When we stubbornly cling to whatever we do, when we screw up, God suffers long with us and is immeasurably kind toward us, giving us little blessings and big blessings.
When we ignore God or forget to put Him first, He does not throw Himself in our faces, but whispers to our hearts, reminding us of the right way.
When we are klutzy, stupid, and weak, God bears with us, and keeps fertilizing us, and reminding us of His words.
How He loves us! And you know what is so incredible about that love? He believes in us! He believes that we can overcome our weaknesses, if we will give Him our hearts. His love for us NEVER fails. Even if we are faithless. Even if everybody else fails. And this love demands that He be jealous for our love–so that we can come to Him as little children, ready to rely fully on the love our Father has for us, holding nothing back, trusting Him fully. Do we have qualms? Maybe at first, but when we let out that big breath and take the step to reach out for the Father’s outstretched hand, we are not far from realizing that His strength and His love really is enough for us, and He will never let us go.
How can we ever hope to repay the love He’s shown for us? Yet, all He asks for is the little bit we have to give, and He won’t stop believing in us if we trip and slip, just as long as we take His hand to get back up! How He loves us! Look around you and see the little expressions of His love in your life! Set your heart on loving Him back!
I’d like to share a great rendition of an old hymn that I’ve been loving lately, And Can It Be.
One more: Love by Christ Tomlin, with Watota Children’s Choir
I do so love a bunch of Christmas Carols, some new and some old. Actually, more old. Less new; a lot of new ones don’t seem to have much substance or depth. Some have written songs from the perspective of those there at the manger scene, and some are good, while others are lacking real substance. Mary, Did You Know, a relatively new one, is good because of the way it addresses the mother of Jesus– how could she ever have imagined how her Son would grow up? What went through her mind? The song tackles this mystery well. And I recently heard a song from MercyMe from the perspective of Joseph. Frankly, it blew me away! It’s really good, how it shows the wonderings in Joseph’s mind and his prayers as well as an amazing adoptive perspective. Check it out!
BTW, MercyMe has done awesome renditions of Christmas Carols as well!
The LORD is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell[a] in the house of the LORD
Forever.
The mercy and the love of God came down to me at a certain time; in a moment and place I realized it, but it extends to every day; it extends to here, now, today! until the day I am with the Lord forever, if I hold fast to my confidence, like Abraham, like Joseph, like Daniel, like Job. Why am I confident? Because the Lord Jesus is my confidence! He is the reason for life, a real reason to smile! That’s something beautiful!
Yesterday I received my very first prize from the very first giveaway I ever won!!! It was my friend Renee’s Band Angels Giveaway!
She gave it to me in a beautifully wrapped little blue package with a shiny silver ribbon! My brother looked at it and said, “She must have made this ribbon herself!” I opened it up in what is my favorite place right now: our new almost finished kitchen! See the beautiful countertop?
A very nice, cute box was revealed!
And it has a message on the back!
Check it out!
The package came just in time, cuz I had a papercut that was getting really sore and irritable. I needed a BAND_AID!!!! So I picked one out and put it on!
I put it on in the afternoon, and spent the rest of the day washing dishes, vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, making dinner, and tidying the house, and the band-angel stayed on until 9 o’clock. Pretty good, actually! I was happy.
Perfect product for kids; kids love cartoons, they can memorize Scripture easily, and they love band-aids.
Yeah, they do; they wear them all the time, and companies spend lots of money making the PERFECT pictures on band-aids. I like the Hello Kitty ones.
This has been Something Beautiful Monday, hosted by my dear friend Renee at A Glimpse of Beautiful. And… I am unfortunately publishing this after midnight. Oop. Good night!
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Here he talks about “Christians and Southerners.” Watch! Laugh! 
