For many years Angela Thomas thought of the Beatitudes as a list of "Gotta Be's," as in: Gotta be meek. Gotta be merciful. And when she compared her life to the standard they set, she always felt that she came up short. But through God's great mercy, she has come to see this passage instead as a roster of "When You Are's." When you are meek, there is a spiritual inheritance. When you are merciful, you will be shown mercy. This shift in thinking has led Thomas to understand that God does not require perfection, but rather our gracious obedience. In His eyes, our lives-complete with mistakes, blemishes, and imperfections-are A Beautiful Offering. Angela Thomas is an ordinary woman and mom, with an extraordinary passion for God. She's been honored to walk alongside women of all ages and walks of life through her books and speaking engagements. Angela received her Master's degree from Dallas Theological Seminary. For more information on Angela, visit: www.angelathomas.com. A Beautiful Offering Returning God's Love with Your Life By Angela Thomas Nelson Books Copyright © 2007 Angela Thomas All right reserved. ISBN: 978-0-7852-8826-8 Contents Part 1-When You Are................................11. Broken..........................................52. Wounded.........................................213. Being Yourself..................................334. Falling in Love.................................465. A Friend of Sinners.............................596. Pure in Heart...................................707. A Peacemaker....................................848. Persecuted......................................99Part 2-As You Go...................................1119. Be the Salt and Be the City.....................11510. Make Every Effort..............................12911. Keep a Secret Life.............................14112. Stockpile in Heaven............................15213. Expect a Bridge................................16514. Lay It Down....................................17615. Take the Narrow Gate...........................18816. Build on the Rock..............................200Acknowledgments....................................213About the Author...................................215 Chapter One Broken * * * Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3) The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18) When I was a little girl in North Carolina dreaming about what I wanted to be when I grew up, I chose the most radical, adventurous, outside-my-box, scare-my-parents-silly thing I could think of. My mom was a nurse and my dad sold produce. I was their firstborn, and I decided that I wanted to be an astronaut. Of course no one took me seriously for a while, which made me all the more determined. Folks would come over for dinner and I'd hear them talking to my parents. Actually, I was eavesdropping. I'd lurk around the grown-ups, careful not to draw too much attention to myself, silently gathering information. For some reason, I thought that I belonged in their conversation more than I belonged outside on the swing set. I'd overhear one of my parents say, "Angela wants to be an astronaut," and then I'd watch as the guest would look over at me, amazed. I assumed they were thinking, That squirrelly little four-eyed kid? She seems kind of nerdy, but she must have spunk. She's got big dreams. I'd puff up on the inside, thinking to myself, One of these days you are going to watch me land on the moon. I kept talking about being an astronaut and reading books on NASA and lunar landings. In the third grade, I sat riveted to watch all the Apollo coverage on our grainy black-and-white television. While the other girls were doing book reports on cats or manners, I always chose topics such as space and moon rocks and exploration. I would stir up a glass of Tang for breakfast and think about what it would be like to drink it through a straw while floating upside down in a space suit. We built model rockets at school once, and I was thrilled to get out of that stupid sewing module and onto my life's calling. I knew I'd eventually prove to all the naysayers that I was serious. I didn't know you needed to be a genius to be an astronaut; I thought you just had to want to. And if it was about "want to," then I had it. One Christmas I asked for and received a telescope so that I could keep an eye on things and chart my course through the stars. Never mind that it was the dinkiest little tabletop telescope ever, with three wobbly legs. I took it outside at dusk and stared at the moon. Soon I had convinced all the neighborhood kids that I could see the United States flag Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had planted on the lunar surface during the Apollo 11 mission. I was so sure that I even convinced myself I could see it. I can still remember blurry images of red, white, and blue and my big