Beauty & the Beast

I went to see this movie with some great friends last weekend. I have seen this movie before, but last weekend I saw it with fresh eyes. I never connected with this movie before, at least not like Cinderella or Tangled. (I really wanted to go to see the Tangled short before the movie. Ohhh...Maximus...your crazy!)
I saw that love isn't based on what the other looks like on the outside, but the condition of the heart. Belle wasn't attracted to the Beast until she saw what he could be on the inside. She said a few times, "He's not like that." or "He's different now." It's amazing how true love can change a person! Unfortunately it's only a movie.
In real life the only love that brings real and lasting change is God's love. Only He can truly love unconditionally! That's because He IS love! It's His very nature.
"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."
 -1 John 4:16 NIV
When we know and rely on the love God has for us, we become more like Him, more of the creation He planned for us to be. Like the Beast, who responded to Belle's love for him, we need to respond to God's love for us and let it change who we are, what we think and how we act. As our thoughts, words and actions become like God's(selfless, pure, honest, etc), we begin to love like God and that affects our relationships with those around us. More Beauty & less Beast!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

The other day I was walking outside from one building to the other at work and it was raining. Again.
The verse dropped into my mind
"...for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
-Matt 5:45.
Good things happen to bad people. Bad things happen to good people.
God doesn't say life will be easy, but that He will always be with us. So then I guess I shouldn't expect life to be a bed of roses!
Ouch!
There's a thorn there!

My Best Friend!!

Jesus is my BEST Friend!

He is the One I can talk to about anything, When I crawl into bed at night and ball my eyes out because it has been a rough day, He's there holding me. He is not surprised! He has walked the whole day with me. Or when He tells me what He thinks of me and I start giggling, He doesn't roll His eye's and give me the, "I'm trying to be serious" look. Actually, I imagine He does. He totally understands! There is nothing, no human emotion, that God doesn't understand!

Why?

Because He created us in HIS image and He walked the earth in human form as Jesus!
Jesus chose to come and live on this planet as a human. He experienced everything, every emotion we do. He chose to die a horrible, painful death because He loved me so much and saw the awful condition I was in - seperated from Him by my sin!
How amazing is that?!? He wants to hear what I have to say. Even when my make-up is smeared, snot is running down my chin and I'm blubbering so hard you can't understand a word I'm saying! He loves me and cares about what is going on in MY life. He sees my best and my worst and still loves me unconditionally!
Isn't He the best friend you could ever have?
You can have Him too!
I'll share.

 "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them; male and female - He created them." - Genesis 1:27 NKJV

"The Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God's nature. He holds everything together by what He says - powerful words! -Hebrews 1:3 MSG

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in Him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust Him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to Him." - John 3:16-18 MSG

So Hungry...

There are days when I can never eat enough! My hunger is so strong, especially for the kinds of food that are generally not a part of my diet. Chocolate, cookies, ice cream...mmm...ice cream. I will wander around the kitchen in search of what I am craving, sometimes I will even go to the store in hopes that I might find something there to satisfy the desire.
Most of the time I end up standing in front of the fridge, holding onto the door, a list of the contents of my fridge, freezer & cupboards scrolling through my mind, wondering if they contain what I'm desiring. When the list has been throughly scoured, I realize, I'm not really hungry, but am craving something, something no food can satisfy - a hunger to spend time with my God, a longing to spend time in the presence of my Maker!
"As a deer gets thirsty for streams of water, I truly am thirsty for You, my God. In my heart, I am thirsty for You, the Living God." - Psalm 42:1-2a CEV

Something New?

Have you ever tried something new? Tried a new product or eaten something you hadn't before?
As a kid, it was something my mom added to dinner and didn't tell us until we were done eating. As I got older, I just wanted to be different, to expand my horizons, or to see if this craze actually had teeth, I mean taste.

So how can you know that you do or don't like something if you have never tried it for yourself? How often do we form opinions and ideas of things based on what others have said? Do you have opinions of things based on what others have said only? I have.

I love food! I will try anything twice. TWICE?? Yes. Just in case the first time I tried it was an off day or maybe it was made the wrong way. I could say I don't like squid. The first time I tried it, it was cold! Yuck! The next time, warm. YUM!

"Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see  how good God is. Blessed are you who run to Him."
-Psalm 34:8  The Message

Do you have an opinion or idea about God that maybe is based on what other people have said or done? Have you given Him a taste? Have you tried Him on for size?

"'I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out - plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. When you come looking for me, you'll find me. I'll make sure you won't be disappointed.' God's Decree."
-Jeremiah 29:11-14a The Message

Maybe you need to do something different, expand your horizons, see if what everybody says is true. God won't disappoint! He knows what is best for us, if we will give Him the opportunity too. Maybe you need to give God a taste, or maybe you need to give Him a second try.

All I can say is that I have NEVER been disappointed by Him.