What a Day!

Me, Kimberly, and Lauren on this gorgeous fall day!

Have you ever had one of those days where everything seemed to go right??? Betcha thought I was going to say wrong! Well, today was one of those! I love and NEED days like this one...it's not over yet! Child # 1 STILL has church basketball practice from 9-10pm tonight!!! I am so ready to wash my face, slap on my Mary Kay moisturizer, and put on my jammies! I really don't think my son would appreciate my going to the church gym looking that way! He would totally disown me! So, I'll stay perky a little while longer and share my day with you!

First, let me go ahead and tell you that I have NOT finished studying about Mr. M from my previous post! By the time I've gotten to my Hebrews Bible study after 10ish each night, my eyes are starting to roll! I can't even read through a sentence without forgetting what I just read. So...I will get to it when I get to it. Just let me say that I do know Mr. M was both a prophet and a king and that in some ways prefigured Jesus. I really can't wait to dig into this!

Many of y'all are regulars at Kimberly's blog, A Planting of the Lord. Well, Kimberly and I don't live far from each other. We met today at an undisclosed chicken restaurant--in case Lysa T. is reading this, we don't want her to be mad 'cause there was NO Chick-fil-a in the vicinity. Another friend of mine, Teresa, went with me to do some antiquing as well. We just planned a BIG day! Gas prices were even down---woohoo! Kimberly gave me a coupon for a free meal---double woohoo!!! And one of the biggest woohoo's was that God joined us on this gorgeous fall day. He seasoned our conversation with grace, laughter, and hope. He encouraged us through His wonders and His Word. What I felt was His love and peace.

In Chapter 8 of Lisa Whittle's Book, Behind Those Eyes, she says that God 's love is without pretense, without conditions, and without limits. He loves us with complete abandon! We are a part of His family. He knows us so intimately that it is mind boggling. Sitting there having lunch today reminded me of the love that He has for us. We were able to fellowship with each other, pray with each other, and talk and laugh with each other. I see that as a part of Heaven! Only in Heaven, we won't have to hurry and eat to go get in carpool line! The more I learn about my Heavenly Father, the more amazed I am that He claims me as His own daughter. Wow! Isn't that awesome?

I loved the part in Lisa's book where she talks about God's acceptance of us being so different from the way that the world accepts/rejects us. We sometimes feel judged by those around us. We simply can't compare the world's standards to His. God already knows that He accepts us just as we are...with all of our failures and faults and insecurities, but He wants us to know that--to REALLY know that.

Today, while Teresa and I were driving, she shared with me some things about her childhood and teenage years. Things that she didn't like but things that eventually drove her to see that she needed Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. Bless her heart, she kept saying that she was going to scare me away as her friend by what she shared. She didn't! She is a darling girlfriend!! We've all been judged in some way or the other by the standards of the world, but what matters is if God loves and accepts us--yucky stuff and all--we should do the same for our fellow man---or woman in this case!

The Lord you God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you , he will quiet you with his love. (Zeph. 3:17) I love that He takes "great delight" in each of us! I took delight in being with my precious friends today. I also took delight in His joining us and blessing our time together. He took delight in the fact that we are each different and accept each other just for who we are...children of God. Our hearts are bound together in a shared love and awe of our Abba.

Many Blessings,