Tag Archives: grace

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It's GA Day. Time to recognize our church's Girls in Action. Know what else that means it's time for? -Tearing up the house to find our purple vest that will be worn in three and a half hours. 

Certain members of the Burden family, myself included, have enough trouble locating something we used yesterday (keys, scissors). You asking us to find last year's vest? Nearly too much to ask. 

That's why I was bursting with pride when we found the vest in fifteen short minutes after church today. In fact we found Hallie's old vest and encouraged her to wear it as a sign of support. Fat chance. These vests are more a mission statement than a fashion statement. I'll encourage Hallie to be missional by loving her sister when the bathroom feels too small to share. 

There was one other little problem the vest presented when we pulled it out of the box in the garage. It had patches that needed to be affixed by sewing or other sticky means. Sewing? No can do. I can however squeeze a tube of glue like nobody's business. Too bad I can't seem to find the kind of glue that actually sticks. 

Several years ago Hallie's patches fell off while she walked on stage to receive her certificate. Last year Rylie lost hers too. 

This afternoon, I re-stuck the ones that came off last year and glued the new ones she got last year that I never put on. 

I have issues with things sticking-

  • Like my resolve to stop worrying
  • And that decision to calm the road rage 
  • My commitment to really read the Bible every day

What is it they say about good intentions? 

They say I'm in trouble. 

I say Let the patches fall where they may. 

Sure I fail, sometimes miserably. When I'm not failing miserably I'm failing consistently, in some small way. 

I won't put away the glue though. 

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17


I'm thankful for glue. I'm even more thankful for grace. 

Grace=Disater Relief
...All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t, and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that’s the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end. Romans 5:20-21 (The Message)

How not to put on patches:


P.S. I'm sincerely grateful to those who lead a Mission Friends, GA, RA or Acteen group. I'm also encouraged that we have young girls and guys who are interested in sharing the message of Jesus here and abroad. 

Let's Stay Connected


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Sweating is gross.  I don't do that.

-Words from Rylie when getting the kids from school Wednesday

 .  I wish it were that simple.  If only I could banish certain experiences and attitudes by deciding they were gross or undesirable.  I love her thinking.

Some things are just going to happen.  I'm going to sweat.  I'm going to have my occasional fails with my supper experiments.  I'm going to have bad hair days and the sinus infections will come and go.  No amount of determination and experience will rid me of these parts of life; I guess I can live with that.

Then there are those things I do-I choose to do, that I just can't seem to stop; that's a different story.  For instance, I choose to be grumpy.  Being sarcastic with my kids and Jason is a choice, I don't have to do that.  Watching unwholesome movies and shows on TV is a conscious decision, unlike sweating.  With each of these undesired behaviors I know, if not before, right when I'm doing it, that I shouldn't be doing it.  Why can't I stop?  Why do I even start?  I'm encouraged that Paul had the same problem.  Listen to him in Romans 7>

18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c]   For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 

 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

We MUST come to a place daily, where we recognize that there is no good in us apart from God.  Try as we may, we are a resevoir and conduit of sin.  When we continue to try and free ourself from the clutches of sin we find our effort fruitless and frustrated. The- "If at first you don't succeed -try, try again" mentality is like banging your head against a brick wall (nothing is accomplished and you're left feeling damaged).

I think the problem may be that we focus too much on what WE can and can't do on our own effort.

We have a sinful nature, and we're going to, for the remainder of our time on this side of eternity.  Our hope, and any good that we can do comes only from Jesus.  His death on the cross was enough.  He said "it is finished".  He meant it. It's obviously good to try and refrain from wrongdoing. There is merit in trying to do good. But REMEMBER, trying to do good apart from a relationship with God is in vain.

 

Our effort must dissolve into a passion to know Christ more fully.  His grace covers our failures.  His goodness flows through our veins. 

 If we make Him our true focus, we have nothing to sweat.