Serving Grace = Becoming Grace

Satan has been on me lately. Telling me that I am not beautiful, that I cannot change my eating habits, and that I am just not good enough to run a half marathon. Despite my daily posts of joy and thanks, Satan has been stealing my joy a little at a time and I know it. He wants me to doubt me, to doubt God and to not give thanks....he wants me not to be or feel blessed.

Why? Because if I do not feel blessed then I cannot bless others. In Genesis 12: 1-3, God speaks directly to Abram and was telling him to go simply stating “leave your country to a land that I will show you” and then, God said “I will bless you...and you will be a blessing”. God did not tell Abram where he was going, just to simply leave and go. An endless possibility of locations but with a promise that he would be a blessing, a “father of nations.”

In her book “One Thousand Gifts”, Ann Voscamp recounts once again the mess that she comes home to, the piles of laundry and the thousand endless jobs that she has to do day in and day out. But, she counts them as gifts to serve, chances to become grace, and turn the endless into gifts a thousand times over. She says “ I look into the reflection in the splattered mirror and whisper to those eyes; yes, today, again, yes, you can bless!” We need to become “a current in the river of grace that redeems the world.” The way to be a blessing? To accept the Blessing. To accept the grace. To reach out to those who have blessed you. To become grace. Becoming the love of God and blessing those He loves.

Today, I got “nothing” done....well “nothing” that I was planning on doing. But I did a lot. See God has blessed me and because of His blessings, I was able to bless another. To be a friend, a support, a gift of grace that I had not planned on being today for someone plus more! But becoming grace is not always about doing, but by our being we can show that we are the beloved of God. I pray today that in thanks for all the gifts that God has given me, that He will continue to make me a gift, because becoming a blessing is what deeply blesses. In order to serve grace, we simply must become grace.

Donna

Green Seeds of Grace

 

So today our Joy dare is 3 gifts green. At first I thought, "I don't even know of anything green", and then I went to get breakfast and "remembered" (ha!) that my kitchen was green - there was the first gift right there! So of course, thinking about my kitchen made me think about food (along with everything else in life making me think of food! lol!) so I named off a few of my favorite "green" foods. And then, I got to thinking about gardens and how much fun it was to till and plant the garden with my parents when I was growing up. Which then got me to thinking about seeds, which led me to Ann Voscamp's devotion on "Seed Grace." I need to write one of those "If you give a mouse" books with this! But none the less here it goes...

Genesis 1:29 says "Behold I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food." This was done on the sixth day of creation. And then on the seventh day, God rested. Seeds. I remember planting that garden and looking forward to putting the seeds in the holes that my parents would make. Cucumber seeds were some of the smallest, especially compared to lima bean seeds. But they were all small relative to the plants they would grow and the crop that they would give. Seeds. God gave us the gift of seeds during creation and said that they would provide food. Small things that seem pretty insignificant that would grow to feed families, communities, and the world. Seeds. At times, it is hard to believe that one can take something so small, stick it in the ground and have food! Because sometimes the seed does not look like near enough. Seeds. Grace.

Suppose you were starving (which I know nothing of) - belly swollen starving - and you were handed seeds and told to believe in a feast that was within? It would seem that someone was trying to fool you? But is that not what faith is? What grace came to do in our lives? Ann Vosamp says:

"Behold! for those who have learned to see - He gives, He gifts. He gifts with seeds as small as moments, grace upon grace, and the unlikely here and now, it shall sustain you, feed you. Do not disdain the small. The promise of feast is within the moments. Our enough is always in the now, because He never leaves us."

You see we easily forget that our God is bigger than anything and that He is bigger than any problem we have. Our God not only made the feast but He made the seed to start it. From beginning to end, He is there and it is only when we stop and appreciate the small "joys" in life that He gives us that we see the feast of thanksgiving that is awaiting us. Seeds. Grace. Feast. Praise. Thanksgiving. Eucharisteo. One Thousand Gifts...and more!

 Donna

Delight in Difficulties

GOOOOOD Morning friends!

Praise the Lord for another day! A new day....new mercies!

At 6:01 this morning me eyes opened, a small glimpse of light was coming in the bedroom windows through the closed curtains of yesterday. I closed them around noon when I went to bed with a migraine. I hesitated for a moment before deciding to get up...Donna and Allison are not starting their run until 6:20...I have time! Sending a quick text to say I would meet them along the road I slowly lifted myself out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. Groggy and grumpy...whew...they may not want to run with me. Sitting to put my shoes on I felt the need for my prayers to be NOW, not after the run. I bowed my head and began to talk to God. My phone buzzed...my friends would not be running. Perhaps God sent them a message of my grumpiness?! Well, why should I go? With a little determination I thought, I am already up...and I did eat ice cream last night (drat!). I took time for my bible reading, a confirming message from God that we are on the right track for our fall Faithfully Fit session (thank you God). Fixed my husbands tea and out the door I went. At the end of the drive I pondered just a moment before deciding to turn left. No need to go right if I am not meeting anyone. Beautiful, cool morning, perfect. My heart readied for running and more prayer. Time to lift others I know who are hurting. Making my way around the loop I knew that I was in the right place, there along the road, by myself, time with God, to praise, to intercede.

My turn was nearing. I was hearing a rush of water...what is that? The river? No, too far from it now. The storm drain? Hmmm...I think it may be rain. My house was within view, the "short-way" home was in sight. No. I turned to make my normal loop back. God had heard me say, I will just walk this one out today, no need to run. But He knew. And He sent the rain. Turning on my heel, picking up the pace, anticipating the sprinkles to turn to the full-blown rain I was hearing in the distance. Ahhh. Refreshing. New mercies every morning. God with me. Near me. I smiled, I laughed, I thought, "you knew I was going to walk this one out and then be disappointed". With determination I ran. The cool rain a sweet reminder to me that God is always near. In His goodness it was light and cool, no thunder, no lightning, just right. As I rounded the corner it was harder, the rain dripping from my eye lids and my nose (thank goodness I picked the dark purple shirt instead of the light pink!). Three gifts in difficult. I already knew today's Joy Dare topic. The verse I read in my closet last night..."for when I am weak then I am strong". How true the Word of God. The truth penetrating my soul. Every run on the road has taught me that my strength is not mine on my own, it is from God; "for when I weak then I am strong".

Are you able to even begin thinking of gifts that come from difficult? Do you even like the word difficult? As much as we may wish to avoid difficult, it is there. In all shapes and sizes. Difficult rears it's head. Cancer, loss of life, job-loss, strife in marriage, rebelling children, rise in cost of living, loss of pay, loss of love, abuse, addictions, the list is long and DIFFICULT. " I delight in my weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor 12: 10). Paul delights in those things that I may cringe at...delights. Two verses previous he pleads with the Lord. Pleads. Take it away, take this thorn from me, take it Lord. What are you pleading for the Lord to take away? What difficulty do you want, desire, need to have removed? Trust that God knows. Trust that in your weakness He is strong. Delight in the hardship knowing that God will send the refreshing rain that you need to know that He is near. You are not alone in your struggles, you are not running alone. He is near.

Delight in your difficulties. Look for the gifts. Have a heart of gratitude because joy is the result.

I pray that today you are able to see a gift in difficult, perhaps even three.

Rejoice! Be glad in it,

Jodie

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor 12: 8-10