I found a great article, 4 Tips To Get a Man To Open Up, on Yahoo news. The article, written by a man, is about the best times to communicate with your man. Usually I find this stuff to be a lot of fluff, but this was a great article and right on target as far as what I’ve experienced in my own relationship. Hope you like it too! Check it out by clicking on the Marriage tab and looking under sub pages!

My friend Anne Goodrich has written the most refreshing blog entry about her spiritual journey. I wanted to share it on the Woven Women site because it is such a great story! But I also wanted to share it in the hopes that Anne’s story will uproot some of the stereotyping that usually labels the “typical” Christian and the “typical” church. And you gotta love the title: Me A Church Lady, How the Hell Did That Happen? After reading Anne’s story, I can proudly agree that I too, am a Church Lady and I too, wonder how the hell that happened!

To read the article, click on the “Spiritual” tab at the top of this page, then go to “subpages”.

I’m excited to have added another page to this blog on living with anxiety. So feel free to visit it if you or someone you know may have similar struggles and find this to be a useful resource.

Peace,

Kim

Well Happy New Year! I made it through the holidays (how did you all do?) and here it’s almost February! I had the urge to blog last week and then my laptop had to be sent back due to a wireless problem and well, I just cannot blog from my desktop – I need to be reclining in my chair in order to effectively communicate what’s really on my mind. So what’s on my mind? What’s on your mind? What can we discuss?

Here’s what’s on my mind…dealing with anxiety disorder (my little friend has been paying visits again lately)…selling my house…buying another house…losing weight…joining a gym…helping kids with homework…trying to understand what “grace” is really all about…reading an interesting book that’s drawn me closer to God…setting healthy boundaries…and I’m sure there’s sooooooo much more, but hey – these issues alone can get us started with some great discussion. It was so cool to see last week that someone from Scotland, of all places, actually commented on this blog on the “Marriage” page – how cool is that?

I’d really like to talk about what the heck does the word “grace” really mean? What does it look like lived out? I think it’s one of those words that seems easy to understand, but it has a much deeper meaning…

For starters, here’s what dictionary.com says about grace (and this isn’t the whole list!)

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) – Cite This Source – Share This

grace /greɪs/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[greys] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, graced, grac·ing.

–noun

1.	elegance or beauty of form, manner, motion, or action.

2.	a pleasing or attractive quality or endowment.

3.	favor or good will.

4.	a manifestation of favor, esp. by a superior: It was only through the dean’s grace that I wasn’t expelled from school.

5.	mercy; clemency; pardon: an act of grace.

6.	favor shown in granting a delay or temporary immunity.

7.	an allowance of time after a debt or bill has become payable granted to the debtor before suit can be brought against him or her or a penalty applied: The life insurance premium is due today, but we have 31 days’ grace before the policy lapses. Compare grace period.

8.

Theology. a. the freely given, unmerited favor and love of God. b. the influence or spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them. c. a virtue or excellence of divine origin: the Christian graces. d. Also called state of grace. the condition of being in God’s favor or one of the elect.

9.	moral strength: the grace to perform a duty.

I’ve also hear the explanation that grace is getting what we don’t deserve and mercy is not getting what we do deserve.

So, why do I even care about this word – grace? For some reason, the word has just been coming up a lot in discussions with others and I realized that I need to show more grace to others in my life.

Here is the type of definition I understand…

• Grace is keeping your mouth shut when you want to really tell someone off
• Grace is telling someone you appreciate them or something they did
• Grace is saying a prayer for someone when you really may not feel like it or asking God to help you find love or compassion for someone that may be a struggle
• Grace is…you fill in the blank

As I was trying to get a better grip on understanding this concept of grace, a friend was praying for God to help me understand it. I have been reading a book called Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (which I’d LOVE to discuss with others who have read this book) that gave me one of those clear definitions after which I sought. I will quote the book, because it was written beautifully.

“Here’s another example of the difference in our worldviews. A family in my sister’s neighborhood was recently stricken with a double tragedy when both the young mother and her three-year old son were both diagnosed with cancer. When Catherine told me about this, I could only say, shocked, “Dear God, that family needs grace.” She replied firmly, “That family needs casseroles,” and then proceeded to organize the entire neighborhood into bringing that family dinner, in shifts, every single night, for an entire year. I do not know if my sister fully recognizes that this is grace.”

That was exactly the definition I needed. I learned extending grace didn’t mean I needed to be this perfect holy person. It just means I need to be nice. And, think of others before myself. I think I can do that.

So what are your real-life examples of grace? Let’s share…

I would love to open this blog up to other women willing to share their stories or passions. If you have something in your life that can inspire others or have maybe even struggled with something and can help others, I’d love to share your contributions! And just for the record, if I can blog, anyone can! As I referenced in my last post I will have resources available for getting out of debt. I will also be sharing about my many years of struggling with an anxiety disorder. I can not, however, offer any advice on how to get daughters to stop fighting or clean their room, so maybe someone can step up with some parenting resources! The cyberworld of women is open to you, so what would you like to share?

I’m annoyed. I’m so sick of going shopping and being asked if I would like to apply for a credit card. Here is the typical conversation…

Sales Clerk: Would you like to apply for a charge card today?

Me: No thanks.

Sales Clerk: Are you sure? It will only take a minute?

Me: No thanks, I don’t use credit cards.

Sales Clerk: Oh, but you could save an additional 10% off your order today and receive other great offers throughout the year.

Me: No, I’m good. (There is a “shortness” in my voice now)

Sales Clerk: Okay, we’re just trying to save you some money.

Me: Right! You’re trying to put more money in the pockets of your employer by dangling a carrot of incentives in front of people, who most likely, will get themselves further into debt, and spend 100 times more in interest than the $4 they will save on a purchase a few times a year! (Okay, I don’t really go there but that’s what I want to scream).

And then I complete my transaction and walk away, almost feeling like I’m missing out by not taking advantage of this “great” discount or offer. I confess – I am a sucker. I’ve gotten myself into trouble more times than I care to admit by using credit cards. And, years later, I’m still paying for my mistakes – literally!

Not all stores are this bad, most will take your first “no” and be good with that. Lately I seem to have had the most “conversations” with JCPenney.

I know all I need to do is just say “No.” After all, I have heard, and always tell others that “No is a sentence”. You don’t need to justify or explain your “no.” It speaks for itself.

However, being passionate and creative, I have designed a t-shirt to speak for me. It simply says “N0! I do not want your store credit card! Be strong. Use cash. Be free.” This will be my shopping shirt. I am curious to see what kind of reactions I’ll get.

If you share my passion, and want to take some kind of stand against the credit card racket, I’ve made these available for purchase on www.cafepress.com/livinitout. Just click on the link (or click on the graphic at the top of this post) and it will take you to my Cafe Press storefront called “Livin’ It Out”, where you can get your very own shopping shirt.

After the holidays I will be posting major resources for getting a grip on your debt. So stay tuned…and just say “no!”

Moms – you may have seen this, but if you haven’t, take the 2 minutes and 55 seconds to check it out. It will make you laugh and I have a feeling you might even be able to relate!

To see the video, click on the “fun” tab above. Enjoy!

Welcome to the Woven Women website! The mission of this site is, basically, to bring women closer to God and each other. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for content, etc. This is my first attempt at creating a site of this nature, so please be patient with me as it continues to morph.

Go to any of the above tabs to jump into a discussion. If you see a need for a new tab/discussion topic, let me know and I’ll take it into consideration.

This site is not related to Threads Church in Portage, Michigan. However I will refer to Threads often and direct you to lots of their resources because of the many helpful tools they have available.  God is weaving together awesome things in the lives of others through a humble group of people who simply call themselves Threads.

Have fun my sistah’s!

- Kim