HE Makes All Things Beautiful in HIS Time

Greetings Everybody,


This photo was taken on Alcatraz Island.
The Contrast between the Suffering that went on in that place and the Beauty Growing out of the Prison Walls really spoke to me.

Life Goes On. 


And God Makes All Things Beautiful in HIS Time.


Sometimes we do not know why we go through our hard times...but God has a way of taking the worst situations and bringing healing and new growth to us.


We all have our " Alcatraz Experiences".


Isolation
Hardship
Extreme Pressure


The secret of surviving in these times has to do with turning things completely over to God.


This is when HE makes our prison walls bloom and shows us beauty where we never thought we would find it.


"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." 
Ecclesiastes 3:11


In Him,
Grace

HE Sure Does Make Pretty Things!

Greetings Everybody.

Happy Spring to You All.

Enjoy God's Handiwork!

He sure does make pretty things doesn't He!!!

In Him,
Grace

We Rest In His Hands

Greetings Everybody,


Got a photo I want to share with you tonight.
Take a look...and then let's visit about it.

Taken after Crossing The Golden Gate Bridge Leaving San Francisco: Pacific Ocean just outside the San Francisco Bay 

It was a Dark, Cloudy, Foggy day.  
A Dreary Day.
And A Perfect Day for Seeing This Scenery and Contemplating Life.


We had taken a good number of photographs in and around San Francisco. 
We had been under the Golden Gate Bride at Fort Point.
And then we went back up the hillside and crossed over the bridge, stopped, got out and stood there.


Almost everyone else was contemplating the Bay and the Bridge and I did my share of that too.


But what caught my eye was NOT man made.
It was not of metal.
It was not symmetrical.


It was undulating and it was windblown and it was mist covered and it was more than a little bit breath-taking.


I was the Sea.
And it was The Cliffs.
And it was the Rock Island in the Distance.


And it caused me to think...this is earthquake country.
Just two weeks ago San Francisco had two earthquakes...not big ones...but enough to make the news...and here I was standing on land that would surely be considered a dangerous place to be in an earthquake.


But I had no desire to leave.


All I wanted to do was contemplate what was going on in the Sea and the Sky above it and in the Earth below it.


Basically we live in a big ole metaphorical "SANDWICH" don't we...Sky Above Us...Earth Below Us
We are between two things that are so large that we can never fully comprehend them.


I stood there thinking of God.
And I stood there knowing I was in The Sandwich.
And I stood there knowing the name of the one who HOLDS it all together.


NOW don't take this analogy too far...I do not think God is going to take a bit out of that sandwich. lol 


But I do want you to know that it is comforting to me to know that we rest in His Hands.
And it is comforting to me to know that I don't have to fully comprehend the Earth and the Sky and the Sea and the Wind or the rest of the wondrous things that fascinate me.


All I have to do is remember that God is GOD and that HE knows the number of hairs on my head.

"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Luke 12:7


That must mean that I am important to HIM.


So I stood there thinking about how Big God is and how Small I am ...and really diggin' the thought that the World and Everything in it will fit in His Hands.


In Him
Grace

Rested, Ready, and Reflective

Greetings Everybody,


This Morning I find myself Rested and Ready for the Day!
My Perspective is Reflective.
And I am thinking about how wonderful it is to be alive.


Spring is already sneaking up on us.
Trees are full of tiny little buds.
Birds are chirpy.
And I am a "happy camper".


I am aware that God loves me.
And am aware that He has lifted the weight of yesterdays guilts from me.


Psalms 103:12 "as far as the east is from the west, 
   so far has he removed our transgressions from us".

Ya know, there are a ton of soaps and detergents and stain removers with advertisements that talk about getting tough dirt out of our clothing, flooring, cars, hair, skin and teeth.

image credit: clipartguide.com

They often claim to leave such areas looking sparkling clean...

But there is something amazing about having ones SOUL feel clean again...isn't there!

1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

image credit: www.faithclipart.com

God Is Good at What He Does!

In Him,

Grace

Putting God 1st

Greetings Everybody,
Wanna take a look at something that happened this morning, link it to a scripture, and bring the lesson home for ya.


This morning, I got up at my usual time, got my coffee, and sat down to visit with God in my prayer journal.


And it didn't take long before there was this wee little nagging going on inside me.  
I was curious to see if anyone had read my blog while I had been sleeping. 
And though I tried to keep my focus on my prayers, I didn't try hard enough.


I told myself that it was no big deal to put God on hold for a few minutes to go check my Christian Blog. (But in my heart I knew that what I was considering was wrongheaded.)


Still,  I stepped away from those prayers to check the stats on this blog.


And so today I committed Idolatry.


When I left the Throne Room of God to check on "something else" I in effect placed that "something else" above GOD.


Now if you want to get technical,  No I didn't actually break one of the 10 Commandments.
-No Graven Images.
-I did NOT bow down before an idol.


But it was still a form of mental idolatry.
It happened in my mind the minute I let "something else" become more important than my time with God.


There are a million ways I could try to overlook, justify, or minimalize what I did this morning...but the bottom line is that I let something else get between God and me this morning. 


I gave something else too much importance.


I gave it a slice of the precious time that I set aside with to be with God


So What Happened Next?


As soon as I opened the blog I became uncomfortable.


I discovered that Yes there had been readers through the night


...but suddenly that didn't matter to me anymore.


I felt guilty and knew that I was doing something wrong.


And I went back to my prayers and asked for forgiveness.


When those prayers were finished, I did come back here.
But I came with the purpose of telling this story and of sharing this scripture:


"For The Lord is the great God, the Great King above all gods." Psalms 95:3


In Reflection, I have to ask:


-How many times have I done this?
-How many times have I casually stepped way from what 
 I know is right and tried to justify it?
-How many times have I mentally lost my focus on God?
-Or worse, how many times have I deliberately stepped 
 away from what I know is right because I was angry or 
 defiant?


Perhaps the lesson today is this:


Q:  What Could Possibly Be More Important Than Sharing Time With The One Who Created The Heavens and The Earth?
A:  NOTHING.


Yet the evil one used a blog that was created to talk about The Christian Experience as the bait to lure me away from my time with God this morning.


Scripture says:
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8


The Lesson is yours now.


Let me leave you with this prayer:


God, please help me to stay focused and aware of my own motivations and actions.
God help me to discern when the evil one is present in my own mind.
God, please help me to choose YOU above everything else.


In Him
Grace

We Must Choose

Greetings Everybody,
Got a Photo I want to discuss with you.  Take a Look.

View of Daytona Beach taken from the Ocean Walk Promenade

When you look at this picture you can clearly see the clouds, the patch of blue in a winter sky, and a staircase leading down to the sandy beach.


and btw the date on that photo is wrong...it was taken on February 18th not December 18th. My camera ran out of batteries and when I reloaded them, I set the date incorrectly by accident.


Anyway, lets take a look at the symbolism here.


Let's discuss the fact that as Christians,  Every Day We Must Decide If We Want to Stay in the Relative Isolation and Sanctuary of the Promenade or Trust God and become Involved in Peoples Lives.


As I have said before, People Are Messy...physically, spiritually, emotionally and every other "lly".


We contemplate our willingness to become involved knowing that we too will get messy.


Once we go down those steps there will be gritty sand (people will irritate us).


Once we go down those steps there will be scattered seaweed (people will tell us their troubles).


Once we go down those steps we will be face to face with a power much stronger than ourselves (we will experience a loss of personal control).


But how do you get this close to the clash between Ocean and Land (or if we are talking about saving souls, then Heaven & Earth) and NOT go down those steps?


Every day we reflect on The Promenade.
It is clean and it is pretty. 
It is comfortable.
It is appealing.  
On the "Promenade of Life" everything and everybody is safe and secure.


But OUT THERE lurk things and people who are undoubtedly unsafe and insecure.


And yet time after time we descend those steps.


Yes Time and Time again we continually descend those steps.


Because we are supposed to.


WHY?


Because Christians are called to live as Jesus did...and HE didn't stay on the Promenade of Life.

He walked the Sea Shore (both literally and figuratively).

And we know that he did, because scripture says he called some of his disciples who were fishermen (and who later became apostles) by saying:

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19


So then, if we are to model our lives after Jesus, we must choose daily to whether or not to descend those metaphorical steps and encounter other people. 


We must daily choose whether or not to get involved in the grittiness of other peoples lives and hardships.


We must daily choose whether or not to go where there are people who may need us because just like washed up seaweed, their lives are in a state of decay.


We must daily choose whether or not to put ourselves in GOD's hands and in His Name confront powers that are stronger than we are.

It is a daily decision.

And It is not always an easy decision, because it often seems a whole lot less complicated to just stay out of other peoples lives. 

Afterall, it is impossible deal with situations that are messy and gritty and not get some of that mess and grit on ya.  

As for me?


I am never more alive than when I am close to the sea.


In Him
Grace

Let's Talk Lighthouses

Greetings Everybody,

Let's Talk Lighthouses...I LOVE LIGHTHOUSES!!!

The Ponce DeLeon Lighthouse in Daytona Florida...the tallest lighthouse in the state.
And yes...we did climb each step of that spiral staircase to the top.

The St. Augustine Lighthouse in Florida.
And yes we climbed each step of this one too.
And yes I was downing Arthritis Strength Tylenol after climbing 2 lighthouses in 2 consecutive days.

Taken  while we were on a Ferry headed to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse in the Carolina Outer Banks.

I Believe That There is Great Symbolism in Lighthouses:

-they Light the way for others

-they Point the way to the safe areas

-they Shine light on the hazardous places

-they are Sentinels that actively Wage War against the darkness

Christians (and Christian Teachers) are supposed to be like Lighthouses.

We are called to be steadfast and trustworthy and to fight against The Darkness.

Shine on folks, SHINE ON!

In Him,

Grace

Lessons From Snail School

Greetings Everybody,

Say Hello To "My Little Friend". 

He has a few simple lessons he learned in Snail School that he wants to share today.

Golfball-sized Snail in the grass outside our condo on Maui in June of 2010

Lesson #1  Salt is bad for you.

Lesson #2  Melted butter is not your friend.  

Lesson #3 You will never get anywhere in this
life if you don't EXTEND yourself.

Just thought I'd Share :)

In Him,

Grace

"To Live Is Christ..."

Greetings Everybody,
Yeah I know...I've been kinda quiet for a few weeks :)
But there was a reason for that.
Perhaps you are familiar with the scripture that says 
"Be Still And Know That I Am God..." Psalms 46:10


I was quiet & not writing in this blog because I was being STILL.


There has just been alot of drama going on lately, and I needed to just be still.
Don't get me wrong, there have also been a ton of blessings.
Not the least of which is this:  I do NOT have cancer.


There was some concern due to some changes occurring in my body.  
But yesterday, after a diagnostic mammogram, the radiologist told me that everything looks healthy and exactly as it should.


I have been through this scare before...and I would venture to say that at some point in their lives, MOST women go through a breast cancer scare.


But praise God, I am OK.


This doesn't mean that I didn't consider what my response would have been if I had been told otherwise.


I spent some time pondering this.


If the goal of every Christian is to get to heaven, and such a Christian develops a life threatening disease...it seems that on a very spiritual level, it might just be cause for joy...because heaven would be that much closer.


Now before anybody accuses me of martyrdom...that's NOT how I mean this.


I am just remembering the Apostle Paul who said, 
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21


And isn't that how we should ALL be living EVERY DAY?


In Him,
Grace

Student G and Hallway Prayer

Greetings Everybody,
One day last week, as I was sitting at my desk working on lesson plans and my student teacher was greeting incoming students, a young man whom I am going to call "Student G" came to my door.


 My student teacher did not know who he was, and she asked him what she could do for him.


He was very serious looking.  


And to be honest,  he was somewhat dismissive of her presence, but he muttered that he needed to speak to Mrs. Grace.


She looked over her shoulder at me as I looked up to see what was going on. 
I recognized the young man, and gave her the head nod.


She walked away from the door to start class, and I walked out of the door, shutting it behind me as I stepped into the hallway.


And there was Student G...a young man I taught several years go.  He is a senior now.  And he looked terrible.


Let me word-paint this student for you:
This young man is immaculate.  He is the essence of the well dressed African American male at the high school age. His hair is trimmed in a stylish cut. He dresses with attention to detail and is always wearing clothing that this is stylish. He is articulate, well mannered, has a ready smile and is a hard working student.


He makes good grades and is the kind of kid that employers would love to hire.


And he is very popular.  The girls swoon over him and say that they love his caramel colored eyes.


But something was wrong with those eyes when he looked at me that day.
For one thing, he could barely make eye contact with me...kept looking at his shoes.
And for another...when he did look up, those eyes were very sad.


I realized that whatever he was about to say to me was going to be something difficult.


I called him by name and asked him what was going on.


And he took a deep breath, and then said, "Mrs. Grace, I am here to ask you to pray with me.  I did something  really bad last night. And I need to you to pray with me."


Then it was MY turn to take a deep breath.


And I asked him what happened.


Student G went on to tell me that he had gotten caught shoplifting and had been sent to jail the night before.


He had spent 6 hours in that jail.


This kid has everything going for him and then in the blink of an eye, he made a decision that will greatly impact his life.


He told me that his dad had been able to get him released.
He told me that he is ashamed of what he did and that it was wrong and stupid.


As he finished his story, he said that he is going to have to go to court.


So right then, right there in the hallway, I put my hands on his shoulders, bowed my head and began to pray.


He cried while I spoke to God...and I did to.


And when I was done, he hugged me, and then I escorted him to his next class.


On the way, I asked him if he noticed that I did not ask God to take away the guilt he was feeling.


He nodded.


I had prayed that the judge would be a Godly person and able to render a verdict that was a blend of justice and mercy.


And I prayed for the relationship between the young man and his parents.


And I prayed for the young mans' relationship with God.


But I did NOT ask God to take away the guilt...because I know that the guilt he feels is between God and him and that he needs to approach God all by himself on that issue.


I did tell him that I wanted him to remember this horrible feeling of guilt.


And I told him that guilt is what we are SUPPOSED to feel when we do something wrong.


And I told him that he needed to talk to God about it.


He nodded.
And I know he understood.


Now here's where this story shows how God puts people in the right place at the right time....


The class he was now tardy for (because he came to see me instead of going to his next class), is taught by a retired minister. (Yes God really is THAT Good!).


When we arrived at Student G's next class, I asked the teacher to step out in the hallway...and the young man spoke honestly with this teacher about why he was tardy.


He told the man about the crime had committed and about jail... and about coming to see me for prayer.


And I left the young man in the hands of a Believer whom I knew would not write a tardy referral for a kid who had been seeking spiritual help.


If people think that God is dead in Public Schools...they are very wrong.


God is alive and well and thriving in Public Schools.


And God positioned not just ONE, but TWO Christian Teachers to help this young man on a day when he needed it so badly.


We are called to be Salt and Light, wherever we are.


In Him,
Grace

The "Gender Reveal" Party

Greetings Everybody,
This past Thursday we found out the gender of my unborn grandchild. But we found out in a very cool way: A Gender Reveal Party.


For those of you who do not know what a Gender Reveal Party is, please keep reading. It's a pretty spiffy idea!


Steps to be Taken:
1. Mother-to-be needs to get a very reliable Sonogram.
2. The Sonogram Technician must be told to turn the 
     screen away so that no one else can see it.
3. The technician then accurately determines the 
    gender, and writes either "BOY" or "GIRL" on a slip   
     of paper, and then seals the slip inside an envelope.
4. The sealed envelope is taken to the Baker.
5. The Baker makes a cake with a neutral frosting.

6. (Hint: The inside of the cake will either be Blue for 
     Boy or Pink for Girl, but no one knows until later.)
7. Host a party with family & friends. 
    When it's time for dessert get everybody to place their 
    bets on which gender they think that the baby will be.
8. When all bets are placed, the expectant parents stand    
    and together they cut the cake. All eyes are focused.
8. And Presto, everybody sees the color of the inside of 
    the cake and the gender of the baby is revealed. 
9. This is a wonderful celebration with laughter and 
     squeals and hugs for all.
10. Not to mention...a Great Cake :)

...by the way...WooHoo...it's a Girl

I will have to wait until early June to hold my little granddaughter, but until then I can dream!


Hope you guys enjoyed this idea and will pass it along to folks you love.  


In Him,
Grace