Happy Valentine's Day: Go from talking about God's love to experiencing it..

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!
My post today is taken from a book called "Finding Calm in Life's Chaos", by Becky Harling. Below is a two step process taken from her book (intertwined with a couple of links for you to get an extra bang for your buck, and a couple of my own tidbits) for anyone who wants to move beyond hearing about the love of God, and getting to the point of FEELING the love of God. As someone who has struggled with depression I have had to come to terms with the fact that I cannot base my spiritual life simply off of my feelings. I do believe, though, that a long bout of depression left unchecked can lead to a whole host of other problems, and that is why the Bible speaks against and it and tells us instead to live a life of gratitude and thankfulness. If you think you might be struggling with depression it is possible that a prayer and song is not going to pull you out of your "funk". If you need more information on depression, and things of that nature, you can go here. All of us, whether we struggle with depression or not, need to know and experience the love of God. When we know that God loves us and we let it dig down into the depths of our being it will transform who we are and it will change the way we interact with other people. Take a moment to allow God love on you today. It is His great pleasure to do so.

LOVE LETTER

"YES! God wants you to feel the PLEASURE of His love. Bring Him your hunger. He doesn't just want you to know about His love, quote scriptures about His love and simply admit with your head that He loves you. His overwhelming desire is for you to EXPERIENCE His love. But, remember, when you don't feel loved that doesn't mean His love isn't truth."

"Our emotions don't dictate the reality of God's love. But God wants the reality of HIS love to PENETRATE our emotions!"

"He wants you to feel the joy of being loved. He wants you to receive His love personally and powerfully in a way that is life changing."
So, the question becomes "How do you, and I, in our brokenness, discontentment, insecurities, self-hatred, etc., etc., move the head knowledge of God's love into the deep crevices of our hearts?
1. Worship.
Can we force ourselves to say, and sing, the songs that remind us of God's love? He will bless it, if we do. Click here for a link to the posts on this site that have songs in them that you can jam out to anytime you want.

"Praise increases our faith as we pray."

"When you and I worship Christ, the Holy Spirit quickens our hearts and infuses us with more faith to be able to comprehend 'how wide and long and high and deep is the loved of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that we may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:18-19)

"Worship becomes a love exchange. The more we express our love and adoration to God, the more His Spirit enables us to experience His love for us."

2. Meditate on and memorize scriptures that remind us of God's love.
As you run, walk, bike, drive, or whatever, commit to memorizing verses that uplift and pour into your heart and spirit.

Pick your verse(s). Write them down. Put them in your pocket, purse, or wherever you'll pull that thing out until you wear that thing out! Stamp that verse into your heart until it becomes part of your heart!

You can go to this post to find a stack of verses worthy of committing to memory to build up your faith in God's love for you, or go here for a short video that does a fantastic job of reminding you of your importance to God, in my opinion. You will find as you say the words of the verses over and over they will sink in and become seasoned in your mind. Your understanding for the verses will develop with time and you will appreciate the truth behind each one more and more as God makes it personal between you and Him.

Pick the verse that speaks to you and repeat it over and over and over again, memorizing so that the verse comes to you randomly throughout your day. Don't start your run, your coffee, your line up of vitamins, your herbal shakes, whatever it is you do to start your day...DON'T do it... until you have picked up your verse and repeated it to yourself. Pray over that verse as you blend up your shake, or as reheat the leftover pizza (mmm...pizza) from last night or whatever it is you do in the morning to get yourself going. :)
Below is a picture of Becky Harling, Author of the book I referred to in this post, "Finding Calm in Life's Chaos". You may go here, to get your own copy of her book.

Awesome song time.

Jesus Culture - Rooftop (Official Music Video) from emimusic on GodTube.com.

"And in His hands the pain and hurt look less like scars, and more like character"

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."
(Hebrews 12:11, NIV)

"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."
(James 1:2-4, The Message)

Her children arise and call her blessed: Lessons from my mom.

Proverbs 31:25-29
"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."

As I think back on some of the lessons that my mother taught me and my brothers growing up, my mind drifts back to things like colorful chore charts full of simple tasks like brushing your teeth, making your bed, and I think "getting dressed" was even on there. My mom was always a hard worker and found creative ways to turn her children into her little worker bees--and here I was thinking I was just getting dressed--go figure!

My mind goes back to a time when I wanted my mom to lie for me, and she wouldn't. I hated swimming in middle school--with a passion. The only thing I hated more than swimming in middle school was swimming in front of BOYS in middle school then being forced to get dressed in record time and somehow miraculously get my hair back in place and get back to my next class in time AFTER going swimming. Miracle of all miracles!?! When I discovered that a note from a parent was all it took to get out of swimming, it seemed like a no-brainer for me to just go ahead and get a note written. If a parent really LOVED their child--I reasoned--you know where I am going. My mom did not write the note, and I went swimming--with the boys (which I hated,) and I had a bad hair day everyday we swam (which I hated even more). And my mom gave me a lesson on being honest, which has been irreplaceable. Thank you, mom.

My mind also goes back to a time when we lived in apartments, and my mom would go over to the "other side" of the apartments--the side made especially for the senior citizens. I was in first grade at the time. She would explain to me, as we were walking over there, that the person we were going to visit was not able to do their own grocery shopping anymore, so we were going to pick up their grocery list for them and go to the store to get their groceries. I remember being nervous the whole time we walked over there, but I liked that we were doing it. Good lesson, mom!

My mind goes back to all those times my mom would stop everything and pray. Countless times she did this. Stop the radio and pray right out loud. Stop doing the dishes and pray right out loud. Stop our conversation and ask to pray for me. This was just how we did things. It wasn't weird, because it was just what we did. Prayer was woven all throughout the day. It was a great reminder to stop and listen to the Lord and to ask for help when we needed it. A peacefulness that we could not have created on our own always seemed to follow a time of prayer. What a good lesson. Thank you, mom.

Of all the lessons from my mom, my favorite is the one that she embodies (effortlessly) all day, every day. It's the one that has just become a part of who she is. If you know my mom at all, you know that with every fiber of her being she exudes love. Love is not a thing my mom does. Love is a thing my mom IS. No, really. My mind goes back to what she used to say to us every night before we went to bed as kids: "Jesus loves you, we all love you." Every night before we slipped into bed--there she was, with a kiss on the head and the same old words, "Jesus loves you, we all love you." It dawns on me now how painfully rare it is for people to genuinely, from the bottom of their hearts, say this and mean it, and then for the person hearing it to actually take it in and really receive it as the truth. How many people need to hear this today? "JESUS LOVES YOU!" Did your momma tell you that growing up?? Can I just tell you now?? Jesus loves you!!! Let that one sink into your heart. Because listen, it doesn't matter how old you are when you discover this wonderful truth; the fact still remains--

The greatest lesson of all--
John 3:16
"For God so loved (YOU) the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Jesus loves you today and everyday, and He gave up his life for you so that you can have eternal life. You are a prized possession. It's really true! NOTHING can change the fact that JESUS LOVES YOU. No matter where you have come from, no matter who has hurt you in the past, this fact still remains--Jesus loves you. I know because my mom told me, standing on the authority of the Bible as she did, and my mom doesn't lie. ;0)

Mom, this song is for you--Jesus LOVES YOU!!!! And everyone on the planet can't help but love you too!

How priceless is your unfailing love, O God.

Psalm 36:5-11

"Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the highest mountains,
your justice like the great deep.

You, LORD, preserve both people and animals.
How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!

People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.

For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.

Continue your love to those who know you,
your righteousness to the upright in heart.

May the foot of the proud not come against me,
nor the hand of the wicked drive me away."

To all the moms out there who are stepping up...

I am surrounded by so many inspiring moms it's not even funny! Some of them close, some of them far, some from High School, some from College, some from my Mom to Mom group, some from my current church... they're all over the place.

I could go on and on and on with story after story of my momma friends who have come from a uniquely challenging past and have rose above it, turning out to be INCREDIBLE moms raising INCREDIBLE children. Each one would tug at your heart strings in a little different way too.

What's amazing to me, though, are the friends who come from what we consider to be "broken" homes, the ones who were shuffled from home to home, the ones who were abused at some point in their childhood (this is much more common than I think most of us realize), and yet they seem to flourish now as moms, providing something stable for their children. AT some point something in them clicked and they determined to give to their children what they never had I suppose. It's absolutely beautiful to watch these moms. They make the most of their time with their kids, cherishing each birthday and special event that their children gets to be a part of. They do not take their children for granted. These moms seek the Lord, and they devote their time and energy to making sure that their children know that they are loved. They are hard workers, diligent at making the time with their kids count.

This song is for all my beautiful friends out there who are breaking the chain that was set before them. When you could have just as easily let anger and resentment lead you into a pattern of destructive parenting that would have passed on a legacy that was harmful, you chose to "fight the good fight" and live a life worthy of the calling God has placed on your life and I applaud you. (Ephesians 4:1) You are highly esteemed. Every good deed you do does not go unnoticed, and your children are blessed with each right decision you make, each and every day, on their behalf. Keep up the GREAT work! You are an inspiration, whether you know it or not. Your life is an inspiration. This one is for you...

How God's strength is shown in your weakness.

"Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." -2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Why would a God who loves you allow you to be tempted? Seems contradictory when you don't think about it very hard, doesn't it? Paul uses the term "thorn in my flesh" to describe the temptations that pass his mind from time to time, and are an irritating distraction to him. He says he pleaded with God to take them away. Have you ever done that? Asked God, "God, why I am still battling this ridiculous thing!?! I mean, really, haven't we been down this road before, and wouldn't this be a great time for you to just take this away from me once and for all so I can focus solely on you?" There are times when we pray to God to remove something from our lives and He does and we experience a freedom from the thing. There are other times, though, when we must learn to work through, trusting God to be God, and clinging to our faith in spite of the "weakness", whatever that weakness may be.

Maybe it's a temptation that irritates you, maybe it's an illness, a hardship that you can't seem to get away from...whatever it is for you, it is seen as a weakness. If you compared yourself to others who are not battling with the same struggle, you might think that a pity party is in order. After all, why would a God who loves you want you to be weak?

Here's your answer...it's not about you. If it was about YOU, then YOU would have everything you could ever want all the time. You would never struggle and everyone would marvel at how amazingly set apart YOU are for being so perfect. YOU are NOT supposed to be perfect, as frustrating as that may seem. Perfection is not something you can attain on this side of Heaven. In fact, if you are weak, but seeking God for your strength, that is when God uses you the most. How could you ever possibly relate to anyone else if you had everything together all the time? God makes it clear that his will for all of his believers is to love those around them, helping the oppressed, the widowed, the fatherless. If you had everything you could ever want all the time, you would not be able to relate to those who need help. Everyone would look at you and say, "Well, of course she is happy! She has it all!" God is not looking for perfect people to reveal himself through, because that person would be ineffective in carrying His message of love to the rest of the world. The truth is when we acknowledge and admit our weakness, THAT is when we can say, "I may be weak but guess what...God is strong." God loves to reveal Himself through the "weak", the "less than perfect", "damaged", "broken" people in the world because these are the very people who are humble enough for Him to be revealed through.

"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
(Psalm 34:18)

Learn to lean on God for your strength, cry out to Him, rest in His love for you, trust Him to protect you, and find your strength in Him. When you do, you will come out on the other side of your time of weakness saying, "My God is an awesome God, and He is my strength!!!" If your weakness is a temptation, we know from 2 Peter that there will never be a temptation in our lives that is so strong that we cannot possibly overcome it.

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." (2 Peter 1:3-4)

What a great testimony you will have, if only you choose to trust God with your weaknesses looking to Him and His promises to you during those times, and there WILL be blessings around the corner if you just seek Him, and cling to His promises in your life. Someday you will see clearly how God was at work, but until then you press on in faith that He IS at work, and speak out of that faith as God brings it to your heart. He will move on your faith. May you be blessed in abundance as you live out, and speak out of, your faith.

You are loved.