One Thing

   My schedule really gets busy this time of year, with preparing our farm for winter on top of the holidays, etc. etc. We all have that problem, don't we?  I'm trying very hard to live by the mantra I read on Emily Freeman's blog, "Chatting at the sky": "I want to live small, move slowly, and hold one thing at a time in my hand".
   Since we moved to the farm my life has become simpler. I refuse to push myself like I used to, trying to multitask a dozen things at once. But I have to really, intentionally, stick to my mantra or life pushes me back into craziness.
   Living small, moving slowly, and holding one thing at a time works best for me at this stage of my life. And if I make Jesus that one thing, then He gives me His peace. "Be still and know that I am God", Psalm 46:10. "I am leaving you with a gift-peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled and afraid", John 14:27.

Life's A Puzzle

   Don't you feel sometimes like life is a puzzle and you are always looking for that missing piece? I do! But I think that missing piece is Grace, and if I let Grace into my life, then all the pieces will fit together.
   Here is what Calvin Miller has to say about Grace in his wonderful book, "Into the Depths of God":

"Life's not always easy to assemble. Just when you think all the pieces fit, you discover the whole assembly is a bit off. A kind of dread occupies your thoughts. You have the overwhelming feeling that nothing will ever make sense again.

" 'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the Teacher. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing", Ecclesiastes !:2,8.

"What puts life back together? Grace! Grace is the healing generosity of God that touches us so powerfully that nothing is ever quite the same again. Grace is never to be deserved, yet Grace assembles the odd pieces of our lives."

   What is Grace, you may wonder?  Grace is "God's Riches At Christ's Expense". Grace is getting more than we deserve. Certainly, Grace is these things but mainly Grace is the man, Jesus Christ.

 
   "For the law was given through Moses, Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ", John 1:17.
   "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of Grace and truth", John 1:14.
   "From the fullness of His Grace we have all received one blessing after another", John 1:16.