Are you enough for me?

Quiet moments. Down time.

What do I do with this time? Usually there are plenty of distractions. Busyness, friends, family, facebook, activities, church events, movies, small group, grocery shopping, work. So much to do with so little time. Life is good.. Crazy, on the go...

Do you think that God may stop us for a reason? Does he slow things down or take something away to grab our attention? Are there seasons of life when we don't have much of a choice than to turn to Him? Are there moments of desperation for a reason?

I have such a blessed life. So many people who love me, an amazing husband, a beautiful baby boy, my health, the list is endless.

But I often wonder if HE is enough. If I lost everything, would my God be enough for me? Do I praise my God because my life is so good? Would I continue to praise Him if everything I hold dear was torn from my hands? I say my God is good, but would these words leave my lips if I hit the ultimate pit of life?

Is God just an addition to the wonderful life I live? Or is he the core? Is he the first thing I think about when I wake in the morning and lay my head down at night? Do I breathe Him? Is he closer to me than my own skin?

The answer to this may change from day to day, because life just happens that way. Some days I am so passionate for my Savior that I can feel him seeping through the pores of my skin. Then there are days when he seems so far away, like I couldn't feel Him even if he touched me.

Isn't life crazy like that? Some days are good and some are pretty bad. Life is easy, then life is hard.

My life lately has had a lot of down time. Living in a new place, not knowing many people has been a battle on certain days. I love people. I thrive on being around people and feeling that closeness between humans. Lately I have noticed that my best days have been when I'm super busy. I have a lot to do so I don't have time to miss people or feel lonely or even to seek my God.

But I don't want that. I don't want a life full of activities to make me happy. I want a soul full of Jesus. I want to experience His joy even in those dull moments of life.

I want my focus to be on bringing Him glory. If I stop and think about it, there is no down time at all... I want to grow in God's word; His love letter to me. I want to cultivate my marriage and be the best wife I can be to the man God gave me. I want to teach my son to love others like Jesus did. It is easy to slack on these things in life because we feel "Blah" at times. But praise the Lord that every day is a new day! A refreshing chance to start over and try again.

I want everyday to be about bringing Him glory, not about what activity will make me feel good. I want Jesus to be more than enough. I want to seek His presence passionately. I want to believe His word and rest in the fact that He truly is more than enough. I am open to knowing what God is trying to teach me during this season in my life.

There is nothing in this life that I will have to endure alone. He is walking with me every step of the way. Whether life circumstances are amazing or heartbreaking, MY JESUS IS ENOUGH! Thank you Jesus for making me believe. My joy is in you. I will seek you all the days of my life.

No matter how far you look on this Earth, nothing will ever satisfy the inner parts of your soul like Jesus will.

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith." Hebrews 10:35-37

Three words...

Wherever you are... whatever problem, pain, season, struggle, fear...

You need to know...

God loves you.

Because sometimes you just need to hear it...

He loves you in your brokenness, in your insecurities, in your sin, in your anger, in your confusion...

God loves you.

Because sometimes we just need to be reminded...

The creator of the Universe has called you by name, you are His. (Isaiah 43:1)

Three little words... cliche. But true. Deep. Real.

How amazing... Right where you are. In this moment..

God loves YOU.

Breathe Him in.

....

Our flesh may fail us, but your spirit never does, O Lord.

Stripped.

Money, fancy cars, smiles, high heels, education, status, jobs, etc... all things that help the world go round. Part of life, part of you and I. Material things, Chipper facebook status', a painted face or designer label. The world.

Who are we if we are stripped of these things? One of my best friends pondered this question aloud one day... It made me think, what are people hiding behind? What are people really like when they leave the crowd and sit in their bedroom? Who are they? Where are their thoughts? What are they thinking about?

What is our purpose? At the end of the day, when the lights are out, the make up is off, the party is over, the kitchen is cleaned, the clothes are dirty... what is left of us? Is there more beyond what strangers and acquaintances see on the outside?

Is there substance? Something deeper? A passion? A yearning to live out what our hearts are on fire for? Or do we wake up to get dressed and put on a show for the world, thinking of ourselves.. What can the world give me?

Do we fight for something? Strive for something? Ache for something? Do we think about such things? Can we change the world?

Who can we be a friend to? Who needs love? How can I show others I love them? Will people see my heart through the life I live? Who is hurting? Who is struggling at this very moment? Who is just barely hanging on? Who can I encourage? Who needs a little push? Who needs my time? My money? Who just needs someone?

There are so many distractions... so much going on.. Life is good for me but someone out there is hurting, aching. We are blessed but someone else feels they have nothing. Life is not about us. How can I get ahead? I want the best car... I will prove to them... I don't need anyone... Walls go up.. How can this really fulfill a person?

I need to be a friend, I need to help, I need to give. Not about me but about them, and that makes us. I will help you and you help me... Give and take but mostly give... have my hand, my help, my money, my heart. Let me show you how the Father loves. Let's hold hands and go through life together... stripped. No show, nothing on the surface... but deeper. These are my fears, what are yours? Let's cry together & not pretend life is perfect... then let's rejoice in the name of the Perfect One.

This is me, flaws, sin, guilt, shame, brokenness. All of us, at some point will break, but we will have each other... And the love of Christ. Together. Me and you... them and us... One. Praise God for the love of a brother and a sister.

Praise the Father, who takes brokenness and makes a new creation, takes sin and makes a testimony, takes death and breathes new life, takes flaws and makes art, takes shame and makes a miraculous discovery. Praise to the one who heals, fills, and conquers. Praise. Be. To Him. He loves you and me. We love, because He first loved us. He loves. us. Stripped. For who we are, so shall we love others.

Let us be reminded:

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [2] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Now that is deep. That is substance. That will not fade. I hope I have this. This is what it's all about.