A Call to Women

Song of Songs 2:14 NIV

My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.

I believe this scripture is a call to women who have been silenced by insecurity and fear.  The Lord wants us to come out of hiding and find our voice.  We are worthy to be heard.  Jesus has made us worthy. 

So many things work to keep us silent.  Rejection is a biggie for me.  I have suffered a lot of rejection in my life from many sources.  Some being the ones who should love me the most.  As I was spending time with the Lord this morning I realized I have been hiding.  If I hide I can't get hurt.  I can't be rejected if I don't put myself out there.

I don't want to waste this life.  This one life Jesus has given me to make a difference in this world.  If we are not making a difference we might as well not be here. 

I love to LOVE.  I love people.  I love my God-gift of a husband.  I love my family and friends.  I love the woman sitting alone in a restaurant.  I love the child beside the road waiting on the school bus.  I love the police officer who works to protect me.  I love the first responder who is willing to put his life at risk to save someone else's life.  I love.  I love.  It's just what I do. 

When my time on this earth is through, I hope people can say that I loved well.  I want to come out of hiding.  Put behind my insecurity and fear and LOVE WELL.  I want to be like Jesus and love with the Father's love - not counting the cost.

Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.  And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.  Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame.  Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne.
  

The Sidelines

Anything that keeps us sitting on the sidelines and not out and about serving the Lord is not a good thing.  It is time to put aside anything and everything that hinders us from going out and loving on people.  From showing them the Father's love.  The Father's heart.  While we are snug in our comfortable little worlds, there are young girls being raped by ISIS.  There are young girls aborting precious little babies.  There are women being beaten by their husbands.  There is a hurting world that needs the comfort of the Lord.  They need someone to stand up and fight for them.  This world is a scary place with horrendous things happening right in plain view and we do nothing.  I, for one, do not want to sit on the sidelines any longer.  I want to make a difference with this one life the Lord has given me.  I want to leave a legacy for the glory of God.  

Hebrews 12:1-4

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

I'm tired of easy.  Wasting away time that could be used for something that matters.  I'm asking the Lord to show me anything and everything that I need to throw off.  Anything that hinders me from running the race He has for me.  I'm also asking for the courage to do whatever He shows me and the resources.  Everything in this world is at His disposal and all my so-called limitations are nothing to Him.  

So today, I am looking for opportunities to help whomever the Lord places in my path.  I am starting where I am and open to where He wants me to go.  One step, one request, One magnificent, glorious God Who is well-able.  For the love,...  

Today and Tomorrow

Oh my precious Lord,

What ignorance,... and arrogance, is the so-called knowledge of Your sheep.  We oftentimes think we know what the day holds but we are so ignorant,... and arrogant.  I know those words sound ugly but they are true.  You are God.  Only You know all things.  You know what each day holds.  I am learning daily to be satisfied in the knowledge that I know the One Who holds this day and all of my tomorrows. 

1 John 4:18 NIV

There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

I have often thought about this scripture.  I kept trying to put myself in there.  Into being the one who has to love perfectly.  That's not how it is.  Actually, that is quite impossible.  I cannot love perfectly.  But once I realize that God loves me perfectly- all the time - I can begin to grasp that there truly is nothing to fear.  He is perfect.  I can trust Him with EVERYTHING.  Anything that comes my way, He knows about.  He's seen it.  He knows how the story ends before it even begins.  He has me in the palm of His hand. 

He holds my today and He holds my tomorrow.  He holds your today and He holds your tomorrow.  His perfect love can be trusted.  Do not trust what you know.  Trust Who you know.   

The Greatest of These is Love

I am up early sipping my French Roast and being still before the busyness and noise of the day.  It's back to work after a 5 day weekend and another Christmas that has zipped by - today just a memory after all the anticipation and preparations.  It was a great day yesterday as my house was filled with those I love the most, minus my son and his family.  There was sadness there that I kept pushed back.  I choose to focus on the good, what is here and not what is missing.  We ate, and talked, and laughed, and cried (or at least I did! - I'm a sap) and opened gifts and gave gifts.  A day of loving and enjoying one another.

After the festivities were winding down and most of the family had left, my sister Robin and her family lingered behind.  This is pretty usual for us.  We are very close, as I am with my older sister Teresa, but there is a special bond with my niece and nephew, Quinn and Leah.  Brandon and I call them our babies!  Mind you, they are 17 and 18 years old!  Nonetheless, they are still our babies.  They had something special they wanted to share with us after everyone else had gone home.  After a while, Robin and Leah went out to get some special gifts for us that they had left in their car.  There was candy and a Harley Davidson calendar for Brandon, juice glasses (that I had been looking for) and a lovely cross necklace for me.  But then - Quinn gave me a beautiful framed picture of he and his sister.  Breathtaking in itself.  I was touched - beyond words.  And then - Leah walks out of the room and comes back in with this large Christmas bag.  She walks to me without saying a word and sits it down.  As I dig thru the tissue paper I begin to feel that this is a special gift.  Really special.  I shove it toward Brandon and tell him to open it because I know I'm going to lose it (a sap, remember).  But then I proceed to pull out the paper and there it is.  Love in that big Christmas bag.  My niece has spent the better part of a year crocheting a 7' x 7' throw for me, FOR ME.  The woman who has sat many times feeling very unloved by those that should love her most.  I pull out the most beautiful throw in all my favorite colors and there are no words - only tears,...

1 Cor. 13:13

For now there are faith, hope, and love.  But of these three, the greatest is love.

My Christmas - filled with love.