We All Need Grace

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always in need of grace, amazing grace, being an empty nester, empty nester, extending grace, extending love, God's grace, grace, grace for all, is there grace enough for me, parenting college kids, parenting grown ups, parenting issues, stunning grace, why should I extend grace, why should I extend love

Something that has come as a bit of a surprise to me (read shock) is that my youngest son is not as great at handling money as I expected. Honestly, for some reason I thought he was better prepared for the real world of money than our oldest was. I have no idea why I thought this. He was continually running out of allowance money, continually spending any money that was given as a gift as fast as it hit his pocket, and continually being loaned the debit card (my debit card) for extra purchases. I guess I was given the impression that he was better prepared than most due to the fact that he passed all of his budgeting courses with perfect A’s.

May I just say nothing is like the temptation of real money. It doesn’t really matter if you are cutting the entertainment budget drastically on paper to make things work for a budgeting class, because in real life when all of your friends are going to the movies..well…you go to the movies and pray your parents don’t find out. When you come home with fifty-one cents in your bank account, they find out. Trust me.

Yes, we had a “come to Jesus” talk with our son, but overall, in the end, grace was extended. Why? I need grace every day. It may not be in the area of  money…anymore…but I am always needing grace in some area. That’s what my youngest reminded me of… God’s grace.

A book that changed my parenting life (actually my life as a whole) was the book “Grace Based Parenting” by Dr. Kimmel. In this book, he describes how we should be the type of parent that God is with us. Grace-based, not law-based. The lessons from that book have really stuck with me.

As an empty-nester, I thought my parenting days were almost over. They are, but I’m being reminded daily that parenting “almost” grown-ups is the hardest. These are the make-or-break days of my relationship with my son. How I respond to “mess ups” now will affect how he communicates with me for years. If I’m a safe place to land, a grace-filled environment, he will be able to more readily receive the grace of God. Isn’t that the goal of every parent? To lead our kids closer to their Savior? To make God more relatable to real life?

So, as for now, I choose to remember how I need God’s grace so I can easily extend grace. I choose to remember how much I need God’s love, so I can easily extend love, and I choose to remember that just because a kid leaves home, he never outgrows his need for a soft place to land. I thank God that He provides the feathers.

Seeking Hearts Ministries

*image by 123rf.com

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How to Get Through Your Day – Easily

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abiding, His burden is light, His strength, Jesus, Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever, no stress, staying connected, stress free living, truth

John 15:5 says, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.”

In Andrew Murray’s book Absolute Surrender, Murray says that the branch’s only job is to stay connected to the Vine. In other words, the branch doesn’t have to worry with where its nourishment will come from. It doesn’t concern itself with how much fruit it’s producing. It doesn’t even have to fret over what the future will look like. The branch’s only job is to stay connected to the Vine. In Scripture, this state of being connected is also called abiding.

Watchman Nee, in his book Sit, Walk, Stand, describes abiding as sitting in a chair. When you sit, he explains, you have faith the chair will hold you up. Your whole weight is depending on the chair.

I love that picture! It sounds easy. After all, I sit in chairs all the time. But, I confess, spiritually speaking, sitting, abiding, staying connected to the Vine does not come naturally. In this season of my life though, I am learning that this truly is the best way to live.

When I am connected to the Vine, to Jesus Christ alone, when I am abiding in Him, I am not filled with stress, I am filled with Him – His strength, His joy, His love.

So, whatever results happen (or don’t) I’m great with… because it’s all up to Him. If He decides I need lots of strength for what He has for me today? No problem. I’m attached to Him already, so I already have what I need at my disposal.

If He decides it’s time for me to forgive? No problem. His forgiveness is already flowing through me.

Need some love today? No problem. His love is already in me.

See how simple it is? Yet, most of the time, we make it so complicated.

Jesus says in Matthew 10:28, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…” He goes on to say in verse 30 of this same chapter, “…For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Let’s choose the easy path today, the less complicated perfect will of our Father and simply stay connected to our Vine, Jesus. Let’s sit in His presence, breathe Him in and de-stress knowing He’s got it all and simply abide as He has called us to knowing that all the branch has to do is stay connected to the Vine. He does the rest.

Seeking Hearts Ministries

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** Photo by Kerry Vale Vineyard  “Adopt a Vine”