Love Letter

She read it over and over again.  She couldn't believe how much he loved her; his words spoke straight to her heart.  She had read it over and over so many times that she could practically say it word for word from memory.  How could anyone love her the way he did?

When someone speaks to our hearts; when someone is important enough to us, we will take the time to get to know that person.  Their words, spoken clearly to our hearts, becomes a gift, something we treasure deep within.  I have a someone like that in my life and his name is Jesus.  The words he has given to me in the Bible are something I treasure, but perhaps not as much as I should.  The words in his book are his love letter to me; I want to know them more and more.

This past December I set a goal to memorize more this year, specifically to memorize the entire book of James. Thankfully it is only 5 chapters long.  A couple of months ago, someone asked me what my spiritual goal was for the year, so I shared this goal.  He decided he would take on the challenge as well.  In the couple of months since that exchange, he hasn't forgotten.  This past Saturday he asked how I was doing with the book of James.  Honestly, I have been working on it.  I started a few weeks ago by beginning to write it out.

I am thankful for this person who has decided to take up this challenge with me because he is someone who can hold me accountable for reaching my goal and can encourage me along the way.  Ecclesiastes 4:9 says, "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed."  Because there is someone who is taking up this challenge with me, I feel a responsibility to succeed.  I don't want to know what it would feel like to have him accomplish the goal and not be able to say  I did it as well.

Far too often when we are alone in a project it is easy to let it slide, to let it fall by the wayside.  I don't think this is going to be one of those goals for me.  This one is going to be accomplished.  I absolutely love the message in the book of James, so for me it is part of the love letter that Jesus has given me, a part that I can't wait to learn.

Tonight as I sat at dinner, I finished writing out the last couple of chapters so that I could begin to work on the actual memorization part. Before I left the table, I had pretty much memorized the first 8 verses of James 1.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings....

Okay, so it wasn't perfect the first time around, I checked, but it's a start.  Oh how I love this Love Letter!

A Pretty Shade of Brown

This spring has been odd.  It followed a very mild winter, and turned hot , early summer hot, in mid-march.  The flowers were confused so they came out early.  The beautiful magnolia tree outside my front window was blooming beautifully until the frost overnight covered it a week after it began to bloom.  That frost turned the delicate flowers a lovely shade of brown, from the beautiful pale pink they were intended to be.

A lot of the magnolia trees lost all of their beautiful blossoms, but thankfully not the one in my front yard.  Not all the blossoms had broken through their furry winter coat, so they were not effected by the frost.  As I look out the front window I see the leaves starting to break out of their buds and there are still some pale pink flowers.  How beautiful!

The magnolia tree in my front yard got a second chance to be beautiful and I am very thankful for that.  What I also love is that my God is a God of second chances.  He can turn the cold darkness in our lives into great things for His honor and His glory.

Just before Jesus was arrested, and  Simon Peter would deny him, Jesus warned him of what was to come. "“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”"   I love it. Jesus wanted Simon Peter to use his story, his failings to help others    He wanted Simon Peter to use his story to encourage others in their faith.  Jesus was giving him a second chance.

Jesus wants to use our story to encourage those around us in their faith as well.  We can use the struggles we have gone through to encourage those going through similar situations.  We can bring hope to their lives that it is possible to gain victory over the situation.

Second Corinthians 1:3-4 says, "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.  He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us."

God can use it all, if only we will allow Him.  The enemy would love us to focus on the negative, the dead flowers, but God wants us to focus on the new growth, the plan He has in store for us.

How about you? What will you choose to focus on?