Gasping With Grace

Gasping with Grace (Part One)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 - 2:24 AM
As I prepare for Thursday Mornings Bible Study, I find myself reading Jill Briscoe's Little Book The New Normal, and finding out just how prevalent it is, this book was written in 2005, four years after 9'11 the day that will mark my generation in perhaps a deeper way than any generation before, but I digress, the book talks about the different 911's you might face, whether it be the death of a loved one, a brioken relationship or any number of things, but whether we believe it or not, the fact of the matterIn Herbrews 11:6 it says6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. There is something in page ten of Jill Briscoes book I want to quote, because it so abtly states what I have experienced in my life:"I was to dicover the peace that wouldn't quit and thay flooded my heart and soul and left me gasping with grace."Gasping with Grace, I love that phrase, Grace is that most amazing ahh feeling when we realize that we have the living God directing our lives.I know those who have gotten so angry with God, that they claim they can no longer believe in him.I am left opened mouth wondering, how you can not believe in something, and yet be angry with someone, and I am wondering what can make someone who was once so strong in faith fall away, I have seen it time and time again and truthfully it is hard to watch, they are left searching, searching for something, that amazing Savior that had once been such a part of their lives.Another 9'll, having someone you love fall away from the faith that you once thought they were so firmly rooted in.Being angry with God or claiming not to believe in Him is not going to change who he is, another quote I found in Briscoes book again sums what is important up well:"It isn't in who is in any Great White House that matters in the end, it is who is on the Great White Throne." BriscoeWe have a tendency to get angry for God, when the reaction is a result of one of our actions, like a child putting a hand on a hot stove, we have a tendency to put our hands, in hot water, but as we grow in faith, we learn not to do that as much, just as a child learns not to touch what is hot.To Be Continued

Author Blog Tour: Mike Delosso

1:) When did you first start writing?I started writing September of 1998. I remember like it was yesterday, where I was, what I wrote, and the emotions surrounding it. Those "early days" of writing are some of my fondest because I was truly writing just for the love and freedom and expression of putting words on paper unhindered. I was exploring my new freedom and was totally uninhibited.
2:) What prompted you to put words to paper?It's a unique story, actually. I never really liked writing. It was not something I enjoyed and "always wanted to do." In September of 1998 my brother-in-law was in a very serious motorcycle accident, wound up in a deep coma, and was not given a promising prognosis at all (death or persistent vegetative state). My wife and I (living in PA) travelled to Albany, NY to visit my sister and Darrell in the hospital and when we got home I was so full of a hodge-podge of emotions I thought I'd burst or do something very extreme. So I did the only thing I could think to do--grab a pen and pad of paper and start writing. And you know what? I haven't stopped since. I've always struggled with stuttering and when I put that pen to paper and started pouring out my heart I found a voice, a fluent voice, I never had before. It was all very liberating. It was freedom. I know it sounds a bit melodramatic but that's because it was and why I remember the day like it was yesterday. Oh, and by the way, Darrell pulled through and is just fine now. Praise the Lord.

Thistles, Rocks and Sin

When I was younger my Dad used to take me rock climbing, (before our relationship became strained) and I felt safe on those rocks that rose hundreds of feet from the earth, because I could feel my Dad's strong arm gripping my hand. I never once fell, he always kept me safe, while my Mom sat back teeth gritting.Sometimes I feel like I am on those rocks again, but these rocks are built with sin, and I need to reach out for my Abba Fathers hands. He reaches out for me when I fall just like my Dad did when I was a little girl on those larger than life rocks.As I was reading Amy Grant's Memoir entiled Mosaic, I came across a quote that I found would fit my thoughts for today. "Sin is alot like a thistle, it can look beautiful to the eye, and be pleasing to the sentence, that you hardly notice the seeds spreading until whole fields are taken over by them." Paraphrase mine.That's alot like the sins in our life one sin will often lead to another until our life is immersed in sin, I am not saying as Christians we will never sin, but as Christians we should be quick to repent. We should not let the sins choke the life out of us, the way the thistles choke the life out of the plants.

A Diviniely Inspired Gift

Well maybe I am a little prejudice, but I am impressed with this young girls talent, I used to teach her in Childrens church, and now our church has closed, and this little girl is now a teen, fourteen, but her voice is impressive to say the least.I am praying that Kennedy continues uses this gift, to sing her praises to the Lord, in this day and age, it is refreshing to see our next generation singing for the Lord.

Valleys Low, Mountains High

We all go through Valleys those places when we feel that our Spirit is dry and it needs a refreshing of the Spirit, I felt that way at the end of my time at my previous church not because of anything the Pastors did, in my opinion they should not have been called out the way they were, fellow members of the church people who called themselves Christian acted in a very unchrist like way, making accusations without the facts to back them up and hurting two of the sweetest people I ever knew, they were both kind and generous, and were called out of the church in a very negative way, but something postive did come out of all of this, after that we decided to move closer to my niece and nephew, which has been a blessing and a trial, getting an eleven year old to do homework is always fun, but I digress, the good thing is I went back to a church I had attended long ago when my niece was little, and I am once again getting that spiritual bread I needed, and my Spirit no longer feels as if it needs a major watering, which in itself is a blesisng.

Encouraged to Be An Encourager

In Jill Briscoes book Spirtual Arts: Mastering the Disciplines for a Rich Spirtual Life Briscoe talks about how we need to be encouraged to be an encourager and I believe that is a large part of the reason I write what I do, whether it is fiction or non fiction, because I want to encourage others, I believe that is a large part of my calling as a Christian. I want to offer hope in situations that may seem impossible to get through with some but the fact of the matter is that what is impossible for man, is possible with God.I pray that I have offered at least a measure of encouragement to the people in my life, though I know there have been times when I have fallen short, times when I have failed, when I have let my flesh get into the way of the working of my Spirit.I know what it is to be encouraged as well, before I went through the death of my best friend, I did not think I could ever get through something like that, but with the comfort of family and friends, and especially with the comfort of the Lord I got through it, and as I write about it I am not only able to help myself heal, but maybe help someone who is going through something similar.

I Believe She Has a Place With Jesus

I Believe She Has A Place with Jesus
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Bhutto, a prominent opposition leader, was assassinated Thursday as she was leaving a political rally, part of her campaign for parliamentary elections scheduled for January 8.Police say a suicide bomber fired shots at Ms. Bhutto, then blew himself up seconds later, killing at least 20 other people. Ms. Bhutto was in an armored car at the moment of the attack, but was exposed, standing up in the sunroof and waving to her supporters. She was rushed to a hospital, but doctors could not revive her. She was 54 years old. http://voanews.com/english/2007-12-28-voa4.cfmSince hearing this news I have been reflecting and praying for this women who I have been following on and off for a few months now. I want to believe that heavens gates opened up to her because in the last monements of her life as she faced death she gave her heart to Jesus, but who am I to say one way or another, what I am going to say is I believe she was doing something good working to change the Pakinstani ways, and I believe in my heart that she does have a place with Jesus, just as Mary Magadelene did, and so many men and women who were not deserving, I believe Jesus was working in her heart from the very start.