Show Me How to Love

Lately my thoughts meander. They’re grappling with experiences, wrestling with realities.

I’m seeing Him, understanding Him from a different perspective. It’s not new information, not something I conceptually didn’t understand before. It’s new realizations.

I’ve seen Him work in the ones close to me. I’ve watched hearts change and goals metamorphosis into worthy ambitions. I’ve seen happiness in Him, perfect contentment.

The development and transformation of people is an awesome thing.

Three weeks ago my sister (along with her high school) left for a ten-day trip to Belize. She traveled to an orphanage. It started there. Her perspective shift began with hard physical labor in the hot sun and high humidity, but that was only part of it. The children weaved their way into her heart, never to be forgotten. And God was there. She felt Him.

We were talking the day after she got back. I still clearly see my sister’s penetrating brown eyes, misty with emotion. Then I hear the words falling from her lips, “We went there to bless them, but they blessed us. By our standards those kids have nothing, but Kendall they have so much more than we do. You should hear them sing worship songs… Kendall, they love God so much and it’s obvious.”

But she didn’t stop there, “Kendall, I’ve been thinking happiness, true happiness, is in serving. We weren’t put here to make ourselves happy, but to help others. And in helping others, helping them see Jesus, we find our happiness.”

So much wisdom coming from the voice of a fifteen year old.

Then almost a whisper, “Someday I’ll go back.”

Over and over I return to this conversation. It’s etched into my mind. What she said resonated within, tugged at my heartstrings, and provoked my thoughts.

I started thinking about my motivations, goals and dreams. Who am I?

And I saw myself. I was standing in filthy rags desperately clutching onto me… Apart from Jesus, I stood there alone, wretched, and hopelessly ensnared in my selfishness.

Then I saw Him.

I saw His unquenchable love for me, the unlovable.

And I realized that His love is so much more than a feeling or even a simple action. It’s a lifestyle.

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners…. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” Romans 5:8,10-12 NLT

It’s a call to discipleship, to tell others of Him. And we need to make an intelligent choice. Am I willing to follow Him? Are you?

I came across this quote in my Bible lesson, “Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we have.” Ultimately it cost Jesus His life. We are to count the cost of discipleship and make an intelligent well-informed decision.

Jesus says, “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money.” “So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.” Luke 14: 28,29,33 NLT

Am I in it for the long haul? Am I willing to sacrifice all on the alter of surrender?

Being a follower of Christ is not something I can half-heartedly through myself into.

It requires everything.

And without giving everything, nothing can be gained. 

Christ calls for my entire heart.

Tonight the song Forgiveness, by Matthew West played on the radio. The lyrics stirred my thoughts.   

“Show me how to love the unlovable

Show me how to reach the unreachable

Help me now to do the impossible” (Forgiveness) 

I parked my car and bowed my head.

I asked Him to show me how to love. How to live like Him.

I am not in this spiritual race to run without spirit. I am in the race to win, to see others cross the spiritual finish line. Are you?

This race will cost me everything. It will cost you everything; maybe even our lives. But because of His love, His great love for you and me. We are willing to take the risk. To throw ourselves entirely into the race, never looking back.

Welcome

The commencement of our new journey! A new school, new town and new opportunities. It is always exciting to see where God is leading. 

So welcome... Welcome to our new home. 

We look forward to the giggles, smilies, and sunshine that are going to fill these walls. However, most of all we look forward to you! Seeing your smile, hearing your story... So welcome, welcome to our home.

"But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15

For Mom

Today we celebrated motherhood. Today I celebrate my Mom.

Mom is beautiful. She has short, wavy hazelnut colored hair, offset by her immense brown eyes. When you’re with her you know that thing may not always work out the way you want, but she will be there right beside you, praying and supporting you. Early in the morning when you look beside her bed, you can find mom praying. You know in her prayers she’s praying for you!

Sacrificial, and caring, these are words you can use to describe my mom. From the time we were little Mom gave up having a career, new furniture, and brand name clothes to raise my sister and I. Daily she taught us from the Word or God, instilling life lessons and values that could come from nowhere else except your mother’s knee. Was it worth it to her? In a heartbeat she will tell you “yes”.

People. Mom loves people. She could easily spend all afternoon with a stranger with still plenty to talk about. Seeing people brought to Christ is another one of my Mom’s passions. She has taught us that though it is sometimes hard and awkward, to unashamedly speak up for what the Holy Spirit has convicted us of. She encourages us to take the opportunities around us and use them for God. If it comes to standing up for someone when no one else will, or even speaking the truth when it is not wanted, she encourages us to do so. She is never afraid to help out up front of people, not because she’s not nervous, but because she wants my sister and I to willingly volunteer whenever there is a need. Mom instills values by example, not just talk.

Most of all mom has hands like no one else. These hands are starting to show the work of forty years, but what a heritage these hands have. When she was a young woman, before my sister or I was born she used these very hands to feel the movement of the life inside of her. These hands held newborns that cried incessantly. These hands comforted little girls when it was past their bedtime, but couldn’t go to sleep. These hands became prune-like from the hot dishwater when two little girls ate, but didn’t wash their own dishes. These hands wiped the sweaty brow a fever brings, brought glasses of refreshing water, eased the pain of life. These hands held mine when I first learned to walk, cleaned up the messes after bicycle accidents and hung on tightly when I was first learning to drive. These hands created topic sentences for writing papers, taught how to count back change, and give a handshake. These hands wrote the dedication in my first Bible and helped me pick out my church clothes, making sure they were clean and pressed. These hands by a gentle squeeze let you that things will be all right. These hands placed in mine by sacrifice and hard work opportunities I could have never had otherwise. These hands have cooked thousands of dinners, cleaned hundreds of bathrooms and sacrificed their gloves. These hands have been cut, burned, scraped, and chapped. These hands are under appreciated, but they would happily do something to show you you’re appreciated. These hands that have done so much, are my mothers.

Each time one of her hands reached out, it changed me. Without them I could never be who I am today. I wouldn’t know how to cook nutritious meals, sight read music, or have an adult conversation. I would be happy with average, content with normal, satisfied by a “good job”, but I’m not. These hands have shown me to strive for excellence, think outside the box, and not to be satisfied unless it is your personal best. They have also showed me compassion, love for your neighbors, and how to be a hard worker. Most of all my mother’s hands taught me to love God. In the book of Proverbs chapter 31 it says, “ Her children rise up and call her blessed; Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.’ ” My mom truly fits this description. Many women have done well, but none has well as my mother.

Happy Mother's Day Mom, you are greatly loved...

Love, From a Parent's Perspective {Tuesday Muse}

Disclaimer: I'm not a parent myself, so I don't know the depths of their love. However I have seen this love in action, and I still see it day to day.

It was a hot summer afternoon, my sister and I were young.

Visting family in the "lower 48", we were attending a picnic. The congenial hum of voices, cousins playing, and the Oregon country side set the mood. Children have a known infatuation with water and it wasn't long before we were begging to "swim" in the hot tub.

Our parents agreed, soon swim clothes were donned and we found ourselves laughing and splashing in the water. A group of protective parents stood close to the pool diligently monitoring our actions.

My sister, a petite young thing, was having a marvelous time, until she slipped.

She went down, down, down.

Mom went in.

As quickly as possible she pulled her soaking child from the clutches of the water and held her tight. Now both thoroughly saturated clung to each other. Relief flooded through both of them.

A nightmare was avoided because her child came first. In only a way a parent can understand self, it mattered little when brought in light of her child.

Love, because... Mom didn't care if she got soaking wet. All she wanted to do was save her baby.

God's love. He gave His only Son.

"...The great love of God for the world, so great that to raise it from its degradation, He gave His only-begotten Son to a most shameful death. ...In giving His only-begotten Son to save sinners from eternal ruin, God was making a greater and more wonderful sacrifice than ever man could make." - The Desire of Ages

Perspective in this video... (If you can't get it to play here is the link.)

Do you see it now? God gave His Son, the supreme sacrifice. Yet we keep rushing by on the train. We don't really care. The amazing thing is God still does.

He wants you!

Today linking up with A Rural Journal.

Courage

Courage - what does it mean? According to C. S. Lewis, "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." Tests. Trials. Tribulations. No one is exempt. It's what we do during these circumstances, the choices we make, how we react; that determine true courage.

Courage |ˈkərij; ˈkə-rij|
/noun/
The ability to do something that frightens one.
Strength in the face of pain or grief.

Jehoshaphat was courageous, but he was also afraid. Courage and fear, antonyms that go hand in hand. Fear in and of itself is not wrong.

It is what we choose to do with fear.

It is how we react.

And it is wrong to succumb to fear.

Strong and courageous men and women are often afraid. However in spite of this fear, they go forward. They press on. Fear builds courage.

Back to Jehoshaphat. He and his people knew that alone they were defeated. They had no might against the multitude coming upon them. They admitted they didn't know what to do. However, they did know their God heard their cries. With an unshakeable confidence the people put their trust in the heavenly King. The outcome of the conflict was His.

Now it wasn’t their battle.

It was God’s.

This is what God said to them and says to you and I today, "Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you."

You will not need to fight.

They were surrounded, outnumbered, and threatened. Yet they did not have to fight. They stood still and watched the salvation of the Lord. Courage, they didn't trust in themselves, but in God. Every odd was against them. The flames of doubt could have leapt high, but they continued to trust.

We see courage expressed in our daily lives. The lump you get in your throat when you hear the heroic stories of  911 as men and women willingly risked lives for others. The times people put aside self for their fellow man. Heroic stories are built upon the foundation of courage. However, all the acts of men can never compare to the the most courageous act ever.

It was a dark night in the garden. The weight of every sin in the world pressed in upon this pure life. Jesus was sweating great drops of blood and this was only the beginning. From here He would go to be betrayed. He would be scourged, mocked, and then beaten again. One blameless would life would shoulder the iniquities of the world.

One life.

One man.

One chance.

That was it. One mess up was all it would take. And this is where it should shatter your heart, where every fiber of your being should be broken. It was a choice. Everything He was going through could have been avoided. Every tear, heartbreak and brutal beating could have been thwarted, but at an infinite price. Y-O-U.

You would be forever lost. Courageously He breathed His last breath with you on his mind. "For God so loved the world..." It was a choice.

There are two paths and now the choice is yours...

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference."

-Robert Frost

Courage, my friend...courage in the Lord... 

People. Places. Perspectives.

People. Because in the end it all comes down to people. The people who mean the most to you. The ones who make you smile, laugh and cry, all at the same time. The friends who are family.

Those are the times when you realize how beautiful life is. How precious is each day. Memories you will always treasure. The times you wouldn't trade for anything in this world.

It's a feeling, a gratitude hard to put into tangible words, but you get the idea. I'm thankful: for friends and family who care, for serving an all knowing God, and for new chapters in life.

Spending time in a different state for spring break. Lots of stories and so much fun. Late nights and laughter. Most of all praying together, seeing people touched by Him.

Perspective. A new one. God never ceases to amaze me, watching and seeing where He leads.

 Moments. Smiles. Laughter. God. Friends. Life. Love. Happiness. Sunshine. Family. Forever.

Sunrise Directions {Tuesday Muse}

Blush pink. Bashful blue. Belligerent black. 

Blessings in a sunrise.

I wish you could inhale the fresh salty air, hear the great Pacific lapping at the rough-hewn rocks, and watch the tide recede. It's so peaceful. The ocean is serene. 

 You see the waters reflecting the glory of the sky. Pictures and words can't justify the moment. It's calming and you are reassured. Reassured, that the directions He has for you are far better than anything you can imagine and that He will guide.

Trust Him today. He cares.

Linking up with A Rural Journal.