I started writing in my journal this morning for my new study plan from Proverbs 31 called "Christ Alone" and from the moment I opened up my app I thought well I am just going to work on my Blog. Its been long enough ;-)
"God chose to love us before we even knew him"
Start of my study plan was this phrase by Leah DiPascal. Simple but deep. When I read this outloud I'm like yeah okay duh! but then as I read into the homework for today in Galatians its about Paul getting a revelation and coming to the people and being open and transparent about the change in his heart. About how we need to spread the Good News, God's news not our own or what we think it is. He talks about how we used to be not on the path of righteousness and he thought what he was saying was right. When in all it wasn't. In the end of the chapter it states how the people praised God and were thankful for the change. When you come from following a certain path for soo long and then all of a sudden a "revelation" happens. This revelation can be anything, an accident, a light bulb in our head that goes off, the "oh my I get it now" or in my case the moment Avriel was born.
Those of you who do know me and have followed in my blogging know that I did come to Christ when I saw her big blue eyes for the first time. My coming to this understanding was a big deal, a baby being born is huge and a big physical act and a miracle in itself. But the simple part of it is I had the "ah ha" or the light bulb finally came on. At that point I was like well okay, I get it now thanks! And from that moment I began to have a small interest in the Gospel, how the Bible came to be. As that curiosity began to grow so did my faith and my understanding of what he gave for all of us to be saved.
Avriel turned 3 yesterday at 11:02 am. I cannot believe its been 3 years since she has been born. It makes my heart weep, but makes it skip a beat seeing and wanting to know who she will be and what she will bring to this world and to others. In fact to be honest, I am slightly jelouse of God because he already knows. He knows what a wonder she will be, what a gift she is and what gifts she has. Joe and I are starting to see them as they come to light, she has many. She has fire, she has grace, she has soul I could go on forever lol. God made her in his image. The statement in that alone is crazy and is unimaginable. He has soo much power, faith and grace for all of us. Those of us who haven't even come to know him yet. Those of us who feel lost and abandoned. I wish there was a way to snap my fingers and make those understand his love, want to feel his love, want to grow in faith, want to lay every problem big or small at his feet. I want soo many to feel this. This peace of you are not alone. Yes, we have family, friends etc. No one can give you the strength, the wisdom, the peace or the rest he can. Once, you feel it and know he is there its an addiction.
I think one of my favorite things of watching Avriel grow is what I am able to see her see at this point. Children are soo innocent they aren't blocked by obligations or stressed. As adults we are blocked and are burdened by soo much. Bills, work, friends, family etc. To just get a glimpse of that peace that children experience the encounters they have with faith, because they don't have distractions. I recently came back from a mission trip to Honduras, and we had taken two families with us. The love these kids had for the orphans, the friends they made the closeness they felt with God was beautiful. Even us adults, every single one of us felt his presence every single day from the moment we opened our eyes to the moment we closed them at night. We were all unplugged, no distractions. We could all focus on what was right in front of our eyes. His beauty, his grace, his peace. Even reading what the statement for todays chapter in Galatians being loved before we knew him says. Its there plain as day.
This weekend Joe and I were invited to friends of ours to witness their marriage on Lake Michigan. The wedding was in Saint Joseph. The wedding was small but impact-full. The wedding's scenery was looking out onto the beauty of the Lake Michigan. There was no cloud in the sky, the sun was shining, it was a gorgeous example of God's creation. Just sitting there before the ceremony started gave me goosebumps. He made this, he knew we would be sitting here witnessing this. The tiny glimpses he shows us on a daily basis whether that is an example of grace among children, grace among adults, love for another, saying outloud vows to God and to close friends and family. He is there. He shows us all the time that he love us and that he is present. We just need to reach out and submit. We met some amazing people that I seriously never ever would have thought we'd even talk to. Brilliant, like-minded people, who work hard, enjoy life, embrace any new people with open arms. Welcome them into their home, invite them on getaways. I was very nervous about the people we would be around. And that is me being honest. My own insecurities, my own nerves, my own loss of faith in myself, the devil beating at me stating I am not good enough to even be in the same room as these amazing people. Grace and Love prevailed. We made some great connections. Met some loving people, in the same season of life as Joe and I. This morning, I feel foolish for not putting faith in him and the opportunity he put us into and feeling foolish for not thinking we and/or I wasn't good enough to laugh and be myself with them. Similar to Paul. So I am typing this out because I am owning up to it.
I am beyond thankful for this weekend, beyond thankful for these amazing wonderful people we met, I am excited to get to know them excited to do life with them. Excited to just simply "be" I am excited to embrace myself, embrace the future, embrace Avriel and her gifts. Embrace God. I want "to choose to love others before I know them" because thats what God did, thats what he wants. Most of all "I want to choose to love myself, because he does & always will"
"God chose to love us before we even knew him"
Start of my study plan was this phrase by Leah DiPascal. Simple but deep. When I read this outloud I'm like yeah okay duh! but then as I read into the homework for today in Galatians its about Paul getting a revelation and coming to the people and being open and transparent about the change in his heart. About how we need to spread the Good News, God's news not our own or what we think it is. He talks about how we used to be not on the path of righteousness and he thought what he was saying was right. When in all it wasn't. In the end of the chapter it states how the people praised God and were thankful for the change. When you come from following a certain path for soo long and then all of a sudden a "revelation" happens. This revelation can be anything, an accident, a light bulb in our head that goes off, the "oh my I get it now" or in my case the moment Avriel was born.
Those of you who do know me and have followed in my blogging know that I did come to Christ when I saw her big blue eyes for the first time. My coming to this understanding was a big deal, a baby being born is huge and a big physical act and a miracle in itself. But the simple part of it is I had the "ah ha" or the light bulb finally came on. At that point I was like well okay, I get it now thanks! And from that moment I began to have a small interest in the Gospel, how the Bible came to be. As that curiosity began to grow so did my faith and my understanding of what he gave for all of us to be saved.
Avriel turned 3 yesterday at 11:02 am. I cannot believe its been 3 years since she has been born. It makes my heart weep, but makes it skip a beat seeing and wanting to know who she will be and what she will bring to this world and to others. In fact to be honest, I am slightly jelouse of God because he already knows. He knows what a wonder she will be, what a gift she is and what gifts she has. Joe and I are starting to see them as they come to light, she has many. She has fire, she has grace, she has soul I could go on forever lol. God made her in his image. The statement in that alone is crazy and is unimaginable. He has soo much power, faith and grace for all of us. Those of us who haven't even come to know him yet. Those of us who feel lost and abandoned. I wish there was a way to snap my fingers and make those understand his love, want to feel his love, want to grow in faith, want to lay every problem big or small at his feet. I want soo many to feel this. This peace of you are not alone. Yes, we have family, friends etc. No one can give you the strength, the wisdom, the peace or the rest he can. Once, you feel it and know he is there its an addiction.
I think one of my favorite things of watching Avriel grow is what I am able to see her see at this point. Children are soo innocent they aren't blocked by obligations or stressed. As adults we are blocked and are burdened by soo much. Bills, work, friends, family etc. To just get a glimpse of that peace that children experience the encounters they have with faith, because they don't have distractions. I recently came back from a mission trip to Honduras, and we had taken two families with us. The love these kids had for the orphans, the friends they made the closeness they felt with God was beautiful. Even us adults, every single one of us felt his presence every single day from the moment we opened our eyes to the moment we closed them at night. We were all unplugged, no distractions. We could all focus on what was right in front of our eyes. His beauty, his grace, his peace. Even reading what the statement for todays chapter in Galatians being loved before we knew him says. Its there plain as day.
This weekend Joe and I were invited to friends of ours to witness their marriage on Lake Michigan. The wedding was in Saint Joseph. The wedding was small but impact-full. The wedding's scenery was looking out onto the beauty of the Lake Michigan. There was no cloud in the sky, the sun was shining, it was a gorgeous example of God's creation. Just sitting there before the ceremony started gave me goosebumps. He made this, he knew we would be sitting here witnessing this. The tiny glimpses he shows us on a daily basis whether that is an example of grace among children, grace among adults, love for another, saying outloud vows to God and to close friends and family. He is there. He shows us all the time that he love us and that he is present. We just need to reach out and submit. We met some amazing people that I seriously never ever would have thought we'd even talk to. Brilliant, like-minded people, who work hard, enjoy life, embrace any new people with open arms. Welcome them into their home, invite them on getaways. I was very nervous about the people we would be around. And that is me being honest. My own insecurities, my own nerves, my own loss of faith in myself, the devil beating at me stating I am not good enough to even be in the same room as these amazing people. Grace and Love prevailed. We made some great connections. Met some loving people, in the same season of life as Joe and I. This morning, I feel foolish for not putting faith in him and the opportunity he put us into and feeling foolish for not thinking we and/or I wasn't good enough to laugh and be myself with them. Similar to Paul. So I am typing this out because I am owning up to it.
I am beyond thankful for this weekend, beyond thankful for these amazing wonderful people we met, I am excited to get to know them excited to do life with them. Excited to just simply "be" I am excited to embrace myself, embrace the future, embrace Avriel and her gifts. Embrace God. I want "to choose to love others before I know them" because thats what God did, thats what he wants. Most of all "I want to choose to love myself, because he does & always will"
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