About

Well, it looks like this, God's been building this story line of grace in my life for a long time. It's been here all the way through, weaving His theme into my world.

It's been monogrammed on my heart with the initials that in Hebrew represent the very breath of God. The burning bush whispered the name when Moses brazenly questioned who was sending him, and he had no choice but to remove his sandals upon that holy ground (Exodus 3:14).

As I prayed about the title of this blog, what felt like a theme of God's grace through the seasons of life, it began to appear as an ongoing narrative. Pages of grace continually unfold as God develops my character and writes his message of love on my heart.

So I asked the question: What would happen if a person actually allowed grace--God's unmerited, undeserved, holy gift of favor--to write the story of their life?

What if it was my name, and I lived like it? Janette: "God is gracious." Janette is the feminine form of John, my husband's name, and the name of the disciple they call "the one whom Jesus loved." Wasn't John favored as such that the Son of God loved him like a brother and a friend? Isn't it at the very essence of grace to say that God became flesh and He became our friend? And greater love has no one than this: that he should lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

It is not that grace made us a gift that I should profit from the gift itself and ignore the giver, but God's gift is that we get to be called "favored one." His favor-ite. A friend of God.  For you are a chosen people...God's very own possession (1 Peter 2:9).

What if...as a wife, a mom, a woman, I let God's grace write his story on my heart?

I invite you to come along and see yourself as a character developed in God's unfolding story. As he narrates his grace upon your heart, may you find a greater purpose to your life. The circumstances that surround you, your back story, the ebb and flow of everyday occurrences, all work together to shape meaning into your life and those around you.

May you find it is a story of love and pursuit, of redemption and hope, for today and what is yet to come.


Grace to you,

Janette McLaughlin

 

About the Writer 

Janette grew up in a small town, where she and her husband, John, met in high school and dated each other through the college years. As soon as they had diplomas in hand, they were exchanging rings at the alter. Janette's career as an educator began as a teacher in an urban school district, while earning her credentials and MA in Education. She taught middle school English for seven years, and prayed earnestly to start a family. Motherhood seemed like an impossibility as she waited for God to move through her story. Until miraculously, she and her husband were blessed with the birth of their daughter. She now writes from a heart that invites God to author the story of her life. As a wife and mother of an only child, Janette feels called to serve other women who are in the waiting-middle part of their stories. She currently leads a small group in Bible study, teaches from God's word, and writes on the internet. In her spare time she nurtures her love of the arts and enjoys outdoor adventures with her family.