Just Some Thoughts

Love has been on my mind lately.  How easily the word slips off the tongue. How easily we use it for everything in life, but how we really don't understand love's impact. My thoughts took me to read 1 Corinthians 13. I recommend everyone read it, but here some verses that stood out to me: "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, NLT). "Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13, NLT). These verses describe to us unconditional, immovable, agape love, love that comes from the Father. My heart is overwhelmed with that love. It doesn't stop there thou

The recalling of the immoral woman in Luke 7 wrenches my heart every time I read it. Such a beautiful example of God's compassion as the woman worships the Savior.  I'm so taken back by her love for our Savior, but more so by His love for her. Have you ever been so deep in the mess you call life that you knew no one would ever be your friend, want to touch you, be with you, or want to be in your life. Have you felt as if you were less than nothing? As I read these passages I'm overwhelmed by His love in my own life.  I'm overwhelmed by how God sees so much more in us that what the world sees or even cares to see.  I'm overwhelmed by His grace and mercy. You can find the full recalling of the story in Luke 7 starting at verse 36.  I'm going to share a few of the verses here with you. "Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on

Isn't it great when God speaks to you??  Not only does he speak to you, but he speaks to your spouse.  Then you hear the same thing everywhere you go.  Then you finally say, "OK Lord, I get what you're saying".  Now it's time to be obedient.  I was reading in Exodus this week.  Doing my best to pick up on what the Lord had to say to me in His word. This is the verse that jumped off the page to me, " God  said to Moses: “Why cry out to me? Speak to the Israelites. Order them to get moving" (Exodus 14:15, MSG).   God was saying, I have told you what to do.  You know where I need you to go. Now go!   Prayer is a vital part of a Christians life as it should be.  But how many times do we use the phrase "Let me pray about it" as a means to postpone being obedient to what God has called us to do?   God was calling the Israelites to action!  We see God and look for direction.  He opens the doors to opportunity and our response is to "pray

T hrough a season of heartache, mistakes, transition, and loss it has been more than difficult to focus on the Kingdom. When I prayed at the beginning of the year for what God had for me to do this year He gave me Matthew 6:33. Matthew 6:33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. I was supposed to focus on the Kingdom. It has been difficult with all the distractions, but I know it was exactly because of those distractions and road blocks that God made sure I was trying to focus on the Kingdom. It has been next to impossible to focus, but His word has been a constant reminder. A reminder that I'm not walking alone, but He is here with me. I lost my best friend of 20 years July 10th. It's been less than three weeks. My heart is more than broken, if that is even possible. Teri was strong, but compassionate. Straight forward and honest. If she loved you, she loved you with all she was and no one

I'm a people watcher. I like to see facial expressions as people talk.  Most of the time not hearing a word of what they are saying.  But watching as they are engrossed in their own world, in their own circumstance, completely oblivious to what's going on around them. It's so easy to get tied up in our circumstances. It's where all of our attention is drawn to for a moment in time.  We dwell on that moment.  We focus on it. We analyze it. We pick it apart. Because we get so focused on that circumstance we don't see the big picture around the circumstance. Let's talk about Peter for a minute.  This may or may not be an analogy you have heard.  It may or may not be a passage you have read in your bible. Here it is. Matthew 14:28-33 28  Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” 29  “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30  But when h

Do you ever find it difficult to love someone that you come in contact with all the time either at work, school, or church? You can't even like them much less love them? I'm not sure I ever read where Jesus "liked" everyone he came into contact with or that he worked with, but I know that he loved them. So much so that he was willing to die on a cross for them. My heart gets turned inside out wh en I read this scripture: John 13:34-35 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” Our love for one another will prove to the world we are his disciples because we are following HIS example! Sometimes I think if we just put ourselves in that person's place. We don't truly know what they are going through, what they have been through, where they have come from or where they are going. I feel like this s