Hi, all!
For those who don’t know me, my name is Ashley Eddleman. I’m a follower of Jesus, wife to my husband of twelve years, stay-at-home mama to two energetic little boys, writer when the Spirit moves me …
ALWAYS a work in progress.
And I just started a Christian blog! What?!? This all began as a humble response to God’s very clear call to write down and share what He was doing in my heart and in my life, but I’ll be honest. My first thoughts were,
“How in the world am I—an introverted, technology-illiterate, socially quirky stay-at-home mom who is running on fumes most days—supposed to do this?? Are you sure, Lord?? This seems very risky.”
The truth is … I was scared … of failure, of letting down the One who saved me, of making mistakes, of ridicule and vulnerability, of change. So many what-ifs!
So I delayed and bargained and denied and all but forgot His call, and do you know what happened?
Nothing happened. Not a thing. Nothing changed in the world around me.
But I was miserable. I was anxious. I was guilt-ridden. I was deceiving myself to the point of disobedience. I felt physically unwell and unsettled. I couldn’t hear my Father clearly anymore, which finally brought me to me knees in prayer.
Something had to give, and that something was me.
Here’s the thing I’d conveniently forgotten: trusting God and His plan is never risky. God isn’t a risk; He is life and love and perfection itself. His grace is sufficient to meet our every need and is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). It never runs out and can never be taken away.
We may be hemmed in and hard-pressed on every side, but GRACE.
We may be stuck fast in our fear and uncertainty, but GRACE.
We may be sick and tired of being sick and tired, but GRACE.
We may be overwhelmed and burnt-out, but GRACE.
We may be hanging on by a thread, but GRACE.
When we can’t remove or shake off the burdens of this world, His GRACE is what strengthens our backs and hearts to be able to carry them, and He carries them with us (Matthew 11:28-30), using it all for good as He has promised (Romans 8:28).
Our God is loving and gracious, and He is faithful to remind me every day—good, bad, and in-between—that I desperately need His Son:
“Come home to me, child. My arms are open wide and waiting for you.”
So … finally … after all the hemming and hawing and hesitation, I now joyfully have a Christian mom blog! I write a lot about motherhood, but really this dear-to-my-heart project is for all parents in need of solidarity and for anyone hoping to deepen their relationship with the Lord.
Everyone is welcome here!
I’m beyond excited to see what God does with all of this! The Holy Spirit truly does stick with us even in our uncertainty, preparing our hearts to take the next right step.
Friends, I want to invite you on this journey with me, and as my heart hears from the Lord, I want to encourage you and speak life and truth into your journey as well!
The Maker of the universe has skillfully and lovingly created ALL of us for such a time as this, for a reason, with purpose and great worth. I pray we can embrace His grace more and more and live filled with gratefulness for who He is, who we are in Him, and what He has done.
That perspective shift may be all it takes to find ourselves smack dab in the middle of lasting joy!
Thank you for being here, friends!
Ashley
“For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”
JOHN 1:16 (ESV)
Feature photo by Freshh Connection on Unsplash
