sin vs GRACE!!!

While the following may be a revelation to some, I wonder how many of us really believe it? How many of us are consumed with the day to day law-breaker mentality? If we choose to live every day thinking about what we may have done to "cross the line" - what kind of freedom is that? I choose today to be consumed with the grace of God! I choose freedom, not bondage! I choose life!

^20-21All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn't, and doesn't, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that's the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end. (Romans 5:20-21, The Message)

Live large and live free!

Live BIG!

2 Corinthians 6

Staying at Our Post

Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don't squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us,

I heard your call in the nick of time;
The day you needed me, I was there to help.

Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don't put it off; don't frustrate God's work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we're doing. Our work as God's servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we're beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we're telling the truth, and when God's showing his power; when we're doing our best setting things right; when we're praised, and when we're blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.

Dear, dear Corinthians, I can't tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn't fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren't small, but you're living them in a small way. I'm speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!

Don't become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That's not partnership; that's war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God's holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way:

"I'll live in them, move into them;
I'll be their God and they'll be my people.
So leave the corruption and compromise;
leave it for good," says God.
"Don't link up with those who will pollute you.
I want you all for myself.
I'll be a Father to you;
you'll be sons and daughters to me."

The Word of the Master, God.

My Psalm 23

God you alone are my provider

and you will give me all I need.

You make me long for more of you.

You speak words of promise to my soul.

You guide me through life and tell me your will,

May my actions be praise to you.

Lord, even though I walk through pain and confusion,

Your voice and your promises comfort me.

And I will fear nothing for you are with me!

Your promises will surely be fulfilled!

Your love is overwhelming,

Your peace consuming.

I will worship you all my days,

And I will live with you for all eternity.

~ adaptation by Sharon Hardwick

A Proverbs 31 Man

A man of true valor is hard to find

A man that seeks the Lord's heart and His ways.

His wife has full confidence in all he does.

She respects him for the man he is.

He works diligently but he is not a slave to his job.

His master is the creator and he serves Him by choice.

He takes care of his family's needs- body, mind and spirit.

He is the spiritual head of the home.

The town sees his passion for things that are not of this world.

He speaks godly wisdom.

He is clothed with strength and dignity.

He has the respect of the town but he does not need it.

He gets his identity from the Lord.

He laughs at days to come, knowing they are out of his control.

~ adaptation by Sharon Hardwick

Don't Assume You Know It All...

Wow, what a statement. I'm not one to assume, but I am one who makes mistakes. Sometimes those blunders are hurtful. I sit up late this evening thinking about pain I have needlessly caused and the hopes that I have not done irreparable damage. I love my family. With every ounce of my being. Unconditionally. Father gave me a trust, two fantastic kids and by marriage, I have inherited another. Yet, failure can drive wedges deep. I've seen it too often and in my zealous attempt to make sure that everyone is treated fairly, I have been the one to trip the lever.

Father led me to this scripture tonight.

Proverbs 3:1-12 (The Message)

Don't Assume You Know It All

Good friend, don't forget all I've taught you; take to heart my commands.
They'll help you live a long, long time, a long life lived full and well.

Don't lose your grip on Love and Loyalty.
Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.
Earn a reputation for living well
in God's eyes and the eyes of the people.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he's the one who will keep you on track.

Don't assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.

But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;
don't sulk under his loving correction.
It's the child he loves that God corrects;
a father's delight is behind all this.

May those I love so much forgive me for my human failures. May Father who loves us all help to heal wounds that I have caused.

SuperHero's UNITE!

Have you ever met a SuperHero? I have! Right on my own doorstep stood Superman! There wasn't anything in this world that he was afraid of! Of course, some days, he was a Ninja Turtle or Batman! Whatever the situation required that day! Soon, the days of masks and capes came off but they were replaced with baseball bats and golf clubs! Maybe a basketball if the situation was right.

These are the times that I recall having the most fun with my kids. Their imagination ran wild and they were out to conquer the world. Of course, the fact that they are no longer small and playing all the time does not mean that they have grown out of that. You see, they are still my SuperHero's.

When you are a SuperHero, nothing can change that. That's great news because I believe that is how our Father looks at us! I believe we have a Heavenly Father that looks down on us with delight and laughs with us as we take on our days fighting for Truth, Justice and the American way!

So, I'm going to leave you with this video. Another really cool SuperHero. There is no question his Dad is proud of him! There is no doubt that he is and forever will be loved by a Heavenly Father and that same Father cares the same for each of us. Go get 'em Batman!

His Promises

Remember what you said to me, your servant—
I hang on to these words for dear life!
These words hold me up in bad times;
yes, your promises rejuvenate me.
Psalm 119:49

So let's do it—full of belief, confident that we're presentable inside and out. Let's keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word.
Hebrews 10:22

And this is your confirming sign, confirming that I, God, will do exactly what I have promised.
Isaiah 38:7

Think about this. Wrap your minds around it.
This is serious business, rebels. Take it to heart.
Remember your history,
your long and rich history.
I am God, the only God you've had or ever will have—
incomparable, irreplaceable—
From the very beginning
telling you what the ending will be,
All along letting you in
on what is going to happen,
Assuring you, 'I'm in this for the long haul,
I'll do exactly what I set out to do,'
Calling that eagle, Cyrus, out of the east,
from a far country the man I chose to help me.
I've said it, and I'll most certainly do it.
I've planned it, so it's as good as done.
Isaiah 46:8-11