His Kind of Love

"He is jealous for me.
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden I am unaware of these affictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me, " The David Crowder Band.

I studied these words as I read along while listening to this song.
The song's first sentence captured my attention earlier this week on my way to work. I have continued to be awed by what I feel was made clear to me that day. In that moment I thought about how I feel when someone I love dearly isn't acting right, living right, or giving me the attention I want from them. I realized just how this hurts so much..how rejected, helpless and distanced I feel when this happens to me.

As I began to think about this more and more, I suppose I never thought that the great and wonderful God I worship feels jealousy or frustration. I think subconsciously I see these emotions as negative and therefore sinful. But they are not sinful if they do not cause you to sin, right? RIGHT!

Wow, this is pretty significant to me! To think that my wonderful God, with enduring love, feels rejected, frustrated and even jealous when my relationship with Him is not intimate in the utmost way. This is because when I am not close to HIM, I cannot grow adaquately.

I am somehow wandering out there.. lost, not permantley or completely because there is this spiritual connection I have to Him, from being saved. And that will never be forgotten, Not by Him and not long by a person who truly once had a relationship with God.

I think back over the course of the last few months, and how much He has been in my heart and how much He has talked to my heart, steered me and revealed more and more of Himself and His ways to me. I feel so blessed for this...for His time and his patience and His love in that he would work so hard in me...no matter what it takes.

Because... I don't always make it very easy..but HE never gives up.

As I think about the words of this song....what do they mean to me?

He is jealous for me. (Jealously that we all know when we want something badly.)

Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. (His love is so strong and so powerful that it sweeps through us, causing a stir..and this with this love, comes a wrath for those who ignore Him. Even though the strength of this wrath could take us out, He protects us in the storm.)

When all of a sudden I am unaware of these affictions eclipsed by glory.
And I realize just how beautiful you are and how great your affections are for me. (But then after experiencing God's protection even under His own wrath, we forget the pain, in the midst of being awed by HIS beauty and profound love.)

"Ohhh. How he loves us..."

And oh how this makes me want to live even more for Him...He deserves the best of me, even though it can never be enough for His holiness.

Perhaps the lyrics truly mean something else, but to me...it has a different meaning. I love the work He is doing within me...and I will forever be His for it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJyW55AXJAk

CHRISTmas

Many of us have plans to travel, or to have company at our own home during the holiday season. In my opinion. the time spent with family is the most cherished and will be the most valuable 10 years from now.

I read an article from the Upper Room Devotional http://www.upperroom.org/devotional/, in which the author talked about how we rush through the season buying gifts, shopping on our days off and running ourselves ragged. She wrote about how she and her mother made a plan to avoid buying each other gifts and instead spent the day going to church and hanging out together.

The article made me think, even so much as I'm not as heavily into the commercialization of Christmas as others, that I should take care not to overlook how God would want me to spend this season. Instead of slowing down and cherishing the little things that we tend to overlook all year, we run ourselves ragged trying shopping the season away. The most perfect gifts were truly right in front of us all along.

And what abotu this whole Santa Claus thing? I know its a tradition in many homes, and people just do it for that reason. Isn't Santa just a decoy that Satan uses to keep our eyes off of Christ? Doesn't the idea of Santa only promote the commercialization of Christmas? And when we teach our children to believe in Santa, aren't we overshadowing Christ and His birth with wordly lies?

Why not tell our children that even though Christmas is rooted from a pagan holiday, that we are going to use the season to cherish each other a little bit more? Let's ponder on the sacrafices that Mary made in her life by being humble in her submission to God's will in her life. Why not use this time to draw nearer to God, instead of letting worldy distractions keep us, and our loved ones from making the most of the holiday?

When my daughter was born, 10 years ago, this is what I decided. I haven't exactly made the best of it every year, but we have worked to keep Santa Claus from being real in our home. Some of my family has disagreed with my decision and has continued to talk the Santa talk to my kids every year. But in my heart, I know that what I am doing is best and as my children's mother, my rules win over anything else. I hope and pray that as my children grow older, this one simple rule --SANTA IS NOT REAL--will carry on as a tradition with my grandchildren and great grandchildren. I know that the God of my heart will bless them for it.

During this holiday season, I hope you will slow down and take inventory of all you have. Use it to grow closer to God and your loved ones. Rushing to buy gifts is nice, but don't let it overshadow what is truly important.

Merry Christmas to each of you. May God bless you in the New Year.