Monday, May 8, 2017

Grace on Grace

Grace. Sometimes I forget that it is more than a name and even though it is my name, I have never really done any research into what grace actually means. For as long as I can remember, I've flinched every time someone uses the word grace while reading the Bible and during any song that has the word grace (yes, especially Amazing Grace). For the past week or so it has come up more than a couple times - I am far from being gracious, graceful or full of grace... Yet my name is a constant reminder every time I check my Facebook or email and countless other times during the day.

So a very little bit of looking around tonight and I found this:

"Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." ~Ephesians 2:3-9
Titus 2:11
There are countless definitions on the word, based on noun, verb, blah, blah, blah. But skimming through some of the in depth definitions, here is one of my favorites: 

"Simple elegance or refinement of movement." (this is the very first Google definition) All I can do is think of me tripping on my own feet and yes, perhaps some of the ninja like saves on the slippery porch, but not a whole lot of this grace happening... Under that definition is also "Courteous goodwill and an attractively polite manner of behaving" Hahahahaha, only sometimes, when I'm feeling particularly diplomatic...

Pinterest gave me far more than I could ever sift through on the word Grace, it was hard to narrow it down to just one, but I did it!  Okay, after I weeded past all the Grace Kelly quotes and such... 


Receive grace, 
Live grace,
Show grace, 
Repeat...

So I have a lot to work on, I think I *maybe* just maybe might have the bare foundation, but I know for sure....I want to live out my name. I want to grow. I want to be grace.