EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE

All day yesterday I was pumped after Life Giver prayer.  I am thankful for the group of women I pray with on Saturday.  It is relationship building and a venue where there is accountability, acceptance, comradarie,  safety, and love. The scripture lesson was about love and the ways love is expressed.  Love is expressed with loyalty, kindness, protection, comittment, patience, and longsuffering. Periodically, I am drawn to the passages of scripture that depicts the relationship between David and Jonathan.  Not only did they both love each other as friends, Jonathan asked David to vow to show kindness and not destroy  his family after he became king.  David agreed and thus a covenant  agreement  was made.  Jonathan protected David from the wrath of his father Saul.  Some time after Jonathan's death, King David begin to inquire about Jonathan's relatives.  It was discovered that Jonathan had a grandson that was alive and who name was Mephibosheth who was lame in his legs.  David showed kindness to Mephibosheth by bringing him to his palace and allowed him to  regularly eat at his table.

CONTENTMENT

"Godliness with contentment is  great gain." (NIV)

It is much to be said about contentment. Webster's dictionay says that contentment is related to contented which means, feeling or manifesting satisfaction with one's possession, status, or situation.  I am content at this time and place in my life because I know who I am  to whom I belong. This is an ongoing  process for many reasons. The world tries to dictate what kind of
 job you should have, type of clothes you should wear, the type of man you should marry, how many children you should have, the type of house you should live in. I realize that this creates pressures from within and out.  When I remember my purpose and why I was created I can breathe a sigh of relief.  My life is in God's hands and the creator of the universe is quite capable of aiding, leading, and guiding me down the right path. Years ago,  I made a decision with the help of the Lord not to allow other people to create molds for me and that has freed me up to be the person I was created to be and thus, brings contentment in my life.  All my needs are met and on a daily basis I am privy to bread from heaven which is a daily diet of the word of God.  I can rest in knowing that I am cared for, nurtured, protected, forgiven, blessed, kept, and provided for.  This causes me to feel secure  no  matter what circumstance or situation comes my way.  I know that nothing can happen today that God and I can't handle.  Are there days I am shaken?  Are there times when I might lose my way?  Are there questions I have about why things may turn out a certain way?  The answer is a resounding yes!  However, on the other side of the equation I am assured that the Good Shepherd watches over me and will lead me to green pastures.  So, therefore I am content. 

CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE

I enjoyed chillin with the Lord today.  Not that I wasn't working, but just thinking about the Lord and all that he has given me causes me to love him more.  Throughout the day, there was a song in my heart. I sat down for some quiet moments at home and the lyrics to songs that I had not sung in years, began to emerge from inside of me.  More love drops

                                                               THANK YOU LORD

Thank you Lord for saving my soul

Thank  you Lord for making me whole

Thank you Lord for giving to me

Thy great salvation so rich and free

I KEEP FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU

I keep falling in love with you over and over and over and over again

I keep falling in love with you over and over and over and over again

You get sweeter as the days go by

 Oh what a love between my Lord and I

I keep falling in love with you over and over and over and over again

Jesus is the best thing that could have ever happened to me!

THE LOVER OF MY SOUL

I am thankful to Lord today because I believe from the depths of my being that daily his eternal kiss fills me with an unconditional, everlasting love. I can never go a day or leave home without it.  Just call it love drops from heaven.  God's love drops sown in my heart  inspires me.

The kind of love that God showers on me keeps
 my Sure from being in doubt
my Right Guard from going left
my Secret from getting out

The kind of love that God showers on me will always be my Guiding Light
prevents me from being Young and Restless
won't have me Searching for Tomorrow
is better than One Life To Live
will teach me how to love All My Children
will keep me Bold and Beautiful

Now for the Icing on the cake!

God is truly......

The Lover of My Soul

Each morning I am awakened

With his warm and sweet embrace

His presence is all around me

As I ponder his mercy and grace

What an awesome communion

For many delightful years

Through ups, downs, joys, pains

And all the doubts and fears

One thing I can be sure of

My lover knows my plight

He wraps his arms around me

In the stillness of the night

My heart, soul, and mind cries out

Oh, let the truth be told

There is no lover like my lover

He fills my hungry soul

To God Be The Glory!

By Marilyn M. Gordon
Copyrighted 2006

LOVE

The song sung by the Beatles "All We Need Is Love"/"Love Is All We Need" is true.  This morning was another awesome prayer experience with my Life Givers Prayer Group.  Our scripture lesson for today was Love and Love's Remedies. Deuternonomy 6:4 says that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength that means every part of us with every fiber of our being.  Now that's some kind of loving!  Matthew 23:37,39 says that  we are to love God with our whole self and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  If we do these two commandments we would have fulfilled the entire bible.  I realized how much work needs to be done in my own life when it comes to the subject of love. I will be working on these two commandments until Jesus returns. Not in my own strength but by the grace of God.

 It's easy to love those who love you back but,what about the people who wrong you and despitefully use and abuse you?  What about the unlovely, or people that reject you?  When I think about Jesus and what he did for us at Calvary, I can see how his only motivation was love.  Love for the Father and the love he had for his and future generations.  That literally blows my mind.  I can't think of an earthly soul that loves me as much as Jesus does. When each of us comes to the revelation that the love of Jesus living inside of  us and flowing out through us is the remedy for all of life's problems, we can impact the world around us, one soul at a time.  If we love God then we will obey him and if we obey him, then we will do the right thing in the lives of people. If we love our neighbors as we love ourselves, then we won't harbor hate and resentment toward other people.  God's love is unconditional!  He puts up with our mess on a daily basis and still covers us with his love.  Love covers a multitude of sins. Just think what the world would be like if we all love like God loves.   Love is the remedy for broken relationships, racism, strife, and contention, failing marriages, family disputes, and abuse.
   
Whenever I am in need of something I can ask my Heavenly Father in secret and he will reward me openly.  So, my prayer today is simply this, Lord teach me how to love with your love.

QUIET TIME

As I sat in the quietness of my living room today, spending quiet time with God.  I could feel his spirit wash over me and rain upon me like the fresh white powdery snow falling outside my window.  The words in my bible sprang to life like the fluttering of many butterflies. 
Psalm 28:8-9 (NLT) says this:

The Lord gives his people strength.

He is a safe fortress for his anointed king

Save your people!

Bless Israel your special possession.

Lead them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms forever.

I rejoice in knowing that Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  I belong to the family of God (spiritual Israel.)  He has called me to be a king which means a place of authority to rule and reign over the affairs of my life.  He has also called me to be a priest as one who praises and worships God in every area and relation in my life (which includes my character, gifts/talents, finances, and with all my heart, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:4.) 

I rejoice in the word of God because he has made me glad.  I don't have to worry or fret because all my needs are met.  I am safe.  I give glory and honor to Lord, the one who is faithful to his promises.

During quiet time today, I am reminded of a song of declaration from the past. One morning in preparation for my nursing school clinical, a song arose in in my spirit and flooded my soul like wells of living water and the words went something like this:

Oh Lord I'll climb every mountain

I'll walk through every valley

Knowing that you are the Lord God

I will not fret or worry

I will not be discouraged

Knowing that the battle's already won!

These words gave me the assurance, comfort, and boost I needed to graduate from nursing school.  Even though this happened years ago, there are seasons in my life that I remember the words above and they help me through difficult times. 

God daily saves me from defeat, harm, and most of all myself (the times when I make foolish choices and decisions.)  Left to my own devices, I am toast.  But as I surrender my will to his (a daily process), with Christ living in me, together we are an awesome symphony with a harmonious sound.      

PRAYER CHANGES THINGS

God says that, "the fervent effectual prayer of a righteous man avails much."  Tonight I prayed with my Life giver prayer group.  It was awesome! Lifegivers is a serious group of women who pray together weekly and are committed to praying until something happens!  "Pray without ceasing." (I Thessalonians 5:17)  At the beginning of the prayer session we had a short but impactive scripture lesson that included the following questions:

(1)  Who are your spiritual children? (As christians we are called to make disciples after the
                                                              character of  Christ)
(2)  Who can I influence?
(3)  Who am I called to lead?
(4)   Is my character worth multiplying? (Ouch!)

I believe the Spirit of the living God is calling the body of Christ to fervent prayer in this eleventh hour.  Together and with the help and direction of the Lord we are battle ready and army strong!
So let's kick butt in the Spirit! 
 So, I send a shout out to all my brothers and sisters in Christ to put on the whole armor of God to prevent war casulties and surprise attacks that render you ineffective.

REFLECTIONS

I would like to start this year thanking God for all the wonderful blessings he afforded me in 2009. It would literally take me a lifetime to recant everything he does for me daily.  However, for the sake of time, I will provide you with those things that are in my spirit right now at this time for this season. I must give thanks and praise to God for the following:

*For a mind to say thank you

*Good health

*Walking alongside my father through various health challenges and allowing him to be victorious

*Sustaining my mother who is a primary care giver (At 79 years old)

*Uniting me with an incredible group of praying sisters who have a passion for the Lord and family

*Teaching me that the Lord is all I need to live, breathe, and be all he has created me to be

*Meeting my needs and giving me wants as well (I purchased another car and received a piano through 
  trading one of my cars for the piano) 

*Hooking me up with a personal trainer and Judy my exercise buddy(We exercise Monday-Friday at
 7:00am as much as possible) 

*Allowing me to part of a church family Blue Ridge Community Church, Lynchburg, VA (go to the web and
  check us out!)and work with a fantabulous group of people that gel together while ministering to babies in a
  place call the Cradle (Yeah Cradlers!)

*My Church Leaders

*Teaching me that dreams don't have an expiration date

*A seasoned group of friends that you can count on through thick and thin

The list could go on and on.

 At the beginning of this year the word purposeful started to resound in my spirit and I believe that God wants me to be purposeful and focused on the things that need to be accomplished, more so than ever before. So with that, I am reading the word consistently, created a blog, distanced myself from a toxic relationship, seeking God for creative ways to draw others to his kingdom and drawing nearer to him in prayer.  Sounds like a tall order. Yes, but one day at a time, one hour at a time, one moment at a time.
I am where I am in life by the choices.I have made and make throughout the day, week, and year.  It's line upon line here a  little there a little. My prayer today is just this:

 Lord let me have a dream

  Without being a dreamer

  Lord let me have a vision

  Without being consumed of it

   Let me work with diligence

                               Always knowing that you're the start and end of it                               

 Oh Lord, Lord let everything I do

 Remind me of my love for you

                     

Oh Lord teach me how to love

For there are so many who are in need of it

Oh Lord teach me how to give

For it's in giving love that we

Learn how to live

Let me work with diligence

Always knowing that your're the start and end of it
Oh Lord let everything I do remind me of my love for you.

(By  Danibelle Hall)

"Seek first the kingdom of God and all these these things shall be added to you."

Matthew 6:33

                              

EMBRACING 2010

As I embrace the New Year (2010), I am happy, content, full of expectation, anticipation, and hope regarding life and what I believe I need to accomplish this year. Setting goals, loving life, grateful for family and friends these thoughts fill my mental space. God has been faithful to do exceedingly, abundantly more than anything that I could think or ask.  It seems like last year went by at warp speed.  So, that chapter has ended and a new chapter has begun.  One of my goals was to create a blog to establish a venue to express my thoughts and leave a written account regarding this journey we call life, to those that are near and dear to my heart. So, I invite you to visit my space as often as you would like.