Friends

What a blessing friends are! They are iron sharpening iron and a constant encouragement in my life. My best friends, the Edmondsons, came out for 3 days to help us clean our basement. What a blessing!! On Tuesday afternoon us girls got together with sweet Hannah Moore at Starbucks and spent some lovely together.

Look at the cabieros, don't they look like trouble? We had a scrumptious treat of frappuccinos and muffins/cupcakes/donuts :) What a special time!

*Thank you sweet friends for all your help at home!! Love and miss you!*

Snow!!

Hey Everybody!

It is finally here! The first snow of the year! (do we have Dr. Suess in the house?? :D) I was so excited when I heard the news that is was going to snow, but I was extremely skeptical because we have had some crazy warm weather for the past couple of weeks, but lo and behold, on Sunday morning it started snowing! We ended up getting 10 in! It snowed all day and well into the night and oh wow, everything looked so beautiful under the cover of the snow. It reminded me of the way that Christ has washed our sins much whiter than snow!

 

His bondservant,

Charity

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello to everyone!
Happy Valentine's Day (+4 :D)!!

I love Valentine's Day, the flowers, the chocolate, the romance, and a day dedicated to plenty of time contemplating LOVE. As I was contemplating what love really is, I found some great verses that have hit the nail on the head for what true love really is:

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Song of Solomon 8:6-7 Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

Ephesians 4:2-3 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Philippians 2:2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

Aren't these beautiful??!! They go far deeper than just skin deep cheap romance that this world has to offer. Don't they just light a fire in your heart for Jesus Christ?! Oh how He loves us!
Here are some lyrics from "How He Loves Us" by David Crowder Band that captures this incredible love:

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,

Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.
We are His portion and He is our prize

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way

I am also such a sucker for quotes, so I found some great ones to ponder :D :

The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost. ~G.K. Chesterton

He that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God. God is love. Therefore love. Without distinction, without calculation, without procrastination, love. Lavish it upon the poor, where it is very easy; especially upon the rich, who often need it most; most of all upon out equals, where it is very difficult, and for whom perhaps we do the least of all. ~Henry Drummond

To love at all is to be vulnerable. ~C.S. Lewis

You can give without loving. But you cannot love without giving. ~Amy Carmichael

I pray that as we experience Christ's love, we may dare to love others without reserve!!


His bondservant,
Charity

Reilly is 1!

Today is my nephew's 1 yr birthday!! I cant believe it, it feels like just yesterday I was out in Texas meeting him for the first time...time flies...
Here he is:

Happy birthday, sweet Reilly! Aunt Lube loves you! <3

His bondservant,
Charity

Happy February and Happy Birthday's!

Hello Friends!

Happy February! I can't believe that January is over and gone, time sure does fly...Nothing much has been happening in my life except school, work, more school, and more school :) But oh how grateful I am for this time in my life! I am exactly where God wants me at this point in my life and I am so content. Mom had been gone for 3 weeks (2 weeks in California, and 1 week in Mexico) supporting my grandmother while she was undergoing cancer treatment. She came back last weekend and boy, am I happy! :)

Today we are celebrating a couple of birthdays!! Its Dad's birthday (I'll not reveal his age...lol) and my beautiful nephew, Reilly, 1st birthday! I am so blessed to have the family I have!

Just wanted to catch y'all up on what's going on in my life. Have a great weekend!!!

His bondservant,
Charity

"For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister." ~Hebrews 6:10

P.S. this is in New Zealand, Milford Sounds, such a gorgeous place! But unfortutately there hasn't been much sight of snow here in Virginia :(

Fear Not, for I AM with You

I have been in dire need of encouragement this morning, and I was reading Isaiah 41 oh, how my heart is soaring right now! This passage blesses and encourages me SOOO much when I read it! I pray that it does the same for you too!

Isaiah 41:1-20:
“Keep silence before Me, O coastlands,
      And let the people renew their strength! 
      Let them come near, then let them speak; 
      Let us come near together for judgment. 
       “ Who raised up one from the east? 
      Who in righteousness called him to His feet? 
      Who gave the nations before him, 
      And made him rule over kings? 
      Who gave them as the dust to his sword, 
      As driven stubble to his bow? 
        Who pursued them, and passed safely 
      By the way that he had not gone with his feet? 
        Who has performed and done it,
      Calling the generations from the beginning? 

      ‘ I, the LORD, am the first; 
      And with the last I am He.’” 
        The coastlands saw it and feared, 
      The ends of the earth were afraid; 
      They drew near and came. 
        Everyone helped his neighbor, 
      And said to his brother, 

      “ Be of good courage!” 
        So the craftsman encouraged the goldsmith; 
      He who smooths with the hammer inspired him who strikes the anvil, 
      Saying, “It is ready for the soldering”; 
      Then he fastened it with pegs, 
      That it might not totter. 
        “ But you, Israel, are My servant, 
      Jacob whom I have chosen, 
      The descendants of Abraham My friend. 
        You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, 
      And called from its farthest regions, 
      And said to you, 

      ‘ You are My servant, 
      I have chosen you and have not cast you away: 
        Fear not, for I am with you; 
      Be not dismayed, for I am your God. 
      I will strengthen you, 
      Yes, I will help you, 
      I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ 
        “ Behold, all those who were incensed against you 
      Shall be ashamed and disgraced; 
      They shall be as nothing, 
      And those who strive with you shall perish. 
        You shall seek them and not find them— 
      Those who contended with you. 
      Those who war against you 
      Shall be as nothing, 
      As a nonexistent thing. 
        For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, 
      Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’ 
        “ Fear not, you worm Jacob, 
      You men of Israel! 
      I will help you,” says the LORD 
      And your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 
        “ Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; 
      You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, 
      And make the hills like chaff. 
        You shall winnow them, the wind shall carry them away, 
      And the whirlwind shall scatter them; 
      You shall rejoice in the LORD, 
      And glory in the Holy One of Israel. 
        “ The poor and needy seek water, but there is none, 
      Their tongues fail for thirst. 
      I, the LORD, will hear them; 
      I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. 
        I will open rivers in desolate heights, 
      And fountains in the midst of the valleys; 
      I will make the wilderness a pool of water, 
      And the dry land springs of water. 
        I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree, 
      The myrtle and the oil tree; 
      I will set in the desert the cypress tree and the pine 
      And the box tree together, 
        That they may see and know, 
      And consider and understand together, 
      That the hand of the LORD has done this, 
      And the Holy One of Israel has created it


Truly He is our helper! There is nothing too big we can ask Him, neither anything too little that we may ask of our Lord that He will not do for us. It is so sad, but I forget this promise on a daily basis. If only I remembered this every single day! 


Fear not, for I AM is with you!


His bondservant,
Charity 

Why Do Christians Love Movies More Than Jesus?

Dear Friends,

I have been really convicted lately that my intake of media, mainly TV and movies, far exceeds my time with the Lord. I was reading John Piper's blog yesterday and he had this post, which I think was totally meant for me!

Here is what he said:

"What do you do when someone loves movies than Jesus?
Many professing Christians give little evidence of valuing Jesus more than the latest movie they have seen. Or the latest clothing they bought. Or the latest app they downloaded. Or the latest game they watched. Something is amiss.
We are not God and cannot judge with certainty and precision what’s wrong. There is a glitch somewhere. Perhaps a blindness going in, a spiritual deadness at heart, or a blockage coming out. Or some combination. Christ doesn’t appear supremely valuable. Or isn’t felt as supremely valuable. Or can’t be spoken of as supremely valuable. Or some combination.
Here’s my suggestion. Instead of dampening their enthusiasm for movies, clothing, apps, and events, let that go as an expression of God-given personality. Instead, model expressive joy in Jesus. Over time, if there is no resonance from their heart with your joy, query them humbly:
I love your enthusiasm for the things you get excited about. You’re so free and expressive about good movies and nice clothes and cool apps. It seems odd to me that you don’t seem to be as expressive about the way you feel about Jesus and what he’s done for us. Have you thought about why that might be?
The point of this query is to help them see that the problem is not joyfully loving good created things. The problem is the apparent absence of similar affections for Christ.
If similar affections for Jesus are not possible, then the specter of idolatry becomes serious. But they may sense this themselves without your having to start with that indictment, if you draw their attention not to the excitement that’s there, but to what’s missing.
We don’t want them to lose their exuberance about anything good. We want Christ to be supreme in their hearts so that all their exuberance comes under him and for his sake. When Jesus is felt as supremely valuable in our hearts, all other values gradually become properly ordered and purified.
May the Lord give you great courage and wisdom as you help people awaken to the supreme value of Jesus."

I think that as Christ followers we need to evaluate our motives and evaluate the content, just like in the area of music, and pray that Jesus will give us guidance in this area.
Let's purpose in our hearts to do just that!

His bondservant,
Charity