{Day 10} From Good to Grace

So yeah...day 9 didn't happen. Between getting called into work early...then getting some sad news...followed by going back into work...my brain was mush. So you'll just have to forgive me for that one. :P

If you remember, about a year ago, I wrote a post...well several posts...on the book Grace for the Good Girl. While I didn't post for every chapter in the book like I wanted to, but I did make it through the entire book. And I loved every single chapter. It challenged me in ways that were uncomfortable but in ways that I knew I needed to be challenged.

For this one, I'm going to go back through and share some of my favorite quotes and most challenging quotes to help give a better idea of just how the book impacted me to live by grace rather than by good deeds.

“If I obey perfectly, then I am in charge. If it comes down to grace, then Jesus is in charge.”

“Good girls are good listeners. Good girls are always there for everyone. Good girls don’t get mad. Good girls are laid-back. Good girls roll with the punches, go with the flow, follow the leader.”

“As good girls, we subconsciously label ourselves as the strong ones, the responsible ones, the sweet ones, or the right ones…But Jesus is calling us to a deeper, truer, freer identity.”

[About Jesus] “Knowing there were peopole who disagreed, even hated him, didn’t cause him to change one thing he did. He wasn’t working to maintain a good reputation. He was walking in dependence on his Father. Jesus didn’t value what people thought; he valued people, period.

“I can’t tell you how many times I have stood dumbfounded and wimpy in the middle of a heated discussion only to tell the person off while alone in my car on the way home. I sound so tough alone in my car.

“We know we’re supposed to trust God, but trust is so intangible. It almost seems passive in the face of all there is to do.”  [OUCH...I still struggle with this one]

“The law was given to lead the unbeliever to her Savior, not for the believer to try to keep it.” [Wince]

"You have trained people to think you have no needs, but you are secretly angry with them for believing you.”

“…if you are working in your own strength, then who gets the credit? You do. If you aren’t being rewarded for your hard work, who gets offended? You do. If things aren’t going the way they should, who gets angry? You guessed it.

“The first side is where most good girls live. We know about the forgiveness, about the sin and the blood and the death of Christ. But we aren’t as familiar with the body side. So we live on the forgiveness side and try hard to get the life.”

Okay...so most of these still apply to me. For many of them it's not to the same extent it did before either. So that is progress. So on the rebound of re-reading (and getting re-convicted in some areas) I'm going to let these sink in.

The only thing left to say is...so often we try to be good enough to deserve the grace He gives to us. When the only thing that is left for us to do is rest, relax and receive.

So friends, will you join me in receiving and resting in the ocean of His grace?