Yet you are so Lovely

Do you think you are beautiful?

That is how the Father defines you, child of God.
He defines you as "lovely."
But you feel otherwise,
    dirty, shameful, guilty, dark.
You have heaped accusations upon yourself of measurement and comparison.

But the fact remains,
He whispers,
"Yet you are lovely, my precious one."

Your beauty is reflective of the One who lives within you,
Jesus, the Anointed One.
When the Father looks at you, He sees His Son Jesus.
The Father put us into His Son so He could see us and love us as He sees and loves His Son.

So despite my measurement, my critique, my comparison...
The Father responds,
"Yet you are so lovely."

I see myself as unworthy, He sees me as worthy,
I see myself as insignificant, He sees me as valuable,
I see myself as spotted, He sees me as clean, washed.
I see myself as weathered by the storms of life, He see me glittering from the treasure obtained from the 
   storm.
I see myself as "apiece of work," He sees me as set apart for His glory.
I see Him looking at me scornfully,
But He interrupts and declares,"You are thrilling to me, how I delight in you!"

I think I need to change my thinking...renew my mind...see myself as He sees me,
As His beloved!

Song of Songs 1:5

Song of Songs 1:5

His Gift of Myrrh

My Beloved has a special gift for me...
It's a tied-up bundle of myrrh.
He places it over my heart
In the night.
This bundle has the aroma of the finished work of Christ,
All that He accomplished for me on the cross.
He lays this bundle on my chest,
This gift from His heart to my heart,
In the night season, yes even in the storm.
The aroma invites me to rest,
Rest in what He has accomplished,
Rest in what He has accomplished for me.

This aroma that breathes in:
       Joy instead of mourning,
       Hope instead of despair,
       Love instead of hate,
       Peace instead of fear,
       Laughter instead of crying,
       Gentleness instead of irritation,
       Empathy instead of apathy,
       Courage instead of fear,
       Rejoicing instead of complaining,
       Prosperity instead of brokenness,
       Strength instead of fatigue,
       Wisdom instead of foolishness,
       Light instead of darkness,
       Winning instead of losing,
       Truth instead of lies,
       Honor instead of rebellion,
       Freedom instead of bondage.....

This aroma consumes me here in His resting place,
This resting place where He washes me with the Truth, opening my eyes to His Light, His Love.
This resting place where He spaciously protects me, 
Surrounding and covering me with His blood, His presence, His fragrance.

So luxuriously providing everything I need.

What a gift!

Song of Songs 1:12

Enjoying the Beauty

There is beauty in every day...

Beauty in sunrise,
Beauty in a rested body,
beauty in health, strength,
Beauty in being able to serve, give, love, help,
Beauty in that smile, that touch, that kind gesture,
Beauty in that conversation, that idea, that memory,
Beauty in the goodness of God surrounding us.

Strife takes the beauty away,
Selfishness takes the beauty away,
Offended feelings, victim feelings, "poor me" feelings take the beauty away,
Telling lies, believing lies, harsh words,
All destroy the beauty, destroy the treasure, destroy the poured out goodness.

Allow me God to see the poured out treasures of Your grace today.
Thank you God for Your beauty!

The Good Shepherd

My Good Shepherd doesn't send someone else to find His lost sheep,
No, He goes Himself, pursing, searching.
He does not give up on the search,
Or only look in the safe places.
There is no limit to the distance or the deepness He will go to search.

He promises success... rescue... found.
He brings them home, carrying them in His arms because of their wounds, malnutrition, and disease.
He brings them back to the green pastures of His love and acceptance.
He brings them back to the cool waters of refreshment and cleansing.
He brings them back...and begins to restore them:
      Singing over them His songs of love,
      Reminding them of who they are, who He is, and what He wants to do for them.
      He nourishes them with His words.
      Comforts them with His compassion,
      Heals them with His truth,
      Forgives them with His power,
      Restores them with His strength,
      Sending His streams of living waters for their continual provision.

The Good Shepherd makes a covenant with His rescued flock,
Surrounding them with His blessings, favor, prosperity as they trust in His wisdom, His care, His direction,
       His provision.

He promises showers of blessings...just when needed, 
      bumper crops of fruit to share,
      peace and rest

Rescued, restored, provided for...such a wonderful Shepherd!

Ezekiel 34

Comforting Love

Thank you for Your comforting love, Father!

Your love that comes alongside and says, "I am here, I will never leave you."

Your comforting love that hugs me tight when the grief hurts,

Your comforting love that does not reject me when I question,

Your comforting love that keeps me steady when I feel faint,

Your comforting love that lifts my head and breathes hope into me,

Your comforting love that allows me to see your eyes of compassion...

And as I gaze into your eyes...
Into the eyes of the One who loves me completely,
I am surrounded with Your truth... and peace comes.

Thank you for Your comforting love!

He Reveals the Treasure

Today on my walk, I rounded the corner and exclaimed, "Wow! How did I miss this before?"

I was walking north facing the hills before me and they were ablaze with color.
I did not see this treasure earlier on my walk, although I was walking the same direction.
The difference was the time. Earlier the sun was not high enough to cast its light on those trees.
So without the light I could not see the beauty.

Made me think about life...

When I am looking at my circumstances through the lens of love,
Seeing as Christ sees,
I find the treasure, I can find the beauty.

When I look at certain circumstances with just my eye sight...
Things can appear dark, dreary, not fair, barren...

His Light makes all the difference.
His Light reveals the treasure, the blessing.
His Light makes the drab, the everyday, 
Into good, better, best.
His Light removes the negatives, and replaces them with a treasure.
 
Sometimes the treasure is not as obvious as my "Wow!"
When the light of the sun revealed the beauty of the leaves.

Sometimes I have to ask the Lord to reveal the treasure.

I always find the treasure when I gaze upon Him.
When I rejoice in Him ,
When I believe and trust that He has something for me INSTEAD of this negative...

He has treasures waiting to be discovered.

I don't want to miss them...

Gardening

I love the garden.
I love the planning, the expectation of the harvest,
I love the excitement and patience involved in watching those seeds sprout and begin to grow.
I love the nurture, the watering, the weeding, the fertilizing, and trimming...
I love seeing the fruit develop, watching it grow, protecting it from the weather and animals.

I love the harvest...
    the feeling of eating fresh grown produce from the backyard,
    the security of mind that this produce is pesticide free,
    the convenience of stepping outside the back door and gathering the herbs needed for a recipe.

But most of all I love the sharing!
A garden is about sharing...sharing the gifts, the bounty, the provision, the ideas, the recipes,
And learning to receive the bounty from another...

My Heavenly Father loves to garden.
He is the supreme Gardener.

Lovingly, He plants us into His garden with so much excitement.
He has great plans and purposes for our life because He know what He put within us.

Patiently, He watches us grow.. teaching us, encouraging us, cheering us on.

Tenderly, He nourishes us as we grow...
    revealing His love and truth to us,
    refreshing our spirit,
    removing the chaff,
   cultivating the ground,
   fertilizing us with the circumstances in our life that deepen our walk with Him.

He loves the process of us becoming.
He is always willing to wait.
How faithfully He protects our fruit in the seasons of drought and barrenness.
How He rejoices when the harvest begins, the fragrance is sweet, the taste delicious.
And Yes, He is ecstatic when we share the fruit, the harvest, our gifts, our talents.
Creation dances when these plants of His declare that, "God is good! God is great! God is love!"
Declaring, sharing and blessing their world, as they display a beautiful showcase of their Gardener!