TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21 ESV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• Y’all, I had a rocking’ Friday night last night! It was SOOOOO much fun! A special milestone for My Grace-Full Life is coming up, so last night, I spent the WHOLE EVENING copying/pasting My Grace-Full Life posts into a master Word document.
Insert the sound of crickets.
Okay – to someone else, it probably doesn’t sound exciting. But I’m a nerd. I like this kind of stuff. And I haven’t done it in a while… I had to go all the way back to July 2018, and I’m still not done. As of right now, I’ve finished through December 2019. All this is being done for the sole purpose of figuring out how many pages this whole thing is as well as the word count. (Why words? Well, as a writer for my community magazines, I’ve measured word count for 12 years. It’s kind of ingrained in me.)
I also did it because several of you have been kind enough to encourage me to turn My Grace-Full Life into a book. I’ve been kind of dubious about that idea, but I thought I could use the document and apply a category for each devotion… and even do a Bible verse study — which verses/themes do I use the most? All to see if that was a possibility, especially since I’m going to the She Speaks Conference again this summer. But I’m currently at 620 pages, and that just keeps growing every day, so I doubt it’s going to happen. Since I don’t make it a practice to re-read my work once I have called it done, the idea of going through that size file overwhelms me. Besides, you can access My Grace-Full Life for free on my website. So – that idea is tabled. Way, way, way back in the corner of the table.
Once again, I feel like if we were together, you’d be staring at me in silence, probably wondering if I’ve lost my mind.
Bear with me. Let me tell you about the milestone I mentioned earlier. Though I technically started My Grace-Full Life in November 2016, the daily prayer prompts began on March 8, 2017. And since March is tomorrow — we’re nine days away from a 3rd year anniversary of daily prayer prompts! I’m so excited about it! The prayer prompts were originally meant to be a 30-day series. But I felt the Holy Spirit tell me to keep going, so I have….And with that said, My Grace-Full Life, as of December 31, 2019, is sitting at 392,562 words and 620 pages.
I know…. No one cares about that but me.
But for me, it’s a testimony of how God can exceed our expectations. I expected 30 days. He envisioned far more than I could comprehend. I still can’t believe it. But it’s not me anyway; this whole thing is fully credited to Him. He’s used this to grow me, and while I am thankful to share it with others (and hope it is meaningful to you!), this is mind-boggling to me, and I’m humbled and grateful for the opportunity to do it.
He’s taken me through mountains and valleys. As I skimmed through the pages of this master file, I glanced references to joyful moments, childhood memories I’ve shared, and some of the most painful seasons of my life. This blog, and the column by the same name in Forsyth Family magazine, is a testament to His grace. His mercy. His ability to take a wayward prodigal and bring something good from a life that wasted years searching for something to fulfill her… when who she needed was in front of her the whole time: Jesus Christ.
In Ephesians 3, Paul wrote to the people of Ephesus. He said, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
Amen, indeed. God’s abilities are so much greater than ours. His vision is so much higher! He can do infinitely more than we realize. He can use us in ways we never expected.
Am I the kind of writer I expected to be when I started in 2008? Absolutely not. I thought I would write fiction novels. But I found I enjoyed reading fiction more than I actually liked writing it. Do I have an international audience? I don’t know. I think maybe a couple of you are living abroad. I’m definitely not a huge, well-known writer and the New York Times Bestsellers list that I had dreamed of has not happened. That’s okay because this all boils down to an Audience of One. I can still sit in awe of my 620 pages because I know He did far more in those pages than I ever expected.
These verses and last night’s exercise remind me that I can’t put limits on a limitless God. It just doesn’t work. He will prove me wrong every. Single. Time. And I truly love it when God proves me wrong.
Today, as you pray, thank God for being so much bigger than our dreams. Thank Him that His plans are always better than our own. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a heart that’s willing to be obedient and willing to follow where He leads, knowing and trusting that His direction will lead you places you never expected to go.
SHARING ••• Please feel free to comment or share this blog with others. Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. Also, download a free Bible-In-A-Year Reading Plan when you subscribe! ***Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture references are from the ESV translation.
