And remember:
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That includes YOU, dear mom who is reading this! 🙂
God bless, y’all! 🙂
If you’re wondering why I haven’t written any 50 Days of Amazing Grace posts lately, the picture above pretty much explains it. We’re moving to a new apartment! (We had less than week to pack — read this to find out why!)
Add to that work duties, and taking care of two little kids down with tonsillitis, plus being a temporary “single mom” while the hubby was in Cebu for the CFC Handmaids of the Lord Conference — well… needless to say, I have been a lot tired lately. (And a lot grouchy! 🙁 Sorry, kids! Mama needs more doses of amazing grace herself these days!) No wonder I haven’t been feeling well myself. But I digress.
Before things get super busy later (we’re still not done with packing! Thank GOD hubby is already home! The moving truck will be coming at 1 pm and we’ll probably be spending the rest of the afternoon {and beyond} unpacking!) and before we lose Internet access (temporarily, as we’ll have to get our landline and internet service transferred to the new place) I thought I’d post about three things that have made me say — despite all the anxiety and tiring days and worries about the kids’ high fevers and how-to-get-everything-packed-in-time-for-the-move — “Thank You, Lord, for Your amazing love and grace for us!”
1. We are blessed that, last year, God led us to live in an apartment that is near my parent’s place. I don’t know how I could have managed the past week without the help of my dad and my brothers (and just yesterday, my aunt aka Papa’s younger sister). They are such a HUGE blessing to our lives! (Special thanks, too, to my mom and sister and bro-in-law, who lend their support from overseas!) It also helps that the kids’ old yaya (nanny) came back just before last week — just in time for the packing and the kids’ getting sick and all! 🙂
2. We are blessed that we are going to move near my in-laws’ place — they had the new apartment cleaned up already! 🙂 Thank You again, Lord, for extended family, especially my in-laws’! I am SURE God has a purpose for why He suddenly reversed the turn of events and let us get the apartment at the rate we can afford! 🙂 I’ll miss living so near my parents though! 🙂
3. We are blessed because, despite all the “down” things that have happened last week, especially the kids getting sick, we know that these are NOTHING compared to what others go through and have gone through — case in point, Horatio Spafford, the songwriter behind the classic hymn, “It is Well with My Soul.” He lost FIVE kids, and the death of his four daughters in a shipwreck is what brought him to write the hymn. (I can’t imagine how his wife must have felt! *shudders*)
Watch the video below about the circumstances surrounding the origins of the hymn and BE IN AWE OF GOD’S GRACE:
Here are the complete lyrics to the song:
The Parenting Cup on The Better Mom
For Those Moments When You Are Hiding in a Bathroom Stall on Jezamama (which is where I got the inspiration to write about “It is Well with My Soul”)
Do you remember our family’s Jesse Tree, which was a gift to us from who wanted our family to experience Advent in a deeper way? Well, we really enjoyed doing the nightly prayers and the kids loved hanging the ornaments and blowing out the candles on the altar after we were done.
Once the season of Christmas was done though, we packed away our Jesse Tree ornaments but kept the “tree” on our little altar in the living room. I told my husband we’d figure out a way to use it during the other times of the Liturgical Year.
Well, we’ve now entered the Season of Lent, and I am so psyched to have received an email update from Ann Voskamp’s A Holy Experience, which contained a link at the bottom to a FREE Easter devotional book which also happens to have beautiful picture cards that can be hung on a “tree,” much like Jesse Tree ornaments. Ann calls the result a “Jesus Tree.” Beautiful, huh?
Anyway, Ann’s Easter “Trail to the Tree” devotional book is available for FREE to anyone who wants it. All one needs to do is to subscribe to daily updates from A Holy Experience. You may do so by scrolling down to Ann’s post about her devotional book here. HOWEVER, I strongly urge you to read through her post from top to bottom, reflectively, slowly, prayerfully. It’s a beautiful reflection on what Lent really means.
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I know Lent has already started, but it’s never too late to use this book and the Jesus tree ornaments. Times like these, dear Lord, how I wish we had our own printer though! 🙁
But for those of you who DO have printers at home, go ahead. Make your Lent more meaningful with Ann Voskamp’s Trail to the Tree devotional. I know we will be doing our best to do so in our own home! 😉
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+ AMDG +
Tina
