I want to share the sermon we heard from last Sunday’s service at church. It was so good. I took notes the whole time and head nodded like weirdo, one hand scratching down whatever I could manage fast enough and the other sipping coffee. Over the course of the the past several days I’ve been thinking about her words over and over and how crazy true it is that our hearts can move from a place of gratitude and contentment (and believing what we have is enough) to unfairness in a fraction of a second because of assumptions and judgements we make in comparison to others. Especially with regard to social media these days. To blogging. To Pinterest. To the lady sitting over there feeding her baby from her breast. To that lady sitting over there feeding her baby from a bottle. To that guy driving that car. To the family who lives in the mountains. To the ones in the city flat. To the “super mom” making her kid’s Halloween costume from felt she ordered fair-trade. To the one shopping at the dollar store. To everything, because we all do it. We all assume. We gather what we want from bits of the lives of others and we judge. We lean in and confirm our assumptions based on the reality we construct in our minds because it’s primal. Because we are human. Becasue measuring ourselves and our worthiness is what adults learn to do and sadly do well. Because we are flesh. But as it was so beautifully put, there’s a connectedness and dependency in God that we need not forget that can help us draw up a new framework for which we can view our life and the lives of others. There’s hope. There’s grace. There’s another way and I think that’s so wonderful and worth reflecting on.
Grace With Her Hair Down Sermon
Click the link above to listen. It’s not too long and I hope you enjoy it as you rest or clean or drive to pick up your kids from school today. x Amanda
Paige - I was at JW for this and I couldn’t take notes fast enough. Eventually I just stopped and let the words fill my soul. I loved it, too.
admin - Paige, what a blessing our church is! x Amanda
Christy Spencer - Such a wonderful sermon. Thank you for sharing and for your own thoughts on this! I appreciate your intentional way of living and sharing. XOXO.
Lara - Amanda,
Thank you for sharing this! I listened to it tonight as I made dinner, and was brought to tears by her line about “our response to God’s grace is in direct proportion to our perceived need of our grace.” Man! So, so true. And the amount of grace I think I need directly effects the amount of grace I’m willing to extend to my fellow man.
Gonna be thinking and praying about this one! Blessings!
admin - Lara, I am so blessed to hear you listen to it and loved it. That quote rocked me. It’s SO TRUE. Have a beautiful weekend. x Amanda
Abi - Thank you so much for sharing. This was powerful and truth-filled. Your blog is a constant source of inspiration and encouragement – thank you!
Easter - Thanks for the inthsig. It brings light into the dark!