He is Jealous For Me

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.


Oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all.


We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen 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...

Oh, how He loves us so,

Oh how He loves us, 

How He loves us all.
How He Loves ~ David Crowder Band

I've been thinking about this song for at least a week now. I just can't get it out of my head. I just love the words. They describe God's love for us so poetically. I first heard this song about a month ago during Sunday morning worship service. Our worship team sang it and I instantly liked it. Then I forgot about the song for a while. I got an email about a week and a half ago and the subject was this song. I looked it up on you tube and have been singing it ever since. I have downloaded it to my Ipod and needless to say I have been singing it so much that I'm sure I'm driving my family crazy. I know the Lord keeps bringing this song to my mind for a reason. He loves me so much. He loves us all so much and He wants us to know it and to feel His love for us.

So . . . I finished this post and hopped in the shower. As I was washing my hair I got this terrible sinking feeling. It was a feeling that I would compare to arriving to class one morning and realizing that you forgot to do your homework. I realized that I wasn't finished with this post. Actually, God wasn't finished with this post. He has more to say here. Well, anyway . . . here's the rest of it.

He is jealous for me. What does that mean exactly? To me it means that He wants our time and our attention. And that's not all He wants. He wants our love, our worship, our obedience, our thankfulness, our faithfulness . . . He wants all of us. He wants us to give everything that we are and everything that we have to Him to be used for His purpose. He wants us to come to Him and consult Him in every decision, to talk to Him like He is our best friend. (He is you know.) He is our best friend and our Father. He wants to hear about triumphs, our fears and everything in between. He is the only one that we will ever know that will never hurt us. He is perfect in all ways.

We should all take a good look at our lives and figure out what is keeping us from Him. Maybe it's some secret sin that no one else knows about. Pornography? Adultery? Lying? Overeating? Maybe it's something that you would never even consider sinful. It could be watching TV, surfing the internet, reading or knitting.  I have to admit that as silly as it seems, I have let knitting come between me and the Lord. I have gotten involved in an intricate project and have spent all of my free time knitting instead of spending time in the Lord. He wants us to put Him first in our lives. He doesn't want to be second, third . . . or tenth. He wants our best, not our leftovers.

Peace

I have had quite a busy week at work. My week was actually somewhat exhausting. I can say that through it all I continue to remain close to Jesus. I continue to pray and talk to Jesus (silently while I'm working) throughout each day. I ask Him for help and continue to lean on Him in situations that seem beyond my ability to cope. He continues to provide help in the form of my co-workers and my boss. In the midst of critical and challenging work situations, I continue to find the strength and resources I need to accomplish everything that needs to be done.

I am still amazed at how He provides for me and keeps me close to him. He is so good to me in so many ways. I can't even begin to count all of the blessings He has poured into my life. The closer I draw to Him, the more peace I have within me. It is a peace unlike anything I have experienced. It's a peace from deep within my soul that feels like someone wrapping their arms around me and giving me a great big hug. It's a feeling of contentment and protection even when I am frustrated, busy and exhausted. It's the peace that surpasses all understanding. Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I love living in God's peace.

 Not very long ago, I was in a place in my life where I certainly did not feel the peace of God in my life. I felt distant from the Lord and it was a very unsettling feeling. I wasn't following God's will for me at that time. Oh, I was going through all of the motions. I went to church every Sunday. But I wasn't seeking the Lord like I should. I wasn't reading the bible much at all and I wasn't spending regular quite time with God. I didn't consult Him in anything. I just went about my life making all of my own decisions, thinking the Lord would probably be on board with me. Well, He wasn't. 

You may be wondering how I attained the peace that I now have. Well it's simple really. I prayed. I sat down by myself, bowed my head and prayed. I asked God to help me to follow His will instead of my own selfish desires. I asked Him to forgive me for my sinful, stubborn ways. I asked Him to change me from the inside out and make me into His loving, compassionate servant. I started spending more time reading the bible and talking to the Lord. I found that the more I sought Him and was obedient to His will, the closer I felt to Him. This resulted in the amazing peace that I continue to experience.

2 Peter 1:2
Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
http://www.biblegateway.com/

Citron

I want to share with everyone another interest of mine. I enjoy knitting. I have been knitting for about 2 years now and I love it. It's almost like therapy after a long, stressful day at work. My friends make fun of me because of my knitting. They like to make "old" jokes, asking when I'm going to pick up my walker. Well, anyway, I don't care who makes fun of my hobby. I will keep knitting because I like it. This is my latest project. It is called a citron shawl. I actually think it's quite fashionable. I found the pattern for free on ravelry.com. The link to this project is www.ravelry.com/projects/Maybabie/citron .

Standing on the Corner

     A few days ago I left work early. We were overstaffed and I didn't have a patient assignment so I asked if I could leave early. As I was driving down the street, I noticed a man standing on the corner holding a sign. He was wearing a bright fluorescent orange vest that a road worker would wear. He was just standing on that corner holding the sign, smiling and waving at people as they drove by. I had seen the same man on the same corner a couple of times before, although I thought it was two or three years earlier. I hadn't really given him much thought before. I just drove on by and carried on with the rest of my day. As I sat at the stoplight on that particular day, I watched the man. For the first time, I really saw the man and thought about what he was doing. The sign he was holding read "Jesus Christ is the name above all names."

     I thought about how difficult it must have been for that man to stand there with that sign for the first time. I'm sure that many people driving by him every day must think he is absolutely crazy standing there with that sign. When the Lord first called the man to minister in this way, he must have thought, "You want me to do what? Really?" It is human nature for us to care about what others think of us. I admired that man and his courage for being obedient to God's calling.
     I then thought about the physical discomfort involved in standing out there on the corner for who knows how many hours. It was pretty cold on the day that I saw him. Did he stand out there in the snow and rain? What about lightening? Had he ever gotten scorched by the sun's rays while he shared the love of God with others? Did he ever almost get hit by a car? How far would this man go? What would he endure to carry out God's purpose for him? And then I wondered, "What would I endure to fulfill God's will?" Would I endure physical discomfort? Pain? Ridicule? Torture? Would I even endure uncertainty about the future, not knowing where God's plan would take me?

     I know it seems crazy to think that I pondered all of these things as I watched the man with the sign for that brief moment. I then realized that God put that man there for me to see. He wanted me to see the man's amazing obedience to him despite the certainty of being judged by others. He also wanted me to see his steadfast endurance and faith in God as he withstood unpleasant and potentially dangerous environmental conditions. I remembered thinking about seeing the man there two or three years earlier. The Lord brought to mind the man's continued faithfulness and obedience as he continued to follow the Lord's calling for him for all of those years. God wanted me to see that man and to evaluate my own life and my own obedience to Him. He wanted me to ask myself, "Do I have what it takes to stand on the corner alongside that man, proclaiming the word of God to everyone passing by?" Do you have what it takes?

Deuteronomy 5:33
Walk in obedience to all that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.
Romans 5:19
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
http://www.biblegateway.com/

A Marriage Transformed

1 Corinthians 13

 ¹ If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.


 ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 ¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.



Valentine's Day is tomorrow. Next week is our anniversary. We will be married for fourteen years. I can't believe how the time has passed. I feel emotional today. I can't stop thinking about my husband. We have been through so much together. We have actually been together for twenty years. We were high school sweethearts.



Mike and me at senior prom



I'm sure many of you will probably think this particular post is very mushy but I feel the Lord prompting me to tell you about our marriage. I am absolutely more in love with my husband now than I ever have been. I just can't believe how much I love him. And I know that he feels the same way about me. He makes me feel special and beautiful (on the outside and on the inside.)  Without a doubt I believe that we were created for each other. Remember that line from Jerry Maguire "You complete me."? That's how I feel about him. I love him. I need him. I want him. I feel so blessed by the Lord to have such a happy marriage.



Our marriage hasn't always been so blissful. I am serious when I tell you that we have had some really rough times. We've had times when I've questioned him, myself and our love for each other. There have even been times when I've questioned God. We've faced a real "Am I going to die?" health crisis. We have also both made our fair share of mistakes. We've said and done things that can't be taken back. I can remember several occasions when I've sobbed myself to sleep, worrying about what the future really held. I'm sure you must be wondering how we got from there to here.



our wedding day



Well, first I must tell you that we were not Christians when we married. We weren't bad people, we just were clueless and hadn't been exposed much to the things of Christ. When I was saved, our marriage suffered. Mike didn't understand my new outlook on life. We argued frequently during this time. Mike then was saved several months later. We were baptised together a couple years after that. Our marriage still wasn't perfect. We were young Christians and we were attacked by Satan. I truly feel like our marriage was under attack. Things really spiraled out of control as we continued to make some bad choices. It was a very difficult time in our lives that I would love to forget forever.

We humbly sought the Lord and gradually started to get back on track. We had a long way to go but we were trying. Then we got to the point where our marriage and our life was just very routine and monotonous. I just assumed that when you've been married for almost ten years, your marriage just becomes a bit blah. I expected our marriage to continue to be this way for . . well, maybe forever.

And then I had a great idea. I started praying for our marriage. I prayed for all aspects of our marriage: our love, our sexual intimacy, our walk together in the Lord, our communication, our affection, etc. I also started praying specifically for Mike in all areas of his life: his work, his reputation, his walk with the Lord, being a Godly leader of our family, his temptations, etc. I got this idea after reading The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian. It is a great book and I honestly believe that it was the first step in the complete transformation of our marriage. I highly recommend this book to all women who want an absolutely wonderful marriage. Our marriage didn't change overnight. I have been praying in this way for our marriage and for Mike for probably four or five years now. And like I said earlier, the changes were very gradual. It wasn't until just yesterday that I really thought about our marriage and I thought, "We're there! This is what I wanted for our marriage."



Mike and me November 2011

 I'm not saying that we don't still have our issues. We certainly do. We still have an occasional argument. We will always have different opinions about some things. There are no two people in this world that will always agree on everything. He still annoys me sometimes and I know that I can get on his nerves. (Just between you and me, sometimes I try to annoy him just a little bit . . . you know, just for fun.) But we really love each other beyond what I thought was possible after fourteen years of marriage. And you know what else? I think he is sexy. In my opinion, there is nothing sexier than my husband being a Godly man and leader of our family, seeking the Lord with all of his heart and being a Godly role model for our son. That is what really does it for me.

Well, hopefully I didn't lose any of you in all of the mushy details. Please know that my God is absolutely capable of anything. If you ask in faith and continue to pray regularly, He will answer you. The answer may not always come in the form that you expect, but it will come. Be patient, have faith and be faithful to Our Heavenly Father.

Now. . . I'm patiently waiting for God to start his transformation in our son so that he will actually do what we ask him to do the first time we ask instead of the fifth time. . .
http://www.biblegateway.com/

A Love Unlike Any Other

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I thought that blogging about love would be a great idea. I searched my journal of God's words looking for any words that He has given me about love. I found a few sentences here and there but didn't really find anything that really addressed God's love for us. I sought Him this morning, asking Him to give me His words about love. These are the words that He gave me today. I hope they touch your heart like they did mine.

You will never know or understand the full weight of My love for you and My other children. I can only begin to help you understand My love for you. I love you so much that I created the world and the entire universe for you. I love you so much that I gave you and all of My other children free will, even though I knew many of you would reject Me as a result. I love you so much that I came humbly to the earth as a helpless infant into a world that hated Me and wanted to kill Me. I love you so much that I willingly endured torture and humiliation as I freely sacrificed My own life for your life. I did this to pay the price for your sins so that all who accept Me and My sacrifice shall not be separated from My Heavenly Father but shall live forever with Him in paradise. I love you so much that I, the Creator of all things, want to know you personally and hear about everything in your life, good and bad. I love you so much that I give you the Holy Spirit so that you can experience true peace and joy, even amidst your hardships, and so that you will know what it feels like to truly worship Me. For I have created all of My children to worship Me. Those who choose not to worship Me will try to fill that void within themselves with other things that are not of Me. They will find that these things will never satisfy them. I am the only One that can fill the hearts of My children. Go now and love others in the ways that I love you. Let My love within you pour out onto others. Share Me and My words with them. Let them know that they will experience a love in Me unlike any other love.

I thinks these words are powerful, humbling and amazing. I feel blessed that the Lord gives me these words to share with others. I pray regularly that these words and my obedience in them will touch many lives. I filled the last page of my journal this morning with the above words. I still am in awe the amount and content of the words the Lord has graced me with. Please share this blog with others as the Lord moves you.

Psalm 103

¹ Praise the LORD, my soul;
   all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the LORD, my soul,
   and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins
   and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
   and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

 ⁶ The LORD works righteousness
   and justice for all the oppressed.

 ⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,
   his deeds to the people of Israel:
⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
   slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse,
   nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
   or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
   so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west,
   so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

 ¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
   so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed,
   he remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵ The life of mortals is like grass,
   they flourish like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone,
   and its place remembers it no more.
¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting
   the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
   and his righteousness with their children’s children—
¹⁸ with those who keep his covenant
   and remember to obey his precepts.

 ¹⁹ The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
   and his kingdom rules over all.

 ²⁰ Praise the LORD, you his angels,
   you mighty ones who do his bidding,
   who obey his word.
²¹ Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
   you his servants who do his will.
²² Praise the LORD, all his works
   everywhere in his dominion.

   Praise the LORD, my soul.

John 3:16,17

 ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

http://www.biblegateway.com/