Loving people and being trusted, I think are two of the most beautiful, inspiring things.
It's filling and draining - good and painful. It's a chance for a deeper knowing of someone, if we choose to listen. It's a chance to glimpse Jesus' love in a moment of letting down barriers between ourselves. Trust and Love.
I'm more and more realizing we can only know others so well this side of heaven.... Because we all have dark spots and pain that doesn't quite make it into words - history, memories, broken bits... But we also all have beautiful joys, strengths and experiences no one but Jesus can truly understand the depth of ...
So we live and we reach, and we laugh and we dream, and we grow - going through life expressing pieces of ourselves to others, but not our true fullness... But someday we shall know as we are fully known... And I find a lot of peace in that.
#TryingToPutWordsToEmotions
"To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us."
First off, I'll preface this post with a bit of explanation. As a lot of you know, I'm getting married next month and thereafter moving from Michigan to Pennsylvania. I'm super excited and can't wait to move into this new stage of life.
That being said - Goodbyes are hard... They always are for me. (And I've written a lot about goodbyes.) I'm getting to the point where I'm acknowledging that my relationship with a lot of people is getting ready to change. I won't physically be close any more, and it won't be so easy to go hang out.
I was talking to a friend last week and told her, "I just love them so much! .... When I went away for the summer and came back, nine people quit - and some of them were people I really liked - but then these coworkers came, and now I love them too... I keep reminding myself that this reminds me there are always new people to know and love, wherever I go."
Saturday I was a part of my best friend's wedding - (and there is a ton I could say about that, but it's not the topic I'm rambling about right now.) I had some time Friday night at rehearsal dinner, and again several times on Saturday, to reconnect with a mutual friend I hadn't seen in about a year.
I've probably only met her less than half a dozen times, but seeing her, there is an easy sense of, "Oh. I love you." She is such a deep and thoughtful person who speaks well on God's love and is able to share His goodness. She amazes and delights me in the way she brings depth so seemingly easily into conversation. I thought about aspects of who Jesus is differently than I had before... It was simple goodness, sharing in fellowship together.
At the reception, I also got to meet a fellow writer, and we talked about writing, the hardness of accepting critique, and where she hopes her business will go. We exchanged FB info, and I told her when she's ready, I'd try to point her to some people who have been helpful to me when I first was looking at Self-Publishing.
Now what does all this have to do with each other?
Sometimes all the goodbyes of different stages of life make it difficult for me to want to reach out my roots and make more connections in the moment.... But In many ways lately, I feel I've been reminded how worth-it it is to hold people tight and love them fully in the time I have.
Love is a risk in a way. My heart can want to pull back a bit, the closer goodbyes come. A bracing against the sadness that I feel...
But tomorrows are never promised... I never truly know when goodbyes are final... and I've found there is so much joy in loving people in the moments I'm given...
Whether that's 8 months getting to know some new coworkers. Whether its a few hours with a girl who encourages my heart to see Jesus. Whether it's a conversation where I can encourage someone in their goals...
Love is a good, good thing. God made us to love, and care for each other. To inspire, uplift, and encourage each other.
Laugh if you will - but here's one of my plants... It's a broken off leaf from one of my bigger plants. There is a wound on it that I don't know how it happened, but it's still got a lot of life... I moved to a new pot in hopes that it would grow.
And here are its roots... Roots that I'm so proud of, because I've waited weeks to see any sign of them...
There are things in life that hurt us - perhaps wounds we don't even quite know how they happened, just that they grew over time. There are times - even good times - where we are moved from one place to another... And we can send out new roots. Roots to touch people, to give and receive life, and to better embrace the places God has put us.
That is what I'm being shown again... The beauty of sinking roots in, and having joy in the times of life I'm living.
Talking to friends tonight, and seeing God's Love through them...
We can't love as we ought to - not perfectly, not all the time. We can't even love decently on our own... not really. We tend to hurt people we should love best because of our pride and insecurities. But God tells us how we are to Love - and He shows us.
When we feel: Restless. Angry. Overwhelmed. Small. Broken. Tired. Impatient - God still calls us to Love... He sent His Spirit so we would not be alone to figure out how to love. He is willing to teach us - prick us - hold us - grow us - so we can love more and more like He does.
God's Spirit lives in me. Praise God - I am not on my own trying to muddle through life. I have a Helper - I have a Friend - I have a God who fully knows me.
I don't have to give in to my own emotions, or break under circumstances around me. I can choose to love, because the God of Love Chose me.
I had a rough week, emotionally. (The cry-so-hard-I-can-hardly-breathe and pretend-I'm-fine-to-most-people-when-I-really-feel-I'm-gonna-fall-apart kind of emotional...) But God kindly kept bringing reminders of His Love into my path through people around me... I don't know how to word the enormity of tonight, as simple as it is... I don't know why the Holy Spirit working always startles me so...
A friend messaged me asking for prayer for her stress, as this Christmas season is busy. So I recorded me praying, and sent it to her. And we talked a lot about the love of God, and how we love others. It was deep, and good, and though we talked nothing of my week, it helped heal some of that hurt.
Later, another friend messaged me back... I had asked how her Thanksgiving was... Somehow, God often has me message her when she needs a listening ear. And we talked, and I mostly listened - And I saw the beginnings of God answering the prayers of her heart.
Neither of them know how hard this week has been - or how I felt walled off in ways. God just said, "Here. Talk." and gave me people.
And then... as those conversations were over - God sent a third friend. She asked me, "How have you been?" God often sends her to me when I am overwhelmed in His goodness... She has been growing in so many ways this past year, and she has blessed me by sharing with me lessons she's learning... God makes me laugh at the perfect timing of sending her. I exploded joy to her of seeing God moving - and then she began to tell me how she's been seeing Him in her own life the past few weeks.
God is amazing - moving people separately so that each of us can speak life into each other, and see how God is moving in each of us...
Every time things like this happen, I'm knocked over with Joy - and I get to remember all over again, how much God is watching over my life, and the lives of those I love.
I'm 21 today - January 5, 2016... this is strange sort of letter I wrote to myself - from the outside, looking in...
A letter to remind myself.
* * *
Dear 21 year old... I keep looking at where you are today and smiling. You smile back in your wild sort of way - where your eyes scrunch, you show all your teeth, and you look as if you might start laughing. 20-year-old you - me - has lived her year... Now it's time to walk into a new one. Today's not where you dreamed to be - and yet I think you're fairly content with where you are. I know where you wanted to be... As a little girl, all you ever wanted to be was a mother someday. You never had another answer - even when the other little girls wanted to train horses, or be a doctor, or design clothes... Always your answer was, "I want to be a mama like mine someday." Even when you hid that answer with, "I don't know what I want to be" because some people didn't accept your answer - you still believed deep down that that's what you wanted to be. I still see that girl... dear little 21 year old, I see that little girl in you. But she's grown up a lot. She has not given up on that hope, but she no longer feels like she's waiting. She is not waiting for life to begin - she is living life as it comes. She has become a lover of people in different ways that fill her heart. She is content most days - and loud, and joyful - and some may even say a she's a little bit weird... but she's happy with that too. (Haha - Honestly I think she's rather comfortable with the term "weird".) She's looking at this next year and seeing the ways she can serve. She's ready to run into this new year... She's not so worried about the future she used to cling to - if she'll ever be married to someone who will be her best friend and leader, or have children to love, or if she'll get to homeschool those little ones. She's not so fearful about the future because she's trying to pray about the present... She's finally realized that God can and does mightily use her outside of her plans... She's finding His plans are more than she imagined - deeper, wider, better - more. I saw her the other day laughing... because she was marveling at the enormity of God. I saw her standing in the rain with her hands above her head. I saw her singing at the top of her lungs. I saw her fiercely hugging someone precious to her. I saw her loving the people she has in her life... I saw her feeling more alive than ever, because she's found herself wrapped closer to God. She's not perfect... and I've seen her struggle. I've seen her cry. I've seen her whisper, "It's too much. I'm afraid." I've seen her bend under weight she isn't meant to carry, and I've seen her angry - though she doesn't let most people see it. I've seen her weary and discouraged. I've seen her lose sight of the basic truth - that God loves her immensely more than she can comprehend... And then again - I've seen God bring her through each part of that. I've seen God bring friends to tell her God's grace. I've seen God answer her seemingly littlest prayers because He cares; and I've seen Him answer prayers she never thought to hope for. I've seen God teach her about hope again and again. I've seen God send her blessings and hold her when she's cried. I've seen God remind her to run to Him in times of struggle - and given her words to remind others. I've seen God be faithful to her... and I know He'll continue to be. I see that little girl grown up... I see you little 21 year old... At fourteen years old, you wrote a letter to your 20 year old self, and tied it up with string. These were the last words of the letter:
As you go into this next year, I want you to ponder that question.
Are you living your Christian life to the fullest?
And what does that look like?
To you - to me - to the person who's reading this right now - Don't be afraid to walk into this next year. I know there are uncertainties you don't know how to face but you are standing beside a God who keeps His promises - a God who swears by Himself because He is so great.
Look at the way He Loves you.
Pray, believing that He's a loving Father who wants to hear you.
Run with joy next to Him. Sit in trust at His feet.
Dance in delight on the days He gives you that strength.
Be a light that others see Jesus reflected in...
and stop trying to do things in your own strength.
Willing as a little child, grasp tight again to the nail scarred hands
of your Father who knows the way.
He will never let you go, and He wants you to remember
He is with you - no mater where you are today...
Dear little child of God - when you're trusting in the Almighty, the best is yet to come.
It's easy to take love for granted, until you begin to love those who don't feel loved at all.
Mmm... So many of my residents don't take love for granted - even the smallest gestures can change their whole attitude... To me, one of the saddest things I heard a resident say after I hugged her was, "Thank you; that means so much...." She paused, and said kinda sadly, "You know, nobody hugs you when you get old." ... Those words hurt.
Many of my people are lonely. They don't get hugs often at all, or get told, "I love you." or told, "I'm happy to see you today." They are away from their families, and miss a lot of the freedoms they used to have. Some of them can't speak anymore, or even get out of bed by themselves. Many of them have lost spouses, siblings, friends. Many of them have aches and pains... And they are just like you and me. They need to know that they are loved.
A resident asked me a few days ago, "How did you get to be so loving?"
I laughed and said, "I don't know, it just happened!" Then I stopped and said, "I have Jesus in my heart. He helps a lot."
She said, "That's right honey. Jesus died for our sins."
And for that moment... we were simply two Christians thinking about Jesus.
There are elderly Christians in my building. They need to be reminded that they have purpose. They still delight God. They are still able to pray. God still hears them and loves them... You can see it in the lives of those who love God - their peace and strength in Him - but like any Christian, they need encouragement.
God's love is the impression I want to leave. Gosh it can be hard - some days, honestly, I do what I do, and forget to try and be love - I go through the motions - doing my work, and my best, but not beyond that. Some days, I am tired and there are some residents who are mean - sharp worded, and never happy with what we do.... But I am still called to love - no matter the person, no matter my feelings. (I'm still working on loving certain people. There are some who are... hard to love... but I suppose they need it the most, don't they? Mmm.). Those who love me are reminders to me to focus on the positive, and to find joy in what I do because I can be there to serve and love.
You know what? Loving isn't easy...Sometimes I don't have a spirit of love and patience... And sometimes - love hurts.
Towards the end of my shift tonight, I was thinking about the last 9 months of this job. My mind flitted to the aspect of death... (Not that anyone died today, but it's just on my mind.) It always feels wrong - even when I know it is coming. It always is just a bit surprising in a way... It's because we weren't made to die and in the depths of us, we feel the wrongness of it all.
I've watched families grieve, both while their family member is fading, and after they've died. I've watched people in the process of dying. I've crouched beside a bed, and prayed a welcome into Heaven for a woman who had just gone to be with Jesus - oh, I could imagine her joy... I've gone away for some time off, and had a Christian resident I loved very much suddenly pass away while I was gone... Loving people who aren't going to be around much longer...that can hurt... Somehow though, it's not as mind-numbing as I thought it'd be... It reminds me to cherish the life I have, and love fully while I have the chance.
In the beginning, I didn't know how I'd handle this job, emotionally. There are difficult aspects to it - usually I just talk about the joyful parts. But I feel I've found where God wants me, and He keeps teaching me... growing me... Giving me strength and love I didn't know I had. Ha - so much more patience than I ever dreamed I could muster... I can't do it without Him. You can tell me I do well - and yes, I do try - but all my trying wouldn't do that much without God with me. He is the reason I am who I am. I'm not doing anything special. I'm just bumbling through life, trying to follow Jesus... He tells us to love one another deeply from the heart.
God is love... How are we showing His love to others? Do you ever consider - how are you showing love to the elderly, the shut-ins, the widows?
To anyone who has an elderly family member in a nursing home - please, go visit them if you can. Love them. I know it can be hard - perhaps they don't remember you, perhaps they cry when you leave, perhaps they ask why they can't go home with you, perhaps they don't respond anymore... But please, please - show them you care. They are still people who need your love.
And to anyone reading this - if you ever go visit a nursing home, please, show love to those around you. They need it - we all need that love. We need to reflect the light of Jesus...There is always hope.
I hear all the time, "Just accept me as I am! Take it or leave it!"
Some applaud this sentiment. "That's right! You tell them! Be yourself!"
But you didn't accept me as I was... I'm grateful for that.
There was a time before you loved me, where all I wanted was for you to accept me. That was at the height of my infatuation - a time where everything seemed light - exciting - happy. It was a time where I felt like nothing ever would come between us. I wanted to see the appreciation in your eyes. I wanted you to be proud of me. I wanted you to love me.
And in time... you did.
We grew into love as we grew into trust. It was hard sometimes - truly loving you... truly letting you love me... The more we grew in love, the more we saw each other as we truly were - two broken people. Two broken people who each brought along our own struggles and problems.
I remember the first time you told me, "You're hurting yourself."
It was true... but I'd fought this problem alone for so long. It had been years since anyone had confronted me on this. I had let it become a part of me - even when it sunk me into darkness. I didn't believe that it was something I could change. Not anymore.
I remember the fear that plunged into my chest so hard I shook; the anger that warmed my cheeks. The way I screamed - "Why can't you just accept me as I am?"
I wanted to be accepted. What I didn't understand was how much I needed to be loved.
Love doesn't look the other way as someone drinks poison. Love doesn't nod in agreement as someone stumbles off a cliff. Love doesn't try to cover gaping wounds with a bit of makeup and pretend the blood isn't crusting beneath. Love wraps around the person - despite it all... but doesn't hide from the problem. Love doesn't accept the problem as healthy.
You - you loved me.
You never accepted my poison as good for me. You didn't accept me as I was in that moment... but you loved me where I was. You loved me enough to show me I was tearing myself apart. You didn't leave me alone. You brought me to God.
We learned of each other's broken parts - the ones that infatuation hid for awhile, but Trust dragged out into the light. The way I avoided conflict until I exploded. The way you let anger cloud your judgement... All the ways we could take each other for granted, or use our words as weapons, or let our insecurities pull us apart.
It was in those moments we learned how to run to God together. It was a painful learning. We were far from perfect. We were far from always having it figured out. Love, trust, vulnerability - it takes being open to grow those... and it takes honesty to keep them alight.
So we learned to pray together - to take our hurts to His Throne and ask for forgiveness. We learned to find comfort in The Word, and seek wisdom within its pages. We learned more and more how broken we are - but how much more Good and Faithful God is. We learned to grow closer to God in the midst of our brokenness... We didn't accept this was all we'd ever be.
We didn't accept each other where we were - but we loved each other through every step.
I never truly needed you to accept me. What I needed was to love and be loved. What I needed was to be reminded of the love God has for me - no matter what... I see that kind of love reflected in the way we love each other.
You didn't accept me as I was... I'm grateful for that.
~Ophelia - Marie Flowers
*Author's note-
Again - this is not a story of my own romantic relationship experience, but it is written as one who knows friendships... and as one who is trying to write how I feel when I think about this.
I admit to cringing almost every time I see, "Accept me as I am! Take it or leave it!"
I understand the sentiment. I do. But part of me still winces.
No. Please. Don't accept me as I am. Please - don't accept me as I am. I don't need you to accept me as I am. Love me where I'm at... but have the strength to show me how to grow... Don't accept that this is all I'll ever be.
Some of my dearest friends are the ones who love me - truly love me - enough to not accept me totally as I am. I'm broken too - like you - like everyone else in this world... I want to be accepted, but what I really need is to be loved enough by others to be told, "Hey... I don't think that was a wise choice." ... "I care about you - so I need tell you that I think you're hurting yourself this way." ... "I know something's wrong. How can I pray for you?"
We need to be that type of friend to each other... We don't need to learn to accept each other's poisons. We need to learn to love each other in the midst of them.
Love me enough to help me grow in Christ. Let me love you enough to do the same for you. Let's show each other the Love of the Father.
"We love a friend, on account of some qualities which give us pleasure in his society. We love a man who has done us a favor; in which case, gratitude enters into the composition of our affection. We love our parents and our children, on account of their connection with us, and on account of many qualities which please us. We love to retire to a cool shade in summer. We love a warm room in winter. We love to hear an eloquent advocate. The Christian loves his Bible. In short, we love whatever gives us pleasure and delight, whether animal or intellectual; and if our hearts are right, we love God above all things, as the sum of all excellence and all the attributes which can communicate happiness to intelligent beings. In other words, the Christian loves God with the love of complacency in his attributes, the love of benevolence towards the interest of his kingdom, and the love of gratitude for favors received.
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind -
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Matthew 22:37."
"The love of God is the first duty of man, and this springs from just views of his attributes or excellencies of character, which afford the highest delight to the sanctified heart. Esteem and reverence constitute ingredients in this affection, and a fear of offending him is its inseparable effect."
"HOPE: While the cynical souls of the world may see your bright optimism as a youthful naivete, you have come to understand that it is the hope of a better tomorrow that burns within you. You are passionate and idealistic. You understand that there is so much potential surrounding us, and we have only to tap into it in order to achieve great things. When others are burdened by the troubles of every day life, you transcend them and consider the beauty that the future brings. Your bright disposition infects everyone around you, as they too learn how to dream. As long as hope is alive within you, you will always be the very best that you can be!"
As I look at the answer to this silly little Buzzfeed quiz, I feel struck all over again by the word, "Hope".
And so instead of reading, or playing with clay - or whatever else it is I want to do with this day off - I feel the urge to ramble about Hope... I'll get to the other stuff soon. ;)
Hope, for me, is so tangled in the word "Trust". I believe there is Hope because God has awakened my heart to trust. I believe there is potential because I believe in a God that is bigger than our mistakes and weakness. I believe that the future is bright in some aspect or another because God is alive and active in this broken world. I believe God cares... That is why I see hope as such a beautiful thing. Someone said to me the other day, "If we could understand fully, how much He does care, it would change *everything*." Yes... I believe it truly would... There's not only hope for the future - there is hope now. God is here Now... He cares Now. Right where we are, no matter what we're facing - He cares, He loves, He sees. We have access to speak with Him - to be in His presence. To be in the arms of Hope.
I have been called naive...Perhaps in some ways I am. But I don't think having hope is naive when it's placed in the One who holds my life in His hands... To me, that seems to be the fullest form of good sense.
Sometimes it's hard for me to understand the worlds of others that don't see hope and beauty as starkly as I do. I know sadness, but even in writing, I'm still looking for the completion of hope. I feel the lack of hope at times - the sorrow, the darkness, the loneliness, the overwhelming sense that things in life are wrong and I can't heal them - I've been told I write it well. But I have the blessing of a, "the glass is half full" attitude... most days.
I was sorting out those thoughts the other night as I talked with someone who thinks quite differently than I do. Who sees the dark spots as bigger than the light ones... The weight of that feeling made me write.
Hey it's true -
I'm my own worst enemy, Gathering the shadows no one else can see, Tying up the knots so I can't get free,
Never really sure where I'm meant to be - It's a mess I'm making, But will You stay with me?
'Cause it's a battle in the dark And I'm the only one here. Am I alone here? I can't see You here... It's a battle in the dark And nothing is clear.
Nothing is clear...
But I trust You are near...
Please,
Please show me You're near.
I know the world is dark... I know there are pains greater than I can wrap my mind around - I know there is suffering and tears and bleakness and blackness that seeps down deep to the soul. I know there are nights of sobbing. Of sleeplessness. Of numbness. Of wondering if pushing on is worth it. I know there are days of fake smiles and tired eyes - of going through motions that everyone expects, but there seems no reason to care... I will not gloss over that fact, or say that that is "your choice" or that, "you could feel hopeful if you want to"... I know it's not that simple.... But I want you just take a moment to look at Hope with me. Even if you can't see it today, I'm praying you will in time... God loves you - you - more than you can fathom. He wants you to find hope in Him. You are His Beloved one.
Psalm 33:20-22
We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.
**
Matthew 6:25-26
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
**
1 John 4:9-10
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
I pray you are reminded of Hope today... Of your need for God. Oh how great our God is, and how much He truly loves you. He loves you enough that He died for you. He loves you enough that He LIVES in you.
If you need a little encouragement of who you are in Christ, and how loved you are by Him, here's a compilation of Bible verses, and lyrics from two songs that have recently blessed me... :)
Stop and listen to these first:
Oh - these two songs have been jumbled together in my head since yesterday...
The Truth of them made my heart joyful.
God loves me... He does.
When I'm in the desert -
Or when I'm full of wild delight in His presence -
Or when I fall for the thousandth time -
Or when He shows me again the Hope I have in Him -
He loves me.
He does.
All of the time.
And not only does he LOVE me,
He is my Victory,
My Strength,
And my Savior...
Isn't that amazing?
"What's that on the ground?
It's what's left of my heart Somebody named Jesus broke it to pieces And planted the shards - And they're coming up green, And they're coming in bloom I can hardly believe this is all coming true"
~Just As I Am - Andrew Peterson
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
John 12:24-25
To truly live, I must die... And in that death, God will create beauty.
"And this is my prayer in the fire In weakness or trial or pain There is a faith proved Of more worth than gold So refine me, Lord, through the flame"
~The Desert Song - Hillsong United
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
"This is my prayer in the desert When all that's within me feels dry This is my prayer in my hunger and need My God is the God who provides"
~The Desert Song - Hillsong United
10 I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
Psalm 81:10
Open your hands, child... God will fill them...
Don't be afraid to ask.
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Matthew 6:25-26
He does provide.
27 These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
"And this is my prayer in the battle When triumph is still on its way I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ So firm on His promise I'll stand"
~The Desert Song - Hillsong United
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
These thistles and vines ensnare and entwine What flowers appeared It's the fear that I'll fall one too many times
It's the fear that His love is no better than mine
(but He tells me that):
Just as I am, and just as I was
Just as I will be - He loves me, He does He showed me the day that He shed His own blood
He loves me, oh He loves me, He does
He loves me, oh, He loves me, He does"
~Just As I Am - Andrew Peterson
For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
Isaiah 54:10
7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.
Psalm 36:7-9
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
1 John 4:9-10
His love is so much better than mine... So BIG... His love is immense. *Grins* His love is Awesome...
He gives that love to us.
"And I will bring praise I will bring praise No weapon formed against me shall remain I will rejoice I will declare God is my victory and He is here"
~The Desert Song - Hillsong United
“Where,
O death, is your victory?
Where,
O death, is your sting?”
56 The
sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But
thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
58 Therefore,
my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you.
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because
you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:55-58
"All of my life In every season You are still God I have a reason to sing I have a reason to worship" ~The Desert Song - Hillsong United
1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
Psalm 96:1-3
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord.
what little that grew This man they call Jesus, who planted the seeds
Has come for the fruit And the best that I've got isn't nearly enough - He's glad for the crop, but it's me that He loves"
~Just As I Am - Andrew Peterson
The best that I've got isn't all that He wants... He wants me.
He loves me, not for what I do - the "crops" of good that I bring - He loves me because He made me His.
"This is my prayer in the harvest When favor and providence flow I know I'm filled to be emptied again The seed I've received I will sow"
~The Desert Song - Hillsong United
When I'm overflowing with joy and growth, He means me to pour it out again...
I know I'm filled to be emptied again... the seed I've received, I will sow.
