Grace Thoughts

I am a mama of three little ones on earth and one little one in Heaven. My days are filled to the brim with joy as I watch my three children enjoying the life God has given them and all the wonders of the world around them. Yet my heart also can be just as filled to the brim with anxiety, fear, and dread. I feel like I am constantly searching to find things to fill my children's lives with wonder and joy. When I see a ladybug on a flower petal as we are out walking, I quickly call to them to look and behold the tiny creature that God has made; or if I see a rainbow in the sky, I want them also to see it and marvel at the beauty of God's creation. All these once ordinary sights have become a whole new experience for me as I behold my children enjoying them, and I see that all these beautiful things are filled with GLORY! Just as the "heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1) so the dew drops on the blades of grass also display His handiwork.  So it see...

Weaving mysteries to life in holy repose: The golden, glint thread that moments enclose; Shining light on the deep-crimson binding cord; Leaving questions behind like scraps to be stored. • • • • Intricate beauty designed above is seen In ugly, knotted tangles when viewed underneath. The pattern is hidden in mystery's pain; This paradox echoes life's unending refrain. • • • • Dark threads of sorrow are passed through the loom The empty silence of sadness, cold like a tomb, Sharpens the senses for the bright threads of joy; The intertwining story that darkness cannot destroy. • • • • Tears may exist in this tangled world's mess Sense may be the disguise for only a guess Peace shall be found in leaving the mysteries to be--- All that a mystery is before eyes of faith see: • • • • Wisdom beheld in the golden thread's mystery, Grace bestowed in the crimson cord's history, Mercy transforming the dark threa...

In a moment all my dreams dissolved As the slow and steady tide revolved To wash my castles in the sand Erasing the work of my own hand. ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ My salty tears mingled with the foaming wave That engulfed my work in a watery grave And took all my sandy treasures out to sea And forced my feet to surrender and flee. ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ On higher ground, I found a place To stand secure and see the grace Of the Maker seen in His timeless story That His work alone receives all the glory. ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ For in my grain of time, I sought to make A work of art for my name's sake Yet in faithfulness the Almighty proclaimed The Eternal glory of His great name. ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ So now upon the Rock I stand And watch the work of God's own hand. He stirs the waters with His breath And raises dead souls up from death. ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ He blossoms trees in desert sand And causes rocks to water barren land. He sends bread from Heaven for men to eat An...

Broken silence cut in the sea of time Filled with the whisper of the Divine For when my life breaks like a crashing wave Your still small voice has power to save. 🌼🌼🌼 Painful moments designed for my cure Filled with fire to make me pure For when my steps lead through the fiercest flames Your still small voice, still whispers my name. 🌺🌺🌺 Wounded soul, broken and bleeding Filled with the pain of following Your leading For when my will kneels in Gethemene's garden Your still small voice echos the blood bought pardon. 🌸🌸🌸 Shattered Hope crushed in Love's embrace Filled with true beauty; transformed by Heaven's grace For when my eyes are fixed on the Son Your still small voice reminds me that the battle is won. 🌹🌹🌹 And so I take... One small step in the path of surrender Filled with obedience to a Shepherd so tender For when my heart trembles in fear on the way Your still small voice tells me Yo...

Ripping, wrecking waves of current Dashing, crashing the humble servant--- The lowly sea creature's watery dwelling--- Crushed in pieces from the water's swelling. •  •  • Burning, turning grave of fragments Filling, spilling in pools so stagnant Swept in windy, wisps of changing Tides that come to go in time's raging. •  •  • All that's left in the wake is broken Hopes and dreams now lost unspoken Shells with cracked and jagged edges Sink beneath the skin cloaked dredges. •  •  • Years could pass and none would bother To search the land, the sand, the water For the broken pieces that remain That the fierce tides of time have forever changed. •  •  • Yet One stands true above indifference And bends down low to touch the bitterness. His wounded hands---broken to heal The pieces He finds as with the broken He kneels.

Almighty God, how many are Your wondrous thoughts towards me. They are too vast to even count! They are precious to me, Lord, and I love to treasure them up in my heart as more costly than gold, silver, and beautiful gems. Yet what am I that You would even consider me? All the things that I do that seem so good to me are as filthy rags in your sight because I do them for my glory and not Your's, O Lord. I am like a sheep that has gone astray, and I have turned to my own way. Yet because of Your great love and tender mercy---and for the sake of Your great name, O Lord, You take notice of Your lowly, humble servant, and You pour upon me amazing benefits that I do not deserve. I bless You, Lord, for You have forgiven me all my sins! I bless You for You have redeemed my life from the pit! I bless You, my Savior, for You crown my life with steadfast love and mercy!  O Lord, You are intimately acquainted with all my ways, and You truly care about every detail of my life for You...

Precious Lord Jesus, in You there is fullness of joy! At Your right hand there are pleasure forevermore!  Yet for so long, I have dwelt in darkness thinking that this joy and pleasure was somehow out of my reach. Wrongly did I think that if only I could read my Bible enough, pray enough, memorize enough Bible verses, search my motives and empty every action of pride enough, and do all in my power to meet all the standards in Your Word---then perhaps I would be able to walk with You like Enoch, be Your friend like Abraham, see Your glory like Moses, be a person after your own heart like David, be greatly loved by You like Daniel, and somehow when I reach Heaven's shores I would be special to You and not just one of the faces in Heaven's vast throng of Saints. I have wearied myself seeking Heaven's reward, despaired when all I have seen in my work has been sin, and sat long hours in the darkness knowing I would never be good enough to reach my desired haven and my actions nev...