WALK THE WORD..." Love MUCH "

" A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" John 13:34 Q. How can you do better at loving others as Jesus has loved us ? Some will say that love is a feeling, others ascribe that love is a decision . I say it is both. There are times when we are overwhelmed with and by love. It is spontaneous, a reaction to situation and circumstance, an emotional exchange between individuals alike. A returning of that which is lavished upon us. It can lead us to make both good and bad decisions, motivate us to great deeds or send us to the depths of despair. Some situations in life call for us to deliberately choose to love, to love those in our life that have hurt or disappointed us, to love those who may not love in return. When Jesus says, " a new command I give you " it is not for us to choose whom we will or will not love. Our love for one another is an action. It is in how we treat each other. Are we inclusive or exclusive , do we love the unlovely, are we known for unconditional acceptance.....love? This kind of love, decision and emotion, extended to all in our world is an supernatural kind of love. In order to love as Christ loved us, we need Him. We can't do it without Him dwelling in the centre of our being. He says that we " must ". Sometimes it is easy and sometimes it seems impossible, this is when we draw on His strength and make the choice to love. He did it for us, we who were most undeserving. He made the ultimate sacrifice of love and gave His life. We need to pray each and every day that He will give us the capacity to LOVE MUCH. Lxx 

WALK THE WORD.... " Every Step of The Way "

" Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be be discouraged, for The Lord your God will be with you where ever you go." Joshua 1:9 Q. How does the assurance of Gods presence make a difference for you in facing the difficulties in your life? Sometimes this is really, really hard to do. Well it is for me anyway, surely I'm not alone! There are times when all of my strength and any sense of courage feel as though they have drained completely away. A sense of foreboding slowly descends and fear whispers over me....." You can't handle any more, nothing is ever going to change, just give up , you may as well stop trying because it will never work out", it is a slippery slope train of thought. The tracks lead in the opposite direction to Gods promise. " For The Lord your God will be with you where ever you go". Whilst ever I am focussing on the negatives, relying on my own strength , I fail to see that I don't have to manage all these things. I only need to put my trust in Him and rest in His strength . I'm a bit of a slow learner at times. I can testify from experience, during seasons of trial when I haven't lost the plot and relied on Him, traversing the drama has been a lot less traumatic, not only for me but for those around me as well. I need to make a daily conscious choice to trust and rely on the assurance that He is present with me every step of the way and when my feet falter, He will be the steadying presence..." I can do all things, through Christ who strengthens me"  Lxx

TRUE BEAUTY

TRUE BEAUTY........What lies are our girls being fed ? What is REAL beauty ? Who defines REAL beauty ? Where are our girls sourcing their perception of REAL beauty? Are they being misled by what society the media and those in positions of influence portray as REAL?  As a mum of 4 teenage girls I am more than aware of the pressures and influences our girls are bombarded with on a daily basis. I see and experience the doubt and stress, the wounding of self esteem, the questioning of their worth all tied to the way they look. Am I wearing the right clothes ? Does my hair look ok ? Do I have pimples ? My eyes are the wrong colour ! Am I thin enough ? I'm too fat ! The list is unbelievable and what's worse is that the validation of these perceived flaws is given by their peers, friends who struggle daily with the same issues. In a desperate attempt to feel good about themselves they are resorting to pointing out one anothers flaws. Eating disorders, anorexia and bulimia are on the rise and the girls ( and boys ) suffering are getting younger. What does this say about our society and what we deem as important ? Our children, like never before are exposed from an alarmingly young age through all forms of media and advertising, to an unrealistic standard of beauty, visual beauty. Our girls are sexualized from an alarmingly young age, just take a look at the underwear section at the shops for what they call "tweens", a burgeoning market priming our girls to think "sexy". What was once seen as inappropriate to screen at certain times on television no longer seems to be an issue, everywhere you look our kids are being inundated with lies and fantasy. They are being fed an unrealistic view of what beauty really is. They expect the FANTASY and are chasing after it. What can we do to combat the negative influences our kids are exposed to ? We can't lock them away from the world, it's impossible to shelter them from everything undesirable and they need to learn to make positive and healthy choices on their own. A healthy self esteem stems from knowing who you are, being comfortable in your own skin and understanding the meaning of TRUE beauty. Some are blessed with a visual beauty and that's ok but we can all be RADIANT- vividly bright and shining expressing love, happiness and health. I believe this is the essence of TRUE beauty, lasting and genuine, evident in old age when time has altered our visual appearance. As parents all we can really endeavor to do is to instill an understanding of what RADIANT BEAUTY is in our children every day. To positively reinforce attributes other than physical appearance and point them to the One who created them perfectly and wondrously.  We can also have a voice collectively by speaking out against the negative influences where and whenever we are presented with the opportunity to do so. It takes courage to be bold........But what is at stake? I'd say its worth the effort ! Lxx

Live Light in 25 Words- Day 31. " How much do you Love "

" Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength " Deuteronomy 6:5 Q. How do you live out your love for God? Life is a continuing journey, and practically living out our love for God evolves as we travel along with Him. Love progresses through many stages. In the beginning it's full of excitement and anticipation. With our new found love of God we are zealous evangelists telling anyone who will listen, and even those who won't, about Him. Moving on into the period of stabilisation , we begin to learn about Him, to understand and get to know Him better. Reading the Word and developing a lifestyle with Him, learning to communicate with Him. Many of us will go through a period where our love is tested. Difficult times may come our way where we must choose to hold tightly to that love or we allow it to slip away. Some, may fall in love with Him all over again. And then we arrive at the place of knowing, He is definitely the one. He is always there no matter what, we are altogether lovely enough for Him just as we are, warts and all. He knows us inside and out, there is nothing we can do that will make Him not love us, absolutely nothing. My life needs to be a reflection of how much God loves me. I love because He first loved me. If I can encourage those around me, help others to feel comfortable , accepted and valued then I am sharing what He has given to me. Life's sojourn and love are a journey full of obstacles but my purpose is to "Love God, my God, with my whole heart; love Him with all that's in me, love Him with all I've got." The Message Lxx

Live Light in 25 Words- Day 30. " Just, Merciful, Humble...Is that You?"

" He has shown you, O mortal what is good. And what does The Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy , and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 Q. How does God want us to live? What are some practical ways to live this way? This would have to be one of the most well known, compassion and justice igniting verses in the Bible. We hear it used in reference to missions and social justice issues, but how often do we hear, or apply it, to our every day living? "But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple; Do what is fair and just to your neighbour, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself to seriously- take GOD seriously." The Message God actually says that He " requires " - (to call for as suitable or appropriate, to regard as obligatory; to demand ) this of us. It's not an option for us to live in any other manner. If we are to call ourselves Christian , to love and honour God, then we must walk this out in our daily interactions. In being JUST, we are to be morally upright, treating all others fairly and in an appropriate manner. In LOVING MERCY, we are to show compassion to those who offend us, and be the first to provide assistance to those who are in need. And in WALKING HUMBLY with our God, we are to know our place, not trying to impress God with our own self importance . So why do so many of us find this so hard? It requires submission to God and a relinquishing of pride. If we are honest, I think we can confess that we all struggle in this area at times. Allowing Him to give us the strength to live beyond how we feel, because often ,we just don't feel like living these qualities out. The world implores us to put ourselves first, how contrary this is to Gods plan for our lives. Imagine, if as Christians we purposed each day to this, to be the men and women God is looking for.....Imagine! Lxx

Live Light in 25 Words- Day 29. " Constant "

"Then The Lord came down in the cloud and stood before him and proclaimed his name, The Lord. And he passed in front of Moses proclaiming, " The Lord, The Lord , the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger , abounding in love and faithfulness ......"Exodus 34:5a,6 Q. What does God reveal to Moses about Himself ? After all Moses had endured with his rebellious people, God comes to Him to reassure him of who He is. He states that He is Yahweh , He is God. He then goes on to express His qualities. This same quality of character that afforded the Israelites so much is still bestowed upon us today. Because He is constant, we can be assured that His love for us is never ending, He is true to His word , His patience goes beyond understanding and even though we, like the Israelites, are so undeserving, He understands us and has made a way for us, sacrificing His one and only Son. What an amazing sense of security this gives us , to know that God, Yahweh is same today as He was thousands of years ago. Steadfast in times of trouble and need and ever forgiving of our failures and inconsistencies . And the more we get to know Him and grow deeper in relationship with Him the more He reveals to us about Himself. Lxx

Live Light in 25 Words - Day 28. " He did that for me ? "

" But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5 Q. Have you reflected recently on the price Jesus paid to bring you peace? I have actually been engaged in a lot of reflecting lately. During the last 3 1/2 years life has been challenging , tough and at times I wondered how I would keep going. I walked away from God, I was so angry with Him. I lost sight of who He was, I couldn't see past people and my church hurt. I ran from Him and everything connected with Him. My heart hardened, unforgiveness and the sorrow from the circumstances within my family weighed me down. I have never felt as lost and lonely as I did during this period in my life. BUT, He never left me, He kept knocking, and finally I opened the door to my heart again. I am so very grateful that He did not give up on me, for the beautiful people He brought into my life, for the events that He orchestrated. So when I reflect and ponder on what it cost Him to give me the peace I now walk in, and it most certainly is a peace that surpasses understanding as life is still scattered with many a hurdle too high for me to clear, emotion overwhelms. " For the mountains may move, and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken, says the LORD, who has mercy on you. Isaiah 54:10 Words cannot fully express the beauty within this promise, the richness of its meaning. I stand in awe. Lxx