HATED BECAUSE OF WHOSE I AM

Mark 13:13  "All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."

It is so hard to realize that there are people that do not like me.  Yes, my Lord, I agree, it is prideful.  And I don't mean to care but it does hurt.  Yes, Lord, I know. You love me.  And Your love, Lord, is all I need, all I will ever want.  More of the pride that I think I have gotten rid of only to see something like this hit me and realize that it is sort of a prideful thing, but human also.  All of us want to be liked by everyone and I have run up against those whose spirits just hate the spirit in me.  I cannot be sure that this is the case here, but it is definitely a spirit of some sort. 

The closer I get to You, Father, the more the world seems to distance from me.  That is  blessing, I know, but it can hurt when you see people that at one time seemed to like you, began to pull away.  I guess you could call them rainy day friends.  As Your spirit rains down on me, they go away.  I'd rather have Jesus, than silver or gold.  I'd rather have You, Lord, than riches untold.  You are the One Constant in my life,  the Friend that will always be by my side. 

I know Lord, as You are reminding me, I have so many people that love me, so many friends. I truly am blessed by the friends you have given me, so blessed.  It is just that one, I guess the one that can't be reached.  I know it is a spiritual battle, and because it is such, I will release it into Your hands, Lord.  I put it in Your hands knowing that You will work it all out.  This morning as I was going to work, dreading going; even that, something unusual for me as I am usually joyful in the mornings, as I ride to work, worshiping and praising You, having our time, just You and me; but today, my spirit was so heavy and You knew then how I was feeling.  I could feel Your arms around me, drawing me close, just letting me have that time of sadness, of weariness, weakness....so as the day went on, You could show me Your strength, Your power; making sure I recogized Your magnificient power and strength as You lifted me from this frame of mind, as You refreshed my spirit and restored my mind.  You are so wonderful, my God.  Father, how can I thank You....how can I thank You?  I love You so much.

Oh, how I love You Lord.  You are my Strength, my Shield, my Shepherd, my All.  You are the Lover of my soul.  You restore me, each day You restore me back to You with Your mercy, Your grace, Your love.  You remind me of Whose I am, You tell me over and over Who loves me, Who will never leave me.  So instead of worrying about being hated, this last day of October, 2011, the 31st, I am looking instead to Whose beloved child I am. I am Your's, my God.  I am Your's.

I SING PRAISES

Psalm 113:1-2  "Praise the Lord.  Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.  Let the name of the Lord be praised, now and forever more."

The glory of the Lord reigns down on His children when they begin to praise His name; when they let all of the burdens of the world, the weight of the regrets of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow fall from their shoulders and lift their hands up to the Lord and begin to praise Him.  Praise Him, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lord, the Great I Am, for who He is, our Creator and the Creator of all things.  Everything created by the Lord was good.  As each day ended, the Word tells us that "God saw that it was good".  From the first day to the sixth day, all creation was good.  This is where we need to begin when we praise the Lord.  All things were created good. He created all things for His children to enjoy, for us to see His glorious creation, to see Him through this glory.

God is good to us all the time. He did not create us to be sad, to be worried, to be lacking, to be sick.  The world we live in, what was created good, has been clouded over by what man has done.  We, and we all take a share in this, have made this world, our earth what man wanted.  I say we all take a part in this, as how many times do you object to what is going on; really object?  So many have just taken a back seat and decided they could do nothing.  But what if we all got together and did something.....as one united force of Christian people; not divided by religion, race, theology, but joined by the fact that we all love the same Lord, Jesus Christ.  One voice, one thought on our minds, glorifying the Lord Jesus.

Do you not realize that thousands of voices singing praises to our Lord, singing praises to Jesus, thanking Him for our salvation, for the love that doesn't look at what we have or have not done, but a love that is just because He is love, drawing us all together in love.  When we worship our Lord, the enemy can't fight that.  He can try but he is overwhelmed when worship goes up to God and God's presence comes down to His children.  The enemy has to go as he cannot be where the Light of the Lord is;  darkness is dissolved in His Light.  Burdens are lifted in the Light of Jesus, people are healed as they begin to worship the Lord and He begins to touch them, giving them new life.  Depression leaves as the joy of the Lord comes into the spirits of those praising His Holy Name.  Peace falls upon each child of God when they no longer look at their circumstances but sing glory to the Giver of all blessings. Lifting up praises to the Lord is the only way to ease your heavy heart, no matter what you are going through, your problems are not too big for our God.  Our God can make these little problems.  Only the enemy makes your problems seem so big, God shows us in His power how little they really are.  He can take care of all, trust Him.  Trust Him as you worship Him, give Him glory for this day, for bringing you through your yesterdays so you can know His faithfulness.  Praise the Lord with all your heart, all your soul; let your spirit sing new songs of worship to the Lord.  Let your spirit flow with beautiful song from your heart, a new song that tells of the Lord's love for you, His blessings on you that have stirred up inside of you.  Let that song rise up to the Lord in glorious praise.

My Lord God, I sing praises to Your Name.  No words are adequate enough to thank You, to give You the honor I feel in my heart but my songs of love and worship will rise from my inner most being up to Your throne as I glorify You alone.  I worship You my King, my Beloved Lord.  There is nothing I would rather do than to sing praises to You, to give You all my love through song and worship; to show the world that it is beautiful to glorify You.  To teach others that worshiping You pleases You and gives You joy to see how much You are loved and honored.

This 30th day of October, 2011, my Lord, I sing praises to You.  I love You, my Lord. Thank You for loving me, for giving me life eternal with You. Thank You for Your presence.

LOVING WHAT I DO

Psalm 103:1   "Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name."

I love to worship You, my Lord.  I love to sing praises to Your Name.  To glorify You, to lift up songs of love, words of thanksgiving, it is what I live to do.  There seemed to be so many things to talk about tonight my Lord, but as I was walking in here to begin to type what I thought was the subject for tonight, my heart just exploded with "I love to praise You, my God"; and then I said, "I love what I do".  I knew then that tonight would be just time for You, and for me to worship You with my heartfelt words. 

Let my words tonight, my God, bless You.  I adore You.  You have blessed me beyond imagination, I cannot even think of deserving all You do for me, and I know it is not done because I am deserving.  I do not deserve all this.  You do these things for me, blessing me as You do, because it is who You are.  It is Your great love for me.  It is for who You are that gives grace and mercy to me each day.  It is because of who You are that causes me to be refreshed after a difficult day, You are the one who restores my soul.  Thank You, Lord.  All I can do is praise You, I have to praise You.  I exalt Your Holy Name tonight my God, with all that is within me I worship You.  I love You so much.  Jesus, Your Name is beautiful; Your Name is healing to my soul.  Without You, precious Holy Spirit, I don't know if I could make it.  You give me knowledge to what pleases my Lord, You strengthen me through the day when I begin to get weak, You constantly remind me of how much my God loves me, how special I am to Him.  I love You, my Lord.

One day, soon, I pray, I will be with You my Lord.  One day, You will return for Your Bride and draw me up to You with that hosts of those that love You so much, those with me that have been waiting and anticipating Your return.  How wonderful that day will be.  I know there are those who do not believe that You are returning.  I find this so sad as they are missing the greatest love that they will ever know.  Refusing to believe You are coming doesn't change the fact...You will return.  You will judge.  You will reign over the earth.  You will bring peace to this world that so needs to know what true peace is.

Call me sentimental, call me silly, call me strange.  It doesn't matter what people think of me.  The important call to me is that sweet, whispered voice of my Lord, whisperiing love to me, enduring words of plans He has for me, encouragement for the day, love words from His heart to mine.  This is my life.  Setting aside time for my God and I to spend together.  If I make the time to worship Him, I know He is coming to be with me.  And trust me, I make the time.  It is the most important thing I do, is to make time, to set aside the best time to spend with the Lord.  He commands my time first thing in the morning, and last thing at night.  That time is His.  During the day, not many minutes go by without my whispering to Him, I love You Jesus; Father, You're all I need, You're everything to me; Holy Spirit, You are so welcome here with me.  At night when I awaken, for that time awake, I am worshiping my Lord, seeking Him, drawing Him close with my love.

Lord, I love you so much.  Let me arise in the morning, travel to church and do what I do best.  Worship You, love You, adore You.  This 29th day of October, 2011, I am rejoicing in my Lord, I am loving what I do.

DIALECT OF THANKSGIVING

Psalm 118:1  "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;  his love endures forever."

Our talk, our words should be a constant flow of thanksgiving to the Lord.  There is never a day that goes by that the air around you should not be seasoned with beautiful thanks and praise to our Lord.  Even on worse days, days that you wished you had stayed in bed....I wished this today for several hours until I realized that my thoughts were not lining up to what my Lord expects from me, what our relationship demands of me. 

When you come into the realm of intimate relationship with the Lord, where you depend on Him alone, where you draw your strength, where you find your peace, and where the pure joy of living comes from, expectations rise when the Lord looks upon us.  I know that I have come to a point where more is expected of me and where I expect to give more to my Lord.  I don't want to revert back to the person I once was, moaning about the things that were happening to me, or around me.  I don't want to go back to the constant worrier that I was.  Being that complainer when things did not go my way, no, won't do that again.  So I expect a certain bahavior of myself I know the Lord expects more of me also.  I want Him to.  If my God expects more of me than he did several years ago, then it means I have grown in wisdom and knowledge of my Lord.  It means that I have been invited into this beautiful intimate relationship with Him.  It means that my Lord trusts me.

If the Lord trusts me, it means He will give me more....more direction, revealing more of His Word to me; He will give me more to do for His kingdom; He will give me more of Himself.

Each day, each moment, no matter what is happening, songs of praise and thanksgiving should rise up to the Lord.  The Lord is so good to us all; His blessings flow whether we are aware of it or not.  I have something inside of me that hates to see the enemy gloried and I try so hard not to speak of feeling bad or thinking I am going to get sick.  I try not to think that things will be bad for me, or to worry about tomorrow.  I know who holds tomorrow; the same wonderful Lord that holds me in His hands.  So that adds up to blessings for me.  Worshiping the Lord should be the sounds coming from us.  The dialect of thanksgiving is songs of love and praise, honor and glory coming from us.  We were indeed made to worship the Lord.  He can do all things; but He made us to worship Him alone.  This is what we can do to thank Him for all He has done; He has saved us from the pits of hell; He has given us love where there was no reason to love us, unconditional love meaning He will love us no matter what we do.  The Lord has blessed us so much. I know He blesses me each day.  From the moment I see the beautiful sunny sky to the days when He showers us with rain to refresh the earth.  The food we eat, the clothes we wear; our rest in Him at night.  He takes care of our every need.  And I will worship Him as long as I live.

I do not speak a foreign language.  I use to think that was so important, but now I see that the important language, the most beautiful dialect I can speak is praise; it is worship to my King.  I worship You, my Lord God, with all that is within me. I praise Your Holy Name.  This 28th day of October, 2011, I am singing songs of love to You, I am thanking You with all my heart, I am giving You my all.  Thank You, my Lord.

AUDIT TIME

2 Corinthians 13:5  "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you...unless, of course, you fail the test."

Today I had the first big audit since being in the new office. There are so many differences from one place to another; always a learning experience and these audits should be taken as such. To prepare one for the big audit, the internal audit.

As I was thinking about internal audits, I was wondering if our Lord God performed an internal audit on His children, what would He find.  Would He find that we are conducting our lives in the procedures that He has set forth in His Word, our Manual for living the Christian life?  Would He find that we have been utilizing the guidelines and goals that are attainable through the sacrifice already made for us?  How would be measure up to an internal audit of God?

To be honest with you, I would rather undergo the type of audit I had today and fail than to fail a Heavenly audit by the Lord.  When I look inside of me, I see so many scars where failure had been, sometimes the nicks of sin are still healing with the cleansing blood of Jesus.  I question myself each day, looking inside to see just what I have done, remembering each conversation, each encounter to see if I performed up to par, up to the standard set forth by my precious Lord Jesus.  I have such a long way to go, it seems to me, in reaching the goal of being in Jesus's likeness.  I know I am never to stop seeking to achieve this goal, this Likeness that is so precious, so sweet.  Thank You, Holy Spirit, that You never stop teaching me, convicting me and correcting me.   You draw me closer each day to the place that I desire to attain in You, living the Word and becoming the likeness of my Lord.  Still, so far to go.  I wonder some days if I will make it.  I thank You, Lord, that You never give up on me, that Your unconditional love is there, pouring into me; grace and mercy, new each day.  Your peace gives me a calmness at the end of each day as I rest in You, You restore me to Yourself.  Forgiveness for my human nature, refreshing to my spirit that is continually drawn to Your Spirit Lord.  You are forever wooing me to Yourself, holding me so close that I cannot ever want to be anywhere but in Your Presence.

Search me, O Lord, and find any unclean thing in me and cast it out.  Cut it out of my being so I may be healed and cleansed in Your Name, and found righteous before God, my Father.  My righteousness is in You, Lord.  Let me be found pure and without malice; let no wickedness be found in my heart, only love and grace; let no unclean thoughts be found in my mind, let my mind be the mind of Christ; surround me with Your hedge of protection so that I might be safe and free to follow You alone.

This 27th day of October, 2011; Lord, let an internal examination of my heart be shown to contain the love of Jesus, the sweet love of Jesus that I share with all I see; let the examination of my soul show that from it's depths contain such an adoration of You, so much love for You alone; and Lord, let the audit of my spirit show a healthy spirit that worships and praises You from morning to night, a spirit filled with  joy and peace that only comes from that intimate relationship with You.  Let this audit find me so in love with my God that there is no room for any emotion within but love, peace and joy.

THE MASTER'S TOUCH

Psalm 16:11  "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasure at your right hand."

There is none like You, my Lord God.  Nowhere on earth can be found a living god.  All other gods are dead, stone or one's own self.  Lord God, You are alive.  It is known to all Your children that You live, that You are a part of our being, the very Spirit that gives us true life.  Life worth living in a world that is full of misery, death and denial.  It saddens me so much when I hear of suicides, murder, so senseless and hurtful to the survivors, but the truth behind it is that these people do not know a Risen Savior, a Living Lord.

 For all the churches on earth, there is still such a lack of the real message of salvation.  So many religions produce the message of salvation with such a cost that so many cannot pay.  And not money, just with their lives.  There are so many rules attached to it, be this, don't be that, you  must do this, if you do that you are condemned.  And the very base of Your salvation is just repentance of their sins.  You know that sin will reoccur to so many, that is why You took all that on Yourself on the Cross.  Every sin, every lie, every deceit, all on the Cross where You paid for each and every sin we ever committed, or would ever commit.  I believe so many people that come to the altar are not told of the pure love that took You to the Cross.  The unconditional love for unperfect people that would never be perfect except in You, washed in Your blood.  These people are not told that if they fall, they are not lost because You are there to lift them up, wash them once again, draw them to Yourself and touch their lives.  Each time touching a little deeper, showing such love that they respond to the love and are drawn from their sinful nature.

My Lord, I thank You that You never let go of me.  I know there are days when I fail You, it grieves me so and the enemy draws upon that failure to really beat on me.  Thank You Lord that I know the true message of the Cross, of salvation and I do not have to depend on what the world thinks of me, but what You think of me and I know You love me, I am Yours.  As Your touch heals my body, so Your touch heals my mind, teaching me day by day how to let You take control of all situations in my life, every thing in my life can be lifted up to You and You will make sure it is done in a Godly manner, Your way, not mine. 

Your touch, my Lord, on my life has made me examine boundaries that I knew not of.  I do not have to let unclean thoughts, worldly values infect me, I can pray and ask You to place a hedge of protection around my mind to keep it pure and healthy, just as I ask a hedge of protection around my body during flu season.  My mind, my body are important to You.  Each part of me is important to You.  Thank You Lord that You touch my spirit with Your loving touch and let nothing draw my spirit from You.  Lord, let my spirit always be entwined with Your Spirit, led by Your Holy Spirit, drawn to You always.

Thank You Lord.  Thank You.  Where would I be without Your touch, the touch of my Beloved.  How I adore You, Jesus.  You are everything to me.  This 26th day of October, 2011, I am humbled, I am filled with such love, such adoration for You.  I surrender my entire will to You, my Lord, to the Master's touch.  Your touch that gives me such peace, joy, eternal life.

THE SPOKEN WORD

Matthew 21:21-22  "Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree but also you can say to this mountain 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.  If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

This scripture follows the story of the fig tree that Jesus told to never bear fruit again and it immediately withered.  Jesus spoke the Word and it was done.  The Word of God is very powerful and put forth with faith can move mountains.  So many times I have heard people proclaim the Word of God, speak the verses and you could see in their faces that they were not truly believing it would happen.  You cannot speak the Word of God and not believe.  The very Word is power in itself.  The Lord put the power of Himself into the Word.   It is our faith that so often fails us.  I often wonder just where we would be in this world, just how many healings would be seen, how many dead would return to life, peace restored, rain flowing down onto dry, parched land, if the children of God truly would believe what they prayed.

I fail here also.  We are attacked from the moment we speak the Word.  The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy what comes out of our mouth, what goes into our ears.  He doesn't have the problem with sight as he knows we believe in faith of what is not seen.  But immediately upon speaking the Word, he is in our ears, playing with our minds..."do you truly think that will happen",  "what makes you think you have the power to speak such".  You all know the games he can play, the words he puts in your ears, the doubts he brings to mind.  I know, myself, I have been studying the Word, seeing the miracles, seeing the faith of great people of the Bible, both well known and unknown, their faith, their trust.  Moses stepped out into the sea by faith, following the Lord God, the waters parted.  Had he hesitated, all would have been killed or recaptured by the Egyptians.  But by faith, he acted. 

I stepped out dear Lord when You told me to move.  In faith, I stepped out and I know You are taking care of my every need.  I have Your peace, Your joy and am being taught daily by the Holy Spirit what You want to teach me.  I trust in You completely.  What wonders we could see if when Your Word is spoken, faith rose up.  Healings, such miracles.  I can see in my Spirit, so many would be worshiping You when these things would happen. Your children have not, because when they ask, they trust not.  Yes, Lord.  Forgive my unbelief Lord.  Forgive those times I have spoken Your Word in faith and my trust was destroyed by a few well placed words by the enemy.  I hesitated and lost.  I want this to happen no more.

I want to trust You more, I want to trust You more.  Build up my faith, Father; increase my trust.  Each day as I walk in the path You have set for me, guide me, teach me Your ways until they become as natural to me as breathing.  Teach me to understand Your Word as I study, reveal truth to me.  Let me speak Your Word in prayer for others, in faith, and trust that what I speak in the Name of Jesus will be.  Let me be Your warrior, Your faith speaking, trust abiding warrior armed with the truth and power of Your Word.  Trust me Lord to do Your will.

This 25th day of October, Lord, I am trusting in You, my King.  I love You so much Lord.  I will follow You, I will trust You, I will believe when I speak Your Word that it will be as You say through me.  

PLEASING THE LORD

Ephesians 5:10 Amplified  "And try to learn (in your experience) what is pleasing to the Lord;  (let your lives be constant) proofs of what is most acceptable to Him."
        NIV  "and find out what pleases the Lord."
        KJV  "proving what is acceptable unto the Lord"

My Lord, how could I not see this verse, after so many years of reading these passages.  I believe I first read everything from the King James Version for so long that when I would read any version my mind just reverted to what I knew "proving what is acceptable unto the Lord".  Today at lunch I was reading the Word from my IPhone app "Bible" and I was reading in the NIV which is what I study from at home and the scripture just jumped out at me.  "Find out what pleases the Lord" takes a different path to me.  Proving what is acceptable and finding out what pleases You to me is different.  Proving to me is showing others what is known to be acceptable. But finding out what pleases you to me seems personal, individual, for each one of us to find out what we personally can do that will  please You.

So I asked You... where else would I go but to You, Lord.  I cannot see asking someone else what would please You as I know I would get the standard answers.  I know what Your Word says, but I felt today as I read this that You were showing me there is more, so much more each one of us can do to please You.  So much more that would make our relationship with You more intimate, more desiring to You; to draw You so close to me that I would be able to truly feel Your arms around me, be in Your Presence.  So I am asking, my Lord, what can I do, this day, at this time in my life, to please You.

Yes, Lord, a pure heart.  A heart full of love, the kind of love that shows no difference to color, race, religion.  Just as You love all Your children, You want me also to love them in like manner.  Love them through You, not through my own efforts as that love is not showered with grace and mercy as Your love is.  Yes, Lord, I will love, I will love as You love as You give me grace to do so.

Generosity.  Give as it is given to me by You.  Yes, Father, I will give as You bless me, I will bless others.  I will give.  I will share what You give to me.  Yes, Lord, I see.  It is not just money that You want me to be generous with.  It is the example of life abundant, abundant living in You.  You want me to generously show what living in You can produce in a life. Let others see my life; not a life of complaints, strife, indifference; but gloriously living in the world made righteous by the blood of my Savior; being blessed daily with what I need for that day by my Lord God from His throne room, enjoying the richness of You, knowing real peace in my life.  Show others these things that are waiting for them also. Yes, Lord, be generous with Your Word, Your message to all.

Prayer; interceding for others.  This pleases You my Lord.  I will pray; I will lift up the needs of those who ask for prayer and for those that the Holy Spirit puts on my heart.  I will pray Your will for their lives, I will pray Your touch of healing, Your  mercy of salvation, Your precious love abound to them.  I will pray.

And me, Lord, what of me, personal to You.  I desire to please You, I want to please You more each moment of the day.  Lord God, You know how much I love You.  I have such a hunger to please You, to give of myself completely to You, to Your service.  I worshp You with all my heart.  I think of You all day long; in the night, I awake to say I love You, Lord.  You are everything to me.  I know it pleases You when I worship You.  And I know You love me, Lord.  Holy Spirit, teach me, guide me, lead me into the ways of pleasing my Lord.  Let me do what is good, let me do what is beautiful to my Lord, let me be a living testimony of my God's love and tenderness; His power and annointing; His beauty and His joy.  Let me lead others to the Cross, show them the way to the Father.  Let me be a gift to You, my Lord.  You gave me real life as You drew me to you some seasons ago and now I want to give that life back to You, to please You with what You have done in me; let my life so glorify You alone my Lord.

This 24th day of October, 2011; my Lord God, I know there is more and as each day goes by, I ask that You open my eyes, open my heart to more ways that I can personally please You with my life. What You desire from me to please You.  I love You, my Lord.  I worship You, I worship You for You are the Beauty of my life, Everything to me is what You are, You are my past, my present and thank You, Lord, You are my future.

NO TURNING BACK

Isaiah 17:7  "In that day men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel."

Reflecting back, just this morning, in church at the words of the pastor.  The enemy has been giving me some problems of late because I love my God so much.  Always telling me, no, it is not God you seek, but should be just Jesus.  And I love Jesus with all my heart.  I love the Holy Spirit, I don't know what I would do if I did not have the precious Spirit of the Lord dwelling in me.  Jesus, my Savior, redeemed me from sin with His life; rising up from the depths of hell in victory giving me life eternal.

My understanding of the Word has been, and the Lord has shown me, all are God.  The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit.  As I have studied the Old Testament, my heart has been torn so many times at the rejection that my Father, my God, has suffered from the very children of His heart.  Punishment would be poured out and I know this grieved my God; and then, because of His great love for His children, He once again would restore them as they promised they would worship Him alone.  But time would tell quickly that their hearts would grow cold again towards the Lord as they could not be happy in what He had for them; His plans for their lives.  I know theologians would have more proper terminology for this, but I have never claimed to be a great theologian or writer and what I write is just from my heart, from my understanding of what my Lord has shown me.  If I may use the word, foolish (I have never liked calling people stupid, just don't like the word); but foolish they were.  And I can not throw the stone far from myself, as in my past, I was also so foolish.  But I did not know God, my Father.  I knew about Him, I knew He sent Jesus, His only Son to die for me, redeeming me from the pits of hell, from a life that was so destructive; Jesus gave me life.  And I love Jesus so much.  But I only knew about God. I was raised to be in fear of Him, never truly being shown His love, His unconditional love for me.  But Jesus came and through Him I was made righteous and given the freedom to know the Father, my Lord God.

And now; I know Him. I know the Father and love Him with a passion.  I seek Him.  The enemy has made me feel like I was wrong in this until this morning when the Lord sent me a word through the pastor that the whole process was that He sent the Son to redeem me, the Son gave the Holy Spirit to lead me back to the Father through the Son.  So what I have been feeling, the urgency, the desire to spend time with my Father in Heaven, loving Him so dearly, so sweetly, worshiping Him with all my heart and soul is just what the Father intended to happen; His plan all along.  You cannot imagine what a burden lifted off me this morning when I heard this.  What the Lord had been showing me, what the Spirit had been teaching me, drawing me to the Lord, just where I should be.  It doesn't take away my love for Jesus, my Savior, for I love Him and know He is my Bridegroom, my Beloved.  But my eyes are on my God, the Father of all, Who has had me in His hand from before time began, waiting for me to come to Him, seeking Him in my private worship time, longing to spend time with Him alone, to tell Him how very much I love Him and that I will never turn away from Him.  I will never turn back to where I was before redemption, before I came to truly know Him.

See, I was always afraid, we are taught so much about God, but never encouraged to know Him intimately.  A process, needing to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus, His precious blood that makes us righteous and worthy to be in the presence of the Father.  But once this cleansing takes place, we are seen through that beautiful blood and are acceptable to the Father to love us, to spend time with us and to completely turn our lives around.  The Lord will give you His heart if you ask Him.  He will know if you truly are seeking Him, you see, He knows our hearts.  Nothing is hidden from Him. How quietly He has waited for me, waiting for me to choose Him above all else. 

I have chosen You, my God.  I want nothing, no one but You.  You are my desire, my eyes will never turn from You.  There is no turning back for me as now that I know You, I cannot live without You.  You are everything to me.  I will worship You for all my days;  my lips will praise You; I will witness to Your great love and goodness.  This 23rd day of October, 2011; I am Yours my God, my Father, in my heart and my spirit, seeking You.

PURSUING HOLINESS

Hebrews 12:14  "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord."

I have just finished studing in the book of Joel.  Locusts invading everywhere, destroying everything in its paths.  I remember when we lived in South Dakota, there were seasons when grasshoppers were so thick they looked like one solid block of black, only it moved.  They literally destroyed crops.  I was amazed at this.  When we moved home and years later I went to work, I was astonished at the number of grasshoppers during certain times.  You almost could not open your office door without so many of them coming inside.  We just finished a time like this recently.  So many at one time, it really gives you pause when you think of these as being a plague.  Is it just me, or do others notice it like this also.  It just doesn't seem natural for this to be, without it being some kind of judgment. 

Judgment is not a surprise, not to me.  When I think of the depravity in this world.  I was across Dallas the other day and was literally shocked at the words I saw on the front of a store.  Huge, this was actually the name of the store. And it was a chain.  I remarked to my friend how this truly must grieve the Lord.  It grieved me.  How much more will the Lord stand for before true judgment comes to the face of the earth.  It has begun I believe, with earthquakes, storms, devastating storms.  The surprise to me, however, really lies in the fact that except for the people that fall under these storms, these events, nothing changes on earth.  The wickedness, the lust, the sin continues without a misstep.  Where the children of God in Israel had their golden calves, their idols, their little gods; here on earth, it is greed, money, power, control.  They are all gods of a nature.  When Wall Street stocks drop, people cry out to their gods, their money, their power sources for help.....temporary fixes.  One day there will be no help except for the children of God that have surrendered their lives to Him, to only Him.

Holiness.  The true repentance of sin.  The casting off of the old man to receive the new creation of the Lord.  Giving of one's will to the Father, receiving His Holy Spirit.  Letting the Holy Spirit lead and guide, teach and convict, drawing us to the Lord, showing us the way to please the only true God, the Father.  Leading us into His Presence.  Holiness is not obtainable without true repentance; without becoming a new creation, being born again into His Spirit, into His Likeness.  From this moment on, we are recipients of the most wonderful life imaginable.  A life with our Lord God, a life filled with the very Presence of God, and the indwelling of His Holy Spirit.  Our lives become lives that have a peace that is only attainable through Jesus Christ.  His peace, a gift that comes with total surrender to Him, freely giving Him access to our hearts, our souls, our minds.  The joy of the Lord comes to us as we begin to trust Him more and more, as our faith grows in Him and fear becomes no longer a part of who we are.  All fear is gone when we have complete trust in Jesus, our Lord.  Fear leaves, peace descends and joy resounds throughout our spirits, songs of rejoicing and gladness filling our mouths and bringing forth praise to our King.  An unconditional love, the kind of love that fills you from the inside out.  A love that flows so fluidly through us that it falls onto all those around us.  You cannot be truly filled with the love of the Lord and not love others around you.  When you have this love, this sweet love of Jesus in you, this love returns back to Him from your heart.  You begin to love the Lord so deeply, so passionately.  With this true love for the Savior, you cannot help but love all those around you.  It just will be.  If you do not love others, then you must question your love for the Lord.  Is it true love; or word service.  The Lord will not honor word service, He sees your heart.

Seeking the Lord, honoring Him with your life, loving Him above all else, trusting Him alone to make decisions for your life.....sincere steps in pursuing Holiness.  True steps in the very intimate relationship that the Father wants with each of us.  My Lord God, I trust You with everything that concerns me.  I honor You above all, I seek to please You alone.  I love You with my whole heart, with every part of my being I love You.  And my Lord, I worship You, I worship You.  You are my King, You are everything to me.  This 22nd day of October, 2011; my God, my Lord and King, I am pursuing You, to spend every moment with You; I am pursuing Holiness that I can only find in loving and worshiping You.  I want to see You, my Lord; I want to be with You.

THE GIFT LIST

Romans 6:23  "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

I received some catalogs today in the mail.....gift catalogs for Christmas.  Can you believe it, Christmas is only about 10 weeks off.  That sounds so much sooner than a couple of months.  Ten weeks.  I am just so not into stuff anymore, and am hoping folks don't start asking what I want for Christmas.  I have had a problem for years now, as I had just about any of the stuff you might want for gifts.  My husband spoiled me pretty good and was always giving.  He and I were quite alike in that manner; we loved to give.  He did enjoy presents however, but it grew difficult to find something that he would like and things he could actually use.  As he grew more ill, there was little he could enjoy as he use to; fishing and hunting were biggies with him.  Here once again, I am getting off the course.

But Christmas was a time of rejoicing, family gatherings, being together with close friends and church get togethers. They were such a delight.  But this year finds me in a new city, just a couple of dear friends in the area, and things will just be different.  As I was looking at the catalogs, one a Christian catalog with some nice Christian type gifts I was thinking of the gifts I might give.  The only One I could think of was what would I give my Lord.  It seems like I give so much, but in reality, I give very little compared to what He has given me.  He has given me peace, I can only praise Him; He has given me joy, I can only glow from the happiness inside; He has given me provision, I can only give Him my time; He has given me so much and I can only worship Him; He has given me everlasting love and I can only give Him the love that is humanly possible.  The gifts from the Lord are so beautiful, have you looked at them lately?  Really looked at what has been given to us, and considered the cost of these gifts?  We look at the price of things here on earth, but we are looking at monetary costs. The real costs of the gifts we have been given from the Lord cost so dearly.

Our Lord left the beauty of Heaven and came to earth knowing He would die.  He was sought even as a baby, despised by Kings, to be killed......He died for jealously.  He was rejected, even by those who loved Him.....He died to forgive.  He was beaten beyond recognition.....our shame he bore.  He bore stripes upon His back......our illnesses to heal.  A crown of thorns for His head.....to give us the crown of righteousness.  His side was pierced......His blood to cover us......all our sins, past, present, and future.  And He died and descended into hell.....but AROSE VICTORIOUSLY to give us eternal life. 

All the gifts, the blessed gifts we have received, the price we could never repay.  And I think, what can I give my Lord that is worth anything compared to what He has given me?  His wish list is so short; His wish list does not have monetary value to it.  The wish list of my Lord is already been given so I could see what He desires from me this year.  His wish list......my love, only for Him; my praise, thanking Him for my redemption; my worship, glorifying Him with all my heart.  Just these few things He desires from me, given to Him freely, gladly and with great joy in my heart. 

This 21st day of October, my Lord and King; I give You, freely give You all my love; I give You all my praise, lifting up Your Holy Name forever; and I will worship You with all my heart, new songs rising up from my spirit, from my soul loving You, adoring You, giving You my all.  I give You my all, my Beloved, as You gave me Your all......You gave me life.

THE DIRECTOR

Isaiah 48:17  "This is what the Lord says...your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go."

When you watch a movie, one of the first things you see on the screen is the title of the movie and the directors name.  Often before you see the actors names, you see the directors, the one responsible for the movie, beginning to finish.  My life has a Director; so does yours. 

The movie, each part is put together in segments.  When something goes wrong with a segment, it is repeated until it is gotten right.  Ever feel like you have done this.  We Christians call it going around the mountain again.  Each time the Lord leads us, directs our way and we decide to do our own thing, this has to be repeated.  There is a lesson the Lord is giving us when it is done in His will, when we miss the lesson, I have learned this will be repeated.  I have asked the Holy Spirit to lead me in the Lord's will so I do not have to do this so often.  There are times that it still happens, but thank You, Lord, not near as often as before.

I have learned that the Lord knows what is best for me.  He knows what tomorrow holds.  There was a position I was wanting with my company and I found out yesterday that I would not get it.  At first there was disappointment, but then the Holy Spirit spoke to me and reminded me that I had asked the Lord for His perfect will, not mine, concerning this job.  When I realized this was exactly what I had done, I felt a peace about it.  I am fine with it, for if it is not the perfect will of my Father, I do not want it. Had it been, the position would have been mine.  The Lord knows what is in my tomorrows and He knows which direction I should go in.  Thank You, Father, for Your taking care of me; I know that there was something there that you did not want for me.  If there is anything that will take me from what the Lord had planned for me, what I am to do to glorify Him, then I don't want any part of it.  I am in my Lord and He is in me.  I am truly blessed to have my life in the Father's hands.

When your life is directed by the Creator of the Universe, the Author and Finisher of our lives, your days are so sweet.  Gently leading, never overpowering, as the Lord wants us to desire Him above all else; He leads us in the path of righteousness, looking over each detail that concerns us, protecting us with His mercy, His grace.

My Lord, how I love You.  I am so content.  Never have I felt so perfectly loved; so blessed, so free.  I live to glorify You, my King.  This 20th day of October, 2011, I am blissfully aware of being in the arms of my Father, my God, who I adore.  Thank You, my Lord, for leading me in Your perfect will.

JESUS

1 John 4:18  "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.

Jesus.  Jesus, the Lover of my soul.  I can remember when I had so much fear.  Nothing in particular, more over everything.  Fear of what would happen, what would I do; I use to have anxiety attacks driving my vehicle and had to take medication.  Although it was true anxiety, it was just fear.  I did not know the true love of my Lord.  I knew He loved me, the Bible told me so, but how often do you read and read and know it in your head but it does not resignate into your heart, into your spirit?  This was so many years ago, but I remember those times so well right now.  I believe the Lord is letting me see this so clearily so He can show me the difference that His love means to those that are consumed with fear. 

I feel the Lord will bring back memories of the past to us as He is going to have us use that experience in witnessing to someone in the near future that He will bring to us.  The Lord wants to bring the past to meet the present in me so I can be confident in His total love.  He wants me to remember where I was, how I felt and to see and have strongly placed in my spirit, in my heart and mind what His love did for me, what His love can do for others.  True love, the love of the Lord, this love transcends all fear into total peace.  His peace that brings relief to a troubled soul, to a weary warrior.  I know so many Christians that are still filled with fear.  Fear of tomorrow, what it will bring, their job, their home, and so often, their children.  The children; this is where the enemy strikes the hardest and the easiest at God's people.  It is the main place of vulnerability for parents.  But here also, the Lord loves you, He loves the children, and wants you to place complete trust in Him for their safety, for their care.

I feel like I am drifting here, Lord.  Wanting so to get what you what me to say across, but finding myself wanting others to truly realize Your perfect love covers all that they are concerned with.  The only love that You want us to give others is Your perfect love.  If we love with ourselves, we will be judging people, finding faults with them; forgive me Lord, as I know sometimes I have these thoughts of fault come into my mind; work on me sweet Holy Spirit, bring me to that love of the Father for those around me, in my life.  I want to love with that same love that is given me, from my Lord.  If I do not give His love to others, then I am not truly doing the work of my Father.  My only work, my place here is to worship Him alone and love others as He loves.  Not much of a requirement for eternal life is it?  And yet, that is it.  Love the Lord with all my heart and soul and love others as myself; and I believe as myself means the love I receive from the Father.  Complete, total, unchanging, everending. 

This love, given as we receive, will be the catalyst  to begin to remove fear.  As we love, as others receive this love, the love of the Lord, they will begin to love that way also and it will begin to remove the fear that hinders their walk.  They will feel so loved, they will feel the security of being loved so passionately by the Father, and their fear will subside as their faith and trust in Him increases.

Jesus.  Love.  Peace.  His Name carries everything that is good and perfect.  His name is beautiful to me, so beautiful.  Jesus, love personified, perfect love transcends peace to all.  Let me, Lord, transcend peace through love; as You love, so let me love.  Let me be found, let me be known for loving as You love.

This 19th day of October, 2011, my Jesus, my Love, my Peace; no fear is where You abide.  Thank You Lord for abiding in me.

LIVING FOR TOMORROW

James 5:8  "You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near."

My precious Lord.  Tonight I was trying to tell how much I loved You, if it were possible to love You more, but each day there is just that.  I love You more each day.  I love You so much, Your presence is so beautiful, I sometimes hate to go to sleep and stop worshiping You for the night, stop telling You I love You....I don't want to miss a second of telling You how much You mean to me.  When I wake in the night, I am telling You that I love You.  I know You never tire of hearing me tell You that I love You.  So many times in the past I failed to express my love for You.  I was so ashamed, so sure that I had lost You forever.  The enemy can certainly lie to you well when you feel so low, his lies are truthful sounding; why would the Lord love someone so despicable, why would He keep forgiving me when I kept living like I did.  But it was lies. 

The truth does set you free.  The truth....my Lord Jesus died to redeem me from my sins; His love is unconditional, never failing, never ending.  The facts....He rose to victory with the keys of death, destruction and hell in His hands giving me freedom over my past, over my failures, over my sin.  The end......of all my shame, all my worries, all my pity of myself.  The beginning.....of a new life in Jesus, a new woman, the old having been put off, born again into the very likeness of my Lord.  The truth....He will never leave me or forsake me.

And so, my Beloved Jesus, I want to tell you each moment of the day how much I love You.  I never want to have the words, I love You, not on my lips.  I want to sing love songs to You, I want to let everyone know how much I love and adore You.  I want to live in Your presence.  Yes, Pappa, I know I need rest; yes, I know You will be here when I wake up; yes, I know You will love me always.....yes, there is tomorrow.

I will rest in You, my Lord God.  I will rejoice in the sweet time of rest that You give me, that time of rest as You restore my body from the day, as You refresh my spirit with Your beautiful peace, and as You strengthen me for the day to come....tomorrow.

This 18th day of October, 2011, I am loving You, my Jesus, I am giving You all my worship for You are so worthy of all my worship, all my love.  I know when I awaken You will be right by my side as You never leave me; You will guide me through the day, loving me passionately, giving me my hearts desire, Your presence.  Yes, I will rest for I am living for tomorrow, tomorrow with You.

I FREELY GIVE

Luke 14:33  "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."

I freely give.  It has to be freely given as the Lord will not force you to do anything.  So as I have already freely given my all, just so there is no confusion on the part of the enemy where I stand, I publicly announce it again.

I freely give all my love to my Savior, Jesus, the One who died for me, the One who loved me so much that He went to a hill called Calvary and died for me to redeem me from my sin.  I freely give all my love to you, Jesus, for ever.

I freely give all my worship to You, Lord.  You are so worthy to be praised, so worthy of all my worship.  You have given me such wonder in each day, peace that I will never understand, joy that my heart cannot contain all of so it pours out on everyone around me.  All my worship, to You, I freely give my Lord; new songs from my heart to You, love songs for only You.

I freely give up my will and accept Your will for my life, Lord.  Your will over my life, I choose to do what You plan for me, what You want me to do.  I give all those things that would distract me from my walk with You to You to put aside as they do not take anything away from the relationship I so desire to have with You, knowing this is Your perfect will for me....an intimate relationship with You.

I freely give my time to You, Lord.  My time is Yours to dictate; Yours to appoint and to direct.  My time will be spent in showing Your love and mercy to all those You send to me, those that need a word of encouragement and tenderness sent from Your throne room through me.  My time is in Your hands alone.

And because of Your great love for me, my Lord, You allow me to also freely give....

.... you all my burdens, as You have told me to lay them at the foot of the cross and You will take care of them for me. 

I freely give you all the pain and heartache of my past as in You is the forgiveness I need to release those that contributed to that pain and heartache that forgiveness, the same forgiveness You gave me. Forgiving them means a peaceful life with You, a life that allows nothing from the enemy to come between our relationship.

I freely give you all the stress and strain of my daily toil as in You I gain new strength each day, mercies are new for me each morning and in You I am more than a conqueror of all that comes my way.

I freely give you all the temptations that the enemy would put in front of me.  My flesh is weak but Your precious Holy Spirit, that You gave me to be my Guide, my Comforter, my Counselor and  Best Friend, is always with me and helps me overcome and resist any temptation.

I thank You, my Beloved Lord, for the Love You have given me, the Peace and Joy that is always mine and daily in me.  I thank You for the Holy Spirit, whom I love deeply, as He never lets me forget Your passionate love for me.

This 17th day of October, 2011, I freely give You all of me, all that I have I give freely to You, my Lord God.  I will love you all my days, I will worship You with every breath that is in me, for ever.  You are my everything.

HE REMEMBERS

Psalm 105:8  "He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations."

We never have to fear, for even those days we were on the wrong track, the path that was not the one that God planned for us; He remembers.  He remembers, and because He remembers, it was because of His remembrance of His covenant with His children that His hand reached to down to the very pit of destruction to lift us up.  His hand reached down to the bottom of the hole I was in, the hole you were in; remember when you called out to the Lord, desperate, so deep in sin you could not see any way out?  I remember well where I was when I called out to my Lord, Jesus is all I could say; Jesus.  It was because He remembered the promise He made so long ago that He lifted me up from that place, He lifted you up; lifted us up from the snare of the enemy and drew us into His loving, forgiving arms; holding us, restoring us, breathing new life into tired, worn bodies, so beat up by the enemy.  His healing balm of mercy and grace healing, soothing our bodies; His peace pouring into our spirits as he filled our hearts with His heavenly joy.  Do you recall that beautiful joy you felt as he held you and you knew everything was going to be alright because the Father had you in His arms?  Because the One that died at Calvary, precious Jesus my Savior, had made a way for you to be with the Father?  I will never forget that joy, that relief, that instant knowing that my Father had not forgotten, that my Father was the Keeper of the Word, and it never changes, not then, not now, not ever.  He is always the same, He will always remember.  We became whole again.

The Lord gave me reason again to desire life.  As He began to restore me, restore all that had seemed lost, my sick, sick spirit began to quicken with His touch, with His love, with the sweet Holy Spirit bringing new life into me; I had reason, I knew again that there was a purpose for my life, that the Lord had a plan for me and I had a desire to walk in that plan with the Lord.

He remembers; He will never forget one of His children that fall by the wayside.  Our Lord knows the struggles we will have here; He knows that life can overwhelm us, that is why he sent His beautiful Spirit to live in us, to guide and advise us, to constantly remind us of the Father's love, of who we are....the victors, not the defeated, the blessed, not the cursed, the beloved children of God.  We are who the Lord, who His Word says we are; not who the world says we are, not who the enemy says we are.  Never forget that the One who remembers all, will always remember you.

This 16th day of October, 2011,  my Lord, I thank You.  I thank You with all that is in me for not forgeting me when I forgot You, when I put myself above all I knew of You, all that was pure and good from You and slipped down that dark road.  Thank You,  my God for hearing my cry, for never letting go of me as I let go of You; for always keeping me in Your heart, in Your sight.  I love You so much, Lord, and I will never let go of You, ever again.  I will remember to keep Your Word close to my heart, always in my mind and resounding in my spirit.  Holy Spirit, my dearest friend, thank You for keeping that Light before me, that precious name of Jesus in me and holding me above the quicksand I was sinking in.  Beloved Savior, thank You for the gift of life You gave to me that day on Calvary, for Your never ending love.  Thank You Father, for remembering Your covenant with me, Your child.

BEACON OF BLESSINGS

John 1:7 "He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe."

How blessed are we, and more so when we realize that the Lord has truly appointed a place, a time, a reason for you to be there and makes it so obvious to you that the joy just spreads all around you.  Tonight four ladies, three and myself, went to dinner to a well known seafood restaurant. The atmosphere between us was so blessed already, just for the enjoyment of four Lord loving ladies to get together and share time with each other, knowing that there would be time for thanksgiving to the Lord and time for prayer, a nice meal to be shared between friends.  But the Lord had plans, wonderful plans for us.

Our waiter came over and introduced himself and of course, well, you can imagine four older ladies, so full of the Father's love, just flowed out to him.  I don't quite remember what was said, but the waiter said "I pray not".  Just jumped right in on that one and told him, "well, we can certainly pray", to which he replied he needed prayer.  So a little more conversation went on and then just pure laughter and enjoyment as he took our orders. Have you ever been around four old ladies that were ordering dinner?  Well, you can imagine the fun, but he was so good natured and seemed to truly enjoy us.  As we ate our dinner, he would check on us and then he came over, pulled up a chair and sat down with us.  Now we are talking a busy restaurant, so I am thinking he took his break to do so as he sat with us a good 20-25 minutes.  And he began to talk to us about his needs as we asked how we could pray.  He had a boss that was a real thorn in his side, his home life was quite difficult, and he was in need of a friend.  We ministered to him, prayed with him and just poured out the Lord's love and mercy onto him.  He was so touched, he was so in need of the Lord's touch, he cried, we cried.  God is so beautiful, so tender at moments like this.  So our new friend had to get back to his job and see what he needed to do, but he came back as we were getting ready to leave.  Now we had gotten the names of those he needed us to help pray for, and his name, well, it won't be forgotten any time soon.  But when he came, we prayed for him once more, and well, you know me, I had to give him a hug from my Jesus, can't you just tell when someone needs a hug?  Then before we left I had my favorite worshiper's new CD in the car and the Christmas one also, so we left those with him, so he would have that annointed presence of the Holy Spirit with him as he sought the Lord. 

We had told him how much the Lord loved him, and the most important things was his relationship with the Lord.  He did go to church, but we still felt led to give him the name of a church we had visited last night, should he care to visit.  I don't think we missed a thing, did we Lord.  It was a real beautiful experience, the love of our Lord flowing from above.  As we were praying, the Lord showed me that our table was a beacon of His Light, His love and this man could not help but be drawn there as we were sent to him from the Father above, to minister to him and to encourage him, to love on him with the Lord's love and grace.

On the way home, my friend and I were just in a complete state of blessed bliss knowing that we were in the perfect will of the Father, used of Him to be the Light to one of His children so in need of a touch from Him.  Are you available when the Lord puts you in place for an appointed time; are you ready with a word of encouragement and love from the Lord when He sends someone your way.  God's children are hungry for an invitation to dine at the table of the Lord, not food, but love and mercy, joy and peace.  That is the offering on the Lord's table, just sometimes some of His children are so beat up on, so dejected and low that they need the hand of those of us that have been brought up from that place to reach out our hands to them and draw them to the table, to invite them to sit down and eat with us; spiritual food....peace, love, mercy, joy.  The food that fills you up for eternity, food that once they dine and their hunger satisfied, they can share it with others.

Thank You my Lord, thank You for trusting us, Your older children, with this appointment, this feast to share with the child that was so hungry for a touch of You, so in need of a hand to draw him to your table.  I love You so much my Lord, You are so faithful.  How beautifully You work through us, how sweetly You feed us so we can feed Your hungry children.  This 15th day of October, 2011, I am so satisfied from being at Your table, so blessed to be Your Beacon of blessings to others.

IN THE GARDEN

Song of Songs 4:12 "You are like a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain."

Listening to the beautiful melody of "In the Garden".  "I come to the garden alone, where the dew is still on the roses...."  But I know that in the garden, on the earth, we are never alone, as "He walks with us, and He talks with us" no matter where life brings us, what circumstances we find ourselves, our Lord is there with us, His hand stretched out to take ours lest we slip, lest we lose our way, He is there to lift us up, strengthen us, and support us with His love, His mercy and grace.

The words from Solomons Song, to me are speaking this morning. I am on a vacation day this Friday, yes, how sweet, looking forward to what the Lord has for me this beautiful day and evening, and I was listening to the "Piano Only Friday" on Pursuing His Presence and looked up garden to see just what the Lord may have for me, as He touched my heart with the words of the song.  This song was my mother's favorite, last Saturday would have been mama's birthday.  Memories. God is so good. But I must get back to this moment that the Lord is giving me.

The words "You are a garden locked up", those words showing me that inside each of God's children is beauty waiting to be unfolded as we yield to His Spirit, as we let Him overtake our ways, our thoughts, our words.  Beauty that has yet to flow as He is waiting for just that right time, when we find ourselves so enbodied by His presence that nothing else will matter to us but pleasing our Lord, delighting Him with our actions, with our adoration.  When Jesus becomes our complete focus, I believe this garden of beauty will spring forth from us that will amaze us, amaze those around us and will change us for eternity.  "A spring enclosed, a sealed fountain" will begin to flow from us with living water from the throne of God.  He will begin to use us to bring forth His Word of healing and restoration that will touch the ones that have strayed, the ones that have lost hope, the ones that have given up.  The Lord will flow through us in streams of His power and mercy as we build up those needing just a word of encouragement, just a touch of love and grace that sometimes only we can give, as they are searching for that place they once were with the Lord. 

In me, I know there is so much more that the Lord has for me; I find it hard to be patient at times, but I also know that it is my own struggle with leaving the things of the world behind; my fight to rid myself of "me" thoughts and only have those thoughts of the Lord.  Asking forgiveness of this so often I believe has the Lord just shaking His head and smiling, He knows my heart and He knows the struggle we have with these things, these thoughts.  Human nature.  O my Lord, how I love You. I can feel Your touch this moment as I write these words, as I express my thoughts here.  No one understands me like You do, my Father.  No one loves me as You do. You give me the grace to come to You with all my thoughts, all my concerns. 

One day I will be in that eternal garden with my Lord.  The momentary visits to the Garden with my Lord will become a dwelling place for me with my King.  Until that day, I will live my life to the fullest as He provides daily for me.  I will give myself unto the Lord for His use, I will give my will over to my God, my Lord so that He can unlock that garden of blessings in me that He wants me to give to others, that the fountain of living waters will flow from Him through me to all that I touch with my words, my love from Him.  He has so much for each of us to do, so much He desires to do through us.  Draw unto the Lord; I draw unto You, my Lord.  He holds the key to what we are to become, what we are today, and what we will be tomorrow.  Unlock me Lord, I want to be Your voice, Your touch, Your message of love, peace and joy.

This 14th day of October, 2011, I am walking in the garden with my Lord, my Beloved Bridegroom, loving Him alone and desiring to be all He wants me to me in Him, my desire to be One with Him, totally His, mind, heart and soul.  My spirit rejoices in my God.

MY SOUL LIVES BY YOUR WORD

Isaiah 55:3  "Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David."

There is such a battle going on for the eternity of my soul.  For each of us, our soul is tossed back and forth among the spiritual habitants of the heavenlies.  There is really no other way to describe the up and downs of our lives.  The Holy Spirit leads us into the righteouness of our Lord, the closer and more intimate we become with the Lord, the more we die to self and become like Jesus, the rougher the waters become, the battle rages with such intensity that if it were not for the Word of God we would be doomed.  Without the Holy Spirit's intervention, the constant drawing us to the Word, the refreshing to our minds giving us cause to dig deeper into the things of the Lord, into His Word to see what His desire is for us, we would be floundering like a raft without an oar.  Our lives would be gone.  Our souls would have no substance as we would soon lose our way. 

When things get so overwhelming, the Word tells us to sit quietly, letting our minds and hearts flow to the Father, centering our minds on Him, letting Him restore our spirits and hearts, letting Him pour out His grace and peace over us; here we find what we need for the battle.  Here we are given rest and refreshing.  Here we find the strength of the Lord and through this quiet rest He gives us direction for the battle.  He tells us how it is to be won.  Listen for the quiet voice of the Shepherd, the sweet sound of His voice telling of His great love for us, of His desire to see us through the battle and to the promise land.

When there is rest, we can rise up with determination that cannot be beaten down; we can begin a new day knowing that "greater is He that is in us that he that is in the world".  Isaiah 55:12 says "You will go out in joy (we will have something to be glad over) and be led forth in peace (we will have been showered with the peace of the Lord, refreshed) the mountains and hills will burst into song before you (happiness and joy will be evident everywhere) and the trees of the field will clap their hands (everything on earth will be rejoicing in what the Lord is doing)".  Such a beautiful rest, a rest that will have you wanting to exclaim the glory of the Lord to all; it will have you wanting to tell others of the Word of the Lord that gives life to all that will believe, to all that will proclaim that Jesus is Lord, and will love the Lord with all their hearts and souls.  Sweet rest in Him.

Your Word, O Lord, how can I not love Your Word.  My very life depends on the words that I find in this precious Book.  The Word that was in the beginning and has been for all time and will be forever in eternity.  I was thinking on the things that are not clear to me in the Word and when would I know the answers to all I read.  You showed me, Father, that although a lot of things will be shown to me here, and I thank You for these revelations, Lord; but You showed me that one day when I reach Your throne room all things will be known to me.  I will understand all things one day, as will each of Your children that seek Your face, desiring the truth of Your Word.

My Lord, how I love You.  I love to read Your Word as I love how many times You express Your love for me here.  You tell me of Your blessings You wish to continue to pour over me, Your plans You have for me, plans to further my life, to bless me and to use me for Your glory.  I am comforted by Your Words Lord.  You have shown me that when situations arise that are meant to destroy Your children, You show how You have protected Your children in the past and I know You will protect me, all Your children now and in the future.  Thank You, Lord, thank You.

This 13th day of October, I am learning to be quiet before You and listen to Your voice, Your direction comes from Your Word and as I read, quietly before You, You will open the doors of my understanding and I will encounter the beauty and strength You have put in Your Word.  I love You Lord, I love You so much.  I will praise You, my Lord.  I will always praise You.

WITH ALL THAT I AM

Proverbs 3:9-10  "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."

I have a box that I have saved scriptures I cut or tore out of the newspaper for several years; scriptures that touched my heart each morning as I drank my coffee and read the paper.  Soon it became apparent to me that the only reason I was getting the paper was to read the scripture.  With all the Bibles I have, still I was excited to see what this worldly newspaper would print, what someone there was choosing to share.  The newspaper in the area where I have moved has no scripture, so I doubt if I will be taking the home delivery of the paper.  But today I was looking inside the box and reading some of the scriptures and when I read the one from Proverbs 3 the Lord began to show me some things.  How I love when the Lord teaches me, when He gives me meaning that He means to show me His love through, that He grows me with.

"Thy substance" this is the most important part of anything I have, my life mainly.  Thy substance, the best of me.  The Lord wants to be honored with the best of me, the best of you.  Praise, my complete worship, my time, my heartfelt love and adoration; everything that is the best of what we have should honor the Lord.  Then with the "firstfruits".  I have always thought of this as money, but today the Lord showed me that as I honor Him above all with the very best of me, the very best that comes from me that He has provided me with, the beauty of anything I do, with the special annointing on my life, that the first thing I should do with this special annointing, the gifts He has given me is to offer them back to Him in praise, in worship.    Then He told me "the barns", a building, a dwelling, my spirit, my heart where He dwells, will be filled with His presence, overflowing with His love and His grace, His joy and His peace.  The joy and gladness that fills me from His presence, from the outpouring of His love, grace, peace shall burst forth from me in joyous worship and praise which will produce even more of His touch on my life, His annoiting on me for what He has for me to do.  He will burst this annointing out of me with such radiance on my life, such wonder that I will cease to doubt my ability to do what He has called me to do.  As He leads me where He wants me to be, His glory will be poured out as I do His will.  I will not lack, I will not lose focus on what He desires me to do as He will be present with me always.

With all that I am, I will worship.  I will give the Lord the very best I have; all that I have comes from the Lord, the very best thing in me is His precious Spirit, my very life is reflective of His nature, of what He has done in me.  I live to please You, my King.  I will worship You as long as I live, I will give You the glory for all I do; I am Your vessel, "a barn" of plenty as Your presence will always be invited to dwell in me.

I thank You my Lord for the revelation of this verse to me.  I know others may not understand it as given to me, but I pray it blesses them, that it will resound with a Word You have given them and that all their substance, their very best, and the firstfruits of their lives will return to You in worship, in praise.  This 12th day of October, 2011, I give You my all, I dedicate my life to You daily to do with as You will to serve and glorify You, my beautiful Lord.  I love You with all of my heart, with all that I am, I love You alone.

FREELY GIVEN, GRATEFULLY RECEIVED

John 14:15-17  "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever....the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."

There is nothing I can do Lord, to deserve what You have given to me.  Neither life nor death, nothing I can do inbetween will ever be enough in my eyes to deserve what You have done for me.  But in Your eyes, in Your eyes I am so deserving, I am so precious, so loved by You. 

I am so thankful for the blood of Jesus, my Lord.  Without the sacrifice that my precious Lord made at Calvary, without all He went through, I would not be sitting here tonight, writing from my heart to my Lord of my love for Him.  And if His sacrifice was not enough, He gave such simple rules for me to live by.  Removed was the law, the do or die things of the Old Testament, when there was no sacrifice that was deemed good enough to take away the sins of the world; it is different now, there is Jesus.  He lived a life of example, He gave a simple way of life for the child of God to live; simply love the Lord God with all your heart and soul and love your neighbor as yourself.  Obey Him, live each day in His ways, do unto others as He would have you do, serve others, love others, share His love with them.  These are simple thiings; things you would teach a child.  Love each other, share, don't be stingy with the things of the Lord, share what He gives you with others. His love, His peace, His joy, HIS SALVATION. 

If we would just love and obey what Jesus commanded us to do, He, Jesus Himself, will ask the Father to give us another Counselor, another teacher, to guide us, to show us the way, to keep us from living in sin by convicting us quickly and leading us back to the Father.  The Holy Spirit will be given to those who will just love and obey; and we will know Him as He will live with us and be in us, always.  The Holy Spirit will never be taken from me, no matter what I do, He will always be with me.  He will always show me what the Father has for me, He will enlighten the Word to me, He will give me understanding, He will give me wisdom.  

Just love and obey.  How could I not love my Lord, the things He has done for me, He loved me first.  I did absolutely nothing to deserve the love of my Lord, there is nothing in me that will ever be deserving enough for this kind of unconditional love, but He loves me passionately.  And I love Him with all of me, mind, heart, soul and spirit.  I think if I cut myself, I would bleed love for my Lord. I don't think that there is a part of me that is not totally sold out in love for my Lord.  He is in my thoughts all day long. 

Obey my Lord; without the constant presence of the Holy Spirit this would probably be difficult at all times, but the Holy Spirit gives direction to me, gives me guidance in obeying; what the Father expects and how to do it faithfully, cheerfully; delighting in doing the Father's will.  I love the Word of God as it gives direction to me, how to live, how to love, how to please Him.  I love my Lord.

Worshiping my Lord is a great pleasure to me.  When I worship the Lord, He pours out so much love on me, so much grace.  He loves to hear His children sing to Him from their hearts.....can you just picture the Lord, sitting in the throne room, waiting each day to hear the praise and thanks in song to Him.  And when that sweet song comes up to Him, I can see the smile of joy come across His face.  I love to give joy to my Lord, I love to sing praises to Him, to glorify His Name. 

This 11th day of October, 2011, I am so thankful for my Lord Jesus, who freely gave all for me.  I gratefully receive, my Lord, the blessings You have given me through Your love, Your mercy.  I love You, Lord.  Sweet Holy Spirit, I am so grateful that You are in my life, that You are with me each moment of each day and night, never ceasing to lead me into the ways of my God, always showing me the way to His heart, into His presence. 

CROWN HIM WITH MANY CROWNS

Proverbs 4:9  "She (wisdom) will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor."

Driving home today; you know I drive 18 miles to work and 18 miles home each day, and I am not tired of the drive yet as I have this glorious time alone with just my Lord and me.  I worship, I sing new songs to Him from my heart, I praise, I pray.  It is just a wonderful time of my day.  I begin my day like this, knowing He has got the day planned for me, if I just follow His lead, lean onto Him for understanding, He has it all in control for me.  I end my day the same way, giving Him glory for the day, or if the day was just  not the best, asking Him for forgiveness if needed, or asking guidance of how to turn the situation around, what can I do about the things that happened.  My Lord is the One with the answers that will keep me in His will, knowing that, why would I ask someone else.  I want to do things His way.

Well, coming home today, I am driving along, I was listening to a CD of a service that a friend had ministered in and when it was over, I just began to think the words of the old hymn, "Crown Him with Many Crowns, the Lamb upon His throne; Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but it's own; Awake my soul and sing of Him who died for thee....", and the Lord began to talk to me about crowns.  I have heard so many times that for things I endured, times I spent taking care of people that I was earning many jewels in my heavenly crown.  I am sure you have heard this a time or two also.  But today, the Lord was showing me that as the crown sits on your head, your head is a type of crown, the top of your body.  As you head is the crown, the crown is your mind.  And your mind controls you; has complete control until you submit your will to the Lord and let His will control your mind.  As I submit my will to the Lord, I give control of my mind to His control, I am giving Him my crown now.  Each time my mind wants to rule my thoughts, take my thoughts away from my God, from my Savior, overrule what the Holy Spirit is telling me; each time this happens and I take refuse to let my mind stray from my Lord's will for me, each time I refuse to let my mind go the way of the world, and return it to the Lord's control, I crown Him, Lord of All over my life.  And this is a daily happening.  I submit my will, my mind to the Lord and I crown Him Lord.

When wisdom, and true wisdom comes only from the Word, and the Holy Spirit that brings that wisdom to your mind; draw on it; draw on this wisdom that is tried and tested throughout the ages; the Lord's own words given in detailed account of things that happened, examples of how we should live and why this is the way He has chosen for us; and accounts of things that will happen, to prepare us for life and for death.  The first death to self, giving over our lives to Him free of sin, free of shame, our will submited to His; and the second death, if He tarries, our spirits rising to be with Him, where we will receive our crown of righteousness.  This crown I will gladly lay at the feet of my Savior, who is the only One worthy of my crown; for in Him, I am who I am, who He has made me to be with the cleansing of His precious blood, redeeming me.

So, today, the Lord showed me that He knows I will lay my crown, my heavenly crown, at His feet when I reach heaven one day, but here, on this earth, I can crown Him daily, each time I let not the world rule me, but I submit my will, my thoughts, my love to Him, I crown Him, I crown Him my King, my Lord, my All.

This 10th day of October, 2011, I am rejoicing in my King, I am crowning Him with many crowns, lifting up my voice to worship Him.

FIRSTFRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Romans 8:23  "Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies."

As I was reading the Word this morning, preparing for my day, for my worship to my Savior, the Lord began to show me the harshness of sin.  What I do not will to do is a constant battle with the flesh that wills to do it.  But my mind, if given to the control of the Spirit, overcomes what the flesh wills and conforms to the will of the Spirit.  Then I read the words "firstfruits of the Spirit".  This is a familiar passage to me, but I don't believe I ever saw those words in this light.  The "firstfruits of the Spirit"; when I have not the words to pray, when prayer fails to come, only the soulful need to pray, to speak to the Lord, the Spirit prays for me.  He lifts those groans from my deepest needs to the Lord in His tongue, His prayer to the Father, sending that urgency need of help to the Most High.  We, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, we, not knowing what to pray, how to pray, have that intercessor there for us. 

Then I read on, but only to have the Lord return me to the words, "firstfruits of the Spirit".  The firstfruits of the Holy Spirit was only a sampling of what was to come; the firstfruits, the best offered; You gave us Your best to help us.  Not just a portion of what You had left but from the top, Your Mind and Your Heart.  The very best to help us, to guide us when we felt we could not go on, when we could not understand.  The firstfruits of the Holy Spirit take us higher, and it is ony the beginning of the glory yet to be established in us through Your Precious Spirit.

I saw the relation of our firstfruits, our tithe, to be given unto You, my Lord, before anything else is considered, our firstfruits to You.  I never considered that You, were giving us firstfruits also, Your best, a part of You, to always be here, living in us.  How is it that I never saw this before, as this passage so familiar leading into verse 28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose".  But never did the words light up like they did this morning.  That is another gift of the Holy Spirit, lighting up the Word as You wish to make a new revelation to us.  I stand amazed, once again, at Your love for me.  At the desire You have for me to understand Your Word, to understand where I fit into this beautiful plan You have designed for me; my part, my place in Your heart.

I don't know Father, if I have been able to articulate all You gave me, but I know it was meant to be shared.  I delight in Your Word, Lord, and know there is so much more that the Holy Spirit will enlighten to me in Your timing, as You will.  This 9th day of October, I am simply Your child, a woman yearning to see Your face, a woman that has been so blessed by You, so loved by You.  Thank You, my Lord, thank You.

HE DELIGHTS IN GIVING MERCY

Micah 7:18  "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?  You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy."

I believe a lot of people are afraid of God.  I also believe a lot of people have reason to be, if they have not repented of their sin and asked the Lord for forgiveness.  But there are people that love the Lord, but they are afraid of Him.  Probably more people in my age group than younger, and I believe it was the way most of us grew up in church.  Unless they have come out from under that bondage of the law, they do not know the God of love.  They have probably been told that the Lord loves them, but without the realization of this love through the Holy Spirit, they have no real understanding that God loves them, He loves you, He loves me.

Precious Holy Spirit, my closest friend, thank You for leading me to the Father's love, to His throne room, for showing me that I had nothing to fear from my Lord that loves me so much.  The Lord is waiting to show mercy to those who come to Him for forgiveness, for restoration.  He loves to give mercy to those repentive of their sins, to those who have found the Truth, the Way and the Life.  O Lord, I can just see You in my spirit, arms outstretched, waiting for that one to come to You, needing You so desperately, but afraid.  Afraid to come all the way to You for fear that they will be rejected as their lives are so wretched, so wicked, they are so lost.  I can remember being afraid; so afraid that You would just push me away as I had done to You for so long, but You didn't; You reached out to me as I just waited, now knowing if I would be accepted by You, but You did not give me a chance to turn away this time.  You grabbed me to Yourself and held me there until all the fear melted away, until that fear of rejection was replaced by an overwhelming love, by such precious peace that I did not know possible.  You poured mercy onto me with delight.  You poured out mercy on me with love and joy, it gave You such pleasure and joy to draw me to You, You had waited for me. 

Unreachable, I had thought; my God is unreachable.  How wrong I was, so wrong.  And so many of you are wrong also if you think that you have gone one step too far in your sin; one step too far to turn back to God; one  step too far to be reached.  There is no place on earth that is too far for our God to reach you, He is waiting for that one word to come from your lips.....just one word....Jesus.  The minute He hears your cry, uttered in a voice desperate for Him, for His love, He will reach down and draw you to Himself, and begin to pour mercy all over you.  He will delight in doing so, as He loves you so.  He will erase all the fear inside of you, the fear you have of Him, the fear you have of life with Him.  Your life will change in such a way you never knew possible.....what do you know of real love.....what do you know about peace, true peace.......what do you know of joy, unspeakable joy?  There is only One who can bring this to you, He is the King of all who die to themselves to live for Him; He is the King of all who lift their hands up to worship Him and adore Him; He is the King of all who call themselves by His Name.  And He will delight in giving mercy to you.

My Lord God, You are my King.  I live to serve You.  I live to worship You alone.  I live to bring glory to Your Name.  You alone are worthy of all my praise.  I will never forget what You have done for me, my Lord.  I will never forget the mercy You poured onto me when I cried out to You, when I was so alone, so afraid.  Love came down and peace replaced all my fears.  This 8th day of October, 2011, You, my Lord are in my heart, my spirit, my soul.  Only You.  How I love You, how I adore You.

BE STILL AND KNOW

Psalm 37:7  "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicket schemes."

Father, I was so happy for this day to be over.  What a day.  I know that nothing goes to waste and there was something in this day that You will use to teach me lessons that I need to know; something that will bring me to a deeper understanding of what You are doing in me; but Lord, I just do not like being put in these types of situations.  Yes, Father, Yes, You know that.  Okay, You got me here.  You always know what my day will be like.  Such a sense of humor Lord, yes, I am smiling too.  You knew this would happen today and I was to experience another humbling test.  I am not too sure how it looked to You, Lord.  I did like the way I reacted to things today. 

The work of the Holy Spirit in me is difficult, Lord.  I struggle with trying to be just what You wish me to be, what I want to be in You.  I stay concerned that I fail You, that I disappoint You....I know I disappoint myself so many times.  Oh, Father, I need You so much.  How long will I keep struggling instead of just giving it all to You.  I don't know why I still attempt to work it out myself....I know I cannot do anything without You.  Forgive me....forgive me. 

I wait for You, my Lord; I wait for You.  Just to be still before You and know that You are here with me.  Just to be still and realize, once again, realize that You will never leave me, You are not going to leave me.  Your strength as You breath fresh life into me, I am taken back by Your strength.  You pour it into my spirit, lifting me up from the depths of the criticism I place on my self, the "how could I's", the "are you capable of this" and all the other doubts that hit my mind today.  I am nothing without You Lord.  I cannot do the things I need to do without Your constant guidance, sweet Holy Spirit, I need You, I need You.

Thank You, Lord, for Your understanding love; for Your words of encouragement to me, lifting me up to You, making me teachable, keeping me pliable in You.  Move me Lord in the direction You would have me go; mold me into the kind of woman that You want me to be.  Lord, I pray for my self, for my own ideas and thoughts to be replaced with only Your ideas and thoughts; nothing of me, all of You.  I know You will take me and make me what You will if I just get out of the way.  I AM my own worse enemy at times.  Yes, Father, the human nature is hard to rid one's self of, I can only do this through You, Lord.  Only through You.

Your peace, once again, is pouring out over me, Your grace causing me to relax into Your arms, rest in You so I can be restored.  Is it only me, Lord, that You have to restore each night.  I call You and You never fail to be with me.  But I do think about the day, Father,when I will call You to myself, to come and be with me when there is no need for restoring me; I will have become so close to You, I will have become truly one with You, and it will give You rest in me as I rest in You.  I love You so.

My Savior, I love You.  Words fail at times like this when there is so much I want to say, when I want to express myself to tell You how worthy You are, how much I adore You; words fail.  Please look inside my heart, Lord, and see the words that sing out to You there, words of praise, honor, loving worship....all for You.

This 7th day of October, I give my all to You, Lord.  I rest in You and am still because I know that You love me.

SAVOR THE MOMENT

Isaiah 45:8  "You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down.  Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the Lord, have created it."

The presence of You, my Lord, how precious.....what humility comes upon me when I feel Your beauty, when I smell the sweet fragrance of Your love surrounding me; like fresh rain falling on a dry land, drinking up all the living water of Your grace.....I don't want You to leave, I desire for You to stay.  I bask in the moments that You are with me, that Your spirit takes residence within my own.  Then I fill Your presence lift.  And although I know You are still near, Your presence has moved a little further.  This reminds me of the Song of Songs, the Bride asking the Bridegroom where He has gone, keeping her seeking Him with all her heart, all her soul.  And when Your presence lifts, I, even knowing that you are still near, began seeking Your presence, seeking Your face.....yearning for You, loving You.  The moment, once upon me, now gone.  The feeling, the knowing of Your presence, savored for a long time. 

How could I possible forget the beauty of a sunrise, knowing that Your hand moved across the sky and colored it just so.  How many look at the sunrise and never see You in it, Lord; never see that no where could this brilliance in the sun coming up could only be set into place by the Creator.  And at the end of the day, when that same sun sets, purple, rose, navy, yellow, sometimes orange.  So striking but yet all the colors melt together in such glory, such a magnificent array of splendor, once again, only coming from Your touch.  What beauty is given for our pleasure.  A moment that will never be repeated as each sunrise and sunset are different, never repeating, always bringing glory to You, my Lord.  And I savor each one that I witness, knowing the Artist, knowing Him personally.

Tears of joy flow when I feel Your presence, my God.  I have not known Your presence that my body does not feel overwhelmed, almost bursting with joy and sweet tears flow as I know You are here.  Tears that I know You see, those tears that You know are from pure joy, heartfelt joy at Your presence, Your flowing peace that comes down on me, that totally restoring grace that accompanies Your presence; those tears savored by You as they are a part of me expressing my love for You.  A moment in time that seals our love, seals it for eternity.

Each moment spent in Your presence, Lord, moments of joy, moments of peace, moments captured in my memory, saved to recall as I wait on You to pour out on me again, Your precious presence.  This 6th day of October, 2011, I am savoring the moments, the memories you plant in my heart, in my soul.  You never leave me empty, always filled with Your love and joy; but You do always leave me wanting more of You, desiring the sweetness of Your touch and the beauty of Your fragrant love.  I am totally and completely in love with You, my Beloved Bridegroom.