Stop trying to balance Grace & Truth - A New Post by @ShelleyHendrix

And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.

John 1:14 Amplified

I used to believe (and teach) that Grace and Truth needed to be balanced. I no longer believe this. 

In reality, I understand now that Grace and Truth are two sides of the same coin. You simply can't have one without a full and complete measure of the other.

"...(G)row in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ..."

I Peter 3:18 NIV

Grace & Truth 

• Truth Educates. 

Truth is the reality of what is. Truth informs as we spend time with the Author of Truth. Truth sets us free to the extent that we know and apply it to our lives.  (See John 8:31 - 32)

I've observed a sad dynamic in most Christian circles today: using the word "truth" in place of the word "Law." In other words, people are using the wrong definition for the word truth. 

• Grace Empowers.

Grace is the loving-kindness and favor of a God who doesn't lie. His grace rescues, redeems, and restores us as we embrace Jesus as our Savior. But Grace does not stop there! Grace remains in our lives and is what empowers us to grow up into maturity as followers of Jesus who have been given a brand new identity as children of God. 

• They never contradict each other. 

So beware of anyone who says, "Yes, there's grace, but the truth says..."

• They are never at odds with each other. 

You can't "pull the Grace Card" without the "Truth Card" because they are one and the same. 

There are a lot of well-meaning folks today who are trying so hard to motivate people to live for God while also encouraging people to trust God's grace. In doing so, what usually happens is that they speak out of both sides of their mouths. 

When We Try to "Balance" Grace & Truth, we only lose our balance

When people speak out of both sides of their mouths, listeners and learners get confused and usually wind up remaining stuck spiritually in the "Give Up/Try Hard Cycle." 

Jeff Van Vonderen, Tired of Trying to Measure Up

The speaker's intentions are usually good; but their motivations come from a misunderstanding of the Original Good News Jesus came to offer. They, too, tend to live in this Give Up/Try Hard Cycle themselves, so why wouldn't they continually use the same tactics in trying to get other people to shape up and fly right?

A short blog post doesn't permit me to carry this thought out in depth, so instead, I want to share some resources (in addition to the one above) that will help you on your own personal journey to better understanding and embracing God's grace in your own life so that you'll be better equipped to share it with others in your life.

• TrueFaced.com  (Many resources!)
• The Two Paths Talk by John Lynch (Free Video - Start here!)
• The Rest of The Gospel (Book)
• What God Wishes Christians Knew About Christianity (Book)

(Please consider using the Amazon Smile Link at the top of our blog page to order these book titles. Thank you!)

These are just a few trusted resources that are "Church 4 Chicks approved." :-) I do hope you'll take the time to research these resources for your benefit personally, but also for those within your sphere of influence. 

When we can stop using "truth" as a weapon to motivate change in behavior or "grace" as an excuse for our (or a loved one's) bad behavior, perhaps we'll get on with the business of living life to the full that Jesus promised was ours to experience. (See John 10:10) 

May God lavishly grant us both as we "grow in the Grace and Knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

"When You’re Caught in a Cave" by Jo Ann Fore

He loves me.

He loves me not.

I pluck the blooms from the ox-eye daisy, each falling petal representing a truth that momentarily binds.

I’m loved; I’m gonna be okay.

I’m unloved; how will I ever make it?

How does one hold simultaneously to two contradictory opinions yet believe both?  Doublethink.  That’s what George Orwell (in the novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four) calls this, and we do it far too often, this holding tight to opposing beliefs about God’s love for us.

He loves me.  He loves me not. 

We know this fullness of God’s love, his grace, yet we don’t know.  We believe, yet our doubt somehow overrides our belief.

Why are we here, in this land of doublethink?  I imagine it’s the same question God asked of Elijah, the bold robust mountain man, who held an incredible faith... on most days, anyway.  There was that time he contemplated suicide, that time the backlash of emotional abuse, threats, and manipulation had skewed his perspective. (Read 1 Kings 19 for the whole story.)

Elijah should have been celebrating a great victory; he had just killed all the false prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel.  Unfortunately that slaughter didn’t sit well with Queen Jezebel, a queen who had puppeted her husband, King Ahab, for years as she led an entire nation in Baal-worship and idolatry, but in one short afternoon, the queen had lost control over that nation, all because of Elijah.

Enraged, Jezebel threatened him, and Elijah believed her, eventually landing crumpled and depressed, tucked inside a cave.

There’s such a danger in drifting, the gradual slipping away from truth.

Elijah well knew God’s miracle-performing power and provision, yet he feared for his life because he doubted God could or would protect him this time.  He gave in to Jezebel’s threats, all the while knowing God had the power to save him.  God had proven Himself faithful, but sometimes even that is not enough for those of us with deep-seated hurts.

Elijah had fallen prey to lies.  At a time when he could have been used to make a difference, he fled. With two differing beliefs raging war within him, he leaned heavier on the side of deception. Rather than focusing on all the powerful and supernatural moments he had experienced with God, Elijah chose to believe that an idol-worshiping, prophet-killing queen was bigger than the God he had long served and loved.

Isn’t that the natural bent of a wounded heart?

Elijah started to believe his own lie, accept it as truth. {You hear something long enough, you start to do that.}  But God offers a fresh perspective: The shadows in the cave can lie, bending the Light, but they cannot break it.

Without anger or judgment or blame, God ultimately challenged Elijah {challenges us} to stretch his eyes beyond his current circumstances. God offered Elijah an assignment that I’m certain he wasn’t expecting:  Go back and anoint others.

Purely my speculation here, but I suspect a great anointing is birthed in the pits of pain. ‘Cause that’s just the sort of thing God can do in a cave.

Deeper Still:  Consider a time you felt trapped; what is one thing you could have done to confront any negative feelings?

Jo Ann Fore is a popular blogger and the author of the recently released When A Woman Finds Her Voice: Overcoming Life’s Hurts & Using Your Story to Make a Difference.  Jo Ann serves a powerful promise of hope to a woman’s heart, her encouraging words and coaching experiences helping many women transform broken lives into beautiful ones. 

Connect with Jo Ann online at www.JoAnnFore.com and @JoAnnFore.  You'll also find her at the new www.FaithHappenings.com!

"God's Doing A New Thing, And He Doesn't Want You to Miss It!" by Lori Twichell

See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." – Isaiah 43:19

I’m not a theologian by any stretch of the imagination.  I love God’s word.  As a writer and a book reviewer, it’s not surprising that I love words.  The Bible is rife with gorgeous stories and word pictures.  If you haven’t read it, even if you aren’t a Christian, you should give it a try.  The Psalms, the prophets, the history…it’s amazing.

Sharing this love of God’s word with my kids hasn’t always been as easy as I’d hoped.  Up until recently, they haven’t really been readers, and they haven’t done a great deal of Bible study on their own.  They know the stories, but they haven’t really been doing a lot of study on their own.
So, this year in our Bible class at school (I homeschool them), I have been very specific about the verses I have chosen for them to memorize.  I want them to learn things that will apply to their everyday lives, and I’m hoping this will spur them to further research.  This verse, Isaiah 43:19, really surprised me in the impact it had on them.  We decided, as we copied it, to really pull the verse apart and talk about each part of its meaning.  I thought I’d share our observations here.

"See, I am doing a new thing!"
The first word in here, see, is an exclamation.  God wants our attention.  He’s drawing us away from whatever it was we were looking at that wasn’t Him. It’s what I do with my kids all the time.  I make sure that they’re paying attention to what I say.  More often than not, I’ll ask them to look at me and watch them while I’m talking, so I can be sure I haven’t lost them.  I think that is what God wants right here.  You see, He wants us to know that second part.

He’s doing a new thing.
A. New. Thing.
How cool is that? The history of God doing new things is cool -The earth, the sun, the stars, people.  Then there’s Jesus and the water to wine and healing people.  If God’s doing a new thing, I’m really glad He got my attention with that first word.  So what happens next?

"Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?"
This part was fun. In our discussion, I asked the kids about springing up.  One talked about water. Another one talked about a volcano.  One of my kids brought up Super Mario Galaxy.
There’s a level where Mario has to use springs to get up to the places he needs to be, because on his own, he can’t jump that high.



Another thing to note here is that you can’t stop something that’s springing.  It’s coming up fast and you don’t have to wait for it.  This isn’t God saying ‘be patient’ or ‘be still’.  He’s saying LOOK!  It’s coming up NOW!  It’s springing forth, and He wants to be sure you don’t miss it.

"I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert."
We talked a long time about this one.  A wilderness isn’t a forest or a place where you choose to be; however, it’s where most of us end up at some point in our lives.  This is where it feels like you’re alone, and no matter how many episodes of survival programs you’ve seen, you’re not gonna do well here.  You might live, but you aren’t going to grow or thrive.  You won’t get ahead.  You’ll just live. Trust me, I know how this feels.  All of your energy is spent just trying to survive.

My kids pictured this last part in their mind two ways. One was the yellow brick road.  At one point in the Wizard of Oz (yes, we’re movie geeks in my house), the forest is actually trying to kill our heroes, but the yellow brick road shows them the way out.



The other way was Star Wars.  On Tatooine, there was no hope for water anywhere.  That was a massive desert, and it was hot! (We know hot. We live in South Texas!)



My son got very excited about the changes that would come about if suddenly there were streams in the desert.  Everything in their entire lives would change on that planet if there were streams available.  They wouldn’t need to work so hard to survive.  They could start to LIVE.

I don’t know where you are right now, but it’s possible that you’re stuck right now in a wilderness or a desert.  You might feel each day like you’re fighting and battling just to survive, but God wants your attention.  He’s doing something for you - Right now.  He’s making a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert, and He wants you to know that.  It’s exciting, and it’s amazing.  All you have to do is trust in Him.

Click here to view a video of "All Things New" by Steven Curtis Chapman

"Overcoming the Lie - I'm A Failure" by Lori Kennedy

TRUTH OR LIE

“For no word from God will ever fail.”  Luke 1:37 (NIV)

I was recently reminded of the saying “You fail at 100% of what you do NOT attempt.”  I needed this reminder as I struggle with risking possible failure.  I’m reading a book as part of my quiet time, and there have been a lot of "AHA" moments for me during this read.  Today I read something that resonated with me.  One of the reaons I may be afraid to take a risk due to fear of possible failure is because I believe the lie “performance equals personhood.”  I believe that if I fail at something then that makes ME a failure,and that’s simply not true!

I believe it was Albert Einstein who said that anyone who has never failed at anything has never attempted anything.  There are so many great stories of those that had to make multiple attempts which resulted in failure before ever suceeding.  I have found myself frozen and not acting out of this fear of failure, and I don’t want to ever do that again!  God has a great plan for my life, as He does for yours, but if we don’t take risks and walk toward the destiny He has prepared for us even in our fear, then we may never get to experience the abundant life that He wants for us.

I love it when God reveals a new false belief to me – it means He’s trusting me to deal with the next layer of healing, because only once I RECOGNIZE the false belief as a lie do I have the power to OVERCOME that lie! J

 Click here to view a video with "Voice of Truth" by Casting Crowns

You're the Answer - A Guest Post by Susan Norris

Photo by Susan Norris

You’re the Answer 

By Susan Norris

“How can God be good if He allows so many awful things take place in this world without doing anything about it?”

I've heard that question asked many times before.  I've often wondered if God asks the same question of us.  How can (insert your name here) be good if she allows so many awful things to take place in this world without doing anything about it. God doesn't choose to bring affliction or sorrow on anyone [Lamentations 3:33].  Problems are the result of the ruler of this evil world we live in today [Ephesians 2:1-3]. When bad things happen in our lives, God has a plan

We are the plan.

God can choose to work any way He desires and for reasons we may not like or understand, He chooses to work through us.  He calls us to be His hands and feet in this world [Matthew 25:35-45].  Much of what we see taking place in the world today would be remedied if we, the Body of Christ, lived life as our Lord and Savior calls us to live.

What can I do, you ask?  Nothing in your own strength.  Thankfully, the solutions don't depend on what we can do in our own strength. The solutions depend on us living a surrendered life allowing the Lord to work through us. Hebrews 13:20-21 tells us He will equip us to what He calls us to do.  He tells us as much in 1 Thessalonians 5:24,

“The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it.”

He won't leave us hanging.  He is simply looking for people who will go. Those who will respond as in Isaiah 6:8,

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I.  Send me!"

There is a hurting world out there.  They are looking for someone, anyone, who cares. Is that you? Are you willing? Do you care?

In her book, Undaunted, Christine Caine shares about a time when she sat down with survivors of human sex trafficking in Thessaloniki, Greece.  She told them there was a God who was good and cared for them and asked His followers to love others the same way He loves them.  As she shared, a young woman named Sonica said,

“If what you are telling me is true, if what you say about your God is true- then where were you?  Where have you been? Why didn't you come sooner?”

If we believe God is good, if we believe He can and will restore, if we acknowledge the Word of God as truth, then we must take action.  We cannot sit by expecting God to do something, because He has.  He's called us, equipped us, and commanded us [John 12:26, Hebrews 13:20-21, and Matthew 28:18-20]. It's time we put on our armor and get to it [Ephesians 6:10-18]. The invitation has been issued.

• Are you willing?

• What will you do today to answer the call?

Connect with Susan at www.susannorris.org, on Twitter  @SusanCNorris, and Facebook Susan Norris author.  

Click here to enjoy the official video for "Follow You" by Leeland with Brandon Heath

Worth and Significance by Melissa Haas @RestoreLifeUs

Photo by Melissa Hass

Worth and Significance

byMelissa Haas

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, in Our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Genesis 1:26-27, NIV 

I am a person of great worth and significance, for I am created in the image of God for His glory.   

Who were we modeled after?  The Hebrew word used here for “image” only appears in the creation account and a couple of other places in Genesis. It comes from a root word meaning “to shade,” and in this usage means a “resemblance.” When the Bible says we were created in the image and likeness of God, it means that God made us to resemble Himself.   

You resemble your Father. 

But sin wrecked all that, didn’t it?  Actually, sin just made us blind to who we were created to be—the image bearers of God. We could not see His image in us or our need for Him. Instead we sought after other images to give us meaning and purpose and definition.  

It reminds me of one of my kids’ favorite movies—The Lion King. In the movie, Scar, the evil brother of the lion king Mufasa, plots to kill him and Simba, the new heir to the throne, so that he can become the lion king. Scar tells Simba that his father wants to show him something in the valley. Meanwhile, Scar’s cronies, the evil hyenas, cause a herd of wildebeest to begin stampeding towards the valley where Simba is anxiously waiting for the promised surprised. 

Mufasa, watching from afar, sees the herd on the move. Scar runs up to tell him that Simba is in danger, and Mufasa races to save his son. He succeeds, but as he jumps to save himself from the hooves of the wildebeests, Scar pushes him off the cliff, and Mufasa dies. 

Simba, seeing his father fall, rushes to his side, trying to rouse him. The evil Scar comes to Simba then and implies that it is all his fault. “The truth is, Simba,” Scar says to the cub, “Mufasa’s dead because of you.” Simba believes him and faced with the guilt of causing his father’s death, and at the suggestion of Scar, he runs away.   

Simba nearly dies in the desert, but a couple of unlikely friends, Timon and Pumbaa find him and save his life. Timon is a meercat, and Pumbaa is a warthog. They teach Simba a new life philosophy—a “no worries, no problems” lifestyle that forgets the past and lives with no concern for anyone but yourself. Simba is a lion, but he forgets who he is. He eats bugs and grubs just like Timon and Pumbaa and lives a carefree life--until his past, in the form of a childhood friend named Nala, bumps into him one day.  

Disturbed and guilt-ridden again, Simba goes out into a field and screams at the sky, “You said you would always be with me, but you aren’t! Your dead, and it’s all my fault!”  

In the distance Simba sees a baboon coming toward him. The baboon, named Rafiki, tells Simba that his father isn’t dead, that he will show Simba where he is. Simba follows Rafiki through the jungle and ends up at a pool of water. He sees his reflection and angrily turns to Rafiki, saying, “That’s not my father; it’s only my reflection.”  

Rafiki replies, “Look harder . . . You see, he lives in you.”   

Something stirs the water. The image of Mufasa appears. Mufasa tells Simba that he has forgotten him. Simba denies it. Mufasa says, “You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten me.  Look inside yourself. You are more than what you’ve become.” As Mufasa’s image disappears in the sky, he says, “Remember you are my son—the child of the one true king. Remember….”   

The story ends with Simba returning to the Pride Lands to fight Scar and to assume his rightful place as the Lion King.  

No matter how long you deny it, no matter how you behave in an effort to forget a painful past, you will always bear the image of your Father. A self-centered and foolish lifestyle built on deception (Satan’s lies) may prevent you from living out your true identity, and the Father sees all of this.  But God never washes His hands of you and says, “That’s it. I’m writing her off. I can’t stand to look at her anymore.” Instead He brings you to a place where you must face who you have become so that you will remember who He created you to be.  

The whole reason Jesus came in the likeness of man was so that we could again see the image of God through Him. Jesus came as a man so that we could, by receiving Him, be transformed into His likeness—created anew for His glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).   

You resemble your Father, and you have great worth and significance because you were created by Him.    Dare to believe this truth with all of your heart.  Live as the daughter of the one true King

Melissa Haas currently serves as the Director of Restoration Groups for HopeQuest, a ministry group in Woodstock, Georgia, which helps people struggling with life-dominating issues.  Melissa began her service in ministry in 1993 as an international missionary to Kenya, East Africa, where she and her husband Troy worked as church planters among the Turkana people.  When a significant marital crisis ended their missionary service, Melissa and Troy began a journey of healing and restoration that now serves as the foundation of their ministry to others.  Passionate about spiritual community, healthy marriages, and intimacy with God, Melissa regularly facilitates small groups and teaches and speaks on these topics in order to help the Body of Christ grow relationally with God and each other.  Melissa and Troy and their three children reside in Woodstock, Georgia.

Cliques and Community

Photo by Amelia Grace Photography

 Cliques and Community 

ByTracee Persiko 

Right now, I’m sitting in a Starbucks watching a group of high school girls hang out. I listen as they talk about their day, and thought, “you know…nothing has really changed about the conversations and topics of high school.” 

We are a culture that operates out of created groups. We learn how to “belong” through gravitating towards like-minded people. Every high school has the same social groups now as they did 15 years ago when I was there. 

We called our like-minded group of friends our community, but in reality they were cliques. Cliques do not allow room for community.

I watch these girls and laugh because my friends now are so different. My closest friends are made up of a mismatch group of gifts, personalities, fears, looks, and passions. One of my closest friends and I joke all the time that we would not have been friends in high school. Our groups and judgments would not have let that happen.

Community ceases to be community when it becomes a clique.

There is no room for community in a clique. Cliques are closed to anyone new joining in. Cliques enforce a hierarchy of judgment someone needs to pass in order to be allowed in.

It makes me sad when I see adult cliques in the church. Clique mentality has no room in the community of the church body. We are all made in His image. We are all invited to walk a life journey with the same God. 

Look at the disciples.

Some would say that the 12 disciples were a clique. No one else was allowed to be a disciple. But look at the mixed match up of those guys!

The community of disciples consisted of different personalities, passions, interests, looks, temperaments, gifts, strong wills, extroverts, introverts, popular, and the loathed. There was no reason these guys should’ve been doing life together – they didn’t go together. They didn’t make sense.

But isn’t this true community?

Community is made up of all of those who are trying to do life well, and follow after the invitation to do life with Him.

Community takes a chance on people. Community sees and wants the heart. Community is inviting.

What are your thoughts on community?

What makes community for you?

A Visit from Grace and Truth: Agreeing With God When I Sin



Photo by Debra Courtney

A Visit from Grace and Truth:  Agreeing with God When I Sin

By

Melissa Haas 

Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.  Proverbs 3:3

I often joke that brownies are my love language.  When I was a kid, my mom would always have something hot from the oven waiting for us when we got home from school.  To this day, the smell of brownies baking takes my heart back home, reminding me of safety and rest, comfort and love.  

Growing up in south Louisiana in a predominately Catholic culture, I found myself increasingly isolated from my peers.  We were evangelical Protestants, and my beliefs set me apart from those around me.  School was challenging.  I did not fit in, so coming home was a welcome relief.  And somehow, along the way, my need for nurture and acceptance and comfort got connected with the food that was waiting for me when I got off the bus.  Not surprisingly, one of my biggest adolescent struggles was being overweight.   

Time went on.  I got married, became a missionary, and had children.  Whenever life got stressful or painful—anytime I felt sad, lonely, or rejected—I baked.   Then, when our missionary career ended prematurely and all of my dreams were shattered, I found myself in a counselor’s office trying to sift and sort through my pain.  She became my Nathan, pointing out the shame I was carrying about my weight and the self-sabotaging behavior of emotional eating that I felt powerless to overcome.   

The truth was that I had been involved in an idolatrous relationship with food—in particular, sweet foods like brownies.  When I needed comfort, I nurtured myself instead of seeking that comfort from God and others within the Body of Christ.  I was isolated, self-reliant, and stuck.  For the first time, I was able to acknowledge the truth of my sin, but that created another problem.  

How did I accept the truth of this sin without condemning myself?  I knew from experience that self-condemnation would only trigger a self-defeating cycle of eating for comfort only to feel more shame.  On the other hand, how did I give myself grace without minimizing or justifying my sinful choices, enabling them to continue?   How did I love myself but hate my sin?  

One of my counselor’s favorite verses was Proverbs 3:3.  She pointed out that when Father confronts our sin, Grace and Truth always make the visit together.  While Truth is unyielding in His truthfulness, Love empties Himself, pouring out streams of grace filled with mercy and forgiveness.   Together Grace and Truth create a safe environment for my soul to acknowledge the truth about my failures while continuing to feel loved and accepted in spite of them.  Now that I am no longer fearful of losing love, I can focus my attention on growth and change. 

Over the years Grace and Truth have been good friends, and the longer I have lived with them, the easier it has become to accept my humanity as a gift that keeps me connected to the One I was created for, the One who calls me daughter and friend.  We all occasionally eat brownies together because God likes chocolate too.  More importantly, though, we enjoy our relationship.  The comfort and acceptance I need are bountifully supplied through my relationship with Him and His people, satisfying my deepest longings.  (And the icing on the cake is that this satisfaction is calorie-free.  Smile.) 

How about you?  How are you relating to yourself and to God when you sin?  Make a commitment to develop your friendship with Grace and Truth.  Find what you need in Him. 

Grace for Myself: Balancing the Responsibilities of Home and Family

Grace for Myself: 

Balancing the Responsibilities of Home and Family

By: Melissa Haas

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 

2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

The limitation of my humanity in managing my home is a reality I face every day.    As I drag myself out of bed each morning, walk past baskets of dirty laundry (currently there are five) and into a kitchen with dirty dishes in the sink from yesterday, I grab a cup of coffee, plop down in my chair, and breathe a prayer of gratitude--thankful for grace.

It’s taken a long time for me to cultivate that gracious response to myself.  Like many women, for most of my early adult life I was haunted by the voices in my head that said things like “godly women manage their homes better than you do” and “a good woman puts her needs and desires last.”  After all, the Proverbs 31 woman had boundless energy in spite of obvious sleep deprivation and the ability to manage all of her responsibilities successfully.   If she could do it back in the days before dishwashers and washing machines, I should be able to manage my home better than she did.

I vividly remember thinking to myself that I must just be missing something.  So I decided to attend a Bible study on the Proverbs 31 woman, hoping that I would get the tools I needed to finally be able to get my act together in running our home with efficiency and grace.   At the time my children were four, eighteen months, and three months old, and just getting all of us to church on time was a feat of amazing proportions.   (I usually did not succeed.)

Every week I would go, and every week I would come home with a renewed determination to do better in managing my responsibilities at home.  Inevitably, though, between nursing the baby and keeping my eighteen-month old from playing in the toilet and playing dolls with my four-year-old daughter, the care of my home would be neglected once again.   I began dreading the familiar feelings of inadequacy and shame I experienced every time I went to study the Bible.    My heart was heavy from failure.

One morning, as I was talking to God about it all, confessing my failure to manage my home well, I got the distinct impression that He was bored with our conversation.  “Are you listening to me, Father?” I asked. 

“Yes, daughter, I’m listening.  I’m just not very drawn to your heart right now.  You are so focused on you and your failures, you are missing the very thing I created you for—relationships.   Has it ever occurred to you that these household responsibilities you are so freaked out about have no eternal value?  What makes me smile are your relationships with Me and the ones I have given you to love well.”

“But what about the Proverbs 31 woman?   You are the One who gave her to us as an example.”

“I gave Myself as the example to follow, daughter.  I thought I set the record straight with Mary and Martha, but just in case you have forgotten, let Me say it clearly.  Your worth and our relationship are not based on how well you manage your home.  It is based on who I say you are and how much time you spend with Me.  Trust Me with your laundry and your dishes.  I can only give you the grace that you need when you choose to rest in your weakness.” 

And so I took another step on the journey of grace that day—grace for myself.  The laundry and dishes are not always done, but I love the ways He energizes me each day as I trust Him with my weakness. 

What weakness have you been complaining about?  

What’s His perspective?

Dare to trust Him with your humanity. You will find much grace for that.