Grace at Home 372

What a strange and scary time we're living in, friends. Our lives have been disrupted, we're worried about our loved ones, we've suffered financial losses—and yet we still want to make our homes gracious and welcoming. In this time of social distancing and with many of us on lockdown, our homes are more important than ever! So I'm glad you're here for the Grace at Home party, where we celebrate all the ways we make our homes places of grace.

Here are some highlights from last week's party I think you'll enjoy.

Need to get your creative juices flowing? Check out this spring home tour from Marty at A Stroll Thru Life.

Extended time at home provides a great opportunity to try your hand at a DIY project. Need inspiration? Coco from The Crowned Goat has you covered!

If you're resting and just want to see someone else's DIY project, check out the transformation of an unfinished basement being carried out by Paula from Sweet Pea!

Wondering what to cook during this time of lockdown? Check out this post from Niky at The House on Silverado.
Just need something educational to do during these days at home? Carol at Comfort Spring Station has rounded up some wonderful online resources.

If you're in need of some encouragement in your faith, check out this post from Donna Reidland at Soul Survival.

Thank you to everyone who joined last week's link-up!

Now for today's party! Here at the Grace at Home party, I invite you to link posts about

• DIY projects
• decorating
• recipes
• hospitality
• homemaking tips
• parenting
• marriage
• faith
• self-care
• soul care

Whatever you do to make your home a place of grace, I'd like to hear about it.  Here's what I ask of you.  Please include the permalink to your post, not your blog's home page.  Please let people know that you've linked up.  No more than three posts per person, please.  Note that if you link a post here, you are giving me permission to share your post, including a photo.  And visit at least one of the other party participants--that's what really makes it a party, and during these days of social distancing, it can really make someone's day!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Grace at Home No. 371

You never know what the future holds, do you? Just two weeks ago folks were eagerly preparing for St. Patrick's Day, spring weddings, and other festivities. Now most of us are at home, carefully practicing social distancing so that we do our part to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Isn't it wonderful that blogs and social media allow us to keep in touch with one another virtually?

I'm glad you're here today for the Grace at Home party, where we celebrate all the ways we make our homes places of grace. Here are some highlights from last week's party I hope you'll enjoy.

Being homebound may give us extra time to work on projects around the house, so I was really glad to see this tutorial for creating a lovely mantel vignette from Jamie at Anderson + Grant.

If you need spring decorating inspiration, you'll love seeing how Penny from Penny's Vintage Home decorated her sunroom.

Staying at home may provide you with time to work on projects around the house (this is my hope, for sure!). If so, you should check out what Ann from The Apple Street Cottage did in a small bathroom for just $35.

If you need a little help with spring decorating, I think you'll love this beautiful free printable from Allyson at Southern Sunflowers.

Easter's coming up on April 12, and this year we may all be celebrating Easter in our individual homes. So I was glad to see this tutorial for making pretty speckled eggs from Pamela at DIY Vibes.

If you're like me, you're doing lots of deep-cleaning these days, and you'll be glad to see these 15 ways to use rubbing alcohol from Chas at Chas' Crazy Creations.

We're eating every meal at home these days, so I was tickled to get this recipe for homemade pizza dough from Jen at Cincy Shopper.

These days of being stuck at home have demonstrated how much our normal days are filled with hurry. Michele Morin at Living Our Days provides some wisdom about eliminating hurry from our lives.

As for me, I was grateful to write a post for (in)courage, and I would truly appreciate it if you'd take a look!

Thank you to everyone who joined last week's link-up!

Now for today's party! Here at the Grace at Home party, I invite you to link posts about

• DIY projects
• decorating
• recipes
• hospitality
• homemaking tips
• parenting
• marriage
• faith
• self-care
• soul care

Whatever you do to make your home a place of grace, I'd like to hear about it.  Here's what I ask of you.  Please include the permalink to your post, not your blog's home page.  Please let people know that you've linked up.  No more than three posts per person, please.  Note that if you link a post here, you are giving me permission to share your post, including a photo.  And visit at least one of the other party participants--that's what really makes it a party!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Comparison and a checkpoint for my heart

It happened again just the other day, a trigger that startled me. I thought this weapon had been disarmed, that it no longer carried power to bully me.

Having TSA pre-check status was supposed to prevent this problem: a quick step through the metal detector and I’d be on my way. But as I hurried to catch a flight home recently, I had to go through regular security screening at the airport, and like several times before, the scanner flagged me as a potential threat because of my birth defect.


I was born with a rare disorder, a genetic abnormality that left me with a huge birthmark and one side of my body larger than the other. I try not to think about my birth defect too often these days, but then I’m rudely reminded of it by something like a TSA scanner. Apparently the size difference between my right side and my left side fools the machine into thinking I’m trying to smuggle something nefarious onto the plane.

To read the rest of the post, I'd love for you to join me at (in)courage!

A word for today from St. Patrick

Last year at this time, I was in New York City. My husband and I had taken a little vacation, and the last thing we did before heading home was to watch part of the St. Patrick's Day parade.

Things sure have changed, haven't they?

In a world with so much uncertainty, it's easy to give in to fear. If we're honest, we'll admit that there's plenty to be anxious about. We're worried about our health, the health of our loved ones, our jobs, our retirement accounts, our children who are missing school, our neighbor's children who depend on  free or reduced lunches, small business owners who might go bankrupt, healthcare systems that may become overwhelmed, the state of the economy. . . the list is endless.

And yet.

Christ Himself is with us. And though we worry, we don't have to give in to fear.

I love these words from the breastplate of St. Patrick, and I'm singing them to myself today. Won't you join me?

Christ be with me,
Christ within me,
Christ behind me,
Christ before me,
Christ beside me,
Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort
And restore me.

Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ in quiet,
Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of
All that love me,
Christ in mouth of
Friend and stranger.

Click here to download a printable copy of this image.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, friends!

Encouragement for this week

Who would have ever thought that in mid-March we'd all be sequestered in our homes, staying away from church and school? Who could have known that we'd all be washing our hands like crazy and bathing ourselves in hand sanitizer when no handwashing facilities were near? Who would have predicted that spring sports would come to a grinding halt?

I live in Durham, North Carolina, about halfway between Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As you can imagine, this time of year is usually dominated by college basketball. This year? Well, "March Madness" seems an appropriate descriptor; it just doesn't mean what it usually does.

The novel coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic has frightened us, hasn't it? I imagine that you, like me, are very concerned for your elderly family members and friends, for your family and friends who are immunosuppressed, for all your loved ones. The world situation is frightening, and we are right to take the threat seriously.

But we must also remember that we are not alone.

Today I want to share with you one of my favorite passages of scripture, one that I cling to when things seem awfully dark.

These are the words of John the apostle, who spent years with Jesus in the flesh and then many years walking with Jesus after Jesus had ascended to heaven:

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin" (I John 1:5-7).

We live in a fallen world, a world that includes sin and sickness and death. But today and always, God is good, and we can trust that absolutely nothing is able to separate us from God's love.

As you care for yourself, your family, and your neighbors, may the knowledge of God's goodness fill your heart today.

Much love to you.

Grace at Home No. 370

It's here! Daylight Saving Time is here! Are you ready for it?

I snapped this photo of our house today. I'm so grateful for the long, light evenings. . . although I admit I've been awfully sleepy this week!

I'm glad you're here for the Grace at Home party, where we celebrate all the ways we make our homes places of grace. Here are some highlights from last week's party.

St. Patrick's Day is coming right up. Need a little inspiration for a fun St. Patrick's Day dinner? Niky from The House on Silverado has lots to share, including a recipe for Bailey's Irish Cream brownies.

And of course Easter is just a month away! If you're looking for an Easter craft, check out these darling candlesticks from Pamela at DIY Vibes.

If you'd like a lovely boxwood wreath for spring but want an inexpensive option, you'll love this DIY version created by Lisa from Fresh Vintage by Lisa S.

Need a fun new dinner recipe? Check out this yummy-looking Chicken Spaghetti from Jen at Cincy Shopper.

We're living in troubled times, friends, and many of us are experiencing anxiety. I can think of no one better to help with anxiety than Dr. Michelle Bengtson. Check out this post of hers about how to distinguish the voice of God from the voice of the enemy. You'll appreciate her wisdom!

Thank you to everyone who joined last week's link-up!

Now for today's party! Here at the Grace at Home party, I invite you to link posts about

• DIY projects
• decorating
• recipes
• hospitality
• homemaking tips
• parenting
• marriage
• faith
• self-care
• soul care

Whatever you do to make your home a place of grace, I'd like to hear about it.  Here's what I ask of you.  Please include the permalink to your post, not your blog's home page.  Please let people know that you've linked up.  No more than three posts per person, please.  Note that if you link a post here, you are giving me permission to share your post, including a photo.  And visit at least one of the other party participants--that's what really makes it a party!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Grace at Home No. 369

Welcome, friends! I'm so glad you're here. Can you believe it's March already??

Has your March weather come in like a lion or like a lamb? We were in Nashville for a family wedding on March 1, and the weather was beautiful. We left the morning of March 2, and it was gray and cloudy there. But no one expected the devastation of the tornado that passed through on Monday night. Please pray for the Nashville and Cookeville communities--so much devastation.

As we prepare for the coming of spring, I think you'll enjoy these features from last week's party.

Coco from The Crowned Goat shared 17 ways to ease into spring. I like her ideas!

Penny from Penny's Vintage Home is a decorator extraordinaire. I'm often amazed at her DIY creations. Just look at this: she's repurposed springs from a chair as darling decor.

Freshly laundered clothes can smell like springtime—but with a moldy washing machine, they can also stink. If you have a front loader, you'll be grateful for these detailed instructions for cleaning your machine from Kendra at A Proverbs 31 Wife.

Springtime makes me want to lighten up some of my cooking, so I was glad to get this simple way to prepare chicken from Jen at Cincy Shopper.

Springtime brings me renewed energy for getting things done, so I was really grateful for this list of ways to be of service from Growing Together in Grace and Knowledge.

Thank you to everyone who joined last week's link-up!

Now for today's party! Here at the Grace at Home party, I invite you to link posts about

• DIY projects
• decorating
• recipes
• hospitality
• homemaking tips
• parenting
• marriage
• faith
• self-care
• soul care

Whatever you do to make your home a place of grace, I'd like to hear about it.  Here's what I ask of you.  Please include the permalink to your post, not your blog's home page.  Please let people know that you've linked up.  No more than three posts per person, please.  Note that if you link a post here, you are giving me permission to share your post, including a photo.  And visit at least one of the other party participants--that's what really makes it a party!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter