grace

It seemed possible to me, in the dry heat of that courtroom, that heaven was a metaphor for the grace of perspective you get when you die

The sacred-time will hold my babies in my hand.

The Fates and Furies, as well as the Graces and Sirens, glide with linked hands over life.

Maybe something can only be born when something else dies. Maybe our 'coming alive' feels like being dragged through the dirt. Maybe you and I are hanging my a thread of grace for most of our lives and we're expected to be humble, not haughty, with the breaks we've been given. Maybe we're supposed to pay good deeds forward. Maybe we're supposed to think what's in it for me? far less than we do. Maybe we need to sacrifice more. Maybe it won't feel like a sacrifice at all, but more like the sensation of becoming unnumbed.

Not only have we not done the good things that God really wants us to do, but in fact, we__e done just the opposite. We__e all done a lot of sinful things that we__e not very proud of. The good news is that, before we even ask to be forgiven_ before we even know we__e done wrong, sometimes_ God has this miraculous, saving love for us.

But grace and effort are not opposites. Grace and earning are opposites.

May the Lord grant you grace to endure the times.

How do you surrender when every cell of your being is screaming that your life is not working and that you need to do something to make it work? How do you surrender in that moment when jealousies, envy, doubt, rage, resentment all rise up inside you? You accept that you are resisting letting go; you accept that perhaps you are not yet ready to take your hands off the steering wheel; you accept this with kindness to who you are in the moment, being gentle and tender instead of beating yourself over the head with the 'Must hurry up, time is of the essence, everyone is passing me by' train of thought.

The Grace represented the world of life, the world of the dead, and the way magic and Creation linked them. The outer circle of the design represented the beginning of the infinite world of the dead. Inside the outer circle was a square, its points just touching the outer circle. Inside the square was another circle, just touching the insides of the square. The area between those two circles with the square represented the world of life. The inside circle was life's beginnings, the outer circle its end, where souls crossed through the veil into the eternity of the underworld. An eight-pointed star inside the smaller circle was the Light of Creation. Lines from the star's points radiated out across the inner circle. the square. and across the outer circle that also symbolized the veil to the wold of the dead. The lines radiating outward from the Light represented the spark of the gift that journeyed with everyone from birth, through life, and on into death.

O blessed be the grace that makes advantages of my corruptions, even to contradict and kill themselves (648).

With grace and gratitude, great life evolves.

Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the final rehearsed words, __reat me as one of your hired servants_ are smothered by his father__ embrace! He will not have his son home only on condition that he __oes penance_ in order to work his way back into his father__ grace. He does not need to __epent enough_ to be accepted.Sinclair B. Ferguson. The Whole Christ (Kindle Locations 1913-1916). Crossway.

Asking for outside help, or even if it comes unasked, to allow outside help, needs a certain gracefulness and humility. Otherwise, you cannot allow outside help. Lots of people cannot receive something gracefully. Always, the social ethics have taught you that giving is important, taking is not important. Yes, taking is not important, taking is ugly, but receiving is very important.

To stand against the enemy is to rest in what Jesus has already done.

God attaches no strings to His love. None. His love for us does not depend on our loveliness. It goes one way. As far as our sin may extend, the grace of our Father extends further.

If anyone had a right to lecture people about their sin, it was the sinless son of God. If even he could meet sinners as equals, how much more should we Christians---all sinners ourselves---treat as equals the people we encounter in our lives?

Endure graciously the difficult times.

When someone is filled with the Holy Spirit__ power and is zealous to do good, their __ire_ for God will always expose their enemies. It was the fire that made the snake come out and bite Paul.__aul gathered a pile of sticks for the fire. He was putting the sticks on the fire, and a poisonous snake came out because of the heat and bit him on the hand.__cts 28:3