All In A Days Grace

  " If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain but what he pours through us that really counts." -Oswald Chambers Our success in Gods eyes  is not measured in the way the world measures success. Things Jesus pours through us cannot be measured at all.  Much like the flask that Mary of Bethany broke and poured on Jesus. It was an act in which no one else saw a special occasion.  Some thought it was a horrible waste. (Mark 14:3-4).  Jesus saw it as devotion and love.  Our lives are the flask. Are we  prepared to pour out our flasks for the sake of Jesus? To surrender what the world views as precious oil and come to him empty and ready to be used?  Jesus poured out his life for us.  "That the world through him might be saved."-John 3:17 Let's encourage each other this season of Lent...to pour out our flasks and make room for Jesus to flow through us. To give up more than cupcakes or TV or internet and reach deep inside to surrender the parts...

  The other day I was doing my usual dusting and vacuuming. Each time I move items and shift furniture to get under them and around them. As I do, my mind wanders and contemplates a million other things than what I am actually doing. My mind moves through all the plans and decisions and worries that lay heavy on my heart.   I’m on “auto pilot”.   As I was dusting my hutch and moving around my Nativity pieces my mind was a million miles away…. until I looked right below the pieces and saw the word HOPE. Ironically at that moment I had baby Jesus in my hand. Yes, it is March right now…. but I keep a Nativity out all year long. The purpose of that for me is to remember the gift of Christ. To be able to glance at the Nativity throughout the year and be reminded of the prophetic voices, angelic visits, virgin birth, work of the Holy Spirit and the promises of a coming King. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, a...

I have had this statue of Jesus since I was a child. It’s moved with me 14 times, traveling through three different states, usually coming to rest either on my nightstand or dresser. Often times it is the first thing I see when I get up and the last thing I look at before I go to bed. The other night as I was getting into bed I glanced at the small statue and remembered the thought I had as a child…. “That is Jesus holding me!” As I pulled the blankets up and started to get comfortable in bed, I realized I didn’t think of the statue in that way anymore. When I looked at it, I saw an image of Jesus holding “a child”. “When did it stop being me?” I thought to myself, as I lie in bed. When did I stop imagining Jesus was holding me in his arms and why? Did I get too grown up or mature or simply just too self-dependent? When did I begin to lack the ability to feel the vulnerable sense that I still needed to be held in the Saviors arms? I pondered this as I closed my eyes, still picturing th...