Growing in Grace

As we travel this road of life, God grows and stretches us, conforming us to the image of His Son.

For many years, that entailed my becoming a "better" person. Shedding bad habits, thoughts, and actions. I don't think I am any further along in accomplishing this. Yes, I may have changed that thought or action, but another faulty one just replaces it.

Life is about growing in His Grace, not becoming a "better" person. In Christ, we possess all the goodness of Him.

The goodness of Grace.

We stumble, Grace picks us up. We hide, Grace finds us. We cower, Grace makes a shield. When we lose our self-control, Grace puts the pieces back in place. Think we know it all? Grace humbles us. And when we seem to lose all hope, Grace comforts us.

When all was lost in the Garden, Grace made the way back. In the form of a tiny babe.

Grace, that undeserved favor, drives love into our hearts.

Love propels us.

Love changes the heart and changes the actions.

When our children were baptized we gave them each a Precious Moments Figurine titled, "Growing In Grace." I loved the notion of "growing in Grace," but did not comprehend the depth of that until just the past few years. I am thankful His Grace was present in raising my children, even if I didn't realize the significance of some things at the time.

Grace finds us....right where we are.....and wraps His arms around us.
 
Your Grace Finds Me (Matt Redman) (click on link)

And all we need to do.....is say thank you.

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" 2 Cor. 9:15

I only learn because of His grace.

Focus...On His Goodness

I never thought I would be using my skills I learned as a childbirth educator to aid my daughter in getting through the pain of a kidney stone.

The pain was excruciating. The pain meds would not stay down. As her husband drove the ten miles back to town to get another prescription, we began breathing exercises.

"Focus! You must focus! Look at me....breathe in.....breathe out.....  Yes, the pain is out of this world, but you can ride it. Breathe in....breathe out..... Focus on my face. Breathe in comfort, exhale tension. Picture something soft, cuddly. Breathe in.... breathe out..... Focus." And it continued for an hour.....

Yes, I may have sounded strange, but research has shown that we can reduce the sensation of pain by focusing our thoughts away from it. This was at the heart of the childbirth classes I used to teach.

We must choose our focus.

As I lay in bed after the fact, I thought about how we handle the trials of life. So many times, we tense with frustration, anxiety, worry, and even anger. This will only intensify our pain, much like thrashing on the floor when in physical pain.

Can we apply this same principle to life that I taught women in navigating the pain of labor? To focus? Focus our thoughts on something other than our pain?

Yes...

Rather than dwelling on the trials and tribulations of life, we can choose to focus on God's goodness. His faithfulness to us in all moments of life.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations. ~Psalm 100

Focus...on His goodness....His love. 

Breathe in....the knowledge that you are His. 

Breathe out....praise to Him.

We enter His gates with our thanksgiving and praise. Our days will be brighter, the pain a little duller....when focusing on Him.

My daughter told me later she focused on our textured ceiling...she counted the bumps. Counted....count (focus on) the ways Jesus is good to you. Trust me....you will see joy springing forth.  

Breathe in....the knowledge that you are His. Breathe out.....praise to Him.

I am learning to focus....on His goodness.

Thanksgiving: A National Holiday

I love Thanksgiving...not only the turkey and the fixin's, but the family and friends that gather together and...

.....give thanks.

Most of us when we think of Thanksgiving, think of the first Thanksgiving the Pilgrims and Indians held; but did you know that President Lincoln, during the Civil War, instituted the fourth Thursday of November as a national holiday? A day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father?" I was so moved when I read his decree that I deemed it worthy to post in hopes that we look at this holiday in the light for which it was instituted.

 

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. Psalm 118:29

May we give thanks not only on the fourth Thursday of each November, but every day of the year.

....and his decree was on my birthday! :) How neat is that?! I now have another item to be thankful for on my birthday!

The Proverbs 31 Woman

Many have expounded on the Bible passage of the Proverbs 31 woman. It has disheartened women of all ages, for who could ever achieve all it says? And yet, it is a guideline for what God has created the woman for....

The home.

A woman is the key to a happy home. :)

Women are to be managers of the home. It is a vocation that is not talked about much in our culture or even a lot in the church. The line between masculinity and femininity has been blurred. Male or female, we are told, can be whatever they wish like to be.

Before I continue, I want to make one thing clear. I am not referring to the aspect that a woman should not work outside the home. (The above passage alludes that the woman will be about the marketplace.) There are situations where this is warranted and even necessary. What the purpose of my blog entry is the attitude that we women carry as we go through this life. Is our first priority managing our home? Do we value our female God-given responsibilities?

Proverbs 31 directs our hearts toward the home....

...the heart of her husband trusts in her

...provides food for her household

...she looks well to the ways of her household

...her children rise up and call her blessed

...not afraid of snow for her household, for they are clothed....

A Proverbs 31 woman is busy with the task of nurturing.....

...opens her hands to the poor

...teaching of kindness is on her tongue

Above all, she fears the Lord and is known for her strength and dignity. She is highly valued!!!

I myself, read Proverbs 31 and am simply overwhelmed. I am far from all it espouses, nor do I think I ever will attain those virtues in my own strength. But I am a woman, created in God's image, for a specific purpose:

To be there for those God has entrusted to my care.

What would life be like if women had more time to minister to their families, the hurting, the sick, the lonely? If she had more time to work with her hands and feed the poor, clothe the needy? We wouldn't need the myriad of social programs or wonder where our children are.

I have been blessed in that I was able to stay home with my children (and my mother stayed home with me). What saddens me is when I look around and see so many families in chaos simply because they want more material things.....or be involved in more activities....so we take on extra jobs for.....what?

"I just couldn't handle being home with my kids all day." My heart nose-dives when I hear that.

Is it possible to reclaim and give credit to our God-calling? To realize that our God-given gift of caring and nurturing others is a heavenly calling?

This is for all of us...both male and female. Men must appreciate this in a woman; not look at her as beneath him or as another bread-winner for the family. (If a woman does work outside the home, may men realize that her heart is with her family and make provision for that.) Women must know that we are just as important as the men in our calling and gifts even if we are not paid monetarily for them. God never uses a paycheck (for either gender) to determine our gifts/callings; we are privileged to be given the responsibility.

Yes, ladies, we were not meant to be the one in the front. That is man's job; to guide, provide, and protect. We are the behind-the-scenes person; managing from behind the curtain. Is it easy? No. But look up, God will give strength for the day, and promise for the tomorrow.


An excellent wife, who can find? She is more precious than jewels.  ~Proverbs 31:10

"Behind every great man, there is a great woman." Take pride in that! :)

Some may call me old-fashioned; but I have learned to appreciate my God-given role as a woman.

Balance

It has been a month since I last posted....and I am learning balance. My energy was not only depleted with a cold, but we acquired a new family member, a 75 lb. puppy. Actually, he is a year-and-a-half, but is still a puppy in many ways....I have lost track of the chewed-up items!

Fatigue + Highly Energetic Dog = Not much else done!!

We can plan, but life always has its surprises. So...my noggin wasn't putting too many thoughts together the last few weeks. The third chapter of Ecclesiastes (vs 1-8) was brought to mind:

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh, 

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

The last month was a time to heal, and a time to bond with (and keep an eye on) our new dog. Some things got pushed to the back burner (like this blog), but that is okay...there is a time for everything.

a time to spend and a time to save,

a time to sleep and a time to be awake,

a time to work and a time to play,

a time to wear pajamas and a time to dress up, 

a time to be a child and a time to be an adult,

a time for the ordinary and a time for the extraordinary,

a time to forgive and a time to be forgiven,

a time to learn and a time to teach,

a time to hug and a time to be hugged,

a time for children and a time for grandchildren,

a time for this and a time for that.....

Life is not an emergency. May we be grateful for each "a time", knowing God is writing the perfect story. 

It is all in His time.

I am learning to follow His timing.

To Think...or Not to Think

The very first day our family embarked on our homeschooling journey, I wrote the following quote on the chalkboard: "Thinking is the hardest thing you will ever do." ~Henry Ford.

Winnie the Pooh seems to agree....

A.A. Milne (author of Winnie the Pooh) says, "The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking."

Do you t..h..i..n..k? Most people today don't want the hard work...they simply go with the flow (third-rate). Or they do not want to "go with the flow," so they take the opposite path (second-rate). To have a first-rate mind is to employ two things:

     1. Realizing the mind is a battlefield. Two forces vie for the control
         seat....good and evil.

     2. The heart is the control center for the mind.  

The devil knows that if he can control the mind (and subsequently the heart), he will control the world. The reason thinking "is the hardest work you will ever do," is we are to be on guard to what our minds are absorbing, waging the battle in filtering out the lies so the Truth leads us.

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (Phil. 4:8) God gives us the focus for our thoughts. How do we know what is true, noble, right....?

HIS WORD!


"Do not conform (follow) to the pattern of this world, but be transformed (metamorphose) by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2)  God's Word first transforms the heart (view my previous post), then renews the mind....a mind that knows God's will for our lives. A first-rate mind thinks according to what God says, not what man says.

Your mind in knots? Open your Bible....we do not have all the answers....and never will...but God does.


"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." James 1:5

I have learned that a happy mind is one who is thinking on God's precepts, the Truth.

Butterfly Moments

One of the most incredible feats of nature I have observed  is watching a caterpillar morph into a butterfly. My daughter loved to bring monarch caterpillars in from the outdoors, place them in a fish tank (without water of course ☺), and then we all observed the metamorphosis from worm to beautiful butterfly.

This morning during my devotional time, God gave me a "butterfly" moment. Let me explain.

The Bible is the only book that can transform you. "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) God's Word is active, it pierces where no other words can. It is the hand of the Great Surgeon, giving us a new heart, with new attitudes and desires; shaping us into the image of Jesus.

Today, as I pondered the Word, I thought of the metamorphosis of the butterfly. Don't you want to fly? Not be burdened by the cares of this world....maybe you feel trapped by a job, marriage, life's circumstance, maybe even your own skin? Or life is simply boring, like a worm, who doesn't get anywhere real fast, and is subjected to ground level.......take heart, God is working.

The monarch caterpillar simply eats and eats and eats. My daughter supplied plenty of milkweed leaves for her caterpillars, it was amazing what they ate. The caterpillar was preparing for what lay ahead.

Life is a journey...on our "wormy" days, are we eating? Reading and digesting our spiritual food? God doesn't just plop what we want on our laps, he is transforming us into the image of Jesus. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." (Prv. 3:5-6) Even when we can only crawl, and life seems boring....we need to eat and trust....and keep moving forward.

At the appointed time, the caterpillar attaches itself to  a branch and hangs in what appears to be a "J". It will hang this way for several hours. In what then looks like a painful process (for when I observed it, that is what I thought) the caterpillar begins contorting and then his skin splits open and underneath is a chrysalis!

"Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10) The caterpillar waits...and God does the work. The process of transformation is never easy. There is usually pain involved. But God tells us, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Romans 8:18) Focus your eyes upward. God is working.

 As the days pass, the chrysalis walls become thinner and you see a butterfly tightly wrapped. 

On those days when all seems a loss and you are feeling trapped remember, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 1:6) God is changing you from the inside out. Scientists have now been able to do scans on the chrysalis and have observed how the organs change day by day until the caterpillar becomes a functioning butterfly!

When it is time for the butterfly to emerge, the chrysalis will split and the butterfly will hang for over an hour or so, flexing its wings. We once thought to help the butterfly in this process and it died. Time is needed for the wings to dry off and its systems to begin functioning in the new environment. When ready, we let the butterflies crawl onto our fingers, then took them outside and let them fly! It is a beautiful moment!

A butterfly moment is beautiful! The heart soars with joy! You feel weightless. Some are small moments and others so grand you find it hard to contain the excitement. A butterfly moment is simply grand because one persevered to get there.

But these moments are proceeded by patience, trust, and oftentimes pain. Sometimes the metamorphic process is short, other times it may be years. But it is a process, and it always involves the transforming power of  God, who comes to us through the Bible, His Holy Word.  God gives us many "metamorphic" cycles in our lives; these are the peeling off of the layers so that in the end, we are transformed into the image of His Son. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Cor. 5:17) It is not our work, it is His.  Trust the process. Jesus only wants the best for you, His love gives us more than we could ask or imagine. And when we try to do it our way, we mess things up, much like when we tried to help the butterfly get out of the chrysalis faster.

My butterfly moment? For the last several weeks, I have felt trapped. Trapped by life's circumstances. Trapped by wondering what God is trying to do. Trapped by negative news all around me. Trapped by the pain in this world. As I was reading His Word this morning...the image of a butterfly popped into my head...a weight lifted....

The ability to fly rests in Jesus: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:29-30)  He takes our burdens and carries them. We can then fly. 

I am learning to let go of that I cannot control. Jesus let me fly this morning. :)