Skip to main content

Grace Upon Grace

I hadn't realized how long it has been since I wrote a post. Tonight I was reading stories from the tornado and flood ravaged areas and my heart breaks for the things I am seeing: a mom who lost her two little boys, homes absolutely leveled, people separated from their pets, catastrophic injuries. It's all so tragic.

Then I picked up my Bible to do my reading for the day and my New Testament passage was John 1:1-28. I have decided to try and read through the gospel of John aloud and ask God to show me words or phrases that I need to dwell on. Tonight He gave me chapter 1, verse 16, "From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. (NIV)" The ESV says we have received "grace upon grace". 

As I looked around me and thought of those going through so much pain tonight, I felt He was telling me to remember what I have to be thankful for...letting me know I need to be more thankful. I remember reading a quote one time that said, "What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you thanked God for today?" Ouch! 

So tonight I just wanted to take the time to be thankful for:

Family
(Parents, Husband, Children, Grandchildren, Foster Children)
Two sons in the military that have returned home healthy after multiple deployments!
Friends
(Local and online - some of the best friends I ever had I have never met in person)
Our home
Our Bible preaching church
Paid off cars!!
Food on the table
Clothes on my back
Health
My cats (don't laugh)
The birds that come to my feeder every day and the songs they sing.
More than anything...
I am thankful that Jesus loved me enough to die for me
And that God gave us His Word.

This only scratches the surface. We are so blessed and most of the time we don't even know it until we are faced with the tragedy of seeing what others have lost, or have experienced loss ourselves. 

When I read the ESV and see the blessings called 'graces', it reminds me that I don't deserve any of what I have. The definition of grace I was always taught is "God's unmerited favor". He gives us blessings we don't deserve, can never earn, and can't repay Him for. Oh, may we never take them for granted.

So tonight I am thankful.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Leaving Your Nets

Matthew 4:20 "AT ONCE they left their nets and followed Him (Jesus)."  Matthew 4:20 records the response of Peter and Andrew to the call of Jesus to be his disciples. They literally walked off the job and into ministry. We have the advantage of viewing this story with hindsight and the scripture, but Peter and Andrew were in the moment... Jesus was a hometown boy, a carpenter. He hadn't really started his ministry, yet. Surely he had been preaching in the area and the disciples knew what kind of man he was. But still... Fishing was a major industry around the Sea of Galilee and most fisherman belonged to family owned business. Can you imagine old Zebedee's face when somebody walked in his "office" and told him Peter and Andrew had taken off with the new preacher? How do you go home and tell your wife that you walked off the job for a ministry with no pay? How do you feed your kids? Their security was gone. Their income was gone. Possibly a few r

Mono Diaries Lesson 1: Be Careful What You Pray For

I haven’t written in a long time and decided I would make the most of my time of confinement. The first quarter of two thousand eighteen has been a difficult and stressful one for my husband and I.  Dealing with issues related to aging parents has put a strain on us that we could not have anticipated. Wanting to do what is best for them, still do what is best for us, dealing with dementia, hospitalizations, nursing homes has been enough to create a level of stress that has taken a toll. On a particular week when we had been running back and forth to facilities, doctor appointments, and just trying to keep up with day to day responsibilities, I remember venting to the Lord in my quiet time and praying what I have come to see as a fateful prayer. I remember, probably a little resentfully, telling God that I wished I could have a day to just do nothing and read a book..... As of today, I have had FIFTEEN days to do nothing and read books. As a matter of fact, it is being encour

Inspired by Obedience

And He said to all, "If any would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Luke 9:23 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:20 - 21 I have only known in my life one person that truly personified those verses. In 2009, one of our youngest, most energetic ministers was taken to the hospital emergency room with chest pain. He was healthy and athletic. He taught PE at our local high school. This trip to the hospital began a journey that would last the next three years and affect more lives than anyone could have ever anticipated. Mike Storter was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. Mike immediately began treatments for his disease and for a short period during these years was considered cancer-free. It was a