My Wedding Band

For your Maker is your Husband, The LORD of Hosts is His Name; and your Redeemer is The Holy One of Israel; He is called The God of the Whole Earth. ~ Isa. 54:5

This morning I responded to Debbie Greathead's FB post about her daughter, who died years ago.  As I wrote out my comment, I was overshadowed by Holy Spirit in remembering the truly astonishing things God, The LORD of Hosts, has done in my life  If I were to write all the stories out, the book would be so thick that no one would want to read it.  It would be, without a doubt, a "NeverEnding Story". 

Husband and Father are the two of the most significant relationships in a woman's life.  And I have the two rolled into One. 

I wear a covenant ring on my thumb.  Inscribed in Hebrew, it says, "My Beloved is mine, and I am His" from Song of Solomon.  My "wedding band", so to speak.  I have been wearing the ring for many, many years - long before I retired from being a wife.  God has always been my Husband.  But, this morning, Holy Spirit brought such clarity to that fact.

I was overcome with the truth that now that I am a woman doing life solo, I am certainly not alone.  I HAVE a Husband.  The Holy One of Israel walks beside me in this life.  

Since marriage retirement, my emotions over wanting the companionship of a man have been of a boat tossed about on the sea describing double-mindedness as in the Book of James.  I've had so much sea sickness from my fickleness that I've cried out to Abba to show me the truth of my heart's desires, for only He knows the true intents of our hearts.

And this morning, He did just that as I wrote out my comment on her page. I realized that I truly do not want a human man because if I did, my affections and time would have to be divided.   Plus, no man could possibly meet my love needs like My LORD does.  

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for showing the truth of my heart.  Thank You, My Abba, My Husband. Oh, what a blessed woman I am.  I love You! 

Because of Him and Unto Him,

Is Your Flag Flying?

                                                                Joy is the artwork of Yulia Brodskaya

Because of Him and Unto Him,

 

Springtime of My Soul

 Because of Him and Unto Him,

Students in the Schoolroom of Love

Is life not full of opportunities for learning love?  

Every man and woman every day has a thousand of them.  

The world is not a playground; it is a schoolroom.  

Life is not a holiday but an education.  And the one eternal lesson for us all is how better we can love.  

What makes a man a good artist, a good sculptor, a good musician?  Practice.  

What makes a man a good man?  Practice.  

Love is not a thing of enthusiastic emotion.  It is a rich, strong, manly, vigorous expression of the whole Christian character—the Christlike nature in its fullest development.  

And the constituents of this great character are only to be built up by ceaseless practice.

~ Henry Drummond

That is perfectly said by both!

Because of Him and Unto Him,

Our Much, Much More God

Oswald Chambers admonishes us to "keep our eyes on the much more of our Heavenly Father".  

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in Heaven, give good things to those who ask Him!                             ~Jesus Christ as recorded in Matthew 7:11

He truly is The God of much, much more, Who loves to bestow gifts upon us.  He will surprise us as we keep our eyes on Him and not the world or the cares of this world.

For about a year now, I've been praying for the Goodness of our LORD to be seen in and through me as I grow more in the Fruit of His Spirit.  At a luncheon this week, women spoke over me.  One said that she sees the Goodness of The LORD in me - that the fruit of His Spirit is evident in me.  Wow!  Tears started to flow.  Another woman spoke something else that no human could possibly know about me and my intimacy with my Abba.  My socks were blown off! 

Abba bestowed much more unto me through these beautiful women of God. 

Abba loves to surprise us with His declarations of His Heart toward us just as He did over Jesus.  "This is My Beloved Son in Whom I'm well pleased."  He says the same to those who seek Him with all their heart and soul, mind and strength.  

Keep your eyes on the "much more" of our Abba.

Because of Him and Unto Him,

You Are God's Showcase

 

Your distresses are the conduit for God's Lovingkindness to be made known to you

and the showcase of His Love for you.

Because of Him and Unto Him,

Today is More Important Than Yesterday

 A new year has begun.  So has a new day this morning.

Every morn is a do-over day - a second chance day.  A new day to do better, to be better.   A better human that does better things.  Think of what we can accomplish; think of how we can impact those in our sphere of influence.  

As of this morning, I have a do-over from God with this now new day.  And so do you.  Things in our lives we struggle to gain mastery over, God grants us a further 24 hours.  As the sun rises, our Abba hands us a FREE "Do-over Card" in this monopoly game we call life.  And tomorrow will be the same.

Rarely do humans grant second chances to each other.  But God does - to everyone.  Daily. 

But, if you are like me - a habitual procrastinator - we can use these daily opportunities of second chances as an excuse.  Tomorrow, I'll work on getting a handle on that.  Tomorrow, I'll...

I must not slap away God's Hand of Grace that He has appointed for me on this day - today.  Yet, so many times I do because I choose not to deal with what I need to.  

May each of us choose to do and be better today than yesterday.  May you gain mastery over the things you desire to as you rely on The Grace of our Magnificent God.  After all, He - Wisdom - is a Garland of Grace around your head.  (Prov. 4:9)

A blessed new year to you. 

Because of Him and Unto Him,

For This Reason

 

For this reason, we celebrate

For this reason, You humbled Yourself to experience the human plight

For this reason, You were willing

For this reason, sin is forgiven

How can we not love You with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength?

How can we not appreciate all You have done for us?

For this reason, You were given human life

For this reason, we are given Eternal Life

It is only because of Easter that we can celebrate Christmas 

It is only because of Christmas that we have a glorious, celebratory Easter

Happy Birthday, my Saviour and Lord!

Because of You and Unto You, Jesus,

Mind Your Own Business, Diane!

 We, humans, are such busybodies and finger-pointers.  We can hear a very convicting sermon and all the while be thinking, I wish so-and-so could hear this.  We are always "concerned" about someone else.

I love John 21 where Peter challenges Jesus with "What about John?".  Jesus had told Peter to follow Him and his reply was to ask about someone else.  Can you relate?  I certainly can.  I can be very guilty of this same thing.  

AND

We, humans, also tend to think we have the answer for someone else.  We are so quick to offer advice.  

Oswald Chambers, in My Utmost for His Highest, said:  

Possibly you have been interfering in the life of another; proposing things you had no right to propose; advising when you had no right to advise. When you do have to give advice to another, God will advise through you with the direct understanding of His Spirit; your part is to be so rightly related to God that His discernment comes through you all the time for the blessing of another soul.

So convicting.  Gee, I wish so-and-so would read this.  (He-he). I needed to read it this morning.  And Holy Spirit knew.  Last night, I called a friend and offered advice on a decision she had made and texted me about it.  My "counsel" to her was based on the little-known facts I knew about the situation.  After she explained it all to me, I agreed with her decision.

Busybody?  No worse!  According to Oswald, I was playing "amateur providence" in her life.  Oh, Abba, forgive me.

Because of Him and Unto Him,

The Epitome of Grace

Yesterday on a TV show, a young man complained to an older man about his father and asked the older guy about his relationship with his father.  The older gentleman said this: “I love my father for who he is and forgive him for who he is not.”  I paused the show and rewound it a couple of times.  

I wrote it down.  It was so very profound to me.  I never looked at relationships that way before.  Is that not the epitome of Grace?  The epitome of Agape Love?  

On the Cross, Jesus forgave us - for all we are NOT.  Wow!  For each and every little way our flesh gets in our way - the little “foxes” of our own souls that come to steal from the luscious fruit of our branches grafted into Him, The Vine.  He does not just forgive our blatant sins; He forgives us for every fraction of an inch that we fall short of the goodness of God in us. 

May we have the same attitude with each other.  

Because of Him and Unto Him,