The Workings of God In Us Through Love and Grace

“Grace means God accepts me just as I am. He does

not require or insist that I measure up to someone else's

standard of performance. He loves me completely,

thoroughly, and perfectly. There's nothing I can

do to add or detract from that love.”

Mary Graham

What a wonderful concept! It means that his estimation of me is pure. Is not bogged down with the “what if’s” and “should of’s” that seem to torment me on a regular basis. He gives grace purely and freely. He is not like the lion tamer in the circus who holds up a fiery ring for the lion to jump through. He is not waiting for me to do something beyond my own ability something so incredibly amazing that would lead Him to think, “Well I think I'll give her a little bit of grace." She finally has proved herself worthy of my gifts. Then netted knowledge meant on
his part would lead Him to

untie his silken satchel  grace flakes to let them fall down on me like snow.


I grew up in a belief system that said you had to earn grace. This was so daunting; because in spite of all good efforts a person has they invariably fall on their face from time to time. Then what do you do? Do you start at square one with nothing in your treasure box or do you give back some of your flakes as if God were a so-called “Indian Giver.” I know I preached decried here, but, but ever since I began to understand the concept of free gift of grace, I have been bowled over by the beauty of it. I don't have to do anything indaba love me just same. Amazing! God loves me this much!


I was at my Thursday night prayer group meeting, and one of the wise women there, I can't remember who or I would give her credit, said, "God loves you just the way you are, but too much to leave you there." There you have it in a nutshell. God gives freely with no strings attached, not the usual sense of the word, that is Yes, he sees is the way we are, and loves and gives us grace freely anyway. Still, in His loving parenthood, He claims certain parental rights. This means that he becomes the Potter to his child, and steps in to lead us in the right direction. In the process we may feel as though were being led into the “valley of the shadow of death.” But as we all know it is in the Valley and the deep places that we learn. We stumble around and what we think is the darkness of our bad circumstances when all the while God is molding us and creating in us the person that he intended in the first place. I love the metaphor of the Potter. He is the Potter, and we are the clay. I really do love this. After all, what is clay? Here is the definition of clay

• noun:
a very fine-grained soil that is plastic when moist

but hard when fired

• noun:
water soaked soil; soft wet earth

Clay is the raw material that can be molded into the most beautiful vase, or pot, or even ovenware in which the gourmet creation is cooked, but in which it can also be presented in a beautiful way on the table. People, who are at the table, are not only blessed by the nourishment but also by the loveliness of the presentation. This is what God does for us. He molds us and shapes us into something lovely to look at. It applies great heat to us so that inside we will be beautiful and strong as well.


Sometimes the things he does lovingly can be very painful. It can be like having to go to the doctor in order to get something detrimental to our body removed. There is a slight difference because usually you can have an anesthetic to alleviate the pain. The kind of pain that God deals with in us very often is spiritual and emotional and must be felt and endured to get to the healthy place. It is hard when you're in the middle of such an experience to deal with it. Sometimes we lose our sense of faithful and safe reliance on God during these times. We forget our past history of such times when we found out that in the end things do turn out and that God has a reason for what He does. We lose hope, and we fear that nothing will ever be right again.


God is the ultimate, perfect parent. He has no flaws whatsoever in his love or treatment of his children. His purposes are always to our best interests. When we are suffering is hard to remember all of this. Still, it is true. He will never leave us or forsake us; He always has our best interest in mind; He has a plan for us it is the ultimate best for our life and our eternity. How blest we are! In the end, we can always keep in mind how well He knows us. The Bible says that he needed us in the darkness of our mother’s womb and that he had planned for us for all eternity. He knows what we will do in every word before we speak it. Even knows numbers of the hairs on our heads.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Psalm 139:13-15

We can also keep in mind on how much He loves us. We can rely on this fact for all our days and be aware of where He is bringing us. Eternity with Him.

But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory,

the One who lifts my head high.

Psalm 3:3

 Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,

your justice like the great deep.

You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.

7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!

People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 36:5-7

©Corinne Mustafa
    January 30, 2011

Sandpaper People

I was at a meeting a couple of Thursdays ago. It is a group that gathers to pray together. We talk for a while, kind of a check in, to share where we are and what is on our minds. I am a new member, and that night I did not have anything to write on. I have since learned to bring a designated journal with me. As the conversation continues each Thursday there are tidbits of food for thought that I have jotted down to remember so that I can think on them or even write about them as I am doing now. It is not that I plan to write about what people have said for the most part. Rather I just want to share my thoughts about the topic.

My friend mentioned that some people are like sandpaper. Huh? “Well,” she said, “you know they just rub you the wrong way.” She went on to say that she has sandpaper people in her life…people who just drive her over the edge a lot of the time. I could tell by the facial expressions of the other women there that they could relate, as could I. Our friend shared that she has tried to develop a habit of sitting back and watching…looking into the behavior of some of her “S.P.” people. She said that when she did this she could see that someone who might bug her would have a good effect or influence on another person. She could see that when the person who literally drives her nuts interacts with others they might appreciate her and not be rubbed raw by her personality.

She began to understand the idea that how we perceive people is dependent on our unique personalities and backgrounds. She found that being unbiased as she looked, and leaving out idiosyncrasies, enabled her to see the good in that person. She came to understand that certain personality types just cannot be close. She allowed that she may never be a best friend of her sandpaper person, but she could appreciate what she saw when she watched.

When I came home and in the days that followed I began thinking about this concept. Oh, yes, I also have my “S.P.” people. The names are changed here to protect the innocent. LOL! There is Mary Lulu who comes to a meeting and takes over the conversation, telling her story and repeating herself over and over causing others to have a hard time to get a word in edgewise. Another non-favorite of mine is Angelgirl who tells her story as if she's all that and a piece of cake. She never has made a mistake, she is always willing to blow her own horn, and she has her own best friend. Then there is Counselor Courtney. She is the one who listens for maybe a half minute when someone is telling their story and then jumps in with advice and what to do’s for the speaker who is downtrodden and sad. Granted the speaker may not know what to do, but good ole  Courtney doesn't really worry if her advice is something that's appropriate and useful or something that is not even appropriate to the situation. These are just a few of the kinds of people that drive me up a wall. I sit and listen to them gritting my teeth and wishing that someone would get the hook, as an old vaudeville days, and pull them off their soapboxes. And then I sit there feeling guilty for all my negative thoughts. Said negative thought about it is not very conducive to a positive self image. So what's a girl to do?

So here I am at the prayer meeting half wondering what I'm doing here with all these prayer warriors that I cannot hold a candle to, and my friend, Vicki is her name, comes up with this concept about putting your judgments aside and taking an unbiased look at the person who's driving you nuts. You might find out that there's a lot to like about her even if it has to be from afar. I like that. I don't have to be so witchy or negative. So after a little check-in we were all praying, and I ask God to help me to be more accepting about the way I look at people. Well God, who never misses an opportunity to educate, points out to me the uses of sandpaper. I asked him, "What's that, Lord? The Lord whispers ever so quietly in my ear that I should look up the definition of sandpaper. Really? Sometimes it's really hard to understand the Lord; have you ever noticed that?

Being that I can be an obedient child when I choose to be. when I went home I checked into the online dictionary and looked up the definition of sandpaper. This is what I found…

Definition:

strong paper coated with abrasive material:

strong paper coated on one side with sand or another abrasive.

Use:
smoothing surfaces.

       smooth something using sandpaper: 

                 to rub a surface such as a piece of wood or a wall with sandpaper

        which takes away the roughness and makes it smooth.

Oh my gosh, Lord! So this is why you allow me to run up against sandpaper people in my life. It is so I can be smoothed out on some of my own rough edges. You are so clever, Father! Thank you. This is why You are God, and I am not. I promise to try to look at people who are able to rub me raw with new eyes… Eyes that can see their good in spite of the fact that they still get on my nerves.

You know that even Moses had to contend with sandpaper people.
Here is part of the story from Exodus 17: 1-5…

“The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the LORD to the test?” But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” The LORD answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

And these were God’s “chosen people.” Moses dealt with their abrasiveness and their obnoxiousness and still led them to the promised land. If he can do this, why can't I find something good in my sandpaper people?

Heavenly father, let me look upon people with unbiased eyes and see the good in them, even when they are people I would not choose as my best friends. Help me to know that you love them more than anyone else can love them, and hold them as your own children. Let me see that they are precious in your sight, and let them become precious in my sight as well. Amen.

©Corinne Mustafa

    January, 2011

This 'N That for 1/17-1/23/11

Kids say the darndest things...don't you agree?  Here are a few of the things they have said that have been written down.

Jesus' Dad's Name.

A Sunday school teacher asked her class, "What was Jesus' mother's name?" One child answered, "Mary." The teacher then asked, "Who knows what Jesus' father's name was?" A little kid said, "Verge." Confused, the teacher asked, "Where did you get that?" The kid said, "Well, you know, they are always talking about Verge n' Mary."

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KIDS IN CHURCH


3-year-old Reese: "Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is His name. Amen."
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A little boy was overheard praying: "Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am."
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After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong.Finally, the boy replied, "That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys."


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I had been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord's Prayer for several evenings at bedtime.
She would repeat after me the lines from the prayer.Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride
as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer: "Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us from E-mail."


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One particular four-year-old prayed, "And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.


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A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?" One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."


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Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother, Joel, were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had had enough. "You're not supposed to talk out loud in church."
"Why? Who's going to stop me?" Joel asked. Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, "See those two men standing by the door? They're hushers."
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A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. "If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.' Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus!"


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A father was at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand. "Daddy, what happened to him?" the son asked.
"He died and went to Heaven," the Dad replied. The boy thought a moment and then said, "Did God throw him back down?"
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A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" "I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied "Just say what you hear Mommy say," the wife answered. The daughter bowed her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"


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Peace, love and happiness
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HOUSEHOLD HINTS

Grandma's laundry hints came to her rescue often. You will find these old fashioned household tips for laundry helpful. Old Fashioned Laundry Hints



These old-time laundry cleaning tips are taken from a number of vintage publications, including "Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping," "The Perry Home Cook Book," "The White House Cook Book," and "Young's Demonstrative Translation of Scientific Secrets."


Enjoy experimenting with these 19th-century laundry hints. You are sure to find an idea or two that will help you with a laundry problem.




To Remove Ink, Wine Or Fruit Stains
Saturate well in tomato juice; it is also an excellent thing to remove stains from the hands.

To Remove Stains of Claret Wine

As soon as claret is spilt, cover spot with salt. Let stand a few minutes, then rinse in cold water.


To Take Spots from Wash Goods
Try rubbing them with the yolk of egg before washing.


To Remove Fruit Stains
Fruit stains may be taken out by boiling water. Place the material over a basin or other vessel and pour the boiling water from the kettle over the stains.


Pour boiling water over stained surface, having it fall from a distance of three feet. This is a much better way than dipping stain in and out of hot water; or wring articles out of cold water and hang out-of-doors on a frosty night.


Mending Tip
Never put away clean clothes without examining every piece to see whether they are in any way out of order.

Novel Dress Mending

A novel way of mending a woolen or silk dress in which a round hole has been torn, and where only a patch could remedy matters, is the following: The frayed portions around the tear should be carefully smoothed, and a piece of the material, moistened with very thin mucilage, placed under the hole. A heavy weight should be put upon it until it is dry, when it is only possible to discover the mended place by careful observation.


Worn Sheets
When sheets are beginning to wear in the middle, sew the selvage sides together and rip open the old seam, or tear in two and hem the sides.


Remove Bad Smells


Articles of clothing, or of any other character, which have become impregnated with bad-smelling substances, will be freed from them by burying for a day or two in the ground. Wrap up lightly before burying.

Sounds like they were very creative in the 19th and early 20th centuries

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Some funny pictures for you

Blonde IQ test...
with apologies to blonde readers.

                                                           PURRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

Western Granny

I have never seen one quite like this granny.

Ain't nothing gonna keep this old girl down!
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Let me leave you with a thought.


God has placed each of us here on loan. He does ask for us back at some point,

Shared by Corinne Mustafa

Out of the Mouths of Babes

This is an excerpt taken from a poem that I wrote for children in December…

Because Jesus did love children

A fact none could ever deny

He praised their purity saying

All should become as small fry.

Jesus told the grownups there

“Let the children come to Me.

They are the sweet and innocent ones

Of this world, you see.”

“Gather Round Me Children”

© Corinne Mustafa

12/10

I recently heard three stories about some grandchildren of a couple of my friends. Kathy had gone to the snow and rented a cabin for her sons and their family. The children are Jackson who is five, Lila who is two, and baby Allie who's not quite a year old. The little one, Lila, was to say a prayer of grace, and she squinted her little eyes up kind of like she was trying to think, and said the squeaky little voice “Oh God,” and she proceeded to say her prayer was such a little scrunchy look on her face as she tried to make the best prayer she could get. I wasn't there, but sounded beautiful to me. At another meal, when it was Jackson's turn, he also scrunched his face up and spoke in his little squeaky voice. He told everyone around the table that he believed that he was supposed to sing his grace prayer. And so he did. When he was done he asked his father, “What did you like best about my prayer?” His daddy told him," Well, Jackson, I think I liked it best when you told us that you wanted to sing your prayer. But I'm wondering why you thought you should sing the prayer." Jackson answered, "Daddy, Jesus just put it in my heart." Isn't a great when you know that the Holy Spirit is speaking into the heart of a child? No wonder Jesus loved the children so much.

Last night we had a party at our house. Len was telling about his grandson, Vincent. Vincent is 11 now, but at the time this happened he was three years old. Everyone bowed their heads say a prayer before the meal, and they were all looking down. Len took a little peek at what Vincent was doing, and this is what he saw. Little Vincent was searching the faces of all of his relatives who were praying. He looked up, and he looked down. When the prayer was over, he asked his grandpa, "Is Jesus in the floor?" When Len said no, he then asked why everybody was looking down, and why were they not looking up? How adorable is that? And, what a clever question! Yes, out of the mouths of babes…

Here are a couple of items that I found online of the words of children that I think you will enjoy…

    Drawing God

A kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they drew. She would occasionally walk around to see each child's artwork. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied, "I'm drawing God." The teacher paused and said, "but no one knows what God looks like." Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing the girl replied, "They will in a minute."

   Pastor's Kids

A boy was watching his father, a pastor, write a sermon." How do you know what to say?" he asked. "Why, God tells me", the father replied. "Oh, then why do you keep crossing things out?"

I am thinking that God delights in our mistaken conclusions as we try to figure out our lives and why things are as they are. He sees our search just as we see the search of our own little ones.There are thousands of stories about the innocence of children as they look at life. I have to admit that at one time…when I was about three or four…I thought that fog actually had a horn. I had always heard the sound of the fog horn because I was growing up in Rhode Island. Trust me, there is a lot of fog in Rhode Island! I knew that there was a crash in thunder and a whoosh in wind. Lots of things in nature made sounds. Why shouldn’t fog have its own built in horn? It was an imperfect conclusion birthed in error based on some clues that seemed to me to point to fog actually having its own horn. My parents were surprised when they figured out what I believed about a fog horn. It is one of the stories of our family that are passed on.

God is collecting our stories and keeping them in a treasury of stories about His children. We are His precious creations, and like earthly parents He pays attention to the precious little things that we do. The words of our mouth must be blameless and pure. It is our job to be sure that the things we do are precious in His sight.

This brings to mind the song that the children sing…

“Jesus loves the little children

All the children of this world

Red and yellow black and white

We are precious in his sight”

Jesus loves the little children of this world.”

The Bible says…

He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: 

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children,

you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child             

is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:2-4 (NIV)

SO HOW ARE YOU DOING?

Written by Corinne Mustafa

Two Horses

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it. From a distance, each looks like every other horse. But if someone stops the car, or is walking by, she will notice something quite amazing. Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him. This alone is amazing.

Listening, one will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, one will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to her bridle is a small bell. It lets her blind friend know where she is, so he can follow her.

As one stands and watches these two friends, one sees how she is always checking on him, and that he will listen for her bell and then slowly walk to where she is trusting that she will not lead him astray.

Like the owner of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges. He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need.

Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by God and those whom he places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others see God.

Which one will you be this week?

"I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame."
Job 29:15

Shared by Corinne Mustafa

Love the challenges....

“This morning, snow wrapped every tree and rock in soft white, and promised to keep the outline of distant hills hidden against a gray sky. But it could not keep its promise. After a few hours the sun came out and turned it all into nature's jewelry, beautiful dew gems sparkling on the grass. We can be so busy that we miss the little things that sweeten life, the way a pet waits to be noticed, the way an owl, hoots in the woods, and a blue jay chortles in the middle of winter. It is a lovely thing to turn away from busy work to pay attention to our loved things and loved ones. We know how we wait to be told we are important. We should never wait to say or think something beautiful that will make someone's day easier and more secure…”

Joyce Sequichie Hifler

I found this writing from the Cherokee Feast of Days for January 2, 2011. I know that many of you find the snowy days hard to love because of the difficulties of life that snow brings. It slows us down. It is a challenge to even get out your door to get to the car and even harder to get out your driveway after the plows have passed. Walking is perilous with danger to limb and life.

Could we be too busy to notice the “sunny” side of the snow storm and the warmth of understanding that comes from one? Poets have written about the eye candy that a big snow provides to those who can dedicate some time to see it. Here is a darling poem written by Sam, a twelve year old boy, in hopes of a Snow Day from school.

Snow Day

Snow is falling to the ground

Piling up in enormous mounds

School is cancelled for the day

Children run outside to play

Snowballs are thrown in the air

No one has any care

About school-only fun

Because the day is a snowy one

Snowmen are stacked very high

Their top hats almost skim the sky

To make them round they must pat

Then finish off with mittens and hat

As the weather gets cold

The children are told

To come inside and eat

Hot chocolate with a couple treats

 

Once the kids are done

They put on their gear for some more fun

Some of them play around

While other kids just lay on the ground

Another kid makes snow angels

Until the dog named Bojangles

Ran through his masterpiece

But then the owner yelled cease

After Bojangles

Ruined all the snow angels

Kids slid down the hill

‘Til they were bitten by a chill

Almost over is the day

The children start to walk away

As snow falls, so does the sun

Time to go in, the day is done

© Sam D

This brings to mind the words of Jesus about little children from the poem that I wrote for children during December. I called it “Gather Round Me Children,” and it told about the birth and purpose of Jesus and how important children were to Him.

Because Jesus did love children

A fact none could ever deny

He praised their purity saying

All should become as small fry.

Jesus told the grownups there

“Let the children come to Me.

They are the sweet and innocent ones

Of this world, you see.”

These words find basis in the Bible in the following verse...

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,

for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Matthew 19:14

So Jesus has given us our walking papers. The kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are innocent like little children. Does that mean that when we turn twenty-one that we are forced by our new adulthood to get out of the line into heaven? This is hardly so. All we have to do is to maintain a maturity filled with innocence and sweetness. Then the kingdom of heaven will be possessed and shared by people of all ages from children to the elderly.

This brings me back to where I began. Discussing the ability to see beauty and wisdom in things that could be construed as a total botheration. Children play and laugh in the snow. They take time to fall backward onto the snow and make snow angels. They find joy where adults lament the inconvenience. We need to remember to think the following thoughts…

Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

This thinking will lead us to be powerhouses in the fight to maintain innocence and will also lead us to fulfill the following from Joyce Sequichie Hifler …

“We should never wait to say or think something beautiful

that will make someone's day easier and more secure…”

May you enjoy 2011 as a year of innocence and coming alongside for all who have the wonderful blessing of being present on your path.


Written by Corinne Mustafa