A gift with no strings

Ilove breakfast! I love eggs, pancakes, bacon, you name it. But how often do I eat breakfast? Not all that often. Grabbing coffee on the run is more my style.

Why do I skip such an important part of the day? Well usually because I don’t take the time to make it myself!

My dad would not be to happy with me over not eating breakfast. He always believed that it was the foundation for the day. For me that is my cup of coffee!

I wish I were a better planner to do breakfast but I just don’t have my act together that well to pull it off. The good thing is that not only is my father forgiving, so is our Heavenly Father.

Are there things in life that you know are important to do but you skip over them or put them off? I feel so blessed that we are loved so much by our heavenly father that he gave us His only son to die in our place. We are given the free gift of grace and salvation for no other reason then He loves us and wants us to be his children. We don’t deserve it nor have we earned it. It is a gift He gives and wants us to freely receive. What a huge blessing!

In the Fishbowl,

Monica von Steinman

Grits and Grace

By Anna Billingsley

We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved. Acts 15:11

I once heard a pastor from New York talk about ordering breakfast in Atlanta. When his plate of eggs and sausage arrived, it contained a blob of white mush.

“I didn’t order this stuff,” the pastor told the waitress. “Oh,” she replied, “grits come on every plate, whether you order them or not.”

Grits are just like the grace of God – available to us, free of charge and with no strings attached.

I, of course, am very familiar with grits — the “ice cream of the South” as my father always said. Being a good South Carolinian, I have grown up eating this porridge made from boiled cornmeal.

I just never associated grits with God’s grace – a concept with which I have grappled.

Why would I be given a gift for no reason and on no special occasion? It’s available every day – not just my birthday or Christmas.

It’s hard to conceive of a totally unmerited gift.

God’s grace is truly amazing! Grace is God’s gift to us through the death of his son on the cross. The idea is that by providing us with this gift, God works to effect change in our hearts and lives.

I don’t deserve this gift from God. None of us do. We all are sinners in thought, word, and deed. But through grace, God forgives us Christians and continues offering this gift to all of us, no matter who we are or where we are or what we have done.

What a blessing! Though I need not repay God’s gift of grace, I want to extend it to others. Acts of grace need not be all that lofty – and need not be requested or expected. Such an act can be a cool drink on a hot day. A note to a friend in need. An invitation to church. An act of hospitality. A lessening of a burden. A phone call. A compliment. A smile.

It can even be a breakfast invitation that includes grits, ordered or not!

— https://www.sweetmon-day.org/grits-and-grace/