Did He Really Love Me?

I was listening to Way FM one morning and heard Brant pose a question about God loving us now that we're His children, but does He hate us when we sin?
It was (okay, I'm paraphrasing here) mentioned by one of the people, not quite sure who it was that He loves us now that we're his children and doesn't hate us when we sin.

But a peace settled across my soul becuase God doesn't hate us, he hates our sin.  But even though God hates sin, He doesn't leave us lying in our own dirty pit of it.  He shows us, repremands us, and teaches us how to overcome it!  WE ARE VICTORIOUS!!!

I think a lot of people, myself included feel at one point or another that God judges us on how we act.  Did I pray today?  Did I ask God for help?  Will he still hear me even if I thought I could do this on my own?  Will he be mad or do something bad to me if I don't go to church?  That is, thankfully, not our place with God.

In the begining, we were at emnity with God.  But HE STILL LOVED US THEN!!!!
How do we know this?

For God so LOVED the world that he sent his only son that whosoever believes in him woudln't perish but have everlasting life.

God loves us, how are we to really KNOW he loves us?

My husband was teaching our youth last night in AWANA and one of the teenagers asked if once we're saved, can we get lost again?
VERY important, VERY pertinant question.

So can we?

NO!

Praise God, if his Jesus wasn't sufficient enough to keep me, then he would have had another kid and sent him too.  That's how much God loves us.
But Jesus was sufficient becuase, okay, first of all he IS God.  Part of the Trinity.
He came as God in the flesh and died for our sins.

God hates sin.  We all know that, otherwise, he wouldn't have told us not to sin.  But He does NOT hate us.  All Scripture, all the times I've personally felt God with me, near me, loving me, healing me, teaching me, and walking with me PROVES that He loved us in the begining becuase until about 5 years or so ago, I wasn't saved.  But I still felt God with me.

A child in the midst of tragedy or danger can sense God protecting them, or even being present with them and so can we.  Now, I know Jesus loves children.  He was a male who actually gave children the time of day back then.  He gave women the time of day...even the ones he was forbidden to talk to!  He LOVES US!!!!

He upended religeon of his day to SHOW us this.

God sent his Son and the Holy Spirit, to show us he loves us.  In John 1:1-2 and 14 he Bible says:  ¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.  14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,[d] who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 




"You light up the sky, you light up the sky to show me you are with me!  I can't deny, no I can't deny that you are RIGHT HERE WITH ME! You opened my eyes, so I can see you all around me, you light up the sky, you light up the sky to show me....that you are with me..." - The Afters (Again, paraphrasing :)

I want whomever is reading this to know that God doesn't hate you.
He loves you.
Sinner, lift up your head!
Love is passing by!

By the grace of God, I am His.
Not by what I have done, but by what God has done.

~~~~



Alright, family, if I have missinterpreted things here, please point them out.
Unfortunately, when I was trying to get ahold of the radio station to talk to them about this, all I could hear was a bunch of static.  :(  So I hung up the phone.

Foreknowing

We all love our characters.
We wouldn't write about them if we didn't.

I love the one I'm working with now.
But I just recieved confirmation from God on how this little short speck of life will go that I'm capturing on the page.

It hurts me worse knowing what's to come.
It hurts knowing what the readers will have to feel as they read her story, cause they're going to feel exactly what I felt today as I cried, shaking my head, not wanting to do it (God will lead me).

And when they cry, so will I.

Now, stop for a moment.
Immerse yourself in your current issue right now.
God feels the same way about YOU!  God feels the same way about you!

He's been there.  He's already seen it.
He's gonna cry right along with you, just as He did with me (and does whenever I hurt).
He knows what you're going to feel.  He's felt it already in the foreknowing of what's to come.  He saw it on the screen, and He'll face it again when He sees it live ("...right by your siiiiiiiiiide..." -Mathew West).

As much as this stuff hurts, God knows exactly what you're going through.
He already knows you're suffering.  Take it to Him and lay it down at His feet so He can finally comfort you.

I kind of understand now.  I know that right now, in this moment of my life, I'm supposed to write what hurts so people can know it's real and that they can know where to go.

(excuse me while I rejoice in sorrow)

Hugs.

How about you?
Tell me what your purpose is right now, and what you feel God's leading you to do.

Write This Way...

I. Love. Writing.
I love it.
As tired and as overwhelmed as it can get (you writers know what I mean), I love it.
Why else would we write...it's not an easy task, and the paycheck...?

However, I have a secret weapon...and no, it's not spell check.

My secret weapon is this:
I've got God.

My characters seem to speak to me, but I know Who it really is.  I have these ideas, but I know Who's they really are.  I have words on a blank screen, I know Where they're really from. 

They're not mine.
I've asked God to take this book, this incredible book that's been placed on my lap via a great, long time, trusted, loving caring, dear friend of mine. 
It's way bigger than me.  Way bigger.
I'm writing about hard stuff, and He's where I get my strength.

Each morning, before I sit down to write, I journal.  I ask God to lead my words, thoughts, phrases etc and mold it into what He'd have it to be (well, as far as first drafts are concerned)

I've been given a great critique partner.
We found each other in college, but now we're actually close, and I love her.  She's amazing.
God. Is. Working.

I have this idea that isn't mine, but I'm doing my best to make it God's, and He's answering back.
Each time there are words on my screen, I hear from Him.
My form of worship is writing.
I'm writing for me, and for God.  That's our time.
It's sacred, special, perfect. 
Okay, so not perfect, my other weapon is the backspace key...

But still, I know where the inspiration comes from, and I love tapping into that inspiration and finding how much God loves me through what He has me write.

The Bible may be the Greatest Love Letter ever written,
But my little notes from God are super special to me.

p.s. Sorry it's been so long, dear faithful followers, I love you mcuh.

How do you look at writing?
Is it worship?  Release?  Comfort?
What drives you in what you do?
Why do you love this so much?

Strength For Today

May our stomaches be easily filled,

May our hearts be eager to love,

May our bellies be quick to laugh,

May our hands be busy with God's work.

Lord, fill us with Your Word

Fill our hearts with Your love

Fill our bellies with Your laughter
Fill our days with Your purpose.

“The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.”- Psalm 138:8 (today's daily bible verse, biblegateway.com)


His hands crafted me inside my mother's womb.
He has created a gift in me that I WILL use for His purpose.
I can't be held down by silly lies by the Father of Lies.
I refuse to believe when he tells me I'm not good enough.
So what if I'm not, God has given me the ability to learn, and He'll teach me the right way, and will love me through any snags along the way.

Lord, give me strength to continue in what I do not know, help me to move past the pain of learning about this world that so easily set you aside.  Stay close beside me as I walk through the darkness of selfish men and decisions.
Be the Light on my path.

Help these people reading this post know You love them with an everlasting love and will fight with them and for them.  You are not a god waiting for us to mess up, judging our faults and failures.
You are a God who is with us on the battlefield, standing beside us, in us, and for us.  You are the God who suffers with your children when they lose a parent, go through tragedy, or other hardships this broken world offers.  You are the One who is always praying for us...

"26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Romans 8:26-27
(read the post on this verse HERE)

Remind us why we do what we do.
 

I love you, blogsphere friends.
Thank you SO much for the encouragement you've given me over the last few weeks.
I hope you receive a little of the encouragement you've shown to others and myself.
Have a GREAT day, family!
Much love!

My 5 Year Old

Hey again!
I can't believe this, but my baby is graduating from Pre-K!
It won't be but a blink, and he'll graduate kindergarten, aaaaand then high school!
(:o(
So, Question:
What's made you realize that life passes by WAAAY too fast?
Share your experiences :)


Thanks for reading.

What if I'm not good enough?

Sometimes I feel as though I'm not good enough for writing.
Then again, I go back to what I heard Lori Wilde say in one of her lessons on Ed2go.com.
To pretty much sum it up, she said it's not all about talent, you've gotta have commitment and drive.

I love to write, there's no question about that!
But, last night as I was laying my head down to sleep, I wondered, What if this never happens and I'm wasting my time?
I had that gut-kicking, sinking feeling inside the pit of my stomach.
No!  I thought.  I refuse to believe that!  I love this way too much for it to be a hobby!
Is that determination coming out?  Or is that stubbornness?
I mean...what if I'm never published?


There's some GREAT books out there!  That's my cometition!  Those books are also, ironically, my text books, my lessons and research. 

What if my writing is too stale?
What if it's never going to improve no matter how much I try to make it better?


I read a book lately by Danielle Steele, okay, so I read like the first chapter before I threw it into the yardsale stuff.
I coudln't stand her first 30 or more pages.  It was all boring backstory..and I mean BORING backstory, and I never could get out of the annoyed attitude.
Mark one book down for the 'no' list.

What if my writing is that boring?
I only picked up the book cause I like DS and I liked the cover and blurb....
What if that's as far as my story goes?
No one is going to pick up a book by some random person and read something after the first few pages that is too boring!

Nevermind the public for heavens sake!  What about an agent?!

Maaaaaan!
I'm so frustrated.
But there's one thing for sure...
These feelings will NEVER keep me from writing.