Doing all things without grumbling is humanly impossible. But thankfully not with God (Mark 10:27). What it requires is getting our eyes off ourselves and onto Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) and all God promises to be for us in him. It requires seeing grace. Being different comes from seeing differently.
Yes it is hard. It’s a fight. God told us it would be that way (1 Timothy 6:12). But we will grow in the gracious habit of cultivating gratitude through the rigorous exercise of constant practice (Hebrews 5:14) of seeing grace. Lord, help us speak more in the accent of heaven!
Prone to grumbling, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to scorn the God I love;
Here’s my eye, O take and peel it
Till I see the grace above.
--Jon Bloom, "We Are Far Too Easily Displeased"So much grace to see these last couple of weeks. A few highlights I am thanking God for:
5927. the way our Kroger is always prepared for big crowds--even when the parking lot is jammed, all the checkout lanes are open and it's a pleasant shopping experience
5928. smoked turkey and chicken
5929. Advent wreath ablaze, Mary at the very center
5930. the humbling experience of recipe failures
5931. coffee cinnamon rolls Steve makes on Christmas morning
5932. the familiar yet still thrilling cadences of Luke 2
5933. our boys don't require extra potty stops on long roadtrips
5934. playing the alphabet game in the car to keep the boys occupied on the home stretch
5935. boys in sleeping bags in front of my parents' Christmas tree
5936. our families' generosity
5937. boys more grateful than greedy
5938. Steve's understanding and compassion when their grumpies are likely blood-sugar-related
5939. my mom and aunt loving the photobooks I made from our NYC girls' weekend
5940. my mom's older brother delighting in my boys
5941. the way post-Christmas letdown points to the hope of eternity with Jesus
5942. brilliant writers like Jon Bloom who help me see that
5943. a book I wanted for Christmas (N.D. Wilson's Death by Living) on Kindle-sale for $3.99 - and Amazon gift cards to pay for it!
5944. Aldi's knockoff of Candy Cane Joe-Joes
5945. cookie decorating tradition
5947. new games played with family and friends
5948. Honeybaked ham
5949. an evening workout with my mom and *sister-in-law-to-be*...
5950. my brother getting engaged!
5951. matching Christmas outfits
5952. Steve spending hours hashing through hard issues with his brother
5953. new PJs all around
5954. pizza subs with a dear friend from high school
5956. my BIL and SIL's hospitality
5957. a kiss at midnight
5958. getting to carry sleeping boys next door rather than having to load them into carseats
5959. Steve taking care of me when I'm sick
5960. Elijah praying for Mama to feel better
5961. my sickness was short-lived
5962. snuggles with my baby niece
5964. family dinners
5965. the fact that I feel safe, never afraid, when Steve drives
5966. sky at sunset--no showy clouds, just a striking gradient from yellow to deep blue
5967. sliver of moon hanging low in the sky
5968. Jude's delight in being reunited with Clifford
5969. playtime in the snow
5971. a weekend to recover and settle back in
5972. frost crystals on windowpanes
5873. washing our stained and filthy hearts whiter than snow
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3 comments:
Are those cinnamon rolls Pioneer Woman's? I love hers. Made them once, I need to do so again!
I got N. D. Wilson's Tilt-a-whirl book for Christmas, I know you loved it. After reading his ridiculously scathing review of The Hunger Games I feel less inclined to like him but I'll give him a try, ha ha!
Not Pioneer Woman - I think the recipe came from Taste of Home, but we've modified it quite a bit. OK, Steve has modified it...he is the breakfast bread chef in our house :) They were originally "cappuccino cinnamon rolls" but he uses all whole wheat flour and espresso powder in both the filling and the frosting. Thankfully the boys still love them and the caffeine doesn't seem to make them crazy!
I want to try PW's rolls sometime; I've heard they're amazing. I also want to try Smitten Kitchen's cranberry orange rolls! So many recipes, so little time...it's almost as bad as books :P
I didn't see NDW's Hunger Games review, but don't let it poison you. Tilt-a-Whirl was SOOO wonderful!
Death By Living is on my wishlist (if I ever get through all the books I'm pre-reading for school!). Can't wait to hear what you think of it!
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