Reflections from the Dominican Republic- Part 1
Psalm 95:1-3 (ESV)
Oh come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving, let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods.
Our first stop, unplanned, was a detour because we were "killing time" to allow extra time for our arrival in Sierra Prieta. We loaded up in our buses and headed to a local church in Santo Domingo. Actually, it was a church of 2000 which I found absolutely amazing.
We stood out not only because we were a large group, waiting on the stairs, blocking traffic, but because there were 28 of us, all wearing t-shirts that said Dios de Amor, God is love. We sat down and I was taken back that their band sounded like ours at our church. The lead female singer was awesome. It captured my attention right away. I love singing no matter where I am, but what took my breath away was the entire congregation was more than a whisper like our churches. People in the US sing like they just rolled out of bed, still waking up from a deep sleep. It was like the entire congregation was alive, engaged, thinking about the words that were coming from their lips. It was like the presence of God was hovering over us, well pleased that these people, foreigners singing in a different language knew the meaning of a thankful heart for God's faithfulness and unconditional love.
It made me think about heaven. People from many different nations, speaking different languages will one day sing together, and their will be no language barriers. We will all be worshipping together praising the same King.
What an awesome way to start our week, being united together for the same cause, because many of us love Jesus. I knew it was going to be a week we would never forget!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Worn Around the Edges
Lessons from My Garden - Part 3
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—II Thessalonians 1:3-5
Into each life some rain must fall.
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW, "The Rainy Day"
We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—II Thessalonians 1:3-5
Into each life some rain must fall.
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW, "The Rainy Day"
These plants were beautiful, standing tall and green full of life and beauty. Slowly the sun began to shine brighter, the air which was cool and refreshing became hot, lasting longer day by day. In addition, to the summer months pressing on, moths and insects now made their homes in the cool dirt and the leaves became full of holes, green turning to yellow. In essence, the beauty began to flee and the leaves began to look worn and tired from the weather and outside circumstances.
So many of us are like the leaves. We start out fresh and renewed until our schedules overtake our peace and quiet, kids get sick, stress and worries keep us up late at night and we can't find rest. We find ourselves stretched so thin that we long for a more simple, less complicated life. Why do hardships of life come? It says in the quote above that rain falls in all of our lives. There are seasons of life where rain falls more than for others. And for some who are blessed enough to escape the storms of life, there time is yet to come.
In the above passage it says that afflictions and hardships bring out the best and worst in us, preparing us to be worthy of the Kingdom. We spend a lifetime, preparing for eternity. Most of us need many years to refine us to be more like Him.
It is quite normal to us to have holes and yellow leaves, some from our own mistakes and failures, others are just allowed to refine us. So how do we find rest as we feel weary and tired?
Matthew 11 says it best, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (verses 28-31)
Matthew 11 says it best, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (verses 28-31)
Monday, July 30, 2012
Missed Moments
Lessons from My Garden - Part 2
"You and I can never do a kindness too soon, for we never know how soon it will be too late."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise. Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16
In the picture above these morning glories were planted in the spring from seed. The plants grew very full, lush and green. I waited for months, watching in great participation of multiple flowers filling each of my pots on my patio. I waited and waited; day after day, week after week. Finally, one day as I was carefully watering I couldn't believe it, I had missed the buds coming on. I loved the brilliant color. There was only one from all the plants that so fully filled the dirt. I came back in the afternoon and the flower was gone. Only several hours had passed by. It was several more days before I happened to notice another. If I wasn't looking for them, they would come and go before I could enjoy their beauty.
I find that life is like that. How many times are we in a hurry and their is a sales person that just wants someone to listen yet, we are in a rush to go through the line. Or there is an eldely person that comes into my path and they just want a touch, as I see a lonliness in their eyes. Maybe they have recently lost their love and are grieving their lifetime of memories. How many times do we make a to do list for the day and our children just want us to stop and play a game. Life is full of many opportunities to show loving kindness, a gentle touch or a wordless smile. Out of our own ignorance, we miss the divine appointment, only to realize later that the moment is gone, never to return. Just as their is beauty in a single morning glory bloom, how greater the beauty in receiving a blessing from an unexpected opportunity to touch the life of another!
"You and I can never do a kindness too soon, for we never know how soon it will be too late."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise. Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16
In the picture above these morning glories were planted in the spring from seed. The plants grew very full, lush and green. I waited for months, watching in great participation of multiple flowers filling each of my pots on my patio. I waited and waited; day after day, week after week. Finally, one day as I was carefully watering I couldn't believe it, I had missed the buds coming on. I loved the brilliant color. There was only one from all the plants that so fully filled the dirt. I came back in the afternoon and the flower was gone. Only several hours had passed by. It was several more days before I happened to notice another. If I wasn't looking for them, they would come and go before I could enjoy their beauty.
I find that life is like that. How many times are we in a hurry and their is a sales person that just wants someone to listen yet, we are in a rush to go through the line. Or there is an eldely person that comes into my path and they just want a touch, as I see a lonliness in their eyes. Maybe they have recently lost their love and are grieving their lifetime of memories. How many times do we make a to do list for the day and our children just want us to stop and play a game. Life is full of many opportunities to show loving kindness, a gentle touch or a wordless smile. Out of our own ignorance, we miss the divine appointment, only to realize later that the moment is gone, never to return. Just as their is beauty in a single morning glory bloom, how greater the beauty in receiving a blessing from an unexpected opportunity to touch the life of another!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Growth Takes Time
What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others-ignoring God, harvests a crop of weeds. But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8
Lessons from My Garden - Part 1
This spring I was tired of spending so much money planting flowers three times a year. I have two large beds in the backyard and about 7 pots on the front and back patio. While I absolutely love the beauty in seeing my yard filled with flowers of many kinds and colors, they simply don't last! I got this great idea to grow things from seed. I know I've lived in the city far too long. My Indiana, Ohio and Michigan friends are just laughing to themselves. Only my family knows that I don't have an indoor green thumb. Many flowering plants have been sent our way through the years and only one has survived, Great Grandma's cactus that was 70 years old at the time she gave it to me. I was 12. It has never flowered but I have somehow managed to keep it alive after 23 years of being happily married.
My outdoor flowers have had the same kind of fate. So back from the bunny trail, I bought three packages of seeds. I didn't think it would take over 6 weeks to become plants just breaking through soil and many more weeks after that to flower. Yes, I guess you could say I am a little impatient.
I think our spiritual growth is the same. Someone planted seeds in our life to bring us to Jesus. Some of us take longer than others to accept Christ. For some of my friends, I have prayed for their salvation for more than 15 years. You continue to perservere even without acceptance. At some point, someone comes along and leads that person to Jesus. Some people remain in an infant stage in their relationship with Christ for a long time because there is no one to teach them how to grow. For others, life circumstances become hard and they ask a lot of questions.
We all grow in our spiritual journey at different paces. Sometimes we grow impatient with our own progress as well as the progress with those around us. The best part is that God is so patient. He gently and quietly pursues us because He desires to have a relationship with us. Whether it takes us two months, two years, 20 years He still loves us and is waiting. It doesn't matter what our growth rate is or that it can't be measured, what counts is that we continue to seek Christ! When we earnest seek Him, he promises that we will find Him. Growth will automatically take place!
Lessons from My Garden - Part 1
This spring I was tired of spending so much money planting flowers three times a year. I have two large beds in the backyard and about 7 pots on the front and back patio. While I absolutely love the beauty in seeing my yard filled with flowers of many kinds and colors, they simply don't last! I got this great idea to grow things from seed. I know I've lived in the city far too long. My Indiana, Ohio and Michigan friends are just laughing to themselves. Only my family knows that I don't have an indoor green thumb. Many flowering plants have been sent our way through the years and only one has survived, Great Grandma's cactus that was 70 years old at the time she gave it to me. I was 12. It has never flowered but I have somehow managed to keep it alive after 23 years of being happily married.
My outdoor flowers have had the same kind of fate. So back from the bunny trail, I bought three packages of seeds. I didn't think it would take over 6 weeks to become plants just breaking through soil and many more weeks after that to flower. Yes, I guess you could say I am a little impatient.
I think our spiritual growth is the same. Someone planted seeds in our life to bring us to Jesus. Some of us take longer than others to accept Christ. For some of my friends, I have prayed for their salvation for more than 15 years. You continue to perservere even without acceptance. At some point, someone comes along and leads that person to Jesus. Some people remain in an infant stage in their relationship with Christ for a long time because there is no one to teach them how to grow. For others, life circumstances become hard and they ask a lot of questions.
We all grow in our spiritual journey at different paces. Sometimes we grow impatient with our own progress as well as the progress with those around us. The best part is that God is so patient. He gently and quietly pursues us because He desires to have a relationship with us. Whether it takes us two months, two years, 20 years He still loves us and is waiting. It doesn't matter what our growth rate is or that it can't be measured, what counts is that we continue to seek Christ! When we earnest seek Him, he promises that we will find Him. Growth will automatically take place!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Tick Tock
“In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented, where everything is measured according to the results and we get caught up in being more and more active to generate results. In the East -- especially in India -- I find that people are more content to just be, to just sit around under a banyan tree for half a day chatting to each other. We Westerners would probably call that wasting time. But there is value to it. Being with someone, listening wihtout a clock and without anticipation of results, teaches us about love. The success of love is in the loving -- it is not in the result of loving. ”
― Mother Teresa
Looking through the pictures of summer, I see a person I do not recognize. It is true. I have always heard it said that in your mind you believe you are younger than your body says. It is a sad state of affairs when you are walking into a ball game and an overweight, bald headed, middle-aged man is trying to flirt with you. The only thought that might be grimmer is that he might even be younger than me. The pictures do not lie. I am not as young as I used to be. It is a stark reality that I am slowly approaching mid-life.
Some of my counter parts pay to have time erased from their deteriorating bodies; face lifts, body reductions, enhancements. It becomes more difficult to lose a pound, energy wanes and injuries happen as we try to overcompensate and work out more. However short-lived the solutions may be, it only postpones the inevitable. Time is truly not our friend! Even more difficult to watch is our aging parents, our dying grandparents and friends who are facing serious physical ailments and sicknesses. This was all promised from the very beginning; we would be born, our days would be numbered and we would return as dust. All of this is the result from Adam and Eve's choice to rebel against God's only rule.
I think Mother Teresa has a point. Our daily life and routines are so rushed and time passes by so quickly, that we forget to sit under the tree, in the park, on the back porch, just chatting; with our parents, our spouses, and our children who are growing up so quickly right before our very eyes. We go from 20 somethings who will conquer the world, to parents who are waving our goodbyes and eagerly waiting for their return on holidays.
Change is inevitable! We can't stop our children from leaving the nest, or from our bodies aging. It is all going to happen! Our response to the changes in life are within our control. Acceptance of change is hard! I find myself reflecting on the past more and more. I am thankful for past relationships, loved ones lost, mistakes made. They all make up the tapestry of my life. I am also thankful for the present and that there is still more time to "be content just being" in the moment. This summer I have had time just being present. It is hard for our whole family not being on the fast lane of life.
Instead of being afraid of what is to come, or depressed about what is behind, I keep asking the question about what I can do to show the love of Jesus to others that I can touch presently and in the days ahead. If I didn't have the secure knowledge that Christ loves me regardless of how I look or how I am going to change, I'm not quite sure where I would be!
God has made everything beautiful in His time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil- this is a gift from God! I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere Him! Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account. Ecclesiastes 3:11-15
― Mother Teresa
Looking through the pictures of summer, I see a person I do not recognize. It is true. I have always heard it said that in your mind you believe you are younger than your body says. It is a sad state of affairs when you are walking into a ball game and an overweight, bald headed, middle-aged man is trying to flirt with you. The only thought that might be grimmer is that he might even be younger than me. The pictures do not lie. I am not as young as I used to be. It is a stark reality that I am slowly approaching mid-life.
Some of my counter parts pay to have time erased from their deteriorating bodies; face lifts, body reductions, enhancements. It becomes more difficult to lose a pound, energy wanes and injuries happen as we try to overcompensate and work out more. However short-lived the solutions may be, it only postpones the inevitable. Time is truly not our friend! Even more difficult to watch is our aging parents, our dying grandparents and friends who are facing serious physical ailments and sicknesses. This was all promised from the very beginning; we would be born, our days would be numbered and we would return as dust. All of this is the result from Adam and Eve's choice to rebel against God's only rule.
I think Mother Teresa has a point. Our daily life and routines are so rushed and time passes by so quickly, that we forget to sit under the tree, in the park, on the back porch, just chatting; with our parents, our spouses, and our children who are growing up so quickly right before our very eyes. We go from 20 somethings who will conquer the world, to parents who are waving our goodbyes and eagerly waiting for their return on holidays.
Change is inevitable! We can't stop our children from leaving the nest, or from our bodies aging. It is all going to happen! Our response to the changes in life are within our control. Acceptance of change is hard! I find myself reflecting on the past more and more. I am thankful for past relationships, loved ones lost, mistakes made. They all make up the tapestry of my life. I am also thankful for the present and that there is still more time to "be content just being" in the moment. This summer I have had time just being present. It is hard for our whole family not being on the fast lane of life.
Instead of being afraid of what is to come, or depressed about what is behind, I keep asking the question about what I can do to show the love of Jesus to others that I can touch presently and in the days ahead. If I didn't have the secure knowledge that Christ loves me regardless of how I look or how I am going to change, I'm not quite sure where I would be!
God has made everything beautiful in His time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil- this is a gift from God! I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere Him! Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account. Ecclesiastes 3:11-15
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Point of No Return
There comes a time in life when your child crosses the threshold and their innocence will never return.
I remember one day when Abby was little and she came home and told me that there were two men living around the corner from us and they were married. We had to talk about a subject that I wasn't prepared to have with her while she was just a little child.
Recently, there have been issues that have come before us with the kids. You wish you could go back and protect them from the evils of the world. You wish that you could spread your wings over them and return to a place where life is filled with butterflies and sandcastles and the most complicated conversations are about what you will put on the dinner table. Life moves at a frightening pace and hard conversations take place at an earlier and earlier age.
I wish it were not so, I prayed it were not so. Recently we had some conversations with Dylan. But that day of no return came, there was nothing we could do to stop the wheels from turning. I guess you could say it is better to have conversations in our own home, so they can hear the Godly point of view and the consequences of certain choices. Recently at my MOPS (mothers of preschoolers), I sat and watched the young moms, thinking how simple their life is at this point. They are able to control all the outside influences of their young ones. One day, as they grow older, the influences become greater and their innocent child will be pulled and tugged many different directions. One day that baby will no longer enjoy the title "innocent".
There are safeguards we can put into place while Abby and Dylan live under our roof, but at some point, our children will make their own choices and the only place we will be able to be is on our knees. I have watched many before me, some in spite of their prayers and unconditional love and support have watched their children make many UnGodly decisions. They cry out to God for His protection and mercy. I'm not sure where my precious children are headed. There are no guarantees in spite of our love and prayers.
I pray for them to hunger and thirst for righteousness. I pray for sin to be revealed quickly before it takes a stronghold in their life. I pray for them to feel unconditional love from us and their Heavenly Father. I pray for Godly friends who make Godly choices. I pray for their future spouses, that God will keep them safe and help them to be who God created them to be. But most of all I pray above all else, that our kids will Love God and Love their Neighbor.
The truth is, none of us are innocent. We were all born into a sinful world. If we don't do our job though and be proactive in their training, in their education, in their relationships, in our relationships with them, in their spiritual lives, we will reap what we sow. I often say, there are children who come up and there are children who are brought up. When the day comes that we realize we can't go back, it is ours to just love them unconditionally and to point them to Jesus. In reality, they really aren't ours anyways, they are just given to us on loan.
I remember one day when Abby was little and she came home and told me that there were two men living around the corner from us and they were married. We had to talk about a subject that I wasn't prepared to have with her while she was just a little child.
Recently, there have been issues that have come before us with the kids. You wish you could go back and protect them from the evils of the world. You wish that you could spread your wings over them and return to a place where life is filled with butterflies and sandcastles and the most complicated conversations are about what you will put on the dinner table. Life moves at a frightening pace and hard conversations take place at an earlier and earlier age.
I wish it were not so, I prayed it were not so. Recently we had some conversations with Dylan. But that day of no return came, there was nothing we could do to stop the wheels from turning. I guess you could say it is better to have conversations in our own home, so they can hear the Godly point of view and the consequences of certain choices. Recently at my MOPS (mothers of preschoolers), I sat and watched the young moms, thinking how simple their life is at this point. They are able to control all the outside influences of their young ones. One day, as they grow older, the influences become greater and their innocent child will be pulled and tugged many different directions. One day that baby will no longer enjoy the title "innocent".
There are safeguards we can put into place while Abby and Dylan live under our roof, but at some point, our children will make their own choices and the only place we will be able to be is on our knees. I have watched many before me, some in spite of their prayers and unconditional love and support have watched their children make many UnGodly decisions. They cry out to God for His protection and mercy. I'm not sure where my precious children are headed. There are no guarantees in spite of our love and prayers.
I pray for them to hunger and thirst for righteousness. I pray for sin to be revealed quickly before it takes a stronghold in their life. I pray for them to feel unconditional love from us and their Heavenly Father. I pray for Godly friends who make Godly choices. I pray for their future spouses, that God will keep them safe and help them to be who God created them to be. But most of all I pray above all else, that our kids will Love God and Love their Neighbor.
The truth is, none of us are innocent. We were all born into a sinful world. If we don't do our job though and be proactive in their training, in their education, in their relationships, in our relationships with them, in their spiritual lives, we will reap what we sow. I often say, there are children who come up and there are children who are brought up. When the day comes that we realize we can't go back, it is ours to just love them unconditionally and to point them to Jesus. In reality, they really aren't ours anyways, they are just given to us on loan.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
The Greatest of Gifts
Relationship
Today I am overwhelmed and filled with joy beyond belief. You ask God for something and He gives you more than you could ever imagine. It is the height of abundant living.
At the beginning of the year I always ask Him to change or reveal something in my character to make me more like Him. This year I asked Him to teach me what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. He has revealed His plan over and over in His greatest creation, YOU!
My dad was right all of the years he breathed life into my being...People are eternal. Things will pass away.
This is a special letter written to everyone who has ever been a part of my life, who has helped me be who I am today. I look back over the decades of my life. Some of you watched me grow up. Others went to school with me. Still others walked some very fun years of my life through high school and college. Some walked with me while I was figuring out who I was and helped me tear down walls, showing me that I could be transparent, people don't care if you are perfect.
Others held our babies, and sang them lullabies. Some have watched our kids grow up and will walk with us when we have to give them wings to fly away, which will be sooner than we ever planned.
Some of the luckiest get to live in the house with me and see me at my best and worst :) Whether you are part of my immediate family, extended family, friends, church family or adopted into our Kingdom family, you have all touched my life in a significant way.
Some of you have entrusted me with your children. Others have allowed me into the hearts of your teenagers. But I want those who don't know, who is the source of the love that I have so deeply in my heart for each one of you.
His name is Jesus, He created me in His image for a purpose, as He created each one of you. I have learned unconditional love through his unconditional love for me. Apart from Him I am nothing. It says the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. It is not a shaking fear, it is a reverance knowing where I came from and whose I am. I don't have to do anything to earn His love. There is no logical point of reference, I just believed. The void that I once felt has been filled by someone who loves me so deeply and knows my every word before they are even spoken. Because I have that knowledge that no matter where I am, what I am doing, that He is thinking about me and has my best interest in mind I walk throughout life, knowing that I am never alone. He died to save me from myself, and He has transformed my life and restored me from my baggage and brokeness. Because I know what He has done for me, it is the very source for my love of others.
From a grateful heart, love flows. Sometimes love is hard, I don't always feel like it. Sometimes it comes freely, but He has brought MANY people in my life past and present to love. I look back and realize that He has surrounded me all of my life with people who love Him just as much as I do and others who need Him as much as I once did and still do.
One of the greatest gifts He has given me is relationship. It has been said that many people can only count best friends on one hand. I have had many over my lifetime through different seasons. They are to be held on dearly to, to be treasured and to thank God for during that special season. I guess I always knew how to love my neighbor as myself, my eyes just weren't always open to see what already existed. Today as I look over messages from those who have sent special wishes and blessings my way, I realize how blessed I have been throughout my life through relationship.
The next decades of my life, I want to live "intentionally", to live with open hands, an open heart, to serve others. I know He wants me to speak less, listen more, love more unconditionally, hug more often, use more words of grace to encourage the hearts of others, all for only one thing, to point others to Jesus. I want each one of you to know how much value and worth that you have because you have been created in His image. Thank you for your love and words of encouragement today. It was one of the greatest birthdays ever!
Today I am overwhelmed and filled with joy beyond belief. You ask God for something and He gives you more than you could ever imagine. It is the height of abundant living.
At the beginning of the year I always ask Him to change or reveal something in my character to make me more like Him. This year I asked Him to teach me what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. He has revealed His plan over and over in His greatest creation, YOU!
My dad was right all of the years he breathed life into my being...People are eternal. Things will pass away.
This is a special letter written to everyone who has ever been a part of my life, who has helped me be who I am today. I look back over the decades of my life. Some of you watched me grow up. Others went to school with me. Still others walked some very fun years of my life through high school and college. Some walked with me while I was figuring out who I was and helped me tear down walls, showing me that I could be transparent, people don't care if you are perfect.
Others held our babies, and sang them lullabies. Some have watched our kids grow up and will walk with us when we have to give them wings to fly away, which will be sooner than we ever planned.
Some of the luckiest get to live in the house with me and see me at my best and worst :) Whether you are part of my immediate family, extended family, friends, church family or adopted into our Kingdom family, you have all touched my life in a significant way.
Some of you have entrusted me with your children. Others have allowed me into the hearts of your teenagers. But I want those who don't know, who is the source of the love that I have so deeply in my heart for each one of you.
His name is Jesus, He created me in His image for a purpose, as He created each one of you. I have learned unconditional love through his unconditional love for me. Apart from Him I am nothing. It says the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. It is not a shaking fear, it is a reverance knowing where I came from and whose I am. I don't have to do anything to earn His love. There is no logical point of reference, I just believed. The void that I once felt has been filled by someone who loves me so deeply and knows my every word before they are even spoken. Because I have that knowledge that no matter where I am, what I am doing, that He is thinking about me and has my best interest in mind I walk throughout life, knowing that I am never alone. He died to save me from myself, and He has transformed my life and restored me from my baggage and brokeness. Because I know what He has done for me, it is the very source for my love of others.
From a grateful heart, love flows. Sometimes love is hard, I don't always feel like it. Sometimes it comes freely, but He has brought MANY people in my life past and present to love. I look back and realize that He has surrounded me all of my life with people who love Him just as much as I do and others who need Him as much as I once did and still do.
One of the greatest gifts He has given me is relationship. It has been said that many people can only count best friends on one hand. I have had many over my lifetime through different seasons. They are to be held on dearly to, to be treasured and to thank God for during that special season. I guess I always knew how to love my neighbor as myself, my eyes just weren't always open to see what already existed. Today as I look over messages from those who have sent special wishes and blessings my way, I realize how blessed I have been throughout my life through relationship.
The next decades of my life, I want to live "intentionally", to live with open hands, an open heart, to serve others. I know He wants me to speak less, listen more, love more unconditionally, hug more often, use more words of grace to encourage the hearts of others, all for only one thing, to point others to Jesus. I want each one of you to know how much value and worth that you have because you have been created in His image. Thank you for your love and words of encouragement today. It was one of the greatest birthdays ever!
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