Come and sit at the Table of Grace

Let us come boldly before the throne of Grace to obtain mercy and receive well-timed help and grace for our every need. Hebrews 4:16

 

This grace thing, it has captured my heart.  It has taken hold and won’t let go. Fingers are gripping tight to the promises it sears upon the skin I wear and I am sinking deep into the folds of its fullness. Grace consumes, like it should, to fully submerge our daily toil beneath the ocean of His love’s complete cleansing.

And  I wonder what to do with this passion that burns for grace.

I need it … that is for sure.  I need it like I need to breathe holy infused air into my collapsing lungs. These air sacs inside depleted by the living are waiting to be filled with the wind of His mercy.

 And I sit and wait in the stillness for the gentle breeze to flutter past drawing me in.

I am amazed at the power of standing in the presence of God.  This gift, grace,  I have never once deserved it, I never could.  But for this bold grace… His Grace that beckons me near… I wouldn’t have known its preciousness.

His grace I see in so many is overwhelming to me.

I see it in YOU, friends.

I am mesmerized by these strong men and women I know, people with a purpose who are changing lives.

Many use words and pen, spilling truth that touches deep to the core.

Others inspire living hearts, agents of change seeking to make a difference.

Some of you are servants of hope, mending broken places by the ever gentle art of touch.

And others pray fervently, approaching heaven on bent knee seeking Heaven’s storehouse of blessing.

Wherever you are, however you do it, this is YOU doing this bold grace-thing.

The Vision He plants, He also consumes.

So, as I have been seeking His heart, asking for direction and wisdom for this place of counting graces, a vision has been growing. His vision has been steadily growing.  I am sure that it is His because it is not something I find myself feeling so confidant in stepping into. And I have heard Him speak it clearly enough that it has gone beyond the point of questioning His voice broaching disobedience.

It is a small thing, really, but anything small in God is pregnant with possibility right?

The availability of safe places here in our the ever-expanding planet we live in is growing smaller. This wide vast world seemingly unseen is often brought close in moments encroaching unaware upon our days.

We miss the art of hospitality in our hearts, in our homes, in our quiet time. We are missing inviting others into our daily wandering, giving them a place to expand themselves. Instead, we are meeting at the social gatherings,we are busy marking off calendars, but we are not connecting… not like we should. It is surface connection, nothing more.

The absence of hospitality in our relationships and around our tables, only shows a deeper deficiency of the soul. Absenteeism  is a habit worn well as we purpose to mark off the check list. Our truancy of the heart stems from our lack of inviting God to go deep, sweeping the door open wide to embrace this grace He gives, the promise of completion that can only be found with the entrance of His person.

If we are missing the connecting, then what?

We need to sit together at a Table of Grace.

We should consider the possibility of meeting there. We should come with a willingness to cross the abyss that the void of hospitality stains upon our souls.  These table of grace gatherings can occur both in our hearts and our hearths; geography is not an obstacle here.

The Table of Grace is just a metaphor for extending mercy to people… He is asking us to literally be willing to extend hospitality to Him, to ourselves, to  the  church. This is more than just hosting hope, friends, we are purposing to lend grace with no return expected.

{How do we do this?}

As we practice the giving of grace, we start to learn the art of communion, feeding with both food and the Word. We invest time and ourselves in the relationship account of one another. We till up the soil of our hearts with prayer and purpose, intentionally sowing grace as we serve in faithfulness.

 

Intentionally investing, opening doors, sharing of hearts, touching heaven… This is how we start.

Hospitality, I am learning, is more than just opening up our doors and hosting a lunch. Its getting real, being present, sharing hearts,  and touching heaven together.

Inviting grace brings Christ in the midst of our gatherings. It is fellowship with the purpose of breaking bread and mending hearts, just like Christ did when He set the pattern as he made His habitation here, among us.

This is the beginning of something different. It is a place where I can open my door to you and build that community of grace dwellers that His vision encompasses.   It is a safe place to come and participate in fellowship and partake of the Table of Grace. A place for you to share your  stories and to offer your prayers and your needs knowing that we will grab hands together in faith for one another.

Journeys In Grace began as a way to share my heart and my hearth with my friends who would beg me to share some of my recipes and words.  It has changed quite a bit since I started blogging, to the point that I rarely share about my love to sit with friends over  a pot of soup and a plate of bread to just pray, ponder, and embrace one another, but I’d like to change it a little as we open virtual doors to gather together. I’d really love it if you join me there.

Let’s change the look of hospitality with an invitation.

Can I invite you to join me here each week to share your grace stories? Would you be willing to visit and build relationship through the intentional acts of serving one another and counting grace moments together?

Hospitality  is going to a different  level  here at  Journeys In Grace. We are going to be the difference makers in this diverse life we are living by intentionally counting graces together and serving up a bold dish of this Grace-Thing by walking with grace together

I am starting a Table of Grace Group on Facebook where I will be asking questions and posting thoughts that will ignite conversations and create the occasion to invest in each other. You can find the group here.   Once a month I will be sitting down with a friend or two to have  a deep discussion, a blending of hearts as we count graces together. Sometimes it will be here in my home and other times it will be a virtual conversation with those of you who are writing about your faith for others. And  yet, other times it will stem from the discussions going on in the Table of Grace Group.

So, I am taking a risk and asking you to consider joining me for a gathering here? You can ask big questions and share your stories.  Instead of  a link-up where we leave our words , we will have a linking together where we share them in community, a safe community of loving hearts who long to bleed blessing into others.

So are you ready count your bold and brave grace moments of hospitality and service through the week, with me?  I am inviting you to take time to share them with me at the Table of Grace Community.  Share something that you are learning about grace, ways you are sharing grace with one another, or tell us about your own Table of Grace serving moments.

 

The reality is that there is always room at the table for grace.

We are all uniquely gifted to fit right in the center of His grip of grace. He has purposed us to intentionally dwell together on this journey .  He has given us the ability to break bread and share encouragement all to draw closer to Him in the process.

You see, Grace, in all its finery, is really the evidence of His indwelling heart actively pursuing the art of exposing hope in the midst of everyday living. When we share hope, heartfelt prayer, and soul-filling food then we are making a mark upon the fabric of our soul that utterly stains us from ever possibly being fit for service to anyone else, save Christ.

Please join me at The Table of Grace , because there is always room for grace at the table.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To join the Table of Grace Community, click here and request to join. There is really no extra work or requirement on your behalf. I will post questions and thoughts during the week for you to think about. If you feel like you want to participate in the discussion, GREAT! If not, that is fine. No pressure!

 

 

Linking up with friends below:

Still Saturday, The Weekend Brew, Recommendation Saturday, Give Me Grace, SDG Gathering, Make A Difference  Mondays, Playdates with God, Unite, #TellHisStory,CoffeeforyourHeart, Word Filled Wednesday, What You Wish Wednesday, WednesdayPrayerGirls, Winsome Wednesday, A Little R & R, Fellowship Fridays, Missional Women, Faith and Fellowship Blog Hop, Counting My Blessings, Fellowship Friday.