My Place of Grace

What do you think about when you think of fire?...all consuming, spreading, intense heat, melting, crackling, powerful, destruction, desolation, light? These are just a few words that come to mind. Today I'm going to write on the subject of fire, specifically...How to walk through the fire...Come out ON fire...Without getting burned! Based on the Story in the Old Testament from Daniel 3...Shadrack, Mishack and Abednigo in the fiery furnace. These 3 characters give us a practical example of going through the fire. I've created an acronym to help us to remember some steps we need to take when our situations resemble walking through the raging fires of life's circumstances. F- Fan the flames of faith - Hebrews 11:1 tells us that Faith is being SURE of what we hope for and CERTAIN of what we do not see. We need to be sure and certain that our God is greater and will handle all circumstances in our lives. Faith is the fuel that takes us through the fire so that we can count it p...

Graced by his presence this regal bird looks on Perched atop the wire, stretched across my lawn. Chirping periodically, in his sweet singular note. Letting me know he's watching in his red feathered coat. Thank You God for the detail, and creative fashioning Of every living creature, that upon this earth You bring. May we just enjoy the beauty and revel in the prize Of experiencing Your artistry that's right before our eyes.

Unknowingly, I dropped a crumb of a chip on the ground. A few minutes later I looked to find this team of ants taking the spoils back to their nest. I watched them work for a long time. these little creatures pulled and nudged this large feast with all they had. This display of strength and perseverance reminded me that God is our provider and in Christ nothing is ever wasted. Like the ants we need to keep our eyes on the prize(Jesus, eternal life) and never give up. Things may look impossible but with God's help and perspective we can make it through.

I'm a bridge kind of person. Making connections, creating a way for people to get from one side to the other. Carrying them safely along the way till they are established on the other side. Thinking about it, isn't that what Jesus was? He was our bridge to restored relationship with our Heavenly Father. He was the greatest, strongest bridge I know and I am thankful for His example of true humility and love for us to follow. Thank you Jesus for being our bridge to eternity.

You ask things of me every day As you kneel before my feet to pray Answers come and answers go Sometimes noticed, sometimes no. I listen faithfully to each request Figuring carefully how to answer best. Taking into consideration Your hearts desire and consolation. How will my answers affect your life? Will it grow your faith, or cause you strife? My answers aren't always what you expect But they're always for your benefit. I bend down low to hear your cries Your needs and wants and questions why? I know your voice, it's precious to me Now listen for mine and you will see Entrusting your heart into my care Will bring a peace beyond compare With anything that can be measured More valuable than the greatest treasure. It's my delight to answer prayer Be still and know that I am there. Live your life like you believe It's in your faith that you'll receive. The blessings that I have in store As you seek me even more. Love God

I've heard in prayers, asking for God's presence to fill this place. I've heard, "Lord give us your presence", or just a simple "God be with us". I got to thinking about these requests in the light of Psalm 139. I have come to the conclusion that God has been, and is always, with us everywhere, all the time. He doesn't go away and come back at our request. He is ever- present. We are the ones who wander off. We stray to places of worry, busyness, stress, careers, recreation, children, dysfunction, depression etc... that we miss the point. We cry out for God's presence but really we should be asking God to help us put aside all those things that hinder us from resting in His presence. He has known us since before we were even born, He formed us with His special touch. He set a plan for our lives before we took our first breath. He thinks about us all the time. He is there and will never leave. What do we have to fear? Why do we allow worry? Let...

Spirit of God, wash over me Cleansing my mind of impurity Fill up the cracks, revealing my leaks Wash away all the obstacles keeping me weak. Rush over my soul with waves of Your power Strengthen my faith hour by hour. Renew my heart with Your life giving rain Quenching my thirst, removing my pain. Plant me by a stream where Your waters flow. As continuous nourishment to help me grow. "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."... Psalm 1:1-3

One week ago today I had surgery on my shoulder. The operation went well. I had never had surgery before, so I have to admit I was a bit nervous. I was knocked out by the anesthesia so quickly I didn't know or feel a thing! Piece of cake! This next 6 week phase, after the surgery is the challenging part. My whole life changed in the moment that I was fixed by the surgeon. I woke up with this huge sling holding my arm still(my right arm, and I'm right handed)I was given strict instructions on what I can and cannot do, and they scheduled me for a regimen of physical therapy to begin the very next day. For the past week, I haven't written much, but have been doing a lot of thinking about what God is trying to show me through this experience. This morning something hit me. A parallel between surgery and salvation! Here's how it goes. My shoulder was broken,hurt, and in need of surgery in order to save and restore it back to use. We are much like my shoulder. Before we met w...

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34 We all face difficult relationships, even the best of relationships can be strained. God calls us to love, but let's face it, that can be very challenging especially when we don't agree with someone. So how do we love one another when we are feeling angry, hurt, betrayed, or mistreated? Our natural reaction is to withdraw, lash out, get even, and prove ourselves right at all cost. So how do we love well? Let's look at this command, God tell us to love one another, but the next few words give us the reason/ formula for succeeding in it. When we understand our fallen human nature, we know it is impossible to love all people. When we add God to the equation the impossible becomes possible. "As I have loved you" Have you ever thought about that statement? How many times have we disappointed, hurt, betrayed, lied, ignored, and sinned against God? Yet ...

Have storms and discouragement been plaguing your life? Your thoughts? I think we can all relate to the apostle Paul and the story of the thorn in his side, given to keep him humble and leaning on God's strength. (2 Corinthians 12: 1-10) We can also relate to the life of David, who loved God so much but found himself in all kinds of trouble and trials before God lifted Him up to his prosperous position. (1 &2 Samuel and Psalms) And Elijah who believed God to win a battle but then turned around and doubted Him when he heard that Jezebel wanted to have him killed .(1 Kings 19) It seems in some things we can easily trust God will handle the storms in our lives and in others, we get in our heads that this next storm must be too big and we withdraw from Him. I can almost hear God asking as He did Elijah" What are you doing here?"(after he ran for His life, from fear and discouragement.) That's the question we need to ask ourselves ..."What are we doing here?...

"So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed." John 8:36 The other day I was visiting and spending time in our local women's prison. Once a week, a fellow volunteer and I go and hold a Bible study with the ladies. We pray and then hand out song books. We always like to sing. Every week we ask the ladies to pick a song, and every week they pick a Song called "Jesus Signed My Pardon", I had never heard the song before I started going to the prison but the words are so meaningful and it has become the theme song of this group. I thought I'd like to share the word's with you: Jesus Signed My Pardon I was in sin's prison, oh, so dark and cold Like a lost sheep wandering from God's eternal fold; Then the door swung open, and He spoke to me "I have signed your pardon, now you may go free." Chorus: Jesus signed my pardon, this I surely know Took my place at Calvary, now I won't have to go; All my life I'll give to Him - He gave H...

Walking hand in hand with God is my hearts cry. I want to be so completely immersed in Him. I want to feel his presence next to me, as I do walking with a friend. I want His guidance and direction in all things. I want to hear everything He has to say to me, learn all his ways, grow to become just like Him in character. With every task I do, hurdle I leap, trial I go through, and trail I blaze, I want to do it in a way that points to Him. Psalm 119:27 Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be a Christian. It's not just a statement. Being a Christian is a lifestyle, it means being set apart and setting Jesus Christ apart as Lord and savior over my life. It means I follow Christ, walking in His footsteps. (I have this image in my mind of child walking behind a parent, trying to step in each footprint their parent has made.) Being a Christian is an active living daily choice I make to ...

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 It is very easy to get caught up and overwhelmed with all life throws at us, but the battle in our own minds is probably the most brutal of all battles many of us may ever face. It's fierce and merciless at times. How we think about our circumstances can be far more damaging than the circumstance itself. When we go into this battle armed with the God's truth, understanding God has a purpose already planned out for us to achieve the goal of bringing His kingdom full circle, our battle becomes an honor to fight. Knowing that our response to each circumstance we face can be a testimony to God's Power and every choice we make in it will either bring God glory or defame Him really shines new light on the battle. With the eternal mind set, it is no lon...

'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' Jeremiah 33:3 Sometimes the answers we seek are only as far away as the call. God is always waiting for our call and the best part is, He is always home to pick up. In this age of technology, it is so automatic for us to pick up our cell phones or shoot e-mails and text messages to our friends. We search for answers to our problems and look for direction from friends,counselors, books, television, and Google; but how often do we call on God? How often do we use His resources? God is the source of all life, who better to run to first? He knows ALL the answers we seek before we even ask. He watches our futile efforts at trying to solve our life's problems on our own, and He waits. God waits for us to pick up that direct connect and contact Him. So what are we waiting for? The answers we are looking for are wrapped up in Him. The only way to unwrap them is to call and get to know Hi...

This week my house was thrown into turmoil. It is in complete and utter chaos. Everywhere I look there is a mess to be gone through and cleaned up. It's to the point where I just look around and feel so overtaken at the magnitude of it all. It seems too overwhelming to conquer, so I just push it off. The only problem with this is that the mess isn't going anywhere, it's actually growing bigger and bigger. I think that's what happens with our heart sometimes too. The trials of life make these impressions in our hearts, and if we're not careful and diligent in cleaning them up(taking them to God with bucket and scrub brush in hand) then they accumulate and grow to seemingly unmanageable proportions. Today I was reading my Bible and came across this passage in the book of Haggai, chapters 1&2. The word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai concerning the condition of Gods house. God asked why the people of Israel were neglecting the disrepair of His house. He chas...

Ever find yourself drowning in a sour pit of lemon juice? Everything in your life going wrong? Can't seem to find your way out? Well take heart my friend! Life is guaranteed to give us lemons...but with a little sugar those lemons can turn into sweet tasting lemonade. The sugar I'm talking about is God Himself. He's the sweetener that makes life lemons into our lemonade. Apart from Him we are settling for that sour juice. In the gospel of John, Jesus tells of his sweetness and power, He says "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) In the context of lemonade, we can say Yes, In this world you'll be surrounded by many lemons...but take heart...I have come to make the lemonade! We can see this relationship in John 10:10 as well when Jesus tells us, "The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and s...

There's a tree that stands in the middle of our front yard, big, and leaf filled all summer long, the birds find refuge there, and the squirrels run up and down trying to score some bird food from the feeder that hangs from a branch. The tree is full of activity and provides shade and beauty to our home. With the on set of Autumn, our lovely tree begins to change, the lush green leaves turn to a fiery red. A beautiful sight to behold yet a foreshadowing that a transformation is coming. As the winds blow and the weather turns cold, each leave tries to hold on, to maintain it's beauty. Nature takes its course eventually and the leaves are shed one by one, stripped away revealing the trees nakedness, and all that was happening within the mask of its beauty. Bird's nests and sneaky squirrel exposed, straggly weak branches intertwined with the strong. It looks dead and deserted. But Wait! Though our tree looks to be dead, if you take the time to look further, your will see littl...

Amazon is gearing up for the release of Leslie Vernick's new book "Lord, I Just Wat To Be Happy" I received this 20% off offer in my e-mail this morning and thought I'd pass the information on. I want to let my bog readers know also that Leslie has not asked me to promote her book, this is a ministry that I wholeheartedly believe in and it is my privilege to spread the word. My hope is that people be blessed and helped in their relationship with Jesus through gaining a better understanding of who we are in Him. When we can embrace our relationship with Jesus it becomes a trickle down effect in all of our other relationships as well. Blessing to you all! Mary Lord, I Just Want to Be Happy Leslie Vernick List Price: $12.99 Price: $10.39 You Save: $2.60 (20%) Release Date: October 1, 2009

There is a special kind of birth that I have had the privilege to witness. It's not the birth of a baby, or an animal or anything like that. The birth I am talking about is the birth of a book. I have had the honor of watching as the idea was conceived , and the growth of the content was written and the labor of the final printing in book form came out. It is a long, tedious , painstakingbut worthwhile process and when it is finally finished it feels as though you have given birth to a beautiful baby. A book of this nature is not just a bunch of words slapped together on pages, pasted between two covers. This type of book has been carefully prayed about before, during and afterwards. The words have been lovingly written with God as the mentor. They were crafted and honed to say just the right thing. This book is a living expression of God's love written through the hands of it's author. It's a masterpiece of God's handiwork. I am in total awe of what can happen w...

Rushing traffic, flashing lights, Crowded side walks, what a sight! People people every where Hurrying, scurrying here and there. Busy, busy all the day Never time to stop and pray. We rarely greet our fellow man For that may interrupt our plan. What is it that we're living for? We fill our days, but there must be more. As I stand and watch this harried scene. People all together, yet alone it seems. Each person on their shoulders bear Their own burden, their own care. If only we could switch our gears, From high to low as God endears- Then our relationships would surely grow, As we let life run with the Spirit's flow. Our focus then would be on God, Blocking off the road that Satan trod's. For he's the one roaming back and forth, Making busyness seem the source of worth. Yet if we take the time to see... Our life in Christ is value's key. So let's slow down and cherish time. Wasting it would be a crime. God gives life and takes away, Make time for Jesus everyda...