ONE THING...

     Have you ever noticed that one thing leads to another?  It seems to work with both the good and the bad.

     Think about a choice of a cookie for breakfast or a banana -- which one leads to a healthy lunch?  Usually the banana.

     What about speaking to our kids in a gentle voice or losing it -- which one leads to a calm response later in the day?  Usually the gentle voice.

     But when we're totally honest, it's hard!  There are "cookie days" when it's just easier to reach for a cookie than a banana.  There are "losing it" days when it's just easier to let it out than hold it in.

     Those are the days I see my desperate need for God and His grace and I'm filled with wonder and thankfulness for who He is because of who I'm not!

     Have you experienced God's grace pouring out in your life, Moms, or are you too busy dumping heaps of guilt over your head like buckets of icy, cold water?


     The enemy of our souls is thrilled when we berate ourselves for our weakness and failures, but God is NOT -- He sent Jesus to cover all the "cookie" days and the "losing it" days!  He loves us as much after the cookie package has been ripped into as He did before.  He loves us as much after we've let our voices reach loud levels, but we don't get it, do we?

     We live in a culture that tells us value and worth are based on our performances; whether we realize it or not, we are all holding a red pen in our back pockets getting ready to tick the "F's" on our own report cards.  Take out that red pen and snap it in half -- it's mocking the grace that God extends and wants to extend in our lives.

     Yes, when we are His, God continues to call us to holiness - to becoming more like Him - BUT He does not condemn us when we fail, He pours out grace like sweet smelling bubbles in a warm bath.  May we listen for His voice in our lives and not the voices of everything else that surrounds us.

     Sink into those bubbles and let Him heal your heart.  As we accept His grace, we'll become ready and wanting to reach out for His help -- then those days will slowly become fewer and further apart, and we'll discover new levels of grace and blessing.

"From HIS fullness we have

all received, grace upon grace."

John 1:16