His Grace is sufficient

Sunday was homecoming at our church and we had a wonderful guest speaker who at one time was a Pastor at our church.

His focus for the sermon was on God's Grace.

While his wife suffers from breast cancer and is currently hospitalized, he still came to us telling us all about God's grace and the hope and peace God has to offer us.

Sometimes, when you are sitting at church, you just know that you were meant to hear what the Pastor had to say and this was one of those times.

There are days when we tend to feel sorry for ourselves because of all the "stuff" that goes on in our everyday lives.  Stuff like kids fighting, parents getting older, family dysfunction.  What?  You don't have any of that?  Well, I'm not saying I do either, but sometimes it can be overwhelming.

But today, I was thinking about all the stuff in my life that isn't perfect, and after I named every situation off as I prayed about it, I thanked God that I had all that stuff.  I have a family that I love, my mom is still here, and I am still able to help her.  While I am busy with kids and graduation, and grocery shopping, and ball practice, and everything else that goes on.  He was right, his grace is sufficient.

What is the cost?

Last night at Bible study we were discussing "Taking up our cross and following Jesus."   

Meanwhile, our class is doing a bible study on Crazy Love and we came to the chapter that talks about truly giving up things of this world and doing the work of God.  And as books sometimes do, they make us feel inadequate.  

Many of us felt that based on what some people do, we could never measure up to that so we must not be doing enough.  

Now, I know that I will never compare to some of the Saints of the world, but I would like to think that what little bit that I do try to do will be just as important, but maybe on a different level.

Something the preacher said that really made it all make since to me was this.
Grace is free, but the cost is everything.

We must be willing to give up anything that we put higher than God, and let him come first in our lives.

And what I have a passion for, may not be what you have a passion for, but that's OK, as long as we all have a passion.

So we shouldn't feel like we will never be good enough, or we can never do enough because without God's grace, we can't.  But Thanks to him, we only need do what we can.

Sometimes, I forget

Sometimes, I forget.  I forget to Thank someone for something they did, or I get busy and think I can do it later.  But later doesn't come.

A lot of times I forget to Thank God for all that I have.  When I have a problem it seems like that is all I can focus on.  My problem and how I can fix it, when I know in my heart, I can't fix anything.  Only God can, and with that I remember to give Thanks.

I am thankful for my family, my faith, my friends, my church.  I am truly blessed, but sometimes I forget.

Today I made it a point to Thank God for all my blessings.

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

II Timothy 1:2