Being a Mother, a Wife, a Sister, a Daughter, a Friend, a Cousin, a Niece, a Granddaughter, and a Sister-n-law is…well, lets just say it gets interesting. I am finding that it is hard to be all of these things and yet stay true to myself and it seems as if my list of who I am suppose to be just keeps growing. BUT, finding Grace has been the one thing that has set me free from the fear of these roles that the world expects for me to play.
Grace has been teaching me to be patient, more kind and not as quick to judge me or anyone else. It is so easy to get caught up in what this world expects. It is easy to forget what makes me ME and it is easy to give up and just be like everyone else, but knowing that I am perfect in the eyes of God has created this peace and this confidence that I don’t think I could ever lose. Those moments, you know…the kind where you wish you would have said or done what you really wanted to say and do?…well, I try harder then ever to never let those moments go by. Those are the moments that help me define who I am.
I will always let the rain run down my face and I will always let the sun shine on my face. I will always take to each day and allow myself the freedom to be what I want to be and simply make it through each moment the best way I can.
I hope for all of you out there stuck in this mind set that you are a sinner that you may some day realize your perfection and see the beauty that God sees. God expects nothing from you.
Love much…Mindy
It use to be really hard searching for myself and then accepting myself. Actually, it had been exhausting. I felt like I was constantly peeling away layers of myself only to find that there was another layer to work through.
You see, I was raised in religion. I was taught by a few different organized religions to ask for forgiveness and that in order to be accepted by Jesus I had to accept him by getting baptized or get saved. I was taught to accept the people in Church and be fearful of everyone else. I was taught that it was inappropriate to dance in Church. I was taught to only sing accapella. I was taught that it was wrong to get up and sing accapella with my sisters in front of the congregation. I was taught that as a woman I had no voice amongst men. I was taught that God is good, but that I was just a sinner and didn’t deserve God’s unconditional love. I was taught fear and as a child these teachings are and were very devastating.
So, like many of you I have to peel away layer after layer in order to find the person that God meant for me to be. I am still peeling away layers, BUT NOW instead of feeling guilty and exhausted over peeling away layers or searching for myself and my truths I am flying. I am soaring high. I am stronger. Now each time I peel away a layer I realize that I have the tools. I have what it takes to understand each layer. No one else has to understand them.
I don’t get so panicked about my experiences or what and who I might find along my journey. I am not concerned as much about this world or my life. My earthly burdens are just that…earthly, but they are mine. I will have tribulations and joy but those tribulations and joys are just more opportunities for me to fly. I don’t have to even talk to God to be close to him. He is in me. I hear him when my daughter laughs. I hear him when I kiss my husband.
Now, I praise and worship the sun without fear of persecution. I praise the blue skies. I 
praise the wind and the rain. My eyes are more open then they have ever been and my mind isn’t closed anymore. I see the real illusions now. I see people who are clueless to the beauty and perfection behind “mistakes” or “sins”. I see opportunity for growth in what others considered mistakes. I see ME! I see a 33 year old “little girl” dancing under a disco ball. Her hands are up high and she is swaying back and forth looking up at the beautiful colors then gently closing her eyes so that she can absorb all of the wonderful feelings and then she sings with the band like there is no tomorrow.
I can’t wait to peel away another layer.
For all of you out there who are troubled during your journey, let me share something special that someone I admire gave to me during a rough moment in my life. It is a poem written by Tim Murtaugh.
Gentle Words of Encouragement
Spend every day preparing for the next.
As you reach forward with one hand, accept the advice of those who have gone before you, and in the same manner reach back with the other hand to those who follow you; for life is a fragile chain of experiences held together by love. Take pride in being a strong link in that chain. Discipline yourself, but do not be harsh. The pleasures of life are yours to be taken. Share them with others, but always remember that you, too, have earned the right to partake.
Know those who love you; love is the finest of all gifts and is received only to be given. Embrace those who truly love you; for they are few in a lifetime. Then return that love tenfold, radiating it from your heart to fill their lives as sunlight warms the darkest corners of the earth. Love is a journey, not a destination; travel its path daily. Do this and your troubles will be as fleeting as footprints in the sand. When loneliness is your companion and all about you seem to be gone, pause and listen, for the sound of loneliness is silence, and in silence we hear best. Listen well, and your moments of silence will always be broken by the gentle words of encouragement spoken by those of us who love you.
Thank you Mom 
Our friend Bob from Alaska has a new website. Go here stsak.wordpress.com/
and check him out. We will also add him to our Blogroll Links over on the left.
Please go by and welcome Bob to the Blog World.
Peace
The Bold Grace Team
"Your mind is not your mind. It is God’s gift to you to recognize, to reconcile, to harmonize with His creation." –Anonymous
This is powerful to me because growing up we are told to use our minds and learn as much as we can so we can become successful, yet as we become adults we learn to judge and be judged based on what others think of us and it seems like we lose the gift to think for ourselves and be confident in who we are. Why is it so scary to think for ourselves, be confident in ourselves, be confident in our decisions and be proud of our lives and our stories?
I was at our local meat market today and while I stood and waited for my order to get placed I had to stand there and listen to this man lecture this poor woman behind the counter on the book of Romans. He was trying to persuade her into coming back to his church. The lady taking his order use to teach Sunday school and stopped teaching because she didn’t like the politics of her church. This guy was practically falling over the counter trying to convince this woman that Church is the only thing that will give her the answers to life. He told her that she had to be careful playing around in the war of the religious vs the non-religious.
As I stood there waiting for someone to check me out she happened to be the one to take care of me. She seemed very relieved to get away. I told her that I thought what she did was very courageous. She said, "what do you mean"? I told her that it is hard to think for yourself when you are being controlled by other peoples interpretations of the bible. She smiled soo big at me and then I told her that she should try reading the bible on her own and keep and opened mind while she is doing it.
I don’t know if I should have said anything to her, but I followed my heart and she seemed to respond to it. She had some questions for me so I told her about our website and I told her that I typically like to use my own mind and follow my heart and it seems to lead me toward peace. She assumed I went to some kind of Church and I told her that I went to Saint Mattress of the Springs. She giggled and I wished her the best!
I don’t know if she will check this out or not, but if you do my advice to you is this: Keep your heart and your mind opened and stay true to who you are AND never stop searching. Just trust in yourself because for me that is where God truly is.
Peace
You are invited by Bold Grace Radio to join a live Community Call-In.
Host: boldgrace
Episode: EPISODE2 - BoldGrace.Com
On the episode we will be talking about The Gospel of Grace & Peace.A Gospel so BOLD that even evangelical Christianity does not believe it!
Call ID: 14375
Scheduled Time:
Date: Wed, February 13, 2008
Time: 06:30 PM EST
How to participate:
Call in:
Dial: (724) 444-7444
Enter: 14375 # (Call ID)
Enter: 1 # or your PIN
Join from your computer:
Click here to join the call or just listen along
(Optional) Become a TalkShoe member CLICK HERE
Listen to the Recording:
If you missed this event or want to hear previous recorded episodes click here.
Hello Everyone!
You are all invited to take part in a BOLD Experiment tonight @ 6:15pm Eastern US to join a live Community Call.
Host: boldgrace
Episode: EPISODE1 - BoldGrace.Com - Test of System
Scheduled Time: TONIGHT
Date: Thu, February 7, 2008
Time: 06:15 PM EST
How to participate:
Call in:
Dial: (724) 444-7444
Enter: 14375 # (Call ID)
Enter: 1 # or your PIN
Join from your computer:
Click here to join the call or just listen along
OR here to become a member
(Optional) Become a TalkShoe member
Listen to the Recording:
If you missed this event or want to hear previous recorded episodes click here.
Hope to hear from you live tonight
Peace
Geo
P.S. Remember this is a TEST of the Talk Show system so if you get dropped or lost on the call please call back in
Coming soon to the internet will be Bold Grace Radio a call in internet show that you will be able to listen to live and participate or download and listen to at a later date. The following link is just a quick trial I ran this morning to test it. I think this could be very interesting and give those here at Bold Grace a way to communicate live. Here is the link www.blogtalkradio.com/BoldGrace
We will let everyone know when the first offical call in show will be after we work out the details. And we will post a link here along with the shows call in numbers.
Peace
I just recently watched a video about oneness that was posted here on bold Grace. This man in the video asked the question "How do I have to be in order for you to be free?". This question went soaring into my soul ever since I saw the video and suddenly I felt very encouraged to understand what he was trying to say.
I felt like he was really asking the questions: Do I have to follow your religion? Does my hair have to be a certain color? Do my eyes need to be blue? Do I have to be skinny? Do I have to be married to the opposite sex? Do I have to drive the car that is made in the USA? Do I have to fight for prayer in school? Do I have to be an Environmentalist? Do I have to be a member of the correct social club? Do I have to speak English? Do I have to pay taxes? How do I have to be in order for you to be free? Remember this the next time you go to Church. Think about what your religion is about. Remember this the next time you are begging for forgiveness for something you will do again tomorrow. Remember this question when you gossip about someones life as if it is yours to judge and wake up to the fact that everything you do or say ultimately affects someone somewhere at some point in time. Look a little deeper. How do I have to be in order for you to be free?
This world can be so complicated, but only if I allow it to be. It is up to me to acknowledge that this moment is only going to be as good as I make it and to do that I have to be true to myself. To be anything other than myself just so you can be free would be insane. It is ashame that people have to ask this question. It is ashame that we create division because we can’t accept each others differences.
If I have to live the rest of my life enduring the judgements of others then that is what I will do. And each time I endure these moments I will become stronger in who I am. I will become more loving and more kind to others. I will become more confident in who I am. I will learn not to do it to someone else. I will be me and I will feel sorry for those who can’t.
We want to say thankyou to all those who have contibuted to BoldGrace.com this year. We fully realize that there are so many fellow humans out there who are facing great storms of life. Let us say to you that WE at boldgrace care and are wishing for you the very best in 2008. It is our constant desire to see the human race understand the love that holds us all together. We will continue to celebrate our differences and look for ways to bring us closer.
PEACE TO ALL IN 2008
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
The following is an old video but it captures the great human spirit of oneness.
