Blog – Grace Thread

Sep

2021

Dare to enjoy your freedom in Christ

How free are you right now?

Are you free to be joyful? Free to be quirky and like what you like? Free to enjoy close relationship with God? Free to take a break from serving? Free to skip church, if you need to? Free to believe something new? Free to make a mistake? Free to pursue the dream God laid on your heart? Free to see Jesus differently than you once did? Free to be loved?

a freedom story

The story is told of a merchant who lived long ago in a far away place. This man sank a post into the ground, tied a bunch of quail to it, and spent hours training the birds to march in a circle around that post. One day another man saw the poor birds and immediately

Aug

2021

A new way to measure success

When you finally turn off the lamp at night and snuggle under the covers with a sigh, how do you measure the value of your day?

Often we use worn-out measuring sticks to gauge our success. We might hold up a ruler that says “what I accomplished” or “how I helped others” or “where I served Jesus.” We squint at our measuring stick, hoping it will show us how well we’re doing . . . worried it might prove we fell short.

But what if life in grace means doing away with old measuring sticks?

Jul

2021

Please stop working so hard for Jesus

Once there was a girl who grew up in a good Christian family. From the time she was young, she served in her dad’s church. When she graduated from Christian school, she enrolled in Christian university where she studied hard and eventually met and married an evangelist. For years she and her husband traveled the country, serving God together.

One birthday in her early 40’s, her husband wrote her a message for all to see, ending with:

“May God bless you with many more years of service to Him!!”

Maybe she smiled fondly as she blew out her candles. Or maybe . . .

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Jun

2021

3 Creative Ways to Find Daily Time with Jesus

Ever wish for more hours in your day?

Late in the evening, after the work and chores and duties and responsibilities are finally done, do you ever look back with a wistful sigh and think how nice it would be to have time for stillness? Maybe take a bubble bath, do a little reading, sit quietly, spend some extra time with Jesus….

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May

2021

Bored lately? Recapture the playfulness of grace

As a kid, Memorial Day meant the unofficial start of summer, promising long days of sunshine and books and bike rides and sprinklers and homemade ice cream and swing sets and going to the lake and grilled hot dogs and staying up late….

Do you remember those precious, unhurried days where you could play to your heart’s content?

There’s something to the art of play—of tapping into carefree creativity and imagination that makes time fade. You look up and it’s been minutes or hours, you don’t know which, because you’re fully engaged in the joy of this moment.

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