The complicated thing about Grace

Grace is a word I think we use in all the wrong ways.  We say grace for our food and use grace to convey the thought of acceptance.  For example in the past 8 months as I have been dealing with Honey's loss I have told myself that I need to be gracious to myself if I cannot handle writing about my feelings.  In truth though is this not just a simple act of allowing oneself to grieve?  Is it really grace?

I have told myself it is a grace to accept that I cannot write as often as I would like, because some circumstances are in the way of me doing so.  But is that really grace or just accepting life? 

No I think that grace is the one thing that little Topaz has been brought into my life to teach me.  There are certain things that I told myself that she would definitely get a hiding for, one being scratching the furniture.  However with her hard start to life, I have realized that I cannot give her as many hidings as I used to give Honey and Ginger at her age because I cannot teach her love and gentleness and beat her at the same time.  No this little one needs time outs and soft words, as often as I can when it comes to discipline and not hidings. 

Grace truly is getting love and forgiveness when we have been bad/sinned and when we don't deserve it.  Christ gave us true grace, He died on the cross for our sins and took the punishment that we deserved upon Himself.

The miracle tomato seeds

For quite some time and to my annoyance I have experienced a strange phenomenon. Seemingly out of nowhere I have had little tomato plants popping up all over the garden. Now you'd think I'd be delighted at the prospect of tomatoes galore but knowing what a pain the plant is to manage...no thank you!

It was only the other day when it hit me. With the heavy drought we had at the beginning of spring I have been in the habit of recycling my dish washing water and what do I eat daily? Tomatoes! So naturally from all the chopping the seeds would get into the water and then also the garden.

Well that's not going to stop me. Luckily they are easy enough to pull out when necessary. It really was a good reminder though that you will always reap what you sow, even unconsciously. Likewise in our faith walk the same rule will apply and that is why it is so important for us to be conscious about how we live. If we sow negativity we will reap negativity. So let's make a deliberate effort to sew faith and love so that we can reap those in abundance.

Etching sketching

To start the new art year off I decided to do something easy and fun being an etching sketching project of which I bought two.  One of domestic kitties and then you guessed it another of a tiger and cubs.  I have completed the domestic kitty cat one and am working on the tigers at the moment.

The whole process is so simple, there is a design on a board with black background and you scratch away the pattern to reveal a the golden back paper.  In the light it is quite spectacular and of course it made me think. 

Our lives and faith walk are much the same.  Every day we get about our business and in the grand masters design for our lives, we etch out a bit more of the design that he created for us.  As we do, we become more and more glorious and the process only ends when we do and we meet our father.  Then our life's full image will emerge for all to see and marvel at its beauty. 

Do you sometimes feel that life is hard and dare I say, scratchy?  Fear not, God is busy revealing His Glory in you and one day you too will shine bright as Gold.

The week that was

It was the week that was.....unfortunately for me there was another security breach in my complex and a vehicle was stolen.  As much as we try, with limited budget there is only so much that one can do to enhance your security.  It leaves one feeling vulnerable and frustrated and not to mention the guilt I feel for the pain and inconvenience it has caused to the owners involved.

Life leaves us feeling vulnerable for any number of reasons and each is valid but we cannot allow ourselves to be dominated by fear, if we do, we can become paralyzed and weak and have no strength to face the difficult circumstances that will often come our way.

What we need to learn to do is to keep Philippians 4:7 top of mind.  "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."  We can use the peace of God to build a wall around our heart which will protect us from losing sight of God's everlasting love for us and knowing that all things will be turned for His glory.

Graveyard sprinting

I only saw it for fleeting moment but when I did it made me think.  On my way home I pass a graveyard and there is saw a man jogging through the park.   

At first I thought, "you're nuts!"  Then I started thinking about the logic.  No cars, no exhaust fumes, no other people getting in your way.....bottom line....great idea! Sometimes the best ideas are the ones we get that are truly 'far out' and we shouldn't be afraid to take risks.   

Ask the Holy Spirit today to give you great ideas in season to turn around difficult situations in your life.

Kissie time

For all her naughtiness Topaz can be really cute! Her hardened behaviour when she first came home was really difficult to deal with and trying to give her love was impossible. One thing however that she enjoyed early on was being kissed, so kiss her I did, over and over.

Now the cutest part about bed time is is when she decides it is kissie time. She'll pop out of her basket and jump on the bed next to me and give a small little whimper, then I know she's ready for a bit of love and I can kiss and tickle her for a while before she climbs back into her basket.

Learning to give love to people that are hard of heart can be really difficult, but if we truly do want to love them then we have to learn how to show them love in a way that they will be willing to receive it.

If you have someone in your life that is hard to love, ask the Holy Spirit to guide your actions so that you can do what will be best for them.