Laced With Grace

It is a classic. How the Grinch stole Christmas.

We have all read Dr. Seuss’s book to our children and watched the movie on television. The story about the funny looking green guy who gets so annoyed at the people from Who-ville, so annoyed at their joy, laughter and Christmas spirit that he decides that he is going to take all of the fun right out of their Who-ville spirit and steal away their Christmas. He had the notion that if he stole their presents, their trees, their decorations and food that all of the Who’s in Who-ville would have nothing left to celebrate. They would have no joy. No fun. No Christmas spirit.

But the Grinch didn’t understand what Christmas spirit was, now did he?

It isn’t about getting presents, or dressing up in our finest red dresses. It isn’t about the tinsel, the lights or even the star on the tree. It isn’t about singing carols, going on sleigh rides or drinking hot chocolate on a cold night. Christmas spirit is not what we DO, or what we SAY or even what we BRING. Christmas spirit is what we KNOW!

“And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at His birth!” LUKE 1:14

Even though the Grinch stole all of their “things”, the one thing he could not steal was what was in their hearts.

We may think that there aren’t any real Grinches in this world, but we are wrong. We all have to contend with a Grinch that not only attempts to steal our Christmas spirit but every day, 365 days a year, 12 months a year, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, there is a Grinch who tries to steal our spirit of Christ! One who seeks to steal, kill and destroy! (John 10:10)

Just like Dr. Suess’s Grinch stole presents, the Grinch I am thinking of, the enemy, also tries to steal our presents. God has given each of us special talents and gifts. The enemy hates that. It disgusts him. It really, really annoys him to see us use our gifts for Gods glory. So what does he do? He packs up his sled and gives it his best shot to take away what God has given us. He will not relent until he has stripped us of every thing that God has bestowed upon us.

He knows that taking our cars, our homes and our clothes will not be as devastating as losing our kids, our spouses, our hope, our faith and yes even our spirit. He tries to use every trickery in his bag to get us to lose our joy, lose our smile, lose our faith, lose our trust in people and in God.

But when we put our hope and trust in God, there is nothing that can shake us. We may lose our material things, but no-one, and I mean NO-ONE, not even the enemy, can rob us of what lives in our heart and our soul. Nobody can steal Christmas when Christmas lives within our hearts.

May you experience the joy of our Savior this Christmas and in all the days to come. He IS joy and that is something that no Grinch can steal!

Thanksgiving was 4 days ago and if you are like me, you are still eating on the leftovers! Let’s see…first, there were turkey sandwiches, then turkey soup, then turkey casserole and now today, warmed up turkey, dressing and potatoes! Turkey, turkey, turkey and more turkey!

I have seriously had my fill of leftovers.

Somehow by the 4th day it just isn’t as exciting as it was on Thursday! I’m kind of tired of having nothing but leftovers.

I not only get that way around the holidays, but my spirit man also tires of leftovers. A few years ago, my husband was overworked, underpaid, stressed and frustrated at his job. While he was at his job during the day he gave 120 percent, doing everything he could to resolve issues, be kind to others, even do his work and the work of others but by the time he came home from work it seemed like all the children and I would get was his leftovers. You know how we get when we are tired, cranky and just downright stressed.  While he gave his best at work, he brought home the overloaded stress to us which didn’t always come across as his best.

Leftovers are not always as appealing as they once were. The salivating over the roasted turkey has diminished some from Thursday to Monday. Spiritually speaking, when we give less than our best, when we give our leftovers to others, we also lose our sweet aroma.

God wants our best to not just be yesterdays menu. He wants our best to be renewed each and every day. Sometimes we worry about tomorrow, so we try to live on what we have today or what we had yesterday. The children of Israel worried that hunger would overtake them while in the wilderness. After much grumbling and complaining, God finally told Moses to tell the people that Manna would rain down from heaven every day to feed them.

 EXODUS 16:4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. “

But there was a catch…

The people could only take enough Manna for the day, no extra. On the Sabbath day, God would double the food gathered the day before so that the Sabbath day could be observed and they still have plenty. In His attempt to teach them faithfulness, the children of Israel were not all quick learners. Some worried there would not be enough for tomorrow so they took more than their share. They took leftovers. But the manna literally grew old and rotted if more than the allotted share was taken.

God did not need them to live on leftovers. His bread was new each and every morning. He wanted them to trust Him for their daily bread. Likewise, He does not want us to live on leftover experiences either. Yesterday’s blessing was for yesterday, TODAY God has something new for us!

LAMENTATIONS 3:22″Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.”

Too many times I think we come to the Lord’s table still eating the crumbs from yesterday. Our testimony seems to be about what God DID instead of what He is DOING! One of the reasons that I think that we give our leftovers to others is because we are still living on the leftovers of our yesterdays. It is time to partake of the fresh Bread of Life that He offers us TODAY!

Aren’t you tired of living on leftovers?

The fireplace is glowing. The turkey is roasting. The pies are cooling. And the guests will soon be arriving.

This sets the scene for so many of us today, as we gather with our loved ones around a table of plenty and offer up our thanks for the blessings that we have all received. It is a wonderful day to celebrate the goodness of our Father and share in love and memories with our loved ones. It is a day to rejoice. To celebrate. And to remember.

The writing team here at LACED WITH GRACE will be sitting down to our own feast sometime today. Each of us live in a different town, even different states, but we all share a kindred spirit with one another and a special appreciation for each of you, our readers! We would like to take this time to just say THANK YOU to all of you who so faithfully tune in Monday thru Friday to share with us as we write from our hearts. We also give honor and praise to the One Who inspires us and spurs us on…Jesus Christ, Who is the reason we are able to give thanks.

So from our Thanksgiving table to yours, all of us here at LWG wish you and yours a very blessed THANKSGIVING!

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FROM NORTH CAROLINA… “This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for becoming keenly aware of God’s presence by searching for God in the moment. Sometimes the moments have full of joy. Sometimes the moments have difficult to accept. They’ve both come from His hand so I can experience the truth that He is enough.” -MARSHA

FROM SOUTH CAROLINA…‘This Thanksgiving,I am savoring the fact that my children are still all under one roof (only one more year probably). I’m thankful for that roof, the family God has made us, and that cooking and eating together carves an all-five-senses memory deep into our lives. Happy Thanksgiving, all.” - DAWN

FROM FLORIDA… “What a tremendous joy it is to be living in a day with such awesome opportunities to share the love of Jesus Christ with the world! I used to have a Mary Englebreit t-shirt that read: ‘Life is just so daily’. I thought it was cute–but as I reflect on those words in a spiritual context, I change it up:  ‘His benefits and blessings are SO daily!’ (Psalms 68:19) Thank you faithful readers for joining us on this journey of daily benefits and discovery of the truths that God would have us know!” - ANGIE

“This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the sweet times God has graciously given my family and I to spend together on camping adventures. With the unexpected death of my mother in law earlier this year, we have learned to savor and cherish these moments away were we can simply relax, connect and have lots of fun.” - DANA

FROM IOWA… “I am thankful for a wonderful husband and 5 beautiful children. I am most thankful for a God who loves me, forgives me, encourages me, and challenges me to be more like Him everyday. I am thankful for a network of beautiful women on the internet who so honestly share their hearts and experiences all for the glory of God. Have a blessed and joyous thanksgiving.” Much love – TRACY

FROM ARIZONA… “Happy Thanksgiving to all! I am so thankful for God’s faithfulness. He has provided me with what I needed through a very challenging season in my life. I have a wonderful family, many blogging friends, a job that involves children, an opportunity to write and share Christ and His peace. He is sufficient for all my needs!” -DEBBIE