Roses of Grace

"I want to be more productive." How many of you have said that to yourself recently? Did you realize how much time you wasted over Christmas break? Or did you make a New Year's resolution to work harder and stop wasting time? I'm sure that for at least some of you, the answer is "yes." Productivity is something that many of us struggle with, especially as we grow and take on more responsibilities. Schoolwork, extracurriculars, a job... all these things take work, and it's important that we learn how to deal with them.    I'm partnering with several other bloggers to discuss productivity—the dos and don'ts, setting goals, staying organized, and many other things we've learned.  Links to the other articles will be at the bottom of this post, so stay tuned for that!   For the past year, I've struggled to find a workflow that helps me get things done while still avoiding burnout. And I've learned a lot—mostly from my failures.  I wanted t...

I was tagged by the lovely Annabelle Batie from the blog Pen & Ink for the Get to Know Me tag!  If you're interested in writing, you should definitely check out Annabelle's blog—she posts writing tips and resources that are very helpful.  The Rules Link back to the person who created the tag. (That would be Savannah !) Thank the person who tagged you. (Thanks again to Annabelle !) Share the tag graphic. Tag eleven bloggers. Questions Vital Stats and Appearance Name: Emma Thrasher   Nicknames: "Emma" doesn't really lend itself well to nicknames, though a few of my friends call me "Em" on occasion. I did go by my middle name—Rose, or Rosie—back when I was younger. Birthday: If I tell you too much about my personal life, you'll be able to steal my identity! And that would be terrible. Hair color and length: Brown, and it reaches just past my waist. I'm trying to grow it out so that it reaches my feet, but that'll take quite a while. Ey...

Well. The year is officially over.  Today, it is January 2, 2023. It's the start of a new year, and since it's almost the 1-year anniversary of this blog, I figured I'd do a year in review. Maybe it'll become a tradition, maybe it won't—let me know what you think! So: What happened this year?  Looking Back at 2022 What happened? Blog stuff: I started Roses of Grace on January 20. (Almost a year ago—wow.) I started an email list in which I get to connect with you guys every week!  I wrote almost a hundred blog articles. This is article number 97. Writing stuff: I finished the first draft of my first ever novel! (It's the one I talk about in this post .) I participated in Nanowrimo and finished the first draft of my second novel! Life stuff: I spent the summer in Paraguay, learning Spanish and getting a taste of overseas missions. I hit emotional highs and lows, and my relationship with the Lord deepened through them. I made new friends! :) Favorite blog articl...

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!  Last week, we talked about how the holiday season is a good time to remember how far the Lord has brought you . That's not all the remembering you get to do this time of year, though! Christmas is also a time to slow down and think about the Incarnation.  It's a really powerful mystery. We can't understand the full significance of God becoming man—we can't understand the incredible humility Jesus showed in lowering himself so much, the glory of that night, or just how important the Incarnation is for our salvation.  There's a lot to be said about it, and a lot gets said around Christmas time. But right now let's focus on just one aspect of the Incarnation: the prophecies throughout the Old Testament, and how they prove that the Bible is completely true and trustworthy.    The Prophecies You've probably heard them already this Christmas season. Many Messianic prophecies are commonly read this time of year—passages like I...

A few weeks ago, we put up our Christmas tree. It was only a few days after Thanksgiving, which is as it should be—though I'm sure that those of you who start the Christmas season before Thanksgiving are perfectly lovely people regardless. 😉 Anyway, we usually get a live tree from a local farm, and we decorated it with all the ornaments we had in the attic. Looking at the ornaments is one of my favorite things to do. We have such a wide variety of them that it's really entertaining to go through the boxes, and it brings back a lot of old memories—a ballet shoe picture frame ornament that I used to put hand-drawn "art" in, for instance, or the set of silver, pink, and green mushrooms with sparkles on the top.  I'm sure you have ornaments that bring back a lot of memories for you when you look at them, so you know what I'm talking about. And decorating our tree this year was a very interesting experience. It made me think a lot about the traditions around Chri...

One day in ancient Israel, two men went to the temple. These men were very different—one of them was a Pharisee, a renowned teacher of the law, and one of them was a tax collector, a job infamous for its corruption and uncleanness.  If you grew up in the church, you probably know this story. In case you don't know it, I'll quote the rest from Luke 18:11–14:  'The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”' What if, instead of a Pharisee, it was a clean-cut church kid who's been ...

What do you do when you've been hurt by someone you love?  I don't mean when you've been hurt a little by someone you love, like when someone's having a bad day and they snap at you.  What do you do when someone you know consistently hurts you? When your friendship with them is doing you more harm than good?  The world's answer, of course, is to cut them out of your life completely. Friends who hurt you are hastily labeled as "toxic," and you're encouraged to get rid of them ASAP. They aren't worth you. And in extreme cases, that might be right. Sometimes you need to get away from someone for your own safety.  But is that loving? Is that the Christian way to live?  What does the Bible say about loving people who hurt you?  Note: This is something of a sensitive topic, and I've tried to base my thoughts entirely on the Bible to make sure they're as sound as possible, as I usually try to do. However, I want to make it absolutely clear that...

In China, believers meet with fear. The threat of the government storming their church looms over their heads as they worship. Many churches are closed down, their leaders imprisoned. Constant surveillance by the government endangers the lives of any churchgoer. Children and teenagers are not allowed to attend church. In North Korea, anyone suspected of being a Christian is imprisoned in a brutal labor camp where they are starved, tortured, beaten, and worked to death. Their families are often punished in the same way, regardless of their own beliefs. In Nigeria, the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram places the lives of every Christian in danger. Street violence is common. Those who profess faith in Christ run the risk of a swift and brutal murder by Muslim extremists. Persecution is real. Christians who live in dangerous areas like China, North Korea, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and countless other nations face an unimaginable amount of danger and fear every day. Many things that ...