Coming Home

Friends, we're home... and thankful for the gift of time spent on vacation as a family! We truly enjoyed our time away from the normal routines of life... and loved basking in the beauty of God's magnificence in the Boston and Cape Cod area.

At this same time last year, we were also coming home... to a new normal... after having our hearts truly broken for the things that break God's heart.

It's been a beautiful year... of learning to live this new normal, of submitting our will and our ways to the Father, of living a better kind of life... one that is fully pursuing God's righteousness... to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
~ Matthew 5:6, NIV

Yet... the most beautiful kind of coming home... is the kind that we, as Christ-followers, have all experienced... coming home to the Heavenly Father and experiencing His daily gift of grace! I read Andrew Farley's book The Naked Gospel while on vacation this past week and there are some beautiful quotes in this book! Here are a few...

Grace is the system that the Holy Spirit uses to counsel and teach us on a daily basis.

Grace isn't merely a response to sin. Grace is the core of the New. It allows Jesus to produce through us what's needed in the moment.

There's a godly sorrow or regret over sins that leads a person to desire change (2 Corinthians 7:10). This regret occurs because believers are designed for good works, not sins. When we sin, we're not living out our destiny. We're meant for something greater. We're meant to display the life of Jesus Christ. Nothing less.

Eternal life is not merely a better life or a better purpose for life. It's an altogether different life. It's God's life.

God wants to make his mark on your life with beautiful brushstrokes that only he can fashion together to create a masterpiece.

When we come to Jesus Christ, we receive his life. Through our expression of him, we find fulfillment.

Since Christ is your life, your source of true fulfillment, you'll only be content when you are expressing him.

Whether we realize it or not, our greatest desire is to express Christ in every moment.

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with a grateful heart... for gifts from a God who is always good... these are the things I am thankful for this week... #1506 - #1511:

:: Continued momentum for Eucharisteo: A Celebration of Joy.

:: Coming home... in many ways! :-)

:: Easing back into our normal routines slowly, with a few more days off from work.

:: Another great Sunday morning teaching at church!

:: Fellowship with peeps from our church family over lunch! It's totally awesome to have church at the movie theatres inside a mall... the food court is literally right there! :-)

:: Quiet Sunday afternoon spent at home.

Finally, here are a few photos from our vacation...

Happy Monday, friends!

Moses "persevered because he saw him who is invisible." (Hebrews 11:27 NIV) That is what makes us persevere through a life: To see Him who is invisible. It's my prayer with the last crickets of summer: Oh, Lord, open the eyes of my heart, the eyes of my hands, the eyes of my mouth, the eyes of my feet.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Let's soar into this new week together, friends... let's do justice, love mercy and walk humbly!

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Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!