Graced with Grace

Sometimes its the little things in life that make one happy, such as...a leaf! My roommate and I were very excited to find a brown leaf on the ground today in downtown Minneapolis. For your information, this is a rare and precious sight for this time of year.  

  She looked at it It looked so sweet and good It called her name. "Just one bite, Just one bite," it said.     It can't hurt... Or maybe it can. That is where the fight began.     Every fleshly desire Says take and enjoy. It will be good it says. "If it didn't hurt him, It can't hurt you."     But deep inside. She hears her Savior say. "Look at me! All you need is me!" He says.     It maybe sweet. It may be good. But in the end It burns, it kills. Don't partake of sin, He says.   "I love you more than that." He says. "Take joy in me, And let that be. Sin's joy is but a moment, But joy in me is for forever."     She stood still, And looked into his eyes. And then glanced down At the sweet sugary sin. He was right. It wasn't worth it. Not even a taste.   She looked back again At her Savior dear And held his h...

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!" Psalm 34:8

        What did you eat for dinner today?

I have always liked flowers and I always will, but I don't think I have appreciated them so much as I do now. This fresh enjoyment all comes from simply living in Minnesota during winter. Minnesota winters basically consist of snow from November to May. This being my first winter here, I am not sure of all the facts about a MN winter, but I can tell you that not only must we enjoy looking at snow for about six months, but some days are just excruciatingly cold, as in negative 20 or 30 or 50 or whatever. You get the point though. Its cold! And then when the warm days do come (positive 10° is considered warm around here) we get super excited. But it gets better! When the weather gets above freezing, like in the past few days, it gets even more wonderful. I have had the pleasure and honor of stepping in just a few "puddles" of water that ended up being like 7 or so inches deep. That makes for some rather cold wet feet. ;) So all in all, winter is wonder and snow is won...

He clenched his fist. He shook it at the sky. He let out a horrifying cry. His face turned ashen grey. He turned and walked away. His heart was cold and dead inside.   He ran from Love. Seeking to find happiness. All he found was death and nothing less. A stone cold heart was all he had inside. When he ran from Love, he died. When would he ever come alive?   Love reached out his scar-pierced hand. Pierced for the cold dead hearts. This is where redemption starts. Love took hold of the heart of man. Love held on even though he ran. Love breathed life into the dead.   His heart came alive! Softened, broken, healed inside! Forever freed, loved, loosed, untied! His heart of stone made flesh. His heart was new and fresh. Grace and Love alone can save the wretch.   He looked into the sky. A smile now is on his face. But only because of Love and Grace. He now has happiness that's true. B...

On some days it is easy to remember how blessed one is and on other days it is hard. Today is one of those days that is easy, but sometimes I don't feel like being thankful for anything at all. Sometimes all I do is grumble and complain and whine and annoy all the people around me. But even on the worst days, there are still many things to be thankful for. The problem with me is that I often close my eyes and refuse to open them so I can see all God's blessings and gifts in life. I want to learn to be just as thankful on the hard days as on the good days. Today I see so many things to be thankful for and I wanted to share a few. 1. I have a wonderful church that has many opportunities to serve God's people. 2. I am attending an amazing school that is really hard, but that pushes me closer to God in it all and where I learn so much. 3. I get the pleasure of volunteering for my school's bookstore and I love it. 4. As of yesterday, I am now volunteering...