If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth.
– Jeremiah 15:19
My Lord as the school year begins and we reunite with friends, catching up, sharing, talking, talking talking – please let only Your precious words escape my lips and let my lips fall silent for all else.
When I first began writing this blog, I didn’t realize I was searching for Jesus, but now that I have found Him (through His infinite Mercy and Grace alone) how I long to take EVERYONE by the hand and say,
“Come, come and see…”
And then in His infinite kindness and gentleness He whispers – patience my love, they are coming, they will see, they too will find me… theirs is a different path, just as painfully beautiful as yours, but different. Keep praying, keep loving, and keep listening so that you know when the time is ripe for you to take someone by the hand and say ever so gently and full of My love,
“Come, come and see!!!”
I just heard the song… You Came by Jonathan and Melissa Helser What a beautiful song! It has been my morning meditation and prayer today as I have imaged Jesus waiting outside the tomb of Lazarus with tears still on His face. Oh the beauty and wonder as His tears turned from sorrow to joy when He called to His friend, Lazarus, and raised him from the grave.
Dear Lord, I pray that those I know who have died are your true friends and as with Lazarus, you stand outside their graves, with tears of joy on Your face as you call for them to rise again to new life.
Oh my Lord, my Love, my All in All – let us anxiously await and yearn for the moment when we too will hear Your call and will rise from the grave to see You anxiously waiting for us with tears of joy on Your beautiful face.
Have you ever been flipping through the channels and come across the end of a preacher’s sermon as he asks you to accept Jesus into your life?
When I was little I was in the kitchen eating a snack and a preacher was on our TV. I started watching and became quite engrossed in the show. At the end he asked everyone who truly believed to stand up and say it. I stood up right there in the kitchen and said it. I was little, but I truly believed it in my heart.
Am I saved, am I filled with the Holy Spirit? Many would say yes you are saved and this is all that must be done, but in the many years since this incident I fallen over and over again. I have let false gods dominate my life many times, even now. I have wandered far from God to the point that I have completely forgotten about Him for long periods of my life.
Yet through all of this, I have come full circle and again believe the answer to this is a resounding Yes! I have strayed far, but looking back I see that Jesus has brought me back. I have fallen, but looking back I see that Jesus has picked me up. I have sinned and still sin often, but so gently Jesus shows me my sin helps me to see how it is an assault against Him, a thorn in His head, a slash on His body and a nail in His hand, and I know any desire to repent and change is inspired by Him for me.
For almost 3 years I have been asking you to say, live and believe “It is our best life” with full faith that if we do this then it will be!
I am now asking you again with full faith to literally say (Out Loud)
Dear God I know I’m a sinner and I want Your forgiveness!
I believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for my sins.
Please wash me clean from all sin, shame, and guilt.
Jesus come into my life to be my Lord and Savior.
I ask this in your name Jesus.
Amen!
If you pray this prayer or another prayer of surrender from your heart then I believe it is not the end of your story resulting in an immediate and easy road to your salvation, but instead the beginning of your part, your role to be played, within God’s great story in The Book of Life with Jesus as your Lord, your Savior, your Friend, your Beloved!
Say it out loud my friends! We can’t even imagine the awesome power that our God has entrusted us with even before we decide to follow Him.
I have forever struggled with how God selected the names within The Book of Life. Why would my name be written instead of anyone else’s name, how could He choose one child over another? As I have written this blog, I think I am finally starting to understand!
He has given us the power to add our names to The Book of Life. Through a prayer of surrender, we surrender our individual stories that we have been writing and we add our names to His book so He can begin writing our stories within the grand story of His Book, The Book of Life!
I enjoy being a friendly person, waving to people as I drive by, saying hello to strangers and smiling at almost anyone.
A few months ago I said hello to someone as I was walking into the store and he was so pleased that he stopped to introduce himself and tell me where he was from since he had recently moved to this city. About five minutes later in the store he found me in the soup aisle to ask if I was married. Yes I am… Awkward!!!
A few weeks later as I was leaving the gym a nice guy held the door for me so as we were crossing into the parking lot I asked if he had a good workout. He said, “It was fine… just like you’re looking, what are you doing here?” Umm… thanks?… Awkward!!!
Once more, I was working out one day on a machine. I get pretty pumped up while I am working out and I generally wave, smile or give a thumbs up to anyone I see walk by. Well I waved at one guy who did a double take and then later found me while I was lifting weights and said, “I saw you wave at me earlier… I hope your husband isn’t here.” Awkward!!! I quickly explained that my husband doesn’t mind when I am friendly to others and he quickly bolted away from me… AWKWARD!!!
Now please don’t assume that I am only friendly to men, I am just as friendly if not more friendly to women, but women don’t usually misunderstand my friendliness as an advance or attraction.
Why is a genuine hello or taking a small interest in someone’s activity or a friendly wave being misunderstood as a romantic advance?
I just recently started a new book, Mother Teresa’s Secret Fire by Joseph Langford. Within the first few pages I read one of Mother Teresa’s quotes that brought all of these instances quickly flooding back into my memory.
Mother Teresa said, “In the west there is not only hunger for food. I see a big hunger for love. That is the greatest hunger, to be loved.”
Mother Teresa understood both sides of this hunger or this thirst and placed Jesus’ words, I thirst (John 19:28), on the walls of her chapels around the world.
Oh… how we are all craving, thirsting for love and not finding it because we are looking in the wrong places. Lord please open our eyes to see that You alone can quench our thirst for love, and through coming to You we can quench Your thirst, Your desire for us to come home to You!
I haven’t always been a runner, but I have started running lately since I really haven’t felt like joining a gym and I live in a place with beautiful weather.
I am not really an outgoing person and some of my favorite days and nights are just sitting home with my family playing, working on my projects, listening to some music, or watching a good movie. However I do need people and I have noticed that when I run if someone waves at me or smiles I get a jolt for a few min and forget that I was tired or out of breath and run with renewed strength.
After noticing this I have started waving at everyone I run by (drivers, runners, walkers) and for the runners and walkers I take the extra step of taking off my headphones to say good morning as I run by. This morning one of the walkers I said good morning to, waved back and said, “Good morning my friend!”. He is living Our Best Life even if he doesn’t call it this and I was overjoyed to meet him if only for a moment!
Jesus thank you for my new friend! Please help me be a friend to everyone I encounter just as you are a friend to all of us!
My friends, It is Our Best life… someday we will all be friends!
I have been wondering how to include EVERYONE.
When I pray for Our Best Life, my intention is to include EVERYONE (NO EXCEPTIONS), but how can I then best apply this intention to my physical life (LIVE IT)?
I think attempting to get as close to “I am” as possible is the best way to apply this prayer into physical reality. As soon as I say, “I am a graduate from Purdue” or “I am a wife” I have put myself into an exclusive club that does not and cannot include EVERYONE. Obviously these statements are true, but the less I use them to define me, the closer I am to reaching the true and complete “I am”. The problem arises in the fact that “I am” is a very abstract way of defining one’s self physically so I then started wondering what is the least exclusive, but a less abstract way of attempting to get closer to “I am”.
The one I came up with is “I am a friend”. If you can be a friend and accept friendship from EVERYONE (NO EXCEPTIONS), then I think you are getting closer to “I am”.
Therefore after this long and complicated thought process I have looped back around to exactly what our pre-school teachers taught us, be friends with EVERYONE!
Say it, live it, believe it and IT WILL BE! It is Our Best Life!