Tag Archives: grace

Cherished Sin – Five Minute Friday

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Have you joined in the reading and writing joy that is “Five Minute Friday” over at Lisa-Jo Baker’s blog, yet?  Each one of us contributes 5 minutes of uninterrupted writing on a one-word prompt.  There are no edits (some of us can’t help ourselves where the grammar or spelling is concerned!), no re-writes, and no over-thinking.  Sharing? Yes indeedy! There is plenty of that.
 

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Today’s prompt is: CHERISH

 

GO…

 
 
What does your heart struggle with? Mine? Just your average cherished sins.
 
Surely, you know exactly what I’m talking about? Those thoughts, words, and deeds that we know won’t bring us any closer to walking alongside this Jesus we claim to love. Those hard-to-break habits, those sinful habits, that are annoyingly ever-present in our lives? The ones we almost cherish.
 
Language – I must watch mine. Growing up as a boat Captain’s daughter, I knew full well the impact a foul-mouthed word could have. Unfortunately, I still do. When I stub my toe, lock the door behind me (without keys), get angrier than I have right to get, the words… they sometimes spill forth of their own will. Truly. I try to grab them back and stuff them back in. But then? Then, I am shamed upon the remembrance of this:
 

“For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”
Matthew 12:34

 
The Holy Spirit within me, more gently than my harsh thought moments ago, reminds me of this:
 

“Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
 Ephesians 4:29

 
And God, in His infinite mercy and boundless grace for me, forces me to stop and really think on the last part of that verse in Ephesians. And he whispers right into my heart, “Sweet one, let everything be good and helpful… and an encouragement… even to yourself. Are you encouraging yourself, sweet one? Or are you beating yourself down?”
 
My focus has shifted. It is now on cherishing my God. Who has not forsaken me, who will not leave me; even as the words of my mouth sound like so many knives in His ears. I cherish, now, this sweetly, mercifully, lovingly whispered Truth. He cherishes me.
 
And I find myself guarding my heart, much more vigilantly, against the sin of my “unhelpful speech”. Because He cherishes me.
 
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Glittery Grace

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I’m not a fan of glitter. No. That’s not true. I abhor glitter, usually. More because of the fact that it’s a never-ending round of 52,000 pick-up. When I taught Second Grade, my colleagues would relentlessly tease me anytime the glitter needed to be taken out. The panic attacks that would ensue as I calculated in my head how many glitter particles 24 students were going to generate in a 20 X 20 foot room. Stopping to consider, for even a moment, how long it would take for each last errant piece of glitter to make its way out of the classroom… sorry, I need to go hyperventilate into a paper bag for moment…
 
 
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The Floridian in me has officially hit The Winter Wall. The all-too-short days and lack of ability to get out and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air for long periods of time, is about to do me in. The Blues have been singing their sad woe-is-me song a little too often for my liking.The mornings have reached the point where I wake up and immediately want to lay right back down on the couch and wave the wintry white flag of surrender. My heart simply feels too heavy to try to move my body around with it. Depression, even mild depression in any form, can be irksome like that. Making your “get up and go”, lay down and stop.  And that’s just not me.  I’m usually a “pull yourself up by your bootstraps and carry on” kind of girl.
 
That, I’m finding, is precisely when the glitter should make its grand entrance. Allowing the glitter to come out and play instantly takes my mind off of feeling blue. Now, instead of focusing on how dull and dreary the day is, I can focus on how in the blue blazes I’m going to contain the glitter explosion that’s coming.  And, it does. Explode.  (Why does it always have to explode?)
 
And when it does?
 
The day suddenly looks much brighter.  Sparkly, in fact.  Whether it’s simply because I’m now inundated with copious amounts of glitter, or my focus is no longer on myself and my troubles, or because I’m now in a cleaning frenzy, I find that my spirits are lifted.
 
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It would seem to me that glitter is a lot like grace that way. It can take even the most dreadful-feeling day and make it all sparkly. Grace takes our most dreadful acts and covers them over like so much glitter; making us seem sparkly – when what’s underneath is still a sticky, (or worse yet, a hardened) mess.
 
Before I know what’s coming out of my mouth, I find myself saying things like, “Thank you, God, for glitter… and grace.”. Oh, yes I do.
 
And it sparkles! Oooh, how it sparkles!
 

Graceful Isn’t Necessarily As Graceful Does (Five Minute Friday)

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I’m linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker over at Tales From a Gypsy Mama again, for Five Minute Friday.  Set that clock for 5 minutes and just write on the topic given.  No editing.  No overthinking (Amen!).

Graceful…

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Graceful is as Graceful does.  Not always.  Sometimes it feels like the opposite is true of me.  How many times have I tripped over my shoes, up the stairs, let an ungraceful thought make it out through my lips? I’m then reminded of just how ungraceful I can be. Clomping across the floor in the most ungraceful way; much the way my Sweetgirl will when in her “big girl” dress-up shoes.

 

And yet… I’m also reminded of how much grace abounds for me, and then through me; if I’ll allow it to.  If I’ll remember Who is the source of all grace.  If I’ll surrender to His definition and His definition of grace, alone.  Then. Then I’ll be able to unleash a graceful attitude that trumps all of the ungraceful thoughts.  It’s then that I can envision floating across the floor without a care in the world, as graceful as can possibly be.  Because, I can “cast all my cares on Him who cares for me”.

 

It’s stunning how quickly those ungraceful thoughts are transformed when I just wallow for a moment in God’s precious, free, never-ending grace.  The attitude adjustment that takes place when I remember Jesus’ ultimate show of grace for me is instant.  And it’s available to all – even the most ungraceful among us (of which I am SO often one).

 

How graceful is that?

Hopping Toward Thankful

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Sweetboy’s stim is hopping; and he’s done more than his fair share of it lately.  We assume it’s anxiety over the transition as we end the current school-year. And, frankly, we’re a little concerned that we’re going to wake up one morning and find that this kid has sprouted long ears and a fuzzy bunny tail.  Sir-Hops-A-Lot frequently tells us that his legs or feet hurt, but he insists that “It’s NOT because of the hopping”.  It’s a veritable conundrum wrapped in a quandary.

This is another one of those moments where I’m torn in emotion. No, that’s not right.  My emotions feel shredded like so many ribbons tonight.  Why did God give us a child who can trample all over my heart with a few errant hops?  And then again, why the hell am I so ungrateful for the pure unadulterated beauty that this child brings into our lives?  I’m sorry.  Crass. I know.  I’m feeling some pent-up angst.  I blame it on the rain.  And now, I have that stinkin’ song in my head.  It’s entirely possible that you do, too.  I’m not sorry for that.  Someone should share the agony of having a Milli Vanilli song planted in their head with me.  Misery loves company and all that jazz.

But now? Now, I’ve written some of the vitriol out and it feels better.  And instead of pretending that I didn’t feel raw enough to write about it, I’m going to leave it right here.  Right where I can find it when I need to be reminded that, “Ah, yes, I’ve felt this way before. And I lived to feel like that again.”  Or even better, so that I can be reminded the next time that there most certainly is sun after rain.  It’s usually in his hug. Or his gorgeous guffaw.  And I’ll remind myself anew that I live under an umbrella of grace that is bigger than any emotional tirade on my part.  And I will be thankful.  Oh, yes indeed.  I will be thankful.