Pearl #5: Complete Your Grace Assignment Yesterday’s blog issued the challenge to pray for a grace assignment. But sometimes when God sends the assignment, our reaction is much like the look on this little guy’s face. Our thoughts may be, “You want me to love her…you want me to extend grace to him…you’re asking me to let this one go?” In Luke 9:62 Jesus said, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God. When we pray and ask for an assignment, we are effectively putting our …
Pray for a Grace Assignment
Pearl #4: Pray for a Grace Assignment Have you ever asked God for a job you can’t do on your own? Have you considered praying as you go into Walmart…or as you driving to your family reunion…or going to that committee meeting…on your way to work: “God give me a job I can’t do on my own. Give me an assignment that I can only complete in you and through you.” What would you be willing to do if you knew you could not fail because you and God were doing it together? Would you ask Him for a supernatural …
Put It All in Context
Pearl #2: Put It All in Context My husband gave me a bouquet of roses for Valentine’s Day. One of them, as you can see in this picture, is dying and looking pretty bad. I plucked that one out and tossed it. I didn’t throw out all the other beautiful roses just because one in the bunch was ugly. I didn’t choose to condemn my whole bouquet because of one bad flower. But yet…do we sometimes do that in our relationships? Do we fixate on the ONE time our hubby got it wrong…instead of the 99 other times he got …
Pearls of Grace
Parable of the Unmerciful Servant: 10,000 talents vs.100 denari Matthew 18:21-35 In this story, a king comes to a servant to settle up. The servant owes him 10,000 talents. The man can’t pay. Under the law, the king has the right to sell the man’s wife and children as slaves to repay the debt. That was the law. But when the man fell to his knees and begged for more time, the king took pity. He extended grace. He did more than give more time — he cancelled the debt altogether. The same man, who had received this huge gift …
I Wish I Could Google God
If only I could “Google” God for answers to life’s problems. Then, I could just type a question and get a straight answer—the Truth. As a writer, I don’t always come up with the best questions to ask to achieve the right solutions. And at times, I don’t know what to pray when burdened by life challenges. So, I wish I could enter a word or phrase into my Internet search engine, trusting that God would provide the exact direction I needed. As I share in my family’s struggles with their painful issues, I don’t pretend to know how to …
WordPower
I noticed a small typo within a comment that I had posted on a friend’s blog. Instead of the word “power,” I had typed “poser.” A minor mistake? Not for a writer! And especially not in this case! My tiny error distorted the entire significance of this scripture: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Cor. 4:7 NIV). One word shifted my focus and the potential attention of my readers. All I could see was my mistake. I lost sight of the message and …
Listening for God’s Voice
As I listen to the birds singing every morning, I wish I could distinguish one bird from another. I identify the honking geese as they fly over the lake. And I hear the woodpecker, as he raps for his meal. I can see the difference between a robin and a sparrow, but I can’t tell them apart by their songs. My husband Dan recognizes the voices of many birds. He knows the robin’s sweet song, and he is familiar with the squawking blue jay. He even points out the mimicking mockingbird. I’m learning a few tips from him. Recognition. I’ve …
Indecision? Try Grace Talk
“You know what killed that squirrel?” my husband Dan mused as we drove through our Arkansas neighborhood. Duh, I thought, a car ran over him. “Indecision,” he explained. Dan always seems to think in black or white terms – no grey areas. (“If you don’t like carrots, don’t eat them. If you hate working as a secretary, find another job.”) “Indecision?” I exclaimed. “Wait a minute! Are you comparing me to that squirrel?” Dan and I are living proof that opposites attract in relationships, especially in marriage. But after over 40 years of marriage, I think I’m finally learning a few …
Housekeeping Day 6
Wouldn’t it be great if the house stayed clean? We thought after our three teenagers grew wings and left that we’d surely be clean all the time! LOL But we find that cleaning house is a continual thing. Sometimes it’s a real chore, other times it’s just light work. But it has to be repeatedly done. Oh beloved, don’t worry! Just because you’ve read about Housekeeping and you think you’ve got it down. You may mess up along the way, but God’s got this for you! He’s on your side on matter what and He’s going along with you always …