In Pursuit

From girlhood we dream of love.
We dream of the day a man will come into our world, desiring us so much he will go to great links to win our heart. He will pursue us until we have no choice but to fall into his arms in sweet romantic surrender.
We wait for this with great anticipation and Hollywood only fuels the dream.
But far greater than any earthly love is the pursuit that the Divine Lover has for each of us.
Most of us don't think about God as pursuing us but He does! He has, since the beginning.
His pursuit started in Genesis and the theme of that pursuing weaves its way through the entire Bible. It is a pursuit that takes Him from His heavenly kingdom to our earthly realm where His relentless journey would lead Him to a cross. He was so determined to gain a relationship with us that He would not be stopped whatever the cost.
In the beginning the love story was sweet. We had precious fellowship and intimacy. But sin entered and the relationship was damaged. This hurt the very heart of God and He was not willing to let that be the end. From the point sin entered, God began His plan to win us back.
From the very first sin, God called us back to Himself.
Gen 3:6 recounts the fall. The beginning of humanities sin. But two verses later God begins the pursuit that He is still continuing today. Read verse 8-9. It says,

"And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

When I read these verses I can almost hear the sadness in God's voice. He comes as always to meet them and sees that there is something wrong and He cries out to them, "Where are you?"
That question could still be asked of humanity today as we travel paths so far from the God who loves us and yearns for the restored intimacy with the people He loves.
For so long, even if I knew better, I thought of God's love as a more universal thing. He loves us as a whole, as a church. I grew up being taught God loves ME but I don't think I really understood that. But God isn't just in pursuit of the church as a whole. He's in pursuit of ME. Of YOU.
In Luke, Jesus tells a parable of a sheep that is lost. He has 99 sheep safe and sound in the fold but there is one that is missing and He won't rest until that one is safe in His arms as well. He knows us personally and when we aren't with Him even if others are, He will do what it takes to get every individual back with Him because He loves us individually and wants each one of us to be near Him. His pursuit is very personal.
2 Peter 3:9 says "The Lord is...not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance"
He wants us as individuals and He will pursue us as such.
I don't know about you, but knowing that GOD HIMSELF is pursuing ME is overwhelming and wonderful and almost more than I can wrap my brain around.
God's love for ME, for YOU took Him from Heaven, to a cross, to a tomb and back to Heaven where He awaits the day when His pursuit will finally be ended. He will make one final call on a heavenly trumpet and all those that have heeded His love's call will be caught up in the air with Him and we will spend eternity with Him in a place that He has prepared for us, His bride, His love.

Going Green

I have the most darling pair of bright green capris.
I bought them at a thrift store when I was pregnant thinking that come this summer I would be a size 6 again and I could get into them.
Then reality hit.
Summer has come and I can't seem to fit my post prego bod into them. Okay, I can get them up over my hips and maybe even get them buttoned but just because you can get yourself squeezed into something doesn't mean you should wear it in public. (Words of advice I would like to give a few ppl I've seen in public. Really people!)
So they sit in my closet taunting me. I really want to wear these.
So I'm ramping up my dieting.
Up until now I've just been moseying along. Purposely leaving behind some foods but not really trying. I was slowly losing it (the weight ya'll, the weight) but just not quickly. I was okay with that.
And then, while digging around in my "yeah right" box of clothes, I found my capris. And I want them. I want them on my body. I want to wear them in public so I can say, "Look at the cute little green capris I have. Don't you wish you had a pair as cute?"
So off to the salad races I go.
Now, I'm not a dieter. I can't do it. You put the word diet in my head and instead of doing things smart, I just stop eating, stupidly thinking that'll get it off. WRONG!
I tend to go overboard on things.
But this time I'm going to do things smart. I promise you. I promise me.
I have a goal now and I'm thinking of pasting those capris on my refrigerator. That might not be a bad idea.
But anyway- Ready, set, DIET!
I will do this. I will not mosey but I will not be stupid about it.
I will get r done.
And the winning prize- fitting myself into the cutest little green capris you ever did see and not looking like a squeezed lime while wearing them.

FYI-For added accountability I have placed a weight countdown thingy on the bottom of this blog. Okay it's been there for awhile but it's been ticking down awfully slow.
I plan to start making that little lady bug move it's spots.

So Cute!

Something to make you go awww (and not hmmm)

Just A Side Note:
Since I found a video to publish I might shoulda left the last post in my head.
But I'm leaving it up just to give ya'll more evidence that I'm a little strange and random sometimes. :)
It'll also let you inside my head when there's not a lot else rolling around up there.
It's scary to be me some days. :) :)

Hmmmm...

I really need to post something. I know I've neglected this poor blog.
It's not for lack of want or even opportunity. It's lack of brain.
I have nothing to write about. No bright thoughts that will amaze and inspire you.
I just sit here and go hmmmm, what to write about. No idea.
So I just let it sit here. Mocking my empty thoughts.
But it's getting to me folks.
You see, I'm slightly addicted to this blog. I take joy in posting things and making my blog something to be enjoyed. So these big gaps in posting dates are not something I like.
So because I have had it with looking at the Father's Day post I am posting something. ANYTHING!
(Yeah, the OCD blogging thing is quiet strange and it's the little things in life that bring my OCD to a head but now you know.)
But, since I'm still sorely lacking words I'm just going to ramble on and on (and on) and you can just stop reading anytime because I warn you, it could get dull.
So what am I most thinking about today?
Baby oil actually. At least for the moment.
Now before you think I've gone off the deep end and are trying to figure how I can ramble on about Baby oil I'll tell you. The only thing I'm going to say on the subject is. I LOVE BABY OIL.
It's way better than lotion and when your hands get as dry as mine do it's nice to have something that works. So having just applied some I'm sitting here typing thinking "my hands feel nice and look so much better". Not to mention the fact that my keyboard is now sporting oil smears on the keys. Oh well, they'll dry. It says fast absorbing on the bottle.
Okay, done with that.
(I warned you)
I can see you, Lee, you're rolling your eyes right about now.
So to make this post worthwhile so you aren't going hmmmm by the end (if you are still reading this)
I am going to save you money.
See, reading my blog is sooo worthwhile.
In case you haven't noticed, on the left hand side of my blog there is a newish section devoted to $ saving websites. I heart them.
I look at these websites if not every day, most days. Why? Because they really do save money.
There are coupons and codes and freebies and ideas to make your own stuff or make junk look good instructions or just about anything. This is good for me.
I am gaining another OCD habit of making it a challenge within myself to see how much money I can save a week. It's actully fun and my husband is sooo behind that one.
I highly recommend you check them out. Seriously. Go. Now.
You're still here? Well, if you are, try these websites out as well.
I use them often for things I need or never knew I needed but once I found it I though, this is cheap and I could do such and such with it and now I have it and I love it.
These sites are craigslist and freecycle.
They are wonderful. I heart them.

There you go. From baby oil to $ saving tips. All in one post.
Now scratch your head, wonder at my sanity, walk away and say hmmm....