Grace Looks Amazing On You

Grace Looks Amazing On You – 100 Days of Reflecting God’s Love

“Is this really all there is?”

The question hung like heavy fog over my table, combining with the unseasonably cool air to make me hold my coffee cup a little closer as I looked at my sweet friend, understanding the disappointment she felt.

I’ve felt it, too. The feeling that surely God had something MORE in mind.

She said, “I guess I just have to accept that THIS is my life. This really is what God wants me to do.”

Oh, how I know that feeling. I’ve lived it daily for the last six months or so, but until she said those words I’d forgotten the answer God gave me when I asked that same question:

“What do you want me to do?”

It was like one of those moments in a movie when a book falls open and the pages turn with unseen wind and illuminate everything.

And, I kid you not, this is what the Bible said:

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life – and place it before God as an offering.” (Romans 12:1 – The Message)

It doesn’t get much clearer than that, y’all.

Those words were the encouragement my friend needed and the reminder I required so it was no surprise when I happened across them the next day in a little book of devotions called Grace Looks Amazing on You by Amy Seiffert.

She writes, “Sister, the nitty gritty details of life in front of you are not in the way.  They are the way.”

“God develops faith, hope, and love through our motions and routines.  And even through our daily temptations, He gives us opportunities to trust him.”

I think he’s given all of us ample time and opportunity to do that lately, hasn’t he?  If nothing else, this quarantined time has made reflection part of our routine, and like my friend, many of us are asking, “Is this all there is?”

Maybe, but remember when some disciples asked the same question about some loaves and few fish?  What seemed like nothing special fed a few thousand.

Because as Seiffert reminds us, “God takes our everyday life and makes it the path to knowing him.  Cars can become sanctuaries.  Showers are sacred places.  Balancing a checkbook can be our greatest place of faith…God wants to meet with you in the same places and spaces in which he met the disciples: on the road, inside your home, along the hillsides, in your workplace, at dinner parties, in gardens.  Your daily life is how Jesus makes a way to meet with you.  Look for him and his grace around every corner – in the kitchen, in your backyard.  He’s there.”

That brings a whole new perspective when I look outside and see my children playing.  We’ve been here at home for months now.  But do you know what?  He’s been right here with us, too.

And, he’s right there with you, too.

That’s the hope of life in Christ.  We are ALWAYS with him.

Grace Looks Amazing on You reminded me of that fact in a powerful way.  It also reminded me of one big reason why I sometimes find myself disappointed:  comparison.

The success of others sometimes makes me question my purpose and place.  I’ll be the first to admit it, but Seiffert reminds us that another’s success is not our failure.

In fact, “The truth here is that her success is our succes.  Because when a sister succeeds, everybody wins.  She has just become more of who she was created to be, and the world we live in just got better.”

That’s the kind of community I want to be part of, don’t you?  The kind where a friend can lay honest fears and struggles down over a cup of coffee and hopefully find encouragement instead of condemnation.

That’s what you’ll find in Grace Looks Amazing on You, 100 devotions that will encourage you to find God’s grace in every situation and his love in every day.

“All around us are flashes of grace, shining examples of God’s love. Amy Seiffert says it’s the everyday moments that Jesus shines through: making time for a friend even when your to-do list is pages long; apologizing to your neighbor when you don’t want to admit you are wrong; opening the Bible when your soul feels hollow and empty. Making the choice to accept God’s limitless love no matter what and reflecting it back to the world around you—friend, that’s when His grace looks amazing on you.”

The book is a perfect gift to affirm and encourage any woman and is packed with personal story and reflection, Scripture, and deep biblical truth and makes a great gift for moms or graduates!

BlessedFreebies.com is giving away 2 copies of the book.  Click here to enter the giveaway!

Disclosure:  I received a review copy of this book, but the ideas and opinions expressed above are my own.