oh, how I love Jesus....

Oh, how I love Jesus!

 

Master.... Savior... LORD

 

He reaches down with His mighty arms and rescues me when I feel hopeless.

 

He reaches out with His loving arms and embraces me when I am weary.

He stretches forth His nail scarred hands and issues healing when I am in need.

 

He is Powerful.

Mighty.

Strong.

 

He sees broken hearts. He is aware of shattered spirits.

He tenderly touches the tears upon my face and wipes away the evidence of grief.

 

My God, the God who can walk on water;

 raise the dead;

 give blinded eyes their sight;

make the lame to walk and the deaf to hear.

 

He takes what is wrong and makes it right.

 

He cares about our hurting souls. He listens to our wounded cries. He hears the despairing utterances of our lips.

 

He knows.....

He knows the problem. He knows the pain and agony. He knows the outcome, because....

 

He is....

He is the first and the last.

He is the Almighty.

He is all Sovereignty and all Authority.

 

Master of the Sea.

Keeper of the Stars.

Creator of all things.

 

He is Maker. Redeemer. Righteousness. Ruler of all.

 

He is seed to the sower. Bread to the eater. God of the whole earth.

 

He knows the way that we take. He is our souls delight!

 

When we cry out in our frailty and deep need,

He extends sweet mercy upon us and responds.

 

Our unknown is known by Him. Our blindness of spirit becomes His surety as we follow Him.

 

He is HOPE.

He is LIGHT.

He is GRACE.

He is TRUTH.

He is FORGIVENESS.

 

The God who formed the earth and all that is in it,

 

loves us,

tends to us,

comforts us,

heals us,

saves us...

 

He is the great I AM. The beginning and the end.

 

He is faithful. He is true. He is peace. He is Holy.

 

The mere knowledge of who He is becomes our refuge.

 

We can trust without fear because He is our strength and our song and our salvation.

 

He leads us and guides us and never forsakes us.

 

He is the WORD. Perfect and Holy and Righteous.

 

Reaching down to lift me up. Reaching down to fill my heart.

 

Loving.

Caring.

 

He is my all.

 

Oh, How I love Jesus.

Master... Savior.... LORD....



He wakes me up

My God awakens me in the early hours of the morning. Sleep alludes me and I know that He is beckoning me to rise and get still before Him. 

My heart is so hungry for a Word from His Holy lips. I seek and I desire a revelation deep in my spirit. Open my eyes, LORD. I'm ready to listen. I'm ready to hear.

You are Jehovah! You are the mighty God! I look unto you, Oh LORD, for my strength. I depend upon you for my every breath. You are my sustenance. You are my everything.

My heart begins to grieve over the rebellion in my spirit. God, circumcise it from my heart. Help me to deny 'self' and desire only to walk in your ways. I want to please you! I want to submit to you and your will for my life. I desire to surrender all!

Lead me into the ways of holiness. Stir up my spirit to walk in godliness at all times. Empower me to push aside those fleshly desires and wants that threaten to seek victory in my life.

Teach me your ways. Help me walk in truth. Make the desires of my heart match the desires of your heart. I want a heart like yours, Oh God!

Hear my cry in the night. Anoint those in need. Bestow healing and restoration to my loved ones in body and spirit.

Obedience. Trust. A heart of Faith. Grant me these things from your Holy Hill. Help me to keep my eyes on you. Help me to see that it's all about you, God. I worship. I exalt your name above all others. Oh, how I love You! You fill me with joy unspeakable. Peace unfathomable settles in and praise flows from my lips to Your Throne.

Thank you for sweet mercy and grace. Thank you for the gift of eternal life that cost You the life of Your Son at  Calvary.

May I never trample on that grace but may I be ever mindful of the saving faith I possess because of the price Christ paid to redeem me from the pits of hell.

I'm overwhelmed. I'm overjoyed. I awaken to spend time at the feet of my Savior and now He gives me rest.

~~~~~~~~

"...He wakes me up in the morning. Wakes me up, opens my ears to listen as one ready to take orders. The Master, GOD, opened my ears..."

(Isaiah 50:4b) The Message

we can't do it ourselves!

"And they said, Believe on the Lord

Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,

and thy house"

(Acts 16:31)

~~~~~

The hardest part of our salvation experience is realizing that it has nothing whatsoever to do with us. We are saved by FAITH and FAITH alone. We are saved without works and we are saved without merit. There is absolutely nothing we can do in ourselves to be saved and there is nothing we can do to stop being saved. 

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the

LORD shall be saved"

(Romans 10:13)

It's all about Jesus. It's all about the work that the Son of God did on the Cross at Calvary. It's about a loving Savior dying a cruel and ugly death on a cruel and ugly cross and exchanging His perfect and sinless life for our depravity and wickedness. It's about believing that God's Son is the only way to eternal life. The only way to forgiveness of our sins. It's about knowing that God is who He says He is. And that His Son became our sin - all of our heinous, filthy, wicked sin - so that we could live. 

Now, don't misunderstand me here. Once we acknowledge that TRUTH in our hearts, we have to acknowledge that same TRUTH in our minds.  We have to allow Him to penetrate deeply into our spirits so that things will begin to change within us. 

See, the scriptures tell us in Romans 6:14, that once we have received that precious gift of grace, sin loses its dominion over us. The NLT says that "sin is no longer your master".  Once we understand the magnitude and the cost of the amazing gift of GRACE, we begin to see those sinful areas of our life in a completely different light. There will be things that we no longer desire to do. Places we no longer desire to go. Things we no longer desire to obtain, or read, or listen to, or watch. As we begin to let God be our master, something begins to happen deep inside of us. The Holy Spirit begins to work and to show us the depths of our sinful nature. And as the Spirit convicts us when we do sin, we begin to learn how to put away those areas of our life once and for all. We begin to see our sin through the eyes of Christ. 

We aren't saved by our works. Scripture is clear about that. But, oh, my friends, when we are saved by the precious, shed blood of our Savior and Lord, we want to do good works. We want to do things that please Him. We want to put away those sinful deeds that once beset us and walk in the ways of Jesus. We are to be imitators of God ( Ephesians 5:1). We are to have a yearning to be like Christ. The Word commands us to be holy as He is holy!

Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He loved us with such a great love that He did something for us that we couldn't do for ourselves. He redeemed us with His blood. He bought us with a price. He became the sacrifice for our sins. Past, present and Future. And there is nothing that we can do to make ourselves worthy of what He did other than believe that what He says is TRUTH and allow Him to be the Savior and the Lord of our lives. It truly is all about Him. 

"For the wages of sin is death;

but the gift of God is eternal 

life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(Romans 6:23)

Faith is believing and receiving that gift and then purposing to be like Him as we walk in the newness of the life He gives us. Somebody say Hallelujah!

grace them Lord

Never before has the meaning of grace been thrust upon my heart in such a powerful way as it was in the last few days. I spent 19 hours in a courtroom as a potential juror in a pretty intense case. Even though my number was never drawn, I had to sit and listen as somewhere around 50 people were questioned about their ability to serve as juror. 

One question was asked over and over about plea bargains and agreements. Questions about whether we would be able to fairly judge a defendant if we knew that a co-defendant who was just as guilty as the defendant in the case, were given a lesser punishment because he helped the prosecution form a better case. Did we think that was fair? Did we think it just that 2 people that committed the same crime or were partners in the crime could be given 2 different levels of sentencing. Even if one person just had knowledge of the crime but didn't actually commit the crime. I heard person after person say that it was in no way fair.That they should all pay the same price. Some were even angry at the prospect of it. I was even agreeing to myself at some point.

As I sat there listening, the Lord just so gently whispered in my ear... 'it isn't about being fair, it's called grace, Beth". And I begin to see His grace in MY life in an entirely new light. I don't deserve any of the grace that my precious Lord bestows upon me. I don't deserve even a drop of the sweet mercy that He so lovingly saturates me with day after day after day. I could never merit any of the lavish grace that is heaped on my head. No matter what I do, no matter what I say, I do NOT earn the grace in my life. It is a precious and free gift that my Savior extended toward me when I accepted Him into my heart to be my Lord, my Master and my Savior. And I am so very thankful for the grace in my life. I am overwhelmed by it and sit here today even more astounded by it than ever before.

I'm very thankful that I didn't have to make any decisions in that case. I certainly didn't want to stand as judge over another life, as I have enough  in my own life that needs some reckoning with the greatest Judge of all. But I am thankful that God used that time to really show me the meaning of grace. And how all of us who are Christians are given that same amazing gift of grace no matter what mess that grace has to cover. 

I am even more determined and purposed than ever to live a life that pleases my Lord. I want to live a life worthy of the calling He has placed on my life. 

I want to grace as I have been graced.

""Grace be with all them that love our Lord

Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen"

(Ephesians 6:24)

grace and handfuls of purpose in our lives

I sit in the quiet of my study with the precious Word of God open before me. His Word is so amazing. So rich. So powerful. Too many times I have picked it up and read it without much thought of just how precious it is. It is holy. It is pure. It is the voice of God in writing. As I begin my morning study time, I purpose in my heart to never pick it up nonchalantly again.

I open the holy scriptures and He begins speaking to me about grace. We are the object of God's amazing grace. Unmerited. Undeserved. Unending. Grace that is dispensed at just the right time. And in just the right amount. And in just the right way. Daily manna that is sent from heaven from the sweet Hands of our father. Handfuls of purpose dropped in our path for us to glean.

His Word alone is evidence of His grace in our lives. We can commune with Him at any time. He can speak to us through the scriptures each time we open the Word. Grace upon grace with each page we turn. Each word that we read. Amazing...

His provision is evidence of His grace in our lives. He provides in all things. For all things. Through all things. Whether He provides comfort during times of grief or bestows peace to our fearful hearts, His grace reigns. He provides rest for the weary. Healing for the wounded. New mercies for the repentant heart.

We find grace in the innermost essence of who God is. The rescuer. The preserver. The lover of our souls.

There is grace in the miraculous healing of a granddaughter. The whispered 'I love you's' while tucking in sweet grandchildren at night. A tearful phone call from a child needing prayer or a grandchild just needing her Nana.

There is grace in the emergency room as a grandmother cradles her oldest grandchild and softly petitions a loving God to reach down and minister peace and healing. And He does.

There is grace in the cleft of the rock where our Father has so loving placed us. In that cleft, He administers grace for the moment. Handfuls of purpose for the taking. In that cleft, we find the faithful and loving Hand of a compassionate God.

Deep in the Word of God, we tap into the ever flowing stream of grace. The knowledge of the Holy just waiting to captivate our hearts and minister to our spirits. To overwhelm and astound us. To draw us closer to the One who gives grace and who is grace.

His Word gives us life. His Word IS life. Let's treasure it. Revere it. Hide it in our hearts.

Thank you, Lord, for your amazing and precious Word. May we treat it with the respect and reverence that it so deserves. May we pick it up with trembling and excitement over what we will encounter in the pages we read. Thank you for your generous grace and your abundant Handfuls of purpose in our lives. 

2 brothers and a sister...

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good;

for His mercy endureth forever."

(Psalm 118:29)

Laylah is certainly one blessed little girl. She has two big brothers who are madly in love with her already. They love to hold her and they are quick to tell you that she is their baby.  They both wanted to hold her yesterday for their first picture all together. So, of course, Ashlie had to let them take turns and they each got their wish. And even though Sawyer was holding her in the first picture, you will notice that Bryton had her feet in his hands. 

Laylah was wide awake for just a little while today when I went to visit.  I took advantage of this opportunity to get a picture with her eyes wide open. She didn't stay awake for long, but I certainly enjoyed holding this little sweetheart for several hours while she slept, and just marveled at the miracle of life in my arms. I thanked God for all 7 of my grandchildren and the blessing that they are to me and to my husband.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The faithfulness of God never ceases to just blow me away. He is the biggest thrill of my life and I am so overwhelmed most of the time by His goodness. He has generously graced me and my family more than we could ever deserve. I thank Him for His sweet mercy upon us and even though we are so undeserving, because of Him we are worthy. We are a family rescued by grace and blessed beyond measure. I pray that we will live our lives for Him and that we will honor Him in all that we do and say. May I forever reverence the magnificent name of the LORD. May I worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.  He is Jehovah. Yahweh. Creator. He is Hashem.

what a week

This has been an amazing week. It started out with the miraculous birth of my 7th grandchild. A precious, beautiful, angelic baby girl. She entered this world with a head full of dark hair and a dimple on her chin, stole all of our hearts and is quickly wrapping every one of us around her darlin' little fingers. I am blown away by her each time I lay eyes on her. She is perfection.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She has certainly done a number on her big brother Bryton. He thinks she is the best thing ever! He wants to hold her all the time and just can't quit looking at her and touching her little fingers and her little feet. He is so sweet with her. Sawyer loves her as well, but he isn't quite as enamored with her as Bryton is. She is one blessed little girl to have two big brothers to look after her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was able to spend some time enjoying those precious boys this week while their parents were in the hospital with their new little sister. We played in the water to try and cool off in the 100+ degree weather. Thank you, Lord for little pools and sprinklers! And for little boys!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am getting to enjoy time with Melissa this week. She is between semesters at BU and so she was able to fly home for her niece's birth and spend some time with her family as well. We miss her a lot and Boston is a long way from home, but I am thankful that she is happy with what she is doing right now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have spent much time holding this sweet slice of heaven...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I managed to find time to sit on my back patio and sip some great coffee while eating the bread of life. I also added to my '1000 gifts' journal.

I've been studying how God's name used to be so revered!  The people wouldn't even say the name "YHWH" because God was so respected and reverenced they didn't feel like they could even utter His name.  Instead they used the Hebrew word for 'the Name' which was "Hashem". I love that! Oh, that we would reverence Him like that today!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Laylah didn't have her eyes open very many times this week, but today I managed to get a picture of these gorgeous eyes while she had them open for just a little while. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've experienced God's goodness and faithfulness this week in a mighty way. He is always so loving and He is always so present in our lives that sometimes we forget to be thankful. I am so grateful to my Father in heaven who has bestowed me with mercy and grace to overflowing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am really missing my daughter and 4 grandbabies while they are in Pennsylvania working. I love to talk to them on the phone, but it just makes me want to wrap my arms around them in a big way! Oh, how I miss my babies!! Mikaela, Eli, Mercie and Silas need to come home!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am just basking in God's abundance tonight. He supplies all our needs and He is more than enough...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"From the rising of the sun unto the going down

of the same the LORD's name is to be praised"

(Psalm 113:3)

loving this journey

I love my life. I love the journey that I am on with God and am so thankful for the abundant mercy and grace that He has shown me for 49 years. My sweet Lord never fails to teach me something each day of my life. Some are easy lessons and at times there are some hard ones mixed in. The hard ones are usually due to my failure to yield in some way to His authority. But they are still lessons that needed to be taught. Needed to be learned. Lessons that just plain needed to be so that I could continue on this wonderful journey with my Lord. Always growing. Always striving to be more like Him.

~~~~~~~~

We grow in relationship with God one step of obedience at a time.

~~~~~~~~

I love learning from my grandchildren. They give me so much joy and I want to be part of each of their lives. I am trying to enjoy life to its fullest and trying to slow down and savor these precious times with them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love to read the Word of God. It is the Bread of Life. It is the nourishment that I crave. There is no greater food for our souls than the heavenly manna of God's Word. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love the on-going reminder to be thankful  due to my '1000 gifts journal that I started several months ago. My last entry is #631 - "The sweetness of God's presence" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am so excited about the upcoming birth of my 7th grandchild. My youngest daughter Ashlie will be adding a sweet little girl to her family.  She will be welcomed home by 2 amazing brothers who are excited about having a little sister. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I love this picture of Ashlie and the sweet baby she is carrying. In 2 weeks, that little baby will be in our arms and the spoiling will begin!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord,

to whom shall we go? 

thou hast the words of eternal life."

(John 6:68)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am thankful for those precious words of eternal life. We have unlimited access to those words and the one who speaks them. Jesus is always there for us. Ready to listen. Ready to respond. Ready to speak those words that cover, heal and restore. Ready to reveal Himself to us as the Christ. The Son of the Living God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am missing my daughter and her 4 sweet babies so much! They send us the cutest little letters and cards that just make us want to get hugs and kisses from them in the worst way! And the photos of them that she sends just make it that much harder!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

My middle daughter, Melissa, will be flying in next week so she can be here for the birth of Ashlie's baby. She will be between semesters and able to visit with us for 2 weeks before she heads back to Boston! I am so thankful that God provided a way for her to be able to come home. I miss her so!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

God is so good. I am continually overwhelmed at His goodness. Humbled by His sweet mercy. Overcome with gratitude by His generous grace. 

Thank you Lord for your presence in my life. Thank you for drawing me and speaking those words of eternal life to me. I love you from the depths of my soul.

Word of God speak

I love seeing God work in the lives of loved ones. I love seeing how God allows things to happen in our lives that  He then uses to grow us, make us stronger, or perhaps draw us closer to Him. I love it when God does what only He can do and how it gives us the opportunity to tell others what a mighty God we serve.  I love it when God speaks.

I have seen Him work this past week in many different ways.  I have seen the parents of a little 4 year old girl who lost her life in a church van accident just 3 weeks ago, give their hearts and lives to Jesus. I have seen the father of the young man who also lost his life in that accident beginning to ask questions about being a Christian. I have seen a young 16 year old girl who lost her mom and 2 sisters in that accident come to church to worship the Lord that she still loves with all of her heart. I have seen a community shower a sister church with love and compassion as they struggled to come to terms with what had happened and how to deal with the aftermath. I've seen the true Church of God act like the true Church of God. I've seen God work in the life of my son-in-law as He saved him from potential death or paralysis and instead graced him with a second chance. I have seen his heart begin to draw closer to God in a way that has happened before. I have seen my young daughter stand by her husbands side with love and strength that only came from her Savior.  I have seen God speak.

I glimpsed God in so many ways this past week it just blew my mind. We serve such a loving and compassionate God. We serve a God of infinite power and might. We serve a God that can and a God that will. Our God loves us with an unparalleled love. He is merciful and gracious. He is patient and kind. He longs for an intimate relationship with us. He wants to be wanted. Oh, how He longs for us to long for Him.

I believe that God is beginning to call His true Church out. I believe that God is in the process of pruning and refining. God is speaking and it is imperative that we begin to listen.  He has so much to tell us and we need to have the ears to hear. 

I am desiring a Word from the Lord. There are some things that He is speaking in the life of my husband and I and it's time for us to be still and hear what He has to say. It's time for us to put our lives totally in His control To put our whole life in His hands and trust Him fully. There is no place that God can call us to go that He won't go before us. There is no place of surrender that our Lord will call us to that He won't walk beside us. The place that I desire to be is smack dab in the middle of His will. Wherever it is. Whatever it entails. However long He calls me to be there. I want what God wants.

I am ready for God to issue a powerful and audible whisper from His lips to my ears. I am eager for the power of God to begin flowing freely and fully in my life. I am ready for God to use me for His glory in a new and mighty way. I yearn to hear Him speak. And when He does, I pray for a discerning spirit, a surrendered heart and the guts to respond.

a great week

I've had a great week. We had VBS at our church and my girls and grandkids stayed here all week to make it easier for them to attend each morning since they live about 25 miles from my house. It was a week full of joy and a week full of lots of sweet but loud, small voices . What I like to refer to as joyful chaos. I think I swept my floor a thousand times, washed a million loads of clothes and bought a small fortune worth of groceries. At least. But it was a lot of fun and God used this week to speak to my heart in lots of ways.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

I have a room that I do my bible study in and the smaller grandchildren call it my 'bible room'. I went in this morning to have my quiet time and saw this index card among the others.  Mercie had made a card just like Nana. You will never know how that touched my heart when I laid eyes on it.

~~~~~~~~~~

Eli had called me outside yesterday afternoon to take a picture of him in a tree. He said, 'Nana, my second favorite thing to do is climb this tree. My first favorite thing to do is Praise Jesus.'  My heart just melted right then and there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I was reading in Hebrews this week, this verse ushered in strong conviction to my heart. 

"So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief."

(Hebrews 3:19)

Oh, Lord, let me not be guilty of unbelief. Let me taste the goodness of You and see my worth made possible through the precious blood of your Son. May I trust only in You.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As we were unpacking Melissa's things from Baton Rouge and repacking them for her move to Boston, I found this letter that Mikaela had written her Aunt Melissa earlier this year. It just made me smile to realize how close our family is and how much love there is to go around. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There were times this week when I was praying for some peace and quiet. But now that they have all gone home, I am left with a silence that reminds me of the joyfulness of the chaos! I found a little pair of Silas' overalls in the dryer this morning. I found a little stuffed dog that Sawyer left behind. I discovered Mikaela's American Girl horse on the bed where she slept.  I found multiple fingerprints on my glass tabletop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 There are at least two ways you can tell if someone -  who will remain unnamed-  has been in the curio cabinet playing with the nativity sets. One way is that the donkey is in the spot where baby Jesus is supposed to be...

and another way is that the poor shepherd is taking an unscheduled nap beside the wise man.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We found Sawyer one morning wearing his papa's glasses and doing a good imitation of "Preacherman".  I pray that God will have a distinct calling upon his life and that he will hear and obey. If have four grandsons so far - perhaps one of them will be a preacher like their Papa.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was overwhelmed several times during bible school at the graciousness of our Lord. As I saw 50 or more children each day coming to the church and having the privilege of learning about Jesus and not being afraid of persecution, my heart just filled up with such gratitude for God's mercy on our nation so far. I pray that our country will realize how blessed a people we are and that we will recognize our sin, turn from our wickedness and fall on our faces in repentance and in surrender to our God and King. He is truly worthy of our praise and our honor and all glory....

"And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen"

(Revelation 7:11-12)

~~~~~~~~~

Mikaela is such a great big sister. She is such a loving and sweet girl and I thank the Lord for her every day! She is a precious gift from God indeed!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bryton did a great job during commencement last night. He got up on stage and sang his little heart out with his class and I was so proud! After Eli's class sang, he said "Nana, Eli did a great job!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Any time I start to wonder "why?" I read this card. My heart has been so heavy for the people devastated this past week by tornadoes. We live in an area that is known for tornadoes and we were in the path of several ourselves and only by the grace of God missed any terrible destruction. I pray that those affected find peace and comfort in the loving arms of our Savior.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My flesh and my heart faileth; but God

is the strength of my heart, and

 my portion for ever." 

(Psalm 73:26)

Thank you, Lord for the amazing privilege of being a wife, mother and grandmother. May I bring only honor to what you have called me to do and may I always show others You with my words and actions. Thank you for your grace and mercy in my life.

I'm nothing in the equation of grace

It's a sobering thought that in the spiritual equation that results in Grace, our part in it is nothing. Zero. Nada. Absolutely nothing of our own self is present in that wondrous equation. Jesus plus nothing equals Grace. His Blood plus nothing equals Grace. Grace isn't the result of anything we can do or stop doing. Jesus did it all. Jesus paid the entire price for us at the Cross of Calvary.

What took place at the Cross was not accidental. Every part of it was intentional. It was part of God's plan from the very beginning of creation. God knew exactly what it would take for us to be able to spend eternity with Him. He knew that we couldn't do it ourselves. We couldn't even keep 10 simple rules better known as the Ten Commandments. He knew that it was going to take much more than what we had to offer. It would take a Redeemer. A Justifier. A Savior. Someone to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows. Someone to bear all our iniquity.

God took our sins and placed them upon His perfect Son. For us. Isaiah 53:6 tells us, ... and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all".  Can you imagine what it was like for God to take ALL of our sins and intentionally place them upon His Son so that we could live? He placed all of our guilt and all of our shame upon Him. He placed all of our filth and our unrighteousness upon His perfect Son.

"For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;

that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him"

(2 Corinthians 5:21)

We did nothing in this equation of Grace. Jesus did it all. We don't deserve it. We don't earn it. We can't be good enough or work hard enough to be worthy of it. We don't even seek Him on our own accord. Unless He draw us, we have no power to seek after Him.

"As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one;

there is none that understandeth, there is

none that seeketh after God"

(Romans 3:10-11)

Only through God's precious Son, can we experience salvation. Only when He lives inside of us, can we begin to live a life of righteousness for Him. Only when we believe in Him, can we receive this precious gift of Grace extended so lovingly to us.

Grace is the costliest gift that has ever been given. It cost Jesus everything. It cost  us nothing. He became all of our sins so that we could become His righteousness and live a life of Holiness. If we don't have a desire to live a Holy life, then we don't fully understand Grace. Or the Cross.

We have all sinned. We have all fallen short of His glory. But through Jesus, we have been justified freely by the Grace of God. Through the redemption in Christ Jesus. And all we have to do is receive it.

Thank you precious Lord for becoming my sin for me. Thank you for willingly giving your life at the Cross for me. Thank you for Grace. I love you with all of my heart and I want to worship you and serve you all the days of my life.

"Grace doesn't just get us into the

presence of God, but Grace enables

us to live the life He desires for us

 to  live"  - Louie Giglio

new mercies, motherhood, new grandchild...

"It is of the LORD's mercies that
we are not consumed, because his
compassions fail not. They are new
 every morning; great is thy faithfulness"
(Lamentations 3:22-23)

I love the fresh start of a new year. I awoke this morning really feeling the immediate awareness of some new mercies today. New mercies that I so desperately need. New mercies that I certainly don't deserve. But nonetheless, new mercies that a gracious and loving God has generously bestowed upon me. For that I am thankful.

I love being a mom. I was blessed with 3 pretty amazing daughters. They are now 25, 24 and 21 years old and I love them. I have been blessed to be loved by them as well. I haven't been a perfect mother. I have made mistakes along the way, but they still love me and are always quick to champion me and assure me of my fabulous motherhood skills. Even though they are grown and 2 of them have families of their own, I still mother them when they don't really need it (or they don't think they do..), and they love me through it.

Ashlie and the boys spent the day over here and left at bedtime. They got home to a power outage in the country and were lighting candles until the lights came back on. Of course, I had to remind her not to go to bed with candles burning...  She was sweet about the mothering advice and assured me she knew better than that. I had to laugh a little while ago when I got a text from her. "lights back on. candles are all out.. :)" She knows me well and knew I wouldn't rest until I knew no candles were burning.. I love my girls, they love me and for that I am thankful.

I love being a Nana. Eight years ago, I was just getting the hang of the grandmother thing and was enjoying it with all my heart. I never dreamed that over the next 7 1/2 years, my 2 girls would add 5 more grandchildren to the equation giving me 6 of those precious babies. I had grandchildren born in 2002, 2005, 2007,2008,2009 and 2010.  Nothing on earth brings me greater joy than those precious grandyoungin's. I love them all with a fierce love that I could never have imagined possible. Each one was brought into the world with this blessed Nana witnessing each miraculous moment of each birth. There is nothing like it. 2011 won't be any different. Sometime in August, my youngest daughter, Ashlie, will bring her 3rd baby into this world. And I will welcome my 7th grandchild into my arms with great delight. For that I am thankful.

God is so good. He has blessed me immeasurably. He has given me grace in abundance.  I pray that in the coming year, I continue to seek Him more and know Him like never before. I desire to be found faithful. I desire to bring Him honor and glory. I want to be like Him.

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Begin to know Him now,

and finish never......

(Oswald Chambers)

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Happy New Year!

grace upon grace... thank you Lord!

"All that God does flows out of grace" (A.W. Tozer)

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I am so thankful for the presence of God's grace in my life. The favor of God bestowed so lovingly by a Sovereign God on a sinner saved only by that amazing grace.

Grace that was present even before the Cross.  Prevenient grace. A grace that proceeded everything. One that was working before our very existence.

Grace walked in the garden of Eden. Grace was present in the ark during the flood.

Grace forgave David. Sustained Moses Strengthened Job.

It was grace that rescued Daniel. And restored Israel.

God's grace. Majestic.... Matchless.  Marvelous.

Generous grace poured out lavishly by a loving God and dispersed according to our need.

Grace that overflows and spills out.

Undeserved.
Unearned.
Unmerited.

Grace that is unending and unlimited. God's grace is a well that will never run dry. Never lose its power. And never be unavailable.

God has an infinite supply of grace and so lovingly applies it to our lives. His precious hands reach down and anoint our heads with the sweet aroma of grace and allows it to penetrate, permeate, saturate and fill us.

Out of His fulness, God has given us, through Jesus Christ, His Son, grace upon grace.

More grace than I can ever deserve.

More grace than I can ever understand.

More grace than I can ever fathom is possible.

Grace like rain. Pouring down. Covering. Drenching.

Leaving behind the glorious mist of His presence. And the amazing peace that comes from knowing Him in an ever increasing intimate and personal relationship.

Just pure, unmitigated favor from God. His riches deeded to me in exchange only for my surrender to Him.

Thank you, Lord for the amazing grace that is mine because of Jesus. I love you with all of my heart and will serve you all the days of my life.

Share the Gospel

It occured to me last night that in the midst of my busy life and in the midst of me pursuing my own spiritual growth and subsequent feeding of my soul, that I have neglected to truly reach out and share the gospel one-on-one with other people.

Oh, sure, I talk about the Lord with people all the time. I share my faith with others but in reality, most of the people on the other side of these conversations are those that already have a relationship with Christ.

On rare occassions, my office at work has given me an opportunity to plant some seeds, but it hasn't afforded me a real chance to lead someone to Christ.

I haven't taken the initiative or the time to get out of my comfort zone and seek out a lost soul. I haven't really been "soul conscious" of anyone's soul except mine!

It's easy to share our faith and beliefs with someone in everyday conversation. It's easy for me to talk about all the things that Christ has done and is doing in my life. But the thought of going to someone's house (uninvited) and knocking on the door and then asking them if they would let you come in and tell them about Jesus... well, that's a little harder. A tad out of my comfort zone.

But in these perilous times, we need to be sensing an urgency to get God's Word and His gospel out to a lost and dying people. A people that need Jesus in a big way. People like me and people like you. People that are hungry.

We know where to find that road map that will lead them to Jesus. We need to be willing to share that with others. We know that One who can fill them with the Holy Spirit. We know where they can taste the Living Water.

We know where they can find the food that will satisfy their hunger. After all, we are just one beggar showing another beggar where to find the bread.

Christ died for us all. We are all sinners, but for those of us who have accepted and received God's gift of salvation and acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior, there is forgiveness. There is hope. There is mercy. There is grace.

Let's share that with others.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
(John 3:16)

The Precious Lamb of God

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I read this verse as part of my daily bible reading this morning. I know that I have read it many times and probably so have most of you. But this morning, it just really spoke to my heart with the magnitude of what this actually means. I read it afresh. I read it with a new understanding. I read it with a new appreciation. It just flooded through my soul that this is mercy.

When we align ourselves with Christ and we enter into a full relationship of repentance and obedience with Him – we will never be the same. We don’t want to ever be the same. We become a changed and new creation. We become visibly different.

Just like a butterfly breaking free from the cocoon that binds him, we break free from the cocoon of this world and emerge a new, beautiful creation in Christ. We have been changed from old to new. From death to life! From defeat to victory! From sinful to forgiven.

We have been given the sweet gift of mercy. As the old things pass away we now have unlimited access to the new things.

New affections..
New actions..
New desires..
New appetites..
New relationships..
New life..
New love..

Through Christ, He enables us to make the transformation. He has provided the way. But it’s up to us to spread our wings and leave the confines of the cocoon of the world. The transformation is more than just an outward change, it is an inward reformation. We have been given the chance to have new life in Christ. We have been given the ability to be reconciled with Him and receive the forgiveness we can’t earn and the mercy we don’t deserve. Through Him, our sins have been washed away and we are cleansed and made whole.

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

As Christ became sin for us on that cross, we immediately were given the opportunity to become new creations. As the Lamb of God took on our sin, we became spotless. Righteousness has been imputed TO us and then implanted IN us. We have been made fully justified through Him. Freely justified! We have been made the righteousness of God! Hallelujah! I don’t know about you but that just excites me! As my husband would say, “If that don’t light your fire, your wood must be wet!!”

We can never earn this grace. We can never earn His mercy. But we can accept it and embrace it and live for Him.

Praise you, Lord for your never ending mercy. Thank you, Lord, for so freely giving up your life on the cross at Calvary for me. Thank you for enabling me to become a new creation. Thank you for giving me new life. I love you and I will seek you and find you and love you more and more.

Happy Birthday Megan & More Grace

Happy 24th birthday Megan! What an absolute joy you have been to me sweet one. 24 years ago, I entered the world of motherhood with your birth. I have watched you grow from a happy, precious, content little baby to a happy, precious, content young woman. You are a godly wife and mother and I couldn't be more proud of you. As I watch you seek after God and instill what you believe into those amazing 3 children you are raising, my heart is filled with joy. You are a blessing to me sweet girl.

I love you - Mama

And yes, for those of you who did the math, I had my oldest girls 12 months apart. And no, it wasn't planned =)

"Grace is God at work"

As my husband and I were watching a DVD last night, Louie Giglio made that statement. He said that is the best way he knows how to explain what grace is to people who don't have a clue. Grace has nothing to do with us. Grace is strictly about God and what He did.

I think that is why it is so hard for us to fully accept it without having that feeling of it being so undeserved. The fact of the matter is - it IS undeserved. We are NOT worthy. That is why it is grace. We can't understand it, because in reality we don't operate that way. We put conditions on our love and we put conditions on our 'good deeds'.
We expect something in return.

But that isn't how God operates. God transfered our sin to His Son at the cross. We don't have to do anything but believe and accept it. But when we fully understand it and we fully 'get it' - we want to do all we can to be worthy. We want to be sanctified. We want to be set apart. We want to live holy lives. We want to walk worthy of our calling.

I am so humbled and thankful for what Christ did for me at the cross. I know that I am undeserving and I know that I am unworthy. But He did for me, what I couldn't do for myself. I am thankful for His mercy and His forgiveness. I am thankful for reconciliation. I want to walk the rest of my days in holiness. I want to walk the rest of my days in His footsteps.

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" 2 Corinthians 5:21

Happy Birthday Melissa & God's grace

Happy 23rd birthday, Melissa! You will never know just how much I love you and what a great blessing you are to me. I am so very thankful that God chose me to be your mother. From a sweet little baby with lots of colic, to a beautiful young woman seeking after God's heart. I pray you continue to find favor in the Lord. And that as you seek Him, you will find Him and as you find Him, you will love Him more. I love you - Mama

"OUR SIN IS GREAT - GOD'S GRACE IS GREATER"

As I read these words in my devotion today, it really caused me to stop and ponder these words and think about it.

Sin entered our world through one wrong choice to follow man's path instead of God's path. Sin entered and has had a death grip on us ever since.

Without God's intervention we would be without Hope. We would be bound for an eternity in hell. Lost and never found.

But through the cross, Jesus overpowered and conquered sin and thus conquered death through His resurrection. Because of Jesus we have hope and we have life. Our sins have been covered by the precious blood of our Lord and Savior.

"Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more." Romans 5:20

Lord, help me to live in more appreciation and thankfulness for what you did on the cross of Calvary for us all. As I seek you more, help me to follow your path and not my own. Help me to flee from the temptation of sin and focus on the restoring power of God's grace.

His Amazing Grace

We sang a song at church yesterday that keeps running through my head. I just keep singing it and singing it over and over. I feel like I need to share it here today because the Lord isn't giving me anything else - just the words to this song.

I looked up the word amazing and here is the definition:

"So extraordinary or wonderful as to be barely believable or to cause extreme surpise"

When I thought about that word and what it really means, I truly began to focus on just how amazing God's grace truly is.

Amazing grace, shall always be my song of praise,
For it was grace, that bought my liberty;
I do not know just why He came to love me so,
He looked beyond my fault and saw my need.

I shall forever lift mine eyes to Calvary.
To view the cross - where Jesus died for me;
How marvelous the grace that caught my falling soul!
He looked beyond my fault and saw my need.

As I sit here typing this my eyes are just filled with tears. It just completely blows me away that this is what Christ did for me. I know that I can never be worthy on my own - only through Him can I become worthy. He looks beyond my faults and the Lord knows I have many. I am just so thankful today that He sees more than just the messes I make. That He sees the potential I have and the longing I have in my heart to praise, worship, serve and love Him.

I hope that this ministers to someones soul today. My whole purpose of this outlet is to minister. I only want to write what God is leading me to write. I want to truly be an instrument for His Glory.

Humble and thankful,
Beth

Because of Christ

Because of Christ, I am made righteous. I aspire for holiness and desire sanctification. I have been redeemed.

Because of Christ, I don't have to worry about my identity with the world. I don't need others to define who I am. I am defined only by Jesus and the price He paid for me at Calvary!

Because of Christ, I have been engrafted by grace into His family. The family of God. I have been sealed with the Holy Spirit.

Because of Christ, I am a child of the King! My greatest accomplishment is accepting God's free gift of Grace - my salvation - and becoming a disciple for Him.

Thank you, Lord, for having mercy on me. Thank you for saving a sinner like me. Thank you for being the redemption for my sins. May I always be a disciple for your Glory.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)

Seeking Him,
Beth