Day 19 Salvation

May __our sons____ confess with their mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in his heart that God

raised him from the dead, and be saved (Romans 10:9)

This is what this  challenge is all about! We yearn for our sons to know the Lord and to ask him to be their Lord and Savior! We long to see them walk out their salvation with fear and trembling. we want them to realize that all the Lord did on the Cross was not in vain but to have a relationship with them and to live eternally with him. May our prayers today be so that our sons hearts will be changed by the grace that God gives freely because they can not be good enough and be saved. It is only by the grace of God that they can be saved. 

Lord, we pray that our sons will have an encounter with you and choose to accept your gift of salvation. May they walk in your ways all the days of their lives Lord. I pray that we will position ourselves through prayer and the teaching of your word to lead them to your heart! Give us the strength to persevere and to train them in your way and when they grow up they will not depart from it! Lord, give them a hunger and a thirst for you that will never be satiated so that all that they desire is you! in your name amen!

Gracefully Daisy

Jesus has Risen!

Thank you Lord we praise you for you Love and for Rising from the dead to give us hope and validate our faith! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!


Mark 16

 1 Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning,[a] just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside.
 5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth,[b] who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and tell his disciples, including Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died.”

 8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.[c]








Gracefully Daisy

Worthy is the Lamb

Today we remember that God's love for us is beyond our wildest imaginations. 

During Christmas time I could relate to Mary and her babe

but today I can't even imagine how Mary's heart was breaking as she watched her son being tortured, mocked and ultimately crucified  as he took on our sin so that we could have life.

Isaiah 53

 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, 

   and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
   nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
   a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
   he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
 ⁴ Surely he took up our pain
   and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
   stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
   he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
   and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
   each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
   the iniquity of us all.
 ⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
   yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
   and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
   so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression^[a] and judgment he was taken away.
   Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
   for the transgression of my people he was punished.^[b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
   and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
   nor was any deceit in his mouth.
 ¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
   and though the LORD makes^[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
   and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
   he will see the light of life^[d] and be satisfied^[e];
by his knowledge^[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
   and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,^[g]
   and he will divide the spoils with the strong,^[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
   and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
   and made intercession for the transgressors.

So I Say thank you Lord for loving me so...

Gracefully Daisy

Romans 10 Salvation comes by the Grace of God

Romans 10 (The Message)

"It's the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us. This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!"

 ^11-13Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it."

I know that the month of March is over but I am determined to read through the book of Romans until the end! So I am extending my study of Romans into April!
So exciting to know that we don't have to "do" anything to obtain salvation but believe in our hearts and ask the Lord to become our Lord and Saviour. The moment we do this with all of our hearts he comes and makes all things right between us and makes all things right in our broken lives!

Ephesians 2:8-10 (The Message)
 ^7-10Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

Gracefully Daisy

Romans 9 Don't miss it

I have read Romans so many times before in English, Spanish and in many bible versions but I love this chapter in the Message. I feel the emotions that Paul is experiencing as he writes this letter to the Romans. He wants them to understand how he loves his fellow Israelites but also that they missed it-Him- The Messiah! He walked among them and they killed him because they wanted a deliverer in the physical not realizing that they needed a spiritual deliverance more! So Paul wants to make sure that the Romans don't miss it as well, now as we read it-don't miss it-Him- The Messiah!

Romans 9 (The Message)

^20-33Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn't talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, "Why did you shape me like this?" Isn't it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? If God needs one style of pottery especially designed to show his angry displeasure and another style carefully crafted to show his glorious goodness, isn't that all right? Either or both happens to Jews, but it also happens to the other people. Hosea put it well: 

   I'll call nobodies and make them somebodies;
      I'll call the unloved and make them beloved.
   In the place where they yelled out, "You're nobody!"
      they're calling you "God's living children."
   Isaiah maintained this same emphasis: 

   If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered
      and the sum labeled "chosen of God,"
   They'd be numbers still, not names;
      salvation comes by personal selection.
   God doesn't count us; he calls us by name.
      Arithmetic is not his focus.
Isaiah had looked ahead and spoken the truth:
   If our powerful God
      had not provided us a legacy of living children,
   We would have ended up like ghost towns,
      like Sodom and Gomorrah.
How can we sum this up? All those people who didn't seem interested in what God was doing actually embraced what God was doing as he straightened out their lives. And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God was doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so absorbed in their "God projects" that they didn't notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road. 

And so they stumbled into him and went sprawling. Isaiah (again!) gives us the metaphor for pulling this together:
   Careful! I've put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion,
      a stone you can't get around.
   But the stone is me! If you're looking for me,
      you'll find me on the way, not in the way."

Let us not become to self absorbed with all the projects we expect ourselves to do "for God's Glory" that we miss his Glory! Let's be very careful to always trust God with our lives so that he can mold us into men and women according to his heart!
I want you God! I want my life to savor the sweetness of your glory everyday! I want to always know that you are the reason for every season of my life! Please help me to stay focused on you and not on myself! I don't want to always be in control I want you to control my life! Remind me when I am getting to busy and help me to slow down even if that means tripping over you like a huge rock in the middle of the road! but after I  trip Lord pick me up and take me in your arms so that in your embrace I can find forgiveness and wholeness!
I long for you, I don't want to miss you!

Gracefully Daisy

Romans 7 in this life of contradiction

This is what living out our faith and life in this world is all about! This has been the Ultimate struggle in my life. I know that good that I want to do! I want to revel in the Lord's commandment I want to follow them and live them out but everyday it is a struggle because the flesh that my spirit lives in is not spiritual and still longs to do the exact sin that I want  to stay away from!

Reading this passage has always brought great  comfort to me because Paul a huge faith  warrior had the same struggle I deal with everyday! Praise God there is hope for me!

Romans 7:14-25

Released From the Law, Bound to Christ

^"14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁶ And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. ¹⁸ For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

 ²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

   So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature^[d] a slave to the law of sin."

Here is another way to say the ending of this chapter from the Message 

Romans7:24-25

" ²⁴I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?

 ²⁵The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different."

The Hope for me is called Jesus! he is the answer! He has made things right "in this life of contradiction" He is with us always-as he promised! With him we can do all things for he gives us strength. (phil 4:13) This includes serving him! Praise the Lord because has thought of  everything and has given us all the answers because he wants us to spend eternity with him! Hallelujah! 

Ephesians 5 Love like Christ Loves extravagantly

Wow this chapter is so rich! I almost just want to copy the whole chapter and let that be the whole post! I don't even know where to start! So, I will start where God started with Love!

Love now a days has so many meanings. We love everything, people think that feeling desire is love, or just thinking that you have feelings for someone is love. (what does having feelings for someone mean anyway?)

But the way God has portrayed Love in the scripture leads us to understand it as a choice that must be made everyday!

Ephesians 5 (The Message)

 "^1-2Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

 ^3-4Don't allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don't talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn't fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect."

To some people Love is one sided-"if you give me what I want or need then you love me and I can love you too"

But that is not how God Loves!! " He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us!" Wow wow wow! I want to love like that. I want to love no matter what! I want to pour out my heart for others because of Love. Hear the cry of my heart Lord! 

Paul knew that tying together this principle of loving like Christ does to marriage was essential. Marriage requires this type of love. I praise God for my husband because he is so wonderful to me. I see Christ's love in him and it pours out through him unto me!  He embodies the principle of loving me as Christ loves the Church! This in turn helps me to accept and love his authority and guidance-I respect who he is through Christ. The respect that I give him helps him renew his love for me daily. God has blessed us truly to love and be loved is wonderful! 
God knew this and wants us to experience it through Him first and also through our spouses. The beauty of experiencing this love through Christ is that we can love others the same way even if it is not in a marriage. To love the way Christ love knows no boundaries!

John 3:16 (The Message)

 ^16-18"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

Ephesians 1

Ephesians 1:4-10

^"4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he^[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship^[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he^[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ."

He chose us! thank you Lord! Not out duty bur for his pleasure! We do not bore him-we bring him pleasure by becoming his children from "adoption to sonship"

He does not only give blessings but he lavishes( pampers, showers, gives blessings like water, generously pours blessings) us with blessing! He is exuberant in how he treats us-the primary example- he sent His only son that we could be redeemed through his blood and be forgiven so that we could have direct access to him. We no longer needed a mediator because Jesus himself is our mediator at the right hand of God.-like I wrote earlier in the week we can now approach his throne with confidence! Not only that but his mercy is new every morning and everyday he takes us from glory to glory! 

So his desire is that we would be experiencing a unity in the Spirit with Him as it occurs in heaven because Christ made this possible!

Ephesians 1:13-14

When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

As soon as we believe in him we are sealed with the Holy Spirit! With this seal we can approach the throne with confidence because now we belong to him! I love knowing that he has made me his and likes to show that by sealing me with the Holy Spirit! For when the devil wants to come against us for harm he must first go through the Lord because now I belong to Him the Devil has no authority over me! Praise the Lord! 

Galatians 5 freedom in Christ

Galatians 5

Freedom in Christ

 ¹ It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.


Paul begins by saying that Christ has set us free but continues to describe how our lives should be. He doesn't just say you are free now figure it out on your own;he says the following:

Life by the Spirit- verse 13-17

 ¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh^[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

 ¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[c] you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

We must walk by the Spirit -this again happens when we crucify ourselves to the cross and follow the walk the Spirit offers. 

Paul points out that the way to fulfill the law is by keeping this command, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Right from the beginning he is instructing put yourself last. Your ego no longer holds center stage. Just as the Lord Jesus gave his life for us by putting us ahead of his suffering and all that he would endure for us-so must we. 

This passage reminds of the time when Jesus was Speaking to the rich man:

The Rich and the Kingdom of God

Matthew 19: 16-22

 ¹⁶ Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”   ¹⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
 ¹⁸ “Which ones?” he inquired.
   Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’^[c] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’^[d]”
 ²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
 ²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
 ²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

The rich man could not leave his wealth because he was bound by sin. Although he thought he was following all the commandments that Jesus pointed out-He did not realize that he served another god-his wealth. This is what sin does it clouds our vision and we are not able to see that we are bound by your pride and sinfulness. We think that being good is enough but the Lord requires that we not only keep the commandments but also follow him-take up our cross everyday and follow him. Here is where the Spirit is so essential because it encourages us on our walk for he is our counselor who helps us!

So he gave up his place in heaven for eternity for his wealth that is temporary.

Mark 8:36
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

The freedom that we have in Christ enables us to live a life of triumph over sin because the Spirit produces in us his fruit that help us through this walk. 

Galatians 5:22-26

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

These fruit help us stay in step with the spirit because if we have the fruit of the spirit the works of the flesh can not take place in our lives.

James 3:11
Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

So I pray Lord, give me more of your Holy Spirit and continue to develop your fruit in me so they can come out of me to help others. I want to grow and bear fruit for your glory so I can finish this race. I surrender to you I crucify my flesh so that I will no longer live but you will live through me! 

I hunger and thirst for you my Lord. Have your way in me! 

Galatians 4 adoption to sonship

I was reading about children who live in the streets and my heart broke for them. I held my baby boy this morning and prayed for them that the Lord would help them and use us to help those that need him! Just like Christina had been talking about adoption this Chapter completely brought that subject home! As I prayed I began to see that this is how we were lost in the streets of sin without hope until we met our Saviour! He came to make everything right. Hope began to grow stronger in me for those children I was praying for because even if they are not adopted by earthly parents there is a Father that will adopt them and not only that but make them his sons for eternity!


Galatians 4:4-7 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.^[b] 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,^[c] Father.” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.


I discovered today that the Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture.


so by Christ's blood we are redeemed and are now sons of God and because we became his sons he  sent his Holy Spirit into our hearts-we are now no longer slaves but heirs and redeemed to call him our Abba-which means father. He doesn't stop there of course because we are now his children he also made us an heir with Christ. This means that we have full access to his throne.

Hebrews 4:16 (New International Version)

¹⁶ Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

praise the Lord! His Word is truly alive and true and this truth continues to tear down walls that have been stubbornly taking up space in my heart that belongs to Christ alone. Because now I know that I have been adopted to Sonship I can approach his throne with confidence.

Hebrews 2: 10-18 basically rewords these beautiful truths to strengthen our faith.

¹⁰ In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. ¹¹ Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.^[g] 12 He says,
   “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
   in the assembly I will sing your praises.”^[h]
 13 And again,
   “I will put my trust in him.”^[i]
   And again he says,
   “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”^[j]
 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— ¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. ¹⁶ For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. ¹⁷ For this reason he had to be made like them,^[k] fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. ¹⁸ Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

So now after believing in him to be our Savior-the center of our lives he has given us freedom to live life forever with him. We are no longer bound in fear about where we will spend eternity-we are not afraid to die because he took the fear of death away by giving us eternal life! 

Galatians 3 Salvation is by faith alone.

It took me a while to post but through the day I was able to think about the reading for today.

Paul is very direct with the Galatians in this chapter he wants them to understand that salvation can not be obtained by ceremonies or traditions and like he states in verses 2-4 "...did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law? Or did you receive the Spirit by believing...are you so foolish? You began with the Holy Spirit. Are you now trying to complete God's work in you by your own strength?"
This is essentially the difference between the law and Grace. Grace is freely given and by faith we are saved for believing in Christ. The law on the other hand is a conglomerate of rules that we control by our own strength. I see the Law as a mirror in which we see ourselves unsaved and ashamed because we can't follow it-we are merely human. 

Christ is our Hope amen! He promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed because of Him-really because of his faith- he believed God. God knew that we(the gentiles) would enter this promise through Christ's sacrifice! So praise God because even before the Law was established he was first establishing hope not only for the Jews but also for the rest of the world-he was depicting his plan of salvation!

Galatians 3:24-25 " Christ came so that we might be made right with God by believing in Christ. But now faith has come. So we are no longer under the control of the law"
praise God that he gives us freedom! All throughout these chapters I see that the Lord wants to give us freedom so we can enter into a relationship with him!

I think I could write forever from this chapter!
Thank you Lord, for your promises and your faithfulness-for giving your only son so that we can be free to choose you as our Savior through faith and not be bound by sin!

I believe you are more than enough for me Lord!

Galatians 2 Stop trying to be good accept God's Grace

It is only day two and I am learning so much!

^{The accusation is frivolous. If I was "trying to be good," I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down. I would be acting as a charlatan.}

^19-21What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.

   Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.

Galatians 2:18-21 the message

So many times I find myself going through check lists and when i am able to check off things on it I feel good. I feel like God ought to love me more because I did all the things on my list that are good. He gently reminds me, " I have loved you with an everlasting love..." Jeremiah 31:3 His grace is sufficient I need to stop trying to be good-stop trying to keep the rules I made up and just be a woman according to God's heart. 

So, I must remember to crucify myself with Christ daily-although sometimes I need to hourly! Because Christ's life is the perfect example of what I should do. I love the way the message states this-IT IS NO LONGER IMPORTANT FOR ME TO APPEAR RIGHTEOUS OR TO TRY TO IMPRESS GOD. 

what a load of my shoulders-God doesn't want to be impressed by me-he wants to be loved in obedience by me-what a beautiful thing his death and resurrection has set us free to have a relationship with him!

BY GRACE WE HAVE BEEN SAVED THROUGH FAITH!

Ephesians 2:5
that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)

Another verse  that caught my attention was 

"The only additional thing they asked was that we remember the poor, and I was already eager to do that." Galatians 2:10

as I was doing research  

I found this writing by Charles Spurgeon http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/0099.htm

I like this excerpt

 "Grace is a plant which draws no nourishment from the wilderness in which it grows; it finds nothing to feed upon in the heart of man; all it lives upon it receives supernaturally. It sends all its roots upwards, none downwards; it draws no support from poverty, and none from riches. Gold cannot sustain grace; on the other hand, rags cannot make it flourish. Grace is a plant which derives the whole of its support from God the Holy Spirit, and is therefore entirely independent of the circumstances of man. But yet, mark you, it is an undeniable fact, that God hath been pleased for the most part to plant his grace in the soil of poverty. He has not chosen many great, nor many mighty men of this world, but he hath "chosen the poor of this world—rich in faith—to be heirs of the kingdom of God." We should wonder why, were we not quite sure that God is wise in his choice. We cannot dispute a fact which Scripture teaches, and which our own observation supports, that the Lord's people are, to a very large extent, the poor of this world. Very few of them wear crowns; very few ride in carriages; only a proportion of them have a competence; a very large multitude of his family are destitute, afflicted, tormented, and are kept leaning, day by day, upon the daily provisions of God, and trusting him from meal to meal, believing that he will supply their wants out of the riches of his fullness"

with the holidays coming up let's make an effort to remember those in need and rally together to help them.

be it in our bible studies, social groups, or book clubs-maybe a food drive or donations?

We can do all things through Christ! phil 4:13