I Will Show You Love–From God’s Heart to Yours

A beautiful song, “I Will Show You Love”, by Kendall Payne:

I will show you love like you’ve never loved before
I will go the distance and back for more if you just say the word

You will come alive again and all the trying times you felt,
the pain that you have suffered through, will never get the best of you
You will hope in something real that won’t depend on how you feel
When you call my name then I will answer, answer

I am on your side though the wind and waves beat against your faith
You were on my mind when the world was made
Trust in me my child, Trust in me my child

Walk out on the water where you have no control
So scared to death of failure you sacrifice your soul, please let that go

You have climbed an uphill road, You have worn a heavy load
You have cried through endless nights and nearly given up the fight
Watched your dreams like falling stars the heartaches made you who you are
Now looking back you see that I have always been there

Where you gonna hide? Where you gonna hide from Me?
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go that I can’t see?

I have heard you cry and it breaks my heart for I love you so
I would never lie, this is not the end there is still a hope

You Were Created to be Loved

"Fly Away With Me" series - v1 --By Han Ghazi “Consider our little friend here,” she began (referring to a blue jay that landed on the kitchen windowsill). “Most birds were created to fly. Being grounded for them is a limitation within their ability to fly, not the other way around.” She paused to let Mack think about her statement. “You, on the other hand, were created to be loved. So for you to live as if you were unloved is a limitation, not the other way around.” Mack nodded his head, not so much in full agreement, but more as a signal that at least he understood and was tracking. That seemed simple enough. “Living unloved is like clipping a bird’s wings and removing its ability to fly. Not something I want for you.” There’s the rub. He didn’t feel particularly loved at the moment. “Mack, pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly.” She waited a moment, allowing her words to settle. “And if it’s left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place.” (Conversation between God—“Elouisa”, and Mack) (Excerpted from, “The Shack” –WM. Paul Young. Copyright William P. Young. Used without permission.)

Lonely At Christmas?

“Make the world a little less lonely on Christmas by being there for someone who is alone.” Excerpts below, taken from an article “Looking for Christmas” written by Nyx Martinez for Activated Magazine. …several years ago, Christmas didn’t bring the same good feelings for me. Maybe that was because I was a 20-year-old single girl who was craving a different kind of love that Christmas. I wanted someone to share it with, someone to love. That didn’t happen. Instead, I faced a string of personal problems and a lot of turmoil. I was spending Christmas near the equator, and my heart felt wintry cold. …Then came Christmas Day. Kelly, one of my best, wackiest friends, phoned in tears. She had tried to reconcile with her boyfriend the night before, but was rejected—turned away on Christmas Eve. It was the saddest story I had heard in a long time. I tried to comfort her, but my own disappointed hopes were too strong, it seemed. What could I say? Together, we prayed over the phone, committing to God our hearts’ desires and expectations. As I listened to Kelly thanking God despite her tears, I felt ashamed of my selfishness. Maybe true Christmas love was there all along, and I just hadn’t noticed. Had I missed it? I had been looking for happiness in a person—someone to fill my need for love. But instead, I had found so many also looking for something real—they were the lonely, the poor in spirit, the outcast, the forgotten, the dejected. It dawned on me: That’s what God’s love is really for, isn’t it? It loves the unlovely, enters a world of disappointment, and brings hope. That December taught me that the spirit of Christmas is alive for everyone, and those who don’t see it are people like me who look in all the wrong places. Yet some folks look in the right places, with open hearts, and they do find that treasure. Joseph and Mary were looking for a decent inn; they found an animal stable. The Wise Men were looking for a king’s royal palace; they found a carpenter’s simple abode. The angels were looking for people to spread the glad tidings of the newborn Savior; they found humble shepherds. God was looking for someone to bring heaven’s love to, and He looked in the right place. He found you. I hope that this time, we will also look in the right place and find those to bring His love to. I hope that each year we will all find Christmas. © 2009 Aurora Production AG www.auroraproduction.com All Rights Reserved Other Article of Interest: Loneliness spreads in social networks

Take It, Open It, Welcome It, Claim it…

Happypizza: In spite of the shadows that have fallen across the world in the past year–be they economic, political, social or even personal–I wish that you will experience the true spirit of Christmas this year–  The spirit of joy, that lives within us no matter what the circumstances or obstacles;  The spirit of giving, seeing the need of others and responding to the best of our ability; The spirit of peace, true peace that lives in our hearts and helps us meet the storms of life with calmness, knowing that God is in control; The spirit of love, sincere love that sees each of those we come in contact with as someone who is worthy to be cared for, and the spirit and Gift of Christmas which God gave to the world through Jesus–the true reason for Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all and Happy Birthday Jesus!

Note: Below is an excerpt of a Christmas greeting written by an Italian painter/monk named Fra Angelico. I think the message is as comforting and applicable for this Christmas  as I’m sure it was hundreds of years ago.

Take it…it’s yours:

“There is nothing I can give you which you have not already; but there is much, very much, which, though I cannot give it, you can take. No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest in today. Take heaven: No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in this precious little instant. Take peace:

“The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. There is radiance and courage in the darkness could we but see it; and to see, we have only to look. Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its gifts by their coverings, cast them away as ugly or heavy or hard. Remove the covering, and you will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of love, and wisdom, and power. Welcome it, greet it, and you touch the angel’s hand that brings it.

“Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, a duty, believe me, that angel’s hand is there, the gift is there, and the wonder of an overshadowing Presence. Our joys, too, be not content with them as joys. They, too, conceal diviner gifts. Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of beauty beneath its covering, that you will find earth but cloaks your heaven. Courage, then, to claim it, that is all! But courage you have, and the knowledge that we are pilgrims wending through unknown country our way home.

“And so, at this Christmas time, I greet you, not quite as the world sends greeting, but with profound esteem and with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day will break, and the shadow will flee away.”

—Giovanni da Fielsole (Fra Angelico) 1387-1455

Merry Christmas

Jesus’ gift of Christmas–read more…

Quotables…..

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Rock Bottom:

• God’s love hangs on even when we let go.

• When you hit bottom, that’s when you can start on your way up, with God’s help.

• Failure, like the darkness of night, may slow me down. But the dawn will come, the sun will shine again, and I will be on my way.

• As sure as the sun rises, God’s love will always be there for you.

• What looks like the end of the road is more often just a bend in the road.

• When we know that God loves us, we know that everything is going to be okay.

• If you can look beyond your problems, you will see that those dark spots are merely the shadows of bigger and better things to come.

• Failure cannot defeat the man who will try again.

• The sun rises every day, and every night the stars shine.

• It is in coming to the end of our own strength, accepting that we have weaknesses, and admitting that we need God’s help, that we find our full potential.

• If we never experienced failure, we would never appreciate success.
  

• At the bottom, there are only two possibilities: either you stay there and die, or you fight and slowly lift yourself out of the hole.

• The purpose of our existence is not to make a living, but to make a life.

• Setbacks aren’t losses, they’re opportunities–vacant lots on which to build new dreams.

• No matter how low they take you today’s mistakes can’t keep you from trying again tomorrow.

• Just as the crushing of a rose brings out it’s sweet perfume, so the difficulties of life release the sweetness within us. If we let them, they can bring out qualities such as love for others, tenderness, compassion, humility, and closeness to loved ones.

• More…

That’s Bad, That’s good

…One day a man bought a stallion, and all of his friends said, “That’s good.” The next day the stallion ran away, and all of his friends said, “That’s bad.” Two weeks later the stallion returned with a herd of mares. His friends said, “That’s good.” The next day his son broke his shoulder when the stallion threw him off. The friends said, “That’s bad.” The next month war broke out. Because the boy was injured, he could not go to war. The friends said, “That’s good.”
-Dan Millman

̒̒̒̒ ̒ all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ̓̓ ̓̓

Romans 8:28(NKJV)

Because God Loves Me

Happypizza: Here is a nice one! I came across this text in a book by Norman Wright called “Answer to Depression”. I thought this little segment was very encouraging.  It’s nice to be reminded that God is often not as hard on us as we are sometimes.
Cheers!

Yeah, even you... 😛

Because God loves me He is slow to lose patience with me.

Because God loves me He takes the circumstances of my life and uses them in a constructive way for my growth.

Because God loves me He has no need to impress me with how great and powerful He is because He is God, nor does He belittle me as His child in order to show me how important He is.

Because God loves me He is for me. He wants to see me mature and develop in His love.

Because God loves me He does not send down His wrath on every little mistake I make, of which there are many.

Because God loves me, He does not keep score of all my sins and then beat me over the head with them whenever He gets the chance.

Because God loves me He is deeply grieved when I do not walk in the ways that please Him because He sees this as evidence that I don’t trust Him and love Him as I should.

Because God loves me He rejoices when I experience His power and strength and stand up under the pressures of life for His Name’s sake.

Because God loves me He keeps on working patiently with me even when I feel like giving up and can’t see why He doesn’t give up with me, too.

Because God loves me He keeps on trusting me when at times I don’t even trust myself.

Because God loves me He never says there is no hope for me; rather, He patiently works with me, loves me and disciplines me in such a way that it is hard for me to understand the depth of His concern for me.

Because God loves me He never forsakes me even though many of my friends might. Because God loves me He stands with me when I have reached the rock bottom of despair, when I see the real me and compare that with His beauty and love. It is at a moment like this that I can really believe that God loves me.

Yes, the greatest of all gifts is God’s perfect love!

True Love…

…suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is   not puffed up;
does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.*
…God is love.**

*I Corinthians 13:4-8a, 13
**1 John 4:8b

God Loves You!

Does God Love you? You can see it in the beautiful world He’s given you to live in. Look around. He didn’t’ have to make life so wonderful or the world so beautiful, but he did—and He did it just for you! –DB