GRACE (by Laura Story)

My heart is so proud. My mind is so unfocused.
I see the things You do through me as great things I have done.
And now You gently break me, then lovingly You take me
And hold me as my Father and mold me as my Maker.

Chorus:
I ask you: "How many times will You pick me up, when I keep on letting you down?
And each time I will fall short of Your glory, how far will forgiveness abound?"
And You answer: " My child, I love you.
And as long as you're seeking My face, You'll walk in the pow'r of My daily sufficient grace."

At times I may grow weak and feel a bit discouraged,
knowing that someone, somewhere could do a better job.
For who am I to serve You?I know I don't deserve You.
And that's the part that burns in my heart and keeps me hanging on.

Chorus*
I ask you: "How many times will you pick me up, when I keep on letting You down?
And each time I will fall short of Your glory, how far will forgiveness abound?"
And You answer: " My child, I love you.
And as long as you're seeking My face, You'll walk in the pow'r of My daily sufficient grace."
You are so patient with me, Lord.

As I walk with You, I'm learning what Your grace really means.
The price that I could never pay was paid at Calvary.
So, instead of trying to repay You, I'm learning to simply obey You
By giving up my life to you for all that You've given to me.

The Highland Games with Madison and Uncle Steve!

Stone Mountain in October...Scottish Highland Games...Beautiful, fall day with temperature in the 70s...Gorgeous autumn sky and sun...There's something about the way the sunlight falls through the changing leaves that just makes me happy.  We met Stephen there and brought sweet Maddie along with us. She is such fun to take with us on outings. We need to do that more often.

On our way into the park.  Bagpipes were playing loudly...

One of the many Highland bands...pipes and drums!

Meeting up with Uncle Stephen...Maddie warmed up soon after.

Maddie was fascinated by the hawk.

Scotland of Old...lots of culture today!

Tartans of many clans

McLaughlin/MacLachlan...same difference

People take their roles seriously here at the Games

Listening to Scottish rock music and taking a coloring break!

These guys were good!

A Scottish Lady

Poor "Whack-a-Knight"

John and Stephen really did eat Haggis and Chips (sheep meat cooked in a sheep stomach) Ewww!

The athletes toss a caber (looks like a telephone pole to me)

Balancing the extremely heavy caber

Tossing it! It has to fall to the other side to count.

Maddie loves her some "diet"...

Grandmommy...I found an acorn and a pine cone!

Maddie wasn't too crazy about this swordfight.

Just too much fun!

Quiet ride home.

Faithfulness

"Blessed is the man whose delight is...the law of the Lord...he shall be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, ready to bring forth fruit in its season; its leaf shall not fade and wither and everything he does will prosper" from Psalm 1

The following is a devotional that got my attention.  Oh, to be faithful to God like this and gain the rewards and blessings He has for me. I've got a lot of work and soul-searching to do. I am weak.


Faithfulness
". . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve."   ~Joshua 24:15

Is there a god that you need to lay down?  A god that will prevent you from living out your God-given potential and destiny?  Are there any idols that lurk in your heart?
God will be faithful to us if we are faithful to Him and His ways.  Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
 

Is God truly our first love?  Are we willing to lay everything that is important and valuable to us down at the foot of the cross to serve Him?
If our answer is "yes," then we exchange our ways for His, which are much higher and which include rewards far greater than we can earn on our own.

The question then becomes, "Do we truly trust God to deliver?"
If the answer is again "yes," then we will embark on an adventure of loving and serving Him on a whole new level that will result in fresh assignments, fresh revelation, fresh opportunities for trusting Him in new areas, fresh opportunities to overcome obstacles and greater measures of blessings to receive, pressed down, shaken together and running over (Luke 6:38).  Is this not life worth living?  This is indeed God's finest for us, and it is anything but boring!

Faithfulness requires discipline in the journey, and it requires a cleansing of the heart at the outset.  Anything less will harbor a contamination that will ultimately lead us to stumble and fall and possibly to not even finish the race God has set before us.  At the very least, the journey will be rocky.

Faithfulness is obedience that builds trust in relationships.  "Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness.  Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped . . . and serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:14).

Devotional by M. Mitchell