Grace Is For Sinners

The last two weeks have been heavy.

I have received more private emails regarding Affair Week than public comments within the posts. I expected to get SOME due to the sensitivity of this subject… but the amount has been mind-blowing.

There are SO many hurting people out there. So many of you feel you can’t ever talk about it to those around you. So many of you feel alone. So many of you feel like grace is for everyone BUT you. My heart breaks because I KNOW that feeling all too well. I remember feeling that. And if I’m totally honest… I still feel that sometimes.

But the truth is Love hung on a cross for me, then rose again, whether I feel that or not.

Grace is NOT for the unstained.
Grace is for me.
Grace is for SINNERS.

Serena wrote a book titled just that. She was kind enough to send it to me to review and in chapter 11, she wrote:

“… it is God’s for me to know Him more completely and He used my failure to teach me these things. It wouldn’t be possible for me to have the perspective that I have if I hadn’t failed. I would have no reason to question anything if everything was great.”

“When you deny pain, you deny the discovery of God in the pain.”

I believe this speaks to so many of us. The one connecting underlying thought I saw in most of the emails that came in was the self-loathing accompanied by hopelessness. It’s much easier to sit in our failures and stay failures than it is to wade out of the muck, walk away and clean ourselves up. We’re so deep in our own filth, the thought of even HOPING we can be redeemed is unfathomable.

We can’t see hope. It hurts to even THINK about seeing hope in the distance.

“Teach them to wait for the beauty while they’re in the ashes. Show them that their own sin only intensifies the awareness of their need for Jesus. Your sin speaks nothing new about your human condition.” ~ Serena Woods (Grace Is For Sinners, chapter 12)

But that’s exactly what this past week was about.

Every guest blogger had a different angle in how adultery affected them. These are just a few of the many I know… but these, my friends who wrote, can TEACH because they waited for beauty in the ashes… in the muck. They didn’t stay in the muck, because they saw better… in the distance. They got out of it. They cleaned themselves off and they walked towards the beauty. The beauty of redemption.

This beauty is for you too. It really is. I promise.

I hope this past couple of weeks has given you hope in whatever you situation may be. Even if it’s only given you a slight glimpse of hope FOR hope… that’s good. You are not alone. We have resources for you. A great one is marriage coaching through RefineOurMarriage Ministry. CLICK HERE for more information.

Now… I’ve written a little review on “Grace is For Sinners” that will post tomorrow, because TODAY… I have a personally addressed and signed copy from the lovely Serena to give away.

You. Want. This. Book.

Since it’s been a little serious up in here for the last week plus, I thought I’d lighten it up a bit here in the comments today. Here’s how you enter to win:

1. Fill in all your CORRECT contact information in the comment box below.
2. In the comment box, let me know:
*** (a) how you found my blog.
*** (b) what book you’re currently reading.
*** (c) your favorite song.
*** (d) the last thing you belly-laughed about.

Easy right? Right.

I’ll randomly pick and announce the winner by 5pm PST on Monday, August 30th.

So… ready. set. GO!