God LOVES ME all the time!

Another chapter in our journey with God.  October 16, 2012 God LOVES ME all the time!

As I sit down to write this I am not sure where to begin because I don’t know who my audience will be or what my intended purpose is.  I woke up at 5:00 a.m. with an urgency to document all the amazing things God is doing in our lives right now so we can accurately glorify Him in the future.  If these words somehow bless others that is just an added bonus. 

In the last three days God showed me so much love and goodness that I just had to send an email to share with some of my sisters in Christ yesterday afternoon.  After I sent the email God continued to shower our family with blessings.  This is such a special season and I want to embrace His will and His perspective! Here is the email:

Hello Sweet Sisters in Christ, 

I know you are all busy but I am feeling so blessed today and must take a minute to share God's goodness with you.

As many of you know I have been struggling with feeling really down the last couple of weeks.  I was physically sick with a cold or allergies and emotionally I just couldn't get going.  I started each day with a battle to try to have a quiet time and the motivation to just do the things I needed to get done for my family.  I believe a battle with the root spirit of FEAR was also playing a part with the fruits of anxiety, faithlessness, inadequacy, worry, tension/stress, and my old friend perfectionism as my daily companions. 

Praise God, on Saturday morning I woke up at 5:30 without an alarm and felt hopeful and excited about the day!  God gave me a chance to chat with Kelli, Cristy's sister from the retreat and I asked her some of the questions I am wrestling with about Spiritual warfare and deliverance.  Kelli shared some of those insights with me but also reminded me that the most important thing, REALLY is that GOD LOVES US, unconditionally.  She recommended that I watch the sermon Unpunishable by Danny Silk.  What a blessing!  Thank you Kelli!

Anyway, I downloaded it and was able to listen to it with Keith on Saturday evening and Sunday before church.  What an amazing blessing!  My husband is so wonderful and often gets up early to have Bible Study time with other men, but we never get up at 6:00 a.m. to study together.  Plus we broke our Daniel fast so we could sip coffee while we watched.  It was amazing and I am really convinced that God loves me, unconditionally.  I would love to host a viewing of this message sometime soon so we can all be blessed together.  Since we aren't planning to meet for the Revelation study next Wednesday, Oct 24th maybe that would be a good time.  Plus it might be a great time to cover Kirsten in prayer before she goes to spend time with Blenda.  

I just LOVE the way he explains what has been written in God's word but is hard for me to apply.  

1 John 4:18

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Over and over again God revealed His perfect love to me on Sunday: the weather, the joy of breaking the fast with bacon and eggs, the worship music at church (Kirsten I always think of you with love when I hear "Our God" by Chris Tomlin), the message, time with my family, LOVE for my kiddos and husband, and a hunger for quiet time.  Too good!

Today I again woke up feeling blessed, but started in on my to do list after quiet time.  Completing our kindergarten subjects for the day, I picked up our regular Bible study curriculum and just about fell over.  SO AMAZING the verse for today is John 3:16 and part of our activities included repeating "God loves me all the time!" over and over.  We literally YELLED it at the top of our lungs and burst into laughter and joyous giggles.  

As I type this Keith still doesn't have a job and I don't know what the future holds regarding bringing foster children into our home and I can't even imagine how I will be able to be an effective homeschool teacher long term, but IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER.  God LOVES, LOVES, LOVES all of us with a perfect love and that is the most important thing.  Really, everything you need to know you learned in kindergarten ;-)

Love you girls and let me know if the 24th will work for you, 

Heather Jane

I sent that message around 1:00 p.m. and God was working mightily in my husband’s heart.  Because he doesn’t currently have a job, he was available yesterday when a family from church asked for help loading their home for a cross country move.  I have PRAYED so many times for God to give Keith a servant’s heart and for his role as a servant leader to be revealed to me.  Not only did he spend the entire day working to help them but Keith felt the Holy Spirit working in his heart in a powerful way.  The family (who we know well but I won’t name to respect their privacy) shared that they were moving the next day with only $500 in the bank and that they were discouraged that their efforts to save more money were thwarted with a number of financial emergencies.  Keith sent some texts to some other men at church and they committed to give this family a love gift.  Literally minutes before the bank closed, Keith went to get $1000 for this sweet family.  We do not have any salary coming in this month and were not sure exactly how much the other families were going to contribute but, after praying together felt this was what the Holy Spirit was calling us to do.  We gathered up some snacks, wrote a card of encouragement, and that night Keith took the kids and delivered the money.  Among tears of joy Keith felt called to pray and the Holy Spirit led them in a special time of prayer.  WOW!

I just love how this experience shows God’s perspective.  This family has been trying to relocate for years.  Only God knew that His perfect timing would allow Keith to be out of work on a Monday and for His body of believers to have the means and opportunity to share God’s love with a tangible reminder of His goodness.  Only God knew what a wonderful servant leader He chose as my husband almost ten years ago.  

While Keith graciously offered to take the kids and deliver the love gift (a little miracle ;-) all by itself ) I stayed home to finish baking and clean up.  After sending my email I had received a text from Kelli asking me to call her when I had a minute to talk.  Lo and behold, as the cinnamon rolls baked I had a quiet minute to call her.  She was at a football game but I “just happened” to call right during half time so she could chat.  We received even more blessings as she poured out more wisdom and showered our family in powerful prayer.  

I have prayed and longed for Keith and I to have deep spiritual discussions and for him to share what God is doing in his heart.  God so granted my request and gave me more than I could have even imagined last night.  Keith and I stayed up way past 11:00 p.m. reviewing all the ways God revealed his goodness in this season and sharing time in meaningful prayer.  

God’s perfect timing was also revealed in other smaller and yet still glorious ways yesterday.  As I got up for my quiet time I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to pray about a fundraiser for water is basic.  Keith and I are looking forward to our ten year anniversary next summer and have talked about different dreams for celebrating over the years.  I jotted down this note so I wouldn’t forget: 

10 year anniversary fundraiser for Water Is Basic.  Family party with free food and water but charging for some drinks or all drinks??? Show God’s love by focusing on provision of living and physical water.  Examples of water labor? Water jug races?  . . . more on that to come in God’s timing.

Also, we were planning to go to the Texas State Fair today to have some fun as a family and make the most of having Keith off work and the flexibility of homeschooling.  On Tuesdays Dr Pepper sponsors a discount if you bring in their cans.  Yesterday I was on my way to Kroger to pick up some groceries and the needed Dr Pepper cans when I received a text from Christine Sanders offering our family free tickets.  Wow God, what amazing timing!  Yes thank you very much!  We may even have extra tickets and plan to pass them along to someone at the fair as a token of God’s goodness and look forward to that fun.  Plus, my friend Karla gave us some extra fairway tickets her family didn’t use so we are being showered with generosity. 

Other little events that may not seem so impressive just poured God’s love into my heart as well.  I have been questioning our decision to send Jeffery to Spanish Schoolhouse during this season.  It is really expensive and I could keep him home and save the money and he says he doesn’t like it and cries when we tell him he has to go and more thoughts like these cross my mind regularly.  Yesterday sweet Jeffery walked in the door after school, grabbed an apple off the counter, and with the sweetest grin said, “manzana”.  Now that may not seem like a miracle for a kid that I have been coaching to speak a single Spanish word for years and that just came home from two months of Spanish preschool but it felt like a word of confirmation for this mamma.  

Also, I have been questioning the idea of a prayer language and trying to find clarification in scripture.  Last night, right before bed I was reading “Becoming a Prayer Warrior” by Beth Alves.  I have had this book sitting by my bed since June but haven’t picked it up.  That book led me to 1 Corinthians 14 and addressed all my concerns.  God is so good and shares his love in such amazing ways.  

When I turned on the computer to write this I received an email from Kirsten sharing that she woke up at 4:30 a.m. this morning battling fear, saw my email from yesterday,  and was comforted by God’s words.  I mean, come on, this is getting a little bit excessive God.  You are just too much!!!