For God so LOVED the world.....

LOVE.....

What does that word mean to you? Is it the romantic love between a man and a woman, or the love between a mother and a child, or the friendly love between friends, or the general love you have for other people who struggle and need help. No matter how you see this word LOVE is a word wrapped in different levels of emotions based on where you are in life and how you view the world. 

For me I view this word in the light of how God views us - His creation. 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
John 3:16‭-‬17 NKJV

God loved us so much that He sent His Son to be a Holy sacrifice. To die on a cross for ALL our sins. To bear the burden of our sins so that we might have everlasting life. "Christ like LOVE covers all wrongs." (Pastor Locke)


"By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."

I John 3:16 NKJV

That is an awesome love that God has for us that He would give up His Son to die for you and me. Not because He had to but because He wanted to.  He pursues us because He loves us. He created us and He loves us more than a mother or father loves their child. He loves us with a perfect love that only He can provide. 

This is the kind of love I should have and show others in my life. But only with God's  love flowing through me am I able to flow that love out toward others. 

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 

I Corinthians 13:4‭-‬7 NKJV




Perfect LOVE dispels all fears. (Pastor Locke) Perfect LOVE doesn't think of itself first. Perfect LOVE loves others just because not out of anything it might gain. Perfect LOVE doesn’t hold a grudge. "You cannot hold love in your heart and hold bitterness toward others. " ( Pastor Locke) Perfect LOVE bears ALL things even the very hardest things that come with loving other people. Even the messy things that come with having a relationship with other people. 

PERFECT LOVE ONLY COMES FROM OUR HEAVENLY FATHER. PERFECT LOVE ONLY COMES WHEN I YIELD AND ALLOW GOD TO FLOW HIS LOVE THROUGH ME. 

Sometimes I need to slow down...

Well it's been a while since I did a blog post. I have kids and I am a teacher so the end of the school year gets very crazy for me. But even though it has been busy, the stress has not overwhelmed me. School is finally out for the summer so I think I might blog a little.

I have done a much better job this time around to take  each task one at a time. I have taken enough time each day to just breathe, to relax and take time for myself.

One of my absolute favorite songs recently is one by Johnny Diaz "Breathe".

https://youtu.be/hnjeMwxFuBA

I love the lyrics of the song.

Alarm clock screaming bare feet hit the floor
It’s off to the races everybody out the door
I’m feeling like I’m falling behind, it’s a crazy life
Ninety miles an hour going fast as I can
Trying to push a little harder trying to get the upper hand
So much to do in so little time, it’s a crazy life
It’s ready, set, go it’s another wild day
When the stress is on the rise in my heart I feel You say just

(chorus)
Breathe, just breathe
Come and rest at My feet
And be, just be
Chaos calls but all you really need
Is to just breathe

(bridge)
Is to take it in fill your lungs
The Peace of God that overcomes
Just breathe
Let your weary spirit rest
Lay down what’s good and find what’s best
Just breathe
http://life1019.com/songs/breathe-3/

So many times in life I feel like it is moving so fast and there is nothing I can do but hang on. But God reminds me it is in those times that I need to slow down, breathe, spend time with Him, and fill my lungs with His unending grace and peace. When I feels so spent and weary from all that life has drained from me it is that exact time I need STOP and spend time with my Lord. It is then more than any other time that I need to be refilled and revived. Life can be filled with so many things and all those things we pour our lives into can make us feel so very weary. In order to be able to give so much to so many people and things in my life I have to take the time each to fill my tank back up or I have nothing to give when others need me.
The Lord has impressed upon me over the last year just how very important it is to take a break sometimes and "just be".

The Lord will fill us back up with His grace, His mercy, His patience, His love, and His forgiveness if we only stop and allow Him to. 

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;  but those who hope in the Lord  will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:28‭-‬31 NIV

http://bible.com/111/isa.40.28-31.NIV

Sometimes your the windshield and sometimes the bug

Disappointment comes in all different shapes and sizes. It comes at different points and different intersections of our lives.

 Today unfortunately my son came face to face with one of those disappointments when someone he loves with all his heart told him they would come do something with him and then for whatever reason never showed up.

 It hurt me so much as his mother to watch him face this and know that forever now when he sees this person my son will sees cracks in this person. This person is no longer perfect in his eyes and no longer esteemed in the same way as they were before today. As much as I know these days must come for my children it still hurts me to watch as part of their innocence is washed away by a flawed world with flawed people.

It is so very hard sometimes as a parent to watch your child grow up and go through all the things you know they must in order to one day be the adults you always pictured them to be.

Beauty is only skin deep....

Beauty is a fleeting thing. It disappears before you are ready. About the time you are comfortable in your skin and confident with who you are then it starts to slip away. We are bombarded with images repeatedly telling us what we should look like and how we should act. But we repeatly look in the mirror and are repeatly disappointed with what we see because it never measures up to the images we see in magazines, on TV or in movies. People run around trying to stop time. Trying to stop the aging process. People do all kinds of things to their bodies al, in the name of trying to capture their lost beauty and youth.

The fact is we must remember that the images we see in media and our modern culture are images based in a false reality where the real images are altered and air brushed to create false "people" who are skinnier, look younger and are more perfect than the real people they are supposed to represent. Nothing about these images is really real except that real people were used as the starting point and then their likeness was altered.

But as a child of God I have to focus on the truth that the enemy is fighting a dirty war where false images are used to degrade me and hold me down. They are used to cause me to falsely view my real worth and see myself as less valuable and less beautiful than I really am.
Now I am not trying to say I should inflate my worth beyond what is true. Nor should I value myself more than others but I also should not see myself as less valuable than others either.

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.
Psalms 139:13-14 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/psa.139.13-14.NKJV

"Inner beauty is inside each of us. We are all beautiful in God’s eyes as we are created in the image of God. God doesn’t make junk. However, many people don’t feel beautiful inside. We are often smothered by a lack of confidence and even a lack of acceptance of other people. It is easy to compare ourselves to others especially when we compare our outward appearance. God’s word makes it clear that we are all beautiful to Him. Beauty isn’t just reserved for models and Hollywood actors and actresses. You are beautiful. Read the following scripture passages and let God heal you as you come to the realization of how much God loves and values each of His created beings. Beauty is more than skin deep. One interesting thing is that the love of another person will often make us feel beautiful. When we have the love of a spouse or our family member we will feel accepted and better about ourselves. When there is a lack of love in our lives, we often feel alone and isolated and even depressed. That is one reason why people are often drawn to the Lord God. God is love. It is what He is. No matter how alone we feel in this life we can always know that God is there for us and He loves us the way we are. Maybe today you are feeling alone and depressed. People have let you down in your life and you don’t feel any inner beauty. Turn to God today. He thinks that you are His masterpiece and He loves you. Embrace Jesus Christ today. Praise Him!!!"

Quote by: Bible Verses About Inner Beauty: 22 Awesome Quotes  by DARYL EVANS

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it  was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/gen.1.31.NKJV

Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let  it  be  the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
I Peter 3:3-6 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/1pe.3.3-6.NKJV

Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord , she shall be praised.
Proverbs 31:30 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/pro.31.30.NKJV

Daryl is exactly right! You are a masterpiece! I am a masterpiece...created by the Master to be exactly who He wants me to be. I am created by a loving God in His image and I look exactly as He wants me to. So to hate any part of me or want to change it is to hate the Master and think The Lord made a mistake. God doesn't make mistakes and I am not an exception to this.

The Lord has opened my eyes to the truth of who I am. He has opened my heart to who I am and helped me come to love myself not just the outward appearance but also the inner parts of me that make me who I am. My prayer is that just like me that God will open your eyes to who He sees you as. That He will open your heart and that you too would also come to love yourself. 

I am a child of the KING and that makes me precious and loved!

Lord I pray that you would allow me to have eyes to see the truth of who made me to be. Give me a heart to love myself and have an even greater love for those around me. Lord give me your eyes and your heart to impact those around me for you. Allow me to be a mirror which reflects You so that through me others are drawn closer to You. Lord I ask that anyone who might read this post would see You and yearn to know You.  Through this that they would also come to know themselves as you see them and not as the world sees them. 

                                                                                                                Amen

Be still......

Psalms 46:10 NKJV

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
http://bible.com/114/psa.46.10.NKJV

This verse comes from a beautiful passage in Psalms where the author describes all that God can do and all that He has done.

Psalms 46 NKJV
God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
 Therefore we will not fear,
 Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling.
 There  is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
God is  in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;
 He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge.
Come, behold the works of the Lord ,
Who has made desolations in the earth.
 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns the chariot in the fire.
Be still, and know that I am God;
 I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.

http://bible.com/114/psa.46.1-11.NKJV

I have spent much of the last year being very still. Deep sorrow and grief for me meant going very deep within myself to find out who I was without my mom. It meant finding out what I really believed. Understanding who I was without the shadow of my mom being cast over me. It meant almost completely getting off social media so I could spend  time thinking, praying,  communing with God, listening to His words and His voice. Much of this year was spent quietly healing out of the spotlight behind closed doors with just God. I wanted to know that He was God and no matter what emotions I felt that God was indeed bigger than any sorrow I was going through.

God is so much bigger, so much more loving, full of so much more grace, and full of so much more mercy than I ever thought He could be. He somehow enveloped me with all my broken pieces and somehow held me together. And not only did He hold me together He is healing me. I still feel the cold winter wind blow from time to time over those broken pieces which are still healing but spring is coming. I feel life coming back into me. Slowly pieces and parts of me are awaking to where God wants to take me next and the lessons He still has for me to learn. Patiently He is guiding and protecting me.

Spring is coming.....but until then I will be still and wait patiently until He tells me to move.

The Legacy I Want to Leave.....

We have done our children a disservice by making them think that the world revolves around them.
Allowing them think that they must have our (parents) attention 24/7 in order to be happy and satisfied.

I just watched a 13/14 year old boy repeatedly demand the attention of his mom while she was trying to have a meeting with two other adults. Sad that this boy didn't have any manners or social skills in order to engage with the adults. He only wanted his mom's full attention focused on him and him alone. And she repeatedly allowed his loud requests to dominate her attention over the adults she was meeting with. Very sad commentary on how we are raising the next generation.

Far too many self-centered,selfish, and narcissistic children are raised in selfish narcissistic homes and grow up to be self-centered narcissistic adults. This is not the kind of world I want my children to grow up in or the kind of adults I want them to grow into.

I want to raise my children to be loving and caring to others. I want to teach them the manners of proper communication and how to engage in conversation with others not just demand attention. I want to teach them to see the value others. I want them to reflect the love of Christ to everyone that they come in contact with. I want to be the kind of example for them that allows the love of Christ to flow through me so I show love, mercy and kindness to whom ever I am around. I know it might be naive but I want my children to be a living legacy of improving the lives of those around them not just focusing on how the world can make them happy as they move through life.


Therefore if there  is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be  done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:1-4 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/php.2.1-4.NKJV

14 Let all that you do be done with love.

1 Corinthians 16:14New King James Version (NKJV)

The saddest day of my life....

The saddest day of my life was one year ago this month. It was the day my mom passed away. It was a day I always knew  would one day come. I thought I was prepared to face this day but when it did I was not prepared for all it meant. And all the raw motion it bought with it.  

My mom went to the hospital two days after my birthday for what we all thought would be a short stay. But the short stay turned into a long stay. Then it turned into an even longer stay. But I had hope that she would eventually get out and return to her normal life just the way it had been before. But for some reason she didn't get better. She just kept getting slowly worse. 

The doctors tried many different things but everything they did had no significant impact on her overall health. She just slowly slid down hill.  Three weeks after she had initially gone to hospital I got a call at work that I needed to go to the hospital to meet with the doctor. I had a sinking feeling this was not a good thing. 

I came home from work, quickly packed and left for the several hour trip to where my mom lived. I headed to the hospital to wait for my other siblings to arrive so we could meet with the doctor. The doctor more or less said that moms chances were very slim and that the further into the week we went the more clear it would become if she was going to be able to recover or not. That was the longest and hardest week. I cried. I hoped. I prayed. I spent many hours at the hospital that week. But in the end she did not recover. She drew her last breath and passed from this earth to live the rest of her days in paradise with Jesus.  

I was strangely relieved at first that she was no longer suffering. Then the pain and reality of what separation and death meant settled in. That was so very hard. It felt like a bad dream. But it was not. 

I know I will one day see her again in paradise but until then I miss her so very much. I miss being able to call her. I miss being able to tell her about my life. I miss watching her with my kids as they love her and she enjoys and loves on them. I miss her being around and cheering me on. I just miss her.