Day 19

My children's buckets are all filled and awaiting Christmas morn. Some of you will be filling stockings soon. Others are filling little boxes with your latest baking creations. Thanksgiving may be about the stuffing—cups already full, overflowing, but Christmas is about the filling—empty cups, receiving. There is no need to chase what is missing. The searching is over. Jesus has come and He has what we need. There is no need to produce or perform or perfect. The working is over. Jesus has come and He has done the work for us. 

Cups full of God's love.

The journal continues...

It is when I am weakest—tired, sick, headache—that I would like to excuse my short temper and negative responses to my children. In my mind, anyone watching in would excuse me too—after all, no one is perfect and not being a 'superwoman' just makes me more human, easier to relate too and even seemingly, oddly enough, more likable. But as a believer, I am a fool to live in my own strength and to ignore the grace and power that is available to me through Christ each morning anew! 

Such amazing grace awaits me each morning. But, I must 'apprehend it' [Philippians 3:12-14] or take hold of it. I must start my day seeking...'pressing toward the mark.' The mark or goal is spiritual maturity. Christlikeness which will be perfected in my at the day of Christ, performed by Christ. 

Tiredness can steal my joy, but a spiritual mind can maintain it. 

My Dare:

To come to the Well [Jesus] and drink in all the grace available to me—strength for this moment, hope for the next. 'For when I am weak, then am I strong.' [II Corinthians 12:10] Furthermore, to find joy in my weakness that 'the power of Christ may rest upon me.'  

As women, we are always juggling. And, some days there are so many "balls" in the air, it would seem easier to just walk away and let them all drop. Since some of those "balls" are our precious little children, we can't do that! Join me tomorrow as we pause for just a moment to look down and see that with too many things in the air, our hands are never full.