Month: January 2025

Left 9:06 a.m., arrived at 4:47. Couldn’t find go pro which is why I left late. Got lost in Ebensburg when I got gas at Sheetz, thought I was on 422, but wasn’t. Waste 15 minutes getting back on 422. Missed the turn at Templeton.

Went for a walk to Judy’s house as soon as we got in, Lori didn’t have a wine opener. Judy dropped us off (Facebook post). Venison steak and zucchini with parmesan cheese. Delicious. Drank a bottle of wine. Lori had her lemonade drink.

Friday, went for a long walk in the woods. Visited Bob Unger’s grave at the end. Visited Mary Lorenz a tour of the old house. Gave us three different cookies, chocolate with powdered sugar, lemon sugar cookie, butterscotch oatmeal cookie. Met Karen for lunch at Korner Restaurant. Had steak salad with french fries and coconut cream pie (Facebook post).

Had a moving sale when we moved to Dubois. Karen and Jim bought 2 of the three-wheelers and our old kitchen table.

“I know you had a moving sale, because we bought two of the three-wheelers and the kitchen table.” Karen

Went and washed the car. Then went to the overlook in East Brady. Came home, took a nap. Judy picked us up at 4:15 to go to dinner at Korner Restaurant. Had fried fish dinner, mashed potatoes and green beans. Sally Anthony was there, Greg Krow (Hornberger) mom. Told us about Bob (husband) dying in motorcycle accident. He was 60. Devastated her.

Came home. Bobby Marshal came over. Drank another bottle of wine.

Saturday, made stuffed shells (chicken and stuffing inside of pasta shells with cream of chicken soup over it). Went to Chrissy’s store and painted. Had lunch at drive thru Sheetz. Judy paid. Came home, gave our opinions on Lori’s new flooring. Walked to Lori’s mom’s for birthday celebration.

Rich, Susie, Ron, Mark, Renee, Matt, Kylie, Kerri, Joe, Maren, Waylen, Lori and I were at Judy’s birthday dinner. Made homeade icecream, brownie, hot fudge and banana split topping for dessert. They gave their mom a canvas picture of her and the four kids, and a pretty light green sweater.

Leaving Sunday morning was hard.

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17 NIV),

My husband and I were doing our morning devotional. In all honesty, we were “catching up,” as we were three days behind. The devotionals are about 5 minutes long. I read the text to Ron. A reflection at the end asks a question that gets the conversation started. I love to hear Ron’s responses. Today’s was a particular favorite.

The question was essentially, are you more truth or grace?

Each of us tends towards one or the other. I lean towards truth more than grace, my husband more grace than truth.

As a Christ follower, Jesus has given us direction on how we’re supposed to live our lives. For instance the 10 Commandments is a guide to having healthy relationships. The first five are about our relationship with God: no other gods, idols, worshiping other gods or using His name in vain and one day a week for God. The last five about our relationship with others: honor mom and dad, no murder, adultery, stealing or lying. If we do those things, they will help us have healthy relationships.

Truth people want everything cut and dry. If you lie to someone, you suffer the consequences. People who lean towards truth, struggle to let people off of the hook when they “break a rule.” In other words, if someone lies to me, I have a hard time forgiving them. Grace is remembering, I too am a liar. We have all lied. If we say we haven’t, we’re lying.

Ron is grace oriented. He has the softest heart in the world, but struggles with putting his foot down. For instance, he’s doing maintenance work on our front door. I’ve asked him repeatedly to let me help, to which he kindly says, “No thanks.” I know the truth in this situation. He doesn’t want my help because he’s afraid I will injure myself. I’m a bull in a china shop. He doesn’t want to hurt my feelings by telling me the truth. He’s grace.

We need both. God is the perfect blend of both. He pairs us with people who balances out whichever way we lean.

Ron tries to spare my feelings: grace. I don’t try to spare his: truth. The two of us together make the perfect blend of both. We balance each other’s leanings when we meet in the middle. We strive for truth and grace together.

Jesus is truth and grace. He knows we’re not perfect, He loves us anyway: truth and grace. He couldn’t exist any other way. He knows the law, He fulfilled the law so we don’t have too. He understands we can’t. None of us can keep all of the laws. We needed someone who could. Jesus is that person. Truth AND grace.

Why I love Ron? He understands the “and.”

Truth AND grace, not truth OR grace. We don’t have a choice. We can’t be one or the other, we have to be both.

“You’ve been writing that book a long time.”

To me, I hear accusation in those words, but also truth. Margaret Mitchell took ten years to write “Gone with the Wind.” I’m sure, during the decade of writing, someone said those words to her, not criticizing, but making an observation.

How many times do we take things the wrong way because of the perspective we view things from in our mind. As a sensitive writer, when someone says, “You’ve been writing that book for a long time,” sounds offensive. But in reality, its just a statement, not a judgement.

Lord help me discern the difference between observation and judgment.