Someone's crazy about you!

She called me a few minutes ago. When I saw the name on my cell phone, and the picture assigned to it, my heart leaped. It was my wife. After 41 years of marriage, and a year and a half of dating, I still get excited when I see her face, and hear her voice! The years and hardships haven't weakened our love, they have strengthened it. I am a blessed man!

The call wasn't about anything in particular. There was nothing romantic or exciting about the conversation. She had to run some errands, and was letting me know... It was just a simple phone call. Just a voice. Just a picture of a face. But it was hers. That sweet and pretty girl from Cliffside that I fell in love with years ago.

After our brief conversation that lasted no more than two or three minutes, I hung up the phone, and began reflecting about the call, and my reaction. And the thought came to me about love-- and God's love for us. Can you imagine how much He loves us? I think God gets excited when we communicate with Him, when we get excited about seeing and hearing from Him. He takes pleasure in our presence, in our voice, in our love for Him.

I challenge you today to fall in love again. Fall in love again with the girl, the boy, you fell in love with and married. And fall in love with God again. Come back to your first love. Get back in church. God's waiting for your call.

He's crazy about you!

You lift me up

Have life's experiences got you down? Are you going through something that has troubled you, and tempted you to quit? Some quit on God, quit on their marriage and family, and quit on themselves. Sometimes the pressures of life seem to be too much to handle.

Even the strong can fall in difficult times. Some fall into sin, some fall into discouragement. The world tends to label people who have fallen as failures. But the bible gives us the record of great men who reached low points in life. We have the story of David, who at one point committed lust, and fell into sin. He is just one example of the ability of God to redeem and restore. There are the stories of others, who did not fall into sin, but into the trap of discouragement. Men such as Moses, Elijah, and Jeremiah, who reached that low point. The Apostle Paul addressed conflict in several of his letters, and urges us not to quit or give up. I often say that the fact the word encourages us not to quit is an indication that there will be times when doing so seems like a viable option.

You may be down right now, but I encourage you to get back up. Or you may not be down, but you feel yourself falling. In your weakness, you can find God's strength. He is able to resurrect and restore your life, and your hopes and dreams. Hebrews 11:19 says that "Abraham reasoned that God could resurrect the dead."
The falling doesn't negate the calling! God calls you back up, back into life, back into His plan and purpose for your life.

I love the song by the Afters, which says:

"You lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I’m letting go
You lift me up when I can’t see
Your heart is all that I need
Your love carries me so I’m letting go"

God will lift you up today!
Blessings