Only Grace Not Perfection

Many of you know that James ranks right up there as one of my favorite books of the Bible. It seems that every single verse just resonates deep in my soul. I've been a bit slacking on the Quiet Time of late, so I thought there was no better way to jump back in than to do an in-depth study of James. I'm using a book called James - Living a Life of Faith: A Bible Study for Women  by Angie K. Smith. Angie has a way of breaking down things I never thought of before - for example, in day one, we only covered the first three verses of the first chapter.  James , a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad - Greetings. Consider it great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  James 1:1-3 Let's start at the beginning.  James. Who is he? While the next line tells us that he is a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus ...

"Somewhere along the way, someone told us we weren't good enough. We weren't pretty enough, creative enough, crafty enough, or dedicated enough. Social media feeds, blogs, magazines, and other people began to set the standard for us. And they set it high  -- unreachably high." - Emily Ley  Have you ever felt this way? My answer is a resounding "YES!" Every. Single. Day. I scroll through the Instagram feed, Facebook feed, Pinterest, etc. (put whatever social media platform you follow here) and I feel woefully inadequate.  Of course, we all know  that people are putting their best face forward and that there were probably 20 selfies taken before they posted the best one - after using filters and developing the colors to make it appear more vivid or colorful. But, we don't consider that. We just see that perfect birthday party for their child, or that spotless home, or that relaxed family photo - and we dwell. We dwell on how imperfect our lives ar...