A Fluff and a Buff, Please

Work was over, if that is what you could call it. The day had been wild. Laughter was rolling around the room faster than the tears were able to roll down our cheeks. It felt good to be goofy as it helped to relieve any tensions deep down inside. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and it was time to come home and prepare for class at the church. Between the journeys from work to my class a dent was put in my spirit due to the things going on at home. Hesitating for a moment to assess the damage, I thought for sure I was fit enough to go on to class.

Wearing my “feelings on my shoulder” as I remained shook up from the recent dent I got in my spirit; it didn’t take much to make me “dent-shy,” if Webster will forgive me. It reminded me of the time I was hit by a drunk driver. For a long time afterwards the slightest movement made me jump. One day as a friend of my daughter’s was riding with me she stated, “Boy you can tell she was recently in a wreck.”

Sure enough, not to anyone’s fault emotionally it was easy to tell I was acting a little “dent-shy” as I didn’t want to be hurt again. All it took was one comment from someone in my class to make me crumble against the affects of my first dent that evening. I felt as if I was beyond being able to shine again to the point where no amount of fluffing or buffing could put my spirit back to where it needed to be.

In the midst of my pain God reminded me of the time prior to my second brain surgery. One day at my parents’ ranch I stood near the cattle in the field wondering what was in store just days ahead when my surgery was scheduled. Nervously I began to cry, and then I stopped myself, thinking I’m not going to waste any prayers. The same holds true 10 years after my surgery, “I’m not going to waste any prayers. I am not going to let God’s work come back useless,” I thought to myself.  I knew in my heart God had done a lot of spiritual body work in me mixed with the many prayers sent ahead on my behalf. Both were fluffed and buffed together with the price Christ had to pay for me to be a free woman, not one bound by the trials in life. All of which were things not to be wasted.

To some within the church I must have looked like an emotional wreck being brought in on a weekly basis via a tow truck. Surprisingly enough at the time we had just that, a red and white tow truck that came to church each Sunday. Thinking about that I began to chuckle as I thought about how the tow-truck of life is there to bring us to church for repair not to take us away. We need to have the attitude that we will not allow God’s work to be useless, permitting ourselves to be something that’s good for only parts whenever needed.

To me over the years the church had served as my “spiritual body shop.” It was a place to go to get the dings out, a new paint job, redone, refreshed, re-fixed, refueled, “A fluff and a buff if you would please.” I knew in my heart the only person who can tag me “totaled” was myself. One day God’s going to lovingly reach down from heaven with a big grin on His face with a sign that says “total” as in “complete,” not “totaled” as a wreck.

Until then we need to hold on to the promise Hebrew 4:16 gives us when it tells us, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it.” We don’t have to be ashamed of our dents. We don’t have to get the dents out first. We don’t have to do it alone. We can do it today and any day with God’s help. Once completed, oh what a shine as His glory serves as our new paint job reflecting His love, grace, and mercy.

“A fluff and a buff, please.” A fluff and a buff.

Copyright 2000 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipe Publishing 

Over Easy

”Any concept of grace that makes us feel more comfortable sinning is not Biblical grace. God’s grace never encourages us to live in sin, on the contrary, it empowers us to say no to sin and yes to truth.” ~Randy Alcorn

From the beginning of time we have tried our best to take the “easy” way out. Unfortunately it always has backfired on us yet we never seem to learn. Eve thought she was taking the easy route but look where it got her, kicked out of the garden. We try that with grace as well. We think we can take the “easy route” of thinking because of God’s grace we have the license to sin because we will be forgiven.

 It almost seems like we have become lazy in our Christian walk as we stroll along on that theory of “it’s okay if I sin, God will forgive me.” The more we live in that theory the further away from God we become. We cheapen His grace by the attitude and actions we often take.

 God’s grace is not there to give us the go ahead to do whatever we please it is there to help us when we stumble. It keeps us from falling further into something we shouldn’t be doing.

 Like any good parent God doesn’t allow us to get away with everything we desire to do but He is there for us when we mess up occasionally. This is where grace steps in as He walks along side of us until we get our spiritual legs under us and are able to walk on our own. Not on our own to live as we choose to live but to take what we learn from God and finally apply it to our lives. His grace empowers us to say no to sin and yes to the truth. The truth found in God’s word.

 Often when we talk about God’s grace we get it and God’s mercy intertwined. The way I was always taught was God’s mercy is not getting what we do deserve and God’s grace is getting what we don’t deserve. Either one are wonderful paths laid out for us just waiting for us to walk down them. They both have to do with God’s love for us. What we do in return should have to do with our love for Him.

The Christian life or walk is not an easy route. It’s not the “easy” way out of things. It’s a lifestyle that will take us into eternity not get us kicked out of the garden. It’s by the grace of God that we will succeed just like it’s by our own ambitions we will fail.

When God hands us His grace, His love, He is not handing us an “easy” button we can push whenever we feel like it. He is handing us the biggest opportunity of a life time that will last for all eternity. It would do us well to say “Yes” to Him and no to the world.

Take this world and give me Jesus is the choice we need to be striving for. No shortcuts, no easy streets, no alternate routes. God’s grace is the fuel needed to get us where we need to be, not an insurance policy to fall back on when we recklessly live our lives as Christians outside of His laws and will.

I will take Jesus over easy any day, “over easy” it’s more than a breakfast order!

 

© 2012 Karen Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes

Buckets of Grace

Lord I crawled across the barrenness to you with my empty cup uncertain in asking any small drop of refreshment. If only I had known you better I’d have come running with a bucket.” -Nancy Spiegelberg


In life there seems to be those who run on the top half of their gas tank and those who live on the bottom. I was the type who lived off the bottom half. Recently I’ve been trying to change my ways and live on the top half. Doing so by filling my vehicle when it gets down to half instead of listening for the warning light to signal I need a refill.


Years ago that was the way it felt like I was living my life as well, off of empty. I would struggle during the week trying to survive on what fumes I could get and go to church to get a refill of strength. Sitting there come Sunday morning to comfort myself I would imagine myself sitting there with a gasoline tank nozzle stuck in my ear to take in more fuel from the Sunday service. It really got funny when I tried visualized the rest of the congregation doing the same thing.


I have to confess I came with a small gas tank. I was only after enough strength, grace, and peace to get me through the week. Often I got much more than that. It took me awhile but I finally turned in my red one gallon container for a much larger bucket as the strength I was given was more than I anticipated.


Shame on us for not knowing the Lord better, not anticipating that He could give us much more than we ask for or require. David Jeremiah once said, “God has a bigger shovel than our little shovel. We can’t out give God.” God has a bigger gas tank than the little thing we carry around. His has no bottom; there is no top half or bottom half.


It all has to do with our attitude. We can come to Him arrogantly expecting Him to give us all we want and will for. Then if we don’t get it we throw our little temper tantrum and declare there must not be a god. However, the better way to come to Him is humble, seeking, and trusting as we request access to whatever He has to give us. When approached correctly we find buckets full of grace in place of tiny tin cups of hope.


Praise the Lord we can’t out give, out stretch, out source what God has available to us if we would only come to Him. If we only knew Him as we should. Often you’ll find God has more faith in us than we do in Him. Shame on us. Praises on Him.

© 2011 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

A Souvenir

“Grace is Christianity’s best gift to the world, a spiritual nova in our midst exerting a force stronger than vengeance, stronger than racism, stronger than hate. Sadly, to a world desperate for this grace the church sometimes presents one more form of ungrace.” by Philip Yancey What’s So Amazing About Grace?

I hate to start with a disagreement but I have to. Grace is not Christianity’s gift to the world. Grace is God’s best gift to the world. It is something that the church and Christians need to practice but as far as the gift, that’s God’s best souvenir. It is what He brought to us when Christ visited earth.

Occasionally when I travel I like to pick up souvenirs along the way because its fun and I may never go there again so I better get them while I can. They may collect dust on my shelf at home but by golly molly I have my souvenirs. A cow from Texas, a necklace, from Hawaii, a domino from Las Vegas, a T-shirt from Disneyland, a cable car magnet from San Francisco.  

Too often we treat God’s grace that same way. We grab it while its there only to take it home and place it on the shelf to collect dust. Grace is our gift to use and practice. It should never sit around long enough to collect soil, filth, and grime. What it needs to collect is souls, faith, and glory.

The problem with a souvenir such as grace is people tend to treat it like a toy. The cute little Holstein cow I bought in Texas that says, “I love Texas” to my grandchildren was a toy they wanted to play with but I wouldn’t let them. In the spiritual world some see grace as toy to play with.


Sinners on the outside toying with the idea that because of God’s grace they expect others to love them as they are with the ability to continue their sinful paths skateboarding on the free ride of God’s grace. Those in the church tinkering around kicking the soccer ball of responsibility to those they think should be in charge of that ministry. People like the preacher, missionaries, or youth group leader anyone but themselves.


We need to get it right. Grace is something we all need. Its something we all require. We are all one of those “sinners” on the outside of Heaven in need of it. In need of it to help us change into the children God wants us to be. It gives us the desire and ability to do it. Once we pick up that souvenir we can’t place it on the shelf to get dusty but we need to put it into practice on a daily basis.


It’s not a one time pass to a free concert we watch and walk away from. No it’s the door to a relationship with our Heavenly Father. It’s the beginning of a journey that has no end. It’s taking our life out of our own hands and placing it in God’s in a gesture alone that increases our value tremendously. Extend that gift to others. Bring it back not to be abused but used to glorify God and better ourselves.

I’ve got a souvenir; it’s the grace of God. Share it with me.

© 2011 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing