Crafted by Grace

Let's be #grateful! As always, you're welcome to join Ann, myself and Missi as we post our gratitude this month. Jump in any time; you do not need to post daily. 📸 Here's my first three posts for 2025. Look how easy it is to be thankful! #1. To kick off my #grateful series this year, I would love to remind us all to cherish the moms in our lives. I'm incredibly grateful for my friends young and old, but today, I am grateful for the latter. 🩷 #2. I'm #grateful for the one who chose me. And keeps choosing me every day for over a quarter century! Yes, I do set out his water glass every evening. Yes, he does make my hot tea every morning. 🫖  Yes, we are imperfect. Yes, by God's grace, we make a good team. And yes, he's still my favorite person to adventure anywhere with. ❤️ #3. I'm #grateful for all the times the Lord wakes me up for a sunrise. And what it means. His mercies are new every morning. Great is Your faith...

I am thankful For the sunshine of summer to warm the land And the way it feels against my skin For the happy faces of flowers   That greet me And remind me there is always hope I am grateful For the gentle strength of loving hearts And perfect matches that warm the soul For the sweet, surprise visits For the plans I never thought of And for the One who knew them all along I am beholden For the trials of fire that end up refining And the way Your hand guides every bit of my life For comfort in times of sadness For the strength to stay the course And for the molding and strength You never cease to bring I am amazed For the might and the majesty You show us And for the striking beauty and power of it all For the mist of roaring waters For sunsets and starlight as the days end And for giving me hope    again, and again, and again. R.Ellen July 11, 2025

These are our boys. In the summer one gets so dark, the other stays fair, freckled and light.  Nevertheless, I am told we are supposed to call ourselves "white" and label others "people of color."   Is this helpful or accurate in any way? I chose this picture because their skin is like day and night.  While these brothers share the exact same parentage, one is dark, and the other is fair.  They are a unique blend of several nationalities, as are ALL of us in 2020.  We throw out words like, "the black culture" and what do we really even mean?  Does our skin tone define just  one cultural background, one identity?  It simply cannot.  If it did, how "black" does someone have to be to be included?  What shade of light skin enters another into "privilege?"  Is there a chart somewhere, like paint chip palettes, to properly divide us into which are privileged and which are oppressed? If one has dark skin and is the descendant of slaves, b...