I can't believe I never realized
How much he truly loves me...
Everyday without fail he is up before I wake
Lovingly watching me sleep...
And when I finally get out of bed
He is there waiting to help me on my way
Even when I don't have time to greet him
He still continues loving me anyway
I don't understand how he never gets tired
Because I call him all the time
And no matter how busy he could be
He is always ready to hear whats on my mind
And when I am working or going about my day
He sends me small reminders without cease
Just to make sure that I am certain of his love
So, that I can function not in stress but in peace
I can barely seem to fathom
How he can continue to patiently wait
When I've been too busy to even pause
To tell him that I loved him at all today
And regardless of mistakes in my past
He never stops seeing the best in me
Even at my worst and in my darkest hour
He still continues to invest in me
I can't bring myself to grasp
How sometimes I put him on trial
Even after days of not talking
He still manages to embrace me with a smile
And when I'm upset and alone at night
Unable to fall asleep because I can't stop the tears
He is readily on-call to come at my request
And gently whisper his love into my ear
I don't comprehend his ability
To see past the mess in my life
He keeps reassuring me of his role
To simply love me for the rest of my life
And sometimes I feel so overwhelmed
Because I never paid attention before
...never realized how much he knew about me
And how he longs to have me more
I can't believe I never realized
How much he truly loves me...
So much that he gave his own blood
To be sacrificed on calvary
And now I promise you God
That I will try to be the best I can be
I pledge my life, my love, and my body to you
...Because you first loved me
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
I Took an 'L' For God...
I begin tonight's blog with a long exhale....sighing, gathering my thoughts, and praying all in one breath. Somehow finding solace in my momentary prayer and deep draw of oxygen, I share with you a lesson that I've learned.
If there's one thing I know, after 25 years of living, it is that the devil never sleeps. Don't mistake this statement to mean that I think he is more aware than God, because God is omnipresent and omniscient! Ever present and all knowing! But that devil...oh he works hard to make us falter. That devil...oh he works overtime when there is a good work going on in the name of the Lord! Today, I must admit that he almost got me for the okie-doke.
Tonight was another Youth Bible Study night. I had the lesson all planned out. I had a new structure and incentives laid out to make the lesson more fun, interactive, and appealing to my wonderfully apathetic tween/teenage boys and girls. So, I begin the lesson, and the children were actually being very attentive and quiet...I thought to myself "Wow, they are actually behaving themselves." Instantly, I relaxed myself (I was a little all over the place from a long day at work) and set in for a comfortable lesson about relying and trusting in God (Proverbs 3:4-5). In that second..in that solitary decision to not be on my absolute p's and q's...the devil found his way into the lesson. The moment I was lulled into a false sense of security that the devil so frequently uses to fake us into his snares, he attacked! The kids began to act terribly! The attitude shift in the room took a dramatic turn for the worst. Kids began back talking, yelling at one another, hitting one another, laughing, playing, etc (all the things you KNOW you wouldve gotten a whoopin for)....
Soon enough, I had lost my patience. I had lost my resolve. I had forgotten the reason that I was even there in the first place. I became frustrated. Frustration led to irritation. Irritation soon blossomed into full on disdain! Instead of reprimanding the class, I dismissed them in anger. I didn't stand there and be the example of a leader that I should have been. I didn't react in a manner in which I felt was the most Godly. I did the exact opposite of what the lesson was about, further discrediting my witness as a good Christian. I so took an 'L' for God.
I left the church feeling slightly defeated and highly heated. How could they be so rude? So blatantly disrespectful? How could they not see the sacrifice of those who want them to have a good relationship with God?....The minute that thought entered into my mind, tears stung my eyes. Not because I was upset with them, but because I was upset with me. The key word was sacrifice. God sent His Son, sacrificed Him...for us, so that we may have life...so that we could be saved...so that we could make it to Heaven one day. My time spent with the children wasnt for me...but it was for God. I wasn't sacrificing my time for me...I was doing it for God. In my anger, I had lost sight of that. All I could think about was how ungrateful the kids were acting, but really I should have been looking at myself. If I wanted to inspire spiritual change among the children, then I needed to be the change....and I failed. I failed them..and I almsot failed God. I almost let the devil rejoice in victory because the lesson I was trying to teach didn't go as planned. But I take back the victory in the name of God because I know that next time I will deal with the children differently. I will trust that God see's my efforts and will see me through. I will know that the only thing that matters is that God is love, and that is the image that I should mirror as a spiritual leader for the Youth.
So...yeh, I took an 'L' for God tonight. But it wasn't a Loss. It could have been...especially if I had let the devil get the best of me. Instead, I took a Lesson for God. My lesson was in Love. Because He loves me, He saved me..and He continues to save me everyday of my life. It is because of this, that I love God with all of my heart, and I will be back next wednesday to teach the kids another lesson, so that their love for Him can grow as well....
If there's one thing I know, after 25 years of living, it is that the devil never sleeps. Don't mistake this statement to mean that I think he is more aware than God, because God is omnipresent and omniscient! Ever present and all knowing! But that devil...oh he works hard to make us falter. That devil...oh he works overtime when there is a good work going on in the name of the Lord! Today, I must admit that he almost got me for the okie-doke.
Tonight was another Youth Bible Study night. I had the lesson all planned out. I had a new structure and incentives laid out to make the lesson more fun, interactive, and appealing to my wonderfully apathetic tween/teenage boys and girls. So, I begin the lesson, and the children were actually being very attentive and quiet...I thought to myself "Wow, they are actually behaving themselves." Instantly, I relaxed myself (I was a little all over the place from a long day at work) and set in for a comfortable lesson about relying and trusting in God (Proverbs 3:4-5). In that second..in that solitary decision to not be on my absolute p's and q's...the devil found his way into the lesson. The moment I was lulled into a false sense of security that the devil so frequently uses to fake us into his snares, he attacked! The kids began to act terribly! The attitude shift in the room took a dramatic turn for the worst. Kids began back talking, yelling at one another, hitting one another, laughing, playing, etc (all the things you KNOW you wouldve gotten a whoopin for)....
Soon enough, I had lost my patience. I had lost my resolve. I had forgotten the reason that I was even there in the first place. I became frustrated. Frustration led to irritation. Irritation soon blossomed into full on disdain! Instead of reprimanding the class, I dismissed them in anger. I didn't stand there and be the example of a leader that I should have been. I didn't react in a manner in which I felt was the most Godly. I did the exact opposite of what the lesson was about, further discrediting my witness as a good Christian. I so took an 'L' for God.
I left the church feeling slightly defeated and highly heated. How could they be so rude? So blatantly disrespectful? How could they not see the sacrifice of those who want them to have a good relationship with God?....The minute that thought entered into my mind, tears stung my eyes. Not because I was upset with them, but because I was upset with me. The key word was sacrifice. God sent His Son, sacrificed Him...for us, so that we may have life...so that we could be saved...so that we could make it to Heaven one day. My time spent with the children wasnt for me...but it was for God. I wasn't sacrificing my time for me...I was doing it for God. In my anger, I had lost sight of that. All I could think about was how ungrateful the kids were acting, but really I should have been looking at myself. If I wanted to inspire spiritual change among the children, then I needed to be the change....and I failed. I failed them..and I almsot failed God. I almost let the devil rejoice in victory because the lesson I was trying to teach didn't go as planned. But I take back the victory in the name of God because I know that next time I will deal with the children differently. I will trust that God see's my efforts and will see me through. I will know that the only thing that matters is that God is love, and that is the image that I should mirror as a spiritual leader for the Youth.
So...yeh, I took an 'L' for God tonight. But it wasn't a Loss. It could have been...especially if I had let the devil get the best of me. Instead, I took a Lesson for God. My lesson was in Love. Because He loves me, He saved me..and He continues to save me everyday of my life. It is because of this, that I love God with all of my heart, and I will be back next wednesday to teach the kids another lesson, so that their love for Him can grow as well....
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
To Know = To Love??? That is the question....
Isn't it funny how working with kids can lead to the most thought provoking conversations sometimes? I am finding more and more that something in their limited life experience, naive mindsets, and sheltered environments allows their minds to not be as fogged with jaded memories, broken promises, and empty dreams....anyway, I digress.
The subject for now is Knowing vs. Loving. Just the other day, I was trying to think of a keynote message to add to my google profile (yes, I'm googleable lol). I wanted to make it brief yet profound...so I settled upon saying, "To know me is to love me." In all of my interwoven idiosyncracies and confusing complexities, it is my honest opinion that if you truly know me, then you also love me.
Tonight during Youth Bible Study, I was talking to the kids (ages 12 to 16) about getting to know God better. The verse came from James 4:8 (Draw near to the Lord, and He will draw near to you). The basis of tonight's lesson was learning about the different traits or aspects of God so that we may know Him more intimately. We talked about the different names that God is called, such as Provider, Comforter, Healer, Father, Friend, Hiding Place. We discussed how we must challenge ourselves to come to know God in these areas so that can become closer to Him.
Toward the end of the lesson, we started talking about God and what we had learned tonight....the question was brought up 'Can you really love someone without knowing them?' I decided to let the kids divide up and debate the subject before discussing my opinion with them. Clearly, in the Bible it tells us to love our neighbors as well as our enemies. So I would say the proper answer to that question is yes. But have you really thought about that question?
To Know = To Love?? Think about someone loving you. Can they really love you without knowing you? What about loving someone else. Can you love someone else without knowing them??
So let's take it to another level. Can you love God, without knowing Him?? Can you really love Him if you have no clue who God is in your life...other than that He created the universe and everything in it?? I challenge each of us to ponder this question and really evaluate if we know God and love God...
As for me, I feel that there are levels to knowing God. For instance, when I was child or just younger in general, I only knew certain things of God. I realized that He watched over me and my family and kept me alive. I understood that He sent His son to die for our sins. And I knew to thank Him for my blessings...and for that, I loved Him. But now, after living more and growing more, I can say that my love for God has grown 10 times over...my love for Him has grown immensely because I've come to experience God in so many other ways. I know now how to thank Him/praise Him in the midst of troubles or triumphs. I know now how to reach out to Him when there's no one else AND when there's a plethora of other people around. I know now how to pray for His guidance even when I really dont want it (lol). I know now how to pray for Gods will instead of my own. I have come to trust and know God so much more deeply now. Not only is He my Friend, but also my Comforter, my Provider, my Redeemer, my Hiding Place, my Strong Tower, my Hope, my Savior, and my Father. So, for that...I know now that I love God much more...more deeply and intimately than I ever have before.
For me to Know IS to Love. What about you??
The subject for now is Knowing vs. Loving. Just the other day, I was trying to think of a keynote message to add to my google profile (yes, I'm googleable lol). I wanted to make it brief yet profound...so I settled upon saying, "To know me is to love me." In all of my interwoven idiosyncracies and confusing complexities, it is my honest opinion that if you truly know me, then you also love me.
Tonight during Youth Bible Study, I was talking to the kids (ages 12 to 16) about getting to know God better. The verse came from James 4:8 (Draw near to the Lord, and He will draw near to you). The basis of tonight's lesson was learning about the different traits or aspects of God so that we may know Him more intimately. We talked about the different names that God is called, such as Provider, Comforter, Healer, Father, Friend, Hiding Place. We discussed how we must challenge ourselves to come to know God in these areas so that can become closer to Him.
Toward the end of the lesson, we started talking about God and what we had learned tonight....the question was brought up 'Can you really love someone without knowing them?' I decided to let the kids divide up and debate the subject before discussing my opinion with them. Clearly, in the Bible it tells us to love our neighbors as well as our enemies. So I would say the proper answer to that question is yes. But have you really thought about that question?
To Know = To Love?? Think about someone loving you. Can they really love you without knowing you? What about loving someone else. Can you love someone else without knowing them??
So let's take it to another level. Can you love God, without knowing Him?? Can you really love Him if you have no clue who God is in your life...other than that He created the universe and everything in it?? I challenge each of us to ponder this question and really evaluate if we know God and love God...
As for me, I feel that there are levels to knowing God. For instance, when I was child or just younger in general, I only knew certain things of God. I realized that He watched over me and my family and kept me alive. I understood that He sent His son to die for our sins. And I knew to thank Him for my blessings...and for that, I loved Him. But now, after living more and growing more, I can say that my love for God has grown 10 times over...my love for Him has grown immensely because I've come to experience God in so many other ways. I know now how to thank Him/praise Him in the midst of troubles or triumphs. I know now how to reach out to Him when there's no one else AND when there's a plethora of other people around. I know now how to pray for His guidance even when I really dont want it (lol). I know now how to pray for Gods will instead of my own. I have come to trust and know God so much more deeply now. Not only is He my Friend, but also my Comforter, my Provider, my Redeemer, my Hiding Place, my Strong Tower, my Hope, my Savior, and my Father. So, for that...I know now that I love God much more...more deeply and intimately than I ever have before.
For me to Know IS to Love. What about you??
Saturday, May 30, 2009
God's Treat
I heard you were looking for me
Thought I’d save you the trouble
Said you were looking for a good woman
Well I can give you double…
You won’t find me in the club
Though you may find some…
If you’re really searching
You’ll look for me in Proverbs 31
You won’t find childish ways
Or an immature, teen love
Instead you’ll find something lasting
A 1st Corinthians 13 love
Know what you are looking for
He that finds a wife finds a good thing
If you are looking for your Queen
Make sure you are ready to be my King
I heard you were looking for me
I can’t wait till we finally meet
Said you were looking for a good woman
Well, you are in for God’s treat…
Thought I’d save you the trouble
Said you were looking for a good woman
Well I can give you double…
You won’t find me in the club
Though you may find some…
If you’re really searching
You’ll look for me in Proverbs 31
You won’t find childish ways
Or an immature, teen love
Instead you’ll find something lasting
A 1st Corinthians 13 love
Know what you are looking for
He that finds a wife finds a good thing
If you are looking for your Queen
Make sure you are ready to be my King
I heard you were looking for me
I can’t wait till we finally meet
Said you were looking for a good woman
Well, you are in for God’s treat…
Thursday, May 7, 2009
My Roots...
My roots once intertwined with another...
Growing ever intricately, delicately wrapped in eachother
Whatever you were looking for, you would not have to search far to find
Because my roots were your roots, and your roots were mine
My roots seemed to be taken from apart of you
My roots willing to follow wherever you lead me to
Words you never even spoke, only I could hear it
My roots and your roots, destined to bear the fruit of the spirit
My roots gave you the feeling that there was no one greater
Growing together, our union was pleasing in the sight of our Creator
My roots merged with your roots making every movement rhyme
You and I together - were a perfect design
But now your roots have started to twist and turn
For yesterday and good times my roots have begun to yearn
The soil we felt was so rich, no longer satisfies
Your roots all the while continue to become harder to gratify
You've forgotten that my roots come from good earth
My once beautiful form has all the sudden lost its worth
You've changed slowly with the progression of time
Your roots have become increasingly difficult to recognize
My roots are still growing towards heaven as i am strengthened
Being renourished and washed anew as I am lengthened
I will no longer depend on you - my happiness Ive learned to supply
Because my roots have been remolded - beautiful in the Master's eyes
My roots were once interwined with another
Growing ever intricately, wrapped in eachother
And though we were once rooted together, it is now time to say goodbye
Because my roots are no longer quenched by yours, the life of us has gone dry...
March 2005 (c) SRH
Growing ever intricately, delicately wrapped in eachother
Whatever you were looking for, you would not have to search far to find
Because my roots were your roots, and your roots were mine
My roots seemed to be taken from apart of you
My roots willing to follow wherever you lead me to
Words you never even spoke, only I could hear it
My roots and your roots, destined to bear the fruit of the spirit
My roots gave you the feeling that there was no one greater
Growing together, our union was pleasing in the sight of our Creator
My roots merged with your roots making every movement rhyme
You and I together - were a perfect design
But now your roots have started to twist and turn
For yesterday and good times my roots have begun to yearn
The soil we felt was so rich, no longer satisfies
Your roots all the while continue to become harder to gratify
You've forgotten that my roots come from good earth
My once beautiful form has all the sudden lost its worth
You've changed slowly with the progression of time
Your roots have become increasingly difficult to recognize
My roots are still growing towards heaven as i am strengthened
Being renourished and washed anew as I am lengthened
I will no longer depend on you - my happiness Ive learned to supply
Because my roots have been remolded - beautiful in the Master's eyes
My roots were once interwined with another
Growing ever intricately, wrapped in eachother
And though we were once rooted together, it is now time to say goodbye
Because my roots are no longer quenched by yours, the life of us has gone dry...
March 2005 (c) SRH
It Wasn't Like This Yesterday...
It wasn’t like this yesterday
Yesterday looming in the sky, dark clouds formed
And all of the sudden, out of nowhere there came a storm
But I reassured myself, and had not an ounce of fear
Because I was certain that he would be near
It wasn’t like this yesterday
Yesterday, it never ceased to pour
It rained until it seemed the earth could be saturated no more
But still my soul and heart were soothingly at bay
Knowing that my feelings for him would never lead me astray
It wasn’t like this yesterday
Yesterday, the sky remained an intense, boundless dark
The sun was no longer present, only a barren, empty mark
Yet, still my spirit was overflowing with warmth and shine
For he made me feel a happiness ever so divine
It wasn’t like this yesterday
No yesterday it was quite dreary and blue
And the heavens maintained a monotonous hue
And I began to question the reasons for such a downcast day
Yet, still optimism is what I continued to convey
Then yesterday passed, and now it is today
The storms have stopped rumbling and the earth has stopped crying
Now all that is left is a beautiful rainbow, breathtakingly surprising
And, while he is still here, something else has occurred
Walking into my life and taking it for a turn
It wasn’t like this yesterday
On yesterday I was definitely nothing other than sure
That the skies in my life would return to tranquility and azure
And that he would ultimately be the one who painted my sky blue
It wasn’t like this yesterday, for yesterday was before I met you
June 2006 (c) SRH
Yesterday looming in the sky, dark clouds formed
And all of the sudden, out of nowhere there came a storm
But I reassured myself, and had not an ounce of fear
Because I was certain that he would be near
It wasn’t like this yesterday
Yesterday, it never ceased to pour
It rained until it seemed the earth could be saturated no more
But still my soul and heart were soothingly at bay
Knowing that my feelings for him would never lead me astray
It wasn’t like this yesterday
Yesterday, the sky remained an intense, boundless dark
The sun was no longer present, only a barren, empty mark
Yet, still my spirit was overflowing with warmth and shine
For he made me feel a happiness ever so divine
It wasn’t like this yesterday
No yesterday it was quite dreary and blue
And the heavens maintained a monotonous hue
And I began to question the reasons for such a downcast day
Yet, still optimism is what I continued to convey
Then yesterday passed, and now it is today
The storms have stopped rumbling and the earth has stopped crying
Now all that is left is a beautiful rainbow, breathtakingly surprising
And, while he is still here, something else has occurred
Walking into my life and taking it for a turn
It wasn’t like this yesterday
On yesterday I was definitely nothing other than sure
That the skies in my life would return to tranquility and azure
And that he would ultimately be the one who painted my sky blue
It wasn’t like this yesterday, for yesterday was before I met you
June 2006 (c) SRH
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