Sunny&80The Silver Spray
Posted on February 2, 2018
February #jammed: Dunked in Grace
Day 33: It’s Ferocity is Graceful.
“Open the window, Daddy!” My Northern Ohio girl beckoned.
The warm tropical air permeated our pale winter faces for a few balmy moments before a cold front blew our coats back on.
That day we watched two people marry, to the backdrop of crashing waves. The whipping North wind blew the crests of the waves before they could curl back into the sea, sending a silver spray into the sky as the sun made it’s way through gray.
“We couldn’t have asked for better weather,” the groom smiled, as we all shivered on the Southern shore.
True love is a miracle to witness, and it really doesn’t matter what the weather outside is like, because in our hearts ..in that moment …gravity shifts for eternity.
Today’s verse personifies that feeling every couple celebrates as they walk back down the aisle together, and every parent feels when they hold their first child for the first time. Unspeakable love. Unexplainable love. Love that isn’t seen, heard or noticed until it suddenly consumes our minds, hearts, and souls. We crave that love and remiss to part from it.
When we accept Christ as our Savior, we usher in an uncontainable love that lives in our hearts forevermore. We crave His presence because it satisfies our soul. “The world does not recognize it,” but it’s moving through the earth like wildfire.
Father, Praise You for loving us perfectly. In our search for perfection and achievement on this earth, it is only Jesus that can show us the true meaning of our toiling. Thank you for creating us with hearts capable of such a huge capacity to love, and yet …Your love is infinitely greater! It’s hard to imagine, but wonderful to experience. Forgive us for running from your presence, and denying the only One who can illuminate purpose in our lives. We pray today that Jesus would come into our hearts and camp out there forever. Send Your Spirit to move our hearts and open Your Word to experience Your love for us on a heavenly level. In Jesus Name, Amen.
When do you most feel the love of Christ? Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Loving,
Megs
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The Popcorn That’s Everywhere. (#jammed daily devo day 31)
Posted on January 31, 2018
January #jammed : Grace in Life’s Face
Day 31: Inescapable Love
“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” Revelation 22:21
It’s a comfort to me that the Bible ends this way, but the story isn’t over. The previous
verse states:
“‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”-Revelation 22:20
I agree. Yes, come soon.
It feels like that some days, doesn’t it? When we can’t seem to pick up the pieces fast enough to catch the new ones that are dropping? When our mess is too much to manage?
It’s never too much for Him. And He will be back. Until, then, we’re called to spread His grace on and around everything.
I hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about God’s grace this month, and feel equipped with it in life’s face.
Father, Praise You that we have completed the first month of #jammed! Thank You for using my life to bring forth Your message. Forgive us for taking our freedom to study Your Word in community for granted. Bless this space, these words, and Your grace, to fly out off this screen and into forever changed hearts. We love you, Father. In Jesus Name, Amen.
What should we study next?! Share your ideas for the coming months of #jammed. Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Ending,
Megs
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The Lick Attack (#jammed daily devo #15)
Posted on January 15, 2018
January #jammed : Grace in Life’s Face
Day 15 Hug Back.
“It’s a lick attack! It’s a lick attack!” my little girl screeched with glee as her puppy jumped
all over her, licking her face and ears and her sweet little smile. She hugs her puppy back, and I hate to admit this but I know she licks her back, too.
“She’s the kid who’s going to share her ice cream cone with her dog,” my husband said.
Let’s look at today’s verse in a slightly different light:
The apostles paid everything they knew about Christ forward to their followers. But eventually, it was up to their audience to embrace grace and pass it on.
Lauren’s not afraid to hug her puppy back. The licking thing is a little much, but it’s endearing to watch her love on her puppy. I swear that dog smiles. And that’s probably why. She’s loved.
You know that song, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands?”
If you’re loved and you know it, hug back. Give back. Let’s pull others alongside of us and help those who cannot help themselves. Even the ones who can but just don’t want to. Help them, too. Love the people that are difficult to love, because we are loved undeservedly by God.
Father, Praise You for the faithfulness of the apostles for spreading Christ’s love. Thank you that we, too, have heard the message of Christ. We confess that we don’t always appreciate that there are corners of the world that still have not heard, and we pray that You equip us to come alongside those You place in our paths. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Who will you hug today? Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Hugs,
Megs
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The Cast Call (#jammed daily devo, day 357)
Posted on December 23, 2017
December #jammed: Grace, gifted.
Day 357: Callbacks.
The story of Christ’s birth tells of ordinary people who loved God, and ended up together 
on what would be the night that changed the face of the earth forever. Humanity …we long for benchmarks, standards, and qualifications. If we were in charge, the people that were picked to be Jesus’ earthly parents would not have been Mary and Joseph. They were ordinary. And Jesus would not have been born in a manger. That’s too simple …and not sanitary.
Humanity would have had Jesus born unto royalty and into a castle …not in a stable under the stars.
Tryouts. Auditions. We’re constantly having to live up to each others’ standards.
Jesus wasn’t worried about any of them. His appearance was common. His birth was common. His parents were common. Yet, the angels still lit the sky on the night He was born.
Someone once told me that no one else can tell my story. Human life is like that. It’s so intricate and unique, one to the next, that no one story is ever duplicated fully. If that’s not a miracle in and of itself …
We like to compare, thinking it will give us a certain amount of stability to know where we stand. But God knows us all. Loves us all. Jesus knew us all before we were born. Perhaps the greatest thing we can learn from Jesus’ arrival on earth is that greatness isn’t packaged the way we think it has to be. That a humble and quiet life is heard at the same volume as the loud and flashy ones.
Father, Praise You for Christ’s humble birth, and thank You for loving every person the same on this earth. Forgive us for seeking favoritism and elevation among others, and bless our hearts to receive and give Your authentic love. 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 Lane-Walking,
Megs
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The Dinner Scoops (#jammed daily devo, day 326)
Posted on November 22, 2017
November #jammed: Gracious.
Day 326: Thankful for ice cream.
“Listen to me, Jacob,
Israel, whom I have called:
I am he;
I am the first and I am the last.” Isaiah 48:12
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” my husband asked my two daughters as the lake 
water dripped into their eyes.
“ICE CREAM FOR DINNER?!?!” they screeched.
A vacation time tradition, that’s just what we did. It’s not the healthiest habit in the world, but it’s seriously fun. Ice cream has it’s own budget when we go on vacation.
Today’s verse reminds us that we are called. We are God’s chosen ones. He is the Creator of all and has chosen us. Whether we eat ice cream for dinner on vacation is irrelevant in God’s eyes. But our joy is. Our joy matters to God. And if that means getting a double scoop in place of a healthy meal after a day at the beach, that’s OK.
This life tends to twist us up into too much worry over what we put into our bodies and are supposed to look like. It’s so important to take care of ourselves, but it’s also important to take care of our souls. The best way to do that, sometimes, is to let go of the twisting and turning and let Him bless us. With ice cream for dinner. With the sweet smiles of a couple of sandy kids that will remember that day full of smiles and sweets forever.
And through it, see a glimpse of our Father’s love.
Father, Praise You for ice cream, and thank You for loving us so immensely and so perfectly. Help us to remember to bask in the joy of Your love. 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 Measuring,
Megs
Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.
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