Isn't summer the best?!?! I am SO happy to see the sun after so much rain! Thank you Jesus! Watching the sunrise this morning was so refreshing. It rises every morning, but sometimes we just can't see it...because the clouds cover it...
And I'm reflecting on bible study last night with my sweet sisters-in-Christ, they truly are the best! We're studying the book of Hosea. In depth. Chapter by chapter, verse by verse. I'm coming to understand the love and character of God in ways I never have before. Last night we were in chapter 6. After all of this time of Israel running after other gods, they are returning.
Hosea 6:3- "Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth."
Such a beautiful verse, so hope-filled. Israel, the unfaithful people. After rejecting God and running after other gods, they are returning. What strikes me is how confident they are that He will come to them. Even now. After how they've treated Him. How do they know that He won't turn away from them after they've run from Him for so long? Because they know Him. They know that His faithfulness isn't dependent upon their faithfulness to Him. Oh, aren't you grateful that His faithfulness isn't dependent upon us in any way? He is faithful as the sunrise.
Just let that sink in.
Another amazing thing is that He doesn't wait for them to come to Him. As soon as they acknowledge Him He comes. Because He's been waiting for His people to return to Him. He wants their hearts. He wants their devotion. He's been waiting for them. His people.
While we run from Him He waits. He wants our devotion, He wants our hearts. He waits for our return, and when we acknowledge Him He comes.
As I was walking in from bible study last night I looked up at the millions of stars. Oh city people, I don't know how you do it! Country skies are breathtaking! And I just thought, the One who created all of this beauty, the Star-breather loves me and desires a relationship with me. I stood there for a few minutes just letting that soak into my heart and mind. How awesome. I am so grateful for his great love and faithfulness.
Some days it's so easy to see Him all around me and others I really have to look for Him. We humans are just so focused on what's right in front of us that we sometimes miss what's really going on, the bigger picture. My goal this summer is to slow down. I'm always so busy, with good things, but I just want to make sure I don't get distracted from my ministry because I'm too distracted by my busy schedule. I know that's not God's plan for me.
I just want to grab hold of summer with both hands and not let it slip by without making my days and hours count. Sometimes I think growing up makes you not enjoy life anymore. Not that you're necessarily unhappy, you just don't have time to slow down and enjoy where you are. So this summer I'm making time to enjoy it. I'm gonna read more books, drink more coffee, wake up and put my swimsuit on instead of clothes (when you work from home you can work in a swimsuit and take pool breaks. Yay!), and snack on popsicles and fruit all day. I want to watch the sun rise and set and have coffee with my favorite ladies. I want to leave the make-up off and take the extra morning time to have another cup of coffee and read an extra chapter in my bible. I want to do more craft projects, because that's what I truly love doing, working with my hands. I want to take more pictures, write more, dream more, learn more of God's heart for me.
I'm off to a good start. My kitchen table has been covered with paper, ribbon, jewelry, lace, paint, picture frames and feathers for days! Dad can hardly eat at the table, which he hates! I got back involved in a ministry that I have such a heart for, volunteering a few hours every other week to answering calls and counseling with women who are going through unplanned pregnancies. I cannot even tell you how rewarding it has been! There are hard aspects to it as well as there is with any ministry, but it's better good than bad. God is good. What a blessing it is to serve Him! The stack of books under my bed has grown and grown and grown. SO. MUCH. READING!!!
Welcome summer! So happy you are finally here!
Have a blessed weekend everyone! Enjoy celebrating your dads!
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