Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
A short devotional to start your week in God's Word
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“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
-Ephesians 2:8-10
If everyone I ever spoke to could remember me for just one message, I’d want it to be this:
God loves you just because you exist.
His grace—God’s love in action—is a free gift He gives us just because He wants to. And it’s not that He wants to because we’re “on our best behavior” or “all that,” He wants to just because He loves us. And He loves us just because we exist.
It’s hard to receive free, unconditional love, isn’t it? In a transactional world we’re used to everything coming with a price tag or strings attached. This isn’t inherently evil, but pretty necessary to protect ourselves and one another in dealing with other sinners who fall short of God’s perfection.
But it unfortunately means that it’s really, really uncomfortable to think about receiving God’s perfect love with no possible way of paying Him back.
The great thing is that it’s God’s very grace that makes it possible for us to accept His grace at all. Grace upon grace; meta-grace, grace-inception.
It’s not that we don’t have free will or are merely little puppets in His power-obsessed hands—this is a misunderstanding of God that doesn’t recognize how full, beautiful, and great His love is.
Our free will enables us to choose to love Him, that we may be His friends rather than slaves, children coming home rather than servants afar. And with our free will, we are called to let God’s grace propel us forward to act in faith and share His love with others.
We are invited, in His all-consuming desire for us to join Him in perfect union in heaven someday, to experience union with Him on earth right now through lives of prayer, Sacraments, and showing His love to our siblings in Christ.
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Consider the first verse of the 18th-century hymn “Come Thou Fount:”
Come, Thou fount of every blessing;
tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
mount of Thy redeeming love!
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
I imagine letting God pluck at the guitar strings of my heart, adjusting each knob with intimate precision so my heart can be exactly in tune with His. My sin is like a hammer to the strings, whacking them until they’re dissonant with heaven’s song of God’s love. But every time, God picked up all my pieces, puts me back together, and asks me if I will let Him tune my guitar strings for me once again.
May I, by His love streaming through every fiber of my being, allow Him to tune my heart to sing His grace every day of my life.
In Him,
-Eliza
ELIZA LIKES THINGS
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I wore this sweet ensemble for a date night with Will last week - this dress is a favorite in my closet for its beautiful “language of flowers” pattern and is 100% cotton! Topped with this necklace I recently put together with a chunky pearl strand from Susan Shaw and lace heart pendant by Goldbug Will got engraved with our marriage monogram for our wedding anniversary recently. Truly an outfit that makes me feel just like myself - find all the details here.
New 4th of July Hill House! This sweet gingham nap dress also comes in light blue. The hype is so beyond real - the bodice smocking is so comfortable and fits no matter how your body changes with your cycle. I own a few in this Ellie silhouette - shop here.
My excitement to get in the mail this ribbon bucket hat by Sarah Bray Bermuda was PEAK. She’s been so fun to wear now that we have hotter, sunnier weather! Grommets on the side allow you to swap out the ribbons and tie in a variety of styles. 100% straw, handmade in Bermuda, perfection - linked here. The dress I’m wearing is 100% cotton by a local designer here in Charleston - see all of my outfit details here.
LET’S COMMIT IT TO MEMORY:
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Begin:
“I am God’s handiwork.
And I am saved by His grace through faith.”
Perfectly tuned! As only God can do. 🌹
I’d buy a book or workbook of devotionals from you if you ever make one. This piece got through my mental clutter and cleared a path for five peaceful minutes with God. Thank you.