Laced With Grace

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” ~ Ephesians 4:1-7 (ESV ~ emphasis mine)

My sweet friend Lori (Lori’s Reflections) visited family this past week in Phoenix. I had the opportunity to meet up with her for lunch again (we met the first time in May 2007). Not only was I able to hug Lori again; I also met Debbie (Heart Choices) for the very first time. What a precious time we had…we talked up a storm — really. The hour-and-a-half flew by in no time.

Let me tell you, my sweet sisters: there is nothing more precious than connecting with sisters of the same faith. Not only do I have the privilege to blog with these two precious sisters here on Laced with Grace, but was blessed to meet both of them in person. Yes, we do belong to different denominations, but that does not matter to me. We have One common denominator – we belong to the same body; the body of Christ.

We as Christians often are afraid of building bridges to other denominations (not sure why), but in all reality we are still one body. I guess that is an old issue. Reading the passage Paul penned close to 2,000 years ago, there were already differences back than.

I remember a sermon from years ago my pastor preached about the different denominations. Although I don’t remember all the details, but the cartoon that was on top of the sermon notes is still fresh in my mind’s eye…

The cartoon showed heaven…there were many doors with different labels: Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist, Adventist, Assembly of God etc…But looking behind the doors there was just one big open field. Even though the people walked through different doors — at the end they were all together in one big place …

Girlfriends, let us build bridges this side of heaven. You see, at the end are all together in one big place that is called heaven…

Lord of Heaven and Earth. Thank You for Your sacrifice. Thank You for laying down Your life for us so that we may spend eternity with You. Lord, help us to reach out, build bridges, encourage each other as the road of life is a bit rough at times. We are trusting in Your mercy to unite Your body of believers. In the precious name of Jesus ~ Amen.

Recently, I came across a cartoon that depicted a possum, who was wearing a colonial general’s hat made out of paper and holding a tiny wooden sword. The possum was standing in a George Washington type of pose high up on a rock. The caption read … “We have met the enemy – and they is us!”

Isn’t that exactly how we feel after many long days. We started out with good intentions, but before long, discouragement sets in when things don’t go as we had hoped for the day. We find that the things we wanted to be faithful in just slipped thru our fingertips.

My “to do” list just seems to get longer and longer. When it comes to being a disciplined woman of God, it seems that I am truly my worst enemy.

As Christians, having faithfulness MUST be part of our character and part of our daily walk. To be faithful, I need to be loyal, trustworthy and steadfast. Faithfulness is a characteristic of someone who is reliable and faithful not only in action , but also in word.

So, what does faithfulness in action look like to you? Having the mark of a faithful woman might mean you have the following …

~you follow thru…on whatever needs to be done.

~you come thru…no matter what.

~you show up…even early so others won’t worry.

~you keep your word…your “yes” means “yes” and your “no” means “no”.

~you keep your commitments and appointments…canceling is only for extreme emergencies.

~you can be found regularly at church…you don’t neglect worship.

~you are devoted to duty…just as Jesus was when He came to do His Father’s will.

When I think about this list of actions that would show being faithful…I think of the famous Nike shoe advertisement slogan …”JUST DO IT!” Being faithful is just that. It means doing it ~ no matter what! Faithfulness is “Just Doing It!” no matter what your feelings, your moods or your desires – if the Lord wills.

JAMES 4:15 “Instead you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”

I have found that when I start out my day by saying, “Today I am just going to do it!” and rely upon God for His strength and purpose in doing it, He always gives me the grace to have victory in my day.

What do you need to have faithfulness in today? Are you like the possum in the cartoon and struggle? Ask God to help you to JUST DO IT today. And He will!

You can visit my blog daily over at http://womentakingastand.blogspot.com and check out my prayer blog over at http://firstassemblyofgodprays.blogspot.com/

I am very excited to bring you today a guest devotion by Bethany from Raindrops & Rainbows. I am even more excited to tell you that Bethany will join our rotation starting in the month of October – So, now you can already get a little ‘taste’ of her writing …

There was a long to do list I’d made in preparation for our son’s fifth birthday. Besides getting things ready for the party at the park, we were also having lunch for our family back at our house. On Sunday before the party I was talking to my husband about all the things we needed to do in the coming days. I told him I hadn’t even planned on calling the carpet cleaner. In previous years before his birthday party I’d schedule an appointment for our living room carpet to be cleaned as it always had several spots. I realized I hadn’t even thought about doing that this year and told my husband I was okay with that. With the other stuff that needed to be done during the week, I wasn’t going to worry about trying to do that too.

Monday morning the phone rang, and it was our neighbor. He told me they were renting a carpet cleaner and wondered if we’d like to use it before they return it. It took me a second to realize what he was asking. We agreed they could bring it over when they were finished with their carpets. I emailed my husband and asked if he’d want to do our carpets himself that night.

This really took me by surprise. I wasn’t worried about not having the carpets cleaned for the party. But for the neighbors to offer the machine for our use in the perfect timing right before the party was just amazing to me. I told my Mom it felt like an answer to prayer I really don’t even think I prayed.
This showed me that God does care. In I Peter we read, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7)

The little things that are on our minds that don’t even seem relevant or significant to the big picture DO matter to Him. He knows our hearts, our every longing, every desire. He wants us to bring our requests to Him, but it is comforting to be reminded that He knows our wants and needs. All the things that matter to us also matter to Him. Give Him your worries today. He cares!

Bethany at Raindrops & Rainbows