Welcome to Episode 083! Mud Stories is a podcast dedicated to bringing you inspiration in your muddiest moments, hope to make it through your mud, and encouragement for you to know, you are not alone. 1. Join our new gathering place: The Mud Stories Gathering, a closed group on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/groups/mudstoriesgathering) Today I’m talking with my […]
Our Mercy Story {VIDEO} : How God Can Redeem and Restore All Things
Exactly one year ago, with trembling hands and a hopeful heart, I shared my story with you. A story of messes and mud. Of failure and finding. A story of how mercy found me. And why I champion God’s grace and believe in second chances. I told you of my struggle with perfectionism, sin, and guilt […]
When You Wonder if His Mercy Can Find You Too
I wear it around my neck these days, this Word mercy, that changed everything for me. This richness of God, sent from the profoundness of His deep love. A generous love I can barely grasp– a kindness I’m still at a loss to comprehend. I remember a time I thought I actually understood it, in […]
When You Wonder if You’ll Still Belong — When the Truth is Finally Told
It is five years after I remarry when I finally begin to make friends–when I start new. Because after the affair and the divorce and the loss of all I know, I have no other choice but to start again. We attend couple’s bible study every Tuesday for three years with the same five couples, […]
Experiencing Joy
The times in life when I experience the most joy, are the times I sense God’s pleasure. The times I’m close to Him, reading His Word, journaling my thoughts, and sharing with Him my heart. The times He multiplies my efforts as a mom, filling in the gaps where I lack, and showing me there’s […]
Because of His Great Mercy {Link-up!}
I shared my story with you in December, of how mercy found me, with the hope that you would know mercy could find you too… Because God’s mercy and grace change everything. And then I began to dream of a community, where we share our mercy-stories and declare how His grace meets us in our […]
When Mercy Found Me {Day 12} Redeemed :: Part 2
{Click here to read Part 1} God uses even the most broken vessels to shine His light through their cracks, reflecting His love to the world. As I returned to my cabin, my steps felt lighter. And it’s amazing how three hours alone with God can begin to set a heart free! I met up […]
When Mercy Found Me {Day 11} Redeemed :: Part 1
Being found by mercy doesn’t always mean we’re merciful toward our own heart. In fact, we are usually hardest on ourselves. For the next couple years I grew in intimacy with God, with profound gratitude for His goodness and grace. But because of the enormity of my guilt and shame, my intimacy with Him was hindered. […]
When Mercy Found Me {Day 10} Forgiven
Over the next five years, we walked through a long restoration process. After having an affair with each other, getting divorced, and then marrying one another, the failure seemed to bury us. We had few friends. We shared custody of Matthew. Thad lost his career, and returned to college to pursue a new one. And […]
When Mercy Found Me {Day 9} A New Beginning
Just over a year after my surrender, I stood before the judge in my lavender suit. There was no church, no pastor, and no aisle to walk–no white dress, no flowers, and no organ music. And there were never invitations sent, as I could count the number attending on my two hands. In the presence […]
