“Moses said to the Lord, ‘Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.’”

“The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’”

I love this passage in Exodus (4:10-11). The dialogue between Moses and the Lord is so humorous, but also so familiar to me. To think that Moses, the man who is about to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt, is coming to the Lord and saying that he is ill-equipped blows my mind. When I’m reading this passage the only thing that keeps running through my head is ‘You have no idea what the Lord is about to do through you.’ 

Isn’t it funny how we read stories in the bible and so often want to grab these people by the neck and say “WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?” but when we relate it to our lives we realize that we are more like these knuckle heads in the bible than we thought. That’s what I love about the bible and the people in it; they’re all so lost. The Lord chose to use some of the most dysfunctional people ever to live out his story, and he wants to do the same with us.

How many times have we let our insecurities (that aren’t from the Lord, by the way) get in the way of what The Lord wants to do in our lives? I know for me it has been far too many times. I forget to realize that the God who handcrafted me is the same God who wants to use me. This is also the same God who, like I mentioned earlier, used people just like me to do mighty mighty things for his Kingdom. 

The thing about it is, God doesn’t need us. He chooses to use us out of pure grace. He knows that when our lives are abandoned to Him and his plans is when we will be the most fulfilled. Not because he has to, but because he wants to. That is his character. 

Another thing that stuck out to me in these two verses is what God said to Moses at the end of his statement: “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” Not only does the Lord handcraft us exactly how he wants us, but he equips us. Those of us who have lived since the cross and are Christ followers have the awesome gift of the Holy Spirit. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us, and we say we aren’t equipped to do his work? Come on. 

Needless to say, this passage pumps me up. It also convicts the living daylights out of me. Disciples, let’s do just as God said to Moses, let’s go. Let’s listen to his call and be ready to serve. Let’s trust that he knows us better than we know ourselves and that his plan is perfect. Let’s not just trust, but let’s see some faith in action [James 1:22]. 

Let’s go.

Friends, I’m blessed to call this wise and humble soul my sister. 

jadeking:

I can hardly believe that I’m writing again. I’ve been away from blogging for almost two years. The consistency of it is something I’ve never been good at. But the act of allowing my thoughts and heart-stirs to materialize has always been one of the most emotionally healthy things I do. So here we…

Something I struggle with in my life is also something that I constantly pray for: peace. 

With that being said, why do I allow myself to worry and fret about things that I already know God has under control? It must be amusing for him to watch us run around crazy over small things that He has already planned and predestined. I’m sure it breaks his heart to see us in pain and agony over things that he already knows all about and wants us to trust him with. Not only that, but I’m sure it hurts him when we challenge how big of a God he is with how WE think our lives should go. 

But we serve a very patient God. In the distress of our human brokenness, he offers us peace, peace with no end. No matter how many times we tell him that our plan is best and our timing is perfect, he reassures us that we are wrong and so lost without him. In that surrender to him and his perfect plan is where we find our freedom, where we find our peace.

Praying for a peaceful heart tonight. Thank you Jesus for showing us true patience, grace, and love. We don’t deserve You.

Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest in your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Have you ever started on a project and shown it to a friend or family member and told them “you think it’s great now, just wait ‘til you see the finished product!” I know I have.

In high school, I loved choreographing dances for my company. It was my favorite thing to do. I remember my senior dance was my favorite one. It had a lot of intricacies and details that had to be taught and shown at different times so in the moment, the dance looked like a mess. I remember telling my company, my dance teacher, and friends who stopped in the studio to watch that they just had to wait to see the finished product. I remember the amount of excitement I had to finally get on stage with lights, costumes, and the whole nine to show everyone how hard I had been working.

When the day finally came to preform the dance in front of hundreds, my heart was leaping. I couldn’t wait to walk onto the stage and give it everything I had. I couldn’t wait for my dance teacher to finally see the finished product, the big picture. I couldn’t wait for my mom, dad, and sister to cheer me on and say “that’s our girl!” When the dance was over and I heard the crowd cheering, I honestly thought my heart was going to burst. The big picture was finally complete, and people finally understood.

In the same way, God can’t wait for us to see His big picture. He gives us little glimpses and wants us to trust Him that the final dance is going to be perfect, because its from Him. He dances over us. He loves us. He rejoices in us. That excitement that I felt for the dance I choreographed doesn’t even compare to the excitement that He has for us. That’s true love. I can’t believe that I have a hard time trusting in the Lord’s big picture sometimes. Lord, help me in my unbelief.

Psalm 91:2- I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

This playlist is currently on repeat.

We as christians hear the term “grace” on a daily basis. We hear it so often, in fact, that it can sometimes lose its meaning. What exactly is grace and how are we supposed to use it? God had an answer to these questions before we even existed, and He has it laid out in His love letter to us. 

In Hebrews, we are told to approach the Throne of God with confidence, so that we can find grace in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

In John, we are told that the Word became flesh. The Son of The God of Heaven, who is full of grace and truth, took on filthy flesh and not only endured living in this broken world, but He did it without sin or blemish. For who? For us. (John 1:14)

Not only do we have passages to read and learn about the grace of our Father, but we have stories.

The lack of trust from Adam and Eve, the impatience of Abraham and Sarah, the rebellion of Joseph’s brothers, all covered with the grace of God. And those are just the first few stories of the Old Testament!

So what are we supposed to do with this grace so freely given to us? The answer is obvious and easy to say until we’re faced with it: give it freely to others. I so easily say that I want to live a grace-filled life and that I want people to know me by my grace, but when I’ve been hurt or lied to or mistreated, that grace becomes harder to give. 

In moments like that-when grace is hard to give, it makes me appreciate God’s grace even more. Jesus lived here on earth in the flesh for a while, and he chose to give grace every single time. He’s been there and walked that road before you and me, and wants to fill us with his grace daily so we can empty ourselves for his Kingdom. In Deuteronomy 31:8 it says: The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” 

So, although Grace is such a frequently used topic I think there is a lot to say about refocusing on it often. It’s the greatest gift given to us by our Father, and it is mentioned so many times in the Word. With that much emphasis, its quite obvious that we as christians should be known by our grace for others. 

When I started writing this blog I was going to write about eyelashes and how such a small thing was such an apparent sign of God’s love and care for us, but then I got side tracked. Maybe next post? 

Not sure how I’ve missed how special this passage is in all my years. So thankful for this gift of grace and the joy it has brought for generations.

Luke 1:46-55-
“My soul glorifies The Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me- holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
He had performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he promised our ancestors.”

Found an old Christmas list. It’s the little things.

Sweet words for the soul this and every Christmas season.

We as humans tend to refer to a lot of things as perfect. I tell my friends that they are perfect, my cat that she’s perfect, and sometimes refer to a lesson plan I just finished writing as perfect (my professors never seem to think so).

We have such a skewed vision of what perfect is, but when you take a look at the gospel and what grace is, The Lord is quick to reveal it to you…like He did to me just the other day.

The Lord’s love for us is something that we can actually say with confidence is perfect. Aside the fact that Jesus died in our place, lived a sinless life, and there is no one higher than Him, the system that our Creator orchestrated for us is genius and perfect and full of grace.

Think about it: we have hope to live everyday because of Him. He commands that we give Him glory and praise and die to ourselves in abandonment to Him, which seems so rash and ridiculous to the world. But in this dying to self, we find how truly broken and helpless we are, and then how open-armed and willing He is. It is in that abandonment and utter surrender to Him that we find true freedom. And through worshipping Him, we are filled with joy to the point that our cup is overflowing.

There is no greater love than this. That surrendering yourself, your flesh, would bring you freedom and peace and joy and fulfillment and purpose.

It’s pure grace, friends. I need to be reminded of this perfect system every single day of my existence.