ForeverLOVEd

Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 1 Peter 1:10 Choices. Every day, every moment we have to make them. There is a saying that goes something like this...if you want to make a big decision, flip a coin, not because the heads or tails on the coin will make your decision, but because when the coin is midair you'll suddenly know which way your heart is calling you. I guess that's all we can do really, follow our hearts and hope they are calling us the right way. We have to figure out midair which way we want to go. But at any given second one choice we make can change our whole lives, our purpose, and our direction forever. One minute your going one way and one small decision can take you off the path or in a complete 180 in the opposite direction. We never know what decision might be the one to change our lives completely! Have you ever made a decision...

12 And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.” Mark 2:12 Kids. Five days a week I'm lucky enough to spend my time learning from and watching four and five years adjust and grow into the world around them. There are lots of cute things about kids but one of my favorite things about them is their awe and astonishment with the tiniest of life's pleasures. The smallest thing can excite them to the point that they are jumping up and down or grinning uncontrollably. Kids find that joy in things like a valentine's cupcake, or the chance to listen to their favorite book, or the three minutes they get to spend dancing to the "Friday" song every Friday in the case of my class. These simple things put a smile on my face and bring me joy because I see honest excitement on those kid's faces as they experience each of them. A...

"And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it." John 14:13-14 Have you ever stared impossible in the face? Like really just looked at something; a task, a goal, a job dead in its tracks and felt like everything in the world was conspiring to make sure it wouldn't be done? Sometimes it's hard to decide if this is impossible because it is something that shouldn't be done or if it is impossible because it's beyond the normal person's realm of comfort or convenience and thus something that can only be accomplished by those who truly believe in the beauty of this far off dream. Recently I've been faced with a task that seems in so many ways impossible. Just when I think I'm in the clear and this task is going to be completed I hit another speed bump, another trial, another thing to overcome in order to make the impossible possible! Sometimes I wonder why ...

5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Romans 12:5 We live in a world that tells us to stand out. We celebrate the individual. We are sold the idea of being an individual from the day we are born. Be yourself. Do what's best for you. In almost all things standing out, being above someone else, and excelling past the crowd is celebrated. Today, even as we cheer for a TEAM to win the big super bowl game, an individual who stands out among the rest is given the title of most valuable player. The team is rewarded but beyond that we have to reward an individual for their own personal effort. So much of our life is spent trying to figure out what separates us from our neighbor, what makes us different, and how we will be noticed when standing next to them. It's only natural growing up in this strange world that we'd feel that way. I too find myself yearning for that attention. Longing for that moment when people realize I'...