Gray Hairs and Grace

 

I looked in the mirror this morning, and those silver streaks peeked back at me.  Oh how I once hated those.  Gray hairs, the confirmation of aging, I had hoped would wait a few more years.  But here I am, at 45, with the silvery streaks, along with other well worn signs of againg.  

I no longer detest these signs.  I've been given longer to trod this earth than many.  Through these years, I've seen and done quite a bit--some good, some bad, some mediocre.  I've earned the marks of aging.  It is solely by God's grace that I've made it this far.  Left to my own devices, I'd have been gone many years ago.  

As my temples turn one day at a time from the medium brown with reddish highlights to the silvery strands we call gray, I at times look back and replay memories.  Those days of young adulthood when a road trip on the spur of the moment was the highlight, with a cassette of 90's country playing in the car, windows down, and travelling anywhere I felt like, paper atlas book beside me just in case.  Those days are long gone, but the flicker of memory brings a smile.  Then reality returns, and I run the brush through my hair and pull it back away from my face, to prepare for the day.  Oh, I could cover the strands with a coloring dye, but underneath that gray is still there and the root would eventually show its truth.  

I am so thankful for God's grace, how wonderfully He's taken care of me.  For all the things I've been through in life, I never really dreamed I'd make it this far to earn those grays.  He has been so good to me.  As the hymn by Julia Johnston reads:  

 "Grace, grace, God's grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;

Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!

 Have you found His marvelous grace?  If not, I'd be happy to show you how you can have His grace in your life.  Without His grace, His love, I wouldn't be here.  My family wouldn't be here.  I'm grateful each day for it.  

If You Only Knew How Much You Are Loved

If you knew someone loved you so much they'd die for you...would you love them back? 

If you knew someone paid for your debts, all of them, what would you do?

Would you turn away from them?  Would you run to them?

Someone DID pay for your debts.  Someone DID pay for your sins.  And...someone DID die for you.

Jesus.  He did it all. 

He paid your penalties, your debts, all that you owe for your wrong doings. 

Without Jesus, you are dead in your trespasses, your sins.  Your sin debt keeps getting deeper with no way out. 

With Jesus, you are sin debt is erased, washed away, forgotten as if you'd never sinned. 

He loves you that much...He left His glory in heaven to come down to earth, as a lowly carpenter's son, and lived a sinless life.  No one else could do that.  He experienced hunger and thirst, love, anger, hurt, sorrow, and all the other feelings we feel.  He knew His ending on earth, yet He came.  He knew He'd be crucified for teaching and preaching the Word of God.  He knew He'd die a horrible death between two criminals, the most excrutiatingly painful and lowest of deaths, but He still came.  He allowed Himself to die at the hands of men...

Why?

Because He loves you and me that much. 

If you only knew how much you are loved...  You'd love Him too.  You'd come to Him in faith, ask Him to take your sins and give you forgiveness and a home in Heaven with Him.  You'd read His Word, preserved through the years in written form, and learn more of Him.  You'd know you are loved beyond all measure, by the One who loves us all so much He gave up His life on earth. 

But--that's not all He did out of love for you and me...  He rose again!  He rolled the stone away, arose from the tomb, and walked among men again.  He defeated death and hell, out of his love for you.  He did it for you.  For me.  For everyone.

If you only knew how much you are loved, you'd seek Jesus and find the peace He gives when you trust Him.  You'd find that He is the only Rock to lean on, that He is the only One who can give you strength when you have none, peace in the midst of the worst storms, and a sense of belonging when you're beyond lonely. 

What does He ask of you? 

Faith.  Trust.  Belief on Him to do as He says He will do.  Trusting Him to lead you as your Lord and Savior. 

Do you have to accept His love and sacrifice?  No.  It is absolutely your decision.  Jesus does not force Himself on you, me, or anyone else.  That's not how He works.  He waits for you, with loving arms open for you.  Many choose not to accept the love, peace, salvation He offers, but they lose out on the best of this life and the next.  You have that choice as long as you are on this side of the grave--you absolutely can choose to take Jesus up on His offer.  It is never too late while you're alive! 

No matter what you have done, no matter how low you've fallen, Jesus loves you!  He knows our deepest of secrets and loves us anyway!  Isn't that amazing??  You absolutely cannot have done anything or do anything that He hasn't seen or doesn't know about.  With Him, there are no secrets, and no matter the worst we've done, He still loves us.  Hard to believe isn't it? 

I'd be glad to help you, if you'd like to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  I'd love to have you as a sister (or brother) in Christ!  It doesn't matter who you are, where you're from, or your past...I'd love to have you as a sibling in Christ!


Who is Good?
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.  There is none, that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.  They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no not one."  (Romans 3:10-12)

Who Has Sinned?
"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"  (Romans 5:12)

What Is The Eternal Cost of Your Sin?
"For the wages of sin is death..."  (Romans 6:23)
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men..." (Romans 1:18)

You Cannot Save Yourself
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight..." (Romans 3:20)
"Where is boasting then?  It is excluded.  By what law?  of works?   Nay: but by the law of faith."  (Romans 3:27)

God's Love Has Provided The Way!
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."  (Romans 5:8-9)

You Must Place Your Complete Faith in Jesus Christ
"Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering:  not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?"  (Romans 2:4)
"Even the righteousness of god which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe."  (Romans 3:22)
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."  (Romans 3:28)
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10:9)

Do You Believe That Jesus Christ Alone Can Save You?
The Bible states, "And being fully persuaded that, what he (God) had promised, he was able also to perform."  (Romans 4:21)

Here is God's Promise to You:
"...if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:"  (Romans 4:24-5:1)

Pray Now And Ask Him To Save You!
"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."  (Romans 10:10)

If you will accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, please pray this prayer or one similar to it with all of you heart:  "Dear God, I admit I am a sinner, going to hell.  I know that I cannot save myself.  I turn from my sins and put my faith in the blood that you shed for me on the cross to pay for all my sins.  I now accept you as my Saviour and trust you to take me to heaven.  Thank you for saving me.  Amen."

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  (Romans 10:13)

Fly Over Country

Today I had opportunity to run to Lamar, MO, just a hop, skip and jump over the state line from us.  The sky was so bright and sunny!  The warmth coming in the window was nice, especially on a chilly January morning.  The above picture was taken this morning near the border of MO and KS, on the MO side.

I saw the trails in the sky and thought about how so many people fly over us in the middle of the country.  We're called "fly over" states.  People really miss out on what's down here on the ground when they're travelling across country, big city to big city.

For instance, they miss out on the new calves jumping around and butting heads, playing with one another in the pasture close to their mothers.  They miss seeing young goats bouncing around in the barnyard, some of them with little pajamas on (it's not just on YouTube!!)  It's not easy to see individual geese on the pond from a few thousand feet in the air.  They miss seeing the little things that make rural life interesting.

Granted there are good reasons to fly over us in the middle--it's much faster than driving.  You don't get stuck behind the tractor.  No foul odors passing the pig farm.  But, there's so much more on the ground that people miss out on.

In an airplane, you don't get to take a quick trip through the square in a little bitty town like ours.  You don't get a chance to step into a locally owned diner and fill up on home cooked meals.  You miss out on smelling the sweet air flowing in on the breeze across the fields, the fragrance of flowers mixing with fresh mowed hay.

When you get a chance, drive through some of the "fly over" states, and enjoy a trip you'd not get to have in an airplane.  Enjoy the sunshine and pretty blue skies from below, say hi to Bessie in the pasture, and take life just a little bit slower. :)

Growing Gray Gracefully

I'll be honest, I never thought I'd make it to my current age.  I've done so much in my past, I was sure I'd not make it past 23 or 24.  Gray hairs were never a part of my future.

Those little sparkles of silver are showing themselves quite well in my darker brown hair.  The temples are becoming silver and white, little white streaks are starting to show up in other parts of the hair too.

At first I tried covering them with dye.  Honestly, to me it's too much work to constantly dye over it.  I'm a low maintenance person, it's just not my thing.

Hubby has a full head of silver now, and he tells everyone he had his hair professionally highlighted that way!!  LOL!!  He once had solid black wavy hair thanks to his Cuban roots.

I've decided that we've earned these gray hairs.  It shows us that we've survived a lot, we've made it through hard times and came out the other side, that we've had some good times and enjoyed laughter and joy.  It shows we've been blessed to live this long, to have chance to enjoy younger years and mature into the age we are now.  We've earned these little sparkly hairs.

So now, rather than trying to cover the sparkly highlights, I embrace them.  I've earned each and every one. One day, my hair will be a gray bun, as my mom's and Grandma's once was.  I won't fight the signs of aging.  There are many who haven't had opportunity to grow those little white/gray hairs...I am blessed to be able to have them.

Finding Peace In Early Morning

from Art.com

During 3 of the 4 seasons, we are early risers due to school and work schedules.  In winter months, I get up a bit earlier than my family to make sure the heaters are turned on (I choose not to run space heaters at night in the smaller rooms farthest away from our main heat source) and a pot of coffee perks on the stove top.  This season, I am up early to make a pot of tea and enjoy a quiet moment before the kids wake for the day.  In the spring and fall, I make sure windows are opened up for fresh air and fans run to circulate that beautiful morning breeze.

Our home is a loud and chaotic one when everyone is awake.  There are 3 cats that are wild and loud and race throughout the house.  In fact one of them is yowling now for the other 2 to come down and play with him.  The kids are teens now, with one at 15.5, one nearing 18 in 2 months, and one 17.5, and they are noisy in their own right.  There is constant movement and activity when everyone is awake. 

It is in the early hours before everyone is awake, and my eyes are slowly opening with the caffeine of that first cup of coffee and/or tea, that I find peace.  I can listen to my favorite radio station (KVCY out of Ft. Scott, KS), pray over the day ahead, read a devotional, check up on the news and weather for the day, and prepare myself for the events ahead.  This is my time. 

A simple quiet time in the morning may seem inconsequential, but it can set the mood for the day.  How often do we feel rushed and harried when we hit the floor running with demands as soon as our eyes open (or before!!) from little ones that need Mommy, or the sounds of a pet getting ready to vomit on the carpet, or the yowling of a hungry cat that has a full bowl except for one tiny spot at the bottom they can see (starvation I tell you!)?  The moments before everyone gets up can be such a big help in how you start your day. 

Don't get me wrong, when you have babies and younger children, that season is tough to get a quiet moment outside of a couple hours of sleep.  I haven't forgotten those days, nor do I look on them fondly...no one truly enjoys being a walking zombie for years.  We do it because we love our family.  But we as moms need that little moment to ourselves, a chance to breathe, think, pray, sip our favorite morning drink, and get ourselves prepared for the day.  It's a little time to talk to the Lord and ask Him for guidance for your day, to thank Him for another moment with your family, to listen to what He has to say.  It's time to get your thoughts together, prepare yourself for the day ahead, make mental notes of what needs to be done, and most importantly, fill your tank for the day. 

What do you do in your early morning time?  I'd love to hear from you!