I will not give up on them, for You never gave up on me...

These thoughts are all a product of my discussions with my roommates today... and it all started out with talking about Hosea.

How awesome is it that God chose to use what is tangible to us, like the relationship of Hosea and his wife, and make his relationship with us more real?

Have you ever thought about what it would be like if God came to you and asked you to marry a woman that you knew would betray you, be adulterous, and turn away and then told you to love her?
That this would be a symbol of His relationship with and love for His people?

And how many times have we been guilty of giving up... giving up on the lost, our families, our friends... or even just forgetting that they are not forever lost?

Whether or not you received salvation at a young age, or spent years apart from Him; His grace is the same. He still forgives us of each and every sin, and that in itself is the beauty of salvation. The way He constantly persists, pursues...He will not leave the one behind... The way that He constantly intercedes and searches for just one to "stand in the gap" shows how much He cares. He will never give up on you.

Everything, you are to me.

How do I describe who and what You are to me?

When I think about how truly beautiful You are 

my heart skips for joy.

You are the joy radiating from my smile,

the very rays of the sun,

Light of the world, 

You are

that blanket holding me secure,

an overwhelming peace,

the wind gently brushing my face,

Prince of Peace,

You are

the constant beat of my heart

every breath that I take

the living water that sustains

Life,

You are

the best medicine that I could ever take,

the only One who has the power to restore,

Healer,

You are

an ocean of grace

my hiding place

Rock and Fortress

You are

the most precious gift I could have ever received

a noble, humble, and most righteous king,

Lord of Lords,

You are

the rarest gem, more precious than silver and gold,

worthy of highest praise

indescribable, unfathomable, set apart,

Holy,

You are

the cool air that embraces me on an autumn day,

the fire that stirs within my heart,

my Love,

You are

the only one in the room that I see.

They are no more...

I was driving on a long trip yesterday, when I started to hear a song and it got stuck in my head. Now, usually this would be like getting any old song stuck in your head, but instead this was one of those times when it was just one line that would replay. That was not even the interesting part of the story.

The other day I had one of those days where my past would not leave me alone. My sins played on repeat.  I understood that God forgave me, but I couldn't understand why He would. I was just like those people in Corinth living a double life. Yet, I didn't understand why God chose to show me such grace. Why was I living the blessed life that I was now?

Then, as I drove down the stretching highway, I began to listen to the song playing in my mind. "Your sins are forgotten, they're on the bottom of the ocean floor... "
"God, is this for me?"
"Your sins are erased, they are no more, they're there on the ocean floor." And suddenly, I felt his love sweep over me. Covered by a "mighty wave", those things have been forgotten about. It was all because of a man named Jesus. Now I may dance in this freedom, floating free among waves of mercy and grace; no longer anchored to those things sitting at the bottom of the ocean floor.

There is a God who loves you.

I don't care who you are, you need to know this: there is a God who loves you. Please also know this always: you are special, irreplaceable, and beautiful. You may know that He loves you, but do you know what that means? There is a God that is jealous for you. Someone that knows everything about you, that wants to be with you every waking moment, every second of every day. Every time that you say something that brings yourself down, every time the thought that you're not good enough crosses your mind, it hurts Him more than it hurts you. He created you. He wants to carry you and be with you through it all. He desperately calls out to you hoping that you will bring your worries to Him. I pray that you will truly know how high, how deep, how wide the extravagant love of Christ is. It is a love, a joy, that will never leave you, one that you just can't explain. Certainly, nothing can separate, with a love this strong; love that conquered sin and death. He looks at you and sees something beautiful, not the person that you can't stand, but the person you've always been. He sees the best in you, because love keeps no record of wrongs. His love for you is strong. Please, never believe the lies that no one cares for you, that no one is there, that life is not worth holding on to; because THERE IS someone who will always be there. Sweeter and more precious than your closest friend, Jesus, our love and Savior is waiting. Don't give up, there is hope. He fights for you, pursues you and won't back down. He loves you. 

Poured out in an overflow...

 It has been said that the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. The things that He has done in our lives cannot be explained. There are not enough words to describe His greatness.

My hope is that my life will speak for itself.

You cannot look at me and tell me that you don't see his very fingerprint on me. I am no longer afraid, no longer paranoid and no longer in the hospital. I am no longer confused, no longer insecure... no longer the same.

Like the believers in Acts, I am no "super-Christian"... I cannot do it on my own... yet I speak out of the overflow of Jesus in my life.

His love is beautiful.

Love.

How do you describe it?

It will make you do crazy things.

Countless hours on the phone.

Nights spent lying awake, dreaming.

So many hours spent planning out a future that may never exist.

Though you both just met, there is so much certainty that this one is the one.

You're caught up in emotions, can't see past that smile. You keep dreaming 'til that's all that you can see, a flawless smile.

Yeah, love will make you do crazy things.

Somewhere out there, there is someone who is thinking of you.

Every time He looks at you, He is filled with joy.

His thoughts of you are too numerous, and marvelous to compare.

He will comfort you through every struggle and the further you run, the more He runs for you.

He outruns you, and He will find you, because He never gives up.

Unrelenting, His love never fails.

And they say love makes you do crazy things,

but have you ever known a love more great than this...

As crazy as it sounds,

He came as a lowly babe,

Lived a life complete with temptation and trials,

Knew that He would at some point bear it all,

Yet took each infliction with humbleness, bowing His head in silence

Held His hands open as they placed in them the nails that bore into the cross

And there He was, arms open wide, as if to embrace

You, His love, and those that He still could never hate.

"Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Love will make you do crazy things.

It can overtake,

Come and erase,

Everything you have ever done wrong

By the greatest gift ever known, found in His grace.

Hosea 2:19-20