Grace and Reflections for a Woman's Heart #7 and my Blog Anniversary winner

As promised, today is the day that I will reveal
the gracious winner for my one year blog Anniversary.
At the end of this post you will "meet " her
and find another little surprise
that happened before my one year was reached. 

~ A Look Into Proverbs ~

"For the Lord giveth wisdom:

out of his mouth

cometh knowledge and understanding."

(Proverbs 2:6)

~~~***~~~

Proverbs contains the very wisdom of God

given to show us the value

of living prudently ~ or to be cautious

 "But the path of the just is as a shining light,

that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

(Proverbs 4:18)

~~~***~~~

I love this verse! Why?

Because it is a wonderful promise for the believer.

God has ordained that we walk in His ways,

be obedient to His will

 bringing about our path to grow brighter and brighter.

~~~***~~~

The way of the righteous is light.

When we choose to walk in the light

our ways are safe and pleasant.

Christ is our way and He is the light.

Those who choose to walk in His ways and with the just,

will allow the Word of God to guide their feet.

~

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,

and a light unto my path."

(Psalm 119:105)

 This is such a great verse to hide in our hearts.

God's Word becomes a light to our paths

as we walk obediently in His ways.

We can have the confidence

that when it seems like our path appears dark,

God's Word, that we have hidden in our hearts,

will guide us every step of the way.

~~~***~~~

As we walk in God's ways He begins changing us

little by little, day by day

into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

~

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass

the glory of the Lord,

are changed into the same image

from glory to glory,

as even by the Spirit of the Lord."

(2 Corinthians 3:18)

~

Another beautiful promise!

When we put our faith in Jesus,

our spiritual nature changes to mirror God.

Not by anything we have done or could do,

but by the transforming Light.

~~~***~~~

We are a work in progress, all through the

work of the Spirit and by the grace of God.

We so need God's grace in our daily lives, don't we?

The spirit of the light is our guide

as we strive to walk obediently in God's ways.

~

Because we live in a fallen world

it's easy for us to stumble, fall and make mistakes.

But praise God, 

our personal failures are God's amazing grace to us.

~

I'm speaking for myself here ~

but time after time I have gone before the throne of grace

having to ask for forgiveness for failing my Almighty God.

In my own words, like Paul,

I do the things that I don't want to do,

and I don't do the things that I would like.

Frustrating!

 God's grace is abundant,

 but it doesn't give me the freedom to sin.

~

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just

to forgive us our sins,

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

(1 John 1:9)

~~~***~~~

Through God's love grace and mercy

He never gives up on us.

He picks us back up when we fall

and leads us in the right direction,

continuing to change us into the likeness of Himself.

O the joy which is the pleasure of walking

down the path of the just ~

knowing we are a work in progress ~

pressing towards the Light ~

and reaching our goal at that  perfect day.

Glory to God in the Highest!

~~~***~~~

How have you experienced God's grace

in your spiritual walk with Him?

God pours His goodness and grace upon us ~

Because He loves us dearly.

 ~~~***~~~

Our Precious Heavenly Father,
as we graciously follow after Thee
in our walk with You,
teach us to walk righteously
as You light our way by Your Spirit
and through the scriptures.
Keep us close to Thee.
Amen.

~~~***~~~

Now the Give~Away
First I must thank each and everyone of you
for being such "gracious" followers!
Where would I be in this beautiful community
of blogging if it were not for you? 
The Lord has graced me with ladies from all 
over the globe and I appreciate you.
One year ago I would have never dreamed
I would have become involved in a community
of such love and grace
from ladies as precious as you!
~
I wished it were possible to gift each one of you
with a thank-you love gift
but that is not possible. :(
However ~
I have two love gifts going out to two lovely ladies.
Let me explain ~
Between God and I, 
I have been praying for months that
my Google followers would reach 100
either on or before April 2, but I wanted followers 
to find me because God led them to this blog, His blog.
Just two days before my one year party
God sent my 100th graceful follower,
someone I had not seen in our community.
She was all new to me. :)
That's God!!
~
Now for the revealing...
I had Stephanie draw the name out of a beautiful crystal bowl
since she was the BIRTHDAY girl.
Her lovely fingers pulled out

Congratulations Celestina
for winning the gift for my blog anniversary.
You may visit Celestina over at
Southern Day Dreams 
~
My 100th graceful follower was Kim over at
Sarah Lizzies 

 

Celestina's  gift                                                   Kim's gift
Much love to you all!

Joy!
~ Debbie ~