THE Story of Grace

"The story of any one of us is really the story of us all."
I love stories. I am so easily sucked in. So, given my pregnancy weary body and a tired brain to match, if you give me a TV remote I can easily waste precious time following someone else's story. (and, as Sweet Pea and I would say, turn my brain to mush.)
So, earlier this fall I was caught up in a TV medical drama that had a character sitting at the side of a patient whom the doctors had been unable to save. Turns out that this man was a stranger to her. She was weeping because he had stepped in front of a bus to push her out of its way. In turn, he died. So, here sat the woman at his cold body weeping at the sacrifice he had made for her. Prone to tears these days, I teared up with her. If I remember correctly, the woman had trouble moving on and stayed at the hospital still grieving what her mistake had cost another human.
The next day I found myself thinking about it. Wasn't that a small picture of what Jesus Christ has done for me? The salvation His sacrifice offered me, though, was no knee jerk heroic reaction. It was anticipated, calculated, and executed knowing the full cost to Himself. And, do I weep? Do I? Do I fully regard the price that was paid? Sometimes, yes. But, in all honesty, many times I don't. I don't want a heart moved to tears of guilt. As I know, there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. I do, however, want a heart that is easily moved to tears of gratitude. May that heart of gratitude then influence my every thought and action.

Little Me

Last week Sweet Pea and Stud had the following conversation:

Sweet Pea: Dad, what do you want for Christmas?
Stud: Tell Mom I want a 46 inch Samsung LED television.
Sweet Pea: Is that a tool?
Stud: No, it's a TV you hang on the wall.
Sweet Pea: Dad, you better have a back-up. Mom's gonna say "No."


Today at lunch Sweet Pea asks me what we're getting Dad for Christmas. I tell her I know he wants a TV you hang on the wall. She says, "I told him he needed a back-up request. We just spent a lot of money on the new van and we don't need to be spending more on something that turns your brain to mush."