Life by Grace Alone

I remember shaking my head when someone shared about how they compared themselves to others. It may have been something like, "Her crafts are beautiful. I would never have the skill or patience to do anything like that." or " Their children are so well behaved. Our children are nothing like that." Although I know many people who do this regularly, I can say this is something I only do rarely, if ever. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses and so why should I waste time woefully comparing myself to others. Recently I was watching an episode of the Hoarders. Just walking across one of  these rooms could qualify as an obstacle course of great danger. The refrigerator hides "food" of amazing colors and textures, difficult if not impossible to identify. My first thought as I view one of these shows is they are so much worse than I ever could be. How could they allow themselves to get in such a state. I know I would never be that bad. Ever since th...

When I was writing the last post I realized I sounded like I was an observer of other people's sinful behavior and I knew I was describing myself as well. That's when I decided to go back and add the painfully embarrassing comments about my "boring" sisters in Christ. Please if you know me don't waste time wondering if you are someone I might have thought  was boring. If I did think such a thing it shows a greater lack in me than in you.  Many times if I listen carefully and interact wisely I will discover a lesson or an insight that I could easily have missed. The lessons that God gives, with you as the giver or the receiver are not listed neatly on some schedule like you used to get when you registered for college. They often pop up in unexpected places involving unexpected people. Many years ago there was a seemingly very fragile woman who attended our church. Miss Mockett lived in the basement apartment of a home. She managed to walk wherever she needed to...

Recently I read a blog by a man named Jason Helopoulos. He said that many times after church we find ourselves talking to someone who was not on our list. Instead of devoting ourselves to the person in front of us we're looking elsewhere while we are bemoaning missed ministry opportunities on the other side of the room or at the other end of a ringing phone. We often fail to realize that the one in front of our eyes is our ministry opportunity. His blog jogged my memory. One year when we lived in Vermont I did a paper on understanding how God wants us to minister within the church. I called what God would have us do an ifoyn (in front of your nose) ministry. I remembered my friend Mom Walker. She had a son who was college age and he would often invite other students home with him. This ministry came to her. She did not have to agonize about what should she find to do. On Sunday morning as she would greet visitors, she would listen for information that would link this person to so...