Amy Saxby | The Grit and Grace Project

This Is My Favorite Family Tradition: Celebrating Advent

For children and adults, the anticipation of the holidays is always exciting. Much of the joy the season brings is in the waiting and anticipation of Christmas morning. Advent is the season leading up to Christmas morning. “Advent” is defined as “the arrival of a notable thing, person, or event” or “the coming or second coming of Christ.” It’s in the waiting that we can find hope and joy. This is metaphorical for any time or circumstance in our life, but a tangible example is the way that we wait and prepare for Christmas. I want to create a great sense of anticipation for something beautiful in our home. With so much pain in the world, it fills me with hope to […]

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What Is Home to You?

By Amy Saxby / Faith

In a world that is constantly changing, we are all tired. We may not realize it, but we are all longing for Home, for a place to lay our head and rest. What is “Home” to you? As I reflected on this question, I realized that, for me, it means many different things. Home is a physical place filled with family. It’s a sturdy, brick house, lived in for nine years in Cincinnati, Ohio. We have made it our own over the years: gutting the first floor, putting in a new kitchen and hardwood floors, painting the walls, moving furniture around. A vegetable garden grows out back, brimming with lettuce, tomatoes, and green beans, making my heart happy. As we’ve made our

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This Is the Lesson Learned From My Sleepless Nights

By Amy Saxby / Faith

For as long as I can remember, I have had sleep problems. When I was a little girl, I would listen to the ticking of the clock in our family room and was convinced that the “tick-tock” sound was keeping me awake, so I would quietly go downstairs and stop the pendulum. Over time, the clock broke. I would wake up my dad just so that he knew I couldn’t sleep. My mind would spiral through the same thoughts, and deep into the night, they would play on repeat over and over. My dad would reassure me by saying, “Remember, Amy, your body is resting whether you are asleep or not.” It brought me such peace. During my college years, I lived

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Who Will Tell Your Story, and What Will They Say?

By Amy Saxby / Purpose

I am a fourth-grade teacher. Every year my students read a book about a person who has impacted the world: Albert Einstein, Anne Frank, Jane Goodall, Bill Gates. They learn how to paraphrase material, take notes, and then write a paper about their person’s life. Then they dress up accordingly and present a memorized speech to the rest of the class and the parents. This is one of my absolute favorite units to teach. The students learn that all across time and history, God has used many different people from every walk of life, with a range of abilities, for all different purposes. Each of these people leveraged their unique God-given gifts and talents to make a difference, and in doing so,

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Names Matter—Here’s How they Define You

By Amy Saxby / Faith

A few years ago, my husband joined a men’s group called “F3.” The “Fs” stand for faith, fellowship and fitness. Each time a new guy joins the group, the rest of the men ask some questions to get to know him a bit, and then they give him a fun nickname. The name choice usually reflects something that they have learned about him. It might sound a little like a fraternity, but I promise it’s not. From that point on, the guys go by their nicknames when they work out together. So much so, that when Dan refers to his F3 friends, I don’t even know their real names. He may be talking about Macaroni, Ragnar, Fulcrum, Crosscheck, Straightedge, Overeasy, Goetta or

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These 4 Things Have Helped Balance My Life

By Amy Saxby / Life & Culture

When I went back to work full time, I was determined to conquer the ever-popular phrase “work-life balance.” I figured I could do it all and do it well! I wanted to juggle all the balls at once with none of them falling. However, after many years of working, God has brought me to a place of realizing that there is no such thing as equally balancing work and life. This truth has brought me freedom and rest. “Balance” means: 1) a state of equilibrium 2) an equal distribution of weight This goal of equilibrium would require the different spheres of our lives to measure up equally so that all our time and effort is balanced. For me, that would mean my

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How to Age Gracefully in a Culture Obsessed with Beauty

By Amy Saxby / Faith

The day I turned 40 didn’t hit me the way I thought it would. I felt young, so I thought, “Why let a number bother me?” Busyness defined me, but I had energy to sustain it all. I didn’t feel like I was “over the hill.” Now that I’m almost 45, that feeling has slightly shifted. The number does bother me. It’s funny how five years can make a difference. Suddenly, I feel older. My body gets tired more quickly. Stress hits me in strange ways. My brain reaches capacity more quickly than it did in the past. Our Culture’s Message on Age and Appearance I am also noticing differences in how I look. My thick, dark hair is suddenly thinning and showing

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You Can Stop Trying To Be a Cool Mom. Do This Instead!

By Amy Saxby / Motherhood

You don’t have to be a cool mom. How freeing is that statement? I think that somewhere in the midst of childrearing we forget that our goal is not to be our kid’s best friend, or to be cool. My mom was cool. However, I would not have said that when I was an adolescent. I specifically remember being mortified when she dropped me off at school in our minivan with wooden paneling on the side that I was sure everyone noticed. She also sent me to school with a reusable lunchbox when all the cool kids had brown paper bags. I remember hiding my lunchbox while walking into the cafeteria because I knew everyone was looking at it. She also had rules. I had to be

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This Is My New Exercise Regimen for My Faith

By Amy Saxby / Faith

I love new beginnings. I’m a girl who enjoys looking back, reflecting, evaluating, and dreaming for the future. For me, a new day, season or year means a new opportunity to clean out the old, purge clutter, refocus, slow down, set goals, and reflect on what God has done in my life. I’m the nerdy girl who loves to turn the calendar page to a new month. I love the newness and blank slate it brings, representing a fresh start. Recently, I felt a need to start a new exercise regime. Not a physical, let’s-get-fit exercise, but a new mental and spiritual regime I am trying to practice and embrace. I have noticed lately that I allow many of my emotions to

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How One Stranger Changed My Perspective on Pain

By Amy Saxby / Faith

I’ve always been a fan of walking. Walking with friends or alone has always brought me joy. Last spring when I began teaching remotely from my house, I would slip out during the lunch hour to step away from my computer screen, get some fresh air and move my body. I would turn on a podcast, or some music and walk as quickly as I could over to a nearby elementary school. Next to the school is a paved walking path that winds around a soccer field. At one end of the path is a trail leading into the woods where the school has a handful of beautiful outdoor classrooms. Some days, I meander among the trees and alongside the brook in

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God Met Me at the Doctor’s Office

By Amy Saxby / Faith, Best Of

I was so overwhelmed last week. And then God met me. But if I hadn’t been paying attention, I don’t think I would have noticed. I took a day off work because I had four doctor’s appointments in one day. The week had been a busy one. My personal children had a lot on their plate. The academic quarter was ending, so they were overwhelmed with homework. We had many sports commitments on the calendar and places to be. My teaching life was filled with papers to grade, students I was concerned about, and meetings to be had. I felt stretched. Too far. Guilt of a Working Mom Many times, I wondered and questioned why I chose to be a working mom

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Talking to Your Teens About the Grey Area

By Amy Saxby / Motherhood, Best Of

The Grey Area. It’s not black and white. It’s blurry. It’s the place in dating relationships that nobody talks about. While they may not act like it, our teenagers find safety in boundaries, and they want direction in defining them. As you know, it’s all too common that a variety of media platforms inform and shape our teenagers’ perspectives of what dating and marriage should look like. How do we step into this? Teenagers Want to Talk About the Grey Areas This past fall, a good friend of mine and I asked a group of high school girls if they would be interested in discussing these tricky topics. The group of girls consisted of about 12 high school juniors and seniors. We were delighted and

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A Letter to My Fellow Teachers in the Wake of the Texas Tragedy

By Amy Saxby / Life & Culture

After the recent tragic elementary school shooting in Texas, one teacher reflects on the hardships and responsibilities our educators face—and encourages them to find their “why.” #gritandgracelife

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Life Changes When You Flip Your Perspective – Here’s How

By Amy Saxby / Faith

I don’t know about you, but I often feel buried under the “have tos” in my life. As a working mom of four, there is always a long list of things that need to be done. For example, I have to clean my house. I have to go to the grocery store. I have to exercise, go to work today, and make dinner. I can very easily become a martyr to all that is on my plate. But what if I flipped my “have tos” to “get tos”? What if I shifted my perspective? This mantra was recently introduced to me during one of my Peloton bike classes. When the instructor said it, she was referring to exercising. We were in the

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How I’m Learning to Trust God as My Son Becomes a Man

By Amy Saxby / Motherhood

I half knew it was mistake when I made the call. My brothers had flown into town so that we could celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. It was a special day. We gathered with friends and family at a famous local restaurant eating ribs and exchanging stories. And in that moment, I missed my boy. I’m in a New Parenting Season as My Son Becomes a Man A few weeks before, he graduated from high school. We celebrated with a big party and a day later we drove him eight hours north to work at a Christian camp. It was a whirlwind. So many endings and beginnings all smashed together. As I looked around the restaurant, my heart was happy to

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Religion vs. Relationship: What Will Grow Your Faith More?

By Amy Saxby / Faith

We all have our own unique story. For better or worse, our childhood often shapes and forms the way in which we see the world and our place in it. Often, when it comes to our faith practice, we seem to fall into one of two camps: religion or relationship. But can we experience both simultaneously? Can one inform the other? I think so. When I was young, my parents were part of a church plant. Meaning, they and another group of like-minded friends started a church. I am not sure that I knew it then, but looking back, I see that through my parents’ commitment to this church and the time we spent there, I was learning that I was not

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6 Things to Treasure About Pandemic Life

By Amy Saxby / Life & Culture

I’ve learned in life that it is really important to look back. To reflect. To pay attention. While COVID-19 still moves among us, many of us are beginning to step back into the very gray area of normal. I don’t know about you, but I want to emerge into the new normal different from when the virus began. In some ways, I don’t want to go back to the life I lived before the virus. The way the world stopped caused all of us to tremble, worry, and anxiously wonder what will happen next (at least a little bit). It caused us to literally stop in our tracks, cancel all of our plans, and sit still. We have all felt the question…”Now

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