Indeed!

He is risen!!  He is risen indeed!  

Praise be to the Father for the wonderful gift of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross so that we would be saved.  Thank you Lord for Your redeeming power and for Your love for ALL of us (Believers and none believers alike)!  Jesus, You still move stones!  Thank You for the stones you have helped me to move out of my life and heart.  Thank You for willingly bearing my sin and shame on Calvary's hill so that I can have life and have it more abundantly!  Your love for me is something that I will never be able to completely wrap my head around, but I thank You that You are willing to wrap Your arms around me anyway.

Memory Verse #8

Love the truth of this verse.....hang in there until the end and there is a promise in store for me!  How cool is that?!

James 1:12 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

25 Years and Counting

Writing in red today, since it is the color of love.  Tomorrow marks 25 years of being married for Dale and I.  While our life has at times challenged us and stretched us, we are so thankful for one another.  Remember those old cartoons of the couple that always started out with, "Love is...."?  Well, here are some that I have found to be true:


Love is.....
~you, me and the Lord working together on this thing called marriage
~caring with all we have and are
~giving to one another without expecting anything in return
~loving the way you would like to be loved
~never going to bed mad at one another
~never waking up mad at one another
~when a warm leg is a sure cure for a cold foot
~laughing so hard that we both cry, then laughing again, then cry and laugh again
~knowing that no matter what, you are there for me
~making dinner for me when I work a long day
~found in the little things (making the bed, a love note, a smile)
~looking across the room, seeing him, and falling in love all over again
~never having to hear my husband call me a name or raise his voice to me
~loving me the way that God loves the church
~when I feel better after talking on the phone with him
~when he brings me a warm towel from the dryer after my shower
~jump starting my car AGAIN after I have left the lights on
~helping me get gas for my car after I have forgotten AGAIN to fill my tank
~changing the baby when I am just too tired
~telling me I am beautiful when I am sick
~a smile from a distance that I know is saying, "Love you Hun!"
~the special way he squeezes my hand in church to say that he loves me
~singing me a special "honey" song when I am sad
~knowing when to just stay quiet and hug me instead of talk to me
~being the one to change his outfit when we accidentally dress alike
~listening to the whole story that I have to tell
~the way you redirect my heart to what God is focused on in the situation
~the way you remind me that God is in control...and He doesn't really need my help
~the way you smiled at me and said "It's a boy!"
~the way you smiled at me and said, "It's a girl!"
~helping me wash my hair when I was too sick with a migraine to do it myself
~an apology from the heart
~a simple "thank you" when I do something for you
~how he picked out my wedding ring after measuring my finger with a straw paper at lunch
~always respectful, always forgiving and always undeserved
~being in a huge crowd and I am the only one he sees
~dancing together
~going on a Sunday drive just to spend more time with me
~telling me on my birthday each year that I am more beautiful than I was last year
~knowing that I am the last person he wants to see when he goes to bed
~knowing that I am the first person he wants to see in the morning
~taking his t-shirt for a PJ to a ladies retreat so he is still with me when I go to bed
~teaching our kids to drive because you know that I get too nervous
~gazing at the stars while holding hands
~letting me have the first S'more when we go camping
~letting me cry on your shoulder until your shirt is totally drenched...then offering me your other shoulder
~sharing your bowl of ice cream with me
~putting up with me for 25 years without a complaint (seriously)
~holding me through my darkest nights 
~holding on to Jesus when I don't have the strength
~holding your tongue when I should have done the same
~putting God first in our marriage
~when you love me so much that others are always telling me "You know, your husband really loves you!"


There are so many other things I could add....but you get the picture.  God is so faithful and I am so thankful for the blessings He has given us over these past 25 years.  God has allowed me to have Dale as my 'benefit" for all of these years.  While the Lord is the Lover of my soul, I am so thankful that He is the Lover of Dale's as well.  Grateful for the blessings He has bestowed upon our lives and our marriage.  May He grant us many more years of love for one another and a mutual love for Him!

1 Corinthians 1-13

1If I speak in the tongues^a of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^b but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Memory Verse #7

^{Romans 8: 28} And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. ³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Man oh man do I ever need this one right now!

The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.  Zephaniah 3:17 NIV
One word: YES! 

These words have been rolling around in my heart ever since I heard them.  How many times have I been guilty of praying for relief rather than seeking Him for the strength and willingness to see beyond the struggle to the lesson that lies within it.  Hope these words encourage you today.  The link is to Laura Story's site.  It is an audio link to the song.

http://www.laurastorymusic.com/


BLESSINGS
We pray for blessings 
We pray for peace 
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep 
We pray for healing, for prosperity 
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering 
All the while, You hear each spoken need 
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things 

(Chorus)
'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops 
What if Your healing comes through tears 
What if the thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near 
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise 

We pray for wisdom 
Your voice to hear 
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near 
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love 
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough 
All the while, You hear each desperate plea 
As long as we have faith to believe 

Chorus

When friends betray us 
When darkness seems to win 
We know the pain reminds this heart 
That this is not, this is not our home 

Chorus

What if my greatest disappointments 
Or the aching of this life 
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy 
What if trials of this life 
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights 
Are your mercies in disguise

March 1st Memory Verse

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."


Fear, wisdom, knowledge and understanding.  This should be fun!