... the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ in every place...
Yes. Yes we do!
Happy Tuesday, everyone… If you’ve consumed a little too much chocolate over the last few days and are having a hard time getting today started, you may be severely in need of more coffee right now. So grab a fresh cup, and watch this little minute and a half video. I promise – it will bring a smile to your face. š
Thanks to Diane Stevens for sending it to me.
Have a great day!!! š
(I shared this story yesterday during our church’s Upward Basketball’s halftime devotion, and thought I’d share it with you too… Happy Valentines’ Day, my friends. With love… Jennifer)
It was 34 years ago today that I received my first big Valentine from a young man. We were in the 2nd grade. I was at church, sitting in my Sunday night class when this friend-boy of mine kept running back and forth in front of the door.
All of a sudden, he slid a paper bag into the room and it landed under my chair. He then ran off like lightening had hit him. : -) When I opened the bag, there was a beautiful red heart-shaped box of candy. His sister happened to be in my class, and she quickly leaned over and informed me that I better enjoy it ā because it cost a lot of money. š
That young man and I grew up to be dear friends. When one of us was in need of a date to an event, we helped each other out, even through college. Throughout my growing up years, I always wondered if he would end up being my ātrue loveā.
Like every little girl, I dreamed of a life of love, and romance, and marriage. I had my wedding planned down to the details by the time I was 9 or 10. I even knew what colored [ruffled] tuxedo shirts the groomsmen were going to wear… and praise God, they were WAY out of style by the time I married! š
The wedding was planned, but I had a hard time finding my āone true loveā. My first valentine wasnāt it. None of the guys I dated were āitā. I went to college just SURE Iād find my husband thereā¦ I wanted to graduate with a teaching degree AND a MRS. Degree. But he wasnāt there… so I just settled for the Teaching degree…
I started teaching elementary school in Memphis, and attended a large church. Within the hundreds of singles there, I was just sure Iād find my ātrue loveā. But I didnāt. I had great friends, but on the inside, I was frustrated, disappointed, and lonely.
One day I was standing in my one-bedroom apartment and it hit meā¦ I had been reading in the Bible about how God loved me, and has the BEST plans for my life. I had lots of plans for my life that werenāt working out so well. But God promises that His plans for our lives are for our good (Romans 8:28) and they are to prosper us and not to harm us ā to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).
I looked around that little apartment and told the Lord that I was done looking for a husband. I accepted the fact that He loved me and that He had good things in store for my life. Then I told Him that if He wanted me to live in this one-bedroom as a single school teacher for the rest of my life, I was OK with that. I asked Him if He would be my āhusbandā. (The Bible tells us that He is the Husband to the husbandlessā¦ and thatās what I was.) I told Him that I would join my life to His in every way, and trust Him to fill me and complete me instead of waiting for a man to make me complete.
I started studying my Bible in a deeper way, and prayed for God to give me a passion for Him and for His Word. And He did. As I sought Him through Bible study and prayer, He changed me. He filled me. He made me complete.
And for the first time in my life, I knew that if He never gave me an earthly ātrue loveā it was OK, because HE was the ONE and ONLY true love that could fill every hole I had in my life and heart.
Eventually God did bring me a wonderful man who is my earthly ātrue loveā. His name is James, and weāve been married 17 Ā½ years. I love my life with James, but as wonderful as he is, he is not equipped to fill my every longing in my life. Only Jesus can do that.
Only in turning to Jesus and seeking Him to be the need-meeter in my life did I find āTrue Loveā.
God loves us so much. He loves those who know and love Him. AND He loves those of us who never give Him a second thought or glance. He doesnāt love like a human loves ā conditional on how we make them feel. He loved us before we even knew Him. His love is real and everlasting, giving, and self Sacrificing.
John 3:16-17 from The Message tells us:
“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted;”
If you feel like you are perishing right now ā and longing to be truly loved, I challenge you to do what I didā¦ Make God your goal ā and turn to Him to fill you. Stop trying to make someone else complete you ā because they never can. Decide to give yourself completely to the Lord. Seek Him through reading His Word and praying and living your life to please Him, and I promiseā¦ Whether you are a man, woman, boy, or girl, You will finally feel fulfilled and loved. He is Our Divine Valentine.
Jeremiah 29:13 says āIf you seek me you will find me when you search for me with all your heart.ā
This Valentines Day, whether you have an āearthly true loveā in your life or notā¦ You have someone who loves you unconditionally, and who is waiting to be all youāve been looking for. He will forever and always be your Divine Valentine. All you have to do is ask.
A Valentine may play a love song for you, but God sings you the sweetest love song in the universe.
The Lord your Godā¦will rejoice over you with gladness. He will keep you quiet with his love. He will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
A Valentine may give you flowers, but God sent you the most beautiful rose of all, Jesus.
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. Song of Solomon 2:1
A Valentine may take you out to dinner, but God has invited you to the most amazing feast ever given.
Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! Revelation 19:9
A Valentine may bring you chocolate, but God provides you with something even sweeter, His Word.
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth . Psalms 119:103
A Valentine may be far away, but God is always with you.
I am with you always. Matthew 28:20
A Valentine may give you something, but God has given you everything.
God gives us richly all things to enjoy. 1 Timothy 6:17
A Valentine may love you for a lifetime, but God loved you before you were born and will love you for all eternity.
Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting loveā¦with loving-kindness I have drawn you. Jeremiah 31:3
My prayer for all of us is that we each spend time at the feet of Jesus, and soak in His Words, so that we can feel how very loved we are by the Lord and by those around us.
If this is a hard day for you, please know that I’ve prayed for you about that, too. You are precious to me. If I can pray for you in any way, please let me know. š
Dear friends, you are so loved!
A Valentine may play a love song for you, but God sings you the sweetest love song in the universe.
The Lord your Godā¦will rejoice over you with gladness. He will keep you quiet with his love. He will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
A Valentine may give you flowers, but God sent you the most beautiful rose of all, Jesus.
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. Song of Solomon 2:1
A Valentine may take you out to dinner, but God has invited you to the most amazing feast ever given.
Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb! Revelation 19:9
A Valentine may bring you chocolate, but God provides you with something even sweeter, His Word.
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth . Psalms 119:103
A Valentine may be far away, but God is always with you.
I am with you always. Matthew 28:20
A Valentine may give you something, but God has given you everything.
God gives us richly all things to enjoy. 1 Timothy 6:17
A Valentine may love you for a lifetime, but God loved you before you were born and will love you for all eternity.
Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting loveā¦with loving-kindness I have drawn you. Jeremiah 31:3
My prayer for all of us is that we each spend time at the feet of Jesus, and soak in His Words, so that we can feel how very loved we are by the Lord and by those around us.
If this is a hard day for you, please know that I’ve prayed for you about that, too. You are precious to me. If I can pray for you in any way, please let me know. š
Need a great teacher gift to throw together by Friday for a Valentines Day treat? Here are two of my favorites… Amy’s Valentine Mix and Friendship Tea.
Amy’s Valentine Mix (Remember Frappuccino Fun with Amy? She made this last year and it was a hit!)
Amy’s Valentine Mix
Sam’s Choice brand Indulgent Mix (from Wal Mart)
pink colored M&Ms
pink candy corns
That’s it! Mix and enjoy. š
Pint or half pint jars of this mix tied with a pink or red ribbon would make a perfect teacher gift or friend gift. Like all of Amy’s ideas, the possibilities are unlimited.
And… while we’re talking about pint or half pint jars filled with Valentine goodies, here’s a recipe for a delicious hot tea that I make and give on Valentines Day, Christmas, or any other occasion lending itself to a cute jar of hot tea.
Friendship Tea
Ingredients:
2 Ā½ cups Tang
Ā½ cup instant tea
1 Ā¼ tsp cinnamon
Ā½ tsp cloves
Ā½ cup lemonade mix
Ā½ (or more) cups red hots
1 Ā½ cups white sugar
3 oz. apricot jello
Mix and store in airtight container. To make tea: Use three spoon fulls in a cup of hot water.
If I could, I’d give each of you a jar of Friendship Tea! You’ve been such sweet friends to me – and I’m so thankful for the friendship we share through blogging. May our Lord bless you and keep you, dear friends… and make His beautiful face to shine upon you and through you this week.
Sending love to you all… Jennifer
Picture of the spiced tea is from Good Housekeeping… I think it is Reece Witherspoon’s. š
I was in the middle of studying a daily lesson in Beth Moore’s Esther when a paragraph caused me to detour for the day… And what a powerful Word from the Lord He gave me! I typed out my notes, burned these truths in my mind, and have put them into practice. Panic-savers Lifesavers, I tell you! If you need a few panic-saving life-saving keys, here they are.
“The enemy is trying to get back at God by attacking us. Because Satan has a limited leash where believers are concerned, his most powerful tactics are psychological. Though he canāt possess our minds, he profoundly and destructively influences our thoughts.ā Beth Moore, Esther, week 3, day 3.
I have found this to be very true for me. More than any other stage of my life thus far, I have consistently fought the battle between faith and sight, hope and fear. (Some days Iāve won, and some days I havenāt.)
As the calendar ticks by and we remain without employment (and have no inkling of an idea of where or what our future will hold) faith verses sight, and hope verses fear. As I watch our children grow and mature, and I begin that process of thinking about releasing them, faith verses sight and hope verses fear. Sometimes, Iāll be doing nothing but driving or riding down the road and notice another vehicle, and faith verses sight and hope verses fear.
If Iām not careful, my mind will work up any number of disastrous scenarios that will be so life-like, Iāll end up actually crying just thinking about it. This SHOULD NOT BE! I donāt have to be this way. None of us do.
The Lord has shown me that He has given us the keys to release the handcuffs and chains of sight and fear so that we can fully live in faith and hope. And Iād like to pass those keys along to you.
Our enemy would have us focus on fear, vain imaginations, foolish reasonings, and stupid speculations ā which he knows will tie us up in knots and entrap us.
āThrow aside every encumbrance
(unnecessary weight and that sin
which so readily, deftly, and cleverly clings to and entangles usā¦
looking away from all that will distract to Jesus,
who is the Leader and Source of our faithā¦ and is also its Finisher.ā
From these verses, we can find the keys to unlock the entanglement of our minds:
1. Honor and Glorify God ā make an immediate choice to honor Him with your thoughts. Start calling out names of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. If you canāt think of any of those at the moment, just simply say āJesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesusā¦ā until His beautiful name and presence starts to overpower the thoughts of sight and fear.
2. Give God thanks ā start thanking God for His love, His protection, His provision, His promises, His Wordā¦
3. Throw aside the weight of those sensless thoughts – those vain imaginations, foolish reasonings and stupid speculations. This requires some action and choice on your part. Absolutely REFUSE to let them darken your mind.
4. Look to Jesus ā determine to keep your mind and thoughts focused on Him. When you do this, Hebrews 12:2 tells us that He will actually finish and complete FOR YOU the faith you lack in the battle of your minds and thoughts.
Abraham is a beautiful example to me of hope and faith. Romans 4:18-21 tells us how he kept faith and hope in God all of those yearsā¦especially when the promise of God became physically, humanly impossible to fulfill. I want this to be my testimony, too!
We can be empowered by faith as we give praise and glory to God, throw aside the dark thoughts of sight and fear, and look to Jesus ā who is fully ABLE and MIGHTY to keep His Word and do what He has promised.
Thatās what I want to do. How about you? Iām holding on to the keys that will release me from the next lock-up the enemy has planned. In fact, in my mind, they are on a beautiful silver Brighton Key ring. Who says that spiritual power and a little āblingā canāt go together? š
āAnd let us rejoice and exalt in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.ā Romans 5:2b
āO Lord of Hosts, blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts in You [leaning on and believing on You, committing all and confidently looking to You, and that without fear or misgiving.]ā Psalm 84:12 (Amp)
