Simply Sweet~ Autumn Grace

For GOD so loved

the world that He gave

 His only SON

that whoever believes in HIM

shall NOT perish

but HAVE

ETERNAL  LIFE!



But God loved us with so much love that He was generous with His MERCY:

when we were dead through our sins

He brought us to LIFE with Christ

(it is through GRACE that you have been saved)

and raised us up with Him

and gave us a place with Him in Heaven, in Christ Jesus.

This was to show for all ages to come,

through His goodness towards us in Christ Jesus,

how infinitely rich He is in GRACE.

Because it is by GRACE that you have been saved, through faith;

not by anything of your own,

but by a GIFT from God;

not by anything you have done, so that nobody can claim the credit.

We are God's work of art,

created in Christ Jesus to live the good life

as from the beginning He had meant us to live it!

John 3:16,   Ephesians 2:4-10

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Each day as I go about my home and garden, I am becoming more aware of the beauty of the changing seasons.

Trees and vines are displaying their splendid Autumn foliage and I can sense the slowing down of nature all around me.

Inside the home we have begun preparing for the coming colder days of Winter.

Our fireplace and chimney which had become clogged up by timber not properly 'seasoned', was in need of a major clean-up this past week.

I couldn't help but think how fitting it is for us living in the southern hemisphere of God's Earth, to be confronted with the images of decay and death and to feel the sting of biting winds, as we recall the agony and Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ over the coming week.

The necessary work of scraping out the debris from the firebox brought with it a sense of comfort and liberty which settled down in my spirit as parable of grace.

For if it had not been cleared out completely, our chimney would not have been able to function properly.

We would not be warmed sufficiently throughout the freezing days which plummet to well below minus in our rural area.

We would be left regretting our complacency and wishing we had  done the work earlier!

How glad I am that my husband is strong enough to climb atop our roof to replace the hat and dislodge the gum and junk which had fastened hard to the chimney.

How grateful I am that he bought new firebricks to line the box, and made all  necessary repairs so that the fire would draw correctly and guarantee us a cosy winter ahead in our little home.

You see I suffer rather badly from the cold and my bones ache ever so much if they can't get warm :-(

Watching him hard at work on our behalf just re-enforced what I already knew -my hubby is my hero!

Even so..

I am eternally thankful that SomeOne Else came to my rescue many, many years ago and cleaned out the debris of my decaying soul and made me new again!

 He breathed the fire of His Spirit into me and ignited an eternal flame which will never be extinguished no matter how hard the winds may blow outside!

In Him..the winter of my soul has been transformed into eternal spring,

 with all the HOPE of that most blessed season,

and now I hear the voice of my Beloved sweetly calling..

See! The winter is past;

the rains are over and gone.

Flowers appear on the earth;

the season of singing has come,

the cooing of doves

is heard in our land.

The fig tree forms its early fruit;

the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.

Arise, come, my darling;

my beautiful one, come with me.”

Song of Solomon   2:11-13

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Hello friends, I look forward to seeing what you will be sharing this week :-)