Sneak Peak....

I'm still reading a book by Sheila Walsh that I got months ago from Thomas Nelson publishers. I'm going through it very slowly, highlighting about half of every page. There is so much wisdom & "WOW" on every page. I'm not done, so I'm not going to post my full review for this book just yet...but I wanted to give you a sneak peek. Here are a few pearls from the first couple of chapters.

1. When we are satiated with God's grace, it is much easier to extend grace to others; but when we are on starvation rations ourselves, we have little to spare.

2. As you are, right at this moment, God loves you.
He knows all that is true about you, and He loves you.
Even when you can't forgive yourself, He forgives you.
There is nothing you can do to make Him love you more.
There is nothing you can do to make Him love you less.

This is the grace of God.

3. The ground at the foot of the cross is even. There are no podiums for those who feel most worthy. There are no pits for those who feel they don't belong. The only way to break free from this dead, stale religion is with the glorious gift of fresh-baked grace every morning for the rest of our lives!

4. (This one actually came before #3...so read this & then go back & re-read #3)
A common thread throughout human history is our inability to live up to God's standards. But another thread can be traced: our desire to squeeze people into a mold of our making--to embrace a dead religion rather than a living truth. Both realities would leave us miserable...if it weren't for Christ.

5. God's promises are not derailed by human circumstances.

6. Forgiveness means we surrender our right to know the outcome.

7. Most of us struggle with wanting to avoid pain.....And yet, in taking things into our own hands, we lose the oppurtunity to allow God to work on our behalf for the greater good....One of the hardest elements of our walk with God is to keep worshipping Him even when it hurts. Jesus looked at everything Satan offered Him, looked ahead to the cross and the agony, and chose to worship God.

I'll stop there because I could keep going & going.

(By the way, this all came from Sheila Walsh's book let go.)