G.R.A.C.E.

Acronyms of Grace for Wordsmith Wednesday.

Acrostics often help me to recall truth, especially as I age. I often remember  EGO= Edges God Out. GRACE= God's Redemption At Christ's Expense.

All to Jesus, my Robert Morgan devotional guide, has seemed to emphasize "grace" this week.

8/10 Indeed we have all received grace after grace. (John 1:16)

ended with, a new to me, acronym for G.R.A.C.E.

God's Riches Available to Claim Everyday!

Hubby reads Bob Goff's, Live in Grace-Walk in Love to me each night. Last night grace jumped off the title page and right into my psyche. Love to others is an overflow of God's grace to us. Grace's practical application =Walking in love! 

This morning, (8/12) Titus 2:11-12 was the "grace" intro to Morgan's entry.

For the grace of God......teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled....lives in this present age.

One more "grace" filled verse had me humming, "Grace, grace, God's grace" as I stirred in extra measures of God's grace in my  morning cuppa and praying Acts 4:33 for our country during these tumultuous times......that we might be of one heart and one soul with...."much grace upon us all". (Acts 4:33)

G.R.A.C.E. acrostic as prayer prompts for our nation....

God Releases Altruism, Compassion & Empathy....so that we might give

Give Real Assistance & Care to Everyone! 

TUESDAY TRUTHS

Showing up in the lives of children is everything. 
Kindness is the only strength there is.
Those two truths were quotes from Bob Goff's, Everybody Always.

Goff also states......

• If there is a fundamental challenge in theses stories, it is to change these lurking suspicions that some lives matter less than other lives.
• “Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgment at how they carry it.” 

Forgiveness is needed if one exercises "sanctimonious" service to others....as if we are the only one with something to give! One must allow others to share & give to you---it's two-way!
It helps them retain their dignity. (Gregory J. Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion)

Treat everyone you meet with dignity. (1Peter 2:17. MSG)

TEA-RRIFIC TRIO

The most difficult person in my life is "moi."

God wants me to love the ones I don't understand.
God wants me to get to know their names,.
God wants me to accept, not to label. (p. 43)

This and many other stories from the author's life can draw one's attention to truth from God's word in a variety of "real life" situations.

In previous weeks, I have shared stories from this book with family, a dear friend, Carolyn McKenzie who was at the Jewish Home rehab and in a Town Village Bible Study.
The chapter which struck the "aha" cord from everyone, along with tickling their funny bone, was "Bucket List." A good read for drawing one's attention to "What's in Your Bucket?"

Tas-TEA cuppa, TEA-larious book & TEA-rrific read, What a trio!

SABBATH SNAPSHOT : heartfelt hilari-TEA

Bob Goff's NYX bestseller, Love Does, is a book which celebrates the ordinary and the whimsies of life. 

I loved this book---to pieces and in pieces. Part was shared in an after dinner read aloud. Part was read alone. Part was read to hubby. It's a perfect book to read in parts! 

Each of the 31 chapters are a complete story---perfect for a bedside table. You could go to school, especially Sunday School, on the chapter subtitles. "I used to think........but now I know.....!

• I used to think....you had to be special .....but now I know....you simply need to say yes.
• I used to think.....religion tasted horrible....but now I know....I was just eating the fake stuff.
• I used to think.....I could shape the circumstances around me......but now I know God uses the circumstances to shape me.
• I used to think.....I had to be somebody important to accomplish things....but now I know....Jesus uses ordinary people more.

Chapter 10 alone, is worth the price of the book to me. (And I'm frugal---I use the library!) "The Interviews" is worth a read by all heads of state.

Chapter 11, "Wow, What a Hit," was a favorite because it emphasized the importance of using encouraging words throughout life. It tugged at hubby's heart as well as mine. 

"Words of encouragement are like that. They have their own power and when they are said  by the right people, they can change everything.....Words people say to us not only have a shelf life, but have the ability to shape life." (Goff)

One review stated, "Its like you are just sitting there having a cup of tea with him (Goff) while he describes for you how he feels he is supposed to live like Jesus."

This book, a quick, easy read grabbed my funny bone, my heart and my tear ducts! 

That my friends is a recommendation!

Selectivi-TEA : a re-brew

After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. (1 Kings 19:12, NIV)

"Listening to the Lord" has continued to be in my musings. Is His voice so gentle and soft that I need a hearing aid? Or....am I not being still enough to sense His words?

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. (Psalm 37:7, NIV)

A chapter in book, Love Does, which Marge, my mountain hostess, shared with me, had a chapter dealing with this topic. Maybe, God speaks loud and clear through others.

Author, Bob Goff, definitely gave me some food for thought---or ear drops to clear my ears to aid my hearing. The intro to his "Hearing Aid" chapter said, "I used to think that God wouldn't talk to me but now I think I'm just selective with what I hear." (p. 137)

Other Goff gems:

• God doesn't speak in a voice into make audio needles move. 
• No cosmic whispers. No movie reels with subtitles.
• Sense something down deep like a tuning fork to "ping" my soul.
• God doesn't pass us messages, He passes us each other.

A great question is, "Am I just being lazy as I sip a cuppa selectivi-TEA while tuning out anything I don't want to hear?"

May I sit and "listen" just as Sarah Young did while writing Jesus Calling. She shared with me that it took lots of time sitting quietly and waiting.

Her cuppa selectivi-TEA provided impressions and scriptures on her heart and she jotted them down. A word. A phrase. a verse. A thought. She listened intentionally. Expectantly. Selectively. Blocking distractions. He filled her cuppa.

That's the best cuppa selectivi-TEA!