I wanted to let you know that my site is moving!  If you link through Facebook then no worries, you’ll just continue to click on through, but if you subscribe by email or RSS feed then please go to the new web site and resubscribe.  Thank you!!

The new web address is www.beccamarchbanks.me.  The look is still the same but the domain has changed.  If you have any questions you can email me at r@beccamarchbanks.me .

Hope to see you soon!

Frustration abounded and grace was looked over in the busy mess of life.

Have you ever had one of those mornings?

Unfortunately this morning lasted all day.  Isn’t it interesting that when one person in the family is off kilter the whole group is thrown awry? My mood affected my husband which trickled down to the children and from there the snow that first fell as a flake became a barreling ball rolling break-neck down the mountain.

It’s a cycle isn’t it, this sin trap?  Sometimes we choose the trap because these are “acceptable sins” that seem to remain unnoticed by others and we think it’s easier to keep running in circles than to step out and walk the straight line.

But He says, “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.“  Mt. 7:14 ESV

The way that leads to life is hard. *sigh* Yes, yes it is.

And so as I stood at my kitchen sink, doing the fourth load of the day, lamenting about the state of my house and the bills that still needed to be paid, I had a moment…the kind of moment where you know that God is moving in your heart and aligning your spirit with His.

It’s painful, seeing your sin in the light, but so, so sweet to know that it has already been covered by the blood of Christ.

It was a moment of grace. Life was going round just like before, the tasks were still there waiting, but my heart was moved, changed.  I plunged my hands back into the soapy water and saw with fresh, grace-washed eyes:  my son sharing my love for reading at the kitchen table,  my daughter dancing to the worship music streaming from the computer, and the look of concentration on my husband’s face as he learns a new song to share with our students…

And I smiled as He whispered, “Behold, I am making all things new…”.

Yes, even me, Lord.

1. We made it to the store for groceries before the storm hit.  I remembered everything but the coffee and didn’t realize that I had forgotten the coffee until the next morning when I went to make a pot.  *Insert full blown panic* Our friends brought us coffee in the snow because they have a big truck and generous hearts.
2. My kids are getting to see real snow which is a pretty cool thing in Texas:
   

   View from the back door

3. The church offices are closed (along with everything else in town) so my husband has been home, hanging out with us for two days.
4. Grace has started flute lessons with a college student who goes to our church.  I’ve never seen my girl so excited or focused on something.  I hope that excitement stays as long practice times begin.
5. I’ve found a way to buy flavored agave.  I was so excited that I let out a yelp that startled my hubs. 

Good stuff, y’all. 

But sometimes life throws you a curve ball.

And you know, curve balls are just hard to catch.  You can’t always predict where they are going to end up and when you miss, it seems that everyone else has scored but you.

Can I say that I don’t really care for them, the curve balls of life? I know in my head that they make us stronger and a better player, but in my heart I really want to be in control of the game or be the someone who knocks it out of the park.

That’s where I’ve been this past year and if I’m completely honest it’s where I still find myself part of the time.

But today I read:

“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:11-12 (ESV)

I was so encouraged.  I can’t even begin to tell you.  The fact that He planned our inheritance in advance and that He is working all things according to His will…

It makes my heart sing.

Be encouraged, friends.

He’s there.

He holds everything with His promise.

And you know what?

Those curve balls don’t look quite as scary as before because I am not the one who has to catch them or hit the home-run.

Thank you, Jesus.

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 (ESV)

He has given us instruction through His word:

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.  We implore you on the behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5: 20 (ESV)

So what does that look like, being an ambassador?

Is it using the street corner as a pulpit declaring the day of the Lord is near?  Maybe.

Or maybe it’s seeing a neighbor struggling to carry a burden and you sharing about the One who wants to carry those for us.

It could look like forgiveness given to a spouse, or a child, who needs to see grace in action.

God is making His appeal through us.

“For our sake he made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

It’s a little overwhelming. To think that He, the Maker of the Heavens, wants to use us to spread His message when so often we stumble around acting as though we don’t even know what His message says.

But then, who better to share with those who are drowning in sin than one who used to be…

Teach us, Lord, how to be ambassadors for you.  You alone can save and make new.  Show us what it looks like to carry your ministry of reconciliation to a broken world.

All glory and honor belong to You.

Jesus paid it all

All to Him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow

Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.     Isaiah 1:18

Newton says, ‘Suppose a man was going to New York to take possession of a large estate and his carriage should breakdown one mile before he got to the city, which obligated him to walk the rest of the way to the inheritance. What a fool we should think him if we saw him wringing his hands and blubbering out all the remaining mile, ‘my carriage is broken! my carriage is broken!’.

I had to stop and think; what does my life look like as  follower of Christ?

Am I focused on the broken carriage, or is my hope in the inheritance waiting for me?

Some days I carry the weight like a yoke around my neck.  So much in this world is beyond our control.

There will always be bills to pay,

cars that break down,

families in crisis,

loved ones who are sick and hurting…

It’s broken isn’t it? This life.

So how are we to respond?

Do we walk, wringing our hands with worry, and grumbling as we go the mile, so focused on our circumstance that we miss the point of this life?

This year I’m praying that God will teach me to look past my circumstance and see His inheritance…

And praise Him:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.”  Ps. 19:14

…No matter where He takes me.

What about you? What is your prayer for this new year?

My mother-in-law passed this book on to us at the beginning of the year and we are enjoying reading through and cooking together.

Our first recipe was Buried Treasure Muffins.

Since Chris and I are really working on our health and trying to watch what we eat, Gracie and I adapted the recipe (just a little) from the one in the book.

Even with the adaptations the muffins turned out great.  The “buried treasure” part comes in by adding fruit or jam as a filling.  Grace decided on banana, pear, and cinnamon as her treasures.  She believes cinnamon makes everything taste better.

Buried Treasure Muffins

1 Cup whole wheat flour

1/2 Cup quick oats (or wheat germ)

1/4 Cup agave (or sugar)

1/4 Cup cooking oil

3/4 Cup vanilla almond milk (or whatever you have)

1 egg

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Fresh fruit, jam, coconut…(your  “treasure”)

Preheat oven to 400F and line your muffin tin.  Stir together flour and oats, baking powder and salt.  If you were to use sugar add it here.  Since agave is in liquid form we added it later. In a separate bowl, break the egg and mix with milk and oil (and agave).  Then get your filling ready.  Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and stir.  The batter will be lumpy.  At this point add your fruit.  We added one mashed banana and one chopped pear along with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Put in muffin tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Yum!

Thanks, friend!

Happy New Year to you and yours!

What I’m reading at the start of the New Year:

• Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Gerald Bridges
  

“Yet it is just as important to trust God as it is to obey Him.  When we disobey God we defy His authority and despise His holiness.  But when we fail to trust God we doubt His sovereignty and question His goodness.”

• A Quest for More: Living for Something Bigger Than You by Paul David Tripp

“In a flash of irritation, a mom will treat the condition of her son’s bedroom as being more valuable than the community she is to have with her son, which is so essential to what God wants to do for this boy through her.”

• In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel Centered Life by Sinclair Ferguson

“When we see salvation as a whole, its every single part is found in Christ, and so we must beware lest we derive the smallest drop from somewhere else.”  John Calvin

• How Should We Then Live? The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture by Francis A. Schaeffer

“A culture or individual with a weak base can stand only when the pressure on it is not too great.”  …  “Rome did not fall because of external forces such as the invasion by the barbarians.  Rome had no sufficient inward base; the barbarians only completed the breakdown-and Rome gradually became a ruin.”

So, what about you?  What’s on your reading list for the new year?