I am His

1 John 3: 1-3

1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

Romans 5:7-8

7 very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 but God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

My thanks to my favorite person in the world who has taken to sending me bible verses every morning. I look forward to that few minutes in my day when I can stop and be reminded of the love and grace I receive daily... from my husband, and from my Lord and Savior. We need to be reminded whose we are... we are His... Christ's. He paid the ransom for us. He loved us beyond measure. And that includes you.

Inpiring

I have a confession. I love reality TV. Yes, I know, you argue is it really reality? Probably not, but my friend, there is some good stuff in there. The one I find inspiration from is The Biggest Loser. I love that show. Why you ask? Well, for one, if they can lose 50 to 100 lbs... then I should be able to lose 5 or 10 no problem, right? (The answer to that question is a whole other blog in and of itself). No, the reason I love watching this show is because it emphasizes the good people want to do in their lives, the changes people want to make for the better. I just watched a woman who as weighed over 200 lbs for who knows how long go below 200 lbs. The joy I find is in the look on her face. The joy, the accomplishment, the value found in oneself, all in one look. I love it. The emotion people feel when they see their families after 4 months.

So that's my random blog for the evening. There are a whole host of shows I like... The Amazing Race and Survivor amongst them. : ) Happy Viewing!

Sundays

As you may know, our family gets together most Sundays to enjoy a meal and some time together. I'm not sure exactly why, but this Sunday was special for me. I enjoyed a wonderful conversation with my mother and sister in law, watched our littlest niece crawl all over tarnation, snickered as my brother in law took a nap, and looked on as all the rest of the kids (big and little) had fun scooting down the stairs and playing trains. It was a joy to have them in our home. I love that our nephew doesn't want to leave and go home. All of these things warm my heart and I know they are gifts from above.

Thank you father, for blessing me with this wonderful family. It makes the ache of missing mine a little less.

Make me a servant

You know how people make the joke that you shouldn't pray for patience because God will not provide the patience, but he will provide the opportunity to demonstrate patience? I feel the same principal applies to service... to being a servant to our Lord and serving his people. Jeff and I have been praying about how we can be more involved in service at SW, how we can be more involved with our church family, how we can be better servants. And our Gracious Father has provided those opportunities... there are several to chose from. The thing that I have to confess is that where we might be able to serve, I am having a hard time doing it graciously... I am having a hard time serving with a thankful and glad heart. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of serving to begin with? And then I think back to Jesus, to the King of All Kings. He did the things that no one else wanted to do. And he did them without complaint. I wonder if he ever thought things like "I really don't want to deal with that guy, he annoys me." No. He shared a meal with people that no one else could (or would) tolerate. He touched the untouchable, he loved the unlovable. He washed the dirty, filthy feet of a man who would betray him. All without batting an eye.

In light of that, I am ashamed. I have been unwilling to do the simple, easy, fairly "dirt" free tasks he's asked of me. I have complained. I have whined. I have made excuses. I have justified myself. I have been wrong. Father, please heal my selfish heart. Please forgive me. Please make me more like you.