Sufficient Grace Ministries Blog

Day 4: SGM Christmas Giveaway Extravaganza

December 6, 2012 by Kelly @ Sufficient Grace 41 Comments

CONTEST CLOSED. Any comments left after 7p.m. will not count toward the giveaway!

I am again posting on the run. I am home this morning with an under-the-weather James. So I apologize for the late and quick posting of today’s giveaways.

The first: We are giving away 3 PAIL Remembrance ribbons made by Holly Haas. The ones we are giving are similar to the one pictured below, except the ribbon doesn’t have the loops on the border.

Item #2: Adorable Avon Ornaments, donated by a few generous people who purchased them in our recent fundraiser.

Giving away one girl and one boy ornament. Please specify in the comments which you would like to be entered for. Thank you!

To enter:

1. Just leave a comment saying which item/items you want to win.

Additional entries:

2. Leave a comment sharing anything you would like prayer for…we will gladly pray for you.

3. Share about this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

4. Like SGM on Facebook, or tell us if you already do.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry to help with counting! Thank you!

P.S. Don’t forget, you can still enter to win on Monday’s post if you haven’t. Each day’s post remains open for entry until Friday at 7:00 pm.

DON’T FORGET TO TUNE IN TOMORROW….WE ARE GIVING AWAY A BIG FINALLY….and it’s AWESOME!!!!!

Filed Under: Christmas, giveaway, SGM Christmas Extravaganza, Sufficient Grace Ministries, walking with you

October 15th Remembrance Day Happenings & A PAIL Rosette/Ribbon Giveaway

October 3, 2012 by Kelly @ Sufficient Grace 19 Comments

CONTEST IS CLOSED! CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS: Betty Jackson, Hazel Flint, Becky Clancy, Stephanie D, and Jackie!!! Please email me your address ASAP so we can ship your ribbons within the next day or 2!! Thank you!!

You can still donate $5 to SGM to receive one of our beautiful PAIL ribbons by using the donate button on the right sidebar. You can also still comment on this post to enter your information to be included on the October 15th Remembrance Page. However comments will no longer count toward the ribbon contest.

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For the last couple years on October 15th, we honored and prayed for many families who lost a baby or child. And, I would like to do it again this year. I hope you will join us. Here is an excerpt from last year’s post:

October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. I have met so many beautiful families through Walking With You, this blog, and through Sufficient Grace Ministries. Your stories have touched my heart, and I want to remember each one of your precious babies. Every life is precious in the eyes of the Lord. Every life has value and purpose. While I have prayed for everyone who has crossed my path, it would be nice to have a list to pray for all in one place…with names and birth dates (and heavenly home-going dates). I thought it would be special for us to compile a list of our precious babies and post it here on October 15th. So, if you are a mother who has lost a baby/child and would like to include your family on our list, please leave your information in the comments below or email it to me at sufficientgraceministries@gmail.com. If your information is on last year’s list, please note I will be including those previously listed and just adding any new names and re-posting the list.

Even if we’ve never met (in real life or blog land!), you are welcome to participate. We want to remember all of the precious babies and their families. On that special day, I will post the list here and pray throughout the day for each of you…as we remember together. If you would like to help us spread the word on your blog so that we could include more families, please feel free! If you would like to include your child on the October 15th Remembrance Page, please leave the following in the comments below (on this post):

Child’s Name
Parents Name
Birth Date
Entered Heaven:
Any message you may wish to share…or bible verse that brings you comfort

Also…if you are a grieving parent, and new to our site, please visit the Dreams of You Shop. If you would like a Dreams of You Memory Book or Comfort Bear, please email the shipping address listed on that page. We do not charge parents for our products or services. It is our desire and prayer to offer comfort and hope to every family who crosses our path.

*We would also like to bless 5 moms who comment on this post with a beautiful PAIL Remembrance Rosette/Ribbon, inspired by Franchesca from Small Bird Studios and made by our own Holly Haas. You must enter by Friday, October 5, 2012 at 5pm. You may comment after that with information for the Remembrance Page. But, comments after 5pm on Oct. 5th will not count toward the giveaway. (Holly is also hosting a PAIL Ribbon giveaway on the Caring for Carleigh blog until Friday!!

You can also purchase one of these gorgeous ribbons by clicking on the donate button located below the ribbon picture on the Dreams of You Shop page and on the right sidebar of this blog. Your $5 donation goes to support the outreaches of Sufficient Grace Ministries as we continue to provide free services to families who have lost a baby or child. So, if you don’t win, you can still get a ribbon to remember our babies in heaven…and help a great cause at the same time! Order by October 8th so that you can receive your ribbon by October 15th!
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We are also hosting a very special Grace for the Journey conference for grieving mothers and anyone wanting to know how to minister to the needs of grieving families, which includes a sky lantern release in memory of our sweet babies in heaven on October 13th. For more information, please visit the Coming Events Page. We would love to see you there!!

Filed Under: giveaway, October 15th, operation support sufficient grace, Sufficient Grace Ministries

Hodge Podge: SGM Updates/Operation Support SGM/1,000 Gifts Giveaway

June 14, 2012 by Kelly @ Sufficient Grace 11 Comments

Operation Support Sufficient Grace 2012 rolls on, and we are so excited to see what the Lord is going to do next. Thank you to all who have generously donated in the past and continue to support this ministry. We continue to grow to serve more families, and have many ideas on our hearts to do even more. Currently, we hear from mothers and families requesting Dreams of You items almost daily from all over the United States and beyond. We send items to families with no cost to them. Your donations are the reason we are able to continue to do so.

Just wanted to give a quick update on some of the opportunities to support SGM:

* A huge thank you to the 4th grade class of Patrick Henry, who recently hosted a fundraiser for SGM and donated $625 from their event! It was an amazing night, as I felt that two of the passions of my heart were able to collide. I had the opportunity to share about SGM to a room full of parents and family from our local communities before the students performed their school musical. Music from One Way played in the background of our display. The students were so proud to offer the popcorn, cookies, lemonade, plants, and jello they had made. It was a precious gift, and I believe they were blessed, just as they were used a blessing for us and for those who grieve. I will miss those kids and the beautiful staff of teachers.

* Last week, I gave a small presentation to a group of ladies from Avon interested in hosting fundraisers to support SGM. It was such a blessing to meet these ladies and I was encouraged by their response, as hearing about SGM touched their hearts. We are looking forward to seeing the Lord bless and work through their willing hearts.

* The SGM Golf Outing 2012 is coming up on Saturday, July 7, 2012 at 8am at the Country Acres Golf Club in Kalida, Ohio. We are looking for golf teams and sponsors for the event. Scrambles are the most fun and stress-free way to golf….and you don’t need to be a good golfer to join in! Even if you are not able to attend, please consider supporting the event by sponsoring. Your business or individual name will be posted on a sign at each hole if you choose to be a hole sponsor. There are donation opportunities of $50 (1/2 a hole) and $100 to sponsor a hole, $150 to sponsor non-alcoholic beverages, and $250 to sponsor the dinner. You can also give a door prize or other donation amount. Please visit the Coming Events page or the SGM Golf Outing event on Facebook for more information. Contact Kelly at sufficientgraceministries@gmail.com. We would appreciate your prayers for all aspects of this event: good turnout, good weather, the Lord’s hand and blessing on all the planning and on the event itself. He is always faithful to provide!

* We are hoping to help with a conference for grieving moms in Michigan, and would love to hear your input on some of the topics that should be covered. We will also be working on one for Ohio later, if all goes well! So please pray for those events. And, share your thoughts, too, if you don’t mind.

* We are working on a booklet/pamphlet for grieving dads and one for hospital staff/caregivers. We would love your thoughts. If there are dads out there reading, please share your thoughts or email me. (Ladies, will you ask your husbands to help with this?) Many hospitals and individuals have requested information on how to support bereaved fathers. And, families…what would you like us to share with hospital staff/caregivers on ways they can better support you? Share your thoughts in the comments, or email me at: sufficientgraceministries@gmail.com

* A couple of the bigger needs we are praying for currently:

Some vehicle issues. Need a safe vehicle to travel for SGM events and meetings.

Possible building for our work/office space and to serve as a perinatal hospice

Funding for growing projects and to cover some of Kelly’s expenses/ family health coverage

* Ongoing smaller items that can be donated to SGM:

Polyfil stuffing for Comfort Bears (We prefer the large bags at WalMart and/or JoAnn Fabrics)

Satin for gowns (creme or white colored)

Sheer, wide creme colored ribbon for bears

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In other news, I have been finding much peace on the patio Tim recently built for me. It is where I meet up with the Lord each day to do devotions and soak in the moments, giving thanks, counting the gifts. Many of you have heard of the book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I started the journey more than a year ago, counting the gifts in a little pink journal. Yesterday morning, on the patio, I finally reached 1,000. My first entry: Hot tea with honey. My 1,000th entry: Home, our haven, the time to be here, soaking in this moment, seeing. Ann talks about slowing time by counting the gifts, soaking in the grace of right now, this moment. The older I get and the more the seasons of life change, the more appealing it sounds, the slowing of time, the soaking it in. I’m not a fan of saying that any book other than the bible is life-changing. But, this one comes pretty close to earning that sentiment. It has changed me, the counting of the gifts. And, if you let it, I believe it will change you as well.

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are

If you haven’t read it, or would like your own copy, just leave a comment on this post, sharing something you’re thankful for…can be simple or deep…something in the gift of right now. I would like to give away a copy, in honor of reaching one thousand.

Have a beautiful day!

Filed Under: gifts, giveaway, operation support sufficient grace, Sufficient Grace Ministries

Hinds’ Feet on High Places (Giveaway)…And Some Precious God-Whispers of Truth

July 29, 2011 by Kelly @ Sufficient Grace 16 Comments

CONTEST CLOSED: WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON!

Many of you have probably heard of the classic, Hinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. Dinah always wanted me to read it. We would chat for hours about the spiritual lessons that God was teaching us and the mysterious ways that he would weave His truth and grace into the tapestry of our lives.

When I talked of the ways that God brings beauty from suffering and restoration out of brokenness, strength from weakness, and grace that is always sufficient…as I walked through grief and pain and found sweet healing, Dinah would say: “You really need to read Hinds’ Feet on High Places”.

Dinah went home to heaven this past February, and a month or two or three (I’m not really good with time these days) later, when I was in the thick of “the missing”, my friend Joyce handed me the book. (Joyce is also one of our faithful, hard-working Comfort Bear ladies.) O.K….o.k., I conceded. Obviously this is a book God wanted me to read! I could just picture Dinah nudging the Lord…”Tell Joyce to have Kelly read this book…she really needs to read it.” Now I’m not sure if that’s how it works in heaven, but down here on Earth, Dinah’s constant suggestions and persistence were quite effective. I wouldn’t put it past her, that’s for sure.

Anyway, I started to read the book, and sat astounded at the parallels in my Christian walk as I related to little Much-Afraid with all of her flaws and weaknesses as she struggled to resist her Fearful relatives. Some of the truths that spoke to my heart in this book are the very truths God has revealed to me over the years, as I walked my own path toward the high places, resisting the tools of The Enemy, desperate to know the kind of love that never leaves, embarking on the journey holding the Shepherd’s hand, learning about acceptance with joy in my own desolate Valley of Loss, embracing the surrender that comes from having Sorrow and Suffering (who later became Peace and Joy) as companions, realizing that such journeys lead to the transformation from Much-Afraid to Grace and Glory.

All of the truths I have clung to and battled deception with…the very truths I have claimed as my own…truths that defined my walk over the past seventeen years of clinging to God… painted in word pictures by a woman years ago. Even the place I am in now of learning about the love that lays it all down…it’s in there. I thought how silly to think that it is just my walk she is describing, even as the words resonated with my inner core. This is the walk for all who choose to follow Him. Our paths may not look exactly the same, but the truths…the lessons…are all the same. This is one of the most beautiful and perfect descriptions I have read of the ways God works in our lives. Of course, I’m sure it only scratches the surface of His deep mysterious ways.

I just want to share an excerpt that depicts the essence of the lessons that God has taught and is teaching me. I have spoken of this same truth over the course of my life, but never as eloquently or perfectly as the author shares in this incredible book:

“First,” said she, “I learnt that I must accept with joy all that You allowed to happen to me on the way and everything to which the path led me! That I was never to try to evade it but to accept it and lay down my own will on the altar and say, “Behold me I am Thy handmaiden Acceptance-with-Joy.”

“Then I learnt that I must bear all that others were allowed to do against me and to forgive with no trace of bitterness and to say to Thee, ‘Behold me – I am Thy little handmaiden Bearing-with-Love’, that I may receive power to bring good out of this evil.”

“The third thing that I learnt was that You, my Lord, never regarded me as I actually was, lame and weak and crooked and cowardly. You saw me as I would be when you brought me to the High Places, when it could be truly said, ‘There is none that walks with such queenly ease, nor with such grace, as she.’
…”My Lord, I cannot tell You how greatly I want to regard others in the same way.”

O.K….I just have to interrupt Much-Afraid’s commentary for a moment and say…Do you realize that is the very essence of what God wants for us…to love others and see others as He does? He doesn’t want us to look on them the way they are…but the way they will be when they are made perfect one day in heaven’s glory, without the muck and sin in this world. Oh Lord, put that love into our hearts. O.K….back to Much-Afraid and what she learned. (Even though the author likes to say “learnt”, which I must admit pains me to type.)

“The fourth thing,” said she with a radiant face, “was really the first I learnt up here. Every circumstance in life, no matter how crooked and distorted and ugly it appears to be, if it is reacted to in love and forgiveness and obedience to Your will can be transformed….”

It may seem like I gave the most precious nuggets of this book away, but believe me when I say that you must take the entire journey of reading this book to fully grasp it’s meaning…to fully experience the truth God is whispering about this journey.

For this is the story of every Christian’s journey…the one we are meant to walk. The love God pours into our lives is meant to overflow into the lives of those around us. And, everything we experience has a purpose in leading us to being the person He created us to be.

Thank you, Dinah and thank you Joyce for sharing this book with me. I’m sure I should have read it years ago, but I was busy living it. I have ordered a few copies to share with others, because it really is a precious picture of the way God works in our hearts to transform us. Truly one of the best books I’ve ever read…and that’s saying a lot!

So, of course, I want to give a few copies of this treasure away on this post. Just leave a comment to enter.

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In other news…for those praying for Tug, there is a VERY important update at the bottom of this post….click over and join us in rejoicing for all God is doing. And, please keep praying as the journey isn’t over!! Thank you so much!

Filed Under: book reviews, encouraging women, giveaway, love

New Walking With You…Helping my Monkey…and a Wild Olive T-shirt Giveaway!

June 22, 2011 by Kelly @ Sufficient Grace 22 Comments

For the first time since February, there is a new Walking With You post up. Could you please do me a huge favor…if there’s anyone out there anymore? I shared about a mother walking the path many of us have walked. Her name is Katie, and her baby girl, Evangeline Joy has been diagnosed with Potters Syndrome. She is in her final trimester, and prayerfully awaiting the arrival of her precious baby girl. She just started a blog, and I would love to flood her with encouragement, so that she knows she does not walk this path alone. Will you please join me. Stop by her blog and leave a comment of love and encouragement. Let this mama know that we are praying for her and her family…that they are not walking alone. That’s why we started WWY in the first place. I hope you will take a minute to do this. It would mean so much to this grieving mother’s heart.

In other mamas-we-can-help news, my monkey Mattie shared about a way you can get a gorgeous Wild Olive T-shirt AND help sweet Mattie raise the funding needed to adopt their baby. Mattie is the mother to Ethan and to two children in heaven: Shyla and Jakin. She is a beautiful mother inside and out…a mom I’ve had the privilege to meet and hug in person. Click here to read how you can get a Wild Olive Tee Shirt and help my Mattie-girl.

And….
Because I love Mattie, I love grace, I love the verse on this T-shirt, I love Wild Olive, and I love you….

(back of shirt)

We’re giving away two shirts from the adoption fundraiser on this post!! One sized medium and one large.

There are several ways you can enter to win:
(Please leave a separate comment for each one you do. Please also specify the size you want. Choices are medium or large. We can also order another size if needed.)

1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. Get an additional entry if you are a follower of this blog.
3. Get an additional entry if you are a follower of the Sufficient Grace Facebook page.
4. Get two additional entries if you leave a comment encouraging Katie on her blog. (yes, I’m bribing you to encourage this sweet mom…and no, I don’t feel guilty about it!).
5. Get an additional entry for sharing this post on Facebook.
6. Get 5 additional entries for every Wild Olive Shirt you order toward Mattie’s adoption fundraiser. There are a lot of other styles to choose from! Please remember to enter Mattie’s code at the “enter coupon” section before checking out: WELLS0417

Filed Under: giveaway

Musings on Leaving and Heaven, Summer Reading, and Some Giveaways!

June 9, 2011 by Kelly @ Sufficient Grace 13 Comments

You know mama likes to read, right?

Well…I do…very much. In the summer, when I was young, I used to spend my time swimming and reading. When I wasn’t riding my bike all over town with my friend, Nicki, of course. Now I spend my summer days catching up on SGM work, walking the golf course as my youngest son’s “caddy” (a.k.a. scorekeeper), swimming with rowdy boys and listening to their boastful talk, and curling up with a book when I’m able. Sometimes, James and I like to lay a blanket in the shade and read outdoors. Ahhh…summer, how I love thee.

I’ve already read a couple books this summer, and thought I’d share some thoughts with you. And, you know…give away a copy of some of my recent favorites to a couple lovely commenters on this post.

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo (picture from www.amazon.com)

It’s no secret that those of us who have a few “treasures in heaven” often wonder about the place. I admit, when my daughters made heaven their home, a longing was born in my heart that grew from the initial spark that had been placed there when I accepted Jesus as my Savior. Each time I have said goodbye to someone I love, the longing grows deeper and stronger still. This place where there will be no tears, no sickness, no death, no cancer, no bad guys, no leaving, no unmet expectations, no heartbreak, no goodbyes. This place lit by God’s glory…what is it like? We look for hints in His word, hints from the glimpses we have on the sidelines as we’ve watched them leave.

Because of the longing and wondering, I enjoy books that share a piece of heaven. And, Heaven is for Real is no exception. I found this book to be quite believable. We want confirmation, don’t we? We want to be sure that His promises are real…that He really is preparing a place for us…as He promised. We have to trust…to believe without seeing, until the day when all will be revealed. For now, I enjoyed the perspective of this book from a little boy’s heart…the child-like faith, the reminder that we will meet our loved ones again, the truth that Jesus is all He says He is, the evidence that our babies live on in heaven’s glory. The part where he meets his sister…the one that his mother carried briefly in her womb, before miscarrying…a sister he didn’t know that he had…of course, I found that part most touching of all. I love that we will know as we are known. My babies, my mother, and so many more….I will be with them one day. What a glorious promise. What a hope we have!

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Leaving by Karen Kingsbury

I’ve also started Karen Kingsbury’s latest series: The Bailey Flannigan Series, with the first book, Leaving. A fitting title for this season of my life…a mother anticipating her son’s senior year of high school, and a goodbye that seems impossible when just yesterday I was holding his tiny chubby hand to cross the street. Or at least it seems like just yesterday. And, a daughter still working through the loss of her mother five years later. Suddenly thrust back to the moments as a little girl when our family was broken, when I first learned that sometimes dads leave…places of my heart I’d rather not visit. So, why now?

The book begins with a pastor’s message that spoke directly to something I’ve been pondering in my heart lately:

“Goodbyes were one of the hardest things about life…one way or another people were always leaving. Always moving on…Life changes. People come and go, and seasons never last.”

“Nothing stays the same. We can count on that. Good times come and go…finances are ever changing…our health will eventually fail us. And through death or decision, everyone we know will someday leave us.”

“All except for Jesus Christ. Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you. And because of that we have strength to love with all our hearts…even unaware of what tomorrow brings. That’s what I want you to take away from today’s service. Jesus stays.”
(Leaving, Chapter One: by Karen Kingsbury)

If you read here much, you know I love me some Karen Kingsbury. I devour her books, especially those on the fictional Baxter and Flannigan families. While her books always speak to my heart some truth from scripture, I also read them because they’re entertaining, well-written, captivating, and I can relate to the characters.

But this book. Those beginning words drew me in because they were personal. They were the words God wanted me to read right now. For this season of life.

Recently, some hurts from my past have been bubbling up, unexpected for a fairly secure, well-loved wife and mama in her mid-thirties. Why now? Why am I having so many struggles with hurts I believed were healed the day Jesus Christ entered my weary, broken heart? What do I do with these feelings, unbidden, but demanding my attention? Is it my mother’s passing…the one earthly constant in my life since birth…that has triggered these flashes of memories, of times when someone I loved…someone I expected to stay…walked away? Was she the bandaid that covered those hurts, like only a mother does…and now they are revealed? What do I do with those feelings?

While no stranger to grief, I am not a wallower by any means. So, I’m not a fan of all this emotion bubbling up. It’s been brewing now, for some time. I want to give it all over to the Lord, work through it, get rid of it, stop feeling it all. But, I’m not really sure how to do any of that. So, I pray…I feel…I talk about it to those close to me. And, I wait on Him to work…to lead me to healing and restoration.

In the meantime, His reminder:

Everyone leaves. Everyone lets us down. Everyone walks away…whether through decision or death. But, Jesus stays.

Jesus stays. Cling to Him.

I love how God finds us and speaks to our hearts…where ever we may be. (He spoke to my heart, confirming an answer to prayer, through a Veggie Tales movie last night, but that’s another story for another time!)

O.K….after all that heavy, how about some fun? I’d like to give away a copy of Heaven is for Real and Leaving. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment and mention which one you would like or if you would like to win either book, you can say that!

Filed Under: book reviews, family, giveaway

Giveaway Winners (My Forever Child and I Will Carry You)

May 10, 2011 by Kelly @ Sufficient Grace 3 Comments

The winner of the My Forever Child $50 gift certificate is Kami Rude from My Beautiful Day.

Congratulations beautiful mama!
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And…the winner of the book, I Will Carry You (autographed by Angie Smith)

is Jennifer from His Grace is Sufficient!

Congratulations beautiful mama!

Made to Crave will be a couple days late again…sorry about that. Hope to get to it by Wednesday! =)

Filed Under: giveaway

Mother’s Day Love and a My Forever Child Giveaway

May 8, 2011 by Kelly @ Sufficient Grace 23 Comments

*COMMENTS CLOSED…WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON

Love and prayers for all the mamas on this Mother’s Day…

…to the moms whose own mothers are dancing in heaven.

…to the moms whose babies are in heaven.

…to the moms with diapers to change.

…to the moms with carpool to drive.

…to the moms with an empty nest, and to those whose nest is full.

…to the moms praying wearily next to a hospital bed.

…to the moms praying for their soldier to return home safely.

…to the hearts longing for motherhood.

…to the stay-at-home moms.

…to the working moms.

…to all the beautiful moms.

…we salute you and pray God’s blessings for you this Mother’s Day!

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Sufficient Grace Ministries would like to bless a special mother, today, with a $50 gift certificate from My Forever Child. Just leave a comment on this post to enter.

Filed Under: giveaway, mother's day, walking with you

Winner of Made to Crave Giveaway and Other SGM Updates (Oh…and my Haircut)

March 21, 2011 by Kelly @ Sufficient Grace 9 Comments

Announcing the Winner of the Made to Crave Giveaway….

Congratulations Michelle!

I’m really looking forward to joining in with several of you for this time of encouragement as we read Made to Crave together. Hoping we can be an encouragement to one another on this journey. If you didn’t win, please make sure that you pick up a copy, so that you can begin reading along with us and get ready to discuss Chapter One on Monday, March 28, 2011.

And, in other news….

It is time to kick off Operation Support Sufficient Grace 2011!

We have a plethora of exciting events coming up for Sufficient Grace Ministries. If you are not familiar with what SGM offers to grieving families, please visit our ministry page by clicking the Home button on the tabs above. You can also read about the products and services we offer to families all over the United States and beyond, free of charge, by clicking on the Dreams of You Shop . We send products to hundreds of bereaved parents each year, in addition to offering online support and prayers, speaking at churches and women’s events, hosting hospital seminars, performing praise music with our band One Way, and working to encourage women and families with biblical encouragement. Sufficient Grace is supported by donations from individuals, hospitals and funeral homes who offer products to their clients, churches, and other organizations. All donations made to this 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization are tax deductible.

There are several ways you can help support our efforts to continue to reach out to the families we serve. Most of all, we ask for your prayers for the upcoming events:

April 6, 2011 ~ Our dear friend and SGM board member, Holly Haas, is hosting an online auction at her Caring for Carleigh Facebook page on April 6th-8th. You can read more about this event on the Event Page. Visit the Caring for Carleigh Facebook site on April 6th-8th and leave bids on items you are interested in. You can also contact Holly or me to donate items to be auctioned off. There will be more items added to the list up until the day of the auction, so make sure you check back. There are some cute items already donated, and more cute things coming soon. This is a fun way to support SGM, and get something neat in the process. Please help support sweet Holly’s generous efforts and join in!

April 29-30, 2011 ~ Nineteen ladies, including the girls from SGM, will be travelling to Columbus to attend the Women of Faith Conference, for a weekend of refreshing encouragement. We will be blogging about this incredible and encouraging weekend, so stay tuned for some fun posts!

May 22, 2011 ~ SGM Ice Cream Social. Becki Burner will be hosting an ice cream social at Harvest Fellowship to support Sufficient Grace again this year. A light picnic-style lunch will be served with ice cream and toppings for dessert. This will be a free will donation, and all proceeds will benefit Sufficient Grace Ministries.

June 4, 2011 ~ SGM Golf Outing

Save the date for the Sufficient Grace Ministries Golf Outing 2011 at Country Acres Golf Club in Kalida, Ohio ~ Shotgun start at 1:00pm

1. Form a four person team ~ $200/team ($50 ea.). Price includes 18 holes of golf,
cart, and dinner.
2. Sponsor a hole for $100 or share a sponsorship for $50. (Your name or business will appear on a Hole sign at the event.)
3. Donate a door prize, or a donation in any amount.
4. Become a dinner sponsor for $250.
6. Sponsor Beverages for $150 (non-alcoholic, of course!)
7. Please pray for this event and the outreaches of this ministry.

Please join us for this family friendly golf scramble fundraiser to help support the outreaches of Sufficient Grace Ministries. Your support helps us provide:

*Bereavement support for grieving families.
*Memory-making materials for parents.
*Hospital seminars encouraging compassionate care.
*Biblical encouragement and hope for women.

For more information visit: http://www.sufficientgrace.net/
Contact: Kelly Gerken ~ sufficientgraceministries@gmail.com

There will be a Ride for Grace Bike Run in August, hosted by Dave Amspoker. Details to come.

Thank you so much for your continued support…and please keep Operation Support Sufficient Grace and all of the other outreaches of this ministry in prayer.

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P.S. In completely unrelated news, I went to my hairdresser this week, and on a whim chose a really short haircut. So much for growing my hair out! Anyway, in the grand scheme of eternity, not such a newsworthy event. But, in the earthly life of a woman, let’s face it…hair is an ongoing issue. =)

Filed Under: giveaway, operation support sufficient grace, Sufficient Grace Ministries

What We Don’t Love About Marriage Enrichment Seminars….Giveaway Winners…and Humbling Thoughts on Expectations

February 12, 2011 by Kelly @ Sufficient Grace 6 Comments

Congrats to the winners listed below. Please email me your address and I will ship your items. Also, if you are a baby lost mama, and have not received a Dreams of You Memory Book and Comfort Bear from Sufficient Grace and would like one, please let me know in the email and we will include that with your “prize”.

Gift of Time Book Winners
Melissa
Teresa

Love Post Giveaway Winners
Beauty Will Rise CD – Deanna
When I’m With You (JJ Heller) CD – Kristin

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Just a little heads-up. I’m going to be honest in this post. Hope you will still love me when I’m done. Truthfully, that matters to me much more than it should…more than I would like to admit. We aren’t supposed to care what other people think. But, I do. I’m weak like that.

First…I’m going to share a little secret. Tim and I are not marriage enrichment seminar people. Don’t get me wrong, we’re glad they exist. Obviously, we think marriage should be encouraged and enriched. I’m not sure what it is…or why I feel compelled to search out the deep mystery of it at 4:00a.m., but we struggle with marriage enriching activities. Even the movie Fireproof, which I have recommended, and even gave away on this blog….we didn’t feel encouraged by it. I’m grateful the movie exists and wholeheartedly embrace and endorse it’s message. I think it is a wonderful movie, with a much-needed message that honors God and marriage beautifully. But, we didn’t feel closer after watching it. We felt as if we had already walked through that time of struggle in our marriage…that God had brought us to a different place. And, frankly….call us shallow…we thought we would rather spend our time laughing together. Honestly, we’ve cried plenty over the years…we’ve searched out the deep things…felt the depth of them…we’ve done hard. And, in some ways…we still are. Life isn’t perfect or easy.

Marriage enrichment seminars are often not our favorite thing, either. And here’s why…I think. They can be a great encouragement to some and have wonderful value. But, here’s the danger. They can also point out flaws in one another we weren’t looking at before. They can plant expectations in our hearts and minds…that lead to disappointment when one of us does not meet that expectation for the other. Love doesn’t put expectations on another. Love lays it all down…the expectations, the selfish wants, the “what about me’s”, the rights we think we have. Love lays it all down. And, love doesn’t look at the flaws. Check out I Corinthians 13. Perhaps I’m writing all of this as a reminder to myself, because we are going to a marriage enrichment thing at church tonight. And, quite frankly, it’s on my mind.

Most of the time, I’ll be honest…..Tim and I would rather go to dinner, walk around The Guitar Center, and laugh together. Play music together. Hold hands and pray on Sunday morning. Or, in the summer…soak in the beauty of God’s creation on the golf course…and laugh some more. Those are the moments that enrich our marriage. That feels like time well spent. Time appreciating the simple gift of one another. Not dwelling on all the ways we may or may not measure up. Right or wrong, that’s how we often feel about marriage enrichment….like it’s a measuring stick. I know it’s not meant to be that way. Not at all. We may, or may not be the only ones who feel this way. I’m doubting we are, if we’re honest. Anyway, tonight we are going. And, I’m secretly hoping for some laughs.
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O.K…last uncomfortably honest revelation and then I’m going to make some tea with honey and start this day.

We’ve been sharing posts on the Lies Women Believe Study. I was determined before I started it, not to grow discouraged if I posted each week, and heard nothing in reply. Remembering previous studies, when I thought others, who showed enthusiasm at first, would join in and encourage one another on the blog…that we could discuss and pray for each other on each week’s topic. I was disappointed when that didn’t happen. Like marriage enrichment….I had expectations. Expectations are never good. They always lead to discouragement. Because at some point, none of us will measure up.

I prayed about the study, telling myself that I was doing it to serve the Lord, to be an encouragement, and because I needed to do the study. I needed the accountability…the commitment. So, I purposed in my heart…stay focused on the Lord. Just do the study each week. Pray. Write the post. Don’t look at whether or not anyone is participating. Just obey. I sent books out to those interested. I was exciting to see that several of you were interested. I launched in with enthusiasm, and then it happened. Slowly, less and less people joined in to add their thoughts. I shared my heart in the posts, but the discussion I hoped for where we all encouraged one another didn’t happen. My expectations…no matter how I tried not to have any…weren’t met.

Along the way, a few ladies have shared that they are reading along. And they have been blessed by the book. Instead of just being glad they were getting blessed, I wondered why they hadn’t joined in on the blog posts and Blog Frog, encouraging each other more in the study. I was grateful to know they were joining in and grateful for the conversation it sparked in that moment. Their input encouraged me to continue, knowing that others where being encouraged. But, as I continued and heard from less and less from my blogger friends, I grew discouraged again. Frustrated by my own expectations, I missed the blessing. I missed the true point of why God laid it on my heart to do the study in the first place…to encourage other women in the areas we struggle. What does it matter if it’s not happening the way I pictured it? What matters is, it’s happening. Women are reading the book and getting stretched and thinking differently about a few things. God is speaking truth into their hearts. Isn’t that the goal?

Yes.

But, for a little while, I was small and hurt. Feeling lonely after pouring out my own heart and getting little to no response. This week, I wrote about the struggles many women face with priorities and the difference between condemnation and conviction. A topic I thought might be of interest…even if some aren’t reading the book. Something I thought we all struggle with to some degree as moms with various roles in a busy world.

And…crickets.

I wondered…should I keep going with the study? Is anyone out there? Is this helping? Is it relevant? Is it being a good steward of time?

Then, earlier today, another friend shared how the study is blessing her. I told her some of my struggle with the lack of response, and saw when I heard my words out loud, how ugly it sounded for me to be discouraged about my expectations not getting met. I was missing the fact that God was blessing her for taking part in the study. She said, “I’m sorry it’s not turning out the way you hoped, but God is blessing me through the study. He is changing me, and I just wanted you to know.” I was so humbled by the beauty of what she was saying in contrast to the ugliness of my flesh in that weak moment. God gently reminded me…it’s not about me. Even if we never see the fruit…even if there is not the response we hoped, or any response at all…our job is just to do what God has laid on our hearts to do. We never know how He may be using it to minister to someone’s heart. And…we don’t have to know.

My pastor often says, even if one person shows up to a bible study, he would teach. It is up to the Lord to do the work in someone else’s heart and life. We are just the vessel. We just obey. Just show up. Just write the blog post. Whether anyone reads it or not…whether it speaks to anyone else’s heart or not. That isn’t ours to decide…or even to know. God gives the increase. He gets the glory. We are just humbled and blessed beyond words that He is merciful enough to take us along for the ride.

For those who have shared what they are experiencing during this study…thank you. To those who are out there reading along, thank you. I pray that you are getting blessed and encouraged, as I have been, doing this study. (Also…please don’t take this post wrong. I understand getting busy and juggling many things. This isn’t meant to induce guilt. Just wanted to share something God spoke to my heart and revealed about a wrong attitude I was having…not trying to discourage…but rather encourage!)

O.K…I think that’s enough raw honesty for now…and way too much exposure. I’m going to hit publish before I think too much more about this, and sip my tea, and soak in this Saturday.

Have a blessed day! And thanks for sticking with me…flaws and all.

Filed Under: encouraging women, giveaway, marriage