Jesus' Love

At thrift stores, I splurge on books. I feel like I find little treasures that no one else wants so I delight in my findings.

Yesterday I found a book that I had seen a long time ago at Barnes & Noble called Redeeming Love. What caught my attention when I first saw it was simply the beautiful red, old-fashioned dress that you'd wear in the 1800s on the front cover. The title had LOVE on it so I was totally considering it (and because it was stocked in the Christianity section). For some reason I didn't buy it... maybe because I was broke at the time ha ha. Or maybe because it's more of an adult read.

Well, I found it at Goodwill & totally bought it.

It might be odd to hear this, but one of my favorite books of the Bible is Hosea. I've heard people dog on that book because of how hard of a life Hosea had in obeying the Lord. It definitely is an extreme life, Hosea making a harlot his wife, but what sticks out to me is how Jesus chose the lowest of the low to make His own. He chose the most repulsive to approach when He walked this earth. And He chose to DIE and take the place of the most wretched. With His actions he said, "I love you." And with His actions He said, "What's Mine is yours and what's yours is Mine."

What does this have to do with the book you bought, you might be asking.

Well, Redeeming Love is a novel retelling Hosea's story so-to-speak. It's set in the 1850s. The protagonist is a girl who harbors hate within her & is a harlot. Her life was pain after pain, she was abandoned & she believed lies that she swallowed when she was just a child. She gave up on the Lord because of how bad her life was. Until Michael Hosea (hint hint), a man seeking to please the Lord, hears from the Lord that he is to marry her. Michael does everything in his power to pursue the girl and love her unconditionally until she stops running from him, & from the Lord.

I've been reading it & it has definitely been a heart-wrenching, sad & even repulsive story because of how the girl's childhood story unfolds. However, right now I'm in the part where Michael is introduced, he's sure he heard from the Lord already, but questions the Lord because of her identity.

Coincidently (or maybe not), skimming through blogs, I found a song by Misty Edwards that made me weep. Unveiling the Lord's love, it made me realize, with a poetic touch, how grand the love of Christ is.

You might think the following spontaneous song is pretty weird (I did at first) but listen to it all the way through. I listened to it while I was by myself & had to close my eyes to imagine the story.

"What's Mine is yours, and what's yours is Mine."

Grateful

Much has happened since I last wrote...
    Souls were saved (Pure Rebellion)
    The heavens rejoicing
    Friendships shaken yet restored & strengthened (I love you bonita)
    Forgiveness
    Tears, smiles, song, prayer, laughter, dance
    Preaching the Gospel
    Departing & reuniting with my family
    Being thankful
    Being exhausted
    Being sick..................................................

And through it all, the one thing the Lord has wanted me to learn is to be thankful.
He led me to read Psalm 50 last night & this morning. In it, He is stern, blunt, true, merciful, loving & guiding. He told me I should be thankful; and if in the midst of my gratitude I need His help, I can just call out to Him and He will rescue me. He wants honor... & oh how I desire with my life to honor Him. And so I shall.

"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me." Phil 3:12

Lead me gently home

What is the purpose of everything that happens to us in this life?
For the Lord's name to be glorified. Simple as that. (Yes, that really is, or should be, the goal of this life.)

Every single thing that we go through, if we are living our lives out in recurring attempts to please the Lord, leads us towards the ultimate place we'll be: HOME, in the heavens with our Beloved. (I won't apologize for sounding lovey-dovey... I'm in loooove with Jesus.)

This is the reason I decided to change the name (and URL) of my former Tangible Thoughts blog. Everything that happens in my life must lead to my home, being with my Savior in eternal bliss and satisfied longing. Therefore, with everything that I write, I will attempt to gear it towards the eternal perspective, hone it to an eternal mindset. To tell you the truth, I don't know how else I will be able to survive this life & I cannot fathom how some people even try to live without the hope of what awaits those who love the Lord.

So I pray to the Lord, "Lead me gently home."

The Paradoxical Christian

What if, in light of disastrous news, we would rejoice instead of mourn?

Hear me out for a few.

What if you receive a not-so-nice & unexpected news? What if you'd get glad instead?
What if you intentionally celebrated the bad news, because the Lord is still with you?

"What faith!" I'd respond.

Our immediate reaction to un-great news is to crash or to become sad, "I didn't expect this Lord." (And this coming from a very emotional girl who's pretty sensitive to any news.)

Last night mom came through the door with tears.
Work has been incredibly challenging for her & it even seems to me like bullying... yes within adults.
They gave mom her "permanent" schedule for a whole year & she will be closing on her every shift... which pretty much takes any time away from being with family (she'll be arriving home late) & even any chance of going to church. Supposedly, since she's new, everyone else had first pick on the hours they wanted and she got the leftovers... aka the worst hours that no one wanted.

My dad's reaction was like a lion 

...trying to protect his tribe &, while trying to reason through solutions for my mother's sadness & seeking justice, even resorting to the "Ooooh-if-I-would've-been-there," scenario.
Me? I was already planning on writing a letter to the manager or going in to try to speak to someone.

When emotions had subsided, we really began thinking in the spirit. Mom was the first one that resorted to prayer. Humbling.
Then dad remembered something that the family used to do in the past, when I was younger. He said that whenever we received bad news, we would intentionally go out & celebrate. We would go out to eat & enjoy the time. Oh how that blatantly thwarts the enemy's plans!! Then the Lord is glorified because He then reminds us that whatever comes our way went through His sifting fingers first. He remains with us.

So that's exactly what we did last night. We went out & celebrated, thanking the Lord.

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" Phil. 4:4

The Silence is Too Loud!

Oy.

There are some moments in my life where everything seems so...so... QUIET.
To the point where not enough is happening & all I can do is just go with it.
I don't really know how to put it into words but it's kind of like each day is passing by and it's just that: another day.
No I'm not depressed or sad... it's just like blah... if that makes any sense.

What do you do when you get here... to this blahness? (Yah this probably's going nowhere but let me splurge a little and try to map it out.) Is this a waiting season? I feel like I know where my life is going right now but I still don't necessarily feel the eagerness. Everything is going pretty well in my life at the moment... is that it? Everything's going too well? MAYBE, this "blahness" and slow, yet well, season is one in which I should just be thankful. I know that the Word calls us to be thankful at all times... but is that why things are so quiet right now? Ah only the Lord knows, I believe.

And there I go again :) returning to the Almighty. Because He knows all & He knows my heart.

I must praise Him because that's why I was made.
So yes, that's the end of this post. Because that's where all my questions & thoughts end up: with Him.