Grace, grace, God's grace

Rebecca and John John...he adores her, and well he should. Who else would play tic tac toe with him if not for Becca?
I cannot remember what Rachel and Sarah Beth thought was so hysterical, but I love this picture so much. Sarah Beth and Spunky...quite a pair.
I have not yet convinced Hannah that she can drink her hot chocolate instead of sipping it with a spoon. Do other people's children do this? (And yes, John John is eating cereal directly from the container.)

We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all--all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help. Hebrews 4:15-16 (The Message)

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 (NASB)

The IMB Moscow ladies (I can't figure out another way to put that...sorry) have started meeting every Tuesday for lunch, prayer and Bible study. I cannot tell you what an answer to prayer this has been. Those who are closest to me in the world know that I have longed and prayed for connection to other women in this city. We are studying Colossians right now--kind of nice for me, since I did a study of Colossians about two months ago--and on Tuesday, I was struck by something that one of the ladies said. She said that growing up in the church, she did not know about God's grace for living. Grace for salvation, yes, but not for living. It struck a chord in me. Do I really understand God's grace? I did a word study of 'grace' for the rest of the week, and you see one of my favorites above. I wonder sometimes whether in times of need we actually draw near to the throne of grace and ask for help, or do we shout it from a distance? Do we want Jesus to come to us, or do we draw near to Him? I don't know the answer to that for everyone, but more and more I am contemplating how to draw near to the throne of grace.

The last month of our lives has not been an easy one. There have been some great things, to be sure, but there has also been lots of traveling for Marc (he's in Chebaksary now) and discontentedness for the rest of us. (I am thinking of banning the saying, 'it's not fair' from the household.) We have struggled with Marc's absence, with school, with our emotions, with each other. And I find myself praying, "Lord, I know You are tired of me coming to You about this, but could You just give me enough grace to get through this moment? I know You're so sick of us and our complaining and our failure and our moods and our chaos, but please...just a little more grace?" And you know what? I'm pretty sure after studying His grace a little more in-depth that He is never tired of me coming to Him. He has an abundance of grace. More than I can comprehend. More than I can understand. And certainly more than I can exhaust. It turns out that His grace is bigger and more powerful than any of the millions of things I bring to Him in the course of a day. As I contemplated that this week, I was overwhelmed by it. Staggered. Thankful.

What about you? Isn't it awesome to know that our God's love and mercy and grace and compassion is never-ending? No matter what you've done in the past. No matter what you do in the future. His grace is enough for it all. Now that's something to be thankful for this holiday season! Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are resting in the knowledge that God's grace is more than you'll ever need, and that you are sipping a cup of Starbucks while two of your three children are still asleep. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye