Lauren Sparks

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Grace Upon Grace

March 10, 2023 by Lauren 8 Comments

“For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.”  Psalm 25:11 NASB

 

Have you ever felt like your sin was so huge and hideous that God could not easily forget it?  King David did.  He’s one of my favorite personalities in the Bible.  So full of fervor and triumph and failures and foibles.  Just like me.  In Psalm 25, he praises God and asks for His forgiveness in the same breath.  David says that his sin is “great” and feels the guilt and remorse of his actions.  Yet, in the very next chapter, David prays, “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have led a blameless life; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.”  He asks God to test him and says, “I walk continually in your truth.” and “I wash my hands in innocence.”

 

Has David forgotten his “great” sin?  No.  David is not claiming perfection, but rather that he has sincerity of purpose and single-hearted devotion.  He had a good understanding of God’s nature and the grace and forgiveness he affords His children.  Because of that forgiveness, we can go boldly and confidently before the Lord (no matter what we’ve done), just as David did – who was an adulterer and murderer by the way.

 

Upon Grace

 

In the book Why Do Mullets Jump?:  And Other Puzzles and Possibilities of God’s Creation, Gene Zimmerman describes this attribute of God.  “…most of us are poorly equipped for perfection.  We come closer to understanding ourselves when we can see and accept some of our human limitations.  This isn’t an invitation to pass off every failure by claiming imperfection or to avoid trying; but rather it is advice that we need to accept some imperfection and acknowledge that we can’t do it all right all the time.  The encouraging thing about this reality is that God loves us and meets us at these places of imperfection with grace and strength.”

 

There is a difference between accepting that we will sin and choosing to pitch our tent in the middle of sin and live there. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?  Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” Romans 6:1-2  NASB 

The good news?  Grace doesn’t just cover our past mistakes.  It also keeps us from stepping into new ones, if we let it. 

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“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age,”  Titus 2:11-12 NASB   I don’t think good news describes this appropriately.  This is great news! (John 1:16)

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

As I am observing lent myself, Thoughts on Lent from instaencouragements.com was so informative and beneficial to me.  Thank you, Elisabeth!

 

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

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First Friday Prayers: Prayer for the Caregiver

March 3, 2023 by Lauren 12 Comments

Today is World Day of Prayer.  How appropriate for the first Friday of the month, when we alway pray together.  It’s also Caregiver Appreciation Day.  Caregiving can be rewarding, exhausting, heartbreaking and up lifting.  And those feelings can change on a dime.  I can’t think of a better prayer to offer today than a prayer for the caregiver. (It’s also National If Pets Had Thumbs Day, but I wouldn’t know where to begin praying for that!)

 

The term caregiver covers a lot of ground.  It can be a family member or a paid helper who looks after a child, the sick, the elderly or disabled.  In just my close family we have foster parents, adults taking care of their elderly parents, adults taking care of their sick spouses and Chuck and I taking care of our disabled daughter.  I know for us personally, there are moments I’m not sure we can continue to do it, and moments we can’t imagine our lives any other way.  But caregiving is always a lot.

 

If you fall into the caregiving category, seek out some social supports for yourself, if you don’t already have them.  Find ways to take breaks when at all possible, and look into counseling if you feel overwhelmed.  Caregiving can be isolating, so stay involved in church to the extent you can and ask for help!  And pray this scripture over yourself or others you know in this situation:

 

“I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
 Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14 NIV

 

 

If you are a caregiver, I see you.  I am you.  Know that you are not alone and I am praying for you.  If you have a specific prayer request or just need an ear to listen, please send me a message to lauren@laurensparks.net.  It would be an honor.  And if you don’t want to miss a Praying God’s Word post, subscribe over on the right hand side of this page.

Lauren

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

I don’t know if it’s because my baby is a senior in high school this year, but Lois Flower’s post The Unexpected Blessing of a Newly Surfaced Photo gave me all the nostalgic feels.  Thanks, Lois.

The Link Up

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

 Now Let’s Link Up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

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About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
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  • I’ve Got Tears in My Ears (and Other Funny Titles)
  • Verse Mapping Joy!
  • Grace Upon Grace
  • First Friday Prayers: Prayer for the Caregiver
  • The Grand Finale of February

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