Love

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Every good gift 

I gotta good deal today!

I needed to replace my brown boots and the sale was amazing. 

Me-maw bought me a new pair of jeans and received a coupon for 50% off a pair of ladies boots. She then turned around and gave me $10 toward the boots, so they only cost me $25. 

The shoes were $65 and I paid $25…

I’m not one to pray for closer parking spots or anything, but it was so exciting to see how everything just worked out. 

And there’s nothing wrong with that happening either.The book of James says that every good gift comes from the Father above. 

We need to keep this scripture in mind because too often God ends up looking like Scrooge. 

He loves us. 

He wants what’s best for us. 

Listen, this post is not meant to make God out to be a slot machine. 

Corvettes won’t fall from the sky and giving an offering to a televangelist won’t make you rich. 

But God does give good gifts to His children. 

He will take care of you. 

So, today I thank God for a good deal on my shoes.

 On top of everything else He’s done, which is much bigger and more important, I am thankful for this fun gift as well. 

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On being nice

Let’s talk about being nice.

Did you know that you don’t have to agree with someone to be nice?

It is possible. 

Not everyone thinks your ideas are awesome. 

Not everyone goes to the same church as you. 

Not everyone…(fill in the blank)

And you can still be nice. 

There was a time when social media was fun and encouraging. 

I’m trying to stay positive, however, my newsfeed’s had nothing but garbage on it this week. 

This mean streak is disheartening because it’s not promoting the heart of Christ: His love of everyone on this planet. 

My encouragement to you, my friends, is to really think before you post. 

Just be nice. 

Show love. 

Promote respect. 

I know we can’t change the whole internet, but we can make our little corner of it a brighter space. 

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Grace is the greatest motivator

“But for the grace of God” is one of my favorite phrases to describe how blessed I am. 

Paul was the first person to use this verse as an explanation of his life and ministry:

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭15:10‬). 

In this verse Paul was talking about who he was because of the grace of God. The phrase I grew up hearing talks about who we’d be without the grace of God. 

Either way, the greatest common denominator is grace. 

Grace is the best motivator. 

Nothing empowers you toward change, toward action like the undeserved gift of grace. 

I try my best to see everything through this lens, especially as I hang out with non-Christians. They need to see that grace is for them. 

Do you remember what life was like before Christ?

Do you remember the patience and mercy of God during that time?

How often we forget where we started. I know that I’m guilty of this mentality. 

As a child, I was reminded quite regularly of how fortunate I was to end up on top despite of the abandonment of my parents. 

And it’s true. 

I should’ve been placed in foster care. 

I shouldn’t have graduated from college. 

I should’ve ended up impoverished or inprisoned. 

The statistics were not in my favor.

But for the grace of God…

Redemption and restoration is found through grace. There is hope for the seemingly hopeless. 

Christ in us is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27) and Christ is full of grace and truth (John 1:14). 

This is what makes the gospel such wonderful news. 

 

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Compelling Love

I’m reading Tortured for Christ and it’s an inspirational and eye opening book. 

The cruelties inflicted on Christians in communist countries are evil beyond compare because, as Richard Wurmbrand says, the presence of evil in it’s darkest state was seen in the eyes of their torturers. 

  The love of Christ, though, is greater than all evil. 

What’s amazing to discover is that the Christians never hated, belittled, or backstabbed their tormentors. 

The grace and love of Christ compelled them to see these men as who they could be. 

All around the world, persecuted Christians share this same view. 

I want to follow their example. I want to love others with the pure love of Jesus. 

The level of selflessness expressed by my persecuted brothers and sisters calls me to action, challenges my apathy. 

If you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend it. 

Go to The Voice of the Martyrs website to request the book (it’s free). 

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The real problem is hopelessness

I saw racism at work today and it was an ugly monster.

Racism will never go away until unchanged, hateful hearts hear the Truth.

There are not adequate words to describe what I’m feeling right now. It’s a weird mixture of anger, sadness, empathy, and……..resolve. I know resolve isn’t a feeling, but it found its place inside my heart in the midst of the emotions.

The young man came into my office and told me what happened. He had the saddest look on his face. The man was hurt, yes, yet he forgave the woman immediately.

Do you know what still had him sad?

His sense of overall hopelessness.

I can’t get his words out of my head:

I guess what hurts me the most is that this kind of thing happens and no one has my back. No one’s going to do anything.

Wow.

Here’s some questions for us to consider:

What if a mentality of hopelessness is behind all of the tension–racial and otherwise–around the world?

What if our own hopeless utterances of “things just are the way they are” is keeping us from doing the right thing?

This is not me negating the importance of personal responsibility or excusing bad behavior. This is me wrestling with my own negligence while a hurting world is simply running around in the dark looking for hope.

I was convicted today because I saw a young man who was told his skin color made him less than–and he really believed it.

He was just as hopeless as the perpetrator of the offense.

Pray for him.

Pray for the perpetrator.

Pray for me.

I’m going to share the gospel with my new friend. The only thing that drives out hate and hopelessness is a Love beyond words.

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All the love you need

God’s love for us is big.

He has children, the chosen nation of Israel, but then He reached out to us Gentiles and offered to adopt anyone who would accept the way of salvation.

God the Father is the first adoptive parent. Adoption is a central theme of the Christian faith.

What makes all of this possible?

Love.

At least, that’s what we tell people.

God’s big love is for you.

His love transcends all other love.

Open your heart to His love.

I now want to shift our attention to the millions of children who need a home.

It’s cool to hear the adoption stories of fellow Christians, but they all have one element that bothers me:

“You know, it took us awhile to accept the idea of adoption because we just didn’t know if we could love a child that wasn’t ours.”

Wait a minute.

All Christians were once orphans, but we have to think about loving a child who’s not ours?

I have a problem with this statement.

How can I not love a child?

There’s no denying the beautiful connection between a parent and a child.  To say, though, that my love can only be limited to those who came from me is selfish.

Ask yourself: What if God had excluded Gentiles?

(A Gentile, by the way, is anyone who is not a Jew.)

Thank goodness His love is bigger than ours or we’d all be in trouble.

Please hear me: I’m happy families are adopting.

That’s awesome!

Is there anything wrong with looking at a situation and saying, “Can we do this?”

No.

Seek wisdom in making the decision because it is a big decision.

Our ability to love, however, should never be a factor. We received our love–and the power to love–from God.

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An amazing and sustaining grace

Many of the bloggers I enjoy following are so bold. They take fierce stands on hard topics and ride the criticism like surfers ride waves.

I’ve deleted everything 5 times today.200 words here, 150 words there. The thought of hitting publish made me queasy.

Playing it safe is a hard trap to escape.

How many times have we talked about being bold? Being unafraid? Not hiding?

Your fearless leader was a coward today.

She cried over what to make for dinner. Seriously. This happened. When told to put something together for dinner I freaked out. The need for approval and the fear of rejection collided in the perfect storm.

Over dinner.

Today is not the first time I’ve struggled with words and dinner either. Today is simply the first time I’ve had the courage to talk about it.

Dear Friends,

I have a hard time making choices without a plan and saying things without fearing the opinions of others.

Sincerely,

Tired-of-being-scared Audra

Yesterday I talked about Bold Christians vs. Sissy Christians. (Insert face palm.)

Sorry about that…

I strongly agree with what I said, but you need to read today’s post for a much needed addendum.

It’s hard to be a Bold Christian when you cry over dinner planning. (This is what’s been haunting me all day.)

But remember what I said about grace for the lost?

Grace is for Christians too. There are no double standards with Jesus.

Look at Romans 5:

10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

If grace and love is available while we were sinners, grace and love will sustain us even more when we become Christians.

Learning how to extend grace to yourself can be hard. We see our fallacies and failures so clearly. Remember, though, that grace gives us new vision–for others and for ourselves.

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Grace changes vision

When I was an enemy of God, He decided to make me a friend. His forgiveness is readily available to everyone. It’s not available once your life looks pretty. It’s available right now.

Romans 5:7-8 says:

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

My heart was a mess before Christ. I tried really hard to be good. Some people even bought into my costume too.

But I knew and God knew that what I really needed was grace–God’s DNA–to make a change. Once I accepted God’s grace, everything changed. I gave up my acting career and became an honest woman.

Grace is a change in vision.

God's loveI now see people as God sees them: forgiven, free, loved, and full of potential. This is the future for those who will accept the freedom purchased by the blood of Christ.

Verse 8 says that God loves people when they are still sinners.

As Christians, we are called to love as God loves. This means that I am to love people when they are still sinners.

The exclusivity of the church from the world makes me angry.

Living in Christian Bubble Land is not included in the Great Commission.

I will not pray for anyone to be delivered from a non-Christian environment. What I will pray is that he or she will  grow up in the faith and stop being a Sissy Christian.

Sissy Christians are scared of non-Christians and don’t understand grace.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it’s truth.

Jesus is no sissy and I follow Him.

He defeated sin, death, and hell to give us grace, love, and mercy.

This is the Good News, the gospel we need to spread.

I think some of us forget that we were once a mess. No one asked us to clean it all up before coming to Jesus.

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Movie Review: The Age of Adaline

Imagine having the wisdom of age while standing at the cusp of youth.

It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? We’ve been told–especially us girls–that you can’t have both.

Enjoy youth and beauty while you can because it’s fleeting.

Here’s a short synopsis of The Age of Adaline:

Adaline Bowman experienced a weird scientific phenomena that stopped her aging process.

She was forever 29.

Of course, she couldn’t explain what happened, so Adaline spent the next 60 years hiding in plain sight.

No one really knew her and she preferred it that way.

On New Year’s Eve, Adaline meets a charming young man named Ellis. Everything changed for her on that day.

And that’s all I’m going to say.

age of adalineThere are some twists in the plot that I want you to discover on your own.

Now, I want us to talk about the meaning of life–in 150 words or less.

Let’s give it a shot.

Adaline spent her whole life running.

Running from her past.

Running from love.

She didn’t know how to live when she would never age, never die.

The line that stuck with me most was:

“All these years you lived, but never had a life.”

Wham!

How many of us are living, but have no life?

We’re so busy running that we forget to enjoy the present, to dream about the future.

Meanwhile, time is slipping through the hour glass.

Age and wisdom are normally synonymous, right?

Not when you refuse to move forward.

Not when you refuse to be known.

Time is slipping through the hour glass….and you’re stuck.

The Age of Adaline is really about getting unstuck.

I find the premise of the movie fascinating and it’s one of the best movies I’ve watched in a while.

I encourage you to watch the movie. Let me know what you see, what you learn.

 

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Ending well

Bad days happen. 

Today was one of them…

My entire afternoon was wasted. 

It was a situation where I’m partly to blame because I didn’t push hard enough for an answer (an answer that would have saved me three hours). 

I left the store with tears stinging my eyes while also being extremely angry. 

Not fun…

I’m not a super emotional person, so emotional situations wear me out. 

The evening got better, though, when I watched the new Cinderella with the kiddos. 

We had popcorn and everything. 

 

Courage is king of the popcorn bowl

 
Rainy days–and bad days too–rarely stop kids from having fun. Their innocence is such a sweet gift. 

I want my siblings to stay as innocent as possible, to never lose the gift of finding joy in all situations. 

It’s easy for adults to be cynical. 

I hate that…

I want to be more like my little brothers and sisters. 

Their ability to trust and forgive and love and laugh amazes me. 

I never want them to lose that resilience. 

The day was pretty stinky, but it ended well.