Nothing More, Nothing Less

Lately, I have just been resting in the fact that there is nothing more I can do to make God love me more than He already does AND there is nothing I can do to make Him love me less.

There is no amount of church attendance, ministry volunteering, or rule following that will make Him love me more. All that He requires is a clean heart. Only God can create a clean heart by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. You can sit and rest! That realization that it is all God and not you will provide the exhale necessary to live in Sabbath rest.

Furthermore, there is no sinful behavior that will make Him run for the hills and deny He knows me. His love is unconditional--without conditions. No matter if the sin is something small  or something huge on my scale--He will love me the same.

Ahhhh...He loves me for me. He doesn't love me for what I do, or what I could do--my potential. He loves me for me!

Grasping this unchanging uncondition love of God for us sets us free. Thank you Jesus! Take some time today to think about His love for you. Read and meditate on Romans 8.

...with ALL my heart

Today turned into a crazy chaotic day. The noise around me has robbed any hope for the quiet time with the Lord I so desperately wanted. The children are asking a gazillion questions about everything and nothing at the same time, the chores are screaming my name, and the to-do list is multiplying at a rapid rate.


Yet, through all this commotion, I can hear Him. I can hear Him calling my name. I can hear Him whispering His love over my life. It’s the song I hear Him sing over me that draws out of the craziness and into His arms. It’s in my knowing that He loves me endlessly that helps me push through the demands of the day. I know that rest will come to me. I know the Father will wrap me in his strength.

I am His. You are His. We are His. Everything that we are-- is His. He calls us His own.

Our calling is to live a life of loving worship to the Father of Lights. It is in worship that I give Him everything that I have or have ever wanted. It is in living a life of worship that my heart finds rest.

(writer's note: this entry originally was published in Liberty Bible Church's womens' ministry newsletter for the month of September. I wanted to share this on here since there are many who don't get that newsletter--enjoy!)

The Temporal Longs for the Eternal

I can still remember the first day I felt it. We were newly married, living in Kansas City MO, out on a bike ride. It wasn't a growing feeling, but something that hit me all of a sudden.

 I couldn't put my finger on at first. It felt like I had been up at camp all week and I just wanted to come home.

I started asking myself questions:
Am I homesick for my family? Answer: No, not to the point of feeling homesick?

Am I homesick for my hometown? Answer: No, not at all.

What could I possibly be homesick for then?

Then it hit me...and hard! I was HOMESICK FOR HEAVEN.

My physical body was groaning for the spiritual. Paul says in Romans 8:23, "And not only this, but also we ourselves having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body." This is what was happening to me, my physical body was homesick for its redemption when I will be fully restored--spirit, soul, and body--to the presence of God in heaven before His throne.

The temporal was looking to the eternal and longing for the presence of the Lord. Again Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:18, "while we look not to the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. My temporal body was looking to the unseen God and crying out in longing for Him.

By no means am I wishing my life caught short. No, I am merely recognizing that I come from my Creator. Eventually, we will all be united with Him. It is perfectly natural as a part of creation to groan for the day when sin will be thrown down to the lake of fire once and for all.

I have had this sensation a few other times over the years, but not too often. When it does hit me, I run to prayer and thank the God of the Universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob for His beauty and wonder and creativity and delight. I thank Him for creating me, and delighting in me, and loving me. I thank Him for His swift return and the day when I will be free from the Sin that roams this earth.

Embrace who you are. Embrace the fact that you are an eternal spiritual being that groans for the redemption of our bodies. We groan in desire to be set free from this fallen earth. We are homesick for the Father's House.

My heart's beatful cry

My heart's beat is Jesus Christ and my heart's cry is FREEDOM! Freedom from what
keeps us down and tries to kill us. Freedom what what keeps us down and tries to woo us. Freedom from anything and everyone that tries to keep us from our First Love--from our Healer, Redeemer, and Restorer! Christ alone sets us free, and its in Christ alone that we are FREE!

This is my heart's beatful cry: to bring good news to the afflicted; to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God!

Christ will break those shackles, Christ will pull the talons off our backs, Christ's healing balm will ooze over ALL our wounds and remove the scars we are carrying. Christ will direct us to Truth and away from the lies that have keep us bound up in fear!

I am FREE. You are FREE. We are FREE to live and love in the light of our Gracious Savior who has forgiven ALL our sins.Amen.

Is Your Marriage Under the Old Covenant or the New?

When I was newly married, I plunged right into my role as wife. I did the cooking, the cleaning, the grocery shopping, the organizing because this is what a "good" wife does, right? I was consumed with my role.

 Far too many people have marriages like this. Their marriages are stuck in the legalism of the roles instead of in the grace of the relationship.

Marriage is a picture of our relationship with Christ. We, as believers in Jesus Christ, are called the Bride. Ephesians 5 details out what this relationship looks like. We are to walk in love (v.2) speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (v 19).

My heart breaks when I look around at marriages that are trying to emulate this spiritual relationship out of their own flesh. What do I mean by this? Well, many couples in the church today are living in a marriage that is under the law instead of grace.

We do what we do because we think we should. We have become more concerned with our roles as husband and wife then our relationship as husband and wife. We don't do what we do out of graceful love.

 Somehow the message of the Cross has gotten lost in the honor, respect, and obey part. The actions of our daily roles have taken center stage over the sacrificial love that Christ so sweetly demonstrated in His life and death.

Husbands and wives, it is time to put our marriages in the proper order: relationship first then roles. Let how we function in our homes flow out of our relationship with each other. Let our marriages live in the New Covenant of grace rather than the Old Covenant of the law.

Chaotic Peace

I can be organized, well educated, and compassionate towards those around me. I can be funny, relaxed, and timely. I can be lovely, proper, and giving. I can be all these things, but without the power of the Holy Spirit flowing throughout my spirit, soul, and body--I am nothing.

These mean nothing if my inner life is void of the powerful indwelling of the Spirit. He is the air I breathe, He is the breath that gets pumped throughout my body so I can function. My actions are a result of the Spirit's life in me.

He makes it possible for me to be compassionate, relaxed, lovely. He brings balance and unity to my life. Without His voice in my life, I would cease to be me.

 Sometimes my time with Him is spent in solitude on my face before Him, while other times it is spent in quiet worship and study of His Word, and sometimes it is spent walking through my daily chores conversing with Him about my family and friends.

Whatever the mood of the day, He is there with me. He longs to be with us--sharing in our lives whatever that may look like. He is in the peace, he is in the busyness, and He is in the chaos. Welcome Him into your day and embrace the Spirit's breath in your life.

"The LORD is rigtheous in all His ways

And kind in all His deeds.

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

He will also hear the cry and will save them.

The LORD keeps all who love Him,

But all the wicked He will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,

And all flesh will bless His hold name forever and ever."

Psalm 145:17-21

Fall's Must Read List

A few weeks ago, a friend asked me, "What books have changed my life--my spiritual life?"  Interesting question I thought.  Here's my short list:

Obviously, the Bible. I love that I have been reading and studying that book for over 20 years and with each word I learn more of God's character. This definitely has been THE most influential book in my life.

Devotional Classics, Richard Foster

Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster

Spiritual Direction, Henri Nouwen

Grace Walk, Steve McVey

The Prodical God, Tim Keller

More than Equals: Racial Healing for the Sake of the Gospel, Spencer Perkins/Chris Rice

Absolute Surrender, Andrew Murray