Dancing in the Light

I John 1:7 "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin."

Name:
Location: North Platte, Nebraska, United States

I am a christian wife, mother and grandmother. I am a licensed Social worker and a licensed Christian counselor. I am most proud of the relationships I have with God, my family and friends all over the world. I have been blessed beyond my dreams.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Grace

Where would we be without grace? How could we survive without God's favor resting on us? It is because He loves us that He bestows on us that which we do not deserve, cannot earn, and can never repay. Grace is a gift!!! But it is not a gift that stops with the recipient. Grace is closely tied with mercy, kindness and even common courtesy. Grace is to be a part of our lives and a part of our speech. W.H. Auden says "I know nothing except what everyone knows, that when Grace dances, I should dance." Grace, it is more than a popular name for children, more than a big stained glass word, worn like a badge of honor by those who believe. Grace is an attribute, a characteristic consistent with living a godly life, with being like God.
In my life, I have known many gracious people. These folks were always ready with a kind word, encouraging those around them. They were kind and careful with their speech. That alone was impressive. But what was most noticeable was the way they responded to others. When they received gifts that were less than appropriate or even wanted, they responded graciously. When others tried to pay them a compliment and their efforts made the compliment difficult to find, the gracious ones responded with kind and sincere thank yous. When they themselves, were going through a dark time, the grace they received from God, became even more evident in their interactions with others. They were gracious!!!!
Oh, how I want to be like these christians!!! How I want to be the kind of person who is gracious and kind, whether I am anxious, sad, hurt or angry or even just too busy. I know they learned grace from the Father, from the Son and that the Holy Spirit works within them, helping them to be more graceful. I believe they have something special. They have what God has, the ability to look past the words and actions of others and focus on their hearts, on their intents. They can look at two small coins and see a sacrificial heart. They can look at sticky fingers and runny noses and see children with the innocence and trust of Kingdom occupants. They can look at a woman crying and making a scene and see a sincere and penitent heart. When they see hearts instead of flaws, they respond graciously. I am so grateful God sees my heart when my words and actions are flawed and inadequate. I am so grateful He sees me through the eyes of love and hears the words of my heart rather than the inept ramblings of my mouth. I am ever grateful for His grace~~~~without which I would still be lost. And so, my goal for today: begin being one of the gracious. Start seeing through the actions and words of others to the beauty of their hearts. Make my responses to them responses that say, I am a grace giver because I am a grace receiver. Praise God for His amazing grace!!

Neva
Colossians 4:6 "Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt. . . "

11 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

My dear friend,
You are like that. You are one of the gracious ones. I remember when Eddy died. Even in your grief, you were encouraging and uplifting to those who came to comfort you. When they said stupid things in efforts to comfort you, you were kind in your responses. Even in the midst of all the ugliness surrounding his death and funeral, you were gracious, I remember.
I love you
Pat

8:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with Pat. Even when you were really sick, you ministered to others in NP. Even if it meant cleaning or cooking. You were always there to encourage. You were very gracious.

Carol

9:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A characteristic we should all aspire to have. Thank you for your insight.


Dan

9:41 AM  
Blogger The Preacher's Household: said...

O.K. I agree, with the nice comments, you do have grace. But what you are really gifted in is the ablity to have insight into the truth of a situation and having a wonderful sense of humor. James and I are still debating whether you were going to send paper toilet seat covers or rug toilet lid covers to your relatives. Seeing the joy under difficult situations is grace, and you my friend, have that gift.
Kathy

10:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am amazed at your heart. You are truly an incredible example to all who visit this place. I am so proud of you.


Eileen

6:45 PM  
Blogger Bill Williams said...

Grace is...

G od's
R iches
A t
C hrist's
E xpense

Can it get any better than that!

Blessings,
-bill
Spiritual Oasis Blog

7:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I tried to post this before but it didnt go through. I think your faith is amazing. You are a bright spot in my day.

Linda

8:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Grace, peace and hope to you my friend and prayer warrior. You are my hero. (After Jesus)

Love you
Angie

8:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I pray for you and your family every day. I am so thankful God let me know you. You have been such an example to all of us the past 10 years. You have made me believe you are God's favorite child.
Karli

9:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What a happy blog home you have! Hi there Neva! Sure do appreciate you stopping by my blog. Isn't this just the best?! We are so fortunate to live in a time in which technology gives us the grace of remaining in each others lives when time or distance might limit.

You certainly have a great group of commenters here! The only one I recognize is Bill from the Oasis. Did you guys know each other from Sunset? Not sure if you were there at the same time or not. A little before my time.

I have only skimmed your current posts, but I was immediately taken in by your heartache over Nathan's decision to leave God and family. I do ache for you in that - though it's unimaginable to me. But if I know our God, He is relentlessly pursuing his children and will go out of His way for even one gone astray. He's so longsuffering with us.

Really, it's super to find you! I can still see your smile in my mind's eye! Looking forward to keeping up with you more through the www!

Much love to you and Ned!

11:38 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Neva,

What a great encourager you are.

Hope you and Ned are doing well.

Shoot me an e-mail (smcguiggan@randomhouse.com) with your address. I have a great book called Embrace Grace that you'll enjoy.

God richly bless you today,

Stuart McGuiggan

4:42 AM  

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