Author: GraceUMClaremore

Wednesday June 11, 2025

Even There, I Wasn’t Alone

Scripture: Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Reflection: There was a time in my life when I had burned every bridge. I was living in my car, delivering pizzas to survive, curled up each night in the back seat with pride in my heart and no one to call. I had pushed away my family. I refused to ask for help, not because they didn’t care, but because I had caused deep wounds and didn’t want to face the consequences of my own decisions.In that season of isolation, I thought I had lost everything, including my faith. But one night, in a jail cell, the result of living in the car, a long-buried seed broke through the surface. I found myself whispering the words I hadn’t said in years: “Our Father, who art in heaven…” It all came back. The prayer my father taught me as a child. The one I mumbled through in church out of habit became a lifeline in the dark.That prayer didn’t fix everything overnight. But it cracked open my heart. It reminded me of who I belonged to. It reminded me that God never left, even when I ran, even when I fell, even when I was angry at Him for taking my dad.Proverbs 22:6 isn’t a formula. It’s not a guarantee that our children will never wander. It’s a principle, that the seeds we plant truth, love, prayer, etc. etc. will take root, even in the most unexpected seasons. Even in a jail cell. Even in the back seat of a car. Even after decades of silence.Because God is the Ultimate Parent. When our parenting falls short, His grace fills the gap. When we feel powerless to fix what’s broken, He is still writing the story. He’s patient. He’s faithful. And He never stops calling His children home.

Consider This:

1. Is there someone in your life who has wandered. Don’t give up. Keep planting. Keep praying and trust the Ultimate Parent.
   1. Have you wandered yourself? Do you carry shame, thinking you’re too far gone to come back? You’re not. Even in your lowest moment, God is still with you. His grace is still for you.

Prayer: Father, thank You for never leaving me, even when I ran, even when I was angry, even when I was alone. Thank You for the seeds of faith planted in my life and for the way You nurture them in Your perfect timing. Help me trust You with the process, both in my life and in the lives of those I love. Remind me today that You are the Ultimate Parent, faithful, patient, and full of grace. And even when I feel lost, I am never alone. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gratitude Moves Us

Wednesday May 28, 2025

Scripture: Acts 2:1–21

 Reflection: Fifty days after Easter, the disciples were together, unsure, waiting, maybe even afraid. And then it happened, Wind. Fire. A sound from heaven. What Jesus promised came true. The Holy Spirit showed up and not with a whisper, but with power. It was loud, messy, and miraculous. Pentecost wasn’t a comfortable moment it was a holy interruption. The Spirit didn’t come to keep them in the room. The Spirit came to send them out. It was a gift. An undeserved, unearned, and absolutely overflowing with grace kind of gift. But friends Pentecost didn’t end in Acts 2 because the same Spirit who strengthened Peter, who gave birth to the Church, who filled that room like a rushing wind lives in us today. Today, don’t just think about gratitude, act on it. Write a note of thanks, offer help where it’s needed. Speak a word of encouragement. Give generously of your time or resources. Let your gratitude become movement because you are not alone. You are Spirit-filled and you are sent

Consider This:

Where is the Spirit inviting me to move?

What gifts am I holding back that could be used for God’s glory?

Where can I serve, love, or listen today with Spirit-filled boldness?

Prayer:

Gracious God thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thank You for rushing winds and quiet nudges, for the fire that refines and the love that sends. Lord, may my life reflect deep, daily gratitude not just in words, but in movement. Fill me again. Move me again. Let me be a witness to Your power and presence today and every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Be Who God Says You Are

Gratitude for the Ascension

Be Who God Says You Are

Scripture: Ephesians 4:22–24 – “Put away your former way of life… and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Reflection: Today is a chance to remember something we often overlook, The Ascension of Jesus. It wasn’t just the end of His earthly ministry—it was the beginning of His reign, His intercession for us, and the sending of His Spirit to empower us.The Ascension means Jesus didn’t just rescue us, He elevated us. He lifted us into a new identity, one that isn’t defined by our past, our failures, or our fears. It’s defined by who He says we are.And the best response to that kind of grace is gratitude.Gratitude isn’t just a feeling; it’s a way of living. It shapes our behavior, softens our emotions, frees our finances, changes our words, and refines our manners. It doesn’t make us perfect, but it does make us more like Jesus.Because Jesus ascended, we can live honestly, knowing we are secure in Him. We can deal with anger and pain, knowing He carries our burdens.We can give freely, trusting that Jesus reigns.We can speak with grace, echoing the kindness He speaks over us.We can treat people with compassion, because Jesus has never stopped caring for us.As Christianswe carry the name of Christ and we wear His grace. Friends, the world is watching, not for perfection, but for reflection. Let them see Jesus in you.

Consider This:

• Pick one area, your words, your generosity, your emotions, or your relationships and ask: How can I live in gratitude in this area today, as someone empowered by the Ascension of Christ?”
• Write down one small action you’ll take today to reflect who God says you are

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for not only dying for me but ascending to reign over me with grace and truth. Help me live today in gratitude—not just in my words, but in the way I treat others, handle stress, and give of myself. Make me more like You. Help me be who You say I am. Amen.

Wednesday may 21, 2025

Because I Love You

 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” – John 14:15 (NRSV)

Reflection: Have you ever done something just because you had to and not because you wanted to?Now think about a time you did something out of love or gratitude. That feels different, doesn’t it?That’s the kind of obedience Jesus is talking about in this verse. He doesn’t say, If you want to be accepted or If you’re afraid of punishment. He just says, “If you love me.”It’s not a command shouted from a mountaintop it was a tender statement spoken in a goodbye conversation between Jesus and His closest friends. He knew the road ahead would be hard. And instead of giving them a checklist, He gave them a relationship, grounded in love, trust, and guided by the Holy Spirit.Friends obedience without love is just religion and obedience with love is relationship.God doesn’t want your performance He wants your heart. When you know you’re already loved, obedience becomes a response, not a requirement. God’s grace is free but it calls us to live fully. Not to earn His favor, but because we already have it. That’s the difference between dead religion and living faith. When you feel stuck or stagnant in your faith you are not disqualified. We all have seasons when we feel stagnant, spiritually dry, tired, or unmotivated. It’s not a sign of failure it’s an invitation. An invitation to reconnect. To rest. To realign. An invitation to ask the hard questions like:  Am I trying to do this on my own? Have I lost sight of the Source? Do I need the Spirit to stir my soul again? Friends Jesus said, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.” (John 15:4) Branches don’t bear fruit by trying harder they bear fruit by staying connected to the vine.

Consider This:

1. Am I obeying from love or obligation?
2. Have I made space for the Holy Spirit to help me, guide me, and empower me?
3. What’s one small act of obedience I can take today—because I love Jesus?

Prayer

Holy Spirit, thank You for being my Helper, not my drill sergeant. Thank You for comforting and not condemning me. Forgive me when I’ve tried to push through on my own. Renew my  hunger for God. Stir my soul with a fresh desire to know Jesus, whether brand new or all over again. Lead me with Your wisdom and strengthen me with Your presence. Because I trust You, I thank You, and I love You.

Amen.

I unveiled my skill for writing poems when I was in my own tomb. A season of my life filled with silence, heaviness, and spiritual stillness. Back then, poetry became my prayer, my therapy, my confession. I wrote from a place of deep wrestling, sometimes with God, sometimes with myself. I used to write poems in the shadows, not because I had the answers, but because I was desperate for resurrection. Writing wasn’t just a creative outlet it was survival. In those quiet hours, when hope felt buried, poems became a way to dig through the darkness, searching for light. Friends “Watch This” is more than a poem. It’s a testimony from my tomb and a reminder that even when the stone is rolled in place, and it feels like the end, Jesus is up to something. So if you’re in your own tomb era then hold on. The Author hasn’t finished writing. And when He does, you’ll hear Him say with a smile, Watch this.

Watch This

They hung Him high, then pierced His side,
A crown of thorns, who He was, denied
The crowd grew still, the sky turned black,
It looked like death had won the track.

The cross was meant to be the end,
No more teacher, no more friend.
With no more breath and battered frame,
The grave received Him without shame.

But Heaven whispered through the morning mist
“Hold on a minute 

You gotta watch this.“

The stone was rolled, the tomb undone,
The silence shattered by the Son.
Death lost its sting, sin lost its claim,
And grace lit up the world again.

This wasn’t just a tale retold,
It’s hope reborn, it’s love made bold.
It’s God who paints with mercy’s hue,
And rewrites stories, like me and you.

She came alone at noon’s high heat,
Ashamed to walk the village street.
The well was deep, her heart was dry,
Another day to just get by.

Five husbands gone, her shame well-known,
She got her water all alone.
But then a voice, a man, a Jew,
Who spoke as if He really knew.

He told her all she’d ever done,
And offered grace beneath the sun.
No scorn, no stone, just living stream,
A holy pause, a grace-filled dream.

And what if that same woman, brave,
Returned one day and saw the grave
What if the one who once felt loss
Had come to weep beneath the cross

And what if she, with trembling grace,
Reached up and wiped her Savior’s face
The One who knew her at the well
Had journeyed far, to rescue hell.

Now friend, I ask, what weighs you down
What chains of shame, what thorny crown
Where have you whispered, This must be
The end of hope, the end of me

But listen close, He’s not yet through.
The stone that rolled was rolled for you.
Where death had sealed the final page,
He tore it open in His rage.

For grace still walks through bolted doors,
Still meets you on the dried-out shores.
Still interrupts the script you’ve known,
And calls your weary heart back home.

So when your strength feels small and thin,
And darkness whispers, You won’t win,
Remember this, with holy bliss—
Your Savior smiles and says:

Watch this