Growing in Grace

In the second to last chapter of Sally Clarkson's book Dancing With My Father, Sally writes about how we all love stories where good versus evil and the heroes, against all odds, win the ultimate victory. These stories give us hope. But the greatest epic begins with our Father, the Creator of the universe, who delighted in giving us a beautiful kingdom in which to enjoy life. But Satan, the evil enemy, came along; deceiving and captured the allegiance of God's creation. In order to retrieve the lost from the kingdom of darkness, Jesus, our hero, sacrificed Himself and conquered death. And as His redeemed, we each play a part by bringing "light, love, beauty, and His presence every place we go." (p. 186) Like the devoted heart of the princesses in the fairy tale stories we love, we too must have a devoted heart. "Joy is not found in doing - 'If I follow this formula and do enough good work, then I will find joy.' It is not dependent on our deserving - ...

Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. -Psalm 103:13 Sally Clarkson writes, "Only the grace and love that God gives freely through his merciful nature can provide us with that which we long for: peace and joy." (p. 167) When we intentionally ask God to open our eyes to His provision of joy, we will begin to notice even the smallest, everyday things as God's gift. (p. 171) When we feel overwhelmed by our circumstances, we need to pray. Whatever the need, we need to give it to Him. "By focusing on the transcendence of God, his power, presence, and character, (we) put the problems of life in their proper place." (p. 172) Too often we hold onto the burdens of life instead of the hand of our heavenly Father. This robs us of our joy. By allowing God to handle our burdens, we can experience a peaceful soul. Jesus was in demand by so many, yet He always made time for prayer and to build relationships ...

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God..   -Hebrews 12:1-2 In her book, "Dancing with my Father", Sally Clarkson recounts her dear friend's battle with ovarian cancer. In spite of her pain and discomfort, she covertly invited her five good friends to bring food for a houseful of women for the sole purpose of sharing the Gospel with those in attendance. Sally writes, "Marcy had grasped the reality of heaven so clearly that she conquered her illness even though it ravaged her body. She understood that she had one chance to live in such a way that she would make the reality of God, His love, beauty, and red...

Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." -Matthew 22:37-40 Loving God and loving people. In her book "Dancing with my Father", Sally Clarkson writes, "Joy is connected to relationship." (p. 126) 1 John 4:16 tells us "God is love." Sally goes on to say that "friendships and family relationships can be the places we most feel God's love as we experience it at the hands of human beings." (p. 126) "Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief." -Swedish Proverb As Sally wrote about her special friend, Gwen, whom she met in Poland as a missionary; I was reminded of the special friends I have had over the years and how each one has brought special joy to my life and...

Often in the past, Lord, I have come to thee with a heavy heart and a burdened life. And thou answered my prayers and graciously lifted the burden from me. Yet with strange perversion, I still refuse to leave my burdens with thee. Always I gather them up - those heavy bundles of fears and anxieties - and shoulder them again . - Peter Marshall Sally Clarkson writes that she found herself weary, pondering alternatives regarding her son's living situation and wondering if all of life was going to be this way. "Could nothing ever work out smoothly and easily?" (p. 108) I have often wondered the same thing. Sometimes everything about life seems difficult ALL THE TIME. As Sally read about Adam and Eve in the garden she saw how Satan had tempted them to not believe in God's goodness and provision. It made her see that Satan might also be involved in tempting her to disbelieve God's provision in her current situation with her son. She felt the question being asked of ...

God intended that we become witnesses of his beauty, design, color, and pleasure so that we could gain a more intimate, real and personal knowledge of him. God does not want to be just a thought to know, but a personally engaging friend and Father whose relationship with us is filled with memory, delight, and moments to be experienced and enjoyed. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4 Through nature, we observe that ours is a God of variety. The key to enjoying God in every moment of these daily pleasures is to open the eyes of my mind to see and to appreciate what he has given. A thankful heart galvanizes the connection between my God and me. It is when we come to see what he has given that we begin to be mature. It is when we understand that God's gifts are with consideration of our truest needs - for love, beauty, purpose, belonging - instead of for our selfish gratification, material possessions, ownership. When we are humble and appreci...

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4 Sally Clarkson writes in her book "Dancing with My Father" - "Life has been so much harder than I ever thought it would be as a child!" I concur! As she explored the verses in James above she found these nuggets of truth - "These verses focus more on developing internal righteousness and character. The testing James referred to is more of a practice and exercise of skill and strength, an external ability. In other words, we may make a commitment in our hearts to love Jesus and to follow him, but there come contests, so to speak, in our lives in which we have the opportunity to show and to prove the reality of our faith by our actions and our behavior. Only then is our faith worth something, and only then d...

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. -C.S. Lewis (p. 48) I will be happy when. . .  And I filled in the blanks with a list of events I had built up in my mind, which I was certain would fulfill my life. . . The list marched subconsciously through my mind each day of my discontent. And with each passing day, my dissatisfaction and expectations grew. . . I didn't realize that I mistakenly believed I needed these things to be happy because I was basing my experience on worldly temporal values. . .  Finally, I came to the end of myself. At some point in life, it dawned on me that this is the "broken place." Earth is the temporary place where Satan rules and where all people are sinful and subject to the disappointments of a fa...

"Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. - 1 Chronicles 16:10" (p. 23) "I am convinced that David's story shows us a life that can be danced and celebrated by everyday people like me and you. With 'heart' eyes, we learn to see God's power. . . David danced before the Lord with all of his heart because he loved God; his dance poured out of the overflow of his relationship with God. . . David did not base his joy on his circumstances but on his perception of God's daily companionship. And his inner life and love for God grew stronger. . . " (pp.24-25, 27) "Then David spoke to the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their relatives the singers, with instruments of music, harps, lyres, loud-sounding cymbals, to raise sounds of joy. -1 Chronicles 15:16" (p. 27) "'You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever' (Psalm 16:11). . . David...

I read and re-read the book Dancing with my Father by Sally Clarkson. It was wonderful. I have been neglecting my 1,000 gift posts so have decided to include my reading of this book with my list since the book was also about how to find joy in the everyday. "On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined. . ." Lord Byron (p. 14) Sally Clarkson wrote "we are not to look for temporal happiness, to have our own way; instead we are to look for the true, authentic joy that comes from God, the Source of joy." (p. 15) You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, that my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever. -Psalm 30:11-12 "Dear Heavenly Father, Please move in my heart. Teach me to live in the fullness of your joy. Show me through your Word and by your Holy Spirit how I might learn to dance my life with you as my lead, following your steps, lis...

"Often in the past, Lord, I have come to thee with a heavy heart and burdened life. And thou hast answered my prayers and graciously lifted the burden from me. Yet with strange perversion, I still refuse to leave my burdens with thee. Always I gather them up - those heavy bundles of fears and anxieties - and shoulder them again." -Peter Marshall Aww, yes. . . this can be me. I have faced some heavy things in my life thus far, but I have learned to take them to the Lord. And God has been ever so faithful to meet my needs in ways beyond what I had asked or imagined He would or could do for me. So why then, do I sometimes allow myself to get so overwhelmed that I can barely stand. I begin to experience anxiety creeping in; worrying and wondering how I can possibly ever get out of the difficulty. Will it always rain with problems and difficulties? Well, the Bible does say in this world we will have trials (John 16:33). . . so I guess, yes, there will be difficult days. What are...

I have been reading Sally Clarkson’s book “ Dancing with my Father ”. It is a wonderful book and has helped me press on in my quest for joy. In the chapter I was reading the other day, Sally Clarkson was sharing about her experience as a missionary in Communist Europe and how it related to the idea of finding joy in the midst of suffering. As she pondered over how people living in such great oppression could express such joy and hope, a woman shared the following with her: “When you really need there to be a heaven and when you believe in it with all your heart, you have great reason to rejoice because you know this life is so short. You count on the fact that you will live forever in a place that you were designed for from the beginning of the world. The problem is that, sometimes, you who live in the Western world have so much of heaven on earth, with all your things and relative security and stability, that you can’t clearly see the world that is ahead. And often, I think, you d...