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Thankful Thursday ~ Grace

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” ~ Romans 5:1-2 (ESV – emphasis mine)

Have you ever looked up the word grace in the dictionary? I did this week. Here are two of 8 definitions from Webster’s website:

1 a: unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification b: a virtue coming from God c: a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace.
2 a: approval , favor barchaic : mercy , pardon c: a special favor : privilege d: disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency e: a temporary exemption : reprieve

Isn’t it cool that ever Webster states that grace comes from God? What really surprised me was that grace and mercy are interchangeable? I guess I still have a lot to learn about the English language.

Grace is a beautiful word, especially if we put feet to grace. Here is my list why I am thankful for grace, not only grace from God, but grace extended to me by family and friends…

  • Thank you Lord for Your grace. I know that I do not deserve that Christ died for my sins so I may spend eternity with You. If it were up to me, I know I would end up in the pit…

  • I am thankful that even though I sometimes say things that are not gracious, my beloved extends grace to me…

  • I am thankful that my BBF Laurel and I were able to settle an issue. The problem was that I did not take to heart James 1:19. I am thankful that Laurel was able to see past my faults, extended grace to me…

  • I am thankful that God left the best ‘instruction book’ for life there is, with us. Because of the Bible I am able to ‘hear’ Him extending grace to me every.single.day (or in the middle of the night)…

  • I am thankful that throughout the week God sends me reminders via music that His love is all about grace…

What are you thankful for this week? Please share with us in leaving your link below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember: God has extended grace to you, pay it forward…

Thankful Thursday Participants

1. Lynn (Spiritually Unequal Marriage)
2. It’s All About Him!
3. Melanie
4. To Know Him
5. mama meji
6. Laurie @ womentakingastand
7. Peggy@aMazingGrace…
8. Cheryl@ Hope
9. Nancie
10. Mrs. Cuddles
11. Kristi-Kikis Corner
12. Felicity @ The Voie of FMLL
13. Linda
14. Crystal (Sweet Peace)
15. Angie
16. Tonya @ Safe In His Arms
17. Kat
18. Laurie Ann
19. Denise
20. Dawn’s Daily Life
21. Willnette
22. Carrie – Oak Rise Cottage
23. Amy (Kings Table)
24. Jerri @ Jerri’s Journey
25. Lea
26. Mary
27. Susan @ Borrowed Freedom
28. alihsee @ remember the moments
29. mom2my9 (Developmental Delay)
30. Tanya @ texastanya.net
31. Esthermay
32. Devita
33. Melinda @ Shore’s End		 34. Pia @ My Life\’s Journey
35. Lori ~ Simple Life at Home
36. Jenn
37. Rocks
38. Kim
39. Mariposa
40. Stacy – rough week
41. Amanda Bowers
42. Debra
43. Ann
44. Tammy
45. Sandy @Jesus and Dark Chocolate – Fall
46. Heather @ Not a DIY Life
47. He & Me 3
48. Transparent Life
49. Denise @ Teacups & Time
50. Trina @ Daddy’s Chick’s
51. Jill – award for you 🙂
52. Holly
53. Willow
54. lambofHisflock
55. Dana
56. Tracey @ Cheese and Whine
57. Sherry(@myjourney)
58. Tracy @ Thirsty for Him
59. Chelsey at Joyfully Living
60. junewren@aol.com
61. Mama Bear
62. Newlyweds
63. Tami @ The Next Step
64. Patricia@Typing One-Handed
65. Kim @ Scattered Stones
66. genny		 67. Tarah
68. bvoylesal@aol.com
69. Marsha
70. Tea with Tiffany
71. Bonnie @ Thugater
72. Tracy @ Seed Thoughts
73. Schotzy
74. Lisaluvslife
75. Erica
76. Debbie @ Heart Choices
77. Donetta at a life uncommon
78. Sab
79. Leanne from Canada
80. BP @ Raindrops & Rainbows
81. Ruth A Stiles
82. Darlene @ Everything to Me
83. LaDonna
84. Jennifer @ Through The Storms of Life
85. Nichole (Heart 4 My Home)
86. Elizabeth Sue@ Wife Happens
87. Michele
88. Beth
89. Cheryl
90. Mommy Magee
91. Marcia
92. Vanessa
93. Miss Ellie for feelin’ feminine
94. Heather
95. I’m Free
96. Sherry
97. Tessa @ Jesus-Filled Hope

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Back to Basics

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” ~ Psalm 19:14 (ESV)

Humanity is looking for something – something better. We are all searching for hope – for an ‘easier’ life – for purpose. The problem is that we sometimes look in the wrong places.

From where I am standing, life is hard. Yes, I struggle with life, with people, with circumstances, with every day ‘stuff’. I would lie if I’d tell you that life is ‘peachy’. Let me share my secret on how to travel the road of life. Let me introduce you to my personal ‘self-help’ book I refer to daily. It gives me strength, peace, comfort, joy, hope, direction. I am confident that the Author of this particular ‘self-help’ book is trustworthy. You are wondering what I am talking about? The Bible of course.

Some might say that the Bible does not apply to today’s society; it is too ancient, times have changed. I beg to differ. God is still God; humans are still the same as they were thousands of years ago. Nothing has changed. Except that 2,000 years ago, God provided a way ‘out’. He sent His one and only Son to die for the sins of this world…to give us a hope, a future.

Over the past two years many self-help and New Age books have flooded the market. What concerns me is that we, as believers get caught up with the masses. Even some Christian authors forsake the Truth to market their books – to have a book on the “Hot Seller” list. The Gospel message is rewritten to appeal to the masses.

Let me tell you: the Gospel message is appealing to the masses by itself. There is nothing more pure, full of truth to read God’s promise in John 3:16-17 (ESV):

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

There are different translations of the Bible out there. It can get confusing. Do your own research on which Bible translation is best for you. All Bibles are translated from the original languages Hebrew and Greek. The difference is that the translations are either word for word (NASB, KJV, NKYV, ESV, NRSV, NAB), thought for thought (NIV, NLT, NJB, CEV), or paraphrased (TLB and MSG). No matter which translation, it is God’s Truth, the best ‘self-help’ book on the market. Get back to basics – no New Age book can come even close…

My friend Lynn posted a very thought provoking post on Monday. Over the last couple of days I prayed if I should blog about my own thoughts – on what is going on in the Christian (writing) community; what unbelievers think of Christians. The more I prayed, the clearer it became – I have to. I hope that God will give me courage to share more of my thoughts over next several weeks. How about you? I would love to hear about your own thoughts…

Blessings to you and as always…

Footnote – Bible Translation:
CEV Contemporary English Version, ESV English Standard Version, KJV King James Version, MSG The Message (Eugene Peterson), NAB New American Bible (Catholic), NASB New American Standard Bible, NIV New International Version, NJB New Jerusalem Bible (Catholic), NKJV New King James Version, NLT New Living Translation, NRSV New Revised Standard Version, TLB The Living Bible (Kenneth Taylor).

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Welcome to “Grace Alone…”

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

After almost 3 years being known as “Sting My Heart” around the blogsphere, I was convinced that it was time to change the name and the look of my personal blog. But “why?” some of you might ask. How can I disobey God? He put it on my heart to make this drastic change…

Let me be honest with you; I struggled over the past 6 months. I had a hard time adjusting to our son being all grown. I was doing well…so I thought. “Empty Nest” syndrome hit like a ton of bricks 6 months after Daniel moved out.

I felt empty…I had a hard time adjusting to being ‘just a wife’…Two weeks ago everything changed. A new outlook on things. Believe me, that did not come from me; it was a God ‘thing’. He softly spoke to my heart — “You are not ‘just a wife’. You are still a mom, a daughter, a sister, a friend. And you are MINE!” I finally surrendered EVERYTHING.

After that morning I knew I had to rename my blog; give it a new ‘face’. I wasn’t sure about the name. Many names rattled in my head, but GRACE was always one word that stuck.

I emailed a couple of my blogging friends to see if they could help out renaming my blog. Darlene said something profound; it reminded me of the morning when my Lord spoke to my heart:

“I love “Grace Alone…” with the dot dot dot at the end because it says so much. It is a continuation of thoughts. Grace Alone carries you through, Grace Alone brightens your day, Grace Alone gives you strength…”

All I could say “Amen”. His grace saw me through the days of my ’empty nest’. His grace gave me strength. His grace brighten my days…His grace was/is sufficient for me in my weaknesses…

I want to thank my blogging friends Laurel, Lynn, Angie, Jamie and Darlene for their prayers and encouragement over the past 6 months — your prayers meant the world to me.

I hope that you, my dear sisters in Christ, will enjoy the new blog. I pray that He will give me words of encouragement to share with you.



PS: If you by chance have ‘Sting my Heart’ on your blogroll, could you please change the name to “Grace Alone…”? Thank you so much 🙂

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Thankful Thursday ~ Freedom

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”
~ Romans 8:18-21 (ESV emphasis mine)

Since we are celebrating this up-coming weekend Independence Day in the US, I thought about the word ‘Freedom’ or being ‘Free’. For me, true freedom only comes by knowing Jesus.

As you are celebrating this weekend, think about that freedom always comes with a price. Thankfully my way to heaven has been purchased with the blood of Christ. So, this week, my thankful list includes (but is not limited to)…

  • Lord, thank You for providing a way to spend eternity with You. Thank you for sending Your son to die in my place; to give me true freedom…

  • I am thankful that I live in a country where I can still worship Who I want to worship. Although it is getting harder to not get in trouble for mentioning the name of Jesus, I can still do it without going to prison…

  • I am thankful that I can still read my Bible freely at work if I choose to…

  • I am thankful that my beloved and I can freely move around in this country without any papers that give us permission to travel. Although traveling is getting expensive – remember that my family in Germany is paying roughly $8.00/gallon…

  • I am thankful that my family in Germany has the same freedom – freedom to move around, read the Bible, and worship the Lord of lords…

  • I am thankful for members of the military that have given up their own freedom to help others in the world to experience the same freedom…

  • And I am thankful that I can freely share my faith here on my blog for the world to see that there is hope…

What are you thankful for this week? Please do share with us in leaving your link below.

Thank you for stopping by today – and remember this Independence Day to thank our Lord for the true freedom He so freely gave for us at the cross…

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Thankful Thursday Participants

1. MyThreeDaughters
2. Gina’s Public Diary
3. Stacy
4. Lisa@blessedwithgrace
5. mama meji
6. Felicity
7. Cheryl @ Hope
8. janet2
9. Melanie
10. Angela
11. Karen (I have so much to be thankful for!)
12. Gina @ chats with an old lady
13. Laurie @ womentakingastand
14. ari_1965
15. Serendipity & Happy
16. BP @ Raindrops & Rainbows
17. Chelsey ~ Joyfully Living
18. Peggy@Mazes,Messes,Miracles…aMazing Grace
19. Susan @ Forever His
20. Angie
21. Pia @ My Life’s Journey
22. Dawn’s Daily Life
23. on the Rock
24. Beth@The Accidental Pharisee
25. Day to Day Miracles
26. Steven and Aisha
27. Blessed One
28. Natalija
29. Miriam Pauline		 30. Lori ~ Simple Life at Home
31. Liza’s Eyeview
32. Paula
33. Mamasmurf (Chrissy)
34. Sharon
35. Dorothy Bowen Klass
36. Heather @ Not a DIY Life
37. Renee@In Christ Alone
38. Ann/mom2HandH
39. Kim aka GoofyMamma
40. Mary
41. Cheryl
42. Tracy @ Thirsty for Him
43. Lea
44. Beverly (by Grace)
45. Laurie Ann
46. sHaE-sHaE
47. alihsee
48. Heather@mommymonk
49. Rosheeda
50. Brianna
51. Michelle
52. Kristi at Kiki\’s Corner
53. lori@allyouhavetogive
54. Millie
55. Kathleen Marie
56. Beth/Mom2TwoVikings
57. toknowhim
58. Jendi		 59. Dori
60. Tea with Tiffany
61. It’s All About Him!
62. Nancy @ Homemade Blessings
63. Kim @ Scattered Stones
64. The Homemaker- A woman found
65. Tami @ The Next Step
66. Erica
67. Janet @ Daily Provision
68. Tammy @breaths of faith
69. Katy Lin
70. Nise’
71. L.H.@Virtuous Living Rocks
72. Mommy Magee
73. Stacy
74. Kathy
75. Jane Anne@Gravity of Motion
76. SharonB
77. bvoylesal@aol.com
78. Donetta at a life uncommon (kids laundry)
79. Jia@ColorMeUntypical
80. Marsha
81. Abby
82. Jessica
83. Willnette
84. Irene *The GreenGreek*
85. Rabia
86. Leanne from Canada!

Learn more about Thankful Thursday here.

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