As the year winds to a close and we navigate holiday parties at work, school and with loved ones I thought it’d be fun to highlight my favorite posts of the year.

Hopefully you won’t recognize all the authors featured in my top 12 of 2014.

And personally I’m hoping you’ll leave me a comment with some of your favorites from 2014.

So here we go…

In NO PARTICULAR order here is one of my favorite posts of the year:

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This post is from Amber Sollie.

She is a great leader in our ministry network.

She’s also a wife and mother of three. She makes it all look so easy.

Stacey and I are blessed to call Amber and her husband Tyler our friends.

She blogs regularly at ambersollie.com

Here’s her post on Three Life Lessons Learned in the Past 33 Years

1. On my very best days, I am in need of Grace.

My “theme-statement” the past few years has been “By Grace Alone”.  When my 7 year old asked me what that meant, I explained that every good thing in my life is simply by the Grace of Jesus.  I am so far from a perfect wife, perfect mom, perfect friend, perfect daughter, perfect ministry-partner to my husband.  But because of Grace, I am saved and have an abundant life.

2.  I am never content outside of having identity in Christ.

As a woman, so privileged to live in America, I constantly can be discontent with not having the newest, the most trendy, the talents, the VOICE, you name it.  I have come to realize that as soon as I’m blessed with that THING that I thought would make life complete, I still don’t have that other THING.  But, when my focus is on Christ; what He has done for me, and ALL that He has blessed me with, then I am content.  Then I have peace.  Then I have joy that no possession or talent can provide.

3.  Everyone is facing their own battle.

The journey that I’ve walked through with a voice disorder has certainly opened my eyes to the fact that no matter how put-together people may appear, we all face battles.  Kindness and patience go so much farther than we can imagine.  When I encounter a difficult person, or a person that may be intimidating because they are so PERFECT, I try to approach them through the lens of grace.  We all need kindness, we all need Grace.

I look forward to continuing to grow in His Grace this upcoming year <3

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Make sure to check out Amber’s site for more great writing.

I’d love to hear from you too. Who / what have you read that’s inspired you this year?