The Overflow of Grace

  I have a friend who has long moved away from where I live, to the mid-west, who seemed to ‘drain the life out of me.’  She and her husband would come visit Charles and me and before the afternoon or evening was over, I was just ‘done’!  

It seemed every conversation, every event, and every difficulty in life just seemed to go sideways and carried a heaviness with it.  Nothing ever seemed to go right. Life seemed more than she could carry.  It was exhausting!

BUBBLING OVER WITH KINDNESS

What I’ve noticed is there are other people who you love being around because the opposite happens.  There are those who bubble over with excitement yet bring calm in the storm, kindness when the world seems hard, tenderness when life seems cruel, and joy even in a dark room!  

They create an exhilaration that is contagious. You can’t help but be buoyed by their energy and inspired by their sense of purpose in life! Those are the kind of people that fill your heart with all things good!

WHEN TIMES ARE GENUINELY HARD

When Charles passed, I can’t help wonder if I didn’t come across in way that drained people from time to time.  I was broken and sad.  Still I tried hard to stay focused on the One who could keep me from falling down and never climbing out of that ‘woe is me’ hole, that is so easy to fall into.  

These are the days when I felt like saying, ‘I barely have enough for myself—-how in thunder can I pour out into others?’  It made writing excruciatingly difficult!

ABUNDANCE DOESN'T STOP WITH US

What I needed to realize is that abundance doesn’t stop with us.  We aren’t meant to soak in all that abundant goodness and not let it leach out into others.  It’s supposed to flow like the air we breathe, from one person to another.  God tells us in His Word that He will give us what we need to do every good work.  When we give out good, —-even good that seems small, —it can cause a ripple effect that can flow in all directions.

God is not going to leave us dry and empty when we reach out to Him.  He is our Lifeline to an ‘abundant life.’   He is the only one who can fill us with an inexpressible joy, along with a peace and calm that can barely be defined.  It’s Him flowing through us—-even when we feel unable to keep moving forward.

CREATING ENERGY THAT OVERFLOWS

The kindness someone shares with us creates energy and purpose for us to share with others.  The Holy Spirit uses these actions to empower and fill us to over flowing.  And, we don’t even need to feel like we are overflowing to start giving.  It flows naturally out of us when we surrender our lives to our loving Father in Heaven.

Most of us live lives filled with some kind of hardship.  Others come along beside us and help us take another step forward, giving their lives purpose.   And then we are able, with the help of the Spirit, to walk along someone else who needs comfort due to profound grief, or peace that radiates through our being, joy that gives boundless energy, strength in their weakness or even a hope that refuses to fade.

LIVING THE ABUNDANT LIFE

That is living the abundant life God intended—not a life free from hardship.  His presence, peace and power is available to us and can flow through us into others when we let Him fill us.  We can all live that life.  In fact….  if He is with you…  you are already walking in it.

Photo Credit: Grace

Choosing To Be Grateful --Receiving An Abundant Life

It took me a long time to understand how God could say choose gratitude in all circumstances.  I remember when Charles passed away, I was not grateful.  I was now alone, had super big decisions to make, a ton of things to learn that Charles always took care of and it scared me silly.  This was by far the biggest heartache and challenge I’d ever had to face.  How could I be thankful when life just hurts?

Someone pointed out to me —it doesn’t say be grateful for the circumstance; it says be grateful in the circumstance

LIFE IS HARD

When we choose to be grateful, we aren’t choosing to pretend life is perfect.  Life is hard, sometimes daily.  Who has a perfect life?  We none do.  Challenges come from all sides.  

We can be faced with relational challenges, financial uncertainty due to a lost job, health issues that have upended us, emotional hurdles just trying to stay grounded, and the list could go on and on.

WHAT DO WE CLING TO?

As we face all these situations, we each are required to find something to cling to. Otherwise depression and despair will move in and further burden us with more than we can bear.

When we are choosing to be grateful in the circumstance, we are looking beyond how we feel, and instead look outward and upward to a connection with the greatest link to life that exists!  Even if we feel spiritually dry and disconnected from God, he will meet us where we are.

TAKING OUR EYES OFF OURSELVES

This perspective takes our eyes off ourselves and turns them toward God where life can be lived with a measure of peace that cannot be found elsewhere. That’s a reason to be grateful!

SO MANY BLESSINGS

I know when I’m particularly ‘down’, it doesn’t take long to look around me and see plenty of reasons to say thank you!  Even in my darkest hour, God was with me and remains so every single day!  I can look at the beautiful green landscape out my window and know that life is beginning again after a hard winter.  

I can go outdoors and stand in the sunshine and feel the gentle warmth caressing my skin, see the birds and squirrels flitting about and see the occasional turkey in the yard, a young fox that is so beautiful, or chickens which provides eggs for our family.

As my cat comes near and rubs his soft fur on my legs I know that in his unique way, he cares for me.

FAMILY IS ALSO AMAZING

And more than any animal, I know I have children and grandchildren who care for me.  There’s food on my table, water in my well, heat when the day is cool and air conditioning when it’s too humid to enjoy summer.

When I think about all I have, even in my deepest loss, I know I still live the abundant life.  I know this because the most valuable possession I own is the salvation I received when I accepted Christ as my Savior.  No one can take that from me.  In this frame of mind, I consider myself rich!  It’s a gift which has limitless value.

CHOOSE GOD

By choosing to see God… right in the middle of an imperfect world and circumstance— I am choosing to live the abundant life.  It isn’t a forced life, it just flows, even if imperfectly!  I am grateful!

Photo Credit: Gratitude 

Does Our 'Stuff' Qualify As Abundant Living?

I look around my home and see so much ‘stuff.’  We’ve lived in the same place for almost 50 years, and because we haven’t moved, we’ve never had reason to get rid of anything.  Accumulation happens!  And before you turn around, you find yourself trying to figure out where it all came from, and what in the world are we going to do with all?

HARD CHOICES

Of course, for me, as a new widow, the problem is compounded by deciding what must go and what should stay from only ‘my’ perspective.  It sounds like it should be easy.  But somehow even as I go through those items that were Charles’ there are times it was/is a hard choice.

Many items meant so much to him.  They were his collections and things he enjoyed having.  And what should go to the kids/grandkids, and other issues that run through my head and heart!?  Even to the point of asking, ‘Am I betraying him if I get rid of this?’  I realize that may sound bizarre, but for me it matters!

LIVING THE ABUNDANT LIFE

The Bible speaks about God giving us the ‘abundant life.’  (See John 10:10) And for many that means being able to have all the material goods possible, that can affect our happiness in the smallest way.  

But God isn’t talking about ‘material goods’ for abundant living!  Abundance Biblically, is talking about what begins ‘within us’ —not what we have around us!  For some that’s a hard concept!  True abundance comes from a heart that knows Him.

WHAT MATTERS?

Material goods are nice, but they are man made.  There is nothing man made that we can take with us when we pass from this Earth.  Every item on that list stays here and ultimately doesn’t matter.  

What’s more those ‘things’ we cherish here on Earth, are cold and empty when we find ourselves alone and sad.  They offer no comfort, give no counsel, and extend no hope.  They are just cold, man made things on a shelf, and totally dependent on you to even make them work!

EVERYONE HAS PROBLEMS

Our lives are not easy, it doesn’t matter who you are!  Even the person who has millions of dollars has problems.  It’s the way of this world.  We all have emotions, relationships that work —or not, feelings we can’t ignore, health issues,  work place problems and more, which create havoc in any person’s life.  And ultimately, we all face death.  None of the ‘stuff’ we accumulated can help us at that point.

Sometimes when life is going at full speed and everything seems just right, we equate abundance to our circumstances…. ‘This is a life well-lived!  I’ve got it all!”, etc.    But then there’s an accident, the loss of a loved one, a disaster that wipes out everything we own, health issues which crush us….and a hundred other things.  Our immediate successes are turned into chaos.  How do we deal?

Suddenly we are feeling oppressed, abused and upended, fighting depression and a thousand questions about what’s going to happen next.  Everything we’ve put our faith and trust in, has collapsed!  It happens to everyone at one time or another, at some level.

CHRIST'S PRESENCE

Christ’s presence is where we find abundant living; not a full calendar or even a lot of stuff or people.  A relationship with Christ, which completely turns our world around, is where abundance begins.

When we align with Him, our hearts, minds and souls find peace —and a joy that can’t be defined.  He gives us purpose and a reason every day, to be thankful for waking up in the morning and praising Him!

Photo Credit: Too Much Stuff

Living A Life That Reflects Christ

The Walton’s is probably my all time favorite TV show.  I enjoy the slow pace, the family dynamics and wholesomeness that permeates the show. While it was a ’70’s show, it lasted many seasons and is now available on DVD’s.  I have those DVD’s and most nights will treat myself to at least one episode.

NOT WANTING TO BE CAUGHT

There is a faith element within the show that is certainly a plus.  But I get tickled every time Olivia or Grandma do something they are worried their preacher will catch them doing.  The time Olivia went into the Dew Drop Inn which was against all her moral behaviors.  Or Grandma when she placed a bet with Grandpa during a horse race.

The last thing these ladies wanted to be caught doing, was something they— and the Pastor or church would disapprove of.  Yet, occasionally they both did.  I suspect we are all guilty of that every now and again.  The fascinating thing about that is, even if we hide our ‘inappropriate behavior or actions’ from our peers—whoever they may be, God still sees.  It’s Him we need to be concerned about!

GROWING IN OUR FAITH

Growing in our faith isn’t about getting everything right, every time. We’re human and inevitably we’re going to fail.  That alone can scare new believers into not believing they are truly a child of God.  Their past haunts them and they are sure that if they don’t do all things exactly right, God won’t accept them anymore. They believe they’ve disqualified their faith experience.

INCONSISTENT HABITS

Sometimes it has more to do with inconsistent spiritual habits, or feeling like a hypocrite, because we’ve done something God wouldn’t approve of.  It may be words that come out of our mouth or swirl in our heads (even when unsaid), actions we’ve made when responding in anger, anger in itself when filled with hate because it’s the way we’ve always felt about someone or something.  

All of these negative pieces is right where God can teach us.  It’s about learning to align our actions with our beliefs.  If we learn to recognize our mistakes—even our inconsistencies, the Holy Spirit is right there to nudge us in the right direction.  Sometimes a verse will come to mind or even a subconscious conviction.  That’s growth.  That’s listening to the Holy Spirit talking to our hearts!

WE ALL FAIL

What’s interesting though is realizing we will fail-- again.  I have one amazing friend who does a lot of traveling because of work.  There are times he confesses to getting hung up in traffic and getting beyond frustrated.  It’s so bad he says things he knows he shouldn’t.  Then he says, ‘Yeah, I had to talk with God again.  I messed up and said things I had to repent of!” 

WE ALL HAVE WEAKNESSES

We all have our weaknesses.  We struggle to apply what we know and believe  every day of our life.  Satan is waiting to pounce on us every time we make a move that to him, makes us vulnerable.  He uses it, twists its, and keeps telling us lies, to our heads (and hearts) until we feel like there’s no going back.  How can God possibly keep forgiving me when I keep messing up?

OUR HEART’S DESIRE

We’re human.  But as a Christian, it’s our heart’s desire to please God, yet we each fail in our own ways.  Only Jesus led a sinless life on earth.  It’s absolutely necessary for each of us to be accountable for where we fail; become humble before Him and confess.  Then go out and try to do our best again,—-and again, — and again!

KEEP TRYING

God is a loving, patient and kind God.  All those times we keep trying, and fail—repenting, then asking for His help, we are still trying ----and that’s what God wants to see, and will honor that.  He knows we are still growing!

Photo Credit: Christian Growth Process 

Renewing Our Minds

It’s been an interesting week.  For whatever reason the idea of the ‘grid’ going down here in the US, has been all over facebook.  

       Stories of what you should be ready for when-- (not if) the forces that be, causes everything to stop across the nation.  No electric, therefore no refrigeration, or cell power, cooking-on electric range tops or doing laundry and other ramifications.  

       All travel coming to a stand still, no communication, stores without food and other chaotic consequences.  But what they focus on most is being without water— drinkable water.

 

There is water all around us, they emphasized, but it’ll be contaminated, dirty and totally harmful for drinking.  While they don’t offer a solution for any of the other problems, they provide a solution for the water issue, which they insist is the most crucial since we can only survive for three days without water.

They offer their product in the assurance that it will work and hope you’ll purchase it.  Their point is valid and each person must decide if the apparent impending ‘grid lockdown’ will really occur--and when.  

Because it keeps popping up in my feed, I did some research. I have no idea if it’s really going to happen, but the information certainly gives you something to think about.  While I’m no authority and certainly not political, it does make a body wonder what’s coming next …and if something ‘weird’ does happen, am I ready to manage it?

There’s an added element to this process that may sound a bit strange to some, but it crosses my mind.  If something ‘weird’ does come, am I ready spiritually?  While maintaining physical survival is essential to continue on this planet we call Earth, am I ready for what comes after?

God’s Word tells us we need to constantly ‘renew our minds,' with what He tells us.  My soul is more valuable than my life.  I will eventually leave this world and my eternal world will never end.  

Choosing to know the information God offers and supplies is as vital as any drinking water for survival here on Earth! There are battles within my heart and mind that can overwhelm me if I’m not alert to what’s going on.  Satan will attack on any front, where there is even a chance at chinking away at my armor.

Spiritual growth begins in the mind, and ultimately shapes the way we live.  It’s vital to replace the lies that Satan whispers to our minds, in our ears, and what his minions continue to place before our eyes —with God’s good promises!

Negative thought processes produce negative behavior.  All this ‘gloom and doom’ talk, can poison the way we think.  It can possess us and fill us with fear because it’s something we’ve never experienced.  Those who promote their products ‘for our safety’ may not be deliberately trying to ‘scare us witless’ but the effect can be the same.

Panic can rise up in us, and cause us to prepare like the world is going to crash around us tomorrow and we’ve got to have everything ready.  Some of the promos include showing people pulling all their funds from banks, digging holes in their back yards and burying things they feel is important and on and on.  It’s a giant scare tactic.

Could there be truth in their prediction?  Perhaps, --at least in part, but how big a part?  I’m not saying don’t pay attention or even consider what they are predicting.  But is that the most important thing? We need to be in the Bible, renewing our minds.  Because there is a time when Jesus will return.

God isn’t about scaring us with things that aren’t true—or even only ‘partly true.’  We do know, because the Bible tells us, ‘eternal’ means forever. We have two choices.  God provides what we need to live in Him through salvation and therefore live eternally in a real place, called Heaven.  But that doesn’t change  the fact there is also place waiting, for those who choose to reject Him.  Hell, a place of torment, is a real too.

How are you ‘renewing your mind’?  Is the world closing in, or are you in God’s Word, searching to see what God says?

Photo Credit: Power Grid Failure