Grace at Home No. 356

Happy Halloween!

I can hardly believe that today is the last day of October--or that the World Series is over and the Nationals won! Congratulations if you're a Nationals fan. Isn't it exciting when a team that's never won a championship finally prevails?

I'm so glad you're here for the Grace at Home party, where we celebrate all the ways we make our homes places of grace. Here are some highlights from last week's party.

Thanksgiving is coming soon! Are you hosting Thanksgiving dinner? If you are, you'll be glad to see these ideas for Thanksgiving table settings from Carol at Bluesky at Home.

I know that lots of people are ready to get right into Christmas decorating, but I like to savor Autumn and I especially like to keep things looking fallish through Thanksgiving. So I was glad to see this post from Stacey at Ordinary Days showing how she created beautiful arrangements from silk flowers.

Have you ever wanted to paint a bathroom vanity but were a little unsure about how it would work? Shelley from Calypso in the Country shares lots of tips.

Need a cute centerpiece idea? Check out these tissue paper flowers from Linda at It All Started with Paint. She shares her simple method for creating them.

As we're about to move into this season where we're surrounded by abundant food, some of us like to adopt leaner eating habits in preparation. Do you ever do this? Ani from All That Life Stuff has been following a Weight Watchers plan, and she's discovered a way to make bagels that have only two Weight Watchers points. Sounds like a winner to me!

Last but not least, Michele Morin from Living Our Days offers wonderful advice for breaking free from comparison.

Thank you to everyone who joined last week's party! Now for this week's link-up. Here at the Grace at Home party, I invite you to link posts about

• DIY projects
• decorating
• recipes
• hospitality
• homemaking tips
• parenting
• marriage
• faith
• self-care
• soul care

Whatever you do to make your home a place of grace, I'd like to hear about it.  Here's what I ask of you.  Please include the permalink to your post, not your blog's home page.  Please let people know that you've linked up.  No more than three posts per person, please.  Note that if you link a post here, you are giving me permission to share your post, including a photo.  And visit at least one of the other party participants--that's what really makes it a party!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Grace at Home at a very special time

Hello, friends! I'm so glad you're here!

People ask me sometimes why I host this party. For awhile, link parties were a big deal for bloggers, but in recent months many of them have faded away. So why would I continue this one?

Here's the reason: this is a place to celebrate not just my own work, but the work of others. Since its beginning many years go, this blog has been about imparting grace to others. I like to share words of grace and the ways I try to make my home a place of grace. But this party is a place to showcase the good work that other people are doing.

If we're all trying, each of us in our own ways, to make our homes and our communities beautiful and grace-filled, we can have a big impact! And that's worth celebrating.

This week I am especially grateful to be here, celebrating with you, because this week my book from InterVarsity Press was released. Mythical Me: Finding Freedom from Constant Comparison is now out in the world. I'd love for you to read more about it and celebrate with me!

Now, here are some highlights from last week's party I thought you'd enjoy.

Want to see what can be accomplished for just a little money? Check out this boys' bathroom remodel from Shelley at Calypso in the Country. You must click over and see the before photo!

Want more bathroom inspiration? Look how Andrea at Living on Cloud Nine used tile to bring some zing to her master bath.

Planning to host a Fall dinner party, or looking forward to Thanksgiving? You'll be so glad to get these free printable place cards from Julie at My Wee Abode. (You can customize the cards with names or print them with inspirational words like this one.)

Need a new pumpkin recipe (of course you do!)? You'll be glad to get this Pumpkin Pie Bar recipe from Erin at Delightful E Made.

If you're married and in need of some inspiration, you should check out this post from Angie at Keeping the Tie that Binds. 

Thank you to everyone who joined last week's party! Now for this week's link-up. Here at the Grace at Home party, I invite you to link posts about

• DIY projects
• decorating
• recipes
• hospitality
• homemaking tips
• parenting
• marriage
• faith
• self-care
• soul care

Whatever you do to make your home a place of grace, I'd like to hear about it.  Here's what I ask of you.  Please include the permalink to your post, not your blog's home page.  Please let people know that you've linked up.  No more than three posts per person, please.  Note that if you link a post here, you are giving me permission to share your post, including a photo.  And visit at least one of the other party participants--that's what really makes it a party!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Life beyond comparison

Every now and then, life brings you a surreal experience. Know what I mean?

I had one of those last weekend. Take a look at this:

photo from Elizabeth Lauren

You might recognize some of these women. From left to right, they are

Sarah Mae
Niki Hardy
Ruth Chou Simons
Maria Furlough
Hayley Morgan
Emily P. Freeman
Myquillyn Smith
Tsh Oxenreider
Kennesha Poe-Buycks
Jess Connelly
Anne Bogel

And there I am, right in the middle of these beauties. One of the authors at The Nest Fest.

A couple of times this weekend I found myself singing that old song from Sesame Street: "One of these things is not like the others. . . "

But only for a moment.

Because, y'all, here's the thing. I've spent a lifetime comparing myself to other people, always coming up short, and when I consider both the immense talent AND the immense popularity of these women, I could easily get stuck with comparing myself to them. But I've learned a better way to approach moments like these, as well as the run-of-the-mill moments of every day.

Comparison puts you on one side of the scale and another person on the other side of the scale. By its very nature, comparison isolates you from others.

And just look what I would have missed if I've given in to that. I wouldn't be standing in this collection of lovely women, smiling for the camera, glad to be part of this group.

To be clear: I'm not usually part of a group of people quite this famous. Sure, I could give myself a pass if I felt a little intimidated by this much girl power. But what's good and right for the small moments of my life is good and right for the big moments, too.

We were meant to be together. We were created in the image of a God who is relationship in his very being (ever think about that?).

We were created for relationship because we were created by relationship.

Want to know how I got invited to be one of the authors at The Nest Fest this year? Here's why:

Back in 2009, before Myquillyn was the famous author of best-selling books, I connected with her. Her blog, Nesting Place, meant a lot to me, so I reached out to her. We've been friends now for 10 years. And here's the thing: connection trumps comparison.

Finding my way out of the comparison trap took me a long time. In fact, that journey is the subject of a book I've written for InterVarsity Press. Mythical Me: Finding Freedom from Constant Comparison is now available for purchase. I'm excited to share that story with you, and I hope you'll take a look at it.

Here's what I know: You're important. You matter. YOU BELONG. This world would be so much poorer a place without you in it.

Do you know that in your bones? If not, let me say it again, louder this time:

THIS WORLD WOULD BE SO MUCH POORER A PLACE WITHOUT YOU IN IT.

Much love to you today.

Less without you,