Grace amazing, vast and free

We are not saved by what we do for God but by what God has done for us in the person of His Son.

“For by GRACE you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, that any man should boast.”

"We are not what we should be

We haven’t sought what we should seek

We’ve seen your glory Lord

And looked away

Our hearts are bent

Our eyes are dim

Our finest works are stained by sin

And emptiness has shadowed all our ways

Jesus Christ

Shine into our night

Drive our dark away

Until your glory fills our lives

Jesus Christ

Shine into our night

Bind us to your cross

Where we find life"

I can't seem to find out the title of this song, or who wrote it, but I suppose that it doesn't matter incredibly much. 

"Time to buy and time to lose"

     So, a friend pointed out Five for Fighting to me.   Now, as a disclaimer, I've heard only about 3 of their songs, but what I heard I liked for several reasons, mainly the wistfull, dreamy quality of LONGING.  Here's something from 100 Years to Live:

"15 there's still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose
15, there's never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live" 

~100 Years to Live~

Time to buy and time to lose.   That sounds SO true.   We as young people think a lot about the future, and what we're going to do with our lives.  We dream big, we hope.    Where are we placing our time?  I know where I want to spend mine.   Loving Jesus, loving people, and spreading HIS glory wherever I go.   In every week.  Every day.   Every hour.  Every minute.

"I wish the ring had never come to me.  I wish none of this had happened."   "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide.   All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

~Lord of the Rings~

"Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil."

~Ephesians 5:16~

~Abby~

NaNoWriMo and MASKED

I love NaNoWriMo.

So, this November, I’m going to, Lord willing, write another novel.    As I’ve written about recently, I’ve been thinking about masks.    This has translated into an idea for a novel that I’m hoping will really be able to express my own feelings AND make some discoveries about transparency and relationships.

So, here’s the basic idea!

MASKED

(who are you under your skin?)

It’s a world of masks.  A world without relationships.  A world where the masks the people are forced to wear on the outside has thoroughly hardened them on the inside. 

Lili is 16, and she’s hurting alone.   When Jo, a fiery rebel steps into her life, he brings with him new ideas.  Ideas of change, of loving life, and of taking off the masks that hold them captive.   But when his great ideas get him banished, Lili is thrown into a situation she never dreamed of.  

She could simply go back to the way things were.  But if she chooses not to- what then?   If she breaks the law and takes off her mask, will it simply unleash more pain or will it give her the first glimpse of love?

I’m still working on the basic premise and storyline of this, but mainly this is a story of relationships, of transparency, and of how we learn to take off our masks and be real.

Because being real means being open to LOVE.