Finding perspective

  A wise friend once told me that she believes joy is a matter of perspective, that one has to first learn to see the beauty in a situation before they can acquire joy in that situation. Wise words.

God is a God of beauty and emotion, and when I say beauty I'm not referring to beauty that the eye can behold (though He does make people and scenery beautiful). I'm referring to the beauty of the love and joy He surrounds us with; the very beauty that gives meaning to this world and lightens the burdened soul. To obtain this kind of joyful attitude one must make a conscious habit of looking beyond the spectrum of the situation to discern the beauty within. Not every situation is beautiful, nor is always what we want it to be, and often it is very difficult to find any joy in it. But we must remember that because God allowed that situation into our life, there is beauty in it and when we find it, that beauty will bloom into a joy that only God could give us. His beauty is all around, beauty that turns to joy when we find it. I have found it in my life.

 I see it in the joyful seasons and the hard seasons. I see it when I'm facing disappointments and when I'm receiving blessings.

 I see this beauty in the laughter we share around the dinner table, in the silence that enfolds us as Daddy prays for the meal.

 I see it in the joy that sparkles from my sisters eyes as she runs to greet her man at the door.

I hear it in the thunder of little feet that rush to greet me as I come home from work. I feel it in the bundles of joy that burst from the door to throw themselves upon me. 

I see it in my Lolly as she gazes at me with luminous brown eyes, and feel it as she wraps her arms around me.

I see it in the fingers that grasp mine as I rock Shandie, and hear it in the sanctuary as the church lifts up their voice before our God. 

    I see it in all the little things that often go unnoticed, yet catch my eye, heart or ear and cause me to notice the beauty within.  These are the things that my heart thrives on, the things that cause me the most joy and give me a greater glimpse of my Savior.

Will you stop and survey your life to find this hidden beauty?

"Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

 Psalm 37:4

"For the glory of God!"

What love really means

    Love. How does one even know the true meaning of love in this world? This day in age when someone refers to love they are referencing the generic kind of love that Hollywood sells. A love that revolves around lust and "love at first sight." The world has taken a God given thing, the very thing that made this world beautiful, and turned it into something fake and short lived. In this whirlwind of romance and emotion, people have completely forgotten the true meaning of love. They have forgotten what it is to truly love. They rejected God's perfect and selfless love for that which is as empty as the air. How has that worked for people? 

    Somewhere in Africa there is a child in an orphanage, crying for the love of a mother who is never coming back. 

In India a child sits begging in the streets because her father has abandoned her.

The teenager in jail weeps for the deeds he's done. All he's ever wanted was to be loved and accepted for who he is.

The man on the sidewalk, trying desperately to keep warm, hasn't been shown love in months. 

    

      God is a God of love. He created love and designed that His people would live in love. Daily His heart is grieved for those who are "unloved." He cries out to His people to bring back that kind of love and awaken the world unto Him through His love. The world would be a totally different place if we have but the courage to love as He has loved. But where has that love gone??





   

     

Why are we not reaching out with unstoppable love?? Why have we let the world trample us and rob us of our courage? Where is our faith to do these things??

^" Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 

"For the glory of God!"

Waiting for mine

  Dear sisters,

   If you are a single lady seeking to honor your future husband and wait upon God to write your love story, then this post is for you. 

     Ladies, I know that this season of waiting can sometimes be hard, especially with Valentine’s Day just around the corner. But we need to remember that this season of waiting will not last forever. One day God will complete His love story for us and when that day comes, the waiting will no longer matter. We are in a fight for purity and true love. We want a love that only God can write. A love that the world will constantly fight against. In this battle we need to remember that every season of waiting is for a purpose and this particular season is a hidden gift from God. We have been given the opportunity to prepare ourselves for marriage. An opportunity that most women will never get because they rush into relationships.

     Let’s look at this under a different light: take a minute and imagine what kind of husband you want. Now think about what kind of woman that man would want. Are you that kind of woman?? 

    Girls, we have been given the rare and unique gift of readying ourselves for our groom. Don’t let this time go to waste!! Let’s ready ourselves, be in active prayer for our man! Study what the Bible says about marriage and how a Christian wife should conduct herself and strive to be that woman. God obviously thinks our man is worth the wait (or maybe He thinks we will be worth the wait.)  Let’s use this Valentine’s Day to dedicate prayer to our husbands and start becoming the women they deserve, the women they've prayed for their whole life, women they can be proud of.

     I finish with this: ladies, don’t give up the fight. Don’t settle for less than what God has for you. Always remember that though we are single in this season, somewhere out there is a man worth waiting for. When you think about him, stop and remember, you are his and he is yours. Don't do anything that either of you will regret when you are finally together. Be patient and wait, demonstrating your love for your husband by your willingness to wait. 

"Love is patient...Love bears all things, believes all things,

 hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"For the glory of God!" 

When I fly

"I'll fly away oh glory, I'll fly away in the morning, 

when I die hallelujah by and by, I'll fly away! "

 I sat there listening to these lyrics and watching the video of the man who is now gaining his eternal reward. I had goosebumps as I watched his life legacy. The video got me thinking. If I died tonight what would my life legacy be? How will people remember me when I'm gone?

    I walked away from that funeral in awe of the legacy that man left and praying that at the end of my life I too have that kind of legacy. The one thing that kept coming back up as the pastor talked was how devoted Mr. Jerry was to God...his faith, his discipleship of others, his trust...etc. How does one develop that kind of faith and devotion to God? Or more to the point, how does one leave that legacy? It’s quite simple: by living in genuine faith and faultless obedience to God.

   I’ve learned that God rarely calls us to do big things. More often than not the things He asks of us are small and unnoticeable things. Yet He will never present us with big opportunities to serve Him if we are not faithful in the little things. By building up our obedience in Him, we allow Him to build a legacy around our lives. Whether that is a legacy that touches hundreds or simply dozens, is based on our faithfulness to the Designer of that legacy.

    I don’t know about you, but I know I for one, want to surrender the pen of my life to His hands and let Him write my story how He will. When I die I want to know I made a difference in this world, in the lives of those around me, in my church. When the day comes that I’m entering into eternity, I don’t want to be lying there with regrets, wishing I’d done things differently.  I want to be so faithful to God that He is fully able to use me to set this world on fire for Him! To have that kind of faith I know I have a long wait ahead of me. I pray that as I seek to become the woman God designed me to be, He will develop within me the spirit of obedience and faithfulness.

When I fly away I want to hear Him say, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant!"

  

"For the glory of God!"