sufficient.

grace is such a big topic lately amongst "church people", 

and for good reason.

 

nothing I could add to the discussion would be worth much, but let me say this:


you have no understanding or grasp of grace until it is all you have.


until it is the only thing keeping you afloat in an ocean of sin that threatens to swallow you whole, unapologetic in its tossing and crashing and sinking.


people mess up, they makes mistakes they regret.
we all have heard it before, yada yada yada.
but when the rubber meets the road..

mistakes ruin lives. they ruin families, marriages, relationships.
they are real and sin is real and there are consequences that are not pleasant or wanted.

you know what there's more of?

grace.

the kind that not only keeps you afloat, it's a kind that throws the life preserver into the waves when you've fallen off the boat, and pulls you back onto it.

it saves and it's undeserving and so deep.
what's the most amazing thing about grace?

its Giver.


"and He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, 
for  My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 
therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, 
that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 

2 corinthians verse 9.

"timing is everything."

one word that I have a continued love/hate relationship with: time. 

there's so many quotes, clichés, and metaphors about how quickly 
it passes or how it heals all wounds.

the third chapter of Ecclesiastes reminds me that
"for everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven." (v.1)

just like the flowers bloom in the spring and the leaves change in the fall,
God allows a time for everything,
(yes, everything) in our lives.
the bitter cold of winter or the sweltering heat of summer isn't pleasant,
but it's necessary. it creates balance.

verse 11 is astounding:
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. 
also He has put eternity in their hearts, 
except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."

God finishes what He starts.
the process is guaranteed to be messy, awkward, and trying..
it's worth it.
time changes people and their dreams.
God's purposes and plans do not change.
I'm excited to see them out till the end 
and enjoy the surprises our loving, sovereign Creator will
(undoubtably) pull out of His sleeve.

difference.

I'm trying to sort out the difference between thinking and doing.

wondering if the words I say and the things I do line up at all.
the difference between the idea and the putting into practice.
what is it?



what difference does it make if I'm a Christian on Facebook,
but not in daily doings?
I'm not claiming that I'm a completely two-faced,
hypocritical liar with no spirituality outside of the Internet.
feel free to think that if you'd like, but that's not the point.



on a long-winded side-note, I've finally come to a place where I literally do not care about what people think about me.
every once in a while, my pride will show up and I do think about how a certain situation or something else looks to other people.
yes, I do care about how people view Christ through me.
yes, I do care about people wanting to correct me out of a loving heart.
but who am I serving?
in no way am I the epitome of a servant, no.
but I'm trying, and learning.

anyway.

the world does not need another Facebook Christian.
or another Christian hiding behind a blog.


what the world does need is a group of real people,
who are different.
they reach out, they help, they spread goodness,
they are truly Christ's followers.
no, they are not popular.
but they are known for who they are. for who Christ is.
He is always the difference.


that's the person I want to be. that's the difference.