Grace Thoughts

  “My soul magnifies the Lord,  And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,  For he has looked on the HUMBLE ESTATE of his servant.     For behold, from now on all generations will call me BLESSED; For he who is mighty has done great things for me,     And holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him     From generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm;     He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; He has brought down the mighty from their thrones     And exalted those of humble estate; He has filled the hungry with good things,     And the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel,     In remembrance of his mercy,  As he spoke to our fathers,     To Abraham and to his offspring forever.” (Luke 1:46-55) Sisters, these are the words of a young woman whose heart was filled with awe and wonder at God's amazing GRACE. This is Ma...

Washing dishes can be a truly enlightening experience if one is willing to do some hard thinking while scrubbing, wiping, rinsing, and drying. Perhaps this never ending chore offers us Christ followers one of the simplest pictures of our daily life and ministry in this fallen world.  You see dirty dishes just never seem to end. They pile up everywhere! In the sink, on the counters, the stove, and even on the floor! You could wash all day long and have a glowing kitchen at the end of the day, but the next day all your hard work would be undone as one by one each dish returns to its dirty state. However, as I scrub and scrub away I realize that this chore is so necessary for me to do so that I can serve my family. How else would I be able to cook and feed them yummy, healthful meals? And how else would they be able to enjoy these meals without creating dirty dishes in the process? You see, as we have all heard before, when it comes to serving, getting dirty just comes along wi...