Laced With Grace

On Wednesday nights during the school year our family has been studying character traits of Jesus. Each week we cover a different trait. Recently the topic was obedience.

We started with a game of “Dad Says” (like the game Simon Says), which brought a lot of laughs. Then we sat down and started talking about obedience.
What does the word obedience mean? One thing that I noticed when I was getting ready for the lesson was that obedience isn’t just doing what someone tells you to do. For one thing, what kind of attitude are you having while you are doing the task? Is it really having an obedient heart if you are groaning and rolling your eyes while doing the task?

Also, obedience is doing a job completely. Our example was taking out the trash. If we tell our son to take out the trash and then later we go out and find he left it sitting by the dumpster instead of putting it inside the dumpster, he really hasn’t been obedient to complete the whole task. He knows what is required of this chore…remove the filled trash bag, take it to the dumpster outside, and put in a new trash bag.

There are many verses on obedience we can find in the Bible. One we read was Philippians 2:8 where it tells us Christ was humbly obedient in His dying on the cross. We also talked about examples of obedient people in the Bible. One was Jesus as a boy (Luke 2:40–52). He was obedient to His parents even though He wanted to stay at the temple. “Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.” Luke 2:51  We talked about Naaman (2 Kings 5) and how when he did obey he was cleansed of the leprosy. Our son also brought up Daniel as an example of someone who obeyed God instead of the king.

I’ve been thinking of other examples. Some were examples to us in their disobedience, like Moses when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God told him (Numbers 20:1-17). Another is Jonah who was swallowed by a big fish when he disobeyed God (Jonah 1-4).  Can you think of others who either obeyed or disobeyed?

We have been given many examples of obedience and disobedience. We can learn from each of them and apply these lessons to our personal lives. We have a choice in what we do.  Will you obey or disobey?

Have a day of blessings!

This year I am participating in the A-Z Memory Verse Challenge at the blog She Sparkles. This week the verse for letter H was posted. “How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!” Psalm 47:2

It just made me smile to read this verse! What a great truth and such a good verse to have memorized!

Awesome is a word we hear used frequently, probably many times in situations where the word truly does not fit. What does the word awesome mean? The dictionary definition says “inspiring awe.” And the definition of the word awe is “an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, or the like.”

Awesome definitely is a word that we can use to describe our Lord! Since reading this verse in the Memory Verse Challenge, I have been thinking of ways that the Lord is awesome in my own life. Here are just a few from the past few days:

*An answer to a prayer. I had an answer almost immediately after praying which was just amazing to me.
*A colorful, swirly sunset.  The colors were just fascinating to see stretching across the sky.
*Remembering and reflecting on our Savior’s death and resurrection
*Receiving grace
*Hearing birds singing their different tunes before the sun comes up
* Beauty of a rose bush in bloom

When was the last time you have stopped and realized the awesomeness of our Lord? I challenge you to look for His awesome power on display in your life today.  Stand in awe of Him and all He has done!

Have a day of blessings!

Recently I went to an estate sale in our neighborhood, something I had not done before. I saw the sign at the end of our street with the address, date, and time, so I went to have a look.

As I entered the house looking at the stuff, I felt a weird emotional feeling that took me by surprise. Even though I did not know the person, as I looked at the stuff I began to wonder about the person and what sort of life he must have lived. I found that by looking at his stuff I could tell a lot about him. There was one entire room filled with wooden holiday lawn decorations that he had apparently made himself. Several boxes were on a table in the garage….one of hammers, another of screwdrivers, another of wrenches. There were stacks and stacks of bath towels and linens, cabinets full of old Tupperware dishes, and a box full of old picture frames.

Seeing all this stuff made me wonder about the story that was held in each item. How many years has this couch sat in this spot? Who are these people in these picture frames? How many people gathered to eat around this table? Who made these pot holders? There was so much stuff filling up all of the rooms, drawers, and cabinets.

I also considered my own stuff. What stuff do I hold onto or store away in my attic or garage that someone will have to go through some day? What value does this stuff have? Will anyone else know or understand the reason I held on to particular items for years?

We are reminded in Matthew of the lack of value in holding onto the things of this earth. These things that fill our homes and storage spaces have no value in eternity; they may seem valuable to us for a time, but we cannot take any of that with us when we die.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19–21

Instead of focusing on the stuff we have now, we need to store up treasures in heaven where it really matters. One day we will all be gone and the stuff that held such value to us will be on display at a sale where someone else sees it simply as a bargain.

Today I’d like to leave you with a question to think about honestly: What do you treasure?

Have a day of blessings!