Within My Plans To Blog Away My Heart, I Came Across This Beauty…

Hey guys! Being a school teacher, we’re daily consumed by the busyness, the deadlines, and the continuous giving of ourselves, so my yearning this summer break was to simply chill and publish my blog regularly. Of course, uninterrupted by morning alarms, constant distractions, and time consuming schedules. Well, guess what? My dream of lightheartedness, simple pleasures, writing, and a schedule free summer came to a halt, when I encountered this female puppy we now call Bella. She came uninvited, undesired, and unexpected, but I couldn’t resist this tiny Chiweenie with greenish, hazel eyes. You guessed it! I kept her, but within a week I was already having second thoughts about keeping her. This beautiful puppy was going to disturb my planned, fun-filled summer, full of self care, creative cooking, visits to my local island destination-Key Biscayne. She would disrupt my blogging space, which is about simplifying our lives and living a Grace-filled, spiritual walk. How can I write, be carefree, and enjoy the simple life, when I’d be continuously tending to a very lively 3 month old Chiweenie puppy? This is when God’s Grace shows up in our time of need. His Spirit picks up where I left off, by giving me the grace to patiently and joyfully tend to her, but most importantly, be a lovely addition instead of a hindrance to my “Simply Balanced” lifestyle blog project. My key verse today says, “Philippians 4:13 ESV-I can do ALL things through Him who strengthens me.”❤️

I Embraced Grace For My Struggling, Good Girl Heart…

My stumble with Grace happened a short time ago, after years of working hard to win the favor of my Heavenly Father. I learned that Grace is: the “freely” given, “unmerited” Favor and Love Of God, and the influence of the Spirit of God operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them. (Dictionary.com) And all this time, I thought I had to check off all the boxes of rules and expectations that God had of me, with the goal of being loved and accepted just as I was-unconditionally. The good girl syndrome had not worked thus far. Wow, I was so relieved! Then, what Is Grace? Grace is the opposite of karma, which is all about getting what you deserve. God’s Grace is getting what you don’t deserve. Us good girls, can suffer from being too judgmental of ourselves and too obsessive-compulsive about our decisions, feelings, etc.. Our Lord wants us free and confident of receiving His Grace in our times of need. That means, forgiveness for ourselves and patience with our humanity, always trusting that His Spirit is always available to give us His help, favor, and wisdom when we don’t have it in our own power. This is so liberating! I have to thank Pastor JosephPrince.com, for eloquently presenting God’s unmerited Favor in such a “simply balanced” way.  I hope these truths hit home! Bye for now!