April #jammed: Grace Studies.
Day 113: Picking up piles.
“…the Lord disciplines the one he loves …” Hebrews 12:6
“Go pick up the poop.” I flatly demanded.
“MOM!!!!!!!!” came a symphony of complaint.
“You break the rules, you pick up poop.” I continued.
I’ll be completely honest with you, I find just enough times to enforce this rule so that I don’t ever have to clean the yard of bombs. I’m no dummy. But, it’s good for them, because they hate it. Good parents know that making kids do things they hate builds character and discipline.
Today’s verse explains the same concept. We’ve all had to turn around and face a stinking mess that we’ve made, and pick it up. It stinks ….literally. God is a good Father, all of the time. It doesn’t always seem fair that we have to pick up after ourselves. Mistakes are forgiven, so they can just be forgotten, right?
The best learning opportunities follow on the heals of our biggest mistakes.
God knows it. I think most of the time we know it …but admitting it’s a process.
“I don’t care who’s fault it is,” and I handed them each a blue bag. That’s my favorite lesson to teach. The lesson on why it’s really a bad idea to tattle.
Blaming someone else for our mistakes rarely makes the mistake magically turn into theirs. There’s no doubt that our hearts are highly influenceable, but to blame someone else for what we let into our hearts is not an efficient way to mature.
Jesus died to give us full access to a fresh roll of bags, and the humility we need to bend over and pick up our messes. We don’t have to act like someone else forgot to pick up after their dog …we can just say, “I’m sorry …I didn’t feel like it …that wasn’t cool …I’ll go back and pick it up.”
The world lacks a lot of this simple and humble honesty, because we’re told to push our defects down. Jesus didn’t die so that we would all act like nothing was wrong with us, He died so that the multitude of our sins would be forgiven. If everyone runs from their mess, the world stinks.
Father, Praise You for discipline! Thank You for the freedoms to apologize for our sins that Jesus died to give us. We confess that we push grace to the side for blame and entitlement a lot, thinking we have it all figured out because You love us for who we are. Bless us to know the difference between flaws and sins, and help us to come to You in humility with them all. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Bagging,
Megs
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are trying to tell us why. In the midst of all that’s required of our kiddos, they are missing out on some basic life requirements …kids have to move …a lot. They need to run, jump, play, dance, wiggle like maniacs, play tag, climb things and swing. Why doesn’t that fit into the curriculum anymore?
want to observe once again the odd angle at which my elbow determines is a straightened-out arm. Laughed out of cheer try-outs for a V that didn’t look at all like a V, I labeled my hyperextended elbows a weakness.
familiar with the Bible from Catholic school, but had never highlighted or written in it! Oh, my word! With my brand new NIV version, pages new and all stuck together, I looked up verse after verse as FCA each week. On all sides of me were worn in Bibles clutched by faithful hearts, and I longed to have what they had.
one feels quite as exuberant about extra math and reading practice, and handwriting becomes illegible. That’s when the prize bucket get’s a makeover. There’s always something little and tiny they are dying to collect, and so I fish for what that is at that moment. We’ve gone from Shopkins to Squinkies to Pocket anythings. Kittys in my Pocket …Puppies in my Pocket …Jungle in my Pocket …it seems just about any living creature can be found pocket-sized and packed in a cute little collectable contraption.
decided to change it. My daughters have joined me in the my quest to be a little healthier , and now they are older, have agreed to sway from three guaranteed meals they will eat. I thought it would be a disaster to change this recipe. They have grown up with the other sauce, which we all love, and that contains no chunks of anything at all. No trace of what might be adding any flavor to it, and barely real at all.
seventy-five years old is a true hallmark of faith. Even surrounded by modern-day conveniences and four decades younger, I can hardly fathom leaving all I know for nothing familiar.
Jeremiah in today’s verse. God does hear and answer our prayers, but His answers don’t always look the way we want them to, or happen in the time we would like them to.
with my kitchen scissors.
really has to be seen in action to be fully appreciated for all that it is.