Freedom Is In The Surrender

"We are taught that freedom is going and doing where we want, when we want, and so on.  This, sadly, conflicts with my living a completely surrendered life to Jesus. I end up trying to dance with Daddy and still trying to lead.  My toes bear the price, but if I don’t recognize what’s happening I miss the lesson.

The freedom is in the surrender.  The joy is not in me getting my way, trying to pull God along, but in letting go and allowing Him to scoop me up in His arms and listen to the song of love He sings."

- An excerpt from So You Think You Can Dance by Jason on his blog Connecting to Impact

God's Amazing Grace

"This truth has been screaming at me the last couple of days: God's grace is amazing! What our world needs more than anything else is grace. Not more talk about grace but grace that is lived out. Gordon MacDonald put it this way: "The world can do almost anything as well as or better than the church. You need not to be a Christian to build houses, feed the hungry, or heal the sick. There is only one thing the world cannot do. It cannot offer grace." The uniqueness of Christianity (of the gospel) boils down to this one word: GRACE. Grace says God accepts us and loves us unconditionally - "as is." We don't have to earn God's acceptance or work for it. Let that sink in for a moment. Grace says God accepts us and loves us unconditionally - "as is."

- An excerpt from God's Grace is Amazing! by Kevin Martineau on his blog Shooting the Breeze

First Thing to Remember

"I don’t want my kids just to remember what to do and when to do it.  I want them to remember what amazing people they are, how much potential they have to change the world, and how loved they are no matter what."

- A quote from First Thing to Remember by Jason on his blog Connecting to Impact

Slow And Steady Progress

"We are a society of people looking for instant gratification, “quick fixes,” when things get tough. As our faith grows, we realize that seeking quick fixes is not the answer, only slow steady progress to receive God’s grace and love. Everyone can receive God’s grace, but a mature Christian realizes the extent of what that grace means."

- A quote from Discipline on the Path to Maturity by Heather Sunseri on her blog Balance With Purpose

The Rule of Love

"What I’d failed to realize was that I shouldn’t do those things NOT because of the consequences (because in all truth, much of our life is lived without physical consequences) but because doing what was wrong would break relationship with God, and then eventually others.

It was about relationship.  Not about the rules. Because in the right relationship a person doesn’t really need rules.

Let’s just call it the rule of Love.  Jesus called it the Greatest Commandment.

If I love God and if I’m concerned about my intimacy with Him, then the more I want to please Him.  The more my life will look like a person who is in Love with their Creator.  And the more I will live in ways that are righteous and are in line with what we consider “rules”.  I’ll need the rules less as a rigid law because I’m focused on pleasing Him (and running everything through that filter). I will begin to do those things naturally that bring me closer to Him."

- An excerpt from The Rule of Love by Sarah Markley on her blog The Best Days of My Life