Happy Monday friends!!!! Does that greeting bring joy & anticipation or fear & angst to you spirit? If I were to take a guess, I'd go with the latter. Why is it that we find ourselves not looking forward to another day? What did Monday do that was so bad that it turns stomachs? Could it possibly be because we don't live our days out in the right way, right place, right mindset? I'm going with yes on that one! We're gonna tackle that one today. Jesus came so that we could live life abundantly....groaning over Monday doesn't sound like abundant living to me!! Let's go!
I just returned from a weekend women't retreat and the title was "Simply His". Isn't that sweet, refreshing, and endearing? If you are married, think back with me for a moment to when you either first laid eyes on your spouse or when you first realized that you longed to be Simply His or Simply Hers; no messiness, no drama, no confusion, no one elses, Simply Theirs <3 God calls us to be Simply His, He longs for us to claim that we are Simply and Only His.
This could almost be placed under Jessica's "I <3 You" series.....we're going to Isaiah 62:1-3ish, here are a few nuggets from that, little love notes, if you will.
* "you will be called by a new name (and recieve a new character)
* "you will be a crown of splendor"
* "the Lord will delight in you"
* "your God will rejoice over you"
So when we come to Him, He gives us a new name, like a lover gives a nickname to his love, we receive a special name, full of love and affection. We will be a crown of splendor - something to behold, something of great value to be placed in a special position of honor. Where do crowns usually go? Yes, on your head.....God places us up above the rest, for all to see!! He will delight in us!!! His pleasure, His joy, His love, His enjoyment all comes from us!! God will rejoice over us!!!! He will be glad in us and take take delight in us. I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty amazing!!! To have the affection, that kind and amount of affection from someone is exciting. But to have that from our Creator puts me through the roof with joy and gladness!!
So do you remember how you felt when you were dating your true love? Remember how you couldn't stand to be apart? How you hated to say goodnight and you lingered long there in that moment, dreading the end of the day? You anticipated the next day with such delight and excitment because you were free to think about and spend time with your love again!!! That, my friends, is how we ought to approach our days, every.single.one. Mondays are a gift, Tuesdays are a gift, Wednesday....gift <3 Each day is another chance to spend with our One True Love, the One who delights in us, who takes joy in us, who longs to be with us. Every moment of every day is a chance to be with Him. If you walk through your days with Him by your side, everything has to be better. Yes, even those moments of dealing with crying children, spilled milk, loads of laundry, dirty diapers, etc. I'm totally serious here, please don't laugh it off and say "yeah right".
This life is hard and frustrating, but remember how that young love made everything better? Don't you think that God will make things even better than that?? You have a choice, you can just accept the dirt that life throws in your face, or you can catch it in a bucket and build a sandcastle!! (I know, that was totally corny, but just go with it). Thank Him in those hard moments, for that is where you will find Him!! He longs to be enough for you!! He is absolute truth and absolute love!! That's not something that you want to walk away from and let go. Stay connected (i.e. pray without ceasing) walk with Him through the moments of your days and nights.
But in order to walk with and in that Truth, you have to know the truth. One thing that stuck out to me this weekend was the comment the speaker made that "Every thought is a voice and everything that we see creates a thought". Chew that for a second..............done? Good....what voices do you have in your head, what lies or truths are you bending your ear towards? Know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free! Free from the bondage of sin, free from the bondage of lies, doubt, insecurities, addictions, lonliness. Do you want to be free? Know the truth - know freedom. A few practical nuggets for you:
*capture every thought (where did it come from? truth or lie?)
*know the Truth (as the sheep know their sheperd, we too can know Our Shepherd)
*walk in that truth
*practice loyal obedience
*He is Absolute Love
*He is Absolute Truth
*Jesus is ENOUGH!!
It's time to renew our mind friends. Know who you are listening to and make the proper adjustments. Fall in love with Jesus, for He delights in You <3
-Lorraine
No comments:
Post a Comment