Sabbath Moments and an awareness of God.
Welcome to Colleen’s meme that she hosts on her blog Thoughts on Grace. Join us to share some of those moments when you either rested in the Lord this week or experienced Him in the ordinary.
“I do not understand the mystery of grace — only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us.” ― Anne Lamott
Grace changes me, often in spite of myself. Although I said yes to God
when I was 16 and heroically tried to surrender all of myself to Him, it was impossible because I was not free or healed enough to let go of my masks and fears. So I earnestly performed all the right spiritual exercises and disciplines. My spiritual practices were counter productive because I was proudly doing everything under my power.
I call it The Tea and Me Trap. The tea was the caffeine fuel I needed to keep me running somewhat efficiently. I was a dedicated Christian who had a relationship to Jesus and was filled with His Spirit but still not allowing His Spirit free reign within my heart and will. The sort of earnest striving I did was pagan. A Christian surrenders to the grace and mercy of God, then watches Him work within his heart and soul.
worried
thinking too hard
tense and fearful
joy of nine9 
“we had seen each other in person 11 days before we were engaged.” Wow- y’all beat us.
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IT WAS A FEW MONTHS WRITING ( THE OLD FASHINONED WAY) AND SPEAKING ON THE PHONE, THOUGH
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“The irony is that I long for freedom but cling to my wounds and refuse to be loved out of fear. Only when my present course is insane or killing me, only then do I let go of control. Change happens when I surrender pride and admit to being, doing, thinking or feeling something that is counter productive. Then I let go and allow an unexpected experience of God to turn me around.”
Well said. Maybe we could riff the great AA motto, “Let go and let God” and add, “Let go and be loved.”
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I forgot all about those quotes- I am going to use Quozio and make up a couple to post
-thank-you
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Hi Melanie, you were one courageous wife and momma! To follow where God was leading you that required major life changes. Well done!
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thank-you but it was only the choices that came from my deepest self- fear still rules to many aspects of my outer life
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Letting go. Trust in God. Surrender. We all need to do that. over and over. Thank goodness God is patient with us. Beautiful post. Thanks for joining us in Sabbath Moments!
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my pleasure
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Wonderful thoughts on grace. The more we experience grace the more we understand how little we can do on our own. Only God;s grace in us survives the grave.
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what a dramatic image your words conjure up- nice
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When they say “You can’t take it with you.” grace is the exception to the rule, being that it is God’s own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul.
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so wonderful- I am smiling, then grinning.. now beaming inside and out- it is a miracle
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