markmanry

[bl]C[/bl]ooking dinner for company can be intimidating. It’s no small task! No wonder most people order pizza when gathering in larger groups. We do it too, and it’s a great way to have an evening of fellowship without all the mess and clean up. But sometimes, I want to create a meal for another family. I want to serve them and provide for them something delicious, a little extra special. Because there’s just something about a thoughtful, delicious meal that creates a mood and environment for intimacy. After packing and moving and trying to settle in, we were long ready […]

Whether it’s fruit of the earth or fruit of the Spirit Discover it. Hold it. Eat it Delight in it. Because it’s sweet. Offer it to others. And when you think you are deplete Find a friend who has some. Search together with people you love. Because fruit enjoyed within community is always sweeter. This fruit lived and shared and consumed in community, it stains. Our mouth so we speak the truth. Our hands so they are generous and gentle. Our feet, so they go to the places where people need Jesus, need us. Enjoy this season of fruit. The […]

[bl]T[/bl]here are many people I admire. Friends, family, even people I don’t know well who I imitate and shape my life after. But there are a few that stand out. A few that I place before me and strive toward their greatness. And I wonder if this is godly or sinful. This wanting to be like another human. This wishing my life looked more like theirs. Am I coveting? But coveting is longing for what another has. And I don’t want what they have. I want who there are. I wish their values were my values and their choices my […]

There’s just something about Saturday morning pancakes. Maybe it’s the real maple syrup. Or the butter that melts and seeps into each layer. Or how the kids get excited over something rather simple. Or maybe my love for pancakes has more to do with the memories attached with eating them. The mother who took the time to make them for her family. And search for the best recipe. And even add fresh blueberries or chopped pecans on request. Maybe it’s my memories of Saturday mornings Up North at my parent’s house — the one held in by woods. And how […]

[bl]A[/bl]n environment of grace must be well equipped. For messes and mistakes, for oops and oh no! For disagreement and confrontation, correction and affirmation. Death and disappointment, life and blessing. Being a giver of grace isn’t easy, so we must ready ourselves, be equipped and stock up on all that is helpful to making ourselves better conduits of this life giving resource. Here’s my list of essentials. The must haves for creating and being an environment of grace. #1 Degreaser [lightbox href=”http://environmentsofgrace.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Degreaser-e1308107832584.jpg”][/lightbox] And all the best of laundry cleaners. These are must haves for the grace seeking mother! So we […]

[bl]M[/bl]ost of us are able to avoid unsafe situations if we have the money and resources to place ourselves in particular environments. Towns further from the city. Suburban neighborhoods. Schools that are not as diverse. Homes that lock us in and keep trouble out. But what if you don’t have the resources to live in these types of environments? What if you were born into a much different place? Or choices and circumstances out of your control have limited your options of where to live?  What then? These people want to feel the same level of comfort and safety that […]

40 miles on his 40th birthday. A number set apart by God as significant. 40 days of rain, 40 days on a mountain, 40 years of wandering, 40 days of fasting – all associated with periods of probation or testing. 40 miles of running — an incredible goal, a trial, a journey he won’t forget. The 40 mile part is impressive on its own. But what was really amazing is how my friend Andy made his personal goal a community effort and blessing. Andy asked several of his close friends and family to journey with him, to run 4 mile […]

[bl]T[/bl]here are places that take you from here to there. The places in between where you’re leaving, and where you’re going. The unknown places where you’re searching, understanding, discovering, grieving, exploring, resting, anticipating. These places are bittersweet. They can taste of insecurity and loneliness. Or fear and unknowing. Sorrow and doubt. Anxiety with deep excitement. Complacency and fatigue. Hope and longing. Even pain and suffering. But when you depart from this in between place and you finally enter into your new reality – a new way of living — a seed of appreciation takes root. And you become thankful for […]

[bl]T[/bl]he books in our home tell our story. The words we’ve read, the pages we’ve flipped and turned down and noted – they speak to us, about us. If you didn’t know our family, you would learn about choices we’ve made, intentional lifestyles, places we’ve been, people we love, habits and interests – just by glancing through our bookshelves. The books tell our story because either we’ve purchased books to reinforce already adopted ideas, or the books we find ourselves reading introduce new values that eventually become apart of who we are. These books, they tell where we’ve journeyed. The […]

[bl]T[/bl]oday I share with you the words of my hospitable friend. A friend who is an environment of grace. Who knows how to welcome and invite people into her home, into her heart. Her life is a story that points to God’s story. And I’m excited to introduce you to her. Her name is Katie. She lives in Jinja, Uganda, the place God called her to love like Jesus. She arrived while our family was living there. She is a young twenty something who lives like a wise woman who finally gets what life is about. People. Faith. Love. Service. […]