I loved the movie Despicable Me; I especially love the Minions! I am so excited for the second one. I hope it is as good as the first, but this is not a movie review. This is a letter of thanks to the one and only God, my Savior. You see, I was in Sunday school a few weeks ago and we were talking about our favorite hymns. Some said, "Blessed Assurance." I said, "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." Our teacher said, "Amazing Grace." I have a lot of favorite hymns, but when the teacher broke down Amazing Grace, I thought, "How can that not be every Christians battle cry?"

You need only look at the first line to be in awe of God, "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!" Grace is unmerited favor and many people can recognize that we do not and did not deserve the sacrifice of God's only Son, Jesus Christ as our substitute. There is nothing we did or ever will do that can repay such an awesome, and well, AMAZING sacrifice. The part I think I, and possibly others gloss over is the "wretch like me" part.

I have sung this verse countless times in my life and I never stopped to think what wretch even means. But, our teacher broke it down, and the meaning that stuck out to me was "despicable." We don't like to look in the mirror and see the parts of our lives that are despicable to God. We love to compare ourselves to other people because they make us look fantastic! We pray more than they do. We give more than they do. We serve more than they do. But, what happens when we actually hold ourselves up to God's standard of human living; the way Christ lived on Earth? Then, we look pretty despicable.

And yet, in spite of our messy, mistake-ridden lives, God offers His amazing grace. What makes it so amazing? The fact that someone as despicable as me (and you) has the ability to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ and made whole and live forever, and not because of who we are or what we have done, but because of the love of God through Christ Jesus. I cannot speak for anyone else's life, but knowing what I know about me, I cannot understand why He loves me; I am just forever grateful that He does! Ms. EV

So one morning, I was accused (in a backhanded way) of being too nice, which is funny because usually people are telling me I am too hard on others. But apparently, it's not fair to those want want to be mean just for the heck of it when other people are nice because it makes them look bad. In any case, the whole situation boiled down to grace and mercy. Just how many chances should we give people? When are they going to learn their lesson and do what's right? 

Then, I read one devotional that spoke about Hosea and Gomer. It spoke of how Hosea had to forgive his wife, the prostitute who had been unfaithful to him and even buy her back. Talk about grace and mercy. That piece of history in the Bible illustrates God's love for the Israelites  and foreshadows Jesus' sacrifice for us. Then, my verse of the day was Matthew 7:12 [The Golden Rule] "Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets." Two unrelated Biblical truths that gave answers to my questions. And, as if, God didn't drive home the point already, He showed me another illustration of how grace and mercy works in my own life.

There are five children on this earth that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt would do anything for because I love them unconditionally. I want the best for them. I know I cannot make decisions for them, but I try to be sure that they know all of their options, so they can make good choices. They don't always choose the best, and most certainly don't always pick what I would have chosen; nevertheless, my love for them never decreases and if I have to, I will help them pick up the pieces and start over or move on. This is and everyday example in my life of the type of love God has for us. 

I praise Him that His love is unconditional. He gives us free will and the opportunity to make sound decisions and He wants the best for us. When we make mistakes, He is loving enough to let us fall, so that we can learn, and then pick us up and help us keep moving. Grace and mercy. It doesn't mean that you're a doormat for Jesus being taken advantage of by hapless ne'er-do-wells. Sometimes you have to let people fall, but then, don't stand there and laugh, when they reach for your hand, help them get up and keep moving. Grace and mercy. His never ends. Should ours? Ms. EV

This weekend, my sorority’s chapter celebrated its 20th anniversary with a reunion. It was a great opportunity for me to visit my old college campus and reminisce with old friends while making some new acquaintances. I had a great time, though, at first, I was a little disoriented. The school has grown and changed so much; I hardly recognized it. There were new buildings everywhere and I couldn’t seem to find the old familiar spots that I had once known. I guess I should have probably visited the campus more than twice in the past fifteen years. Once I got my bearings, though, I had a fantastic time. I felt nineteen again! When my line sisters and friends started showing up, it was as if we all fell back into our old roles and time had stood still.

As I was leaving, I passed by my old townhouse and some old hangouts, and I just had to thank God. Now, this isn’t going to be one of those times when I spill all of my business, but let’s just say God is a keeper. And, boy did He keep me. He kept me from death, danger, and destruction. As I drove off that campus and down the street and recalled some of the absolutely stupid things I did as a college student, I couldn’t help but praise Him for second chances (and third ones and fourth ones and twenty-fifth ones).

It’s not that being saved gives us a license to sin and do crazy things. There are always consequences. I feel as if I still deal with some consequences for choices I made in my past. But, and thank God, that with my God, there is always a ‘but,’ God can and will deliver you when you are willing to take His hand and follow His lead. I am grateful for the old school me because she taught the present me a lot of valuable lessons. I pray that by being open and honest with the next generation, I can help them avoid some of my mistakes, but, even if they don’t, I can at least show them how God will turn your life around. Ms. EV

I was reading through some past journal entries the other day and I ran across this little mini-poem:

            “It may be me one day, but right now it is not;
                          I have to keep my focus on what I have got.”

I cannot remember what prompted that little message of encouragement. It could have been anything. Perhaps, I read a devotional on thankfulness. Maybe I saw an article about a wedding. It is possible that I saw someone who is very wealthy on television. There is no telling what my eyes or ears witnessed that caused me to stop immediately and affirm my gratitude and contentment with my life. And, the other day when I read it, I thought, “Thank God for what I don’t have, too.”

Do you ever think about all of the things that you don’t have? I am not speaking of the wants and desires that you wish you had; I am talking about all of the things that you don’t want and you don’t have. Or, how about all of the things that you should have, but you don’t have? We may never know the depths or breadth or lengths of God’s love and mercy. But, as we look around the world at the tragedies that are suffered, it ought to cause us to throw our hands up in praise if we are not afflicted with that type of calamity. When we look over our past mistakes, and we realize that we have escaped some of the worst possible scenarios for our lives with consequences that are not nearly as awful as they could be, we ought to fall to our knees and thank God for His mercy.

These mirrors of mercy can appear on any level of our lives. On a spiritual level, children of God can be thankful that we do not have to go through someone else to get to God. We can come boldly before His throne of grace asking anything we need in Jesus’ name because Jesus took our place on the cross (Hebrews 4:16; John 14:13). We should be thankful that we do not have nail-scarred hands and feet or a pierced side, which is the least that we deserve for our sins. On an emotional level, we can praise Him when we do not have any more tears to cry over someone who has caused us pain, whether it is a spouse, a loved one, a family member, a co-worker, or a friend. It is such a blessing when we get to the day when we do not have any more emotion to give to that situation and we can finally move on with our lives. On a romantic level, thank God for that person that He did not allow you to be with or to stay with who would have done more damage to your life than good.

On a physical level, we should appreciate that we do not have all of the ailments that we could have. Some sickness happens because we live in corruptible bodies. Some sickness happens because we have bad habits or do not properly value our health. In either case, even when we are infirmed with something, we can be grateful that we do not have other conditions and diseases in addition to that one. On a financial level, we ought to be grateful that we do not have to depend on man as our source. Once again, this is not an encouragement to quit your job, but just recognize that no matter what man does, if you belong to God, He has your back--and front and sides. (2 Thessalonians 3:10; Psalm 27:1). Just think about all the debt you could have that you do not have. Whether you are in good standing because you used Godly wisdom in economic evaluations or because God has spared you from the most severe outcomes associated with your financial foolishness, you should shout, “Hallelujah”(especially in this economy).

I believe that there are many times when we are trying our best to be content with what we do have that we can identify the gifts of grace, but we also should be thanking God for His mercy; for the circumstances with which we do not have to grapple. What makes it difficult to recognize these blessings is that we truly do not know all of the situations from which God has protected us, which is a blessing in and of itself. Nevertheless, the next time you find yourself feeling pitiful because of what you do not have, turn the pity party inpraise party for what you do not have by the mercy of God. Remember, (and I cannot think of the exact quote or who said it) it is better to be able to desire what you do not have than to have what you do not desire. Ms. EV

There is an old song that teaches to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. At a certain point in my life, I had become so adept that that skill that I only saw my positive characteristics as reality. In a parable, Jesus talked about a Pharisee that did the same thing. He said, “I follow rules…I pay tithes…I am a good person…I…I…I….” We may think the Pharisee was being ridiculous, but we do the same thing. We pick out everything that we are doing right, no matter what we are doing wrong, and believe that God should be satisfied with our good works and ignore our lapses of faith. We measure ourselves against others, of whom we are quick to see the faults and flaws. We figure, as long as we are not like these “bad people” and our good deeds outweigh the bad, then we are fine. God should be pleased with us and not hold our “little” day-to-day sins against (and that’s if we even recognize that we are sinning).

We need to be more like the publican in the story. This dude was a sinner and he knew it. He was not proud of it. He was humbled by the situation and he feared God. My dad always says, “Every time you purposely disobey God, you are saying to Him, ‘I don’t believe You are real.’” If we truly reverence God, we will acknowledge, rather than ignore sins. The publican knew that it was only by God’s grace and mercy that he was able to live. The Pharisee’s “prayer,” or rather listing of qualifications for a blessing, fell on deaf ears, but the publican’s prayer was heard. God sees and knows all. He does not need to be reminded of how good we think we are. He appreciates it when we live in reality, admit our shortcomings, and know that we are not perfect and that we need His love, His grace and His mercy. If you feel the need to accentuate the positive, tell someone in your life all of the things that you love about him or her, but don’t puff yourself up before God. Ms. EV

My niece wants to be a teacher like her mother and I. The difference is that she knows she would like to be a teacher now. Her mother and I both had other careers, aspirations, and experiences prior to teaching. I think both us still have dreams that go beyond teaching. But, my niece is pretty determined that this is what she wants to do, so today, she shadowed me. She watched me in my class. Now, I am very, very frank and candid with my older nephews and niece, I keep it real, so I did not sugarcoat anything that I did in class today. There was no show; it was all real.

I needed to confront my students on some behaviors that were displeasing to me. Normally, this would not occur in front of an audience, but it had to be done now because it is the middle of the last quarter and there is only a short amount of time to correct bad behavior. So, after my correcting yesterday, I knew that I had to approach the issue with sensitivity and grace. You know the saying, “You can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar?” Well, I really don’t know why anyone wants to catch flies, but that’s not the point. The point is that in this particular moment, the attention of my students was the fly. I could have laid into them; I had plenty of ammunition. Instead, I took a soft, but stern approach. And, although, they didn’t say much to me, word travelled back around that my approach was appreciated.

Time will tell if my audience was indeed moved to action, but when I asked my niece what she learned. She replied, “That your kids need to do their work,” Then, I asked her for her honest opinion on how I handled the situation and she said I handled it well. That meant more to me than any reaction from my students. As a Christian, it is not always easy to find the balance between nice and mean. I think I’ve written about it several times in the last couple of weeks because it is an area I am working on personally. My desire is for others to see Christ in me, but that does not mean that I am to be disrespected because I show grace and mercy.

This entire situation was a great lesson in how we treat God. He gives us opportunity after opportunity to follow His Will, and yet, many times, we disrespect Him and take His kindness for granted. So, I understand why, in the Old Testament, God took people out in those situations because initially that’s how I felt. But, I am so glad that He sent Jesus and sees us through Jesus’ eyes, with grace and mercy. I hope I get the results I desire, but I will not be a salty light or spread venomous vinegar around to get my “flies.” I will listen to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and behave accordingly.  Ms. EV