Grace, grace, God's grace...

It's January in America. The discussions of resolutions and goals that accompany this season leave many of us with lists and plans to improve one or more aspects of our life or person. Over-achieving, obsessive compulsive, type-A personalities are especially happy this time of year  :) Sometimes these goals and resolutions are healthy and lead to positive life change. Other times they are simply egocentric and designed to satisfy our inner desires for perfection. Whatever the motive may be, they almost always revolve around something that we actually can control.

After some reflection last night, I found my mind dwelling on the idea that there are some things about ourselves or our situations that can never be changed, no matter how hard we resolve to change them. Stick with me! I am not trying to throw water on the flames that burn bright this time of year.I'm not speaking of those things such as losing weight, or learning a new language, or reading more books... I'm speaking of those things the Apostle Paul calls "a thorn in the flesh." He speaks of his experience in the following narrative:

"So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me." 
                                                                                                   2 Corinthians 12.7-8 (ESV)


If Paul was into resolutions, I can just see his list that year:

New Year's Resolutions 55 A.D.~
#1- Write to the Corinthians
#2- Work on a new technique for tent-making
#3- Pray more. Fast more. Get rid of this thorn!!!!! 


Much debate exists over the specifics of his thorn. I have my own ideas. I will keep them to myself :)
From the narrative above, we can see that it was from Satan and it was allowed by God.
(The fact that it was not a natural consequence of foolishness merits attention. He was not reaping the consequence of a sinful action. Otherwise, it would have been called discipline, correction, or reproof- not a thorn). We cannot definitively know what this thorn was, but the main thing is he had one and he couldn't get rid of it. Even after praying. Even after praying multiple times. God's simple reply to Paul was, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12.9 (ESV)

Wow.

He didn't say, "Your efforts have fallen short, so I will not answer you."
He did not say, "Your faith is weak, so I am not listening."
He did not say, "If only you really believed, you would be delivered."

No! God's grace is sufficient. If you are reading this, you are a human, and as such, having spent any amount of time on this earth, you have suffered to do some degree. Sickness. Cancer. Loss of a child, spouse, or any loved one. Infertility. Loss of a job through no wrongdoing of your own. Financial instability, even after making wise decisions. Loss of innocence through another's sin. The list goes on and on. So many times these painful experiences lead us to a spiritual wilderness, where we question how a good and loving God can allow such things. We can never change these experiences that have led us here. This is difficult to grasp, and the spiritual wrestling over these thoughts can be intense. But... God's grace is sufficient. I am comforted by this truth, even if I cannot completely grasp it!

Reading: Numbers. I will be excited to finish this portion of the 90-day Bible reading plan... *sigh*
Crafting: Still organizing :)
Studying: Ephesians 1

My word for 2012

 I have spent alot of time this week trying to determine what would be my word for 2012. I like the idea of having a vision for the year, something to aspire to, a compass that will determine the course I take. So, after much inward debate, I have chosen purpose as my word for 2012. To live on purpose, with a purpose. It's not very profound or exciting, but I feel like it's something I need to remember this year.
To sum up this very brief post:
"Live each day as if it were on purpose" (my favorite quote from the movie Hitch :)

Do you have a word for the coming year?

A Tired Thursday

 "There will be times when we will not feel spiritual, but we must pray through it. We have our fight down here, and we must learn not to trust in our feelings. When you get up in the morning feeling that you wish you had not, and in the evening you wish even more ardently that you had not, do not let that get you down. A baby will worry about that and holler for mother, but a grown-up Christian says, "Well, this was not my day." ~ A.W. Tozer, Reclaiming Christianity (pg.129)

Thanking God that His mercies are new *every* morning and that tomorrow is a new day :)
                                 

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On Homemaking

Having a peaceful, tranquil home has been a priority for me from the day I got married. However, as a perfectionist & an obsessive compulsive young bride, I quickly became overwhelmed by the magnitude of that desire. Soon after our firstborn entered the world, I became quite defeated in my homemaking attempts. Dishes would pile high, laundry would be overwhelming, and dirty diapers seemed to multiply like rabbits. Add baby #2 and a full-time, high-stress job, and I was completely lost. Most of my Saturdays were spent catching up on laundry, and cleaning up after me & my family. But... nothing ever seemed to stay clean.
Enter flylady.com. I wish I had discovered this website much sooner in my homemaking career. It very well may have saved my sanity when I was working full-time. I guess I will never know. I am just happy that 6 years into this adventure I have some much appreciated advice & guidance for achieving the peaceful home that I envision. I love the fact that FlyLady breaks big projects into manageable tasks. I am not yet in control of my entire house, but I am making progress. One of my goals this year is to stay on top of the FlyLady objectives. Part of me feels totally pathetic that I even have this as a goal. However, the part of me that loves peace & order rejoices in the fact that I now have a clear plan of action. When I keep up with the little things each day, nothing overwhelms me. I have more time to do things that I enjoy, and to spend time with my kiddos & husband. I'm actually more at rest when I relax with them, because I don't feel the overwhelming need to clean up everything at once. Big sigh of relief from everyone!
If you are looking for a little peace in your home, check out flylady.com. It takes some time to implement the plans, but it's well worth the effort. Happy homemaking!

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Listening to: Mike playing SOCOM :)
Reading: Reclaiming Christianity: A Call to Authentic Faith by A.W. Tozer
Crafting: Organizing the craft stuff so that I can actually create something :) 
Studying: Genesis. I've started the "Reading the Bible in 90 Days Plan" at youversion.com with dreamsync.blogspot.com. We are on Day 3 & going strong :)

Happy 2012!

I'm excited for 2012! I love fresh starts, new goals, and a clean (sort of) slate. I'm hoping to accomplish many things this year, but mostly I want to become a "better" me. By better, I mean more loving, gracious, compassionate, peaceable, and joyful. I want to grow intellectually, spiritually, mentally, and creatively. I have a list of things I want to do this year, and I'm sure most of them will find their way to this blog in the coming months. I'm not sure how significantly I will progress, but if to-do lists and goal charts are any indicator of success, I should be well on my way to an amazing 2012!

What about you? Does a new year fill you with remorse over broken resolutions or excitement over new possibilities?