Dear Reader, allow me to introduce you to ‘Grace Notes’ whereby we aim to notice the daily blessings God strews in our pathway.

I would like this to be a place and space to pause and rejoice over the good things in our lives. So why ‘Grace Notes’?
It is because I want to let The Light in. Because however hard I try, my health concerns and challenging circumstances seem to come to the forefront, especially during the dull days of Winter when life is more of a struggle.

 

And the problem is – trying to solve it myself instead of resting in God’s grace and trusting His provision. Forgetting to lay it all at His feet and seek help in His word.

So it seemed a good idea to focus purposefully on the grace of God and be reminded of His never-failing goodness and blessing which is always available to us.

We will be looking at various aspects of grace as we go through this series. It will not only focus on what God has revealed to us but also on how we can demonstrate that grace to others in how we live.

Grace can be defined as God’s unmerited, unearned favour and blessing that He bestows freely, universally and individually.

As Philip Yancey says in his wonderful book: ‘What’s so amazing about grace?’ –

 “There is nothing you can do to make God love you more. And there is nothing you can do to make God love you less.” 

 

Yet we can be blind or indifferent to it and need our eyes opened to see, appreciate and receive this grace. It’s rather like God pouring out a Power Shower of blessings but we only feel it as a trickle and fail to see how heavy and full it really is.

 

“Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
           The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries”  
~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Now some thoughts on grace to get us started:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythm of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” ~ Jesus speaking in Matthew 11:28 -30 The Message

The idea of ‘unforced rhythm of grace’ in the verse above is for it to be as straightforward and simple as breathing – a natural part of how we live, move and have our being.

The rhythm of grace is nothing like the Undulating Uncle, Sad Dad or Desperate Disco Diva movements you might find on display at a family wedding reception. Rather, it resembles the best of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ – a smoothly sinuous, snake-hipped, seasoned professional movement with an ease and relaxation to it that speaks of confidence and ability.

We don’t start out as seasoned professionals in our understanding or expression of grace. The key is to walk and work with God and watch how He does it

 
As we keep company with Him, primarily through reading His word and spending time in His presence, we will learn how to live freely and lightly, trusting in Him to help us be at peace and recover our lives.
 
We rest in God’s grace as we become confident of His ability to provide for us. In the same way as the blood-bought sacrifice of Jesus runs through the Bible like a scarlet stream,  grace could be seen as a golden thread that highlights aspects of God’s character on every page.
I will delve deeper in future posts. For now, I simply need a reminder of the daily notes of grace that God pours into our lives and I hope you will appreciate it too. As usual, your own comments are warmly welcomed. Until we meet again:
‘May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all’ ~ 2 Corinthians 13:14