How much more?

         Something awesome happened this week. We rescued a Dachshund! His name is Paxton. He. Is. Awesome. Seriously, I already love him so so much. It is a tad insane. Friday morning, I woke up at 5 a.m. and was anxious to finally have someone up with me in the wee hours of the morning. I went straight to Paxton's crate and said, "Paxton, WAKE UP!!" He barely opened his eyes and somehow found his way to the door and we headed outside. 

       The moon was out, the sky was clear, the air was crisp. What a beautiful morning. I walked Pax around the neighborhood and looked up at the stars. God's creation is just amazingly beautiful and peaceful to gaze at. I kept thinking how crazy it was that I had this insane love for a dog I only knew for less than 24 hours. In that moment, God spoke. He speaks so clearly to me at these weird hours of morning. He said "I love you more. More than you will ever understand." 

     Naturally, I am a very emotional and passion person. Each feeling that I feel is full on. So, as you can imagine, I began to tear up. How could God love me so much? I have been nothing but a sinful wreck for 20 years. (1-4 years old doesn't count ;) )  Throughout my whole life there have been these moments where I thought to myself, "I couldn't ever love anything more". Each time this happens, God uses it to remind me of His deep love for me. What a loving Father we have! He knows the way that each of His children receive love best. 

      I was reminded of this verse, 

            "See what great love the father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" 1 John 3:1. 

Lavished: to expend or give in great amounts or without limit. His love has NO limits. He went to extreme of extremes to show of true Love. 

This is our God. 

God. Creator of the universe. Elohim.  Created me. Knows me. Chose me. Pursues me. 

He continuously chases after my heart and I am reminded that He truly won't relent. 

 

Thank you, Jesus. 

All of that to say, whenever you think about how much you love something... I pray that God speaks in someway to remind you of the deep love He has for you. Whatever it is that you love "sooo much"....How much more does God love his children?  Even if you do not know Him yet, He knows you. He created you. He CHOSE you. He. Will. Always. Pursue. You. 

Romans 5:8 "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 

In Him, 

L 

Lesson learned.

          Since moving from California to Colorado back in May of 2014, God has been showing me what it means to come to Him. Him first. Him alone. He is all I need. This should have been an easy concept for me to grasp. But the truth is, it was not. All of my life, I had my family either a few yards or miles away, depending on the stage of life. It was so convenient to just run across the hall and cry in my sisters lap, or run down the stairs to see my dad in his normal spot, and just sit there til he asked "What can dad do for you, Linny?" It was the amazing comfort in the known. The peace that was felt by a physical touch of a hug or rub on the back. I needed that. God knew I needed that. He created me. He also knew that I was going to be moving to Colorado before I did. He had prepared so many little details along the way that I was completely oblivious to.

       A week or so before moving, I had coffee with a dear friend and mentor. She asked me what God was doing in my life, besides the obvious. I told her that He was asking that I let Him show me what "being my Father" meant. When God revealed that to me, it was in a moment of deep sadness at the realization that I was leaving my dad. I felt so excited to be jumping into a new adventure, one that was risky and scary and beautiful all in one. Jeremy and I would be able to really create a firm foundation for our relationship. Memories were awaiting me. So much good was ahead. But there was still that part of my heart that was so sad to be so far away from many that I loved and saw regularly. God is our Father. He is my Father. He is literally ALL that I need. It took moving 1200 miles away for me to truly experience that.

   

      All that we have around us is going to be gone someday. We wont be taking anything with us. What we will have, what is eternal and never ending is our relationship with our Father. Pour everything you have into that. It is the best way to spend your time. I can attest to that now, after being off of work for the past 5 weeks. I couldn't wait to just have downtime to myself. I couldn't wait to just watch movies, workout, meet with friends, watch Law and Order SVU...whatever it was. I learned that it all was a waste of time. Completely empty in comparison to the times that I spent in prayer, worship, reading His Word, waiting on Him to speak. Those times were completely irreplaceable. I left those moments with peace, confidence, joy and a heart full of love from the Giver of Life, Jesus Christ. 

  

       Come to Him. Come and sit in the best presence ever, Jesus' presence is something that you literally cant describe accurately. No words can express the joy and life that He, and He alone, is able to give His kids. 

      One worship song that was on repeat during the month of August was "Come Ye Sinners" by Vertical Church Band. 

     The chorus says this.....

 

"I will rise and go to Jesus...

 He will embrace me as his own..

In the arms of my Savior...

There is life forevermore..."

followed by a verse....

 "Come ye weary, heavy-laden 

   Lost and ruined by the fall..

   If you wait until your better..

   You will never come at all....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ5dbCV0Rsw

So all of that to say, drop whatever it is that you're doing...

Rise and GO to Jesus! He just wants embrace you and love you..in whatever condition you are in. 

John 6:35 

"Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." 

In Him,

Lindsy 

I am Yours.

Some random thoughts from my heart.

I was driving home from a pretty long day ( relatively speaking ) and trying to just debrief and sit in the presence of God. Some may wonder how that is possible while driving....but for me....it has been a setting for God to just speak and me to just be still and listen. 

Kari Jobe is one of my favorite worship artists. She is so real and passionate about worshiping our GOD! How awesome. So... I was listening to "Love Came Down" and as the song played, I sang, cried, sang, cried. The song finally came to bridge. I have heard it probably 30 times before but it just hit my heart. 

The bridge goes: 

I am Yours,
I am Yours.
All my days,
Jesus I am Yours.

I. Am. Yours. 

All my days. All my days. That is when God spoke. 

"Lindsy, all days I am worthy. All days, I love you. All days, I accept you. All days, I long to speak to you and lead you and comfort you. Days that are good. Days that are bad. Days that are heavy. Days that are sad. In the joy. In the tears. In the pain. In the excitement of the day. All days."

He wants to be my ALL IN ALL, all days. Regardless of where I am, what the day may bring, Jesus wants all of me. 

That right there, is the sweetest truth. So why do I not jump into that promise and let God meet me where I am at? Why do I look to people, my Husband, my friends, my family, etc. try and be what only GOD can be for me and my soul. 

His grace covers all of my flaws and all of my mistakes. Thank you, Jesus. 

As today comes to an end, I will rest in the truth that Love (Jesus) came down to "rescue me" LOVE  came down to "set me free" and I will always choose to be His ( Jesus ) all of my days. He is worthy. He is good. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 [Full Chapter]

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Let God be your All in All, all days. 

This is lesson I will be learning for life. 

In His love, 

-L