Have you ever thought about how many words there are in the English language that are based on grace? There are SO MANY! It's proof of our inner longing for grace as human beings and recognition of how important it is. The references that permeate our normal vocabulary are so familiar, we kind of take it for granted. But whether we realize it or not, God is in the business of showing us His grace... even through unexpected people and in surprising places. Today I'd like to share with you a story of how that has happened recently to me and served as a reminder once again of God's unlimited resources in extending grace to us.

"Taking Jesus into the room" is an intentional recognition and statement of the truth that Jesus is WITH ME in the very basic but real moments that make up the whole of my life. It is quickly becoming an assurance and a source of relying on Him in a much deeper and profound way for me. Bringing my awareness around to the reality of the constant nature of the Lord's presence is how I want to live. Join me as we discuss how this practice works in our everyday ordinary lives.

The fact that we will experience a heavy heart in this journey is an inevitable part of life. We try our best to guard against this and arrange our circumstances to avoid feeling this way, but we all know life isn't perfect. We live in a fallen world damaged by sin. Even if a heavy heart is not your reality in the present moment, I invite you to listen all the way through to the end of this episode because there will come a time when heaviness and disappointment will overwhelm you or a family member or friend. I hope that when you need it, you can listen again and find help as you preach the truth to yourself or maybe give you some words of encouragement to minister to those that you care about. Join me today as we answer the question, "How do we respond in a constructive way when we have a heart that is heavy with sadness or disappointment?"

Are you down about not measuring up to your own standards? What about being discouraged that your goals remain unmet? As you listen to today's repair episode, I hope you'll take to heart the message that "ideal you" is not the most valuable version of yourself.

Today we celebrate the 100th episode of The Grace Narrative by hosting with a guest! My dear friend Heather Walton shares her insight on the meaning of grace. This is a thought-provoking and inspiring conversation about how God's grace is a constant throughout our journeys. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

"I am a grace representative. I choose to abide in Christ, live in joy and share the love of Jesus at every opportunity." My calling is to represent Him and I can't do that unless I am abiding in Him…relying on His presence. If joy is found in His presence, like His word says, then it just makes sense that I would want to notice Him with me. It's not on me to produce or manufacture His presence. My role is to be aware of His presence.

Since we've just finished the holiday season and giving and receiving gifts have been on our brains maybe I better clarify- we're going to be talking about P-R-E-S-E-N-C-E, presence; not the things we open on Christmas morning! There are many aspects to this idea of presence and so we're going to delve into that today and why it's a priority and what positive results there are when we live with presence.

The idea of heart posture is not new to me, but its impact increases the more I value it. Just as we should be careful in the way we hold, carry and position our physical bodies for our health, our heart posture has an incredible impact on our spiritual formation. In this episode we will be discussing the difference between a default posture and an intentional posture that prepares us for God's vision for our lives.

Holy Leisure is the practice of "doing nothing for God's sake". Today we'll learn about this practice and how it leads us to trust and rest. It starts with adopting these thought patterns: life is a gift; we are a gift; we did not create ourselves or earn God's love and forgiveness; we did not merit new life in Christ; and our future life in glory is not something we earn. Holy leisure allows us to intentionally live into that knowledge by our actions. Then our minds, bodies and spirits can experience the benefits of this particular gift of rest that God freely gives us and wants us to enjoy.

Today's episode focuses on what I call the reminder that never gets old, because no matter how long you've been a Christ follower, the truth of God's love is something we need to constantly live in and be assured of. We learn to trust more when we are reminded of His unconditional love. Whether you are doubting your worthiness as God's child today or you're feeling confident as God's child today, I promise this discussion will encourage and inspire you.