Yeah.....I love ya.......

Growing up, I did not tell the boys I dated that I loved them. Just a couple and we were serious. I did not toss "I love you" around like "hello" and "goodbye". Because. Well. LOVE was really a word that represented strong emotion and ties to me. And I didn't LOVE everyone.

I am a people person or extrovert…. I have always found people to be amusing and felt great fondness for some others but loved very few. (outside of family obviously)

After a radical salvation come-to-Jesus encounter I realized one of the ways God really changed me was He put in me a love for other people that I just do not understand but it is real. It is irrational, lol. It makes no sense to really love people you really don’t know. But it's REAL. I didn't toss IloveYou around before I got saved because it would not have been real--it would've been fake and a gross overstatement. Now I say it to lots of people and laugh when I say it because it just fills me with a lot of joy to share the love God has put in me with others….. I cannot deny what I feel nor do I think it is something God would have me to keep inside.

My love for others (which I do realize is a gift from God) spills out of me in sometimes awkward ways and I really don’t seem to be able to do much about it, lol. So……If I say I love you to you please know that it’s real, not trite or just a convenient phrase that seems to be everywhere….And I may not even understand it myself, lol…But I DO understand that I MEAN it when I say it and hope you understand that too….

and…

um…..

I love you. <3

MTV 16 and Pregnant

How to Be 16 and Innocent


Does anyone find it just a little bit odd and humorously ironic that the show about the negative consequences on unwed and unwanted pregnancies is aired on MTV???
Just to put it in perspective:


In 171 hours of MTV programming, analysts found 1,548 sexual scenes containing 3,056 depictions of sex or various forms of nudity and 2,881 verbal sexual references. That means that children watching MTV are viewing an average of 9 sexual scenes per hour with approximately 18 sexual depictions and 17 instances of sexual dialogue or innuendo. (Source: www.parentstv.org)


So in other words, for 167 hours a week, MTV blares out a “Hey kids! Have sex and have sex, and after having had sex, have more sex! Oh and don’t worry about the consequences, because of course we’ll never show that part!”


Then one hour a week: “Look kids! If you’re 16 and pregnant, there’s a bunch of bad stuff that gets dumped in your life!”


Isn’t this sort of like a cable channel sponsored by the American Beef Council having a weekly show about the health benefits of being a vegetarian?

And in a related quirk of fate, MTV.com links to Stayteen.com, which links to Truelovewaits.com - which effectively is like finding a Bible inside a Maxim Magazine.


Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that someone out there is finally revealing the dozens of reasons why it’s a bad move to have a kid when you still are a kid. And if you’ve watched 16 and Pregnant, there is definitely a common pattern of “What the heck was I thinking???” moments.

But the other type of moments that the show regularly delivers is an “I can’t believe I’m pregnant” vibe from some of the girls. Now, perhaps I wasn’t paying attention in Health Education class, but doesn’t getting pregnant involve at least a couple phases that aren’t typically accidental? So for pregnancy to take someone by surprise is, well, quite surprising to me.

I think the shocker moments arrive when what started as relatively innocent affection transforms into an overpowering chain of events that the Creator of the Universe intended to occur in the context of marriage.

Which then begs the question: how far is too far? And if I had a dime for every time I was asked this question, I would be retired and living in a Cabana in Cancún.
Surprisingly, the Bible is somewhat silent on the subject of where couples should draw the line. Obviously God condemns sex outside of marriage because He wants you to enjoy and experience it to its full potential, but what about those “phases” we talked about earlier?

Well, perhaps you weren’t expecting this, but God’s Word is crystal clear on when to cool your jets:

It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathens, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8).

So how does this passage define the line? You have to look closely or you’ll miss it. Most people define “sexual immorality” as sex, but in fact it begins much earlier than the technical definition you learned in school and see referenced on MTV every 3.5 seconds.


According to God’s amazing blueprint for sex, sexual immorality begins the moment affection turns into lust, and yes, any “turned on” exploration outside of marriage is defined as lust. So in other words, it is “too far” when you follow your sexual impulses.
So what’s up with God? Is it so bad to violate His perfect plan? Well, when you think about it, His whole motive for having such a strict line before marriage is for your benefit and the honor of your future spouse. Every moment invested in feeding your illegitimate sexual hunger is a moment stolen from your future that would have bonded you with your husband or wife. Instead, you will pay a price, which is typically a feeling of guilt, and I can guarantee you it will start the process of your relationship disintegration.


Haven’t you noticed that when a couple starts dating, it’s all fun and enjoyment until they start getting physical? Then you see the fighting, the gossip, and eventually the break up.


So please consider the advice I’m giving you…you simply cannot go against God’s design for sex and win. You may be called names and considered an idiot because you’re not going with the flow of the hook up/friends-with-benefits crowd, but believe me, that flow is headed straight into the relationship sewer.


The best way to avoid sexual immorality is just that…avoid it. You know when the temperature is rising, and that’s the time to split the scene and leave it clean.
Trust me, God will bless you, your future spouse will thank you, and you can focus your mental energy on reaching your friends for Christ, instead of raising a baby.


Ask your friends how life would be different if they were suddenly given the responsibility of parenthood. Use that as an opportunity to ask them why they think Jesus used the term "born again" in John 3:3, as a description of the Christian life, and how God becomes our heavenly Parent when we trust Christ. Pray for an opportunity to share the gospel.


For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:19).

Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy (Romans 13:13).

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body (1 Corinthians 6:18).

*this post courtesy of Dare2Share Youth Ministries. I find them useful and relevant in furthering the cause of the Kingdom.*

Alyssa....

Labor Day Weekend 2009 included a Girl's Day Out for me and my baby girl, Alyssa. Bill was at work and Chris was away at a friend's house....We went to church, and afterward went to Pier Park at Panama City Beach.

Lunch at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, then shopping, then the movie Julie and Julia. We sat in that theatre and laughed together the entire time. (word of warning--2 inappropriate comments came up during the movie which I really wish were not there and there was a little bit of cussing.... but over all the movie was excellent)

Money can't buy the togetherness of our day and we really needed to spend some un-distracted time together. (as in: turn off the cell phones) We are normally surrounded by her friends or mine or both so this day was a rare and unique treasure.


This movie brought a couple of things to glaring clarity for us. One--I have a lifelong love of cooking and two-Alyssa has a lifelong love of eating so together we are quite the team. Alyssa has been dabbling in cooking for several years now and this movie really set her feet solidly back on that path, I think.... The scariest thing about this day was Alyssa has decided I am going to make her Julia Child's famous Beef Bourguignon. That recipe is an intimidating, all day affair and yet Alyssa is determined. At least one of the ingredients looks very hard to find. Alyssa is determined. So I am seriously considering trying it. Did I mention Alyssa is determined?

After the movie we rushed to Borders Bookstore to see if Julia's book was there and it was. One copy, to be exact. I have no desire to master the art of French cooking (I'm no chef nor do I have the desire to be) so I am not interested in the Child cookbooks to have for my own. We saw display after display about this movie. We kept stopping and laughing at the trailers being shown. The movie was really good even though it bordered on being a chick flick.(those that know me know that I cannot stand chick flicks)


This movie had a couple of things seriously going for it that really blessed me for Alyssa to see.


Marriage in this movie was portrayed awesomely!

Both Julie and Julia's marriages were portrayed as fun, committed, sexy, exciting, a full partnerships with mutual support by both husbands and wives. We really talked about marriage after the movie and how God intended for sex to be within marriage and how good it could be as ordained by Him. We talked about her seeing the same qualities or lack of qualities in the marriages around her.

We talked about how awesome it made husbands look in a time like today-where TV and movies portray husbands as looking foolish, dumb, unnecessary, replaceable, easily-mocked, pansies. We talked about how the wives really valued what their husbands had to say and treated them, for the most part, with respect. (see the movie for the explanation of "the most part" i don't want to spoil it for you.) The wives did not dominate their husbands or treat them as fools. The were not shrews and sarcastic with their men. They were tender and trusting towards their husbands and their marriages. It was wonderful to see.

The movie did a favor for the image of marriage in Hollywood and I hope we see more movies like this. A movie portraying marriage as a full partnership of mutual love, support and respect? Unheard of in media today. What a blessing to see this with my daughter and be able to have such in depth and thoughtful discussions later.

So today, as Alyssa lies sleeping peacefully in the next room, I recommit to regularly tasting/reviewing recipes and posting to my food blog.

http://lordofthefork.blogspot.com/

And I will begin my search for those hard-to-find ingredients for that Beef Bourguignon.

Blessings, ya'll!

Robin

Snapshot 7/3/09

Tonight I spent a wonderful evening cooking in my kitchen for tomorrow's fourth of July celebration at Jack's place. . Background noises provided by my daughter, son, nephew and little brother. A clamorous blend of laughing, screeching, yelling and gunshots as they played some kind of video game tournament. Alyssa was kicking everyone's butt, much to the boy's dismay.

The last time I got to hear this symphony of sarcastic, hysterically funny verbal exchanges was August of 08. Seems like a lifetime ago. Since then Jesse has moved out and gotten his own home, Christian's voice is cracking and changing, Alyssa started driving and Jordan, well he is still Jordan but older and different too. His voice has done the opposite of Christians. it has STOPPED cracking and changing. He now sounds like a manly man. Which cracks me up because he is still so boyish looking.

Time waits for no one and tonight it seemed important to capture this moment. Jesse has been absent for much of the year, having started a very grown up full time job and being tied up with his personal life. I can't remember the last time he came over and just hung out with us like this. I am so grateful he is here. I have missed him. And it's important to my heart that I stop in this moment and simply say so.

Death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him.

This may be the first time I have ever posted someone else's stuff but man this is good!!!!!

Death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him.

The Bible says He’s a Seven Way King. He’s the King of the Jews – that’s a racial King. He’s the King of Israel – that’s a National King. He’s the King of righteousness. He’s the King of the ages. He’s the King of Heaven. He’s the King of glory. He’s the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords. Now that’s my King. Well I wonder if you know Him.


Do you know Him? My King is the only one whom there are no means of measure can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shore of supplies. No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing.

Well, well, He’s enduringly strong. He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful. That’s my King.


He’s God’s Son. He’s the sinner’s saviour. He’s the centrepiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He’s august. He’s unique. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s pre-eminent.

Well, He’s the loftiest idea in literature. He’s the highest personality in philosophy. He’s the supreme problem in high criticism. He’s the fundamental doctrine of proved theology. He’s the carnal necessity of spiritual religion. That’s my King.


He’s the miracle of the age. He’s the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him.


Well, He’s the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He’s strong God and He guides. He heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers. He forgives sinners. He discharged debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent and He beautifies the meek. Do you know Him?


Well, my King is the key of knowledge. He’s the wellspring of wisdom. He’s the doorway of deliverance. He’s the pathway of peace. He’s the roadway of righteousness. He’s the highway of holiness. He’s the gateway of glory. He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the captain of the conquerors. He’s the head of the heroes. He’s the leader of the legislatures. He’s the overseer of the overcomers. He’s the governor of governors. He’s the prince of princes. He’s the King of kings and He’s the Lord of lords. That’s my King. Yeah. Yeah. That’s my King. My King, yeah.


His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His light is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His Word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light.


Well. I wish I could describe Him to you, but He’s indescribable. He’s indescribable. Yes. He’s incomprehensible. He’s invincible. He’s irresistible. I’m coming to tell you, the heavens of heavens cannot contain Him, let alone a man explaining Him.


You can’t get Him out of your mind. You can’t get Him off of your hands. You can’t outlive Him and you can’t live without Him.


Well, Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him. Pilot couldn’t find any fault in Him. The witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree. Herod couldn’t kill Him.

Death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him.

That’s my King. Yeah. He always has been and He always will be. I’m talking about He had no predecessor and He’ll have no successor. There was nobody before Him and there’ll be nobody after Him. You can’t impeach Him and He’s not going to resign.

That’s my King! Jesus.

aging on my own terms

I respect the age, wisdom and experience of others but me and "age" have some terms to come to. And they are MY terms.

period.

I don't care what age dictates, or tries to dictate to me.

I will wear brightly colored shawls because I like them. They are not reserved only for gypsies or the young.

I will wear silver jewelry and gold jewelry at the same time. *gasp*

I will color my hair vibrant hues of RED or BLONDE or BOTH until I am ready for something different, whether I be 40 years old or 90.

I will have my nails painted fuchsia, neon yellow, or jet black without regard to the style for women my age, younger OR older. The brighter the better. =]

I will wear tacky costume jewelry because I like it and I can. Not because I am becoming a crazy old lady. Or have no sense of style. I like it. I can. Nuff said.

I will whisper my prayers to my God, worship at the feet of my Christ and dance with the Holy Spirit til I cannot dance anymore. And then dance some more. Til I die.

I will let my Father's Joy in my cup run over and splash onto those around me no matter how sour their disposition is. Or mine either for that matter. Sometimes I may have to drown my own self in it.

I will give up the right to be right and the right to be offended often and consistently. Offense and self righteousness must certainly hasten the ravages of time on the body and face.

I will wear long skirts with crazy patterns and not care if they are the current style or not. It's my body. If I like it who cares if anyone else does?

Heavy eyeliner is my friend. So are SmokeyEyes. Til I die. In my casket too. =]

I will let my hair grow long and let it swing free no matter how often other women say women my age should have short hair. It's my hair. not theirs. I don't care.

I will head bang at any time without warning. At any age. Cuz that's how I grew up and it's too much fun to leave behind.

I will not have plastic surgery. I am pushing 41. I am not supposed to look 21 or 31. Every wrinkle, every sag or bag, is mine. I earned them. I am not now nor will I ever be ashamed to look my age.

Age to me is just a number. Since I am barely passing math with a "C" that should say what I think of numbers. Especially if they keep hooking up with letters. Should be a law against that. Algebra I mean.



Just some random thoughts today as I was getting my nails done by the lovely Eam at Pink and White in the mall......

The Front Door Of Your Heart--Getting past, "Never Do."

Today I ate lunch with someone who is a somewhat new person in my life. It was an extremely last minute thing, totally unplanned, totally a God-thing.

We met 2 years ago in an official business type setting, then ended up spending some extra time outside that setting in a non personal way as time went by.

Fast forward to April of last year and I knew there was something incredibly special about her but I still felt hesitant about really pursing anything outside of our business type situation in the area of friendship.

I am so busy.

She is so busy and a newlywed to boot. She is in a place where others are vying for her attention quite a bit and there is only so much of her to go around in the amount of time she has.

There is more than 10 years age difference between us which is new for me because my best friend and mentor is 20years older. I'm used to and comfortable with, being the baby, lol.

I am tied up with my husband and kids, my church, my job and other things.....It was just never a priority to pursue anything past a surface, admiring relationship, even though I thought she was amazing and fantastic.

I got wind of a crisis in her life that was freshly developing this morning and my schedule loomed ahead of me, flexible and somewhat open for a brief time today so I picked up the phone and did what we had talked about and mentioned in passing several times: I invited her to lunch.

After an amazing lunch that stretched into 2 hours on the beautiful, sunny, back deck of Gracie Ray's on St. Andrews Bay I sent her an email and into that I typed out a little piece of my heart:

Sometimes ya meet people and think: If I allowed that person past the front door of my heart I could probably have something very special with them. And then never do.

So today was the first step past "never do" for us.

Welcome to the foyer just past the front door of my heart. It is probably not very tastefully decorated but eh, who cares. It's my foyer and I happen to LIKE the color red in every possible form, lol. Welcome and please do come back soon!


The front door has been opened wide and it was wonderful. We exchanged a couple of emails that indicated that indeed, she felt the same way. It was exciting. It was fun. That two hours was ripe with the promises of laughter yet to be laughed, fun yet to be had, secrets yet to be shared and friendship yet to be explored. And I liked it.

Very much.

I also felt a twinge of regret. I look back on all the people I have felt chemistry with that I never allowed past my front door. All the aquaintences that I never approached the front door of their heart either.

All the times my friends Jim and Gaynell and I talked about eating out or doing something together and then Jim was gone. And we never did.

The people who have come and gone from my church family that I was drawn to but didn't show up on their hearts doorstep, asking to be let in. Nor did I give them access to my own. Opportunities gone and passed by.

I could go on but I think the point is made.

My friend today, I'll call her the Peach, was all that I believed her to be and more. (READ: Godly, funny, smart, kind, big hearted, loving, loyal and did I mention funny??? )

I am so glad I opened the door to my heart, got past, "never do," and invited her in. I think she's glad too.


How about you?

Can you think of people that you know, that you have chemistry with, that you never seem to have the time to open the door of your heart to and invest in them and their own heart?

Have you allowed them in to take a look around the foyer or even the living room of your heart?

how about iced tea at your heart's kitchen table?

I am tired of looking back and even looking around now at people whom I have chemistry with and never doing anything about it.

Today felt good. Today I took a "never do" and made it a "do." Think about that, and maybe consider switching some "do's" around too?

I think the next time I spend time with the Peach I am taking crayons to draw on the walls of the foyer of her heart. She's very artistic. I think she'd like that. =]

Dance pants and a big ol flag.....

Sometimes I really miss her.

The 08 Elections, Where I stand...

Sent November 5, 2008

Please hear me out and read all of this..... If I sent this to you it means you are important to me and I want you to know how God is dealing with me this morning. I may even expect to see or speak to some of you fairly soon so I am putting myself out there in advance......

I worked the elections last night at Mark Anderson's office and as I watched precincts get their votes in (McCain led locally the entire night) I started receiving texts that overall it looked like Obama was going to win. And Obama has won. My heart sank. But my spirit heard from God......
I will not be speaking negatively of Obama nor bitterly about McCain losing because I believe with all my heart what God said in His word:

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God (Romans 13:1).

I understand submission very intimately, and understand that true submission isn't when I agree and submit, it's when I disagree and submit anyway.

God has established Obama as the next President of the United States and I will submit unto God and unto the next President. I will vote on issues according to my conscience and the Word of God but ultimately, I will not waste my words on hashing, or slicing and dicing the authority God has established over me but will sow my words in love and prayer for the new leader of this nation, a nation I love dearly and believe in wholly.

I am so excited that an African American has been voted into the highest office in the land because of what this says about progress in our country and I DESPISE RACISM with all the fiber of my being.

I do not know the personal particulars about the new President because all I really have to go on about his personal life (muslim? Christian? American citizen?) is rumor and speculation. His public stand on issues is evident by his voting record and I will always vote the Word of God and my conscience where I have opportunity to do so.

I will continue to stand in front of the courthouse and at other places and speak for the unborn, against abortion and will put my prayers and support behind the other areas where I disagree with Obama's voting record.

I will not focus on where I disagree with God's authority. I will focus on where we can agree and as for the rest I will seek God's will for me.

God has been invited to place a guard over my mouth and He has agreed to do so
The candidate that God established to be President of the United States will be sworn in come January,and while he is not the candidate that I voted for, he is the candidate that GOD voted for. I will not come against God's man.

I will line up with God's Word:

I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

In claiming Christ as my Lord and Savior I believe it is my responsibility to do the above. I will not moan, complain, make jokes, and do everything else but what we are supposed to do...which is pray.

I want a life that is peaceful, quiet, marked by dignity and godliness. I want that so badly and know that God has that for me when I line up with what HE has to say about the elections. I will be praying, I will be giving thanks for Obama, even tho I disagree with a lot of how he voted in the past, I agree with God's plan for this country's future and will not come against God's choice of President for this nation. I will lend voice to my disagreement with my votes on the issues. And I will be praying. Will you?

Today God makes all things new and I look to the future joyful and unafraid because God has my future in HIS hands.....


Love and Blessings on each of you and on our great country.
Robin

From "Really Rock the Vote":
We must pray-
-that God will turn the heart of all presidents and kings and rulers to Himself.
-that our President will rule fairly and justly.
-that God will accomplish His perfect will through those He placed in authority.
-that we will properly submit to our government regardless of whether or not elephants or donkeys are running the circus.
Head: What you need to know about this truth
All authority on earth is established by God, therefore our responsibility is to pray for those in charge.
Heart: What you need to feel about this truth
Feel confident that God is in control of our government and our nation. If we all worried more about our prayer life than what's going on in the Oval Office, we might see the changes we desperately need!
Hands: What you need to do about this truth
Commit yourself to praying every day for those whom God has placed in authority over us.

My Friend Patty

is 2 decades older than me.

Doesn't matter.

She is one of the best gifts God ever gave me.

My Patty is
Funny
Smart
Beautiful
A great mentor
A powerful woman of Faith
Loving
Caring
Compassionate
Slow to Anger
Slow to speak
Worships beautifully
Kind
In short, Amazing.

I love her very much and am so grateful to have her in my life.

REAL LOVE

originally posted August 15, 2007



Real Love


I have been wanting to post this since yesterday. Bill has been on my mind a lot since he left a week ago. I've been thinking about how blessed I am to have married someone who takes my breath away every time our eyes meet.
I guess what got me to thinking about my feelings for him and this love we have found was a song by Rebecca St. James titled" Wait for Me." It is a song about abstinence til marriage which at first glance may not seem to fit us. We are both second-time marrieds. Both have sowed some fairly wild oats, both together and apart.

We both accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior in 2000 and our marriage went from being a good one to a marriage of deeper understanding, greater communication and a more profound love than I have ever known. Words cannot express the joy I feel when I hear his voice on the phone, smell his cologne on his pillow or receive his prayers for me and prayers over me. This is real love. REAL LOVE.

"Wait for Me," reminds me of the time we spend apart as he works offshore because honestly, when he comes home it is like seeing each other for the first time all over again. And wait for him I have, as has he....We wait for a month at a time, saving our spiritual and emotional intimacy only for one another, praying for each other while we're apart, for strength and for the time when we are back together again....and when we said til death do us part, we meant it with all of our hearts....


Darling did you know that I
I dream about you
Waiting for the look in your eyes
When we meet for the first time
Darling did you know that I
I pray about you
Praying that you will hold on
Keep your loving eyes only for me
I am waiting for
Praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
I am waiting for
Praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
Darling wait
Darling did you know that I dream about life together
Knowing it will be forever
I'll be yours and you'll be mine
And darling when I say
Till death do us part
I'll mean it with all of my heart
Now and always faithful to you
I am waiting for
Praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
I am waiting for
Praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
Darling wait
Now I know you may have made mistakes
But there's forgiveness and a second chance
So wait for me darling
Wait for me
Wait for me
"Wait for Me," ~~Rebecca St. James


Real Love
means we make mistakes and love our way through them
Real Love
means we allow our love for one another to cover a multitude of sins and a myraid of shortcomings
Real Love
means respect
Real Love
means being the mates God called us to be
Real Love
means forgiveness-true forgiveness where an account of wrongs is neither held nor nurtured
Real Love
means laughing together
Real Love
means unity
Real Love
means putting God and each other first, in that order
Real Love
means what we have is not in conflict with the Bible or the Ways of God-it is a Godly and blessed union.
Real Love
means understanding that this life of ours is not our own, that living only for ourselves and "living my life how only I choose" is not acceptable to God or one to another.
Real Love
is what I have with Bill and I am forever grateful to God for it.


Blessings, Ya'll


Robin

New People in My Life

New People in My Life


There seems to be a few of them....all sort of coming to the forefront of my days....Feels exciting and makes me a bit giddy with love for them. And I do love them.

Some of them have been around for a while and our lives are crossing lines pre-established by the nature of our contact. Others have just strolled into my life unannounced, like they were always meant to be there. Did I mention that I love them?

Cause I do. The beautiful thing about becoming who I am in Christ is that He put a fierce love for His people in me that defies my own understanding of my personal capacity to love others.

So I say I love you to some of them, knowing it makes me look sorta weird and foolish, yet knowing I mean it with all my heart because it's the way God remade me when I accepted His gift. I can see it when they look at me, when I say I love you, a flicker of uncertainty about my sincerity, then a split second of realization replaces it as they understand I am serous. and that it doesn't make sense on so many levels. Sometimes it makes them uncomfortable I think....maybe? or not, lol...But they seem to love me back. and it feels good.

How can you love people you don't really even know? God has to be in it. I look at pictures of their past, or listen to them describe things from their past and I wish so badly I had known them longer, that our bond was more substantive because of good and bad times spent together....Since we haven't had long periods of time I do my best to make the memories now. Be funny now. Laugh and cry with them now.Establish real life with them now because they are precious to me, a gift from God and I don't know how long I will be allowed to love them before our paths take separate roads and distance or circumstance lessen availability for togetherness.

New friends. Did I mention I love them????



Saturday May 10, 2008

My Enemy.....

My Enemy.....


does not wear shoes, or nail polish or a jacket when it's cold. My enemy does not ride a motorcycle, wear gang colors or get haircuts. My enemy has not ever sat in the recliner in my living room. My enemy is not related to me by blood or marriage or work in the next cubicle over.....My enemy does not sleep next to me in the bed at night or in the next bedroom down the hall....My enemy is not of flesh and blood but of the spirit....

Don't take my word for it..... God said it, not me:

Ephesians 6:12:12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Satan wants so badly for us to see people as our enemy and not him... because then he gets away with it..."it" being hurting our feelings, destroying our marriages, planting hatred, abuse and destruction....blowing apart families, the list just goes on and on.

My inlaws are not the enemy-satan is. My child's school teacher is not the enemy-satan is. And sometimes we do such a good job of allowing the enemy to work through us he doesn't HAVE to do anything, just sit back and let us roll with our own refusal to adhere to the Word.

Is God a liar? EMPHATICALLY NO! Then why do we act like this passage is not true and continue to treat people as our enemies and not the enemy as our enemy?

I know a couple of reasons why.

When we make people the enemy we don't have to feel as accountable for our own actions, thoughts and words.

We can hang on to victim mentalities and point the finger elsewhere while saying, "see?! See what so-and-so did to me?" Then we use that to excuse our own bad behavior-such as retaliation, unforgiveness, rebellion against authority-which the bible says, by the way, is as unto witchcraft in the eyes of the Lord.

We prefer people to be the enemy so we can justify our own bad behavior.When we make people the enemy we can avoid developing the fruit of the spirit.

We say we want to be fruitful but being fruitful is painful. It hurts.

Galatians 5:22-25:22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Does any of that look easy to come by? No. It is nearly impossible to love the unlovable. It is hard to have patience. Sometimes I hang on to my peace by a thread. Fruit of the spirit produces good behavior choices.

The opposite?

Hateful, Anxiety-ridden, impatient, unkind, bad/evil, unfaithful, rough, and unable to control one's self. It is important to understand that these are strongholds of the enemy. Again-not the people, but the principalities!

None of us have arrived but sometimes we are quick to excuse ourselves as not having arrived and even quicker to condemn those around us who have not arrived. As if our own behavior is of a different standard.

I MUST separate people from principalities.

I MUST separate the face of a human being, a creation of God, from the face of the enemy.

I need to hang on to Ephesians 6:12 the next time someone cuts me off in traffic and flips me the bird and remember it at the next family gathering.

I need to remember it when I am in a position to reach out to someone I have held on to in my heart as the enemy and all the while the enemy has stood right next to me laughing his head off because I didn't even know it was him that hurt me.

After reading this, lack of knowledge is no longer an excuse to walk in unforgiveness and to perish, taking out as many people around me as possible.

I cannot tell the Lord, "I didn't know! " Because now I know.

What am I going to do about it?

Acknowledge the enemy and then focus on God.

When it comes to the people around you, what would Jesus do?

Written April 11, 2006

Long Time No Typo

I forgot I had made this blog. I found it again when I received an invite to check out a dear friend's blog. so. Here it is. I may move my myspace blog here. Or some of the articles I have written here. Or I may do nothing for another six months. Who knows.



But it is started.





I'm just sayin.