A Sign of Grace

Human presence is a creative and turbulent sacrament, a visible sign of invisible grace  ~ John O'Donohue, Anam Cara

As I end this write 31 days challenge, the one in which I failed greatly, the words above speak grace to me.  For though I did fail to write here every day in October, I did write, and I did make it a priority to be present in the lives of those I love this month.  Vacations, text message conversations, hours spent talking and laughing with my children.  Daily life, lived in our very messy, often chaotic, 'normal' way of being.  We are a sign of grace when we are fully present right where we are.

Grace and Peace to You.

Love,

Catherine Ann

The Grace of Giving (and a recipe)

Grace is given to us freely by a loving God.  We extend grace when we freely, joyfully give to others. Giving love, friendship, hospitality, and sharing our own gifts and talents with others are ways we can share grace in today's world.

Since it is October, which means all things pumpkin to me, I'm sharing a recipe for Pumpkin Pie Bars with you today.
I'm thinking I'll bake a batch of these and share them with friends and family along with a note of grace and encouragement.

How and where are you sharing grace today?


PUMPKIN PIE BARS


Preheat oven to 375.

Crumb Crust:

1 ½ cups rolled oats
1 ½ cups unbleached flour
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
dash of pumpkin pie spice
¾ cup butter, melted

Combine the above ingredients.
Pat ½ of the mixture into a greased 9×13 inch pan.
Bake 8 minutes.



Filling:

1 15 oz. can pumpkin
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

Blend well. Pour into the crust.
Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over the top.
Bake 25 minutes .
Cool and then cut into bars.  Refrigerate.
Enjoy!


Grace and Peace.

Love,

Catherine Ann

Everyday Grace

Quiet house
Coffee in my cup
Journal
favorite pen
Bible

These seemingly ordinary things are some of the daily grace I find around me.
Not everyone can get up and go into a comfortable living space and sit in peace most every morning.
Some don't have a home at all, or if they do, it is anything but peaceful.
Coffee is a luxury to many in the world.
Journals and Bibles and pens ... there's an abundance of those around here, but to some ... those would be a source of unbelievable joy.

Let's not take the simple, everyday things for granted, for to many they aren't simple at all.


Grace and Peace to you.

Love,

Catherine Ann

Freedom of Grace

Fall: bright flame before winter’s deadness; harvest; orange, gold, amber; cool nights and the smell of fire. Our tree-lined streets are set ablaze, our kitchens filled with the smells of nostalgia: apples bubbling into sauce, roasting squash, cinnamon, nutmeg, cider, warmth itself. 
The leaves as they spark into wild color just before they die are the world’s oldest performance art, and everything we see is celebrating one last violently hued hurrah before the black and white and silence of winter. Fall is begging for us to dance and sing and write with just the same drama and blaze. ~Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way

Loving these words today.  And as fall begs us to dance and sing and write with abandon, Grace frees us to do so.  For in Him we are free indeed.


Grace and Peace.
Love,

Catherine Ann

Sabbath Grace

Today is the day for resting in Him.  For turning off the alarm, for having an extra cup of tea on the back porch, for simply sitting at His feet and resting.

  

There is much grace to be found in choosing to enjoy the Sabbath.  (It is a choice you know.)  

• The grace of not worrying about all the things on the to-do list that will still be there tomorrow or Monday.  
• The grace of silencing the shouts of the seemingly urgent and instead listening to the still small voice of the Holy One who urges us to be still and watch Him work.
• The grace of simply being rather than always doing.

I pray you find rest in Him this day.

Grace and Peace to you.

Love,

Catherine Ann

Simple Grace

Simple grace for today- 

The first real hint of autumn in the air.  

A cup of coffee in the early morning quiet.

Prayers whispered in the dark.

Knowing that He answers when I call on Him.

Look around today- evidences of His goodness and grace are surely right where you are just waiting for you to notice them.  

I'd love to hear what simple graces you discover.  

For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  John 1:16

Grace and Peace to you.

Love,

Catherine Ann

Pure Grace

So my mama called me Grace when I was growing up.
Not because my name is Grace.
No.  I am, and to my family will forever be- Catherine Ann.

My mama called me Grace because when it came to physical grace, you know like being able to walk across the room without tripping over my own two feet, or walking through a doorway without bouncing off of at least one side of the door frame, I had (and still have) none.  When I'd trip and fall up the stairs, crash into the table or whatever else was in my path, mama would laugh and say, "Well Grace!"  

Interestingly enough (or is it that God really does have a great sense of humor?), when I was in middle school one of our projects was learning the origin and meaning of our name.
  

Catherine Ann = Pure Grace

Perfect.
Because physical grace, or lack thereof aside-His Grace, and nothing else is what my life is sustained by.

You've heard the phrase 'There but for the grace of God go I" .
Yes.  Simply that.
God's merciful grace is what keeps me moving forward each day.  Sometimes I have to stop and pick myself up because I've tripped again, but unlike my lack of physical grace, His Grace is sufficient and never ending.  There are new mercies waiting for me every morning, and Grace is ever present and free for the asking.

Because I am abundantly aware of my own need of Grace, it is my desire to offer grace to those around me and to notice those little grace-filled moments  that we sometimes miss.  Grace abounds when you have eyes to see.

This morning's grace was being late for work because I was having a great  conversation with my teenagers about freedom in Christ.  It's moments like this, when one child you thought was sleeping through the Bible reading, sits up and engages in a conversation. When you say, "It's OK if I'm late to the office, this is so much more important."
Grace in the moment.
Grace because they really do get it.
Grace that in Him we are set free.
Free to live.  Free to love.  
Free to extend that grace to others.

Where do you see grace in your life today?

Love,

Catherine Ann