grace | HeartStories

There’s always more to the story

Since the day I met Vanessa Corral, she’s been dreaming up incredible ways to help the women of the HeartStories community feel more beautiful in their own skin. She cares deeply about capturing the unique beauty of each woman. She wants them to see the best version of themselves, not only in their hearts, strengths and accomplishments, but also in the way they look on the outside. While most media tries hard to convince us that we should all look one way, Vanessa pushes back, insisting that physical beauty isn’t about a cookie-cutter stereotype.

One look at her site or social media, and you’ll quickly see that Vanessa fully embraces the incredible beauty in our diversity.

She’s been taking headshots of our beloved HeartStories Members at our annual Holiday Ready GNO for the past three years in a row. But lately, Vanessa has been dreaming specifically, about ways to add value to our treasured HeartStories …

This is, apparently, my cork board selfie. While we’ve been endlessly purging this home we’ve lived in for almost 15 years, the hardest things to let go of are the keepsakes. The creations of art made by the boys over all the years are like little one-of-a-kind treasures. Letting go of the stained glass, pottery, paintings and pictures of years gone by is emotionally difficult for the boys and me.

Clearing out the giant cork board in my office was no exception.

It was covered, top to bottom, with their handwork, so I asked the boys to do it. They each got a basket to stack their work neatly inside, with the promise that we’d take a photo of each piece. At first it was so hard, but then they started laughing and enjoying the process. I left them there to get it done while I moved on to another room.

When I …

by Crystal Gornto Loving Others Loving Yourself Motherhood The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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If the world is cold, build a fire of love

I was listening to the story of a friend recently who shared about a hurtful experience she had. It was hard for her to see beyond the pain of her situation to see that she had a choice. She had a choice in how she would respond, no matter the intentions of the other person involved. She also had a choice of giving the other person the benefit of the doubt and the grace to be human.

That’s true for all of us at times.

At times, it’s can be easy to get caught up in feeling like the world is cold. That someone is intentionally treating us poorly or is specifically out to get us. When in reality, most of us are just human, trying to do the best we can. And most of the time, we don’t have a clue how our actions are affecting other people.

This is true so …

by Crystal Gornto Love Love in Friendship Loving Others Loving Yourself Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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50 years of grace

Last night we Masteller sisters had the honor of celebrating my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. They cut the replica cake. We all shared stories of our memories of life together. And they shared some of the wisdom they’ve picked up along the way.

They shared a lot about grace.

They spoke about God’s grace as the only true explanation for them staying together for 50 years. They shared about the importance receiving grace for yourself and offering grace freely to others. They concluded that what has brought them through 50 years together is grace, paired with a thankful heart, the determination to always forgive, and the resolution that quitting is not an option.

What a beautiful example for all of us, and our children.

It’s a timely reminder for me, and maybe for you too, that most relationships don’t last because some people are better than others. They don’t last because some people were dealt …

by Crystal Gornto Inspirational Words Love in Family Loving Others Loving Yourself Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life 3 comments chat
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Grace & Redemption

Oaks has been begging to bust out the Bunch O Balloons for a water balloon fight, for days. So one evening, we decided to fill up a set and launch them at Scott and Noah in the car, as they came around the back fence to pull into the garage. We pulled the water house around to the driveway, filled all the balloons, and took our perch behind the fence, waiting for just the right moment to hammer them.

Our plan worked perfectly!

We saw the faces of shock and awe through the windshield. I don’t know what they’d been talking about on their drive, but it must have been a bit intense. Because they were stunned. Oakley and I were cracking up laughing as they exited the vehicle, but they really weren’t. It made sense that it took them a minute to get acclimated to what just happened.

That happens to all of …

by Crystal Gornto Inspiration Loving Others Loving Yourself The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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Meet them there

I saw this quote randomly on Pinterest and instantly knew we needed to chat quickly about it. This one concept has helped me, maybe more than any, in my own mental game of parenting. I was never a big fan of the “punishment” model. I’m at my very best as a parent, when my choices are shaped by Love & Logic .

When I began to understand this concept, I became not only a better parent, but a better human.

When one of the boys treating is me poorly, or not doing what’s expected of him, if I can shift my perspective from looking at their poor behavior to looking beyond it, the whole atmosphere can change. When they sense that I’m paying attention to what’s going on, on the inside, they tend to soften a bit on the outside. It doesn’t let them off the hook of responsibility for their choices and …

by Crystal Gornto Inspirational Leaders Love in Family Love in Friendship The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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