embraced by Grace

It's almost 1 am. I'm at that sleepy, yet awake stage. My gal pal Leann and I had a girls night of which included me downing about half a bottle of Cherry Coke Zero (1/2 of a 20 oz that is lol) in order to ensure I stayed awake through the chick flick. Well it worked, and now I need to go to bed but alas, here I am blogging.

Oh the thoughts that come from head to keyboard late at night...

At the risk of sounding really hyper spiritual, I will say that the thoughts running through my mind right now have much to do with the grace of God. Especially how much He lavishes it on undeserving recipients.

Part of the grace that I see right now in my own life has to do with community. It amazes me how God places us in conversations with folks, and that it is so mutually encouraging. I've had the privilege of talking to a couple of different friends in the last 2 days and honestly, out of those conversations - it makes me want to follow Jesus more. It stirs something within me to rise up and walk out who God has made me to be. It increases an appetite to know God, and to imitate Him. Even though some of those thoughts/ideas are never mentioned. It's His grace; His strength; His encouragement to His kids. And the cool part is that He is using us kids to teach each other. Sharpen each other like iron.

Process has been another word meandering in and out of my mind today. (for those of you who have followed my blog, this is no surprise right?! lol) A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting out on the dock overlooking the lake. I didn't have too much on the agenda; I was reading, and enjoying the sunshine, and maybe a little people (and pup) watching. I noticed this man playing fetch with his dog. He would throw a stick into the water and give the dog a command to go get it. Most of the time, the dog went straight to the stick, and when he got there his owner cheered like crazy! I'm talking whenthevolsscoreatouchdowninrockytop kind of cheering! Then, the same process was repeated. There were a few times however when the dog didn't seem to see where the stick landed; he still went out into the water as far as he could go, then when he wasn't sure he pretty much just stopped. The dog waited for his owner to give him a directional command as to where the stick was (which I couldn't understand by the way) and the dog would get a little further. Sometimes, the dog would get turned around, and the owner would call out a different command. Eventually, the owner led the dog to the stick where the owner cheered relentlessly, and the dog would return to the shore, stick in mouth, to do a repeat. This whole scenario was quite captivating for me and I started to journal thoughts about how I think that God works with us in a similar manner. We go where He leads, and when we think we aren't sure we wait for His next direction. And here is the cool part: God actually is cheering us on! He continues to encourage, like any good parent would, and then goes crazy with excitement when we get it! There are so many grace moments, opportunities to learn, and chances for victory. It is a process; it takes time to train and to learn.

I like that the pup didn't stop. He wanted to please his master, and he seemed to be having a heck of a fun time while doing it! Not only do we get God encouraging us in those moments where it is just the two of us, we also get moments with the rest of humanity. We get to journey together, making up the Body of Christ, and walk this thing out together. Simply amazing.

My eyelids are getting really heavy; the Coke Zero must be wearing off. It's time for sleep...yet another evidence of grace!