Monday, May 24, 2010
To clarify....
I think a lot of people are reading my latest post and thinking I am saying something I never intended to say! So...to clarify...I believe that the beauty of our salvation is the fact that God has opened our eyes to see our ugliness and sin and that He has called us out of death to life! We are all ugly...this is the Gospel. We are all in need of rescuing and God did exactly that. He rescued His children out of our ugliness. In this I rest and rejoice...that God can take the ugly parts of who I am and turn them into something beautiful for His glory. In no way was trying to be self-loathing! But, I will say this....without His grace....where would be?
Life:1000 Gifts
I have been thinking about why I haven't posted much these days, and the only answer I could come up with, the painfully honest answer, I am too ugly inside to post things beautiful. I love to write about beautiful things; things of God and family and life, and lately I have not been feeling the way I think I need to feel in order to write. Maybe I am a little melodramatic, which of course I have been told I am, but as I have pondered this over the last week, this is the ugly truth. I am ugly inside. My constant failures and constant disdain for disorder and chaos make my mouth and heart ugly. And my ever faithful and constant God has reminded me that this alone is the reason I needed a rescue. Gracie and I have been reading The Jesus Storybook Bible lately. This children's Bible storybook has brought these adult eyes to tears on a nightly basis. Beautifully written, it recounts the entire Bible and brings the central message of the entire Bible, that of a needed rescue, to life. In the story of Adam and Eve, the beginning of our ugliness, Sally Lloyd-Jones says it like this, " But before they left the garden, God make clothes for his children, to cover them. He gently clothed them and then sent them away on a long, long journey-out of the garden, out of their home. Well, in another story, it would all be over and that would have been....THE END. But not in this story. God loved his children too much to let the story end there. Even though he knew he would suffer, God had a plan-a magnificent dream. One day, he would get his children back. One day, he would make their perfect home again. And one day, he would wipe away every tear from their eyes. You see, no matter what, in spite of everything, God would love his children--with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love. And though they would forget him, and run from him, deep in their hearts, God's children would miss him always, and long for him-lost children yearning for their home. Before they left the garden, God whispered a promise to Adam and Eve: "It will not always be so! I will come to rescue you! And when I do, I'm going to do battle against the snake. I'll get rid of the sin and the dark and the sadness you let in here. I'm coming back for you!" And he would. One day, God himself would come."
I thank God on this Monday, for rescuing me. He has already won my battles and all I have to do is rest in his grace. His grace, his grace envelopes me today and his grace is what takes the ugly and makes it beautiful, and I am thankful....my list goes on....
0071-finding his treasures of a home left behind
0072-still desiring to learn long after our homeschooling adventure ends
0073-little hands working on her letter book
0074-little fingers
0075-getting pictures of my nephew and his loves
0076-my brave boy
0077-small casts filled with names of those who care
0078-the constant sunshine and get well balloons
0079-a daughter who loves and cares for her brother0080-a husband home safely
0081-new friends to lean on when crisis falls (thank you Frazer family!)
0082-the love of family felt through the phone lines
0083-last week of school
0084-my Jesus, whose death on the cross provided us with the greatest rescue my heart could ever hope for.
0085-and His grace that carries us through this life of pain and ugliness
0086-the hope that one day, all things will be made beautiful
My list will go on despite the ugly....this is the beauty of a life secure in His grace.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Mother's Day & More:1000 Gifts
As this May rolls on, my heart is full. I have many things to be thankful for. The one that comes to mind is fresh. I have just returned from one of the best gifts I could have asked for this Mother's Day. My husband and kids gave me a night away at a local Hyatt resort. Who could ask for a better gift than time to be pampered and be refreshed. I spent my time walking, reading, walking, more reading, reflecting and being thankful for all that my sweet Lord has blessed me with...His precious Son who rescued me and called me His own. My heart is indeed full and my gratitude list continues....
0062-This man
0063-Picture perfect day to walk and reflect
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