“The Lord your
God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior.
He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
~ Zephaniah 3:17, NASB
A victorious warrior.
He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
~ Zephaniah 3:17, NASB
This week is the last week of school and then we are
officially on SUMMER VACATION! I look
forward to this because it’s time for a little rest and relaxation and
FUN! No schedules (well, less of a
schedule), outdoor movie nights, playing outside past bedtime, fire pits,
playing in the pool, going on listening walks, and last minute decisions to
just go somewhere are fun! Plus, I want
to make great memories for my kids.
I lived my life fancy free for a long time. No rules or just breaking the rules was fun…at
the time of doing it…but regret always came shortly after. Paul
says in Romans 7:15, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the
very thing I hate.” My life may have looked fun when I was younger but it
was a hot mess – until I let God begin to rewrite
the story of my life.
“We
are called human beings and not
human doings for a reason. Beings find purpose from the One who created them. Human doings find their purpose from what
they do. And this will never satisfy
us. Purpose is not something we earn by
being hired servants. Purpose and
identity are gifts we receive when we are born from above.”
Derwin Gray, Limitless Life
Derwin Gray, Limitless Life
It’s only after becoming a parent that I started to
understand how God can still love us even after we mess up for the 1,000th
time. Even with my wrong actions, my
disobedience, trying to do life on my own and going way ahead of Him. He is still there with His arms wide
open. Because isn’t that what parents do…no
matter what…we love our children.
Remember the story of the rebellious son- Jacob- demanding
his inheritance from his father and sets off to satisfy all his desires and
spend all his money. And after losing it
all he returns home afraid of rejection.
“But
while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with
compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed
him” (Luke 15:20).
His father RUNS to him with OPEN arms.
This is what God does – His unconditional love for us is
so GREAT!
Realizing that my purpose cannot be met outside of Jesus
was my first step back towards Him.
Every day we have a decision to make…will we take the next step and
follow Him?
He rewrites my story by me being obedient to Him. I’m so thankful that He only asks that I take
the next step…He doesn’t ask me to do too much all at once because He knows it
would probably freak me out and scare me away.
“It’s
hard to step out of the boat when you’re anchored to your fears.” Susie Larson
When I try to do things in MY strength, MY will, and
ignore God…it usually makes me feel beaten inside and tired. But when I turn back to Him…He embraces me
just like Jacob’s father embraced him.
With GRACE and LOVE. Because that
is what parents do.
For such a time as this – be obedient to Him. Minister to my children…continue with my blog
inspiring others to look to Jesus...forgive…and love. Right now that is what I am supposed to be
doing. Obedience leads to intimacy and my
job is to trust Him. Trust that He loves
me more than He hates my sin.
“When God has a woman to
work with who is willing to surrender to Him, He will move mountains and
disrupt kingdoms when necessary to act on her behalf.”
Tony Evans
Tony Evans
I’m rescued by a Savior that is rewriting my story. My job is to be obedient to Him and allow Him
to put all of my pieces – past, present and future together and make me more
like Jesus.
Then
Jesus said to his disciples, “If
any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take
up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to
your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will
save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own
soul?
Is anything worth more than your soul? Matt. 16:24-26
So…summer is here and being free is a good feeling BUT
letting go and letting God is a much better feeling to me.
Yes!! I just feel the peace in your words and your pictures. I've noticed for me that during break time I can allow myself to not be as diligent and focused as when I have to be-but I can't take that approach with God-you lovingly reminded me that the best place for me to be is safe in His arms and in His presence-and if that requires me to discipline myself from other things that don't give life, so be it!! Oh, and I am a big fan of red cardinals :) Be blessed <3
ReplyDeleteOh I love that Valerie..."if that requires me to discipline myself from other things that don't give life, so be it!!" Yes...things that don't give life---lets cut the cord to that. :) You and me both!!! Thank you for stopping by. =) <3
DeleteBeautiful as always!! You always speak to my soul!! Got to let go and let God!
ReplyDelete----Kim
Thank you Kim!! Yes me too...let go and let God!!
DeleteBeautiful blog Michelle. LOL - they always are. I loved that Susan Larson quote - feeling a little of that fear this week. And as I read the part about God loving us even when we mess up the 1000th time, I thought about how as my daughter was hurting this week and how I hurt and remembered He hurts with us all the time and He loved us so much He died for us. Love the pictures - always peaceful reading your blog. Hugs. Debbie
ReplyDeleteThank you Debbie!!! Praying for you and your daughter!! <3
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