Grace 'n Grounds

Encouragement Grounded in His Truth

Encouragement grounded in Scripture
Rooted in truth. Anchored in Christ.
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  • Are you a “bumper sticker” Christian?

    I had some extra time between counseling placements. Rare time. Shuffling between many different schools and offices means a ton of driving time, and less time to actually run the errands I need to get done to make these sessions (and home life) a success. Less than 1 mile to my intended destination. 1 mile. Should take about 10 min. To get to where I needed to be. To get that last errand complete before the mad dash to the next spot I needed to be. With some time to spare.

    I wasn’t in a huge hurry. I wanted to relish this time I didn’t often get, and so I must have zoned out right before that light turned green. Or so the loud blare from the beeping behind me let me know.

    And I must have certainly been in some kind of euphoric mood to completely misunderstand that the lady who backed into the space in the parking lot, wasn’t backing in-she was trying to turn around. In the middle of the parking lot. Her cursing and middle finger salute should have told me I was completely misunderstanding her intentions.

    Everyone was in such a hurry, and was just truly so mean about it, that the encounter with the backed-in lady nearly brought me to tears.

    How could this type of temper and anger be our norm in our daily interactions, even in traffic? But I recalled a time when I used to be the same way. Giving people that same salute, and yelling at them when they cut me off, didn’t use a turn signal or drove too slow. I am a reformed road-rager.

    The power perceived when receiving that first set of keys is amazing. There is an independence and a freedom that comes from being able to freely get in and go where one wants. A power that often takes control of our choices, and even our interactions.

    But there are rules.

    There is also power in anger. Its strength can be amazing. It can move people to act. Break rules.

    It can also be damaging. Damaging to your witness.

    I drive a yellow vehicle. My personalized license plate announces my trust in Him. I have stickers on the back professing the power of the cross, and letting drivers know that it is Jesus before myself. But if I start to act sideways in that car, I could damage any view others have of Christ.

    I can put all the pretty stickers I want on that automobile, but if I drive it with anger and hate in the drivers seat, those stickers are well….just decorations. Nice things to look at. Nothing more than a bumper sticker.

    And I don’t want to be a “bumper sticker” Christian. I want to be truly like Him, at all times. Including when confronted in a dollar store parking lot.

    So, how did I handle that finger-flicking rager. I simply waved. I rolled into my spot, and as she blew off in a tizzy, I prayed for her. For her safety; and that of the kids in the back seat. Prayed her kids didn’t witness this, and prayed that once she got to her destination, more than likely frazzled and angered; that she met Jesus there in someone else. That her encounter with me wasn’t the last one with Him.

    This is how we become more than just mere “bumper stickers.”

  • I Won’t Give Up

    I went on a decluttering and cleaning spree the last couple weeks. All in an effort to get the Christmas decorations up. In my sorting I came across the vision board I put together at the beginning of the year. One I had put together with pictures and notes of things I had a desire to accomplish. To finally start and finish.

    I had come out of a dark time. When I sat down and began to dream dreams. Those placed on my heart some time ago, and never finished; I knew I was not going to let anything stop me from using my voice. My gifts. My talents.

    For pursuing and working in the purpose He had for me.

    Circumstances may keep us from completing our mission. People may even try. But here is the truth:

    And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28, NLT

    God. God calls us. God will continue to work through you despite the circumstances or roadblocks put before you.

    God does that.

    I can do all things
    Through Christ who gives me strength
    So keep on saying I won’t
    And I’ll keep proving you wrong -“Say I Won’t,”MercyMe

    This song was one I played over and over as I came out of that dark place. Out of the place man may have placed me in. Over the roadblocks put in my way. The circumstances that had me believing that He had finished working through me.

    He hasn’t yet. And he hasn’t finished with you. Keep moving. Keep dreaming dreams. And allowing Him to use you. Tell those who think you don’t have what it takes, or that God hasn’t given you strength to continue that you won’t give up until His work is done.

    I do not own the rights to video or music.

  • It’s All About the Heart

    “Yes, she is a pastor.”

    “Oh, really? I never would have guessed that.”

    This was the response received in the cabinet section at the local home improvement store. The comment made when my husband advised the sweet lady of my second “vocation.” It wasn’t the first time I had been told this. It was a comment I heard as I got one of my many tattoos. A comment I hear quite often, actually.

    This time, I simply smiled. Went about the cabinet selection business with manners and kindness, but on my way home began to wonder, What exactly is a pastor supposed to “look” like?

    Since for me the Bible is my standard for living, and the place I turn to for guidance, I looked for Scriptural evidence that pointed to some means of dress or appearance that pastoral staff should adhere to. Some likeness that a pastor should possess. Was it dress? Was it appearance? Was it how they wore their hair? Jewelry? What is it?

    First, I went to the reference many use when determining “appropriate” dress for clergy, especially that of women. Now. Let’s be real. We critique the dress of women far more than we ever do men. How their hair is worn. Whether it is long or short. Too much makeup, or not enough. Choice of clothes. Body types. We do not do this to men, or nearly as often. So, here we go:

    And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do. 1 Timothy 2:9-10, NLT

    However, this is mostly taken out of context, because anytime we use Scripture to make a point, or when trying to determine what God says on a subject, we must also take into account the historical and contextual evidence at the time as well. Paul was not talking to EVERY woman. He was talking to those who were placing their value in material things. In expensive jewels and clothes. It had nothing to do with dress. It had nothing to do with hair.

    To clear this up, look at The Message version: And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.

    Paul is saying, “Be holy. Do the work of God, and stop worrying about your appearance. You will be beautiful, because you are working for Him, not because you dress a certain way.”

    We don’t get this message because we focus on appearance. Our human nature is to focus on what is outside. We focus on hair. We focus on clothes. We focus on jewelry. Someone’s home. Cars. Jobs. And yes, even tattoos.

    When what God focuses on…is none of those things.

    So what a pastor “looks” like, pours from that-his or her heart.

    A pastor looks like Jesus. Not in appearance. Because I look nothing like him in physical appearance. But I do in heart. In action. In speech. In how I love on others. How I work for justice. How I forgive. How I help. How I use my voice.

    Because I remember also hearing this when I told someone I had become a pastor: “That doesn’t seem too far-fetched. You were always taking up for the less than when we were younger.”

    Back then, I didn’t look much different. My hair was a different shade. It still had the same unruly curls. I had no tattoos. I didn’t dress in the same way as my peers. I wore big earrings. I didn’t speak differently than I do now. I had the same dialect, and at times…well, I was loud. I spoke up with passion that was seen as anger. And, well…I may now have better word choices-but at the core, the personality is still the same. The same hair adorns my head in a different shade. I have tattoos. And my dialect is still strong. My voice still loud, passionate, and dying to be heard when speaking for those whose voices aren’t asked to be at the table. I am still the same young girl, just not ruled by the desires of the world. I still look like her, I just love like Him.

    That, my friends, is what a pastor “looks” like.

    They “look” like one called to reach the least of these. With the personality and gifts God has created in them. They “look” like their Jesus. With the love to reach those who need to know that they too are loved for who God created them to be. Not who the world thinks they should “look” like.

    They may just “look” like me.

  • Welcomed As You Are

    Saturday morning started as any other morning. Cleaning. Listening to music. The same playlist I always listen to. And then I heard it. A song. One I had undoubtedly added because at some point it had touched me in much the same way it was now. Had me stop. Think about the words. These words:

    There’s no need for any hiding
    In the Father’s house you’re met with open arms
    And He gives grace without conditions
    As you are, with nothing else, just come. -Life.Church Worship

    It made me think of a story. A story of another father.

    To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began. Luke 15:11-25, NLT

    Maybe you won’t come because you left. You left and squandered what you were given. You were living with the pigs and now you are worried what people will say.

    Maybe you don’t know a father like the one described in this story, so you can’t even imagine one welcoming you this way. Yours was critical. His love was conditional. Only given if you met certain expectations. Maybe he was even absent. Or he’s not a father you want to be like.

    But this story doesn’t describe him. It describes your Heavenly Father.

    And He welcomes you. As you are. And He won’t leave you there.

    Come as you are. Let Him love you. Change you. Make you new. 

    And to hear the other songs that speak to me, and make up the Saturday morning cleaning playlist, you can listen here:

  • WWJD: Do Good Anyway

    Though they stumble, they will never fall,
        for the Lord holds them by the hand. Psalm 37:24, NLT

    David. David was the chosen King. Anointed to be King as a young boy, at the surprise of his brothers. His brothers who all believed they should be chosen. They were older. Stronger. David was just a shepherd boy. A runt.

    David. The man with a colored past. An adulterer. Who covered up his sin by sending the woman’s husband to be killed. A murderer. Yet, still chosen.

    The writer of many Psalms. Both beautiful and angry. He was hunted by men who believed he should pay for his past. Who believed he was unworthy to be a king. No good. That God had made a mistake.

    Saul believed God had made a mistake. But David and God knew differently.

    See, David had failed in many ways. He knew he had. But, prior to his writing of his many praises. His many songs, he has his reckoning with God. He came clean. David confessed his sins.

    But God was not at all pleased with what David had done, and sent Nathan to David. Nathan said to him, “There were two men in the same city—one rich, the other poor. The rich man had huge flocks of sheep, herds of cattle. The poor man had nothing but one little female lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up with him and his children as a member of the family. It ate off his plate and drank from his cup and slept on his bed. It was like a daughter to him. “One day a traveler dropped in on the rich man. He was too stingy to take an animal from his own herds or flocks to make a meal for his visitor, so he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared a meal to set before his guest.” David exploded in anger. “As surely as God lives,” he said to Nathan, “the man who did this ought to be lynched! He must repay for the lamb four times over for his crime and his stinginess!” “You’re the man!” said Nathan. 1 Samuel 12:1-7

    Nathan proceeds to tell David all he had done, letting him know what God planned to do about this sin David had committed, and David replies in this manner: “I’ve sinned against God.” (verse 13). David confesses. God forgives. David then sins no more.

    And here in the Psalms we see that no, David doesn’t die just as God promises in verse 14, but he is tormented. Just as the Word promised, He was punished by God. His son died, and later on his other turned against him. He did not live a life without trials. However, he did something that was especially important-he did not sin again. He did not repeat his past. And God never brought it up.

    It’s why he was known as a “man after God’s heart.” He vowed to be holy. He vowed to live a life that God would be proud of. He wanted to live a life that was worthy of the lineage of Jesus.

    See, David understood this:

    Turn from evil and do good,
        and you will live in the land forever.
     For the Lord loves justice,
        and he will never abandon the godly. Psalm 37:27-28,     NLT

    God gives us the opportunity to ask Him for another chance. He gives us the ability to walk in righteousness again, not because we are good. Not because we even deserve it, but because HE is good. And see David? He was called a “man after God’s heart,” because he knew what it was like to be separated from Him. To live tormented by the pain he had caused God for not doing what He had asked, and he never wanted to do it again. He only wanted to do good. He decided to turn around, and walk a different way.

    And people didn’t like it. They didn’t like that he could make mistakes, and still be seen as “good.”

    You know why? Because we judge the past of others. We judge people based on their choices, not on their hearts. The Bible tells us this: The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

    It’s true. We judge. And appearances are not just what others look like. We judge the past. We judge failure. We judge mistakes. Whether they are overcome or not. We hold onto the sins of others as if they define that person forever. Even if they repent and never do it again.

    But there is good news. God doesn’t do this. No, once we do as David did, no matter the sinful deed-big or small. When we say, “God, I confess. I sinned against you.” He offers us forgiveness. In fact, God will have compassion on us. He will trample our sins under His feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean! (Micah 7:19)

    We may be slandered. We may be mocked. We may still have our sins held onto by people. We may be cast out of certain places. People may not believe we have changed. May continue to only see us as a mistake, but it doesn’t matter, because God knows we are after His heart, and because of this, we can continue to do good anyway.

About Me

I am January! Wife, mother, meemaw, pastor, and mental health provider who makes it through the day with my coffee, my journal, and my God. A simple human, navigating life through the messy and sometimes chaotic. All focused on Him.

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