Overflow

Have you ever been through a trial? I don't mean literally, like when you go to court. I mean the kind of trials God allows in order to test your faith.

During my quiet time the other day, this verse popped out at me:

And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability...2 Cor 8:1-2

The words severe trial and extreme poverty, caught my eye because it's connected to overflowing joy.

The last thing I feel when undergoing a severe trial is overflowing joy. But the Macedonians had so much, that it overflowed the boundaries of the normal human standard.

In order to understand more, I looked up certain words in Biblical Greek and found the key. The source of that joy was God's grace. Because of his grace, or in this case, favor, the Macedonians were able to go above and beyond their own abilities.

The Dictionary of New Testament Theology says this, "Human weakness, not self-determination, is its sphere of activity. The grace of God makes the new self what he or she is."

Did you get that? Our weakness is the sphere in which God's grace overflows.

Dear Father, Today I thank you for weakness. May your gift of grace cause us to overflow in all of our trials, in every way.    
     Amen.

My Story

Today is a great day for me! On this day, 10 years ago, I received God's grace and the Holy Spirit of his son. This is the day Christ came to me and set me free. On this day I was born again and to honor him, I'm going to tell you the story. But before I do, I'm going to ask you a question...Do you have a  "God" story to share with others, particularly with your children?

Deuteronomy 4:9 says this: Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Here's my story:

     Ten years ago today, I woke up and before my feet even hit the floor, the devil was on me. I walked, miserably, from my bed to the bathroom. I was sick and hung over. I flipped on the bathroom light and looked in the mirror. Now, if you've ever been hung over, you'll know that what you see in the mirror the next day is never pretty.

     I took one look at myself and a voice dripping with contempt spoke to me inside. It said:

               "Look at me. I look like s#%t."
               "Why can't I be better?"
               "How did I let this happen? What kind of moron am I?"
               "What a hypocrite. God must be so ashamed of me."
               "What kind of mother am I?"
               "I'm a crappy Christian."
               "I should just die."

     At that moment I wanted to die. I wouldn't have taken my own life, but I begged God to send someone to put a bullet in my head. Then I got into the shower.

     By this time I was crying, and as I started washing myself, I heard a different voice. This voice was gentle but fierce and strong. It spoke inside of me and was inside of my spirit. That's the only way I can describe it. This voice said:

                 "I didn't die so you could feel this way about yourself."

It was so clear and startling, I actually said, "What?" out loud. Again, it said:

                  "I didn't die so you could feel this way about yourself."

And I began to weep because I knew it was Jesus and he said, "I have washed you clean. You are clean."

I continued to wash with a renewed energy, and as I did, shame and all those terrible feelings came off of me. Just like that, He took it from me. I spent an hour in that shower, washing, crying and thanking and I stepped out of it with a totally different spirit.

        A clean spirit and a fresh heart. A heart on fire.

 That was the day I received him and believed him. That was the day I chose to accept his words as truth and as a result, received his grace. That was the day I was reborn.

     Like the woman at the well, who was so exuberant about her personal encounter with Jesus, I ran to tell my friends. I only had two at the time, Terri and Bethany. I got dressed and ready to go to the small group I was leading.

     Yep, you heard that right. At this point in my life, I was a baptized believer, served in church for 8 years and was "leading" my first Bible study. But I had never received Jesus' grace. I'd never, in my heart, understood that my own unworthiness didn't matter.  When He died, he took care of it once and for all. I had to do the hard work of repentance and ridding myself of sin and He was there to help me every step of the way.

Now I celebrate the anniversary of my freedom.

Do you have a God story of your own that needs to be shared? 

Moments of Grace

The other day I saw a sweet moment and wanted to share it with you.

I got invited by our school librarian to attend an author's visit at my son's elementary school. The author was John Perry, who wrote a super fun book called, "The Book That Eats People." We were all excited by his visit because he'd just won the North Carolina Children's Book Award, and he was going to spend the whole day with us to read and sign autographs.

I got to the school at mid-morning and watched as he sat at a table (looking exhausted) signing books. To his credit, he'd already done an assembly for the K-2nd graders, signed books for two hours and then had to do another assembly for the 3rd through 5th graders.

Kids were sent to the library in small groups to wait in line while he signed their books. As each child stood before him he'd ask their name and then say, "Tell me something about you." I could see by the children's responses and facial expressions that this was a new question for them. It made me wonder how many people really want to know them.

I leaned against a low library shelf and watched the way he dealt with each child. He looked each one in the eyes as they talked. Some kids were excited to meet him and some were nervous. It was easy to pick out the popular, confident kids from the ones on the fringes. No matter their personality or style, he treated them all the same, with kindness, respect and genuine interest.

Then this one 5th-grade girl walked into the library. Earlier that week, I'd had lunch with my son and noticed her right away. She was a frizzy haired gangling sort of girl, sitting at the next lunch table. She wore glasses, braces over her buck teeth, and kept her head down just staring at her lunch tray. She was alone. Obviously unpopular. She reminded me very much of Anne Hathaway's character in The Princess Diaries....before she realized she was a princess.

This girl was so nervous, she literally bit her lip, crossed her arms over her torso and began to sway back in forth while she waited. When Mr. Perry asked her to tell him about herself, my heart dropped. She hesitated and I wanted to shout, Oh for the love of God, you're torturing her. Just sign the book!

It's a good thing I didn't because her eyes got wide and she said, "I like to read. And play video games."

He leaned back in his chair, looked at her intently and very slowly said, "You know what I like about you? It's the way you stand."

Again, inside my head I was shouting, No! Stop! Don't talk about her, can't you see she's shy? She's a nervous wreck! 

But I didn't. And it's a good thing I keep my mouth shut, because he said, "It's as if you're sitting in a tree, and the tree is gently swaying back and forth."

And she smiled.

And it was all I could do to keep tears from squirting horizontally at both of them.

I just know that's what it's going to be like when we stand before our Father in Heaven. I just know it.

There are many hardships in life, but my biggest struggle lies in trying to fully lay myself (life/hopes/dreams) down for the sake of my husband and family.

 I'm just being honest.

I'm full of pride, and with pride comes a multitude of sinful thoughts and attitudes. I'm also "unlearning" independence which, in one word = brutal.

         Interdependent- Co-dependent - dependent

Dependent only sounds good to me if "in" is attached to it. I'm completely fine with being fully dependent on God. It's just that when he tells me he wants to provide for me through my husband, I start feeling squirmy.

Most days, I don't get encouraged about being a wife and mother, so I have to remember to look to God's word for encouragement. My worth doesn't come from anything I could do or be, but in who I am as God's child and I am... beloved. 

Today I felt drawn to look up Proverbs 31 to remind myself that God highly approves of my desire to be a wife of noble character. I also needed to remember the characteristics of that woman.

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." Proverbs 31:10

I'm not going to type out the full scripture, but I encourage you to read it in it's entirety. After you're done, read this next part, which I copied directly out of my Bible*:

"Proverbs has a lot to say about women. How fitting that the book ends with a picture of a woman of strong character, great wisdom, many skills, and great compassion. 


Some people have the mistaken idea that the ideal woman in the Bible is retiring, servile, and entirely domestic. Not so! This woman is an excellent wife and mother. She is also a manufacturer, importer, manager, realtor, farmer, seamstress, upholsterer, and merchant. Her strength and dignity do not come from her amazing achievements however. They are a result of her reverence for God. In our society where physical appearance counts for so much, it may surprise us to realize that her appearance is never mentioned. Her attractiveness comes entirely from her character.


The woman described in this chapter has outstanding abilities. Her family's social position is high. In fact, she may not be one woman at all - she may be a composite portrait of ideal womanhood. Do not see her as a model to imitate in every detail; your days are not long enough to do everything she does! See her instead as an inspiration to be all you can be. We can't be just like her, but we can learn from her industry, integrity, and resourcefulness."
                                            *Life Application Study Bible, NIV

What wonderful encouragement! It's easy for us to get out of balance and become so busy that we don't love our families with excellence. However, when we apply our efforts out of reverence to God, we'll be covered by His grace, strength and power to get the job done!

My God

One of my heroes is the Apostle Paul. When I get to Heaven, he'll be one of the first people I'll ask to meet.  I admire him for his confidence and assurance of who he was in Christ. He was tenacious in his mission to preach the word of God and had no crisis of identity. The resurrected Christ lived in him.

Here are just a few scriptures as an example:

"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God..."
     Romans 1:1

"I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him." 2 Cor 11:2

"Paul, an apostle - sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised 
him from the dead - and all the brothers with me." Galatians 1:2

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."  Galatians 2:20

What I love best though is his assurance in his position as a child of God.

"I thank my God every time I remember you." Phil 1:3

Did you get that?

MY God.

Paul is no different than us and we can thank our God for His grace through Jesus Christ.

Stand firm in your position in Him!