There’s a dim light shining from the kitchen into the
living room. I watch my husband breathe through his Bi-PAP machine mask with his
legs sprawled out like a frog ready to jump into action. He can’t get comfortable.
Hoping to be of help, I grab the MSM cream from the
bathroom, return to the living room and prepare to massage his swollen
legs. An hour and a half later he seemed
to have fallen asleep with some relief.
As I rubbed his lower legs and feet, I found myself
feeling grateful for the grace (favor) and mercy that my husband has shown me
over the years.
He cares for me like a mother hen - literally, even
preparing 99% of the meals. Being able
to smear a little lotion on his aching body for a few hours a night seems very
little compared to this daily favor he shows me.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Nairobi,
Kenya; Kathmandu, Nepal; Benalmadena, Andalucia, Spain; Tiruchirappalli, Tamil
Nadu and Bangalore, Karnataka, India; Trinidad and Tobago; Morocco; Ghana;
Lebanon; Thailand; Mauritius; Guyana; Vietnam; Gambia; Austria; Uganda; Peru;
Japan; Yemen; Algeria; Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Nigeria; Damascus, Syria;
Pakistan; Bhutan; Indonesia;
Kenya; Sri Lanka.
USA – Atlanta, GA; Indianapolis, IN; Bridgeton, NJ;
Jamestown, NY; Harlingen and Lubbock, TX; Madisonville, TN; Brunswick, GA;
Birmingham, AL; Daytona Beach and Jacksonville, FL.
Thank you for your continued support and sharing Believing
Our Belief on Daily Favor. (DFB -
Daily Favor Blog)
You are welcome to leave comments or prayer requests below. All are private. I would love to hear from
you and how Daily Favor has worked in your life. Contact me by leaving a message in the box at
the bottom of this week’s post.
Don't miss
out on this week's challenge (below).
Read updates and visit the Q & A or other sections.
It only took a moment …
At 2:30 in the morning I quietly got up from the hassock
to go wash my hands from the MSM ointment like the directions suggests. Not five minutes later I re-entered the LR to
find that my husband had already taken off the apparatus like he does almost
every night in his sleep.
With my hands on my hips I asked him, “What are you
doing?" He began to laugh and tried to
talk his way out of why he removed the mask.
I sat down beside him to see what he was going to do next being half
asleep. Within a minute he dozed off to
sleep with the gear in his hand.
You’ve Been Poked
Realizing how much the mask hurts his nose (I could have
said face, but I won’t go there), I sat in the dark watching him. It got really quiet, so I knew he had stopped
breathing for a few seconds.
To get him
to move without startling him I did something any good wife would do, I poked
him (and I don't mean the Facebook kind, even though I got the face part right).
Now you might think I did that with my hand or finger,
but no, the moment of opportunity was too much to resist.
Could I say it was a brief time of
temptation? I suppose, but I’d like to
think of it as bucking up to the call of duty.
Hubby’s chin began to drop and his mouth opened
wide. Trying not to laugh I looked for
something to poke him with … found it! A
two foot, 1/4 inch round red plastic handled sticking device would suit nicely. Taking the rounded end I gently touched his
mouth trying to get him to stir. Nothing
…
Poke, poke, poke … still no movement. Placing the tip inside his mouth I swirled it
around his lips like a stirrer, bopping it on his tongue. While in unbelief
that I’m doing this I burst into laughter, but he still didn’t awaken.
You might even say what I was doing was scripture based
since he is a child of God’s, and as I was merely trying to get him to breathe …
“You are fairer than the sons of men; grace is poured upon Your lips,
therefore God has blessed You forever.” (Psalm 45:2 NKJV)
(OK, not really, that would be taking this verse out of
context.)
Tapping his cheek, ear and the outside of his lips with
the stick, he remained unstirred. Finally,
I had to give him a whack on the leg with my hand to get him to move. Brushing his hands across his face he turned
and looked at me. Quickly, I hid the
poking utensil like I was the magician David Copperfield.
Now if you never did anything like this obviously you’ve
never been to summer camp or grew up with seven siblings! Don't judge me, even Andy put lipstick on Barney when he was sleeping.
Smiling as an innocent child, I asked him if he was going
to put that thing on so he could sleep safely.
I got my answer when he got up and read a book!
I Want to Live Like That – Grace Because
Come on, don’t think I’m some sort of deranged or mean person, I
learned all this behavior from my husband’s creative antics that he has
lavished on unsuspecting citizens of Heaven (only he’s much better at it than I
am).
The only difference is that he won’t know what I did until
he reads this post. (Right now you can say a little prayer for me!)
 |
| Gods grace: a reason to love. |
When I was asking the Lord what He wanted me to share
this week, not much came to mind except the overwhelming thankfulness of the
grace I’ve received even when undeserved.
Jesus knows that we’re not always going to get things
right, but His grace, mercy and favor still remain because of one thing … His
love.
It’s love I find in many
believers that, like my hubby, forgives me for the wrongs (or mischievous
behavior) I do, no matter the reason.
This kind of love causes me to want to live
like that; a life that always disperses grace.
Remembering Grace
The word “grace” is mentioned in the Bible almost 150
times in several aspects or contexts of the phrase or act. Every person ever born will have received the
grace of God in their lives whether they realize it or not.
When I was reading my devotions this week I thought about
all the people who received the grace of God during the life work of Jesus
while here on earth. People were filled
with joy due to the grace that was shown them in healing, restoring finances,
relationships and more.
“And the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, (He is) full of
grace and truth.
… and of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.”
(John 1:14,16 NKJV)
Yet many of those people forgot about the grace of God as
noted in the Bible. Tracing from the time spanning between the triumphal entry
to the crucifixion of Jesus, the heart of mankind changed.
How long does it take you to forget when someone has
shown you grace or mercy? One week, one
day, one hour?
Thankfully God’s grace is mine, because of the cross Jesus
died on for my sins. When we remember
that we have been given the gift of
grace through salvation by believing in Jesus Christ, living examples of
grace should be what others see and receive from us.
“For by grace
you (we) have been saved through faith,
and that not
of yourselves; it is a gift of God,
not of works,
lest anyone should boast.”
(Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV)
This Week’s Challenge:
Remember Grace
For those who believe in Jesus Christ as the risen Son of
God, the next seven days starting with Palm Sunday, are referred to as Holy Week. As we prepare for Resurrection Sunday
celebrations, I’d like us to remember the grace of God that is ours because of
the work of Jesus on the cross.
Is there evidence that we’ve been changed by saving grace?
Grace can change a heart if we live like
God’s love is for real. We want to be like
and show Jesus to the “least of these", as we live out God’s grace so that
everything we do points to the cross.
When your children get into mischief, don’t blow it out of
proportion, but show them grace.
If your
co-worker, boss, friend or spouse seems unruly or unfair, remember grace.
While standing in line at the bank, check-out or
deli, remember grace while being patient.
No one needs to be pinned to the cross ever again for a
sin they’ve committed. Jesus already took care of it, so we can live by and
through the eyes of His grace.
We can show the world that grace through love can be
theirs too. Let this week be the
start of your believing in the grace of God for whatever sins you’ve committed
in the past.
Believe you are forgiven by
grace, and live like that.
P.S. Just to let you know …
To be fair I let my
husband (aka “his grace”) read this before publishing, while I took refuge in the
kitchen. It didn’t help. He immediately
came after me in a somewhat voice of rebuke,
“No wonder I can’t get any sleep. You did that?”
Timidly I replied, “Only
twice and not on the same night!”
Once more receiving
remarkable unmerited grace and favor, he smiled and asked, “What do you want for dinner?”
Until
next time, favor someone with grace.
“The gift of grace is My favor on you.”
Jesus Christ
What’s New This
Week: Click on book or link.
 |
| Available in eBook format. |
By
John Ortberg, Laurie Pederson, Judson Poling
Maybe you don’t know the Living God that I
know, but would like to have this kind of favor in your life also. Click on the above tab “Tell Me” for more
information on becoming a child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright from Favored1. Do not copy.
Scripture
reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Bible Gateway
Image credit: Google Images Creative Common License if not specified.
Image: Poke God's Grace Grace Challenge
Disclaimer Notes: Results may vary due to lack of belief. Updated 10/5/18; 4/5/20; 3/13/24
