Bed, Bath, and way Beyond

There are times in my life that I'm sure when people drive by my car that assume that I'm having some kind of fit. My hands are waving, my head is jerking, my shoulders moving, and they can't hear a thing because my windows are up and so are theirs. And when I'm in my car, I'm not even trying to contain my praise. It's just me and God as I get my praise on.

But recently, I found myself in a situation hard to contain. I was shopping in Bed, Bath, and Beyond, just listening to my MP3 player. Had it on shuffle, so there were all kinds of songs playing in rotation. But then Fred Hammond came on. And if anybody has seen my music collection, you know I'm a big Fred Hammond fan.

But this was one of my favorites, and I had not heard it in a while. It is called "No Greater Love." It simply says, "There is no greater love than the one you have for me Lord. Your mercy, so tender, erasing my transgressions. There is none greater."

That word "transgressions" got me. In a recent Bible study I came across the definition of trangressions as a "deliberate act against the law of God." WOW! That's the stuff that I do, that I know it is sin when I do it, and I still do it anyway." And He, God, chooses to erase that, to blot it out, to exterminate it, to obliterate it, because of His love for me.

I could feel that praise coming on as I thought of what God had done for me, and instead of humming along, I was beginning to sing, and I just had to thank God for what He had done in my life.

I ended up in my car in the parking lot, with the song at full blast, and then it got to the chorus and it just tore me up. "Your love for me is forever. To me there is none greater. Your love kept you hanging there. Your love kept the nails in place and let the blood flow down and reach all the way down and grab me and hold me. Your love let the spear pierce your side. Your love kept me on your mind. No greater love. Your love let them mock your name, and spit in your face, and crucify the Lamb of Glory. To me there is no greater love. Your love kept you hanging there, separated from the Father, just for me."

Needless to say, by then the tears were flowing, the snot was running, the hands were praising, I was just overcome with gratitude with what Christ had done for me. And sometimes you just have to get ugly with your praise, a little undignified, and thank God for who He is and what He has done and continues to do.

What an awesome WOW moment!

Tears for Breakfast

Children can really show you the heart of God. And sometimes the lesson God wants us to learn, we have a hard time receiving, but He loves us enough to keep loving us.

One Sunday, we were eating breakfast and jabbering as we were getting ready for church. My youngest son was noticeable quiet. Now, for those who know our baby boy, then you know that he is usually a ball of energy.

So I asked him what was wrong. He answered nothing, but I could tell that was not true. Finally, as he sat down beside me, I put my hand upon his and asked him again to tell me what was wrong. I could see the tears welling up in his eyes as he tried to hold them back and in a nearly inaudible whisper, he said, "I had a bad dream."

And this is what he said: "In my dream I was following God, but the Devil came along and told me to follow him. I listened to him and I did follow him. But when I followed him, he led me off a cliff, and I fell off the cliff. And now God is not in my heart anymore."

Now for those that know me, now, both my son and I had started to cry. I just pulled him up from the table and into my arms and hugged him tight, reassuring him that it was just a really bad dream, and that God is still in His heart. Sometimes a dream is so real that it is hard to distinguish where the dream ends and where reality begins. But that is why we can't depend solely on how we feel, and we must go back to what God says is true in the Bible. I wanted to reassure him that God is with him even when sometimes we do choose to follow the devil.

Later while listening to K-Love radio, I heard this passage from "Jesus Calling," a book by Sarah Young. It summarized exactly what I wanted to affirm for my son. "You are Mine for all time--and beyond time, into eternity. No power can deny you your inheritance in heaven. I want you to realize how utterly secure you are! Even if you falter as you journey through life, I will never let go of your hand."

It is a message that I know that I will have to reinforce for my son as he grows in his relationship with Christ. But it was also a message I needed to be reminded of as well...that God is with me, that He chooses me, that He knows me, and that He still loves me.

I hope you know that today and that you feel the power of His presence in your life.

To read the entire "Jesus Calling" devotional, look up the reading for March 10. The Scripture for that day was Psalm 37:23-24 and Psalm 18:30.

RELENTLESS

Here's a notice to all the ladies...if you're looking for the perfect man, you might as well give up....I've already got him.

Now you guys out there may be wondering how my husband got such a high rating on the "Perfect Man" scale this week...I'm more than happy to share it with everybody....it's one word....RELENTLESS.

My husband and I have been attending a class at church called "Marriage Matters." In one of the first classes we attended the facilitator reminded us that we need to be relentless in pursuing our mate. In one example, he specifically challenged the guys to remember all the things they had done to win their mate.

Sebastian and I just celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary. On my desk is a framed copy of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Just a week or so after we started dating, as I was leaving for work at about 7 in the morning, I found this paper on the windshield of my car. If you look closely, you can see the faded handwriting which says, "I love you Tina more than you can possibly imagine" and the date of Sept. 9, 1991. Just shy of a year later on Sept. 5, 1992, we were married.

In those early months of dating and even early years of marriage, I was surprised many times with handwritten notes of love or beautifully written cards. Not so much now, at least not generally in a spontaneous way. Well, the relentless reminder was all my husband needed.

About a week after the class, I backed into someone's car while dropping the boys off at football practice. Didn't do a lot of damage, but I was sure our insurance premium would go up.

I didn't know how to tell my husband, but to just come out with it. If you know my husband, and you've ever seen him really mad, then you can surely visualize how he rolled his eyes and threw his hands up and shook his head at my news. I ancitipated lots of shouting, questions, general angriness. But not this time.

He didn't even say anything, but just walked out the house and drove away. Now you may be wondering what kind of twisted story am I recounting here....just....wait...for it.......

He returned several hours later, but didn't even mention the accident or our earlier conversation. I figured I'd better practice wisdom and silence and not mention it either.

The next morning when I went out to take the kids to school, I found a card with my name on it, sitting on the steering wheel of my car.

I opened it and in part it read, "Have I mentioned lately that I love you? Do you know how many times during the day I think of you?" So you can about imagine that I was already crying. And then I opened the card, and I saw his familiar handwriting on the side...and it started...."What do you say when saying I love you seems too small and inadequate? How do you show someone how much you love them when just being with them makes you feel loved?"

Well..I could scarcely drive home fast enough to catch him before he left for work. All I could do was run and fling my arms around his neck, and kiss him with passion and say, "Thank you. I really needed that."

I didn't expect it. And could argue that I didn't even deserve it. But isn't that like God to show us a picture of His love for us through the model of marriage.

So yes...I have the Perfect Man. Marriage is a lot of work. But you have to be RELENTLESS--both husbands and wives. Marriage IS putting the needs of someone else above your own. It is SACRIFICE. Love is NOT a feeling. LOVE is a COMMITMENT!

WOW. I am grateful to have my best friend to share my life with.