Forever For His Glory

Love. Probably the most misused word in our English vocabulary. I have spent many hours pondering “love”; what exactly is it? And how is it shown? Growing up, I watched the Disney Princess movies. I know, I know, if anyone has an incorrect view of love, it was them. Boy meets girl (via her singing or dancing, or being locked in a dungeon, etc), becomes smitten (fights off dragons, angry mobs, and jealous stepmothers), and ultimately gets the girl. In my 8 year old mind, I thought it was so romantic that Sleeping Beauty was awakened with a kiss (of true love!), and that Cinderella’s Prince fell in love with her during a dance. I thought it was so sweet! As I have grown older, I have been thinking about those relationships, and how carnal they were. Extremely handsome Prince meets beautiful Princess. Immediately becomes smitten and would do anything to save her. The Disney Princes were any little girls dream guy. They were kind, considerate, dash...

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 1 Corinthians 13:11 I did not want to grow up. I wanted the benefits of being a grown up, but I did not want the responsibilities. I wanted to be treated like a grown up, but still act like a child - an “adolescent”. Except, it’s not possible. I have tried. You either act like an adult and get treated like an adult, or you act like a child and get treated like a child. For most of my life, I have been tall for my age. When I was 6 people thought I was 9. When I was 9, people thought I was 12. When I was 12, people thought I was 16, and so on. You get the picture… Some people still think I’m older than I am. Since I was taller, and everyone thought I was older than I was, they treated me like I was older, and my maturity level increased to said older age. And, I have to admit, I enjoyed it. But, when I turned 1...

A week and a half ago, I received an anonymous letter in the mail with instructions that it was not to be opened until October 19th - my brother's wedding day. Needless to say, my curiosity was at it's peak. Who is it from?! I've always loved the idea of anonymous letters, and I couldn't wait to see what was inside! The morning of the wedding dawned bright and beautiful, and I hastened to open the card. Inside, I discovered something I was not expecting: a love letter. Literally, my heart skipped a beat. Have you ever opened a letter, not knowing who it was from, and read, "Dearest ____, I have loved you with an everlasting love"? My heart went a piter-patter, and rightly so. Because the card was from God. The entire card was verses expressing God's love, concern, and how He cares for me. It was signed "Abba". Love letters have always been something that have intrigued me, but I've never thought of receiving an actual...

I have found it: the best feeling in the world is knowing you are wanted. I don’t think there is anything that gives me more warm, happy fuzzies than that. But let me back up. June 24th-28th, I was teaching at a pre-school CYIA Good News club in Quinlan. On the 2nd to last day of club, I came down with a fever during club. By the time I got home, I piled under 4 blankets and took a nap. Naturally, the sickness made it so that I was not able to make it to the last day of club, which I was very disappointed about. We had an awesome group of 9 or so kids, and I was really looking forward to spending the last day with them. 3, 4 and 5 year old's are so cute, and I had formed a bond with several of the kids. Fast forward to last Tuesday, almost 2 weeks later, and I was finally able to ask the other two girls in my group how the last day of club went. “Oh, it was great. And they all really missed you!” “Yeah, Jaden asked where you were almost as soon as we got into th...

Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40 Back in August, one of my friends was trying to explain to some of my other friends why I am quiet sometimes, and he described me in a way I hadn't thought of, and seemed out of place. He said I was “ independent” . Well, I’m afraid to inform you, but the first thought that came to mind after hearing that was, I am not! His comment bothered me for a while after that. I wrote in my journal the next week after thinking more about it, “ I hope that the independence that I have is the freedom in Christ type. Where I am only following what God says, therefore I’m viewed as independent because I’m not following the crowd. Something to think about.... ” Unfortunately, after thinking more about it (9 months is quite a while), I am afraid I have come to the conclusion that that is not the main type of independence I have. I do have freedom in Christ, and I have been raised to not fear s...