Do you have a bullet-point Jesus?

Some had-to-share thoughts from Grace for the Good Girl.

On receiving and becoming: "I can't tell you how to walk with Jesus, but I can share my stories.   The flat, bullet-point, how-to Jesus I feebly worshiped while hiding behind my masks is an impostor.  The real, alive, redeemer Jesus longs to take His place in our lives.   But first we have to receive Him.  Not just for salvation, but for life."

"There is a becoming that happens as we walk with Jesus, but it isn't under a system of achieving.  Rather, it is in the act of receiving.  In order to receive, we have to first let go, to honestly release our right to hold on to those things we trust in for life, those counterfeit sources of truth and security, those false hiding places that seem to offer peace but leave us feeling restless."

On religion vs. reality: "Jesus does not have bullet points.  I cannot check Him off.  But that is what I tried to do.  When I was in hiding, having a quiet time provided a false sense of security for me.  To be found, we must move beyond practicing religion into the reality of truly experiencing Jesus."

On life stages: "The confident, strong, independent woman I thought I would one day become had disappeared like a vapor and in her place stood my relevant Jesus, waiting with a smile to be the strength I didn't have on my own.  Being mom to those babies taught me to stop trying to be like Jesus and simply trust Jesus to be Himself in and through me.  Because the truth was, I couldn't do it.

"There is a time for cozy blankets and journals.  There is also a time for gut-wrenching, on-your-knees soul searching; for joy unspeakable and peace unwavering and mourning with the ugly cry.  Life is fluid, it ebbs and flows in cycles of busy and rest, crisis and joy.

"We have a Creator who knows about the swing.  He set it into motion.  He is not afraid of our life stages.  They don't hinder Him.  He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love."

On remaining (or "abiding"): "To remain in Him means to refuse to get up from His lap.  When it seems like the situation calls for me to stand up and take charge, Jesus gives me permission to remain still, if only on the inside, to trust deeply and fully that He will be strong on my behalf.  Even when it seems impossible.  Even when it's counter-intuitive.  Even if it means I will look weak.  To remain in Him means to let the Great I AM be."

"The job of the branch is not to make life happen, but to remain in the vine.  To remain in Christ is to stay where you already are.  No need to get up and try to find that which you already have.  Stay.  Abide.  Remain.  Believe.

"This is where another voice speaks, the voice of One who invites you to abide in Him and rest.  He renews, restores, and redeems.  In the inspired words of Sarah Young, 'He bends time in your favor.'   In a day that seems impossibly packed to overflowing with the list, He can multiply time and space like loaves and fishes beside the sea.  And the gentle rhythm of truth rises from within.  Be.  Trust.  Receive.  Respond."