The Ragamuffin Gospel

Have you read The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning?

If you have not please do. If you have... read it again!

I can't stop being blessed by this book.

I recommend Brennan Manning in general. He is very smart (honestly, a little over my head at times) but he writes about grace, and the gospel with a genuine passion that I've truly never experienced before. Something about the way he words things just hit me so hard.

When I read I tend to stop and journal the quotes or passages that really get to me. I'm a kinesthetic learner- I learn by doing so the act of writing helps me remember things and also lets them soak in better. But when I'm reading The Ragamuffin Gospel I just want to write it all.

His wording is perfect and he balances ugly honest truth with pure grace beautifully.

This morning I was going to write about how yesterday I had this great, productive day. I was so proud because I got my laundry done, cooked dinner (ok it was a 4 ingredient crock pot soup but it's Hunter's fave so it counts), worked on a Sugar Mama order, vacuumed and worked out. All in one day! I was feeling like I've finally arrived. Like I've figured it out and I now know how to be awesome at being a mama, business owner, wife, healthy, fulfilled woman.

Yep, that's what I was going to write. Well, along those lines anyway.

And then I read this:

The tilted halo of the save sinner is worn loosely and with easy grace. We have discovered that the cross accomplished far more than revealing the love of God. The blood of the Lamb points to the truth of grace: what we cannot do for ourselves, God has done for us.

So... I guess I can't take a whole lot of credit for my awesome day yesterday.

BUT I can give thanks and praise for it! And even better, I can ease up when I think of almost every day before that wasn't nearly as awesome.

You know, the days that I wore the same sweats I slept in... ALL day. The days that we ate peanut butter toast for dinner and I welcomed Hunter home from work in tears because "I'm an idiot for thinking I could ever have a business" and "our daughter deserves better than me, I don't even know what I'm doing".

The point is God gave us grace because He knows we need it.

So who are we to refuse it and try to do better on our own?