ForeverLOVEd

9  The  Lord  your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground.  For the  Lord  will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers,   10  when you obey the voice of the  Lord  your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the  Lord  your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  Dueteronomy 30:9-10 It is probably one of the simplest words in our vocabulary. From the time we are toddlers stealing toys and climbing on shelves we are taught the word  NO . And maybe because in the beginning it is one of the only words we ever hear or maybe because we feel an obligation or a need to feel accepted for some reason along the way we start to avoid the word no. In our minds we define  no  as the opposite of  yes  really. If we looked it up in the dictionary we would find that the word

"I have come to set the world on fire, and how I wish it were already burning."  Luke 12:49  I have a lot of fears. I could list off of the top of my head a dozen.    Heights, puking, and speaking to an audience are just a few. I suppose it is kind of random, but I recently discovered I am also terrified by fire.  I made this realization one evening as we were roasting marshmallows on sticks in the backyard. We had been given the most adorable pot to roast them in around Christmas. Once my brother had finally lit a small flame in the black charcoal, it was time to get the s'mores going. But as I held my marshmallow a foot above the tiny flame, I could see that nothing was happening and that nothing would if I did not move it a little closer. The thought was silly, it is a tiny flame, stop being ridiculous, roast your darn marshmallow. I had built many s'mores in my life and could recall camp outs and neighborhood gatherings where the roasting was the central part of t

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. John 14:26  Most of you spent your weekend delivering flowers, putting thoughtful notes in cards and cooking elaborate dinners to celebrate the MOMS in your life. Whether it was your biological mom, a grandma, an in-law or just an amazing woman in your life, I hope you had someone to celebrate. Each of us have these important woman that nurture us, shape us, and help us become who we are today. So it is only right that we have at least one day set aside to celebrate them.  I think each of our moms have in some way or another given us gifts. Maybe the things they have instilled in you stand out or maybe they are little things you barely notice. Maybe it seems like she has left you nothing or maybe it is obvious she has given you everything. All these things make some difference in our lives but I think there is one special gift

For the Lamb Who is in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to the springs of the waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Revelation 7:17 Well, we had planned to head back to the house and watch a movie, but an hour and a half later, we still had not made it inside. A crazy and energetic dog had conquered our street and as I sat in the car, terrified because of previous dog experiences, my brother and friend eagerly jumped out to help the other neighbors to catch him. The events that followed were literally bizarre. And while I cannot even begin to explain them in words, I can tell you that a 90 minute adventure played out right before my eyes on the other side of the window. We first encountered Eddie, this spunky boxer, on our way to pick up a movie. We thought it was odd he was roaming the streets alone and were even more thrown off by his strange behavior. He circled the car multiple times and looked to be very distr