Do you KNOW this??

This week on the coast of North Carolina (and the eastern seaboard of the US), they are preparing for a hurricane. As I thought about and prayed for those in the path, this song came to mind. I thought about the winds and damage a hurricane can bring. And I thought about how feriously my God loves me...and it hit me how very connected His love is with a hurricane. Sometimes we view our trials as punishment, when it is really coming from the loving hand of a God who with all the passion imaginable pours out His love on us as He bends and conforms us into the image of His beloved Son.

He loves you. Soak in that today.

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane,
I am a tree,

Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden,

I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,

And I realise just how beautiful You are,

And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,

Oh how He loves us,

How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us,

Oh! how He loves us,

Oh! how He loves us,

Oh! how He loves.

We are His portion and He is our prize,

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,

If His grace is an ocean,
we're all sinking.

And Heaven meets earth
like an unforseen kiss,

And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,

I don't have time to maintain these regrets,

When I think about, the way

He loves us.

God's Habitat?

A dear friend and I are preparing our hearts for the fall season by reading Psalm 27.  So I spent some time there this morning. The Lord challenged me with a concept I would love to pass on to you.

In Psalm 27:4 (one of my favorite verses), it says "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple."

...To seek Him in His temple...

What is that about? As I sat pondering it before the Lord the concept hit me...to seek the Lord in His temple is to seek Him in His "natural habitat", so to speak. Our God is holy, perfect and enthroned in heaven. He is sovereign and all-authority is His. We try to simplify and explain Him away. We put in Him in our denominational boxes and expect Him to "perform" as we demand.

As I pondered the last phrase of Psalm 27:4, my eyes were opened to this and I asked the Lord to forgive me for putting Him in a box. I asked Him to open my eyes to new aspects of His truth and His character...to blow my mind with His wonder!! He is FAR FAR beyond what we can even comprehend. Let's allow Him to reveal Himself to us.

I don't want to limit Jesus' activity in my life with my unbelief. I want to see Him as He is...the mighty, holy, pure, extreme, and awesome Creator who passionately loves me and pursues me for my own good! I pray you see Him in His glory today!

Our Focal Point

When I was about 6 years old, I took ballet lessons, like most little girls with big dreams. It didn't take long for me to realize there was more spinning involved than I cared to do! I was soon a ballet drop-out. But in the short lessons I took, one thing has stuck with me. The Lord brought it to mind again this morning in my time with Him.

When a ballerina spins around she is to find a visual focal point to look back at with every spin. So when you spin around and come back to your original position, your eyes are to fall immediately back on your focal point. This take LOTS of practice! Since I was not very successful with it, I was often dizzy and disoriented. Did not make for a good ballerina.

This morning in reading Colossians 1:10.."live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way" I heard the Lord whisper to my heart, "Refocus on Me." He reminded me that living a life worthy of Him and pleasing to Him has less to do with my actions and more to do with my heart-focus.

Life is shaky...from the big things like job loss, health issues, marital struggles...to the littler things like disagreements, busyness and annoyances. But the one unshakable thing is OUR GOD! When life's turbulence spins our heads around, we can refocus our eyes on Him and find true balance.

I don't know about you, but that was reminder I needed as I face the increased busyness of the fall season ahead. You and I have no idea what lies in our future, but we can focus on the One who is already there steadying us with His righteous right hand. Let's find our focal point today and keep our eyes on Him!

True Brokenness

Most of us can probably spout John 3:16 without much thought: "God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

BUT..are we LIVING like this is true?

I recently heard a message that has made it's way into the crevices of my heart. 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 is summed up in the middle of verse 9 with these words: "because your sorrow led you to repentance"

Sorrow. True sorrow over sin. Are you and I LIVING like we know to the depth of who we are that EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. WE SIN THAT is what put Jesus on the cross? I think we get that in our heads, but do we get it with our day to day lives?

Every time I am impatient with my children, unfriendly to a neighbor, unkind to my husband I am committing sin that put Jesus on the cross. Every time I seek self over others I am putting Jesus on that cross.

In the recent message I heard, I was challenged to LIVE BROKEN. Am I living with the humility and brokenness of a daughter covered in grace for my sin. Moment by moment and day by day.

When we recognize we've sinned do we flippantly say "forgive me, Lord" and go on about our day? Or do we have true sorrow which leads to repentance for our sin?

Tears are not necessarily sorrow. Hebrews 12:17 says of Esau "He could bring about no change of mind [true repentance], though he sought the blessing with tears."

True brokenness is an issue of the heart rather than just a wet face! Our Father is looking to the deepest places of our heart and seeking broken daughters to demonstrate His grace in and through. Are you and I willing to live as such women?

All The Way Home

I caught a fresh glance at an old friend this morning.

If you have been in church for more than a week, you have probably heard or sung about good ole' Zacchaeus, the tree-climber. You know the one "Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he.."

As I read through Luke 19 the Lord highlighted a fresh but simple insight on this wee little man's life. In Luke 19:5 Jesus comes down the road and looks up toward Zacchaeus and says, "come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."

Suddenly I saw something I had never seen before..Jesus was not just willing to meet Zaccheaus at the tree, but He wanted to get to the very place where he was most himself. Jesus wanted into the house.

Jesus wants to get into your house and my house, too. He is not after a heart change in front of the church ladies, the neighbors, or the Wal-mart clerk. It is easiest for us to look "godly" around those who know us least. But in our homes, with our husbands, children, parents, and nearest and dearest...we are who we really are.

Jesus knows this and desires to get into our homes. He wants to get to the depth of who you are and minister to you right there.

In Psalm 101:2 David makes this realization and asks the Lord for a heart that is truly authentic. He says "I will be careful to lead a blameless life -- when will you come to me? I will walk in my house with a blameless heart."

I desire to be who I seem...completely. I want my children to see the same mom in public as in private. I want my man to see a woman who loves Jesus when I am tired, when I am at church, when I am joyful. At all times and in all places we need to be who we seem. Our God is after complete authenticity. Let's allow Him to permeate our homes and our hearts and begin to change us from the inside out.