Distant

 from 3 am Thoughts

I do not get mad.

I get distant.

Restore to you

This verse was brought up at the last Grace Group meeting when Nance B. said how her recent raise at work covered what she lost this year on her Airbnb:

Joel 2:25

So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,

The crawling locust,

The consuming locust,

And the chewing locust,

My great army which I sent among you.

Perfect heart

 from "Old Collection"

(This one actually had a date on it - it was a forwarded email from my mom dated 2/21/01)

PERFECT HEART

One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen.

The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart. Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said "Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine."

The crowd and the young man looked at the old man's heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right and there were several jagged edges.

In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing. The people stared - how can he say his heart is more beautiful, they thought?

The young man looked at the old man's heart and saw its state and laughed. "You must be joking," he said. "Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."

"Yes," said the old man, "yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges - giving love is taking a chance.

Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?"

The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out.

He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges. The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his. They embraced and walked side by side.

I wonder what GOD'S heart looks like? How many gouges are still empty? GOD gave each and everyone of us a piece of his heart when he offered His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. Those scars run deep.

Have you replaced the gouge in GOD'S heart, the gouge that GOD Himself pulled out just for you?

Then give your whole heart to His Son, Jesus Christ, and the LORD, GOD Creator of the Universe will create in you a clean heart more beautiful than both the hearts mentioned in the story above.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.'"

(John 14:6)

All my life

 from "Old Collection"

All My Life

"All my life I waited for someone like you. I remember praying often and asking God to bring the person He had chosen for me. There were times when, in my own impatience, I'd launch out and try to make something happen. But God would assure me to have a quiet heart and trust Him. If I had known then who God had in mind for me, it would have been much harder to wait. When I first met you, I knew I wanted you. The more I got to know you, the more I knew how perfect you were for me, and I am so thankful I waited and so happy that I am now a part of your life, and that you are a part of mine. It means so much to me to know that you are God's gift to me and that He has allowed us to walk together...to live united...and to share our hearts in love. HOW SPECIAL AND DEAR YOU ARE TO ME."

An oyster

 from "Old Collection"

"I realized it had functioned exactly as a seed in an oyster is supposed to - as an irritant, never letting the oyster alone until it's built something beautiful."

A matter of

 from "Old Collection"

"I guess there were people who lied to others. But, I realized, there were plenty who didn't lie. It was a matter of trust, but of something else too. It was a matter of letting other people explain things and keeping an open mind that helps build trust."

No distance

 from "Old Collection"

"...But no distance can keep us apart, as long as you are here in my heart..."

The years

 from "Old Collection"

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

The years teach much which the days never know.

The best

 from "Old Collection"

by John Greenleaf Whittier

No longer forward nor behind

I look in hope or fear;

But grateful, take the good I find,

The best of now and here.

Lure of faith

 from "Old Collection"

Cast your lure of faith deep in the sea of God's faithfulness and catch hold of one of His promises.

Dreams

 from "Old Collection"

If you have a dream inside of your heart don't ever let it go.
For dreams can be the tiny seeds from which tomorrows grow.

In His time

 from "Old Collection"

In His Time

I wait on God

to bring to pass

all He has promised me,

and as I wait

I rest in faith

for what I cannot see.

For in His way

He will provide

at just the perfect time

everything that's

good and right

to bless this life of mine.

Trust Me

 from "Old Collection"

Trust Me. I have everything under control.   -Jesus

As unto Me

I guess I've been collecting quotes and inspirational sayings for quite some time. I found a lot of them when I was cleaning out some papers/storage bins. I think as I am entering them on my blog I will refer to them as "Old Collection" so nobody thinks that any of these things are happening now. 

As Unto Me

Others may not notice your efforts or give you recognition for something you've done. The credit may even go to someone else. ~ Do it anyway, as unto Me, for I am pleased by your service and will honor your obedience.

There may be times when a job you have done will be rejected. Something you have prepared may be delayed or cancelled. ~ Do it anyway, as unto Me, for I see all things and will bless the work of your hands.

You may do your very best but have your labors fail. You may sacrifice time and money to help someone and receive no words of appreciation. ~ Do it anyway, as unto Me, for I am your reward and will repay you.

There may be times when you go out of your way to help others and later have them ignore you. You may be loyal on your job and still have someone promoted ahead of you. ~ Do it anyway, as unto Me, for I will not fail you or make you be ashamed.

You may forgive others only to have them hurt you again. You may reach out to bless others only to have them take advantage of your kindness. ~ Do it anyway, as unto Me, for I know your heart and will comfort you.

You may speak the truth but be considered wrong by others. You may do something with good intentions and be completely misunderstood. ~ Do it anyway, as unto Me, for I understand and will not disappoint you.

There may be times when keeping your word means giving up something you would like to do. There may be times when a commitment will mean sacrificing a personal pleasure. ~ Do it anyway, as unto Me, for I am your friend and will bless you with My presence.

Heal

 by Toby Mac

Heal.

So when someone tells you they love you.

You may allow yourself to believe them.

My delights

Bible Gateway Verse of the Day

Psalm 119:143

Trouble and anguish have overtaken me,

Yet your commandments are my delight.

That's it!

 from T.D. Jakes Ministries

Your blessing doesn't come when you see a small cloud and ask, "That's it?" -

it comes when you see the same cloud, shout and say, "THAT'S IT!"

Lying

 by Toby Mac

Your anxiety is lying to you.

You are loved.

And going to be okay.

The world

 Bible Gateway Verse of the Day

1 John 2:15-16

Do Not Love the World

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him. For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world.

Extravagant

 

I was listening to the song by Casting Crowns called, "Your Love is Extravagant." I decided to look up the definition of extravagant:

-lacking restraint in spending money or using resources

-costing too much money

-exceeding what is reasonable or appropriate; absurd

Thunders marvelously

 Bible Gateway Verse of the Day

Job 37:5-6

God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, "Fall on the earth;" Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength.

Seriously wrong

 by Martin Lloyd Jones

There is something seriously wrong with the man who is praised by everybody.

Never know

 from 3 am Thoughts

You will never truly know how damaged a person is until you try to love them.

Something different

 from HpLyrikz.com

The truth is the more intimately you know someone, the more clearly you'll see their flaws. That's just the way it is. That is why marriages fail, why children are abandoned, why friendships don't last.  You might think you love someone until you see the way they act when they're out of money or under pressure or hungry, for goodness' sake. Love is something different. Love is choosing to serve someone and be with someone in spite of their filthy heart. Love is patient and kind, love is deliberate. Love is hard. Love is pain and sacrifice, it's seeing the darkness in another person and defying the impulse to jump ship.

Normal

 Quote from Morticia Addams from The Addams Family

Normal is an illusion.

What is normal for the spider,

is chaos for the fly.

Overrides

 by Tony Evans

Faith does not automatically remove fear.

It overrides it.