Broken to Breathless -- An Anniversary

Today marks nine years since I began Broken to Breathless. This blog has been a blessing to me; I pray it has blessed you as well. I began writing when I was a child as a way to help me process and cope. As I grew older, I discovered ways to help me mask or temporarily numb feelings instead. The end of a terrible relationship and overwhelming gratitude for a wonderful new one inspired me to once again begin writing. But this blog has become so much more to me.

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about being "a beast for Christ." I want to make a difference for the Kingdom. I hope people find value in what I say, not because I say it, but because God reveals things to me. He clarifies things for me that I am left with pictures or life lessons illustrating some of Scriptures teachings. Those images make the Bible's teachings easier to understand or easier to bring to mind. I figure if I need things to be a little more portable or user friendly, someone else might as well.

I also believe God gave me a gift and, as with anything He gives, He wants me to use it to His glory. I believe He has told me to write, and I do so in obedience to Him. But, I have made some really stupid choices in my life; if someone else can avoid those pitfalls, I'd like to do everything in my power to ensure they do. My life has been altered along the way, but many of those alterations came at a high price. I have been blessed with illness and recovery. I have been betrayed and blessed by those I love. I have lived like the devil and followed my Savior. I have parented and failed at parenting, homeschooled and failed at that as well; I care for my aging mother with cognitive issues, and sadly, do not always do that with grace and love. I have worked for the same employer for almost thirty years, and know what it's like to be a small number sold out by a large corporation. I experienced abuse as a child and chose self-destructive coping mechanisms as a teen and adult.

The transforming work of the Holy Spirit has not only given me this desire to serve the Lord with all He has given me, but has given me the desire to learn and live in a much different way -- a way that is laid out for us in the Scriptures, a way that has already been set before us in Truth, and does not subject us to trial and error or experiential learning, leading to sometimes tragic consequences.

So, if you long for the wisdom of a life lived with trouble but redeemed by love, if you seek the encouragement of a child broken by sin but made whole by mercy, if you share the heartache of a stubborn, do-it-yourself-er released by grace, stay right here, and we'll see where the Holy spirit leads us!