By Grace Through Faith...It is So Not About Me

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For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. ~ Ephesians 2:8-10



When I was expecting our twin daughters, Faith and Grace, there were many complications. I lay awake in a hospital bed for weeks, praying, waiting, hoping, resisting doubt and fear. When we heard that we were expecting identical twin daughters, almost immediately, Ephesians 2:8 came into my mind. For it is by grace through faith you have been saved... Grace has always been my favorite name, and that verse has always spoken to my heart. It was not something I did to earn salvation, but a precious gift from our Savior. So, it seemed fitting. And, they no longer were known as Baby A and Baby B, but Faith Elizabeth and Grace Katherine. I've been talking a little about names and what it means to have someone know your name. Their names had deep meaning, and more than I even realized.

Webster's definition of grace: "unmerited help given to the people by God....". Unmerited. Undeserved. Given freely, not because of anything we did or could ever do to earn it. Grace that covers us. Grace that is given to us daily in a sufficient portion to meet our needs. Abundant, beautiful grace. Grace that saves...grace that carries...grace that comforts. I learned about His grace through being their mother. And I kept learning long after they left this earth.

At first, I thought that they were just beautiful names from a meaningful verse. When asked by one of our doctors why I chose the names Faith and Grace, I said, "Because it's going to take a lot of both to get through this!" But, even their situation...twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome made sense with the words in the scripture. Because in the condition of twin-to-twin the "lines are crossed", so to speak. One baby, (Faith) gets too much fluid, blood flow, and nourishment, and the other (Grace) doesn't get enough. In essence, Grace literally received her nourishment, her life...through Faith. And they were intertwined. Needing one another for survival.

Interesting...It is by grace through faith that we are saved. What I didn't know is that there would be more. Carrying and saying good-bye to my Faith and Grace was only the beginning of learning about the faith and grace spoken of in these verses. Carrying our Thomas, we learned about true faith. Not the pretty word we Christians throw around...thinking it has something to do with us. Somehow, if we just have enough faith. Oh boy, do we miss the boat on that one. True faith is not some pretty little thing. It is found in the nitty-gritty journey through this life. It is not never feeling doubt or fear, but trusting in God anyway, when you are most afraid and filled with doubt and questions. Trusting when you don't see. Believing without seeing. Believing when you don't get the answer you want or when there seems to be no answer at all. Praising Him in the storm. Trusting Him to carry you. Surrendering to the arms of our sovereign God. Blessing Him when He gives and when He takes away. It's not about how much faith I have or how strong it is. It's about how mighty, able, powerful, all-knowing, merciful and good my God is.

If carrying Thomas taught us about faith, then meeting him taught us about grace. The all-sufficiency of His grace meeting us in that place of unknown sorrows. And replacing what Satan meant to break us, to destroy us, to darken our hearts forever...with joy overflowing as we met our son. As he filled my arms, and as the presence of the Lord filled the room. I sang, "O Lord, You're beautiful...Your face is all I seek...For when your eyes are on this child...Your grace abounds to me." And it did. It abounded, surrounded, lifted and carried me.

And none of it...not one ounce of it was about the strength of my faith, or my ability to conjure up or earn one ounce of the unmerited gift of grace poured out over me. It was only the beginning of the outpouring. It has flowed freely into my life since the moment I asked Jesus to come in. The "works" we are allowed to take part in today are just gifts...immense privileges from Him. Not because of anything we have done. Not because we are worthy...we are so not. Instead, we are just His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which He prepared for us...so that we should walk in them! He made us for the purposes that we serve today. Each of us have specific works that He has prepared for us to do. We just walk in them. If we are walking along the path of this life, following Him, we will just gently stumble upon what He has for us...as He leads us. The gifts and abilities that we have been given are no accident. They are gifts...given to us by our Father...for the purpose of serving and glorifying Him. And in turn, blessing His people. All we have to do, is keep walking.

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God...
~Colossians 1:9-10

UPDATE: A GIVEAWAY TO SWEETEN THE DEAL! Another Way to Help Sufficient Grace...and Get a Cute Purse While You're at it!

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED...THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING


UPDATE: To sweeten the deal, we have decided to do a Thirty One Giveaway, in addition to the fundraiser. We are giving away one personalized bow purse (as pictured above) from Thirty One! To be entered into the drawing, just leave a comment on this post. Become a follower and you get a second entry. Place an order on the Thirty One page under the Sufficient Grace Ministries Party and you get three MORE entries! So there are 5 ways to win. Tell your friends!!!

Operation Support Sufficient Grace - Phase One

A sweet bloggy-friend, Tammy has offered to donate 25% of her June order profits to Sufficient Grace Ministries for Women! Tammy has been such an encouragement to me, with her sweet comments and her sweet spirit. She is a prayer warrior for her friends and loved ones. Thanks Tammy for all you do!

Thirty One Fundraiser - During the month of June, Tammy will be donating 25% of her earnings from her business which sells beautiful and stylish purses, totes, and other personalized products. This is a wonderful Christian organization with quality products. To view the catalog, click here: Thirty One. If you wish to place an order during the month of June, please make sure you list "Sufficient Grace Ministries" under the party information, and 25% of the profits will be donated to Sufficient Grace.You can also email us at: sufficientgraceministries@gmail.com. But Tammy will probably be able to answer your Thirty One questions much better than I! =) PLEASE NOTE: I found it easier to view items on the place an order page than the catalog. I was having trouble pulling up the catalog. When you go to the place an order page, you can view each individual item. Don't forget, if you do order to do so under Sufficient Grace Ministries!

Thank you so much for continuing to help us reach out to grieving families with your generosity. I hope Tammy is overwhelmed with orders. Let's keep sharing the blessings. Your order will bless Tammy, Sufficient Grace, and many families...plus you will get a cute purse. It doesn't any better than that folks!

Thank you again to everyone sending us emails, commenting, becoming new followers, and visiting our site. And to those of you who are donating! Please scroll down and read a couple of the previous posts to read our Thank You to all of you, (especially MckMama and Family) and to read about Sufficient Grace Ministries!

Oh...and Holly is hosting another way to benefit Sufficient Grace. If you purchase a jewelry item from Tammy (a different Tammy than the one hosting the Thirty One fundraiser!), she will donate 10% of the cost of the item to Sufficient Grace Ministries! The items are beautiful, sentimental and reasonably priced. I'm actually buying one myself with stones for each of my babies! Can't wait!!! I'll share it here when I get it!

Thank You

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you... ~ Phil. 1:3

Thank you will never be enough...there are no words to express our gratefulness for the generosity of MckMama. With the mighty wolverines (yes, as an Ohio state Buckeye it does pain me to type those words...but I love MckMama that much!) spurring her and each other on, sweet MckMama will be donating a grand total of $2294 to Sufficient Grace Ministries! Yes, two thousand, two hundred and ninety-four people took the time to comment yesterday in answer to MckMama's call. Amazing grace, Amazing God, Amazing willing hearts...

Yesterday morning as I was getting ready to pick Timothy up from his golf tournament and trying to catch up on the blog and ministry email, I found MckMama's email in my inbox telling me to check out her blog...and also reminding me that what I was about to find was not about her, or me...but about Him! About the amazing, mighty, awesome God we serve. She felt led by the Lord to step (LEAP) out in faith...and in the process to bless my ever-loving socks off! And not just mine...but everyone who graced her blog, or mine, or the other blogs that were writing about this incredible act of generosity and faith yesterday. And not just all of those...but everyone they shared with by word of mouth. And not even just those...but every family who will receive comfort and hope as the result of her willing, generous, obedient to follow God's call, heart.

I very rapidly called my brother who works on our website, which was under construction at the time... and said that the people would be coming. There would be no time to perfect things. MckMama had spoken (at the Lord's leading) and wolverines would be coming our way...in droves. My brother is a Michigan Wolverine fan by the way!=(

Any-hoo, there was little time, and some glitches, but he and his wife got the site running and put up what they could. I frantically posted bits of information about our ministry so that it would be readily available for those stopping by...and emailed everyone I could think of.

Then, I had to leave to get Timothy, run errands, prepare for Saturday Worship, and attend Saturday evening worship. Following the service, we had to go to a graduation party. So, believe it or not, I wasn't near my computer all day! People would call me and give me updates. Friends sat mesmerized by the ever-increasing comments. My counter disappeared for several hours! And I just floated through my day in complete and utter awe.

At 10:00p.m., I was finally able to get to my computer and settle in for a long night of watching the Lord work through His people. As I read through some of the comments, I was touched by so many who have lost a baby or child or who knew someone close to them that had a loss. I cried as I read some of your stories...and plan to try and visit many of you. I prayed for many last night as well. I was touched by friends (and strangers!) who visited and left a comment. Friends who sat by their computer. Friends who commented over and over again...and stayed up until the very end to see this through. I laughed at many of you as the late night sillies took over (and you know who you are. I'm not mentioning any names, Toni and DawnM. And someone I don't know, named heather, who thoroughly cracked me up with her shout out to her idol, DawnM!). I love you guys.

In the midst of all of this, there still lies a mother's heart. And...one of the things that touched me the most, was the amount of people who now knew the names of Faith, Grace, and Thomas. Some of you even referred to them by name, adding blessing upon blessing. When MckMama spoke of her desire to have people know Stellan's name, that he was here, that he mattered...I understood. Every mother who has been told that her baby will surely die, understood. Every mother understood. Even twelve years later, it means so much to me to hear/read their names. They were here, they have value, they matter. Not that it's just about our babies...the purpose of our ministry is to reach out in God's love, offering comfort and hope for those who grieve. But, we are blessed that God has used the precious lives of Faith, Grace, and Thomas to be part of that plan.

I have called you by your name;
You are Mine. ~Isaiah 43:1b

When I first heard from MckMama several weeks ago, I was just so blessed that she even knew my name! =) I certainly never expected this...that she would do something so amazing...WOW! It is humbling beyond words. And, it has led me to thinking about how much it matters to us to be known...to be acknowledged, to know that we have value. No, it's not about us being known in a famous, look-at-me way. It is about our God, seeing His hand work in the lives of others...and He gets the glory. But, you know what...just like my mommy-heart is blessed to hear that others know the names of my children, our heavenly Father lets our names be known. He knows our name. He sees little tiny us. And in Him, we are valued, dearly loved, and our lives matter. Our lives matter to Him. Every tear we cry, every hair on our head, every desire of our hearts. He sees, He knows, He cares.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to MckMama (and Prince Charming, too!)...and to everyone who took part in this huge blessing. There will still be many ways you can help Sufficient Grace Ministries if you are interested, so stay tuned. Also, if you have had a loss and we can be of any help to you, please do not hesitate to email us: sufficientgraceministries@gmail.com. We would be glad to send you whatever we have to give...including a Dreams of You Memory Book. We would be honored to walk with you in whatever way we are able...and most of all to pray for you.

Operation Support Sufficient Grace...And a Contest from MckMama

If you are stopping by from MckMama's blog, welcome. She is such a wonderful gift to so many of us, as you well know. And, her generous heart is evident once again. She has chosen to support Sufficient Grace Ministries for Women and we are so blessed...blessed beyond words. Right now, until midnight tonight, she is hosting a contest. She is giving $1 for every comment on her post from now until midnight tonight!!!! So get over there and comment! And...thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has supported our ministry and to MckMama for doing this...and just for being the beautiful woman and mother of many small children that God created her to be! Love her!!!

For those of you just stopping by for the first time, please click here to read about our sweet Faith, Grace, and Thomas. And, below is a little information about our ministry and some upcoming fundraiser events.

The following is a from a previous post, but gives a good overview of our ministry:


This morning my dear friend Dawn Marshall, a NILMDTS Area Coordinator and owner of Marshall Photography, donated her morning to taking some photos of our ministry products and some new profile shots of me for our brochures and website. Dawn has such a beautiful heart and is so willing to serve the Lord with her gifts. I am so grateful for her support of our ministry and for the amazing work she does as a NILMDTS photographer for bereaved parents. While I'm not a huge fan of getting my picture taken, (especially without having my husband and kids to hide behind!) she did a great job on the pictures! Thank you, sweet friend.




She took the above picture of our Comfort Bear and the Dreams of You Memory Book, which turned out lovely. I am so glad to finally have a picture of the Dreams of You Book that doesn't have a glare covering the letters! If you are not familiar with this part of our ministry, I just wanted to share a little about what we offer to grieving families. The Dreams of You Memory Book was a labor of love which began eight years after we lost our Faith and Grace and six years after Thomas' passing. My friend Tracy lost her baby, Kelly (my namesake) in 2003. I searched for a memory book suitable to give her to honor Kelly's short life. And nothing seemed adequate. There was a need for a book that parents could use to keep their memories and to record the dreams they had for their children. I started out praying and crying at my computer and cutting and pasting (literally) in a scrapbook fashion. Then, I went back to "simplify" (as Becki always says) and designed all the pages to be printed from the computer. But there was still a lot of hole punching and cutting as I put the books together by hand. Some of the original books looked like this:

As we began getting orders for the books, it became apparent that more "simplification" was in order. Back to the drawing board. More tears and prayers, as we worked to redesign the books. Our oldest son, Timothy, drew a little replica of the Comfort Bear for the cover with our sweet little Faith's reduced footprint in the heart of the Bear. Our baby girl's footprints truly are on every Dreams of You Memory Book that is given! We hired Shipman Advertising to professionally print our Dreams of You Memory Books, and after hours at the computer and more hours as the great folks at Shipman graciously made all the needed changes, we have the beautiful books that we offer today. Hundreds of families have been blessed with this book, which truly honors the life of these cherished babies and allows parents to have a beautiful, lasting, tangible memory to hold the lifetime of dreams they hold in their hearts.

The Comfort Bear you see next to the book was born from the heart of a grieving grandmother. A grandmother who ached for her little granddaughters...who would have showered them with all things pink and lace and full of glorious girliness! A grandmother who ached for her grandson...she would have attended every baseball game and listened to every dilemma. She was also a mother who ached as she watched her only daughter grieve with empty arms and a broken heart. So, that grandmother decided to make something as a small offering of comfort to fill the empty, aching arms of other grieving moms as they were wheeled out of the hospital to enter a world without their babies. She poured her heart into making her Comfort Bears, filling each with love and prayers, until she grew too ill to continue. She worked until about a month before she lost her battle with cancer and gained all of Heaven's glory where she would spend eternity with her arms full of the babies for whom my arms still ache. That Grandma was my mom, Kathy Rutter, a woman who could make the world around her beautiful with the things she made with her own hands. Today her Comfort Bears are still made with a Grandmother's love and prayers, as the Helping Hands Ministry works to sew each one. Her legacy and the legacy of Faith, Grace, and Thomas continues.

Mom's Bears


In case you are wondering, we are a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization. We are supported through donations from individuals, churches, organizations, and hospitals who give a suggested donation to offer our products to their patients. We do not require bereaved parents to pay for our products or services. As we are growing, and offering more products and services...donations from our supporters are much appreciated. God is always faithful to provide, and we stand in awe of His faithfulness and the generosity of His people. Our needs are growing; and we held our first fundraiser last summer. We will be holding another golf outing this summer and we are prayerfully considering other fundraising efforts. While that is not my favorite part of serving in ministry, it is necessary. If you feel led to donate to support our ministry, you can click the donate button on our sidebar. Your donations are 100% tax deductible. Please prayerfully consider supporting our efforts to reach out to more grieving families.

The following new additions are fairly limited and mostly offered locally at this time. The beautiful burial gowns, created and generously donated by Cindy Roller, come in a variety of sizes that would fit a twelve inch preemie to a full-term baby. And the beautiful bracelets for mother and baby are made by Marlene Carpenter, who makes gorgeous Creations from the Heart. Words cannot express my gratefulness to these women and so many others who donate their time and gifts to bless the broken- hearted in such a generous and selfless way. Thank you Jesus for your provision...and thank you to every willing heart for all you give to make this happen.



And...please prayerfully consider supporting some of our upcoming fundraisers.While we actually do not focus a great deal on fundraising and it's my least favorite part of ministry, we are hosting several events during the summer months. I work full-time with special needs children at our local school, so summer is the time to pack it in. We trust the Lord, who is always faithful to provide our needs. He is teaching me though, that He often multiplies the blessing when He uses His people to help meet those needs. Our God is faithful and good...and His grace is always sufficient! I sent an email today to many of our supporters with the following information:

Coming Events Summer 2009

Operation Support Sufficient Grace - Taking place in June, July, and August there will be several fundraiser events to support the efforts of Sufficient Grace Ministries.

June
Thirty One Fundraiser - During the month of June, Tammy will be donating 25% of her earnings from her business which sells beautiful and stylish purses, totes, and other personalized products. This is a wonderful Christian organization with quality products. To view the catalog, click here: http://www.mythirtyone.com/Simplify. If you wish to place an order during the month of June, please make sure you list "Sufficient Grace Ministries" under the party information, and 25% of the profits will be donated to Sufficient Grace. For more information about how you can order from Tammy and support Sufficient Grace, please visit our blog: http://sufficientgrace-kelly.blogspot.com . Information coming soon (next week!). You can also email us at: sufficientgraceministries@gmail.com

Ice Cream Social - (Still in the works...not etched in stone!) We would like to have an ice cream social/light luncheon in the month of June. Details coming soon. Check the blog: http://sufficientgrace-kelly.blogspot.com . There will be a free will donation to benefit Sufficient Grace Ministries.


July

Sufficient Grace Ministries Second Annual Golf Outing - July 11, 2009 @ 1:30p.m.
1. Please pray for all details and preparations for this outing. For good weather...and willing hearts to give and participate. Please pray that all who attend would be blessed and that God would be glorified.
2. To register a four person team for the event, please contact Kelly @ sufficientgraceministries@gmail.com . Details will be coming soon on our blog, as well: http://sufficientgrace-kelly.blogspot.com . Teams cost is $200 ($50 per person).
3. If you do not golf, or are not able to attend the event, there are still many ways you can help.
- Sponsor a Hole for $100 or share a hole sponsor for $50.
- Sponsor the Dinner for $250
- A Cart Sponsor or Beverage (non-alcoholic) $150
- A Donation in any amount can be given by clicking on the donate button on this website or mailing a donation.
- Prizes and auction items are welcome as well.

August
Possibly Planning a Ride for Grace Event - a Motorcycle Run to benefit Sufficient Grace Ministries Details coming soon! Check the blog for information: http://sufficientgrace-kelly.blogspot.com.

August 21, 2009 Tim and Kelly (and guests) will be performing at the Corn City Festival at 11:30 a.m.

Thank you so much for stopping by...and may God richly bless you!

Any Given Sunday...

Any given Sunday, you will find us doing this... And even a little of this... ...reaping with songs of joy.

We are blessed to be able to take part in the Children's Worship at our church on Sunday mornings. It is a blessing, a privilege...and also, way fun!!! We get to rock out and sing from the tips of our toes to the top of our heads and shout and move. Tim gets to rock his guitar...or guitars! We get to praise the Lord, sometimes really loud...like the kids like it! Sometimes quiet, reflecting on His beauty and grace. Not always perfectly, but always with a joyful heart...making a joyful noise unto the Lord.

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
~Psalm 100:1-5

Those who know us well, know how far God has brought us...and the amazing grace that has been poured out upon us. May He get all the glory...as we celebrate the beauty that He makes from the ashes of our lives...

What Matters

Welcome to this week's Tuesdays Together in the Word. To join us, please click on the button below:



Busyness abounds in our lives. We rush around with full schedules, running here and there...working, building, making a home. Many of the things we are doing are good things, fun things, necessary things. But they still take our time and focus. Almost everyone around me seems a little stretched for time, a little busy. And, I am most certainly included among those who are frazzled and at times even overwhelmed with the day-to-day demands of this life. I've written many times about it...about my jumbled priorities and disorganization...about feeling overwhelmed. Much of it is necessary. Much of it is good. But, how much of it really matters? And how much of it could we do without?

This week's scriptures are excellent words to remind us of what really matters, starting with this:
For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.
~Psalm 49:17

Psalm 49 talks about those who focus all their time and energy on building wealth and glory. Please don't misunderstand, we have to work to make a living and we should focus some of our time and energy on that. We have to make a home, pay our bills, support our churches and ministries. But, how much of our focus is on material things? Are we seeking to have more than we need...to always have something more or bigger? Are we seeking glory in the things of this world? And, I love the message of this Psalm...you cannot take any of it with you. What does it really matter? What really matters is where we will be spending eternity...not how much stuff we accumulated on this earth and how much glory we achieved.

So...what really matters? What should really be the focus of our attention, the desire of our hearts, the attitude with which we approach the day's agenda? Let's look to Philippians chapter 4 to find out.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:6-7

We are not to be anxious or overwhelmed when we look at the needs before us...but instead we should pray with a thankful heart, and trust the Lord to handle what lies ahead. In return, He fills us with peace as a trade for our anxiety...and not peace as the world gives us. Not a fleeting moment of peace, but a deep abiding peace that comes from a loving, able God...a peace that is not dependent on circumstances...a peace that surpasses all human understanding. A peace that guards our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Oh...sweet peace.

What should we focus our thoughts on?

Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things. ~ Phil. 4:8

Guess what, if you read to verse nine, you'll find that the trade-off for focusing our thoughts on the things which are true, noble, just, pure, lovely and of good report is...more peace. Peace sounds so much better than frazzled and overwhelmed...so much better.

Another good place to be...resting in the arms of our Father, trusting Him to meet our needs...no matter what state we are in. No matter how things look with our limited human eyes. Knowing that He is not only able...but willing to meet all of our needs.

Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. ~Phil. 4:11-13


How can we learn to be content everywhere and in all things? Because, we know the One who promises to meet all of our needs according to His riches and glory...

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. ~ Phil. 4:18-20

Memorial Day

This morning at the Memorial Day Parade and ceremony, this verse was read:

For You have been a shelter for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
~Psalm 61:3

James watching the parade. The flags had just passed and his eyes were on the veterans.


James and Daddy




James and Grandpa


Remembering those who gave their lives for our freedom...remembering those who have served and sacrificed...remembering with a thankful heart.