All In A Days Grace

What do you see in the picture? Does the image jump out at you or is it a combination of shapes? This was made for me by a precious person from my church. When I first looked at it I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. I panicked a little bit because I was sure there was a meaningful picture that I was completely missing. I was correct. As I allowed the panic to fade, my eyes took on a new focus, and I saw him. Jesus. My eyes poured over the curves of his nose to his eyes and the expression on his face. Peace. I could hear his words “ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” I brought this carving to my office and put it in a place I could glance at it often.  As I look at it I wonder if the way we see the world is much like my experience looking at this beautiful carved piece of wood for the first time. When we look into the world do we miss Him? Do we see lines and sha...

  I’ve been in the book of Nehemiah this week. It’s a great read that I highly recommend, but it has to be read with the understanding of where God’s people were before Nehemiah commissioned rebuilding the wall. And if you ask “What wall?” You’ll need to go back to the original wall. Long before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the Jebusites lived securely within the walls of Jerusalem. The city was blessed with natural valleys around it that made it easy to defend. The city walls and its fortress provided additional protection.  But God had different plans for that wall. God was with David and allowed him to capture Jerusalem from the Jebusites. Later, he built additional walls to fortify the city. The city would become known as the City of David.   2 Samuel 5:6–10:  And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you o...

  We live in a 24/7 world. We carry our phones with us, which are basically mini-computers filled with the promise of connection in one way or another. We can post, read, blog, tweet, e-mail, text, call, answer, like, scroll, all in one device. The thing is, that besides the ability to actually do all of these things is the constant pressing knowledge that we HAVE this ability. The temptation to do much of the things mentioned above can become part of our day’s rhythm. We find ourselves checking e-mail, making a quick entry on Twitter or a fast post on Facebook. Then we scroll and scroll and scroll….and scroll some more.   “Where did the time go?” we wonder.   In addition to this time stealing anomaly, we are constantly connected. We can become inundated by our phone ringing, pinging, buzzing or whatever sound we have designated to get our attention. When we’re not hearing ringing, pinging or buzzing, there is always the possibility of it in the back of our consciou...

  How important are roots? When we look at a plant, we don’t always think about their root system, yet it’s there doing a very important job. Roots help to anchor and nourish a plant. If a plant is pulled out of the soil..it will only last for so long until it begins to wither and die. I have been attempting to grow sunflowers. I love them and always wanted to start my own garden. Well, that has proved to be more complicated than I thought. When my husband and I first purchased some seeds, we thought we would just plant them in a part of the garden at the front of the house. We did just that. We waited and waited, but nothing grew. We planted some more seeds and this time we realized why nothing grew. They had become food for the birds! No sooner did we put them in the ground did the birds pull them out; I’m sure much to their delight. Lesson number one: It matters where you’re planted. After careful consideration we bought a large planting pot and decided that this time we...

I am not going to pretend I’m a gardener here. I love flowers and plants but more times than not I struggle to keep them alive.  I have gotten better through the years, learning little things about my gentle green friends. One thing that I have learned along the way is how much their tiny branches and flowers love the sun. They need the sun. They move towards the sun. I have learned to “rotate” my flowers because many times they stretch so much towards the sun that they become almost unbalanced in their pots! I constantly spin, they constantly turn. It’s incredible really when you think about it. Their ability to know the direction they need to be in for growth, good health and life.  I want to have that kind of continuous persistence in turning towards the SON.  (see what I did there?) I want to have the innate ability to always lean in His direction. I want to stretch with such desire and devotion that the pot of my life almost tips over in the process! My prayer for al...