Outrageous Grace! Unspeakable Joy! Last night I was at a church meeting and one of the ladies shared a poem that talked about the crazy “jingle jangle” of the holidays and how there is no mention of taking time to pray etc. As I closed my eyes and sat and listened to her read the poem, the one phrase that really jumped out at me was the phrase, “outrageous grace.” (Now leave it to me and all the rest of us good Lutherans to really find ourselves resonating with that phrase) But what is outrageous grace? What does outrageous grace look like? I think outrageous grace comes in so many and various ways. Outrageous grace is when someone stops to help you when you are having car troubles. Outrageous grace is holding an infant in your arms and knowing that nothing but nothing can seperate us from the love of God. Outrageous grace, I believe, is watching parents interact with their children. I am reminded of my friend L and her son. She really doesnt like making sugar cookies but she did it because her son wanted to. And in the end, the mess and the smile on his face was totally worth it…that is outrageous grace!! 🙂 Outrageous grace is taking time this holiday season to stand in the cold and ring the bell for the Salvation Army. Outrageous grace is patiently waiting for your first child to be born! (GirlwithBlog and J, I’m thinking of you today) Outrageous grace is realizing that Im not always right! What does outrageous grace look like to you?

In addition, I happened to be listening to one of my favorite Christian radio stations yesterday when another phrase jumped out at me. Im not one hundred percent sure on the artist but I think it was Chris Tomlin. The song is his rendition of “Joy to the World” (I think thats the song) and in the middle he keeps repeating the phrase “unspeakable joy”. So what is unspeakable joy? In many ways I think outrageous grace and unspeakable joy can look a lot a like. Unspeakable joy is hearing a friend tell about the benefit that was held for her and being overwhelmed by the many people and the money that was raised. Unspeakable joy is reading about a college friend and her family’s adoption journey. Unspeakable joy is watching a seminary friends family grow especially after their long awaited journey of getting that child about 3-4 years ago!

Unspeakable Joy….
Outrageous Grace….
Unspeakable Joy…
Outrageous Grace