To my Valentine...

“Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Love...it's a crazy wonderful frightening thing. We've been together for 20 years...married almost 19. We were babies in love. You don't think you could ever be more in love than you were then but that love has just grown and evolved with time. Precious time...Something you never want to take for granted. When I think about true love..it isn't the flowers or chocolate. It isn't the things you buy. It's the commitment. It's the respect you have for each other. It's the moments you share through the good the bad and the ugly. The right words when you are feeling down. The hug when you feel worn out. The hand to hold when you just want them to know. The encouragement. The teamwork. Whether it's working together in business or cleaning up 3 a.m. throw up. True love...catching each other when we fall and lifting each other back up again. It's so easy to see everyone's highlight reels these days with social media. You see the perfect, grand, splendor of each other's lives. The "perfect" couple with the "perfect" life. But I believe anyone would say ...marriage is hard. Raising kids is hard. Life is hard. It's a journey that hopefully you grow in. It's a commitment. We've seen our highs and we've seen our lows and often times those valleys have strengthened our marriage beyond belief and made us just a little bit tougher but more in love than ever. Things that you wish you didn't have to go through but look back and see God was working. His hand was there bringing you closer together. But one thing that has really hit home with me here lately is how precious our time is. To think that 20 years has flown by is crazy...that we have four boys and our oldest is 16! I pray I never take our time for granted. That I never go a day without letting you know how much I love you. That a day will not go by that I don't thank God for you. You work so hard for your family. Always putting us first. You do whatever you can to make sure I can be here for these boys. You go the extra mile in everything to make sure it's done right. True Love! We don't know how long we will walk this earth but I pray that the days I am here that I'm walking with you. That the moments we share will be forever cherished. You are my True Love. The "things" of this world are just "things" ...True Love, respect, commitment, marriage, family...those things cannot be bought. I love you David! May God bless your hands that work so hard. May God bless you with peace and trust to know that he has this. Our job is to simply trust! There is no way to put a price on what we have. We may not be rich in money and things but My Jesus has blessed me well beyond what I deserve. He's given me you and our boys...for that I am so grateful...no gold or silver or amount of money could ever compare! ❤

Everlasting promises...

Sorrow..Brokenness..No words..Just pure shattered hearts. Losing someone is one of the hardest things you will encounter. The human flesh cries out in despair. No words are sufficient. Nothing takes the pain away. The loss. The ending of a life. I can't imagine the pain some around us are feeling at this time. Even when you know your loved one is in Christ's arms it's the suddenness that shatters you. What if? I should have....I could have. If only...things we don't understand this side of heaven. Why one gets cancer, why another suffers, one is hurting silently, tragic accidents occur. Hearts are breaking and lives are forever changed. When your only assurance is in the Creator who made all things and knows all things. One can only pray that the pain endured can further His kingdom in some way. Jesus wrap your arms around them. Hold them. Love them. Keep them close Jesus. Do not let them fall away from you. Let them see you clearly in the days ahead. Let them rest in your embrace and your everlasting promises. You never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus we plead you intercede with peace and comfort. When there are no words dear God there is you. A Savior who bled and died so this broken flesh may live.

Endure...

I'm feeling burdened. I don't exactly know why but I feel a weight. Maybe it comes from the day to day junk going on...I don't know. Do you ever have that feeling? When you just want to crawl back in your four walls and pretend the outside world doesn't exist. Pretend like everything is perfect and blissful. But it just isn't so. You know the verse...“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

1 Corinthians‬ ‭10:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So much truth in this but also a truth that goes misunderstood or overlooked...."God will not give me more than I can handle"....as long as I truly know Him. All this "stuff" this "junk" this overwhelming sense of dread and the heavy burdens can only be managed...can only be tolerable...with Christ by your side. Life is not always grand and great. If it wasn't for my Savior and my daily asking for grace, mercy and forgiveness how would I ever make it through? When I can't see an end in site or when the world is just too heavy to bear...this world is not my home. We are in a season of great hatred in this world. When my naive self wants to live in harmony but the rest of the world is ready to spread hate and discouragement in every direction. Let me just say I am so thankful my God is a forgiving God. That he doesn't hold my past against me. That the words, actions and deeds of my past are gone through His forgiveness. Thank you Jesus I am not who I was 10, 15, 20 years ago. That he forgives me daily for the sinner that I am. I am owed nothing and deserve nothing in this life. This life...this hard place to bear...this burdened life...this overwhelming dread...isn't my end. There will be no end when I enter the kingdom of God. The world as I will know it then will be perfect. Bodies will be made new and whole and these burdens will no longer be. I can only tolerate the burdens of here and now with my Jesus. 

Decrease so I may increase...you've heard it before. The verse in John “He must become greater; I must become less.””

John‬ ‭3:30‬ 

What does that really mean. To be less. To be more. To be this or be that. To say this or to say that. Sometimes it means to do nothing. So many times we want to say something in our belief to be right. We want to lash back at some comment or post and say "what planet are you living on because I don't think it's Earth" ...but this decrease so I may increase may just mean to hold your tongue in anger and abide by Grace. To pray for matters and individuals at hand. To become less self-righteous "for the cause" and maybe take a deeper look at scripture. My God is a big God. A God who knows every thread of time from beginning to end. He knows the days of suffering as well as the days of joy. Will you put your faith in Him or this world?