Why Am I Doing This?

Why am I blogging? I don't know. My friend Laurie inspired me to start a blog and I figured that, since she is the same age and has kids about the same age as mine, if she can find the time so can I. This is my first attempt at blogging so hopefully it will get more polished as I go on. :)

Why did I name my site "It's a Grace Thing?" I am currently reading "Destined to Reign" by Joseph Prince. If you've never read it or heard of it, I recommend that you check it out. It WILL change your life or make you mad. :) For me, it's changing my life.

All my life I felt as if I could never measure up to someone else's standards. I could never do enough, be good enough, do well enough in school, look pretty enough, etc. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, after a while I began to feel the same way. I looked at all the sin in my life and the bad behaviors and habits that I still had and eventually the voice in my head (the accuser--we all have one, admit it) grew louder and louder. Are you familiar with that voice? It's the one that tells you that you just blew it when you got mad at the customer service agent on the phone because of the poor service you received--Jesus wouldn't do that, right? The majority of Christians that I know and have known have taught and counseled that if I just believe hard enough, read my Bible enough, pray long enough, fast often enough, and worship long enough, that I would see major breakthroughs in my life and the Christian life would be "easy."

Needless to say, I could never seem to read my Bible enough, pray long enough, fast often enough, or worship long enough and so I continued to see areas of "lack" in my life. I figured it was my fault as was everything else that went wrong in my life. I mean, I'm responsible for how my life goes, right? I chart my own destiny, create my future, and determine whether or not I'm successful, right? Or does God determine that? Is it just His Will that I live in financial lack, constantly yell at my husband and kids, and just can't seem to be "good enough?" I don't think so.

The Bible says that it is God's goodness/lovingkindness (depending upon your translation) that leads men to repentance. It's not a fire and brimstone message about the dangers of hellfire. It's not a list of all the things you need to do to live a "good" life. It's not an exposition of all the benefits of going to heaven and living there for eternity. It's his lovingkindness. His goodness. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Look for more later!