Laced With Grace

How I live my daily life is influenced by my view of eternity.  I firmly believe that my life today is part of eternity, therefore worship should be my way of life.

Worship is more than something we do like sing, pray, read our Bibles. It’s how I live out my life. Yes, it’s an act of devotion and involves all those components, but my ambition isn’t to simply become skilled and proficient at doing things and then proclaim I have worshiped. My most holy ambition is to be Christ like with every breath I take.  To be molded and transformed into His likeness.

When I read about the lives of great Christians, heroes of the faith, I see three common threads in their life style of worship.

 First, they live a life of brokenness – a desperate sense of needing God, that it’s all about Him and not them.

 The second common thread I see interwoven into the fabric of their lives is an uncommon communion with God. There was/is an attitude of pray that permeated their lives. They lived and breathed His presence. They spent serious amounts of time with the Lord.

 Thirdly, they had radical, immediate obedience.

 These three common threads are woven into the tapestry of every person God uses greatly. It was their spiritual service of worship to their Almighty God.

 The first and third we can all do in any season of life.  But the second thread, uncommon communion with God, can be hard to do when you are homeschooling 4 little ones, nursing another, keeping your home, and meeting your husband’s needs.  Maybe we can’t devote hours to prayer and Bible study, but there is something we can do.

 We can have our own “tent of meeting” like Moses had (Exodus 33:7-11).  He would frequently leave the group and go to his place to hear from God and the Lord would tell him what He wanted him to do. We can have our own private space to meet with Him and ask Him, “Lord, how would you have me show You my love and devotion? How may I worship You today?”

 If you’re that Mom I described above, His answer to you is not going to be, “Someday my dear daughter, I’m going to do something great with you, but right now, you just stay home.”  No, His answer is going to be something like this, “My dear daughter, I want you to make the most of each moment I give you today. I want you to use your unique position in life and your unique circumstances, and I want you to give time an injection of eternal values, a taste of heaven. Then those you meet and care for on your journey today will have seen a woman who truly loves Me and worships only Me.”

 What’s your unique position or stage of  life?  What circumstances are you living with? Are you rising above the circumstance with an injection of eternal values, or are you smothering under the weight?  How can you use your position and circumstances to bring glory to God and worship Him?

 Lord, I praise You for creating me to be me. Lord, I want to be the best I can be so I can point others to You and give you all the praise, honor, glory and  worship.

Create in me a spirit of brokenness. Give me an insatiable thirst and hunger for You. Lord, I want to have uncommon communion with You. I desire to give you radical, immediate obedience, but I’m weak and faint of heart at times. Help me to walk by faith with You and to trust You completely.

Lord, this is my one and only opportunity to live for eternity here on earth. To demonstrate a life committed to the service of worshipping You.

 I love You.  

Your Humbly Grateful Daughter,

Marsha’s Musings

Today’s guest devotion is written by Ginger Moore from ‘Speaking Thru Me Ministries‘. Thank you Ginger for allowing us to publish your devotional thoughts on Laced with Grace…

“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” ~ Exodus 14:13

Oh my! It is so true that kids will say anything and that seems especially true for my children! But, one story stands out far above the rest and that’s what I’m going to share with you today.

Several years ago, I had taken Savannah to a new doctor’s Office. This office had a huge chalk board on the wall to entertain the children and immediately after we arrived my little artist was quickly at work. The office was full and I was confident that my little Michelangelo had caught every one’s eyes with her fascinating works of art.

During one particular drawing I could see the concentration on her face. She was drawing her stick figures with great precision. One was small and placed far away from the other two larger stick figures. Then, with serious determination, she began drawing straight lines over the two larger stick figures. She did this over and over until both stick figures had horizontal lines all across them. She finished her creation by drawing a line across the top and bottom of her horizontal lines — making a box. (Is anyone following me here????)

Intrigued by what she had done and knowing that she had a purpose or a story behind what she had drawn, I asked Savannah to tell me about her picture. In a room FULL of people, in her very LOUD toddler voice she said, “Mommy, remember that one time the police came and took you and Daddy to jail and I was left all alone? Well, I drew that time.”

Now, do you follow the picture?? One small stick figure (her) away from the larger two (me and her dad), the box with lines (a jail cell)!!!!

So, with all eyes on us – I replied back, “Oh honey, did you draw a dream that you had?” Immediately she responded with a very strong “NO Mom! I drew that time you and dad went to jail and left me all alone!” The more I tried to insist that she had no idea what she was talking about, the more adamant she became that she had indeed drawn a true life portrait! And, the more exchanges that we had, the more I could tell the entire waiting room was on her side! I mean come on! Even I have to admit that was one wild imagination for a toddler. Had the tables been reversed, I probably would have been one of the first in the waiting room to have a raised eyebrow.

The point of this wild and true tale is this: (oh wait – TRUE being the drawing in the doctor’s office. Not TRUE as in the going to jail part! just wanted to make sure we were clear – haha). The more I tried to stand up for myself, defend my parenting, and prove that I really was a good person, the worse I made the situation. I looked more and more guilty.

If you are a Christian, is their an area in your life where YOU are doing the fighting? You are arguing with those around you to prove that you are right “in Christ”. Maybe you are trying to defend your reputation, maybe it is your parenting choices. It could be any decision you’ve made where you and God have worked out all the details – but your family and friends aren’t on board with His plan. Maybe it’s Homeschooling. Maybe it’s moving your family across the world to be missionaries. Maybe it’s about having more children (and most people feel you already have plenty!). I’m just tossing out things that I’ve witnessed recently. I realize most of these I’m mentioning deal with “younger” families because that’s where I am right now, but I’m sure you catch my drift. No matter your age right now, you can think of an issue.

Whatever the situation, you may be feeling personally attacked. Like your judgment is being questioned. BUT, have you ever thought about how maybe this isn’t your fight? Believe me, I like to “duke it out” with the best of them and it’s been a hard life lesson for me! Guys listen, we might not be going into a literal physical battle like our pals in the Old Testament, but God still fights AND wins His battles. Be encouraged by this list of scriptures:

Deuteronomy 1:30 “The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes.”

Deuteronomy 3:22 “Do not be afraid of them; the LORD your God himself will fight for you.”

2 Chronicles 20:17 “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’ ”

Jeremiah 1:19 “They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD.

If we believe that God has called us and set us a part in a certain area of our life, do you honestly think He wants to leave the fighting up to us? Now I hope you know that I am not asking you to not stand up for what is right or that we should not take a stand against sin….. Of course we should! I am talking about a heart issue. Something where you are not letting go and letting God take 100% control of the situation. Something where you are yelling, “I am right! God told me to do this! You are crazy for thinking I’m crazy!! And above all, I’ve never been in jail and left my child all alone. I promise!”

If this is an area of concern for you, pray these verses today. Pray for the people involved. Ask God to show them His heart in this are while also asking Him to continue to change your heart’s attitude regarding those who are opposing you. Keep a journal of your prayer concerns and be still; do not be afraid. Watch the Lord fight for you and anticipate His deliverance.

“Heavenly Father, I want to be obedient to what you have called me to do. Please give me the strength to stand firm and watch you fight for me. God I pray for those who are opposing me; who are questioning me in this call. I pray for their hearts as well as mine. Give me a pure heart first, oh Lord. Make sure that my intentions are yours and are not out of any deceit or selfish ambition. I pray that your truth will be known, whatever the cost. Direct my path and I will follow you faithfully. I give up my fight and place everything in your hands. Amen.”

Ginger Moore is a native of Tennessee and currently resides in the Nashville area. She is a wife and mother of three blessings ages 3, 6 and 8. Her heart for wanting to see other women develop an intimate relationship with the Lord has led her to be the Director of the
Women’s Ministry at Parkway Baptist Church in Goodtettsville, TN. Ginger is the Co-Founder of Speaking Thru Me Ministries, a fee-free event resource for churches. You can find more information about Ginger at: Speaking Thru Me Ministries or Hillbilly Heiress.

I have never been good at making investments. Stocks, bonds, investing. Who can figure out what is a “safe” investment and which ones are risky?

In years past, it was the “norm” to invest in stocks, bonds and IRA’s. But today, the way the economy is, it is kind of risky business. Many of us are being careful how we spend our money. We are playing the financial market as safely as we can.

As we consider all of the uncertainities of the future, we are confronted with this powerful temptation: to play it safe!

PLAYING IT SAFE…

• instead of waiting for God to move the mountain – we fret over the molehill.
• instead of holding onto the promise of tomorrow – we focus on the unfairness of today.
• instead of trusting God completely – we take tiny, half-steps instead of giant leaps with God.

PHILIPPIANS 4:13 “I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

There is no “safer” place to be than in Gods hands. Trusting Him. Waiting upon Him.

“When I am secure in Christ, I can afford to take a risk in my life. Only the insecure cannot afford to risk failure. The secure can be honest about themselves; they can admit failure; they are able to seek help and try again. They can change.” - JOHN MAXWELL

Are you playing it safe in your walk with God? Go ahead and ask God to give you the courage to step beyond the boundaries of your doubts. Ask Him to guide and lead you to a place where you can discover your full potential.

Dear Lord; In You I put my trust. No matter what the world looks like around me, I know that my strength lies within You. The world tells me to find a “safe” place, but I am asking You to lead me to the “right” place. It is in your plan that I desire to be; this is where I find my refuge and my strength. AMEN

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