Grace and Truth

Luke 4:22 says, (speaking of Jesus) "All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips."

Gracious. That word just jumped off the page at me this morning! I think so often we picture Jesus' ministry here on earth to always be so intense; as if He was just turning over tables, calling people out on their sin & going after Pharisees. It's easy to over look the real reason He came, for grace. Perhaps it's just me that thinks this way though, since I tend to be the one that thinks Jesus has grace for everyone else, and not for me. The Lord has really had to work with me in this particular area, and still does. It's much easier for me to say that God has grace for you; I can believe that with every fiber of my being however, it's humbling to say that He has grace for me.

The Bible also says in Isaiah 30:18 that He longs to be gracious to me, that He rises to show me compassion. That became one of my favorite verses awhile back, that the Lord would long to be gracious to me is mind boggling. I'm the least deserving of such a thing and yet, He longs to do it.

No matter what I've done, no matter what I will do...wow. I look forward to being in Heaven one day and watching the old movies about Jesus' ministry here on earth. He spoke truth. Truth is always authoritative and gracious. Authoritative words should never be harsh, and gracious words should never be without power. Everything about Jesus was mixed with grace. Yes, even the time he over turned the tables in the temple, it was done in grace. When He met the woman at the well and read her mail so to speak, that screamed grace as well. The way that Jesus spoke to sickness with authority, there was grace. When Jesus would cast a demon out of someone, He drove it out with authority but again, the grace for that person was present.

That is amazing. Oh if we could only live our lives by the same token that Jesus did. That we would show grace to people, yet walk in authority. That people would want to be around us just because of that sweet grace we walk in. That we would take authority over the things that try to hold us captive. That we would take authority over the sickness that would try to come against us. That we would take authority over the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. All the while, showing grace to others and not forgetting to show grace to ourselves.

The Lord longs to be gracious to us, He rises to show us compassion. Sit on that for awhile! If that does not make you smile and have a fantastic day in the Lord, I don't know what will. Thank you Jesus for that amazing grace.

And there go the Crepe Myrtles

I posted last year, around this same time, about my favorite tree, the Crepe Myrtle. I likened it to the seasons changing and what not. Well it's that time of year again, where my favorite tree is starting to loose it's luster. Some still look real good, as they probably bloomed a tad later; however you can see the tree's that bloomed early as the fluffy flowers they exude are now beginning to dry up and fall.

I've been reading a book lately called, "Never give up!" I'd like to share a short excerpt from it:

"God uses difficulties to make us people He can trust and people He can use. When we face adversity, we must have the spirit of a conqueror. David had to face Goliath before he could become King. We must not try to escape or avoid difficult situations while we are going through them. Instead we need to say, "God, if this is something I have to go through, then I am going through it victoriously. I want to go through it with the attitude of a conqueror. Whatever you want to do in my life through this, I want you to do. But one thing I ask, God, that you help me press past my feelings and behave in a godly manner all the way through it." Getting away from trouble never needs to be our goal; our goal needs to be to conquer it with Christlike attitudes and behaviors."

I don't about you, but that challenges me. Like the Crepe Myrtle that is now beginning to dry up, it's so easy to let our heart dry up, taking on offenses and becoming embittered. It's so easy to allow frustrations and impatience overtake the goal set before us. I want my blooms to stay ever so beautiful, not allowing anything, not anything, to take me off the mark. The place of God's purpose is the place of His power. That's where I want to stay, in the place of God's purpose. So long as I stay there, His power can work through me...and what a mighty place to be. How amazing is the Lord, that He would be so gracious to us, to allow us to be vessels for His power. Wow. Unlike the Crepe Myrtles that bloomed to early, perhaps before it was time...as they were tricked by the strange weather, now they are drying up before their time. But imagine, if we wait on the Lord, we bloom when He tells us to, we jump out of the boat when He says its time, we go when He says to go, imagine how lovely and prosperous our blooms will be. It does not make a difference the source of the trouble, if we can walk through it with the attitude of a conqueror, then we already have the victory. It starts with us.

Opposition

You ever have something happen in life that would seem very obvious to just be a plain old attack from the devil? Something does not go your way, a particular person gives you trouble, trials and what not hit out of the blue...the obvious conclusion that we jump to is the devil right? And yes, sometimes it is just a plain attack of the devil, trying to get us off course, to lose the mark that we are set for. But sometimes, just sometimes, it's the Lord.

I believe that God puts things in our paths just to see what we will do with it. And while we start praying against all sorts of things, perhaps it's just the Lord trying to refine us, building character that cannot come any other way. How are we going to know that God is a healer, unless we have had to battle sickness before? How will we know that God is our vindication, unless we have had to face injustice? How can we know that God will provide all of our needs unless we have been in a place of absolute null?

The Bible tells us that ALL things work together for the good right? So when I'm faced with opposition in a particular area, do I trust that God will indeed take that and work it for the good or do I shrink back and run from the problem, thereby losing whatever good that God was going to do?

We all face trials. We all have difficulties. We all have our family issues. We all have bills that seem never ending. We all have moments that test our character to the fullest degree. What do we do with those moments? Sure we can pray the stupid devil away, that certainly does not hurt! But what if we just say Lord, do your good. I trust you. And I know that I know that I know, you are working ALL things for my good. Not some things...ALL things.

He's all I need

Joei generally goes to bed pretty easy for me; we have her routine and so long as it's followed, all is well. Unless she wants her dad. Then it's a bit more time spent assuring her that he will be home soon, calling him and on and on. She will drag that horse out as long as she can!

Last night, she was in tears at bedtime, she wanted her dad. She started getting so upset that she could not catch her breathe and began saying over and over, "Call my daddy, he's all I need!" Over and over. And over.

I personally can't resonate with a statement like that, at least not in the physical realm. I don't recall a time in my life that I ever wanted my dad, a time that I thought he would meet my need. Ever. In fact, I had a terrible time accepting that God wanted to be a Father to me. So much so that I did not like calling God "father" because to me, that was an insult to the Lord. He was so much more than what I knew a father to be. It has taken quite a few years but yes, I do have a father. And yes, He is all I need.

When Lily was in the NICU and we were given the worst diagnosis possible, He was all I needed. When I quit my job to stay home with Joei and we were not promised any additional stable income, He was all I needed. When I have faced various trials throughout my life, again, He was all I needed. When I woke up this morning with a beat in my heart, even still, He is all I need. As I sit here this fine afternoon, in my wonderful home, yep, still...all I need. No matter the phase of life I am in, may I never forget to "call my daddy, He's all I need."

Compassion International

I follow quite a few blogs, a few of them being folks that just went on a trip for Compassion International, an amazing ministry. The blog posts so moved me, that we decided to sponsor a child from India. I have always loved the Indian people, ever since I was a teenager, so it seemed fitting to pick a child from that culture. I am not posting this to act like I'm super awesome for doing that, I really just want to brag on my kid a minute. I told her my idea, she jumped right on board with me, so we sat at the computer and began to look through the kids that were in need of sponsors. Bless her little heart, she wanted to sponsor a child "that had no family." And she totally understood the importance of doing so as well. We were unable to find any orphans, so we continued the search and she ended up picking a little girl named Ashwini, real close to her age. We read all about her life, Joei looked at the blog posts I had been following, the pictures and video and what not. It's really been a great way for us to talk about how blessed she is in life and how much more we need to help people. I really think this is going to be such a great way for Joei to learn compassion for herself...

I look foward to getting to know this sweet little girl, and getting to see my sweet little girl grow as a result. I will keep y'all posted!

Good thing

Joei: Mom, what's a stretch mark?

I show her, as I have stretch mark a plenty.

Joei: Is that where they cut your stomach off? (referring to my c-section of course.)

Me: No, it's right here. (I show her my scar.)

Joei: They only cut your stomach off and not your face?

Me: (chuckling.) No, they didn't cut my face.

Joei: Oh. That's good that they didn't have to cut your face off, because that would hurt.

Me: Yep. That's a good thing.

Pray for Stellan

Hey guys - I know there are just a few readers here, but if you could take a moment to pray for Stellan, every bit counts! The latest blog entry has some big changes for the little babe, he needs prayer.

Thanks!!