Category: Potpourri

Stand For Life

That’s what missing in the Planned Parenthood equation: Love. That life is precious, that man was made in God’s image and that God in His great love and mercy created us all. All of us. May we stand for life and do so in Love.

melianewbornhand2It’s hard to remember the humanity behind egregious behavior sometimes.  That, and our own desperate need for the same love, respect, patience, forgiveness and forbearance despite our own sinful behaviour, our sin-filled pasts, our lapses of good judgment, our folly.   We forget, in viewing inhumane behaviour, in the heat of disagreement, and frustration and horrified emotion, that we, but for the grace of God could be in their very same shoes.  Planned Parenthood’s barbaric practice of killing — destroying life — dismembering babies and contracting with companies the sale and distribution of those body parts is so grotesque that it’s hard to even imagine — it’s incomprehensible.   The astonishing thing about this though, is that even though it so assaults our senses that we cannot fathom how civilized individuals could possibly engage in such activity, let alone organize it, the truth is: we are could be doing, or are capable of doing, the very same thing.  That’s a sickening thought, isn’t it?

[cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”[/cp_quote]We know we need it — even demand it at times, but everyone needs love and patience and forgiveness and hope.  It’s what distinguishes us as human.  But what also distinguishes us as human is that without Christ, without accepting the gift of salvation through Him, we are destined for hell, we are unrestrained, we are unredeemed.  It is a gift and it is by the grace of God that we can even see this — that He loved us while we were yet sinners and died in our place that we might have redemption through His shed blood and live with Him eternally.  Sin eternally separates us from God but Jesus, who is the Way the Truth and the Life, breaks the bonds of sin and separation and gives us redemption by grace through faith in Him.  Jesus came that we might have life and that more abundantly.  This is the love of God.That’s what missing in the Planned Parenthood equation: Love.

That life is precious, that man was made in God’s image and that God in His great love and mercy created us all.  All of us.

May we stand for life and do so in Love.
May we stand for those whose voices have been destroyed.
May we stand with those who think they have no other options; give them love, give them the truth, give them hope.
May we stand for Truth.
May we stand against destroying life.
May we stand against selling body parts of destroyed babies.
May we remember to be: p.e.a.c.e.f.u.l.
May we remember to be: k.i.n.d.
May we remember to: Love.
May we ever remember that everyone’s going through something.

Get the book and be: Present

I’ve had the great privilege of getting to know Keri and was honoured to be asked to read the draft of this book before it was published.  You’ll immediately see her heart in this writing and you’ll likely see yourself in the pages as her story unfolds; it may well describe or reveal a bit of your own story–your own struggle to be present amidst the stranglehold and demands of social media and the desire to be relevant clashing with the desire to be present wherever you are in life.

So, get the book, read it… and be: Present.

Dark Days

melianewbornhandIn the wake of the breaking news stories in the last couple of days, it’s hard to fathom the depths of evil consuming our nation. The enormity of this may well be underestimated, and the trail of money on a spiraling street paved with innocent blood may well be staggeringly more than can possibly be imagined.

quotebeginIt is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Hebrews 10.31

Surely judgement has come on America when a nation will slaughter its own babies for great profit under the guise of research.  When immorality is lauded and God’s Word is ignored, when His marvelous design is discarded and when men and women turn their backs on Providence,  and when human life is of less value than plants and animals: we have sunk to such pervasive and widespread depravity such as has never before been experienced in this nation.

quotebeginTake heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Hebrews 3.12

I pray for women who have been duped into despair, for the unborn babies whose lives have been taken from them by the persuasive lies of the powerful, relentless, evil abortion industry — Planned Parenthood, in particular. I pray for the men and women who’ve succumbed to and believed the lies and conscience numbing propaganda of Planned Parenthood, et al.  And I pray for those whose eyes have been opened, hearts have been broken by painfully and sorrowfully regretted abortions.

I pray for those who are (still)  under the grave delusion that there is nothing wrong with abortion or, worse, that it’s simply a personal choice – that that personal choice is right and the decision is theirs alone to make – that it’s nobody’s business what a woman decides to do with her body baby.   It’s a business.  A huge, powerful, relentless, profitable,  machine.  You think you’re being cared for — but that’s a lie.  The abortion industry is a lucrative killing machine that cares nothing for women but must perpetuate the lie of compassion so that women will continue to clamour for their right to abortion.  That abortion is compassionate is a lie. Period.  That abortion is harmless is a lie.  Period. That abortion is a private matter is a lie.   Period.  Those lies are the devil’s lies.  he hates God and he hates life and seeks only to kill and destroy.  That is the Truth… In the Lord is life… Life for all who will come to Him and call upon His name.  He will hear, He will answer and He will save all who call upon the Name of the Lord.

[cp_dropcaps] O[/cp_dropcaps] LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.  2  Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3  Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4  For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.  5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. 7  Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10  Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11  If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. 13  For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. 14  I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.  15  My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.  16  Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. 17  How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! 18  If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. 19  Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. 20  For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. 21  Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? 22  I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. 23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” —psalm 139

May God heal our land and save this nation.

A blogger’s loss & gain

teapotcup[cp_dropcaps]H[/cp_dropcaps]ardly a week goes by that I don’t think (or mutter aloud) that this or that blog or twitter account will have a crash.  In just a matter of time there will be an incident or an avalanche of incidents that will take a blogger to an intersection in her life where she’ll be broadsided some Thursday afternoon and she’ll sit on the floor, head in her hands, crying out to God for His mercy.  But for now, she doesn’t  ask for help because she doesn’t know she needs it.  Yet.

Such was the case for me… going to bed most every night regretting all the stuff that didn’t get done that day… only to wake the next morning, hurrying to get enough stuff done to be able to log on, retrieve the messages, hurriedly scan blogs of interest, personally regretting lacking the coolest format and relevant blog topics, hurriedly editing the latest photos for a new layout and then opening the blog “new post” page to start another blog entry.

With new eyes, I see the new styles and formats year after year.  Emails flood my  inbox regarding new programs, site design software, search engine optimization, methods for attracting and increasing traffic, comments, customers, digital image editing, suggestions for link sharing and more.  As I see these things for the few seconds they remain on the screen before they’re deleted, I think of all my years of temptation to be and do more — and now the young mothers who desperately long to have a successful marriage and pinterested motherhood, well educated home-schooled children, pinteresting organized homes and pinterest-perfect meals served on lovely tables in beautiful homes just like the pictures in the best blogs.  I see the ideas, tutorials, instructional and encouragement blogs and I sincerely think it’s amazing how they’ve exploded exponentially over the last few years.  The pictures almost have smell-o-vision and the images seem to be increasingly bigger, better, more than homemaking’s ever been.  All, seemingly effortlessly accomplished.  While blogging.

And for a while the mothers will be able to pull it off…. blogging and living.  Living and blogging. Checking the other blogs.  Sharing links and ideas.  Guest posting. Guest hosting.  I wish I could convey that a mama on the computer doesn’t realize — really does not realize — how much time is passing and what’s being missed and what’s NOT being done in the passage of time.  I wish I could explain that the number of times a mama says Justa sec… Justa sec… only increases.  I wish I could convey just what happens with each “Justa sec” that’s uttered.  [cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]What’s really happening is not what it seems like at the time to the mama.[/cp_quote]  What it seems like at the time to the mama is that she really will hop up and play, or hop up and read that book, that she really will push that swing, see that funny face, play that game.   But what’s really happening, more often than not, is that mindless commands are given, mindless affirmations are made, and in Justa sec, Justa sec… a child (or two or seven) is walking away.  A child (or two or five) is ignored or put off or forgotten.  Then time is too short for that story, that game, that swing, that funny face, that trip to the library.  The hours pass into days, the days pass into months and the months pass into years.  And all those Justa sec’s net nothing — nothing but a little more precious time online.  And then the weary mama sinks down defeated… because at the end of that “Justa sec” is dinner, a spilled cup of milk, laundry, the phone or the door or the diaper or the dentist – fifteen minutes late.  The tensions build, the frustrations increase and troubles start to flow like a river.

And then one day the crash happens.  It may be a literal computer hard-drive crash or a website crash. It may be a failed or broken or damaged relationship.  But a crash happens and the mama gets a wake-up call.  She probably won’t realize in the moment, but then, the dawning of reality crashes over her like a tsunami that precious moments were missed and forever lost.

And the impact of the reality hits her as she crumbles on the kitchen floor.  She gasps to breathe as she begins to catch a glimpse of what’s happened in the space of fifty thousand Justa sec’s.   She’s leveled as she begins to realize the utter waste that consumed her days… that time to push the swing is past. Forever. In the theatre of her mind she recounts all the things forever gone, the pictures she never coloured with the littles,  the funny things she didn’t even realize she missed… that the children stopped asking her to come and see, come and read, come and play… they knew that Justa sec never came.  Justa sec never comes.  Apologies would not make up for all that was lost.  Sorrow wouldn’t restore the days and months that turned into years.  Regret would not rewind the clock.

And in a puddle of tears and a heap of sorrow, she’s pretty sure she’ll never outlive these hard days — these very hard days of reckoning.  But she will.  God in His mercy will answer her cries.  And He will tenderly cover her sorrows.  He can restore what the locusts have eaten.  A blogger’s loss may be another’s gain.

This is my story, this is my song, praising my Saviour all the day long.

 

Write this memorial & rehearse it

womenbible[cp_dropcaps]S[/cp_dropcaps]o much on my mind lately that I’m overwhelmed if I indulge in thinking too long without something to specifically direct my thoughts.  Were it not for prayer, singing and morning Bible study, I don’t know where I’d be.  I know that’s an over used phrase — I don’t know where I’d be — but it’s over used bcz it’s true.  More true than we might realize, I’m sure.

If you’re a believer — redeemed by grace through faith in Jesus — think where you’d be without Christ.  Think of where you’d be without that precious hope.  Think of where you’d be if you hadn’t yielded your life to Him.  It’s a staggering thought to me when I consider who I am in Him, because of Him and my infinitesimal grasp of His mercies in my life and that of my family.  Small as my grasp may be, it’s sure.  It’s very sure. It’s very sure bcz it’s not my grasp that keeps me — It’s His grasp1, it’s His faith2, it’s His finished work3, it’s His gift of hope4.

So, why would I fret? Why would I worry? Why would I be overwhelmed? Why would I wonder for a moment about the days ahead of me? When I ask myself these questions, I’m prompted to recount His mercies… I’m prompted to recall the ways He has worked and the blessings and provisions are more than I can count–more than I can recall.  I’m sure of this: His blessing and provisions are, and surely have been, more than I know.

Bookp1Earlier as we were reading along in the book of Exodus, chapter 17.  I was struck again how the Lord commanded things to be remembered and methods for such remembrance — piles of stones, books, memorials, feasts and more — and His direction to Moses to write for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua (verse 14).  [cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]Never wasting a thread, never wasting opportunities, isn’t God merciful to provide exactly what’s needed?[/cp_quote]  Joshua was going to need that memorial — not only to bolster his faith, but bcz he was going to need strength and great courage — God was going to use him in ways he could not have imagined.

Bookp1So I take this; I receive instruction to keep accounts of God’s dealings with me and our family — and I tell them what the Lord has done for us.   The timing of this reading is perfect — as His work (and Word) always is.  I so need to pay attention to what God’s doing in these days as we’re calling on Him for so many specific things. I know I’m going to need all these things — I want to add to the great things He’s done what He’s doing now and I want to rehearse it my children.  They need to hear.  And to remember.  Not only bcz it’s part of their heritage, it’s also God’s work in their lives and what they’re going to need as they face the battles ahead, as they follow the Lord — maybe they’ll face some Joshua moments, maybe they’ll face some trials and testings of faith unlike any we’ve ever faced.  I don’t know… but I do know this: God is faithful, and as they walk with Him, He will be with them–He promises this for His children.

For my birthday, Wes bought me a new journal Bible — a Bible so unlike any I’ve ever had.   Because there are no cross references, footnotes, commentary or maps ~smile~ I feel like I’m reading the Word with new eyes or, maybe, like I’m riding a bike without training wheels for the first time.  All this and bcz I’ve had many Bibles that were exactly the same, I’m familiar with where verses and passages are on a given page.  This new one, while still KJV, is very different.  Fresh start… and it’s a blessing.  I’m not an artist by any stretch of imagination—but here I have my new Bible and new watercolour pencils and I’ve begun this journey.  It’s my plan to add something every day. Down the road, I pray I’ll be able to look back and trace the Hand of the Lord on this journey.  And someday my children will see some of what I saw and what the Lord was doing in, for, and through me — and more: for them.

1. John 10.28-29 “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
2. Galatians 2.16  “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
3. John 17.3-4   “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”
4. 2Thessalonians 2.16  “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,”

Just one added thing each day

dishwashercupsup

[cp_dropcaps]T[/cp_dropcaps]his morning as I sat at my dining room table, I thought, what if I did one new thing each day for the rest of this year, how many things would I be able to do?  How many additional things would be accomplished?  Two Hundred Sixty Six.  Imagine: 266 additional things.  Instantly, I’m reminded of the significance of the number 266 — an average pregnancy is 266 days.   Not anymore for this Sarah, but that’s a number I’ll never forget.

I considered:  Purposefully learning and purposefully accomplishing one additional thing every day.  Adding one more step, situp, pushup, crunch, squat—-one more whatever—-to my exercise routine.  That’s a whole bunch.  And that’s somewhere to begin!  That, and it would create a dramatic change in strength and stamina.

Just adding clarity or purpose to my daily routines helps me be clearer on the concept.  Otherwise, many of my efforts will not produce desired results.  If I just do things hastily or haphazardly or without being clear on the concept, I won’t have much to show for all these days I’ve been given and if I don’t strive to better use the time I’ve been given I’ll continue to look back and see a whole bunch of busyness and not a whole lot of accomplishment.  By way of illustration, the image I’ve chosen for today’s post is a picture of dirty cups loaded into the dishwasher. The child who did this chore, did what I asked.  And I was pleased with the effort—but it became a teachable moment as I described the purpose of the soap and sprayer beneath the rack and how it accomplished the cleaning of the inside as well as the outside of the cups.  [cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]It’s a clear picture of how ineffective some of our best efforts are when we’re not clear on the concept.[/cp_quote]

So I continued this morning, and throughout this afternoon, to consider the huge benefit I would realize in cleaning/doing/accomplishing one extra thing every day for 266 days (and beyond).  I’m already cleaning every day anyway — one more thing might take one more or five more or thirty-five more minutes.  What a blessing to my family–and to me: a clean and cozy home – on purpose just for them, just for me, not for or because of anyone else.   What if I made one new recipe each week like I used to do?  What if I did one extra load of laundry each day?  You get the idea.

Then my mind swirled with a great idea pertinent to where I am right now: What if I eliminated one thing every day?  Or a bag of things? Or a box of things?  Every day.  What if I organized a drawer one day, a cabinet another day, and a closet another day?  I already do this to some extent — so adding one thing to my daily regimen seems doable. 🙂 I just haven’t done this with purpose every day.  Then I imagined that I could pick an area to work on every day and if I sorted, in that one small area, items into boxes marked: keep/giveaway/throwaway.   Well, I’d surely be very, very organized by the end of the year or sooner!

What if I read an extra chapter, wrote an extra journal entry, wrote a letter, a blog post, a list of dreams, plans, ideas? I’m already reading and writing things every day… so the ideas is something added to my normal course of daily routines — just one added thing every day.

Join me in doing one added thing today.  Just one thing added.  Think about it, if we do one additional thing every day until the end of the year—we’ll have done 266 extra things.

Think of it… just ONE added thing.  Ready, steady, you Go, girl! ♥

 

The Sweetest Peace

melianewbornhand

The sweetest peace comes at the most unexpected times… do you know what I mean? Have you experienced the sweetest peace in the midst of tenderest joy?  Have you experienced the sweetest peace in the midst of anguishing sorrow?  Have you experienced the sweetest peace in the midst of heart wrenching loss?

The sweetest peace that washes over you now when you reflect on some past experience… the sweetest peace that carries you through the hardest places you’ve ever traveled… this is the peace that passes understanding.  I think this is the peace that Kara wrote about in her book: The Hardest Peace; I believe it is the peace she now sees Face to face, face to Face — His to hers, hers to His: the sweetest peace. The certain presence of the Lord and the reality of heaven.

My husband brought me her book, The Hardest Peace, when he came home from from a brief mission’s trip to Korea last fall. I didn’t know how much at the time I needed the reaffirmations of that book–how much I needed to seek and find peace in the midst of what Kara simply called, hard.

I kept wanting to fill in the rest of the sentences that read: take a look at the hard. Or, disappointed by the hard.  Meeting Jesus in the hard.  As I read, I kept wanting to fill in the sentences that seemed uncomfortably lopped off.  And then I began to understand.  From the title and subtitle of the book, “The Hardest Peace, finding grace in the midst of life’s hard” to the end of the book — and now to the end of her story, I finally understand.  I finally get it, the why behind the writing style — the why behind the poetic style.  Everyone’s “hardest peace” or “hard” or “life’s hard” is different. And, while she wrote openly about the different ‘hard places’ of her life from the disappointments to the ravages of cancer,  there is much room for each reader’s personal application – each person’s hard or hardest peace is represented in her candid and poetic writing.

It might not be a wayward child, or financial loss, or disease — it may be a disappointment completely different than those three examples.  But it’s still hard.  Some harder than others.  But the resulting peace or the inspired peace will be similar.  It will be that point where the Lord sees and meets you.  The place where His peace is sufficient and “life’s hard” will be filled with, covered over by, and carried by: grace. Clinging to the hand I cannot see, held by the grip that will not let me go.

I cannot count the times I’ve gone through a trial and, because of the grace of God in previous trials, I’ve recognized His unmistakable signature. More remarkable is when this recognition comes in the midst of the testing of faith. In such times I often think: I’m going to need this… I’m going to need everything I’m experiencing or learning in this trial.  All this understanding doesn’t necessarily make the trial easier – sometimes not at all – but it  causes real attention to be given to seeking the Lord, to pray, to wait and to study the trial.  In these times as  I specifically watch for God’s hand to move—I watch for His direction and I’m comforted by His presence.

In this sweetest peace, I’m more prone to praise Him and recount His wonderful works.  I’m more prone to trust as I wait.  I’m more prone to look for Jesus in the midst of the trial and connect the experience to promises in His Word.  In this sweetest peace I’m less likely to give into fear and more resolute to wait on Him.

Sometimes the standing still is hard.  I want to act.  I want to react.  But I find the sweetest peace sometimes comes in the waiting — that peace that passes understanding.  I long for that sweetest peace.  What I long for is that still small voice. After the strong wind, after the earthquake, after the fire: that still small voice of the Lord.  That still small voice that brings the sweetest peace.

Kara knows as she is known… and I’m so grateful to have had but a small glimpse of her remarkable journey in that hardest peace.

Creating Inspired Moments

thestarbucksapronI have a few Starbucks aprons I’ve picked up, second hand, along the way.  One of them has a printed tape inside the top of the apron.  I’m assuming it was positioned there so that it would be seen (and intentionally read) each time the barista positioned the neck strap and donned the apron.

As with many other aprons I have, I’ve worn this one many times.  Until recently, I never even noticed the black tape sewn inside the top band of that apron.  Thus, I’d never read the message intended for the baristas:

We create inspired moments
in each customer’s day.
ANTICIPATE   CONNECT   PERSONALIZE   OWN

I’ve written about aprons a few times — even have some for sale — that’s how important or meaningful aprons are to me.  And I think they ought to have a more prominent role in kitchens.  But that’s another blog-post for another day.

Creating inspired moments… 

 Do I do this?  I mean, do I intentionally work to create inspired moments?  Immediately I dismiss the notion —  I mean, how can *I* create an *inspired* moment?  Inspired moments are, after all, simply that: inspired.  But then I think on this some more.  And some more. I think on Proverbs 16.9: “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.”  I make plans and the Lord makes/creates/directs inspired moments.

Inspired — from Webster’s 1828: Breathed in; infused; Informed or directed by the Holy Spirit.

So then,  inspired moments are those moments that are composed, directed, or Divinely influenced.  Immediately my thoughts are taken to Genesis 24.27 (Abraham’s servant): “…I being in the way, the Lord led me...”

And then I’m humbled:  Lord, I want to be in the way… I want to be in the way where You’ll lead me.  I want the moments I live to be: inspired moments — the actions I take to be: inspired actions — the decisions I make to be: inspired decisions.

And then I’m inspired:  Lord, will You do this for me, in me, with me?  Can mornings be filled with inspired moments? Can our dinner meals together be not just meals but inspired moments?  Can I learn to watch for opportunities for inspired moments? Can I learn to speak to my children in such a way that it will not be me, necessarily, but an inspired word?  Can I intentionally, daily, work to create an atmosphere of inspired moments in our home?  Instead of mundane dailies, can I work to see my tasks as inspired moments? Can I love my husband in ways that will capture his heart and affirm my desire for him in inspired moments?  Can I live as a woman whose daily walk is one of cultivating opportunities for inspired moments?

O, that I not forget tomorrow what the Lord has taught me today.  When I put on an apron – this, or any other – may I remember the awesome opportunity I have to walk in the way of inspired moments.  May I seek to anticipate, connect, personalize and own the opportunities set before me.  Ultimately, may the Lord be the inspiration of all my moments.

In Three Hours

teapotcupdrawing The beauty of a plan is the presence of accompanying grace.  I think this is true with most any plan.  Well, except for plans with deadlines, specific time frames, appointments, etc.

So it is, with the Trim Healthy Mama “plan” for health and optimal weight or finding your trim. With grace.

Grace doesn’t mean carelessness, though.  And it doesn’t mean neglect.  I know that.
Now.

The result of neglecting the plan is sort of like how money evaporates in California.  Or how the reaching of an optimal weight goal is erased by consuming bags of sea salt & dark-chocolate covered almonds from Costco.  Or the only safe hot french bread and butter is a picture of hot french bread & butter.

So, I’m back on the plan — and, actually, I can’t tell you how vulnerable I’m feeling even saying it. I’m like: omygoodness, what if I fail? Again.  Suddenly, it feels confining – like no grace at all.  But, then I bring truth to mind: In three hours.  There’s the grace.  If I fail: in three hours (or any time!!) I have the opportunity to make a better choice/a right choice/a healthy choice.  In three hours, I can get “back on the plan” and go on from there.  In three hours.  No starting all over again, just pressing on.  I resolve to press on and prepare for my better choice.

The grace of  a better choice in three hours is not license to excuse myself for overindulging or to eat whatever I want, whenever I want.

It’s amazing to me to see the parallels of grace regarding self will & food and obedience & faith.

Just like God’s merciful grace in our lives is not license to sin!  God’s grace doesn’t absolve me from obedience to His known commands or the prompting of the Holy Spirit — it actually gives me more motivation to love and pursue God and to not do whatever I want, whenever I want.  I know it’s by the grace and faith of the Lord Jesus that I can know Him, seek Him, walk with Him and trust Him to complete His work in me (and that includes the dying to self regarding food & over indulging).

God’s grace and the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit gives me strong desire and reason to seek Him, to love Him, and to obey Him. For I know I haven’t done, or can do nothing in and of myself to earn or merit His favour — it’s all His, it’s all grace.  Not just in three hours, but minute by minute, day by day.