I remember as a child being completely fascinated with my mom's make up even though she wore very little. Her daily makeup routine consisted of Oil of Olay facial moisturizer (I recall the smell, so well!) under eye concealer and blush. It was the under eye concealer however that really piqued my interest. The reason why I was so intrigued by this product is because it rolled up like a lipstick. I used to love to sneak it out of the cabinet and pretend I was putting on lipstick in the mirror, like some famous movie star. Well all was well until one dreadful day, when I rolled up my imaginary lipstick (concealer) and to my horror it cracked. right. off. This was not part of my routine! I was completely mortified and unsure of what to do next. I was so afraid to tell Mom that I had not only been into her makeup but damaged something. The only thing to do in my mind was to pay her for the broken concealer, yet I had very little money at that age. Desperate, I went to my piggy bank and rounded up all the change I could find and left it with a handwritten apology note (which my mom kept for years). I was so nervous about what Mom would say or do when she found the note. Mom, true to form, came and quickly found me. At the sight of Mom I started crying like I lost my best friend. She lovingly scooped me up and dried my tears. She then smiled, returned my loose change and said with a twinkle in her eye ~ she "accepted my apology, and accidents happen." The most profound thing she said when I argued through my sobs with her that I should pay for the concealer, was when she said "Don't be silly. I cancel that debt." On so many occasions, my amazing parents modeled for me what our loving Heavenly Father does for us time and time again. We sin. God forgives us. No questions asked and He cancels our debt every time even when we feel so undeserving. He cancels our debt even when we argue with Him that we need to pay Him back somehow. It is not necessary because when He died on the cross He paid in full for our sins. Not only that but in Micah 7:19 it says He also forgets our sins. Forgives and forgets? It doesn't get any better than that my friends! I remember a little song in church we used to sing that says: He paid a debt He did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay I needed SOMEONE to wash my sins away And now I sing a brand new song, Amazing Grace, Christ Jesus paid the debt that I could never pay It is so true that the wonder of the cross is that it literally crosses out ALL our sin. If you do not know this type of forgiveness it is available for you TODAY. My Grampa Sudds used to say "There are only two types of people in this world, Dana. Sinners and sinners saved by grace." So true! Please know that means that forgiveness from your sins by Jesus is for YOU. Don't give it a second thought and remember... Don't be silly. That debt is canceled as it was PAID IN FULL! Tuck that in your heart today ❤️and repeat this prayer below if you would like to become a follower of Jesus and have ALL your debt paid in full. Dear Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. I believe that you are God and are able to forgive me of my sins. I ask you to forgive me of my sins and become my personal saviour. Come into my heart and change me into the person I am meant to be. Help me to live for you from this day forward. Amen Sending you a virtual hug, Dana
Tags: God's forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness of sins, salvation in Christ, sinner's prayerCopyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana (Dana Romualdi)
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There are days when you feel tired and then there are days when you feel tired right down to your soul. Can you relate? The cares and demands of life can really bog us down some days and rising to the challenge of our daily agenda may seem next to impossible at times. I have been there many days. I read a quote that said "Giving your best can look different each day." I love this because no one can bring their "A game" EVERY day and some days the fact that we even showed up should be considered a success. It is so easy to beat ourselves up for an "off" day, or a day that we are not quite ourselves but those days are normal. We are only human after all. Give yourself grace and know that even the most productive people have off days too. The good news is as Christians we serve a Saviour who specializes in giving strength to the weak. In Matthew 11:28 it says: "Come to me all who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest." I cannot tell you how many times I have sent out an SOS prayer to Jesus saying "Cover me. I'm going in and I am so tired. I can't do this alone. I need to operate in your strength today dear God." He empowers me each time I pray and I feel so reassured knowing that my God and I are "doing life" together. No one was made to "do life" alone. We need each other, but mostly we need a Saviour. He comes through for me every time and we face the day together. I cannot tell you what a difference that has made in my life. He wants to do the same for you. He wants to take you from a position of powerlessness to empowered through Him. Will you invite Him to do this in your life? Tuck that in your heart today ❤️and repeat this prayer below if you would like to become a follower of Jesus. Dear Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. I believe that you are God and are able to forgive me of my sins. I ask you to forgive me of my sins and become my personal saviour. Come into my heart and change me into the person I am meant to be. Help me to live for you from this day forward. Amen Sending you a virtual hug, Dana
Tags: God's strength, God's help, Jesus as SaviourCopyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana (Dana Romualdi) Being genuinely loved by someone is a beautiful thing. I am not speaking of romantic love at the moment, but rather the love we receive from our children, family members, chosen family and true besties. There is something about knowing that the others that we greatly admire feel mutually that we are very special too. It is so heartwarming and fills our cups to overflowing. My students are extremely special to me and I cherish the little love notes and gifts of the heart they give me year after year. They are so sincere and I feel blessed to work with them each day. We can show our love to others in such a variety of ways. One of my favourites that my mom would do is lovingly known as "the 3 squeezes." It involves giving someone you adore 3 slow, hand squeezes signifying I - love- you. She would share this loving gesture with everyone. She even shared it with my students when she would come and visit them every Friday. We carry on that sweet gesture and it has come to be of very special significance to my entire extended family. In John 4:7 it says: Let us love one another for love comes from God. True love comes from God and He is truly the best example of what it means to love others wholeheartedly. There is nothing you could do that would make Him love you any more or any less. I recall a conversation that I had with a friend years ago. She had a desire to seek a relationship with Christ but felt so unworthy as we all do so often. She said "I have a lot of cleaning up to do in my personal life before God would ever consider me acceptable. When and if I am able to do that, THEN I will see if God might consider befriending me." I tried to convince her that God will take her exactly as she is and help her transform by her seeking forgiveness and accepting Him as her Saviour, but she was not having it. I often think of her and hope she did eventually find her way. I remember seeing a social media post that read "I asked Jesus how much He loved me and He stretched out His arms on the cross and said this much." That is some type of love that He would give His life to help us and give us freedom. If you are seeking a relationship with Jesus, please don't wait another minute. He is ready and waiting to welcome you with open arms. He really does love you THIS MUCH! Tuck that in your heart today ❤️and repeat this prayer below if you would like to become a follower of Jesus. Dear Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. I believe that you are God and are able to forgive me of my sins. I ask you to forgive me of my sins and become my personal saviour. Come into my heart and change me into the person I am meant to be. Help me to live for you from this day forward. Amen Sending you a virtual hug, Dana
Tags: love for others, love, God's love, Christ as Saviour, JesusCopyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana (Dana Romualdi) |
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