22 | Be Free

Sometimes as I settle into stillness before God, I struggle to free my mind and heart and soul to be fully present with him.  I feel tied to my devotional "To Do" list.  I keep knotting up in feelings of unworthiness.  I get tangled in earthly distractions and my own inefficacy.

Questions crash the quiet. Am I doing this right?  Am I getting God's message loud and clear?  Am I praying hard enough?  Sincerely enough?  Have I spent enough time with God?  Have I said the things I need to say?  The things he wants to hear?  Questions crowd out Christ's grace-filled gift of freedom.

"Hush," God says. "Enough, already."

Shush the doubts.  Silence the insecurities.  God wants me to know I am enough.

chattingatthesky.com

I am enough because God loves me, not because of what I've done, but because of who he is.  Heavenly Father.  Creator of all that is good.  Steadfast and merciful.

It is enough that I simply rest in the stillness with God.  Our relationship doesn't hinge on what I am doing.  It is secure in what Christ has already done.

gracecamedown.com

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.  Galatians 5:1

On the cross Christ set us free — free from sin, free from our unworthiness, free from having to earn our salvation.  In selfless, self-sacrificing love, Christ saved us with a one-time act that lasts for all of eternity.

That's a big gift.  Sometimes the biggest and most generous gifts are the hardest to accept.  But that's exactly what we need to do.  Because the alternative — the doubting our worthiness and questioning God's grace — entangles us and enslaves us in our old ways.  

Paul urges us to throw off that old yoke and to embrace this free gift.  "Stand fast" in our "liberty."  Be bold in our freedom.  Be free in knowing God loves us that much.  

Be free from self-doubt; embrace God-trust.

Be free from striving to earn God's love; embrace being God's love in the world.

Be free from the guilt of old sin; embrace God's forgiveness and a new life.

Be free from doing; embrace being, simply being a child of God

It's a tall order.  But God fills us with the Holy Spirit to help make it happen.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death!  Romans 8:1-2

If you need help in accepting this freedom in Christ, won't you join me in prayer?

Lord,

I am a creature of this earth, flawed and imperfect.  Stained and rumpled and ragamuffin-y.  For some reason I expect you to see me with human eyes.  I expect your disappointment, and I hide myself from you in shame.  I try to scrub off the dirt and deficiencies I see so clearly.  But you see me like a small child wearing the days adventures and misadventures, and you love me for what you see deep in my heart.  

I know that you invite me to be free from my slavish ways of sin and guilt, of self-doubt, of striving where you have already succeeded.  Help me to be free in your salvation.  Help me to accept your loving grace.  And help me to respond by wrapping myself in the selfless love that says, "My God is bigger and better than I can ever imagine.  My love for God is so overpowering I have to share it with everyone in my midst."  

I can't get to this place of adoration and acceptance on my own.  I need your Holy Spirit to guide me there.  And this is all the more reason I need to be still with you. To still my weak ways and embrace your grace.  To quiet my doubts so there is room for me to hear your gentle voice.

Help me to remember that you accept me totally and completely, just as I am.  Help me feel free to be myself — to be the person you created me to be — trusting that you can use my messy life to write your own special message.  Help me to freely, boldly share your message in my corner of the world.

Amen

onegirl-itjusttakesone.blogspot.com

13 | Be Love

What happens when we fill up on God's love?

We overflow.

Thankfully, it's not the toilet-running-over, QUICK-run-for-the-PLUNGER!! overflow. Nor is it the #coffeegroundsinmycuppajoe #couldthismondaygetanyworse variety.  

When God's love fills us up to overflowing, it's a radiant, let-your-light-shine feeling of fine and dandy.  It's bursting with sunbeams and fuzzy puppies and squeezy hugs.

cakeandcotton.blogspot.com

It's a "This God-given life is so good I've got to share it" kind of kindness contagion.

When we make time to drink up God's love, when we soak up all the goodness tucked into the corners of our days, we can become God's love in the world.

Hopefully after yesterday's post (a love letter from God) you are sensing God's love.

Maybe it feels a bit like this...

spokojnastudio via Flickr.com

...or this...

Looking for Love by IrenaS on Flickr

...or even this?

blerica.tumbler.com

And now that you're thinking about God's love, feeling all tingly and radiant, hopefully you are ready to go out into the world and spread it.

lovelindseyblog.com

Wait a minute!  This is supposed to be a time to sit and be still, not run (or walk) out and do stuff.

Oh, yes.  That's right.  

So... Let's be still and ask God to establish in us a mindset that will empower us to be God's love in the world as we go about our daily business.

Lord, 

You have filled me up to the point of overflowing with your love.  As I spill your gentleness forth on those people you have placed in my midst, I trust in the amazing truth that your love never runs dry.  Thank you for this endless supply of your love. Help me to be generous in sharing that love with others.

I confess that sometimes I am reluctant to extend love.  I might feel threadbare and used up.  I might be holding a grudge or harboring anger.  I might have suspicions and doubts about how loving others makes me vulnerable.  Where I feel reluctance, please reveal my hangups.  Where I am slow to love, please speed up your healing in my heart.  Make me an instrument of your peace and a bearer of your blessings.

Sometimes I turn being your love in the world into a list of "To Do"s.  Lord, please throw a big ol' stop sign in my path when that happens.  Help me to make a U-turn. Guide me toward the mindset that being your love — serving as your hands and feet and eyes and ears and heart — is a privilege, not a chore.

29blackstreet via Etsy.com

Sometimes times I look far and wide for difficult, challenging cases that need your care.  I forget that you specifically put people in my daily path to receive and return my love.  As I quiet my voice, help me to see who needs my love today.  Write their names on my heart.  Write their needs into my prayers.

theredsojourner.tumblr.com

Lord, help me to see where my passions and talents meet other peoples' needs. Show me how I can use the gifts you have granted me in a way that blesses others. And as I joyfully do the things I love, help me to focus on glorifying you and sharing your love with the world.

As I pour out your love, I am in awe of how caring for others helps me to see them through your eyes, and how it brings me to a better understanding of how you love. I rejoice in the knowledge that loving others brings me closer to you.

TriciaGoyer.com

Thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit working in me, leading me in your loving kindness.  Thank you for encouraging and sustaining me in this time of stillness, so that I can go forth and be myself, be your love, and simply be.

Amen

Inspired to spread some love?  I'm loooooooving these ideas.

  

thehowtomommy.com

justbesplendid.tumblr.com

recipebyphoto.com

GoodHousekeeping.com

12 | Be Loved

Our senior pastor, John Hogenson, recently said this to our congregation at the annual stewardship dinner.

"I love you.  And I want the very best for you."

It is a personal and powerful message, one that has echoed in my heart for several weeks now.  It is a message that surprised me, in part because Pastor Hogenson's been with our very large church for a only a few short months.  How can he know me enough to love me?  Yet I do not doubt his sincerity.  He exudes God's love in all that he says and does.  

"I love you.  And I want the very best for you."

It is a message that reminds me of how earnestly God loves me.  In every book of the Bible we can find this message from God.  He has created us for an eternity of his love, and he wants us to experience that love fully, abundantly, completely.

"I love you.  And I want the very best for you."

Our God is a loving God.  

In this culture that places conditions and limitations and expectations of love, we sometimes have difficulty embracing the breadth and depth of God's infinite love. We sometimes doubt that in our unworthiness and imperfection, we could truly be loved unconditionally and eternally.  

Really God, you love me?  With all my bumps and blemishes and warts and worries? 

And God answers, simply and sincerely: YES.  Totally. Completely.  Forevermore.

God wrote out his love for us in every book of the Bible.  Today let's be still in some snippets of God's greatest love letter to us all.  Let's rejoice in this amazing gift.

My precious child, 

I want you to know that I love you.  I want you to really know that truth, deep in your heart.  And I want you to carry it with you all of your days — the dark and stormy ones, the bright and joyful ones, and every day in between.

Juliet Grace Design via Etsy.com

My love for you existed even before I created you.  In my love I created you in my image.  I bestowed upon you special gifts, uniquely designed just for you.  You are exactly who I want you to be.  I want to abide in you, reside in your heart, live brightly in your life. 

via Pinterest

My love for you knows no end.  It will carry you to — and through — eternity.  And with this unending love I grant new mercies and blessings upon you, day after day after day.  Are you starting to understand?  My love for you is permanent.

king090blog.wordpress.com

My love for you is so large and so wide and so deep that it has no limits.  None.  Not one.  I created this entire world, and with the same care I created you.  I cradle the whole world in my hands, and I stretch out my hand to help you every day.  Some days you may feel like you are wandering or lost, but I always know where you are.  I always remember that you are my beloved child.  I want you to remember that, too.

But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

My love for you is so sincere that I want the very best for you, for always.  And to that end I gave up my son for your salvation.  Don't stop to think about being unworthy of this sacrifice.  My love defies that kind of logic.  You have worth because I love you.  This salvation is grace. Pure gift.  No strings attached.  Yours.  Forever.  Please don't keep this gift wrapped up and pretty on the shelf.  Take it down, open it up, use it.  Live in this love and live it out loud.  I want you to rejoice in this gift.  It is the very best, from me, for you.

www.HollyLaneDesigns.com

My love for you is so close that nothing can ever separate you from my love.  Not your distractions, your anger, your self-doubt, and definitely not your sins.  I have given it to you and nothing can ever steal it away.  My love is here for you every time you close your eyes, whisper a prayer, sing your praises, or serve those in need. There is no expiration date or supply shortage to worry about.  Use it up, pour it out. There will always be more.  I promise.

I love you so much.  I want the very best for you.

I want to give you a moment of stillness to soak up my love.

Breathe in this stillness.  Breathe in my love.

Be still.  Be loved.

With all my love and affection,

Your Father in Heaven

19 | Love is Not Pretending

Whoa. 

Sometimes a verse hits you right between the eyes.  With a big old resounding "THUNK."  Even a verse you've seen a dozen or a hundred times before.  Especially if it's in a less common translation.  That's why I love Bible verse websites with multiple translation options.

Anyhoo, this one grabbed me and won't let me go...

"Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality."

Romans 12:9-13 (NLTB)

Can we pray about it together?

Dear Lord,

I didn't think I was doing it, but then I read your Living Word and you opened my eyes.  Sometimes I pretend to love, even with those most precious to me.  Sometimes I go through the motions.  Sometimes I hold back some of myself.  Sometimes I'm just too tired to dig deeper.  And oh, today I do feel too tired.

Forgive me.  Give me your pardon.  And please, pretty please, give me more of your love: the unending, unconditional, unlimited variety.  Because I want my Mr. and my kiddos to know that they are some of the most fantabulistic (yeah, made up word, but it's true!) people ever created, and I love the fuzz off of them.  Because I want my sister and parents and steps and in-laws to know that I am grateful for how each one of them has had an important hand in shaping who I am, for how each one of them fits into the fabric of my life.  Because I want my friends to know how they lift me up and extend me and fill me with their laughter, their stories, their caring, their truth.

Lord, keep on busting my chops when I go through the motions.  When I brush a hurried kiss across my husband's cheek.  When I shoo the kids onto the bus, distracted with to-do lists.  When I listen, but do not hear.  When I think of, but do not call.  When I care, but do not serve.  I want to be stone cold busted on these behaviors because that is not what these people, my people, deserve.  

You have placed these amazing individuals in my midst so that my life may be full.  Help me to hold them tightly and return the fullness of joy that they share with me.  Make me the queen of simple, non-stressed hospitality, inviting my loved ones in to share a slice of laughter, a cup of enthusiasm, a plate full of good.  Make me the unexpected and delightful surprise caller, who reaches out just to share a good mood.  Make me the eager servant, genuinely joyful to do a kind deed for another in need.  Help me to honor the good in others, to stop and say a heartfelt thanks, to give a hearty hug, to listen deeply to the "How are you?" answer.

To do this best, I know I need to slow down, not rush.  I need to live peace, not stress.  I need to see hope, not limitations.  I need to breathe joy, not despair.  I need to embrace goodness, not temptation.  I need to practice patience, not frustration.  I need so much, but all I need is in you.

You first loved us.  And now, good and giving Lord, help me abide in your love.  Let it be in each breathe I take.  Let it exist in each exhalation I make.  In all that comes into my being and all that goes out, may your love exist and extend.

Amen.

May you feel my love for you, dear reader and friend.  Thank you for tuning in, for praying, for living your faith out loud.

Wise words from a wonderful woman

Barbed Wire Sunrise, a photo by Army Man Chaz on Flickr.

If you have a relationship that hurts, or are currently feeling hurt in an otherwise blessed relationship, these words are for you, from Ann Voskamp. This one touches me deep, opens me up, and heals my heart. Thank you, Ann.  

Here's the link: One thing that helps any relationship

More inspiration from Ann @ A Holy Experience

7 | Love Song

Lord,

This prayer is a love song for my Mister.  Thank you for putting this wonderful man right smack dab in the middle of my life.

I love the way he wakes up in the morning, ready and raring to go, and cajoles my not-a-morning-person self into a relatively congenial and cooperative frame of mind.  And he makes the coffee.

I love how he cares, so deeply and passionately, for the special people and places in his life.  

I love how he takes charge of washing the cars, planning family trips, and filling our social calendar.

I love how he balances me out, encourages me to play, and provides an even keel when my moods swing crazy.

And that one time, once upon ten years ago, when he pulled out the fridge AND the oven and scoured the nasty linoleum floor beneath them?  That was pure, sweet romance.  Hubba hubba.

I love how he colors my day with music.  He brightens my bummers with laughter.

He makes me laugh at myself.  That is a very good thing.

I love how he is an invested, involved father: snuggling up to read with the kids; encouraging them at the piano; taking the reins with scouting; adventuring in the wilderness and showing them the unfiltered wonders of your world.

Lord, my relationship with my Mr. is far from perfect.  We stress over how the other spends—or wants to spend—money.  We both want to be Alpha all of the time.  We bicker over nothing big.  We don't make enough time to be truly present with each other.  But we love one another as we love you: through thick and thin, highs and lows, laughter and tears, sleepless nights with newborns to sleepless nights due to someone's (kick) snoring.

Thank you for this precious love, for my lifelong partner.  Help us to continue to grow together.  Help us to strengthen the weak spots in our marriage, and to celebrate all that is good in our relationship.  Ensure that we don't take each other for granted, but grant each other safe haven amidst the worries of this world.  Keep us close to one another and to you in unconditional, abiding love.

Amen.

Who is the love of your life?  

How do you thank God for that especially good relationship?