Spring is upon us. Flowers are beginning to bud, leaves are reappearing on trees, and birds are building their nests. Signs and decorations herald the arrival of our favorite season when we walk into local stores. Bags of plastic eggs and bunny-shaped confections line the shelves.

While we Christians enjoy the all signs of spring, this season is special for us in another way. In a couple weeks we’ll celebrate the most important holiday of the year: our Lord’s death and resurrection. Beyond jellybeans and warm sunshine, we remember and rejoice in the new life that is ours because of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins.

And we want our children to know this joy, too. We want our children to know that there is more to this time of year than chocolate bunnies and marshmallow peeps — so much more.

Will you join me in trying to turn the blooming opportunities of this season as a way to teach our children more about Jesus?…to read the rest of this post, visit Desiring God, my writing home today.

One of my favorite passages in scripture comes from Romans 8. It begins with “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (v.28) The last eleven verses of this chapter is filled with rich hope and wondrous promises. We learn there that because God chose us, He also called us. Because He called us, He then justified us. And because He justified us, He will also glorify us. Each promise builds upon the other, culminating in the glorious certainty that the work He began in us will be completed.

The passage goes on to say that because God gave us His own Son, won’t He also give us all things? Paul says that no one can bring a charge against us because Jesus is always interceding for us. This passage ends with “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (v.38-39)

Romans 8 is a passage I cling to during the storms of life. I pray through it when life pushes me to my knees. I remind myself of it when I am tempted to despair.

But on a daily basis, do I really believe it?

Tucked in the middle of all those hope-filled verses is this one: “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (v. 31) In reading that verse recently, the question it prompted in me was, do I really live my life as though I believe that God is for me?

What about when life is going well? Often in the back of my mind, I think “Things are going too good, I’m due for a trial of some kind.” Or when things are going badly I think, “God must be punishing me for something I did wrong.”

Sadly, I tend to live my daily life as an orphan rather than an adopted child of the Father. I don’t trust Him the way my boys trust their Dad. I expect the worst and always wait for “the other shoe to drop.” I don’t live like a child who knows they are completely loved and accepted. Rather, I doubt and fear like one who has been abandoned. I fend for myself, trying to do life on my own. Like a child on the streets, I trust no one and rely on my own abilities and smarts.

But what if I were to live like God was for me and not against me? What would life be like if I walked in confidence like that of a child who has been adopted forever, like one who knows and believes they have been chosen to be part of a forever family? What if I completely trusted and rested in the strength of my Abba and not my own?

If I did, nothing would shake me. No matter the storms, trials, or suffering I endured, I would stand firm on solid ground. Instead of bending with the winds or sinking in the sand, I would stand secure in the knowledge that God is my rock and fortress. I could say with confidence, “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 125:1-2)

I can’t muster up this solid faith and certainty on my own. I’ve tried that for too long. No, faith is a gift of grace and grace is what I need each day to walk in the confidence that God loves me. So I pray for more and more grace to believe, to hope, and to trust that I am loved and nothing can separate me from that love.

The truth is, my adoption certificate is signed and sealed by my Savior’s own blood. It is permanent and nothing and no one can take it away.

I am my Abba’s child and He is for me.

revised and updated from the archives

We are on Spring Break in Tennessee this week. The signs of spring are all around. Flowering trees like Dogwood, Pear, and Cherry are in bloom. Purple pansies and yellow daffodils stand out in bright contrast to the still brown grass.

Yet for some, spring has failed to arrive. In their heart, winter lingers. The darkness and cold of sorrow, grief, fear, despair, loneliness, and pain have taken residence and there seems to be no end in sight.

Has spring failed to come in your heart? I am over at iBelieve today, talking about where to find hope and light in the darkness of winter.

“I saw those new house decorations you bought. Why did you get those?” he asked.

“I thought they would look nice on the wall” I said.

“Try not to spend too much on things like that. We really don’t have the money.”

“I’m sorry,” I sighed. “I think I’ve actually been lonely with you gone at work so much. Shopping gave me something to do.”

This conversation happened over a decade ago but I still remember it. That’s because it was the first time I realized and connected my shopping habits with my loneliness. I finally came face to face with the fact that I used shopping in an attempt to fill a void in my heart.

I’ve since discovered other behaviors and practices in my life that I do to cover up uncomfortable feelings, losses, fears, worries, boredom, and stress. They are temporary distractions, ways to hide myself from the painful realities of life. For example, I remember being so tired and stressed from early motherhood that I literally said to myself, “I deserve a diet soda today. I need a soda or I won’t make it to bed time.” (I’ve said the same about chocolate!)

I also found myself longing for and looking for those rare moments of “me time” at the end of the day. Whenever that time was interrupted, I reacted in frustration. That “me time” had become my “savior.”

We all have those things in our life that we use to hide our pain or to cover up things we’d rather not face. Shopping, eating, watching tv, playing on our phones, completing to-do lists, and keeping busy are all common ones. But ultimately, anything can become our “savior,” something we look to to make our life better, easier, comfortable, and safe.

Many times these distractions are things that everyone else does so we accept them in ourselves. In truth, they are “acceptable sins.” By that I mean they are sins that are considered “normal” and so we let them slide. We laugh about them. We shrug them off. When in reality, they take our affections away from God. These distractions rob God of the glory and honor that is rightly his.

We need to resist and fight against these desires that wage war within our souls. We need to stand up against these distractions. We need to remind ourselves that they are false counterfeits for the real thing. They will never fill the aching void in our heart. They will never satisfy or give our lives meaning. As much as we’d like to think so, they will never drown out or cover up the pain in our lives.

Only the love and grace of Christ can meet our deepest needs.

“Failing to believe that everything we need we already have in Christ, we look under every worldly rock and behind every worldly tree for something to make us happy, something to save us, something to set us free. The works of the flesh-”sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Galatians 5:19-21)-are simply the fruit of our attempts to save ourselves.” (Tullian Tchividjian in One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World, p.202)

We can’t just try and stop being distracted by these things. Simple resolve won’t keep us from them. We need to turn away from them and turn toward Christ. Ultimately, that’s what repentance is, a turning away from sin. When we see these distractions for what they are, we need to turn from them in repentence and receive the grace and forgiveness Christ purchased for us at the cross. Then we have to turn our hearts and affections toward Christ. We have to dwell on all that we are and have because of him. He has to become our greatest treasure. Only then will all those things we do to distract ourselves fade away. Their significance in our heart will lessen the more Christ becomes supreme.

As Augustine wrote in his famed book, The Confessions of Saint Augustine, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” We were made to love, worship, and seek after God. Until we do, we’ll remain restless and distracted. So let’s turn from our worthless idols and all that distracts today and turn toward our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I like to spend these weeks leading up to Resurrection Sunday reminding my boys of why Jesus had to come. We go through the story of creation, fall, and redemption. Beginning with the story of creation, I show them what the world was like before the fall. We then make our way through all of Scripture, highlighting the promised Savior. We have a “resurrection tree” that we use to hang ornaments that represent the Scripture passages we are reading. The ornaments are made from small objects that we found (like a nail or a cut up piece of sponge) and some are ones we simply cut out from cardstock. We read a passage each morning and then hang the ornament on the tree.

The passages we study include the covenant promises God made about the coming Savior to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. I include prophesies from the prophets like Isaiah and Daniel. We also cover Jesus’ birth, baptism, miracles, and the calling of the disciples. During the days of Holy Week, the items we hang on the tree are based on Jesus’ final days and hours.

Additionally, here are a few Easter related books that we like to read to think about and remember all that Christ did for us: The Donkey Who Carried a King The Prince’s Poison Cup Why Easter? Amon’s Adventure: A Family Story for Easter

If you are interested in making your own “resurrection tree” here are the passages we read and the ornaments we hang:

1. Read story of creation-ornament of the earth

2. Read story of the Fall-ornament of a fruit tree (could also do a snake)

3. Read story of Noah and the Flood-ornament of animals (could also do an ark)

4. Read story of Abraham and the covenant God made with him-ornament of a star to represent the countless number of children

5. Read the story of Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac-ornament of a ram

6. Read the story of Jacob-ornament of a ladder or maybe a picture of a bowl of stew

7. Read the story of Joseph-ornament of a coat with many colors

8. Read the story of Moses and the Passover-ornament of a lamb

9. Read the story of the ten commandments-ornament of a scroll or slate with the words, “The Law”

10. Read about David becoming King-ornament of a crown

11. Read Isaiah 53-ornament of hands (for a servant) or a lamb

12. Read Daniel 7:13-14-ornament of clouds for Son of Man coming with the clouds (Jesus is referred to as the “Son of Man” over 80 times in the Gospels)

13. Read story of Jonah and refer to Matthew 12:41 where Jesus calls himself as “one greater than Jonah”-ornament a large fish

14. Read the story of the angel announcing to Mary the good news that she will bear a son-ornament of an angel

15. Read about Jesus’ birth-ornament of a manger or a gift package

16. Read about John the Baptist’s ministry-ornament of locust or honey

17. Read about Jesus’ baptism-ornament of a dove

18. Read about Jesus’ temptation-ornament of a snake or stones

19. Read one of Jesus’ miracles such as the feeding of the 5,000-ornament of bread or fish

20. Read about the anointing by Mary (John 12:3)-ornament of perfume

21. Read about when Jesus enters the city on a donkey (Palm Sunday)-ornament of a palm tree

22. Read about the Last Supper-ornament of wine

23. Read about Judas being a traitor-ornament of a bag of coins

24. Read about Peter’s denial-ornament of rooster

25. Read about Jesus’ trial before Pilate-ornament of a whip

26. Read Matthew 27:35-ornament of a nail

27. Read Matthew 25:37-ornament of a sign “Kings of Jews”

28. Read Matthew 27:48-ornament of a sponge

29. Read Luke 23:44-49-ornament of a cross

30. Read Luke 24: 1-12-ornament of a stone

Do you know the story behind your name, why your parents chose the name they did? I love knowing I was named after my Great-Grandmother. My youngest is named after my grandfather. My husband, after his father. Sometimes we choose names for their meanings or because they remind us of someone special.

Names in the bible are of particular significance. When God gave someone a name, it defined who they were, who they would become, what they would do or even what would happen to the nation of Israel. Abram’s name was changed to Abraham which means “father of many.” Simon’s name was changed to Peter which means “rock.”

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1

When it comes to the name of God, the meanings for his name have extraordinary significance for us. God is so amazing, so complex, so vast and awesome, one name just can’t describe him. In fact, there hundreds of names in the Bible that describe who God is.

The Great “I Am”

When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and told him he was to lead his people out of Egypt, Moses asked, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:13-14

The most common name for God in Scripture is the one our Bibles write as LORD in all capital letters. It is the name YHWH which we pronounce Yahweh. The Jews had such reverence for the name that they never said it out loud, instead they used the name Adonai.

It is this name Yahweh which is used in Exodus 3. This passage is important because God is in essence defining his name for Moses. He is telling Moses that he has always existed and that he is not dependent upon anyone else. Unlike humans, he is not created and does not rely upon a creator to sustain him. He is also unchangeable; he always is and always was. This name, Yahweh, I am, was the name Jesus used in response to the questioning Jews in John 8, “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (vs. 58).

Knowing God’s names

Why should we learn the names of God? Psalm 9:10 says, “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.” While the name Yahweh is the most common and important name for God, there are hundreds more names for God in Scripture. Each one describes a particular characteristic or attribute of God. They help us understand more of his power. They describe what he does. They also describe how he responds toward us. And as Psalm 9 tells us, knowing God’s name helps us trust him.

One name for God that I find comforting is Jehovah-Rohi, which means, ”Our Shepherd.” The most well-known passage where this name is found is in Psalm 23. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” (vs.1) Jehovah-Rohi reminds us that God is our shepherd who watches over us, guides us, and protects us. Jesus referred to himself as a shepherd in John 10, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (vs.11) Jesus is the Good Shepherd who became the Lamb of God and died in our place. This name also tells us that He loves and knows each one of us. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27) In Luke 15, Jesus told a parable about a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to seek one lost sheep. Jesus is our shepherd who knows us, loves us, and who has gone to great lengths to rescue and save us.

Another name for God is El Roi and comes from the story of Hagar in Genesis 16. After being hurt by her mistress, Hagar ran off into the desert. God saw Hagar crying there. He saw her misery and had compassion on her. In response to God’s kindness, Hagar gives God the name, El Roi. “She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” (vs.13)

My own heart has been filled with worry and fear. I’ve felt alone and uncertain about the future. Many times anxiety has taken over my heart, paralyzing me. I too have run and hidden from all that frightens me. But no matter where I go, God is always there. He sees, he knows, and he cares about all the burdens on my heart. He sees the weight on my shoulders and the way worry holds me hostage. El Roi tells me that he is not a distant God, watching things from afar. He not only sees my pain but he meets me right there in my desert wandering and rescues me. When I think of the name El Roi, it reminds me of just how much God cares. I can trust him. And that trust leads me away from fear, worry, and anxiety and back to the God who sees.

Here are just a few more names of God:

1. El Shaddai: God Almighty (see Genesis 17)

This name tells us that God is all-powerful. Nothing is too hard for Him. He has proven this over and over in Scripture and in our lives. He has conquered sin and defeated our enemy. He has freed us from slavery and rescued us from shame. No matter how big the problems are in our life, he is bigger still.

2. Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord will provide (Genesis 22, Matthew 6)

God not only sees everything that is happening in our lives, He knows just what we need. This name reminds us that God is our provider and sustainer. The name Jehovah-Jireh comes from the story of Abraham and Isaac where God provided a ram in the thicket, a substitute taking Isaac’s place on the altar. This event pointed to the day when God would provide his very own Son as a substitution, a payment for our sins. If He would provide his Son for us, won’t he also provide for us all our daily needs?

3. Strong Tower: (Proverbs 18:10)

Just as a strong tower keeps us safe from a storm, so too is God’s name a place of safety for us. Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” When we trust Christ as our Savior, we are safe from evil and sin forever. Nothing can take away God’s love for us. Our eternal hope is firm and secure in Christ.

There are so many more names of God in Scripture. The more we study his names and their meanings, the more we trust him. When we are lost, wandering in our own desert wilderness, uncertain and afraid, we can call out to our Strong Tower, El Shaddai, Jehovah-Jireh, Jehovah-Rohi, and El Roi and know that he is all-powerful, all mighty, and that he provides, he protects, and he sees.

What names of God hold special significance for you?

“Taste every one of time’s moments. Swallow. Taste the next. Drink the water. Drink the wine. It is no good left in the glass. Sweat and struggle. Run. Fight. Receive. Give. Be grateful even for death, for the ticking clock counting down on you. Seventy years. Eighty if you are strong. Less is you’re like the Messiah. Look to Him and receive more grace. Stagger on. You can do it.” (p. 114 in Death by Living: Life Is Meant to Be Spent by ND Wilson)

His was the first voice who spoke the three words that brought hope to my adolescent heart: “I love you.” The rich baritone sound rang loud across the lines hundreds of miles from his home in Florida and into my ears. No one in my family had spoken those words to me before. His was the first.

There are people in our lives who make a lasting impact. My grandfather is one of those people. One of his greatest legacies to me is how to seize life and live it to the fullest. Never a complainer, he took whatever God gave him in life and accepted it. A near deadly motor cycle accident brought him to faith, a faith that has been steady all my life.

A retired police officer from our nation’s capital, he has never stopped working and learning. He loved to sing so he joined a gospel barber shop quartet and the church choir. He taught himself to work with wood, using a lathe to make bowls and works of art. He wanted to learn the game of pool so he got a pool table and practiced with other retired men in his community.

I’ve always seen him as strong, confident, and secure. Fearless…to read the rest of this post, visit Ungrind, my writing home today.

Photo courtesy: Lisa Tarplee Photography

The Bible often uses the everyday experiences and common situations of life to teach us spiritual lessons. For example, God is compared to the agrarian image of a shepherd watching over his sheep. Scripture also uses the illustration of a husband who graciously seeks and redeems his wayward wife to describe how God has rescued and redeemed his people from sin. He is also compared to a father who disciplines, protects, guides, and provides for his children.

Since becoming a parent, this image of God as Father has taken on new and deeper meaning for me.

A Lesson From Parenthood

On vacation in California, I took my two boys to the famous San Diego Zoo. We first gathered around the map to get a lay of the land. Seeing that there was a polar bear exhibit, my kids asked to see that first. So we walked all the way to the back of the zoo to see the polar bears.

We stood before the glass enclosure, surrounded by a crowd of parents and excited children, to look at the bears in their manmade Arctic wonderland. I spotted one coming out of a cave and pointed it out to my youngest standing next to me. We watched him amble about, oblivious to the crowd of watching eyes. I turned to my oldest to see what he thought of the exhibit. After all, he had been so excited to see it. But he wasn’t there.

He wasn’t there!….to read the rest of this post, visit The Aquila Report, my writing home today.

A Mother’s Sanctuary

She meets each new day
as rays begin their streak across the morning sky.
Already weary from midnight risings
and drained from the long day before.

She starts her daily tasks
knowing they’ll never be completed:
the laundry overflowing,
the dishes piled high,
the meals always needed,
the floors always spotted.

Pushing start on the coffee pot,
she hears the pitter patter of feet.
Voices raise to be heard,
questions,
expectations,
demands,
cries,
bombard her ears in rapid fire succession.

The day rushes past in a whirlwind
of tasks, duties, and responsibilities
She referees squabbles,
teaches manners,
feeds bellies,
cleans up spills,
runs errands,
instructs minds,
kisses wounds.

She lies down at night with a deep sigh
knowing tomorrow’s a repeat of today.
Wondering what she accomplished
and what surprises await the next sunrise.

Though her life is chaotic
and she’s tugged and pulled
left and right,
up and down.
Though the to-do list is never finished
and the house cleaning is never done.
Though she is always tired
and never drinks her coffee until its cold.
Though she’s seldom thanked
and with rarely a moment to herself.

She knows peace.

In her heart there lies a sacred place
of calm, quiet, and stillness.
There she tastes the Word,
feasts and delights in sweet morsels of manna.
Each verse and passage awaits her coming.
Throughout her day she seeks them,
recalling, remembering, reciting
all while voices clamor beside her.

She seeks her Savior and visits him in that private sanctuary.
Prayers are whispered from within,
short bursts and sometimes just a word or two.
Staccatoed and brief, they speak volumes.
He hears her pleas and her humble dependence.
While on the outside, busy all the day,
she lies prostrate in her heart,
trusting,
believing,
relying,
hoping,
worshipping,
rejoicing.

This season of life will all too soon pass.
The voices will go still and the messes with them.
Her sleep will be restored, her time will be hers again.
Though all things change and time passes,
one thing remains:
the sanctuary of peace with Christ in her heart.

Some days I look back to those early mornings before I went to work with fondness. I enjoyed sitting at the breakfast table in the quiet, reading Scripture and communing with God. Since becoming a mother, spending time in prayer and in the Word is hard. I feel pulled from every side. The interruptions are constant. I can’t predict when I’ll have a quiet moment. And time to myself is rare.

This is a struggle all Christian moms face. Balancing our spiritual life and the chaos of motherhood is a daily, moment by moment challenge. But it’s not a challenge we face on our own. God is not bound by time and space. His availability is not limited to set times of the day or only in places of quiet reflection. He hears us in the midst of a violent storm and in the depths of a dark cave. He hears those who wander in desert wildernesses, who weep in the olive groves, and who cry out from a wooden beam.

“When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” Psalm 34:17

Because of what Jesus did for us at the cross, the curtain between God and man was torn in two. We can approach the throne of grace in freedom and confidence, anytime and anywhere. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16).

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned in motherhood is the importance of seeking God in the midst of the noise and clamor of my life. No matter what is going on around me, Jesus is there with me. In the depths of my heart there lies a quiet sanctuary, a place of rest in the midst of a busy life. I can go there whenever I want and sit with God. Perhaps it’s just for a few moments. But in that short time, I can reflect on the truths of his Word I’ve hidden there and pray about what’s going on that very moment. I can pray brief sentences of praise, petition, or just a plea for strength.

Because Christ lives and reigns in our hearts, he is always there with us. He has an open door policy; we don’t need an appointment. Moms, life is busy. The noise and chaos around us is loud. Quiet and solitude is rare. But peace doesn’t have to be. Seek him every moment of your day. Speak to him in the quiet of your heart. He is there, he hears you, and he will strengthen you with his grace.

Photo courtesy Lisa Tarplee Photography

I’ve been sick these past few weeks and for a while, I wondered if I’d never get better. I’m pretty sure we’ve met our deductible from all the doctor’s visits and prescriptions they’ve given me. (It’s never a good sign when you arrive at the pharmacist’s to pick up your medication and they pause and hesitate with a sad smile before giving you the total cost!). The other evening, as we headed out on a family outing, my cough worsened. It wouldn’t stop. The pressure on my chest was heavy. As I labored to breathe, I said to my husband, “I think I need my inhaler, but it’s at home.”

It’s been nearly a year since I’ve had any trouble with my asthma. Being sick for so many weeks must have triggered it. I had gotten used to not needing to bring an inhaler everywhere I go. I had grown confident and part of me thought, maybe, just maybe I was cured. Maybe I simply wouldn’t need it ever again.

You’d think I would have learned by now. A person with asthma should never take their breath for granted. But I did.

And the truth is, I take a lot for granted. I rely on myself and take confidence in my routines and the comfortable pace of my life. I make my plans and expect they will come to pass. I move through my day, checking off my lists and assume the next minute will be there when I arrive.

Too often, just as I thought I had moved beyond my need for an inhaler, I live my life as though I’ve outgrown my need for grace.

But the truth is, all is grace. It is by grace that I have life, that I breathe, and that I have a pillow to lie my head on at night. It is by God’s grace that I wake up each morning and that I make it through the day. It is his grace that sustains me. Every moment, every breath, every word spoken, every morsel eaten, every hug received-all grace.

“He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.” Acts 17:25

Not being able to breathe is a humbling reminder that I am not dependent on myself. It is God who determines my steps, who provides my daily bread, and who knows how many breaths I have left in me. I can never outgrow or go beyond my need for his sustaining grace. Even when I take it for granted or think I am walking in my own strength, he still gives me grace. He does not treat me as my sins deserve and like the Father in Luke 15, he waits with open arms for my wayward heart to return home.

“For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” John 1:16

Sadly, when I live as though I’ve moved beyond grace, I am mocking the sacrifice of Christ. When I rest in my own abilities and my own strength, I am saying that what Jesus did at the cross wasn’t good enough. When I go through my days, trusting in my own efforts to make life work rather than the perfect righteousness of Christ on my behalf, I am living as though my striving is better than the holiness of my Savior. When I live anxiously, trying to anticipate and be prepared for future calamity, I am saying that there isn’t enough grace, that God’s stores will run out and that I need to be prepared to survive on my own.

“I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.” Galatians 2:21 (NLT)

My husband is now on alert to make sure I never leave home without my inhaler. When it comes to grace, it’s something I can never live without either. Just like the air I breathe, I can’t survive without God’s abundant grace for me through Christ. I don’t want to treat it as meaningless and I don’t want to take it for granted.

Because all is grace. From our very life, to our daily bread; from our possessions to the number of days we live; from our salvation to our sanctification-all is grace. As long as we live, we’ll never grow beyond our need for it and God will never stop showering us with the riches of his grace.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-7