You Are Not The Hero(ine)

Contrary to what we've always been told, Esther was not the heroine of her own story, she wasn't even the main character.

Yeah, she had a book named after her and her husband, the king would do just about anything she asked of him which led to her saving an entire people however, I think she would agree with me when I say this but it wasn't her we should all be focusing on-

it's grace. 

No, there's no typo because I don't mean Grace the person but actual God-given, we-all-need-some-of-that-good-stuff, unrelenting, situation-changing grace!

Take grace away from this story and you're left with a girl living an ordinary (actually you're probably better off saying boring) life.

She wouldn't have been chosen to become queen.

She would not have found favor with the king.

She wouldn't have found the courage to go unsolicited before the high court and ask for help.

She would have lost her plea to save her people and maybe would have actually gotten a few people killed in the process.

Without grace there would be no 17th book in the Bible named Esther because as great and inspiring as she was she did none of those acts on her own.

So, what am I trying to get at here? I'm saying that we can be great in our own right if we realize that we and our capabilities are not the heroins or heroes of our story - grace is.

You don't need to have it all before you get it all. You don't need to measure up to any standard to be considered good enough because His strength is made perfect in our weakness.

We often go into or leave situations believing that we won't measure up or didn't do enough and we let that affect us in such a negative way. The truth is there will always be someone who you think is smarter, faster, bigger, stronger, and/or better than you but don't let that hinder the unique ray of light God wants to use in you.

Just like an artist turns broken shards of glass into beautiful mosaics, how a runner uses the hardest and probably ugliest of terrains to train on, how a potter never discards a piece of clay just because of its color and shape, and how God used the most average of girls to become queen and save a nation, so will you be in whatever situation you find yourself in.

Allow God's grace to take you where only your dreams can, and then some.

We  all uniquely fall short in a lot of things but when we leave those things to God and then allow Him to mix what we can do with that marvelous, better-than-the-putty-that-fits-into-every-crack-and-magically-fixes-everything grace,  we are bound for awesomeness.

So, what's your journey like? Where do you see yourself and trust in Him to take you? Wherever it is I hope it's nothing short of glorious!

Grace Works

The thing I love about grace is not only its ability to get you to the next point but also its ability to get you through the current one.

You’re probably thinking, duh, if God’s grace can get you to it can definitely get you through it. However, as obvious as that statement is I don’t think a lot of people knew that. If you did, then great! But if you didn’t don’t be too bummed, the present is always the perfect time to learn from the past.

I think over the course our lives we’ve become accustomed to looking forward to for the next big moment and in doing so we end up scrutinizing and regretting our current situation as if it’s a first draft on some essay.

"Lord, if you can just get me through to the next thing…"

"I messed this up but can you help me be better next time?" 

"God, help me to last so I can make it to another day."

or even,

"Give me the strength to endure what I’m doing."

They are all good and valid but why don’t we leave room for God to show off a little? Don’t wait for another chance to come along when He can make the best out of the one you’re in. Ask Him to make this time not only bearable but enjoyable. Seek out His help to make this season, this day, this moment the most awesome yet. Then you can see for yourself how He shows up in every way you could have never imagined.

Guest Blogger: January

The start of the new year is always filled with such interesting, exciting, and fresh things - why should a blog be any different? Instead of the regular guest blogs I post each month, this one varies a little from the norm. Looking for a new desktop background, I stumbled upon this girl’s tumblr page full of beautifully designed words. Interested in what she had done I contacted her and she was happy enough to share her story and reasons behind her words. 

                                           

I’m Sara, an aspiring graphic designer from Budapest, Hungary. I started this journey 4 years ago, when I left my hotel management studies and started to pursue this dream that I believe God has put in my heart. Long story short, today I’m working as a freelance graphic designer.  
I love to create, design and use it as a tool to show the grace, love and the life that’s full of adventures and joy. A joy that’s not necessarily about being unrealistically happy all the time but a joy that comes from  within, no matter the circumstances.  
Being a creative person doesn’t mean you always find the right solution or always know how to create something that works design wise. You have to spend many many hours to make it work. But if you’re a 100% sure that you’re on the right path you’ll also get the strength and patience to finish and finish well.  
 
I always loved typography. Somehow the way letters are formed and how they connect to each other always had my interest. Lettering - hand-drawn words and letterforms -is something that I always enjoy doing. It simply makes me happy. So this past December I wanted to challenge myself to do a series. I decided to make one each day until Christmas day. About that time I was struggling with being content and believing that God is with me through everything. The reason this could’ve happened is because I kind of forgot His word. The promises that he said. So that gave me this idea of starting to collect the promises that he has made. This is how #theprmsprjct (The Promise Project) started.  
‘To encourage and remind in this advent season.” - That how I described this project on my website. I knew that this could help others as well as it would help me to remember.  
 
Sometimes life gets complicated. We forget, we can’t see clearly. We need to be reminded of what God said about us, and what he has promised for our lives. We face hundreds of lies each day. You’re not valuable. You’re not worth it. You don’t have a future. You’re a failure. You’re not enough.  
But that’s not what the Creator of the universe says about you. If we don’t spend time in the Word of God we can easily be deceived. We need to hear the truth, and remind ourselves of it.

 

And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

 

2 Peter 1:4 

 

 

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I am all for creating, using your hands, taking full advantage of your mind, and then sharing that gift (through collaboration or exhibition) with others. That’s why this month I am more than excited to share Sara’s story and her work with you.

See more of her incredible work here: 

theprmsprjct.com and dribbble.com/rekasara