Choose

She would always choose joy.

She would choose to smile and not just any smile, but a smile that would lit up her whole face and made her eyes sparkle.

She would choose to look me in the eye and show love through her smile.

She did not choose to have the crippling sickness of MS.

Later on she did not choose to have cancer.

She did not choose to spend years of her life in health care with people who were years and years older than her.

She did not choose to give up control of her body.

Still, she always would choose joy.

When our friendship began we talked and shared our joys through words. My life season changed and there was rarely time to visit, but I when I did she always remembered me.

Then we couldn't talk. I did the talking and guessing and wished I could read lips.

It was difficult and tedious, but still she was choosing joy.

She was a woman of God. She influenced my life, because she would choose joy.

One choice that would affect so many.

I'm not ever going to see that smile again on this side of heaven. 

I'm thankful to have known this woman and I mourn my own personal loss, but rejoice in her gain of eternity.

Tomorrow I want to choose joy just like she did.

I have been loved

Because its Valentines day...(shamelessly stealing this line from a friend)

I'm going to talk about love, because I want to say thank you.

I have been loved, oh I have been love by a lot of people in my life and I rarely do I take enough time to offer feeble thanks and so this day that is all about love I its time to do something about that.

Free fact for the day. In Mexico today is about love and friendship with more emphasis on the friendship, not a bad idea eh?

I have been loved by the two people who are my mother and father. The two people who have been my faithful cheerleaders since day one and the two people who have popped my balloon because they loved me enough to do so.

Five older siblings welcomed me into this world and did nothing, but love me. Sometimes perhaps I did not understand that their actions were portraying when love. I might have interrupted it more as cruelty, but what else are big brothers and sisters are for?

I have been loved by the Sunday school teacher who tireless worked on lessons to teach children who sometimes did not pay attention.

I have been loved by the older ladies at church who have been in my life since I was born.

I have been loved by my friends. I can't say the names because I would be too prone to forget someone, but there has been so much love in my life. Friends who listened and listened. Friends who spoke truth. Friends who would laugh with me till the tears came. I've haven't always had a large amount of quantity time with my friends, but I have had always been blessed with quality time.

Quality speaks love and I have been so blessed.

I have been loved by aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. We are not just a family, but we are a family who cares and loves each other.

I am loved by the person who passes me and stops to talk.

I am loved by a whole health care facility of residents who love to drench my life with uplifting complements and random amusing sayings.

I am loved when my texts and facebook messages get answered.

I am loved by my Savior, the one who knows every thought and deed I ever done that was evil, yet He chose to love me anyway.

I could erase all I just wrote and leave the last sentence and still have all the love I needed, because Christ's love is really all I need. Despite the fact I might tell myself otherwise.

God loves me and that will always state in the present form.

I am loved. A lot. More than I deserve.

Feeling blessed and thankful this 14th of February.

We are One

Thankful today, that God doesn't play the comparison game.

When He sees us,

He sees

 perfection

the redeemed

New

That He,

Cherishes

Loves

Cares

Not for what we have done, but for the work Christ did on our behalf.

And He sees us the same.

" There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Galatians Chapter Three

Not comparing us to each other, like we are prone to do ourselves. Not looking at the exteriors, but instead looking at the interiors of our hearts.

He knows what all of us look like on the inside.

He knows maybe we are prone to do things simply because we grew up in a Christian environment and wouldn't think to live our lives any other way. He knows if our actions come from the heart or a desire to please. 

He sees that maybe our actions aren't like everyone else's, that maybe we didn't come from the environment that taught us what Christians do, but He sees the heart. The desire to serve and the desire to grow. 

He sees us as one.

No matter where we came from, or where we are now we are equally one in Christ. 

Nothing we do will make us God's favorite, because we are all His favorites.  

By His grace we are one. 

“I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world; but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am”
― John Newton

 God's grace has allowed us to be one and Christ and so let us edify and love one another as scripture calls to do.

Which might mean, removing logs from our eyes and then speaking the truth in Love. Edifying not only means encourage, but encouraging Christian growth to the point of saying things that sometimes feel awkward.

 If one stumbles we are not to be the bystanders, but the EMT's that arrive first on the scene. Quickly seeking to exhort with the Word of God that we have been given. Never our Words, but always God's Words.

Edifying means coming along side and bearing the burdens. Not leaving our brother or sister in Christ to bear the trial alone. Love means not doing the easy thing, but it means investing in the lives of those around us. An investment which may never show return. A risk, but not so risky when we remember the empowering grace we are given.

We are one, because of the blood of Christ. Such a sacrifice, such love  that should keep perspective on how we see fellow believers and our behavior around fellow believers.

One in Christ. 

My mind was just blow by the above verse, that's all.

write

I write, because when I was little I dreamed of authoring famous books.

I started my first mystery book, by dictating my profound words to my mother, because I had not yet gained proficient typing skills.

Now I write because I find it amusing to put my world into words. Sometimes there are sad words, because sometimes I have sad days. And when I write I don't want to be a person hiding behind the eloquent words on a blog. I want to be a real person. You know the kind of person who wakes up with messy hair and sometimes blurts out awkward things at the wrong time.

I like to write about my happy days too, because I want to encourage joy. Real not, not fake happiness that comes short term by the way of pints of chocolate ice cream, but the happiness that is chosen.

I will choose to have joy, despite the fact that the Monday was the worst stereotypical Monday in the history of  all Mondays.

I like to write about the humble musing I sometimes have, because writing helps me sort through the files in my brain.

I don't want to be write to be heard, yet there is a part in me that would like to know people enjoy my writings.

I want to edify with my writings. I don't want to distract from the real purpose in life. I want to write to encourage.

Yes, I'm just a girl who happens to like to write, because that is how God made me.

And so I will write. I will write some things I shouldn't and I will sneak back to my computer and make the posts mysteriously disappear.

 I will write things that will make you wonder what on earth is spewing out of my head.

I will write, just because I want to and not to make anyone read it.

I will write, because I love it so :)

The Tuesday Night Report

Tonight I'm so thankful to be redeemed

I'm loving the excuse to listen to Christmas music once again, but I'm wishing Santa Baby would stay off of my Pandora season.

I want to go read the book of Job, just because its so chuck ful of wonderful bits of goodness.

If someone volunteers to get married on May 31, I will pretty much have a solid marathon of weddings to attend this summer. Any takers? This only counts of course if you are in love.

There seems to be a overwhelming number of people falling in love lately. Maybe its the water or maybe its the fact that February is known for other things than "fury February". Oh and I'm not complaining about all this love I really do find it ridiculously happy.

I have stuck to my New Year's goals of journaling more and drinking less coffee, lets not talk about the other items on my list. There is still eleven more months in this year, correct?

I have officially ended my church search and I'm contemplating how to share my humble insights on making visitors feel welcome in your church.

A certain person is turning 21 this month. And a certain nephew could literally ski circles around me. I'm also quite certain he was born wearing skies. The only thing I wish that I was born wearing ice skates.

I'm not entirely sure I spelled skies right. Maybe I should google it, but I'm too lazy at this point in time.  Maybe if I knew how to spell skies I would magically glide down the slops like an Olympian.

I read a 100 plus pages during the Superbowl and ate some chips and dips just to be American.

Tomorrow I'm going to sleep in because apparently in this neck of the woods they have panic attacks over snowstorms.

And now Pandora is playing songs about mistletoe. Maybe I need a new station.

This randomness will now end. Good night, and may your coffee be strong and black.

The End :)