Daily Grace for Daily Life: Encouragement for Women by Anita Higman & Hillary McMullen, © 2013

A little book of Daily Grace expands to a full heart as you receive and reflect, offering an uplifting cup of mercy in your day to yourself and those around you. Anita and her daughter, Hillary, share these devotions that will boost you to explore further and allow God to fill you with joy and thanksgiving at His bountifulness in any season of life. Just the right size to take with you, I like how there are topic sections with 9-10 devotions within them ~ Embracing God's Passion; Practicing the Art of Praise; Finding Victory in the Midst of Sorrow; Decluttering our Spirits; Cultivating a Servant's Heart; Viewing Life from Heaven's Porch; Reflecting the Beauty of Mercy; Discovering Who I Was Meant to Be; and Hearing the Voice of God.

Joyful Abandon

"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn

and become like children, you will

never enter the kingdom of heaven."

          Matthew 18:3 ESV

Imagine a child on Christmas morning. Her delight at the bright, colorful packages under the tree and the promise of hours of enjoyment hidden beneath the wrapping. Most likely, the little girl has done nothing to deserve the gifts. Yet she accepts them all without question and with great joy and gratitude. Unfortunately, people may find Christ's grace a little harder to accept than a Christmas present. The concept of complete forgiveness for all their sins can be a difficult thing to grasp. And even harder to fathom is the fact that His grace is a free gift––it can't possibly be earned by their own merit.

   When Jesus' disciples asked Him who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, He responded by calling a small child to Him and telling them that if they became humble like a little child, they would be the greatest in heaven. Contrary to the world's definition of greatness, Jesus was asking them to become lowly and meek, with a deep realization of their inability to achieve forgiveness through any effort of their own. Just as a child will throw herself at the foot of the Christmas tree to tear open her gifts, so should we approach Christ's grace with joyful abandon. ––HM

God, thank You for the free gift of grace.

Help me to accept it without inhibitions or fear.

Amen.

--Daily Grace for Daily Life, 146-147

***Thank you to author Anita Higman for this copy of Daily Grace for Daily Life. This review was written in my own words. No other compensation was received.***