Less Stress, More Grace

Saw this in my mailbox this morning:

When you feel overwhelmed...

Demands knock on my door.
Burdens beckon me to answer.
The to-do list stretches for miles.

I whisper, "I feel overwhelmed."
And in the stillness it seems I hear...

"Child, open your heart to Me
instead of the demands of the day.
Lay those burdens at My feet, not on your shoulders.
Let go of your list and dare to embrace My grace.
I do not require you to be overwhelmed.
I enable you to overcome.
And with Me, you always will."

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33

--by Holley Gerth


When you want life to the full...

For years I lived full.
Full schedule.
Full plate.
Full speed ahead.

I found myself weary, wondering,
"Is this really how it's supposed to be?"

And then it seemed God asked me to learn to live differently.
To focus on love.
To make time to listen to His voice.
To embrace what He's called me to do and let all else drop away.

"Isn't that what I've already been doing?" I asked."Don't you want me to be busy, to push myself to the limit?"It seemed the heart of heaven smiled and these grace-words drifted into my day. "Daughter, I did not come to give you a full life. I came to give you life to the full."

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

--by Holley Gerth