365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge

I was reminded of a lesson I learned on love a few years ago. I found out I had some abandonment issues and learned why. My mother who had been going through her own issues at the time didn’t show up to my sisters 3 birthday party. I was 5 at the time. She was gone that whole weekend and when she came back it was only to move out to an apartment. To a five year old girl I felt abandoned and rejected. Thru some therapy and discussions with my mom, I was able to recognize my need to forgive her. Her love had failed me but what I learned was that indeed we are all capable of failing our loved ones. We are not perfect. But God’s love will not fail us. His love endures forever. I made it my mission to not only love on my children but to teach them about God’s love so that if at any time I fail them, they will know that no matter what the people in their lives do that they are loved by a God who cannot fail, who’s love will endure forever. If you haven’t learned this lesson on love or need a reminder of God's enduring love, read Psalm 139.

Psalm 139:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 337

I watched the movie, The Five-Year Engagement last evening. Definitely some very funny moments in the movie! The theme of the movie was about how we are imperfect  and how life will happen.  This couple finally learns, after their five-year engagement, that they aren’t the perfect couple and life will throw things at them. Love is what brought them together and will keep them together if they keep their focus on their love. The movie has a happy ending. This movie reminds me of the story of Jacob in the bible. This guy must have really loved Rachel because not only does he wait 7 years to marry her but it ends up getting extended another 7 years because he marries the sister Leah by deception. Jabob has to 14 years before he can marry the woman he loves. They are finally married but does the perfect life start for them. No, God has his plans. Rachel can’t get pregnant and watches as her sister and each of their servants gets pregnant by Jacob. It is a long and I am certain heart-wrenching struggle for Rachel but she does finally get pregnant and has a son, Joseph. Rachel and Jacob’s life story ends tragically with Rachel dying in childbirth with her second son, Benjamin but they do indeed have a happy-ending forever together in Heaven. We have to make the most of our days here on Earth, love the best that we can, strive to follow God’s ways and path and in the end our treasure is togetherness forever with the God whose love for us is beyond our ability to comprehend how great it is. Praise to the God who gives us the choice to have a happy ending.

Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 44

Do you get bombarded with emails? Are most of them junk mail? I delete far more emails than I actually read and I am sure most of us are in the same boat. I do take a quick look at the subject line and if I have the time to take a look I will open a forwarded email to see what it's about. These are few and far between and I am very selective in my subject choice. I love animals and love inspirational stories so those two subjects may catch my attention. I recently opened one from my dad with the subject FROG. It was such an odd subject that I decided to take a look just to see and found myself reading through a story and the moral, FROG, forever rely on God. I have had those four words in my head for days now. I, of course, had to create a scrapbook page and a card for this great acronym. I used the Lucky paper pack from Close to My Heart which will be going away by the end of the month with the launch of the newest catalog. My arrows were created with the Art Philosophy cartridge and given dimension with an embossing folder. I have the frog jumping up to represent looking up to God. I still have to add my journaling about the photos I selected which are from a dentist visit for my daughter when she had to get her first tooth pulled.

We were definitely relying on God that day to get us through the trauma.
Psalm 16:8 I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.