Tag / Grace

by Janet

Nothing But Grace

Before I say anything about the “G” word, I want to share where my thoughts were headed last night. It occurred to me that I need to keep these alphabet posts simple.

The idea was to use the letters as a prompt, to do some quick, fun, and easy gratitude exercises. The next thing you know, I’m writing these wordy posts about contentment and dreams. Not that that’s a bad thing, I just know it’ll be hard to stay on that path once the holiday is over.

Anyway, I jot down words that come to mind when I think about particular letters. Some of the letters are still blank, but “G” has been seeing some serious action.

  • Gratitude was a no-brainer, but it seems redundant to say “I’m grateful for gratitude.”
  • Gummy Bears and Graffiti Art popped into my head; I can enjoy both of these for hours!
  • Growth made its way to the list this afternoon and, of course…
  • God has been in my thoughts throughout the entire process.

I wasn’t sure what to do with all of these options, so I did what I normally do when I’m not sure what to do. I stopped thinking about it. And it came to me. With a house full of family, too much talking going on, a whirlwind of chaos (two great nieces with their toys), and a television roaring in the background—there it was; staring me in the face.

Grace.

Can I even begin to talk about grace, and still keep my post short and sweet? Well, I can try. I found a few words by John Stott, and they are perfect words…

“Grace is love that cares and stoops and rescues.“

The words took me back to my post about contentment, and my zig zagging highway. Remember that soft cushion my bumper car taps when I get too far off track; the one that sends my vehicle back into the safety zone?

That is grace. Amazing, huh?

I hope you enjoyed the letter G!

God’s grace sustains us… so pass it on.

We live in a world of earning, deserving, and merit, and these result in judgment. That is why everyone wants and needs grace. Judgment kills. Only grace makes alive.

Justin Holcombe, from What is Grace?
by Janet

Shades of Spring

Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. Francis of Assisi

I’m not a huge fan of pastels, but I thought this was a good fit for the season. And I’m pretty sure that this is a dove. Pigeons and doves confuse me sometimes.

I don’t know if I shared that quote before, but it’s been my mantra for the past week and will continue to be for awhile. I realized recently that I was getting WAY ahead of myself for a little while. Or way ahead of God I should say. Sometimes I get some grandiose ideas and then I realize that there are still very small things that I’ve yet to tackle!

That’s a bit humbling. And alcoholic thinking.

Anyway, I guess a good thing to remember when walking with God is to walk WITH Him, not a mile or so ahead! What’s funny is I’ve been thinking about that a lot and wanted to do a post called No Shortcuts! Then today, I’m reading In the Grip of Grace, by Max Lucado and I came across this:

“What we consider shortcuts God sees as disasters.”

Amen to that. I’ve taken shortcuts for so many years that it’s still a struggle to pause and be still sometimes, but I am definitely making progress! And I’m going to be working on the little things that need to be done. For now. 🙂

I may still write that post. Later. For now it’s time for lights out.

Have a beautiful day!