Five Minute Friday: Grace

Today's word is Grace.

Here are some definitions:

1. Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.
2. A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm or refinement.
3. A sense of fitness or propriety.
4.  a. A disposition to be generous or helpful; goodwill.
     b. Mercy; clemency.
5. A favor rendered by one who need not do so; indulgence.
6. A temporary immunity or exemption; a reprieve.

I needed grace when writing this blog post as the gremlins in the computer decided to make my post invisible when I hit post! Grace.

I looked up the definition of grace because I knew it had many meanings. One who has grace is looked upon as having it all together, I seek grace. One who treats others with grace is generous and helpful and full of goodwill. I seek grace.

Life is full of challenges and we have the chance to bless others by walking with and in grace. As we go about our daily routines of walking, getting our children ready for school, getting ourselves ready for our day and planning how the day is to go, I'm going to be thinking about grace and how I can incorporate it into those small minutes that flash by and I'm certain that God will bestow peace upon my home and life. Grace. Such an important and wonderful thing.

I'm hoping I don't need the sort of grace that is mentioned in Definition 6, that would indicate that I was being faced with some unusual challenge that was getting the best of me. I know that, when these times arise, God is strengthening me but we don't look upon those times as wanting them to occur... However, it is good to know that I can pray for grace and ask God for a reprieve.

Grace. One small word. A prayer that can be said with a sigh. Grace. God knows what areas of our lives are lacking in this and he will provide all we need in his time not ours. Grace.

Book review: I, Saul by Jerry B. Jenkins

What an amazingly riveting book! From the first page you are drawn into the story of a seminary professor who receives a troubled text from a good friend, who was a tour guide on the professor's father's tours of the holy land. It was perplexing and set the scene for what was to come which we learn little by little as we move from present day to A.D. 67 in a Roman dungeon with the Apostle Paul. Normally, I get frustrated and don't enjoy reading these types of stories that flip back and forth. This time I was transfixed from the beginning and kept reading and reading each chapter to see what would happen next in each time period.

Jerry Jenkins has a gift for telling a story which is a well known fact. In this novel, he achieves his mission in teaching us about Paul's early life as a boy and growing into a man and learning to be a rabbi. He shocks us with the developments in Saul's life and shows us how easily one can little by little be drawn into a way of thinking that is so opposite that which God wishes for us. When I read the chapters about Dr. Augie Knox, I almost felt like I was in his shoes as he traveled from Texas to Rome and met his dear friend and saw how troubled he was by the recent events which brought about the need for Augie to come to his aid. I sat in wonder as they described places where I had recently visited while living in Rome and the thoughts that I could have been there on the Spanish Steps when Augie was there...

The information shared about antiquities and the way they are discovered and then traded for great sums of money was very interesting. Adding the human interest of a love story together with strong family ties that created stress in their relationship kept me reading to see if love would win in the end.

Over all, I thought this book was one of the best that I have read in a long time and I look forward to the next in this series -- I, Paul.  Read this, your understanding of Paul's letters in the Bible will be enriched by doing so!

Five Minute Friday: Together

Together brings to mind family. It also makes me think about when things are going well that I have everything "together"... Our ladies of the chapel meet for Bible study every Wed. morning and we fellowship together. Everything feels better when you are doing something together.

When I found InRL and they had a new worldwide retreat which was promoting community - we all came together and viewed the videos online and spent time fellowshipping together in our own communities. It was very good.

Now, I found this wonderful blog by Lisa Jo and this new way to look at things by having a prompt and then writing for only 5 minutes and not worrying about the mechanics of it all. It's like blogging through a stream of consciousness! Of course, then you'll realize that perhaps you are suffering from ADHD as you ramble along for 5 minutes...

The best together for me of all is when our family is all back together when our daughter at Penn State comes home for vacations and we are 4 family instead of 3 family... When she goes back to school, getting out 3 plates seems a very lonely thing. Something is off. Someone is missing. Soon it will be time for Christmas vacation and we will celebrate and spend all of our free time TOGETHER!

Five Minute Friday - Laundry

I missed last week's prompt so here I am jumping back in with both tired feet! Laundry! It makes you think of missing socks, wash baskets full of clothes not put away and maybe never put away. It makes me think of that wonderful warm feeling of towels newly removed from the dryer and taken to little ones who will use them straight out of the bathtub. Comfort, softness and warmth! It makes me think of never being caught up because we wear these clothes each and every day and will never be finished washing and drying them over and over. But it also makes me remember to be thankful that we have clothes to cover our body, to keep us warm to make us feel happy or attractive or just plain comfortable. So many do not have the luxury of washing their few clothes like we do in our fancy machines and being able to choose from so many different combinations. We are blessed. We have so much and so many have so little. I'll take time to pray for those who are in positions where they have little and that God will bless them with sufficient clothes and ways to care for them that are more pleasant than what they currently have. With every sock I pick up to match to its mate and every fitted sheet I struggle to fold, I will pray for those people of the world who don't have socks or sheets and be glad that I can struggle and search for those socks that never seem to surface... God is good - all the time. Thank you for mundane tasks that bring us comfort!

Blessings in Disguise

Good morning Sunday!

I've been enjoying a beautiful, quiet Sunday here by myself in the Ardennes. It is extremely quiet here as there are no visitors since our gates remain closed each day during the government shutdown. So many question why this has to be and people here in Europe shake their heads at our country's political issues. The saddest part is when families travel to visit loved ones buried here and cannot enter. What's wrong with that picture - everything in my book!

The carillon is chiming Noon and the peacefulness of this place stretches undisturbed.

I came across a business card I received during my trip to the States in April. It is "New Hope School" Reaching the girls in the middle. I had the pleasure of meeting a husband and wife team who were returning from Ghana from a visit to their school there. I met them during the long 4 hour delay from Brussels to the States and maybe wouldn't have had this chance, if the flight was on time!

It is a school because it teaches life skills and needed educational subjects to aid the girl/women in being successful in supporting themselves. It cannot register as a school due to all of the many strict regulations that the government there imposes. However, it is filling a very important need in that area that the regulated schools do not. I'm going to send a message to Sandy to see what, if anything, we can do to help them in this very important mission. Helping others become self-sufficient and able to stand on their own two feet is way more important than sending billions of dollars to countries where governments use the aid any way they wish.

Praying for these girls and women and the Beckers today as they continue their hard work!

Five Minute Friday - Really written at 7:30 am Friday

I can do it! There's a part of me that has been wondering if I could be a writer... professionally... to fill the need for a little extra income and to feel like I'm contributing. Now I find this great 5 minute practice time where I can share about anything and only for 5 minutes. Anyone can sit and write for 5 minutes, right?

I realized that my involvement in PWOC has given me such a wonderful opportunity to share things that I have read and find moving or things that tug at my soul's heart letting me know that I have so much more room to grow in my walk of faith. Leading ladies is one way of looking at it or maybe walking alongside the ladies is a better way to describe it. God is good. All the time.

The ladies asked if I could help plan our monthly program evenings. At first, there was a part of me that said - Oh that won't work with us living so far away. Then God nudged me and said "You can do this, if you just ask." So many beautiful offers of help have come forward. This is just like we hear over and over, God will provide. He provided a way for me to not have to drive home late at night one night a month. He provided dear ladies to come alongside me to help with the programs. He provided me with ideas and has nudged me to look in unusual places for ideas to share and thoughts to share and scripture to share. God is good. All the time.

So now, I'm sitting here early this rainy Friday morning drinking my coffee with the whole day ahead of me. No driving. No rushing. Just a day with so many possibilities. Five Minute Fridays have been added to my "To do" list and I'm glad.

God is good. All the time! (Now maybe he'll point me in the direction of fixing my time setting here so it really reflects the actual date and time...)