Grace for the Day

“Just for Today”
Writer Marjorie Holmes’s prayer

Oh, God, give me grace for this day.
Not for a lifetime, for for next week, nor
for tomorrow, just for this day.
Direct my thoughts and bless them,
Direct my work and bless it.
direct the things I say and give them blessing, too.
Direct and bless everything that I think and speak
and do. So that for this one day, just this one
day, I have the gift of grace that comes from your presence…

Grace is available for each of us every day–
our spiritual daily bread–
but we’ve got to remember to ask for it
with a grateful heart
and try not to worry about whether t
here will be enough for tomorrow.
There will be.
Simple Abundance, Sarah Ban Breathnach

Published in: on May 29, 2018 at 8:23 am  Leave a Comment  
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His Grace is Great Enough

But he said to me,
“My grace is enough for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ may reside in me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

The other evening I was riding home after a heavy day’s work.
I felt very wearied, and sore depressed,
when swiftly, and suddenly as a lightning flash,
that text came to me,
“My grace is sufficient for thee.”
I reached home and looked it up in the original,
and at last it came to me in this way,
“MY grace is sufficient for thee”;
and I said, “I should think it is, Lord,”
and burst out laughing.
I never fully understood what
the holy laughter of Abraham was until then.
It seemed to make unbelief so absurd.
It was as though some little fish,
being very thirsty,
was troubled about drinking the river dry,
and Father Thames said,
“Drink away, little fish, my stream is sufficient for thee.”
Or, it seemed after the seven years of plenty,
a mouse feared it might die of famine;
and Joseph might say,
“Cheer up, little mouse, my granaries are sufficient for thee.”
Again, I imagined a man away up yonder,
in a lofty mountain, saying to himself,
“I breathe so many cubic feet of air every year,
I fear I shall exhaust the oxygen in the atmosphere,”
but the earth might say,
“Breathe away, O man, and fill the lungs ever,
my atmosphere is sufficient for thee.”
Oh, brethren, be great believers!
Little faith will bring your souls to Heaven,
but great faith will bring Heaven to your souls.
–C. H. Spurgeon

His grace is great enough to meet the great things
The crashing waves that overwhelm the soul,
The roaring winds that leave us stunned and breathless,
The sudden storm beyond our life’s control.

His grace is great enough to meet the small things
The little pin-prick troubles that annoy,
The insect worries, buzzing and persistent,
The squeaking wheels that grate upon our joy.
–Annie Johnson Flint

from Streams in the Desert,
complied by Mrs, C. E. Cowman

Enjoy your grace . . .Today

Published in: on February 27, 2018 at 12:02 pm  Leave a Comment  
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May 4, Today’s thought — Grace

Garden preparation at Cozy Acres

Good Morning,

Gleanings from the lesson Thursday evening:

2Corintians 12:7-10
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Paul sought God’s will first.
Earnestly, pleadingly, prevailing and wrestling in prayer.
God said, “This thing is from me,”

Paul accepted his weakness.
Trusting in God’s ordering of his steps.

Job 31:4 Doth not he see my ways, and count all my steps?

Psalm 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

Paul received a useful, spiritual gift — grace.

By accepting the weakness, Paul could fully trust in God’s strength for help in time of need.

2Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me! Amplified Bible

Trust God for your day . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie

Published in: on May 4, 2012 at 10:31 am  Leave a Comment  

Mothering, Yesterday and Today

I’ve been ask to bring a lesson to the Young Married class, so I’ve been spending a lot of time lately thinking of mothers and parenting. How I was as a young mother so confident that I knew what I was doing and yet so selfish! How I saw so many things as black and white, because that is where I felt secure. Looking back, I’d like to think I’d change a lot of things, but I really wouldn’t be able to because then I would not have been who I was, and  I could only work with what I knew and what I thought was expected of me.

Mothers today have so many choices that I don’t think I had. With those choices comes insecurity, too. Am I making the right decision? Am I doing enough? Can I fulfill my expectations and dreams for my family?

I wrote a comment on this blog.
http://www.incourage.me/2011/10/tiger-mothers-or-the-making-of-velveteen-mothers.html

I wanted to write it here, it is my prayer for today’s mothers.

Dear Mothers, my heart is full for mothers
Mothers so hard on themselves,
Mothers so tender,
Mothers so clearly wanting with their whole hearts to do it all and to do it all right
Mothers who look back and see clearly — it is called hind sight
Mothers who look forward through a glass darkly — it is called faith
Mothers who must take one day at a time trusting God to fill the gap between what I am doing and what I want to be doing — we are just not capable by ourselves.
Some days, yes, tigers, coming quickly “to their temples” shaking the doors, getting their attention, making it, oh, so plain the need of the moment.
Some days, we are that velvet comforter, wrapping, holding, nurturing, healing, still not in our own strength but in God’s comfort by which we are selves are comforted.
Remember to everything “there is a season” and all seasons are covered by grace and all seasons are to be filled with thanks.

I’m still growing in grace, still learning,still thankful for God’s plan for mothers.

I just Love this picture!

(pictures found by googling ‘mothering pictures- thanks )

Published in: on October 25, 2011 at 11:44 am  Comments (1)