As I step back and pause to consider all that has been in the making, I find myself in awe of the miracle of God’s creation daily.
I’m not just talking about what I have in me…. I am talking about something that we all have in common with our creator, which is the desire and ability to create more love daily.
What’s pause-itively amazing about today?
… a brand new life to love, one developed with hope to one day become all it is destined to be from re-birth.
Wondering where I am going with this? I understand… because for a minute I started to feel like I wasn’t going anywhere myself, but this morning I sat with a full cup once again and in a moment of clarity, it came to me. My whole life has been spent and meant to lead up to this… waiting in expectation for the next great opportunity to tell someone… about the love I have found and am now burdened to share.
I have always had a story to tell, don’t we all? The love stories I use to tell others were always about the love I was looking for. I was always searching in all the wrong places, so all that I had to talk about was where I had been. Today, the love I have found allows me to tell you about where love is leading me next and the hope that exists for you to find of the love of your life too! I know you have been waiting for it! It is found in the one and only true friend and lover of all of our lives… Jesus Christ! I mean He died for you and I and love doesn’t get any more real than that. “Greater love has noone than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” John 15:13
Is where I am going inconceivable? My aim is to get to the single element that must exist in order for anything else to. God’s greatest creation… love.
I am “in love” today and need to make sure I pause and let it soak in.
Just to keep it real… I am putting a spin on what’s really on the table this Thanksgiving holiday.
Ah… November… there are so many great things to say about it because it’s always a month to remember. Of all the days in this month can you guess which one I love the most? Coming from this natural born foodie, you may assume Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite because it’s the day we purposefully plan to give thanks for everything we are blessed to have loaded up on our plates but in truth, for me the greatest day of all is always the day after Thanksgiving. Not because of the big black Friday deals, but because of all that is leftover after spending a day of giving thanks for and with all that you love.
Of course, I relish the opportunity to revisit every thing I have been previously blessed to enjoy upon my plate each year but there is something amongst this year’s leftovers that I never considered giving thanks for… what life actually dished out.
Chips and Dips…
Recent events have caused me to lean in a little closer to get a real look at what I hold in hand and with all the chips on the table, I realized in my past love-life, I have more dips that have been dished out than I would like to choose from. Suddenly, looking at the hand I have been dealt, I am faced with two very important questions.
#1 Am I really, truly grateful for it all?
AND…
#2 Am I still in?
Take a look at your cards because it’s time to ante up. You may be sitting there, with a straight laced poker face, wondering how we ended up at a card table this year to give thanks… WELL… let me explain.
Earlier this month, on a trip to a lovely little chapel in Vegas, I had the honor of witnessing my sister make a vow to love a man not just for the rest of her life, but for the rest of his and into eternity. Now to be in love is one thing but to be “ALL IN”…. in love… is quite another altogether. You see, my sister had already spent more than 30 years enjoying all life had to offer with this man… so, in a heart to heart conversation with her I had to ask “Why now?” Without skipping a beat, she explained how she made him a promise a long time ago to love and take care of him for the rest of her life and since he asked… she couldn’t refuse. During their spoken vows, my sister now being well over the age of 50 and him being 79, I thought about the words they were agreeing to and what they really meant. And I believe this is the real reason people cry at weddings…. “For better or worse, in sickness and in health, I promise to honor and cherish you all the days of my life”. Saying I do, with the latter part of their lives together ahead, the reality hit me that they were promising to continue to love when all that life has to offer could start to lack it’s luster. In short… she was going all in.
With all the cards laid out on the table, in a moments time, I considered the hand I have been dealt and deliberated the good and the bad. Then I thought how it’s easy to give thanks and joyfully jump in when I know I am looking forward to partaking in all I favor and savor. Now, after I have had my fill on all that has been dished out and what is leftover is all that remains… am I just as eager or am I ready to fold? In other words do I count the joy in dealing with the times I am presented with the dirty dishes as much as I do the filled ones?
The gamble in choosing to love…
With all the ups and downs in life and love, realistically speaking, once you’re over the hill luck has little to do with it. You can count on seeing more of the valley than the mountain top, unless you’re committed to always look up!
For an enduring love, consider this…
James 1: 2-4
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.4So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Again… revisiting what is leftover today, I will wrap up my thoughts on whether true joy in life comes from luck or love, with a statement made by the mister that married my sister in Vegas. He said “to anyone thinking about asking me if I like to gamble… I don’t have to gamble because I hit the jackpot already!”
The short trip I took down the aisle in that little chapel in Las Vegas revealed more than just the things worth revisiting on memory lane. It reminded me that without a doubt, there’s no such thing as luck in my “loved-life”… and that is a glorious discovery.
The real deal is… the greatest truth in the pursuit for love and happiness is that neither come from the hand you are dealt, they come from the hand you are holding. “Say what?” you may retort, “Isn’t that the same thing?” To which I say…
My love… it’s not the same thing at all.
Thought on love #13:
Choosing to love all the time, in good times and bad is not easy but the reward in doing so is a joy that helps you through all the storms your love will endure.
What a soaring sight, birds of a feather, once flocked to be caught by the fowler together Wings weighted in squalor in a world full of muck In proclivities of a poverty mindset found stuck Unworthy vessels in light, now seen fit in His sight Sanctified and set free, take toward the sky in flight
Game over for the love of my past days … now I’m ever looking forward to the sun going down, gracefully on a Sunday night!
ONWARD AND UPWARD TO FACE THE NEW WEEK I TAKE FLIGHT
I have a new Sunday night game.
The love I once had cannot compare to the love I have found. There is more than one way to express it. On top of that there is more than one level and way to experience it. In the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual realm…I can feel it, see it, and give it, because I have received it.
I did, once upon a time fall in and out of love but that, incidentally, was not the true love for which I was meant. It was a just a feeling through times endured and well spent.
Now into a new chapter, I experience it through a place that I have arrived each morning. It’s more than a memory I can’t let go of, a treasure I pursue, a pleasure I indulge in… it’s more than a pain and trial, it is a gift from God.
It is my opened relationship to Him and all He has given me to do for YOU every day. Each day is now filled with one single full heart longing to serve at a table for two.
Time to shed a little light about what’s really on the menu.
Someone near and dear to my heart once helped me to learn the way you can tell the difference between desert and dessert. I will spell it out for you. The key is to remember that the desert, with a lonesome “s”, is meant for only one, but dessert is a treat with two, so it’s even sweeter to enjoy when shared. One thing’s for certain that’s changed in this season is…. I am never alone… and God has made certain to remind me of it.
So… this one takes the cake. “A sweet friendship refreshes the soul.”Proverbs 27:9
Do you wanna hear WHO I got with me or do you wanna HEAR who I got with me?
Since you’re asking; I think I hear knocking. If you’re open to listening. Jesus says “Ask and you shall receive; Seek and ye shall find,; Knock and it shall be opened unto you” Matthew 7:7
Ingredients for a sweet life, when everything is sour…
“When life hands you lemons….make lemonade” I am sure you have heard the term used a time or two. This used to be hard for me to appreciate because everyone knows the best lemonade is made with more than just lemons. “I got the lemons alright… now where do I get the other necessary ingredients? Can you tell me God?” is what I used to retort. Asking such a question, is not taken lightly, especially if you’re asking the one that can answer.
God makes us able and he meets the need. He puts these missing ingredients in others with a planted seed. One of the greatest gifts of all is a resourceful friend that puts what’s in hand to good use. When times change, relationships often do too. What was once sweet, in a moment of time, can turn sour. As you go through the ups and downs in life, everything and every season is for a purposed reason. Those experiences are added to your proverbial toolbox so you can use them for someone else in need.
Pulling up a seat, putting up my feet and enjoying the after party. Time to celebrate all that God has done and savoring this pizza-full moment. I’m not trying to be cheesy (lol) I just am. I have recognized that there are always those that are willing to be there when life is sweet, but when life hands you lemons… what you need is someone who has tasted the sour side of life because they have experience to help you succeed and not just sit and become bitter. I couldn’t have asked for more than what God had in store for me. In my not so favorable moments, God sent someone with a habit to walk on the lighter side of the path. She is a true character, with a sweet and sour sense of humor that helps brighten up my perspective on life both in and for the moment.
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MARLO….
Where I come from… no matter where I’m at, pure happiness is when someone joins me at the table! Thank you for joining me my sweet friends!
So… I have surrendered a little bit to you about some of my struggles through my time in the desert. However… even though the present may be a long, dry season, we have talked about the harvest that awaits, which we will gratefully enjoy… soon enough. But beyond the harvest… there is plenty more in store to dream about. But why do we have to wait?
The gifts of this season… received in a DASH
The key to dashing to success in the relationship business is having someone on your dream team who’s laugh is way funnier than the joke, or so I’ve been recently told. Loving life is done right when we are able to laugh lightly at our failure and loudly in our freedom. We all have little events that can turn our world and our crown upside down and the greatest gift of all is having a friend who gets you through them without even trying, and makes the most joyful sound that brings a smile to your heart.
Good friends are like the fabulous finds and furniture pieces that fill every room in your home… It just wouldn’t be home with out them. I don’t know about your daily habit but what I truly love about mine is… what makes life worth living daily stands out, usually in crimson red letters, because those I choose to keep close in life… speak life always.
A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
Proverbs 15:23
Whale, enough said. Whether you’re interested in what I’ve got or not… I know I got the deal of a lifetime when God saved me. FYI – He is all about saving when it comes to me and you. The best thing about it… is those He saved just to put in my life and yours. God knows what and who is needed for every season ahead my friend.
This battle buddy of mine is top grade. She’s a teacher by trade, fearfully created and wonderfully made. She’s a real piece of “heart work.” Thanks for always keeping me heart strong with a laugh and a smile that is always in style.
I know what you’re thinking… it’s August. However, in my reflection of this past month, I have come to realize that my time spent in the desert has given me more than just something to thirst for. Somehow it gave me just what I needed to refill my cup. I suppose you could say, during my search through the dry land, I magically stumbled upon the wishing well of my dreams and all I have to do is draw from it daily.
Each day lived in the present is a gift
There is a saying from Bill Keane, in The Family Circus newspaper cartoon of August 31, 1994 that goes like this “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but today a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.” Not wanting to take time for granted; how can we be sure to make the most of each day we have been gifted with as we fight on for the love we so richly deserve? We need to do more than just aim to feel good… we must fuel good. What I mean to say is… in relationships, we need more that just the gift of good company, we need those that continue to feed us what’s good.
Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things,” he replied. “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.…“
Since I realized my need to surrender my old way of thinking about preparing to give thanks, I figure… if I’m going all in and looking forward to the miracle of an abundant harvest… the best way to prepare to receive it is to thank the laborers in the field. They are the sheep feeders and they are gifts that God has given to me… to fuel good always, in good times or baa-aa-aa-ad. (insert sheepish grin)
In the next few visits you will get to meet them. No hocus-pocus to keep you focused over here; just the miracle of God in the fruitful friendships that sprung up from a mustard seed planted in the desert.
So grab some jiffy popcorn and stay tuned…a Christmas special is coming soon!
My whole plate 
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