The Grace Story: {Day 31} That never really ends

The best thing about the Grace Story is that it never really ends.

It's not just from Jesus' birth to His resurrection and return to Heaven.

It's not just Peter, James, John, and the other apostles.  It's not just the early church.  It doesn't stop when the last book of the Bible was written.

God never changes, and He is still at work on the most wonderful Story ever told.

Somehow I get to be a part, too.  Yesterday, today, next year.

And there are others all around the world.

A remote tribe in Papua New Guinea is now part of this Story.  They have heard God's Word, trusted in Jesus' sacrifice, and their names are written down in God's Book of Life.

But there are other tribes, other people, other communities that are not yet part of the Story.  They are still waiting.

There's more, so much more.

The Story is still being written.

May this coming year be one in which you get to know the Author better and better.

The Grace Story: {Day 30} Lessons from Peter

Far from a stained-glass portrait of dignified robes and beard, Scripture gives a raw, honest perspective on Peter - as with every other human character its pages portrays.  And what makes this such a shining example of God's grace is Peter's shiningly pathetic human-ness.  I'll wager that we can all see glimpses of ourselves reflected in his story.

Though a simple, "uneducated" fisherman, he seems to have been a natural leader among the twelve.

He was quick to speak his mind.  In fact, sometimes it seems he opened his mouth without really thinking about what he was saying.  Remember the Transfiguration?  "Teacher, it is good for us to be here," Peter starts out, "Let us make three tabernacles, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."  Wow.  Putting Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah?  Completely wrong!

His boldness is embarrassing at times - how could he presume to give Jesus a talking-to?!  "No, Lord, You aren't going up to Jerusalem to die!"  "No, You will never wash my feet!"

He was fearless or reckless or both - jumping out of a boat on several occasions and cutting off a man's ear, presumably in his desire to defend Jesus (as if Jesus needed defending!).

Yet, for all his hasty words and sometimes misguided ideas, he did speak the truth with conviction.  "Where else would we go, Lord?  You have the words of eternal life."  "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

And underneath, there was a sincere loyalty to Jesus, even if mixed with self-confidence.  "Lord, even if everyone else deserts You, I won't.  I am ready to die with You!"

His darkest failure is recorded shortly after that statement.

Jesus was arrested and taken to the high priest's.  Peter slinks into the courtyard - not completely deserting Jesus, but keeping a safe distance.  As he warmed himself by the fire, a servant girl points him out - "You were that Man's follower, weren't you?"  He denied it.  Two more servants made the same accusation, and Peter responds with increasingly heated words, even cursing and swearing.  Only hours before he'd told Jesus (and he certainly meant it) that he even would die with Him.  It took just one look from Jesus, and Peter's failure washed over him like a cold, dark wave.

He went out and wept bitterly.

That's where the story should have ended...if it weren't for grace.

Jesus, in His grace, gave Peter another chance.  After the Resurrection, when Jesus appeared to His disciples, He asked Peter a question: "Do you love me?"  His recent failure no doubt fresh in his mind, Peter responds with another word, meaning "I have brotherly affection or friendship for You."  Jesus could have mentioned Peter's denial.  How bad he messed up.  How he'd broken his promise.  But He didn't.  He responded with grace, giving Peter a responsibility close to His heart - to care for and spiritually feed other believers.  Only grace would entrust something so important to a person so very flawed!

God is in the business of reclaming failures and turning them into something amazing.  When we read about Peter in Acts, we see a changed man.  People knew that he (along with John) had been with Jesus.  It was obvious.  There was something real and something different about these "uneducated fishermen".  He boldly preached God's grace - and later wrote two letters, instructing the churches to stand fast and grow in grace.  When we truly experience God's grace, we will develop a passion for it, and that's what happened in Peter's life.

I'm thankful that though we are so often like Peter in many ways, we have a God who is full of grace - grace that redeems and restores.

The Grace Story: {Day 29} Year of Grace

It's hard for me to believe there are only two more days of 2012 left!

Tonight seems like a good time to stop and remember some of the grace-gifts the Lord has given me this year:

Direction to a field, West Africa

Several weeks in Missouri to visit friends and say goodbyes

My job at a Summer camp.  I got to experience God's grace in totally new ways.  And my horizons were broadened as I got to work closely with people whose lives and backgrounds, in many ways, were very different from my own.



Being able to have a garden...it sounds silly, but the Lord reminded me of a lot of truths through the whole process of preparing the ground, planting, watering, watching things grow.  And the splash of beauty and color it added perfectly illustrated the splash grace adds to our lives.

Two wonderful, encouraging books that pried my eyes open wider to grace: Grace for the Good Girl and Graceful



Layers of the old way - un-grace - being peeled back from my heart in a variety of areas, from Bible reading to shopping to setting goals...and more.

The blows-me-away faithfulness and love of supporters God has brought into my life: givers, prayers, encouragers.  (Some of them I've never even met face-to-face!)

Being a part of teaching Firm Foundations in Sunday School.  I'm 100% stoked to read through the lessons and see time and time again - God is the Hero of the story!  And what an amazing Hero He is!  Completely faithful, never-changing, always dependable.  When God promises, you can bank on it!  Loving, just, true, deeply involved in our lives.  Powerful, wise, and undefeatable.  I find myself cheering as I read these stories..."Yes!  That's MY God!!"  I'm also so thrilled to see the kids learning and hanging onto truth.

Significantly fewer migraines



Friends (and not just the two in the picture!) who listen, pray, laugh, love, encourage, challenge, and come-alongside-of.  Super thankful for dear sisters in Christ!

Chances to see extended family - including meeting my 94-year-old great grandma for the first time, and seeing my grandpa for the first time since I was two years old.  I cannot even begin to say how thankful I am to have had the chance to meet them (and others).  Very, very special.

Opportunities to trust the Lord...with decisions, health, finances, work, family, etc.  I don't necessarily always like these opportunities, but I know He gives them to me because He loves me.

Having friends who are living and serving the Lord in many different parts of the world.  I get to have the inside scoop on what He's doing in their little corner!

His reminders of how much He loves me.  No matter what I do or don't do, He is always here with me - Emmanuel - and His love never, ever stops.

The Grace Story: {Day 28} Jesus will still be there

Just a song today.

The Grace Story: {Day 27} Life after cancelled debt

I used to owe a huge debt. In fact, it was so big that I had no hope of ever paying it off, even if I lived a hundred thousand years and worked like mad each waking moment. You know, of course, that I'm referring to my sin-debt, not financial bankruptcy. I've mentioned it a time or two this month, but in the last few days, I've been thinking. Thinking how drastically life changes when someone shackled by debt is suddenly debt-free. Why, it would completely turn one's life completely upside-down!

And that's exactly my story - in a spiritual sense.

When Jesus died, He said, "It is finished!"  The phrase He used (Greek - tetelestai) has been found stamped across ancient bills.  It is finished.  Paid in full.  Everything I owed and could never pay - His love and sacrifice on the cross paid it all.  Amazing.  Amazing grace!!

Funny, though, how quickly I forget.  Well, not really funny.  Ugly is more like it.

I forget that I was forgiven an impossible debt and get upset or snooty when I think someone owes me something.  (Like the ten-thousand-talent servant in Matthew 18.)

Or I forget that I didn't get a loan, my debt was outright cancelled.  I don't need to work to pay anything off.

Not only that, I sometimes forget that my account is now full of God's grace, and instead I act like I'm a spiritual beggar.

Or I let that grace sit there in my "bank" and don't share it with others who need what God has freely given.

It's ugly, all of it.

I have been forgiven.  I am free.  The infinite grace of God is mine - I am unbelievably rich!!!

Now I want to live like it.  I want to remember the gift I have been given.  More than that, I want to remember the Giver.

Year in Review

[This post originally appeared on my NTM blog.]

‘Tis the season for a little year-in-review!

January –

I spent three weeks in Missouri packing, cleaning my apartment, and saying good-bye to my friends at the Missionary Training Center and church.  This wasn’t how I pictured spending those weeks.  I’d planned to join my class in Oklahoma for the final part of our linguistics training.  But linguistics is not my gift; that had become pretty clear.  So, after praying about it, I decided not to continue with the course.  Those weeks in Missouri gave me the chance to meet with some folks from West Africa, including one of the field leaders.  That was a big encouragement and a confirmation that the Lord was leading me in that direction!

February – May –

It was a blur of job-hunting and settling into a new normal.  But it was also a time of seeing God answer prayers: I had my interview with the West Africa leadership in April, and got my official invitation to the field.  Around the same time, I found a job for the Summer…after over a year of praying for work!  Neither waiting for a field nor a job was easy, but God’s answers and timing are always perfect.

Being a part of Sunday School again was also great!  I love the kids.  They’re like sponges, soaking everything up.

June and July –

I lost track of how many batches of cookies I made, how many stacks of plates I saw (and washed), or how many times we had barbecued hamburgers.  But I do remember how my boss liked to sneak up behind us and scare us.  I remember joking with the other kitchen staff and taking hikes with my roommate and sharing our life stories.

The whole camp experience was a new one for me, but it was a snake-free Summer, so all was well.

 

August and September –

Hurray for Summer-y things like a church picnic and an outdoor craft sale with a friend!  Other happenings: settling in at home again, starting Firm Foundations in Sunday school, visits with friends, and wedding preparations.

October –

…In which I traveled the farthest East I’d ever been.  Three states in 10 days!  Well, six states if you count my layovers.  I had a few days to visit my Mom’s side of the family in Maryland: her very fun aunt and uncle; several cousins and their families; and my 94-year-old great grandma (whom I’d never met before).  Aunt Linda even drove me up to West Virginia to see my grandpa.

Then I flew to Florida for a week-long workshop called “Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills.”  Wow, was that a worthwhile week!  It was refreshing, encouraging, challenging, and fun at the same time.  While I was there, I got to visit a classmate from the MTC.  I hadn’t seen her in over a year, and it was so fun to catch up.  (Made me wish she lived closer!)

November –

My youngest sister, Sarah, got married.  It was a lovely day, thanks to many friends and family members who helped and/or joined us to celebrate!

Our Thanksgiving was a relatively quiet one, which was nice after all the busyness and excitement of the wedding.

December –

More job hunting (no interviews…yet), more visiting, and a quiet Christmas.

* * *

It’s hard to believe 2012 is almost history…

I wish the Lord’s blessings on each of you in 2013!

The Grace Story: {Day 26} To say we love Him

I don't know about you, but sometimes I have a hard time telling the Lord that I love Him.   Thanking Him is no problem, because I know He's done so much for me.

But telling Him I love Him?  I'm a bit afraid to do that.  Maybe because it seems so bold.  My "love" is so feeble and selfish and imperfect compared to His.  In the face of everything He's done and does - of how wonderful and special He is - to call my weak response "love" seems a stretch at best, an insult at worst.

Yet...John says, "We love Him because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19)  And interestingly enough, that comes right after this verse: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment [some versions use the word 'punishment'].  But he who fears has not been made perfect in love."

You know something, though?  The more I think about it, I guess maybe it's okay to feel that tension, after all.  Of course I don't love God perfectly (it's good to recognize that).  But He's not surprised by that.  As a friend once put it, God knew what He was getting when He chose us to be His children.  And because He knows who I am...because He knows my human-ness through and through...because it's His grace that brought me here in the first place...

...He accepts me, imperfect love and all.  And I don't have to be afraid to tell Him.

We love Him, because He first loved us.

The Grace Story: {Day 25} When our Hero came

After the world had waited for thousands of years, our Hero - the Deliverer God promised to send - appeared on the scene.

He fit all the descriptions God's prophets had foretold... "Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'" (John 1:45)

He became the God-Man and lived among us, showing us grace and truth... "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.  And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:14)

He gave up His wonderful place in Heaven and the glory that was rightfully His... "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9)

He died for us when we were helpless and sinful... "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:6)

He bridged the impossible gap between God and man... "...When we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son..." (Romans 5:10a)

He defeated sin, death, and Hell... "'O Death, where is your sting?  O Hades, where is your victory?'  The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)

That's a pretty amazing Hero!  I'm so glad that Jesus isn't just a great hero; He is THE Hero of The Grace Story.  He did the impossible.  No one else could have done what He did - and He did it because He loved us.

Thank You, Jesus.  Thank You.

The Grace Story: {Day 24} You don't belong in the kitchen

"Bad News Religion not only convinces us that we may not sit down at the Lord's table, but it lies to us, persuading us that our services are required in God's spiritual kitchen. ...God has neither assigned us to the kitchen nor invited us to help prepare our spiritual feast.  Our place is sitting down at the Lord's Table, not stewing in the kitchen.  God has a different way to produce what He wants us to become.  He tells us that Jesus is the Master Chef, and there is room for only one cook in God's kitchen." -Bad News Religion

It's like I've been invited into a super-fancy restaurant for dinner by the owner.  I would never hope to enter such a place, knowing it was entirely too grand (and expensive) for me.  Suppose when I was to be seated, I protested,

"Please, show me to the back and let me help in the kitchen - I'll be out of the way; I can make myself useful."

I would be told, "No, you're a guest.  You have been invited to dine here.  You don't belong in the kitchen.  Have a seat!"

Suppose I continued, "No, really.  I can't just sit here.  Let me wait on tables, for goodness' sake!  I should not be the one sitting down and being waited on."

Then the owner appears with, "It's all been taken care of; your meal is ready.  Relax and enjoy!"

But it feels so backwards to be the one sitting down!  Why would the owner even invite me, let alone serve me?  I certainly didn't do anything to deserve this treatment.

Peter voices a similar objection when Jesus began to wash his feet at the Last Supper.  No way, Lord!  You're not supposed to be washing my feet!  This is all wrong!

Even if it feels all wrong, this is the truth.  Grace tells me that I don't belong in God's "kitchen"; my place is at the table, sitting - not because I'm worth being waited on, but because Jesus chose to become a Servant.  All the work necessary for my salvation - a relationship with Him - is done.  There is nothing I can do to add to it.

Wow.  Amazing Grace.

The Grace Story: {Day 23} Song for a weary world

It was my favorite Christmas hymn when I was a little girl, and it remains one of my favorites to this day.



A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn...

~ ~ ~

His coming still brings hope and joy to a weary world...and to our weary hearts.

He invites us to rest -

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

The Grace Story: {Day 22} Lessons from Abraham

I read Romans 4 this morning, and I wanted to share some of the verses - with just a little bit of commentary. (My commentary is in the brackets.)

...What did he [Abraham] discover about being made right with God?  If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about.  [When I thought my good deeds made me more acceptable to God, I certainly felt justified in my pride.]  But that was not God's way.  For the Scriptures tell us, "Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith."

When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.  But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.  [Forgiveness is based on God's character, not my performance.]  David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it:

"Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.  Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin."  [Only God has the authority to clear our sin-debt from our account.  Nothing we could do would ever bring the balance back to zero.]  [Knowing I am forgiven and choosing to accept God's gift definitely gives me joy!]

Clearly, God's promise...was based not on his [Abraham's] obedience to God's law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith.  [I love that part!  "A right relationship with God" - not just a business transaction - "that comes by faith."]  If God's promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary and the promise is pointless.  For the law always brings punishment on those who try to obey it.  (The only way to avoid breaking the law is to have no law to break!)

So the promise is received by faith.  It is given as a free gift.  [That's what grace means - a free gift.]  And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham's. ...Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.

Even when there was no [humanly logical] reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping—believing that he would become the father of many nations.  For God had said to him, "That's how many descendants you will have!"  And Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah's womb.

Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise.  In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.  He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever He promises.  [And He still is.  So when He says that He forgives us, removes our sin as far from us as the East is from the West - I must choose to believe that actually does just what He promises.]  And because of Abraham's faith, God counted him as righteous.  And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn't just for Abraham's benefit.  It was recorded for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in Him [Hurray for His continuing faithfulness!], the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  He was handed over to die because of our sins, and He was raised to life to make us right with God.  [It was not just His birth, but His death and being-raised-to-life-again that makes our salvation possible.]

Let's hear it for God's grace!

Thoughts for Christmas

[This post originally appeared on my NTM blog.]

The song Labor of Love has been a favorite of mine this Christmas season.

It was not a silent night…
The town was full with those who had come to be registered for Caesar’s census.  The crowded inn left them with no other choice than a stable.  No soft bed.  No room to call their own.

And gentle lullabies from cattle lowing in the stalls? – Hardly.

No midwife…no mother’s hand to hold…

Perhaps it all seemed wrong.  This was no place, no way to give birth to a baby.  Especially not this One.

…The baby in her womb, He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the Faith that could make the mountains move…

Could they understand the full impact of the miracle they were a part of?

…And the stable was not clean…

I think of the farm I used to work at.  I picture the barn, with its hay, its layers of dust, and its musty smells.  This is no place for a woman to give birth.  My mind’s eye goes to the trough where we’d put hay for the goats.  That is no place for a newborn.  But it was in a manger – a feeding trough – that she put her baby, our King.

Sometimes I can hardly wrap my mind around the fact that God, the Maker of heaven and earth and us, chose to be born in such humble circumstances.

But I love that He did.

The Grace Story: {Day 21} Receiving Grace

We hear so much about giving grace sometimes that we (or at least, I) forget that before we can give grace, we need to receive it.

As I was growing up, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," was deeply impressed on my heart and mind.  That's true, of course.  It's in the Bible, after all!  But if I think that I can simply give to others - or to God - I will soon find myself dry.  No matter how much I love to give, I don't have, in myself, the ability to give unconditionally and without limits.

I can put on a mask of super-spiritual and give, give, give.  Then when I find my heart empty of love or patience or grace or time, I can try to fake it and give anyway.  Eventually, though, I am not enough for this God-sized call to love.

That is why I need to first drink deeply of God's grace to me.  His love for me.  When I am full and satisfied in Him, when I remember how much He loves me and how it's all grace - then I am able to give grace to others.

The receiving isn't always easy -

It takes humility, a willingness to admit that I am not self-sufficient.  It takes faith, believing when He says I can offer no price to earn His acceptance.  It takes courage, laying my reserves and defenses and excuses down.

It means coming - just me, minus my good deeds and the things I hide behind.

The receiving makes the giving possible.

He gave, we receive, and we give because we've received His grace.

In this season of giving - and always -

Let's remember that we need God's grace.  Let's not be afraid to take what He offers.  Let's receive it with open hearts and open hands, so it can overflow to others.

The Grace Story: {Day 20} For the middle of a Thursday

I love that God's grace is not only for big decisions and earth-shattering news, not only for tears and questions and crisis, but for the everyday.

For when I sit across the table from a friend and we eat burgers and fries.  For when I drive to a haircut, fill out an application, listen to my sister's stories.  For when I fold laundry and prepare meals.  For when I scribble down plans for another ordinary week.

Because there is this reality that never changes - no matter what my circumstances or the state of my heart - I belong to God.  I am His child, and nothing can take me from His love.  Good, bad, ugly, or ordinary, nothing will change God's heart towards me.  I am His.  Forever.

I don't deserve belonging.  I didn't do anything to earn it and I can't do anything to keep it.  That's what makes it grace.

This song is a beautiful reminder for your Thursday (or Friday, or whenever) ~

The Grace Story: {Day 19} Why we need the whole Story

Just suppose it stopped in Bethlehem.  Suppose Jesus was born like the Bible says, but that there was nothing more to the Story.  If He was only special as a Baby in a manger, we don't have much hope.

Let's go a step further.  Suppose, just like the Scripture says, He grew into manhood and became a teacher and healer of the sick.  If He was just a kind-hearted, well-spoken teacher, I'm not sure if today - 2,000 years later - we'd even know much about Him.

Well, then, let's suppose that also He died on the cross.  If that's where the Story stops - 1 Corinthians 15 tells us faith in Christ is futile, our sins are not dealt with, and we have no hope beyond this life.  How miserable that Story would be!

But it doesn't stop there.

I'm so glad He was born!  But I'm also thankful that He lived, died, and rose again, just like God promised.

We need all of it - every last beautiful line in every last chapter of the Grace Story.

The Grace Story: {Day 18} The Baby the whole world can celebrate

While most often we think of a baby as a gift to his or her parents (and family), Jesus was much more than that.  The angel delivered this "birth announcement" to the shepherds:

Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)

This was just what the prophet Isaiah had foretold hundreds of years earlier:

For unto us Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

He was not born just for the people of Isaiah's day.  Nor was He born just for his family.  He was not born just for the Jews.

Jesus is the Baby the whole world can celebrate, because He came for all of us.  What a special gift of life that was born in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago!  Because He was born, we can each have eternal life.

The Grace Story: {Day 17} Without the sparkle

With Christmas just eight days away, lights and decorations are being displayed everywhere.  I'll admit, I enjoy the lights if I happen to be driving after dark.  They can be overdone, for sure, but that's not really my point.

The sparkle is pretty, but it also makes me stop and think: We make such a big to-do over this holiday.  (I'm speaking in general terms.  "We" as a society.)  Yet the contrasts between our Christmas season and Jesus' birth are rather stark.

There were no sparkly lights, no tinselled trees, no piles of gifts.  No mad rush for buying things, no extravagant parties to plan.

Now, I'm not saying trees or gifts or parties are wrong.  They may blur our focus, if we let them.

Jesus came into our world without sparkle, without pomp, without parades in His honor.  He was born into an ordinary family - His earthly father a carpenter.  His first visitors were shepherds.

We welcome Him in the same way - no fanfare needed, just humble hearts ready to receive Him.  This Story isn't about the sparkle.  It's about Grace.

The Grace Story: {Day 16} When the missionary gets saved

He told me today: "For twelve years, I taught Galatianism [as a missionary in a South American tribe].  Then this guy came... I asked him why he came.  He said that 'God sent him'.  [makes a doubtful expression]  And he discipled all of us for three months.  It turned our ministry on its head.  I think I got saved."  He told how many of the churches in that tribe today still follow "the old way" of legalism - and there is a noticeable difference between those churches and the churches that follow "the new way".

That's how radical grace is.

I've written a lot so far on grace in the Bible - about God's plan to send the Deliverer and about what He'd be like.  About how it unfolded in a dirty stable in Bethlehem.  About ordinary people back then.  Which is a pretttty long time ago.

But also I really love how the Story is for us today.  Not just for us, but that we are actually part of it.  The Grace Story is still being written.  It's still amazing.  It's still changing lives.

Like when a missionary gets saved.

. . .

What's your part of the Grace Story look like?  I'd love to hear from you!

The Grace Story: {Day 15} Another weekend prayer

May your weekend be one of seeing God's grace amidst the dark and the blurry.  May you find your safe place in Him, the One who sees and knows your tears.  Choose to remember that He is good.  Let His love fill your heart and spill out to those around you - the lonely, the forgotten, the hurting.  May grace give you the ability to not shrink back from silence or unanswered questions, but to lean harder on Him - Emmanuel.

The Grace Story: {Day 14} In the midst of the pain

Just a brief glimpse of the news is enough to leave one with a sick feeling today.

How could someone do something like this?

Why do such horrible things happen?

The last thing I want to do is rattle off a list of pat answers.  Even though I know some of the reasons why bad things happen, there is a lot I don't understand.

But I do know that God doesn't sit up in Heaven, doling out dry, flat answers to human needs.  I know that He came down, lived among us, felt our pain, and still feels our pain.  I know He loves each person He has created and His heart breaks for each life lost.

In the midst of the pain - Emmanuel - He is with us.

The Grace Story: {Day 13} The abandoned home

So it's late (actually, very late for me) and I'm short on words.

But as I sit here, peering out my window in hopes of catching part of the meteor shower...

I think of Him.  I think of His glory in Heaven.

He abandoned all that...for me?



There just aren't even words for that love, that grace.

The Grace Story: {Day 12} Labor of Love

Okay, so I haven't been able to get this song out of my head.



It was not a silent night...

The town was full with those who had come to be registered for Caesar's census.  The crowded inn left them with no other choice than a stable.  No soft bed.  No room to call their own.

And gentle lullabies from cattle lowing in the stalls? - Hardly.

No midwife...no mother's hand to hold...

Perhaps it all seemed wrong.  This was no place, no way to give birth to a baby.  Especially not this One.

...The baby in her womb, He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the Faith that could make the mountains move...

Could they understand the full impact of the miracle they were a part of?

...And the stable was not clean...

I think of the farm I used to work at.  I picture the barn, with its hay, its layers of dust, and its musty smells.  This is no place for a woman to give birth.  My mind's eye goes to the trough where we'd put hay for the goats.  That is no place for a newborn.  But it was in a manger - a feeding trough - that she put her baby, our King.

Sometimes I can hardly wrap my mind around the fact that God, the Maker of heaven and earth and us, chose to be born in such humble circumstances.

But I love that He did.

The Grace Story: {Day 11} Did she have morning sickness?

I know.  What a strange question.  Maybe it even sounds a tad irreverent.  Did Mary, the mother of Jesus, have morning sickness??

Honestly, I probably would have never thought of it myself, but I read an article the other day that asked the question.

Reality checks are a good thing - especially in this season when so much tradition swirls around, often leaving our minds filled with rosy-colored scenes.

We remember the miracle of Christ's birth, and it is well that we do.

But the miracle wasn't halos and nine months of Mary sitting around her house, perfectly poised, like the pictures show.

This whole miracle - right from the start - wasn't some ethereal, mystical happening.

God chose to come into our world as one of us.  The miracle of the Incarnation was full of warmth, of beating human life and feeling, and yes, of pain.

Mary was an ordinary girl.  She trusted God with a beautiful humility.  But she was still human - like you and I.

I think we miss the best part of all this when we ignore what surely must have been reality: After the angel left, Mary had to keep living her everyday life.  There was a miracle growing inside of her, but as a flesh-and-blood human being, she experienced times of pain and fatigue.  Not only that, she suffered the loss of her reputation.  Her life was turned upside-down in so many ways, and I think it's quite safe to say that doubts and fears surfaced at one time or another.

But through it all, God was there for her.  With her.

Which means that He can do the same for us.

That's why they called Him Emmanuel, friends.

Let's not paint soft watercolors of this Story.  Let us embrace the depth and fullness of grace, painted in hues both dark and vibrant across the canvas of history.

May the miracle of Emmanuel - God with us - be written on our hearts, too.

The Grace Story: {Day 10} Can't help but wonder

"And I can't help but wonder why
Why this King would choose to be
Be a baby born for me
Be a baby born to die..."

Even though we know the answer in our heads, let's stop and let wonder fill our hearts.

The Grace Story: {Day 9} Why I squirm

I squirm because grace, by its nature, carries no price tag for me.

Deep in my heart I believe that I should work for what I have.  Earn what I am given.

I don't want to be under obligation to someone else.

I'm allergic to the idea of taking advantage of another's generosity.

If you give me a job, I will put forth my best effort to be the perfect worker.

However noble all this sounds, I know my pride runs in a strong undercurrent beneath.  I want you to know that I am worth what I get - be it gifts or wages.

The fact is, I can't work to earn what God has given me.  Then it wouldn't be grace, Romans 11 tells me.  But I so desperately want to.  I think I need to.  I push God's gift aside with a, "Thank You; now I'll get to work right away to make myself worth this gift."

And oh, how I try.  But all my beautiful efforts and try-hard attitude fall flat, because I can never pay the price of that gift.

For two reasons.  One, the cost is way too high.  Infinite.  Two?  The price is not mine to pay.

When my parents hand me a camera for my birthday, I do not grab my purse and write them a check.  It's a gift.  They paid the price.  I take the camera.  I thank them.  And then I enjoy that camera.

When my Heavenly Father hands me grace, I feel like it's too much.  Too big.  And I feel too small.  The only way I know to feel less small is by working hard to earn His gift.  Then I'll feel okay about accepting it.

To be honest, the idea that Someone knows me completely and yet chooses to love me unconditionally is enough to undo me.  But that's what He does.

It's a gift.  He paid the price.

So I take it.  I feel desperately unworthy, and I am.  I thank Him.  I'm undone by this love, given so freely and so beautifully.

The Lord your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

The Grace Story: {Day 8} A weekend prayer

May your weekend be one of remembering the big, noticing the small, and giving thanks for it all.  May you enjoy quiet and laughter and be refreshed.  Light scented candles, breathe in crisp December air, sing spontaneously.  Remember that all good gifts come from God - gifts of grace, because we deserve none of it.  Stop to soak in the wonder of the fact that you, this moment, are somehow a part of the Story He has been writing since before time.

Enjoy your weekend, friends!

The Grace Story: {Day 7} When giving costs everything

Our sin-problem required more than a quick fix, a band-aid over a scrape.  Nothing less than a perfect Substitute - someone who could take our punishment - would do.

So God sent His Son.

Not just to be born in humble circumstances, but ultimately to die a cruel, humiliating death.  For our sakes.

A friend recently shared this thought: "We can give without loving, but we cannot love without giving."

John 3:16 echoes that truth.  God loved...so He gave.

His love would not allow Him to remain passive.  He gave us the gift that cost everything, when we deserved nothing - nothing good, that is.

Now it can all be ours.  Hope.  Love.  Forgiveness.  Freedom.  Purpose.  Belonging.  A warm, real, close relationship with Him that pulses with the beat of every moment.

Thank You, Lord, for this amazing grace-gift You gave us!!

The Grace Story: {Day 6} The Healer

Yesterday I wrote about our brokenness.

Enter The Healer - Jesus, with grace for all.

We all have our own stories, our own struggles.  But Jesus is the Healer for each one of us.

He offers healing and forgiveness from sin.

Comfort for when we are hurting.

His presence when we are afraid.

Wisdom when we don't know which direction to go.

His strength when our own facade of strong is crumbling.

Freedom and rest for tired, weighed-down hearts.

His unconditional love - forever.



Welcome to this river of grace.

The Grace Story: {Day 5} The Broken

We don't have to look very far to see that we live in a broken world.

Devastating storms, poverty, cancer, hunger, war, and death are all around us.  Our hearts ache with loss, cry out in the face of injustice, and sometimes simply long for something better.

If we are honest, we'll see that not only do we live in a broken world, we are a broken people, too.

We have broken hopes and dreams.

We carry around fears and failings.  Sometimes we hide them.  Sometimes we are crippled by them.

We have broken relationships with each other and with God.

We need healing.  We need someone to enter into our brokenness, pick up the pieces, and make us whole again.

Grace shouts, "Yes!  Take heart!  There is Someone who can do that!"

The Lord "...heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds." (Psalm 147:3)

. . .

We'll look at this more tomorrow.

Today, may you take time to soak up the healing love God offers you.

The Grace Story: {Day 4} Because He's not hands-off

God never took a hands-off approach towards the human race.

Just the opposite: He chose to be actively involved in the lives of those He had created.

Not only did He give Adam and Eve the promise of a Deliverer, He continued to communicate with men and women down through history.  Sometimes through prophets, sometimes through dreams or visions, sometimes through an audible voice.

He rebuked their sin, warned them of danger, comforted those who were captive and fearful, and most of all, spoke to them about the One He was going to send.  Through His prophets, He told us where the Deliverer would be born (Micah 5:2), what He would be like (Isaiah 11:1-5; Zechariah 9:9), and what His mission would be (Isaiah 53:4-6; Isaiah 61:1-3).

It was as though, knowing our human tendency to forgetfulness, He wanted to give each generation a reminder: He was going to send the Deliverer.  There was hope.  There was always hope, even when things seemed at their darkest.

What love!  What amazing grace!

It's just exactly like our God.

The Grace Story: {Day 3} The first foretelling

"He [the coming Deliverer] shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel." (Genesis 3:15a)

Way back in the garden of Eden...

After Adam and Eve had sinned, God confronted them.  Because He was holy, He had to punish their sin.  They would be separated from Him.  Their lives and their beautiful world would be completely changed to one of hardship, sorrow, and pain.  One day, they would die.

They deserved all this.

What they did not deserve was God's promise, given along with the judgment on their sin: He foretold the coming Deliverer who would destroy Satan, crushing his head, and free us from sin.

Amid the first awful sin-streaks in the pages of our history, the gentle words of grace were written.

And the Story continued to unfold...

The Grace Story {Day 2} It's not just about the manger

Sometimes music speaks more powerfully than just words.

I heard this song for the first time today, and it fits so perfectly here.  It's very much a worth-while listen.



(Thanks, Esther, for sharing!)

The Grace Story: {Day 1} When it all began

Before the beginning, when there was no universe, no angels, only God -

Before the wheels of history had begun to spin -

Before a single human heart was beating - before my heart beat or yours -

Before the first man and woman chose to mar a perfect world by one sinful act -

Long before all this, God knew.

He knew what we would do.  How we would choose to sin, to rebel against Him.

And in His infinite and all-knowing heart, the Grace Story existed before even one page of history was written.  Peter says (in 1 Peter 1:20) that before the creation of the world, God had already chosen the One who would set things right again.

. . .

Let's pause here, and for a moment, celebrate the God who had a plan from the beginning of time.  That's how far back this Grace Story goes.