I have loads of great memories of past Halloweens. But the best one is of a “Dance Party” our family performed for my mom on her birthday. Dressed in silly wigs, glasses and hats, we shucked and jived through the kitchen while she watched from the adjoining room. I’m so grateful we recorded it; her delightful laughter is audible in the background.
In remembrance of JinJan, who was sweeter than a bag full of treats—and to share why she shone brighter than a jack-o’-lantern—I’m reposting a perfectly timed analogy of what gave my mom even greater joy than the silly antics of that particular birthday.
Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mom. We love you and miss you.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
What Does It Mean To Be Made New?
by Liz Curtis Higgs (Reposted with permission. Original post found HERE)
When this Former Bad Girl received Christ, you can imagine what my coworkers thought when I danced out the door on a Friday afternoon shouting, “Party!” and then strolled in Monday morning saying, “Praise the Lord, I’ve been baptized!”
Did they notice? Oh, baby.
As spring turned into summer, I soared and stumbled along my new walk with Christ, watched carefully by my coworkers, who were curious about the changes they were seeing.
One October day, our receptionist asked me, “Liz, what does it mean to be a Christian?”
Uh-oh. The most important question ever. Did I have an answer at the ready? I did not. Desperately looking around for inspiration, I saw a ceramic pumpkin on display and stammered, “Oh, Alice, it’s just like being a pumpkin.”
“Really?” she asked. “What do you mean by that?”
Friend, I had no idea what I meant. After silently pleading for the Lord to make sense of my nonsense, I said, “Well, God chooses us out of the pumpkin patch of life.” Whew.
Happy 4th of July everyone! Looking back over the past 6 months, one of the most important decisions I made was to ponder and come up with a motivating motto for the year ahead. It’s aspirational. Short and sweet. Easy to remember. It’s catchy. It rhymes. It’ll even fit on a post-it note—just like my favorite recipes :) […]
**Congratulations to the 150th rootedandgrowing.com follower, Laura R., from Waterford, VA! Laura will receive a few of my favorite things!** (written by Kathy and posted earlier on the MomsHooPray website) Bleary eyed from just waking up, I trudged to the kitchen to make my morning Darjeeling, a strong black tea. I like it black—just plain […]
Recently I posted a piece on collegeprayingmoms.com acknowledging ways in which many of the women involved in MomsHooPray have Tested Positive In a Pandemic. As life continued to be “challenging,” and parents and students struggled, I encouraged these moms to shore up their own faith by turning to God’s word—in order to pivot. Pivot from […]
It’s September. Time to learn and explore something that will improve our lives! So this is my shameless plug for reading and studying the gospel of John for the first time—or the fiftieth time—because it’s that good. The gospel of John is where Jesus makes 7 compelling claims about who he is. And those claims […]
Valentine’s Day is so over. Heck, it’s almost March Madness; time to “spring ahead” to Daylight Savings Time; time to finish those dark chocolates and pull out the bright green! Nonetheless, when I heard Milan and Kay Yerkovich share their theory on How We Love, I saved it for you. For right now. It’s time we figure out this thing called love, so we can love our mates — really anyone — better. Continue reading
Rooted & Growing 