There are so many adjectives I’m often tempted to place at the end of that sentence. How about the rest of you wives? Let’s be honest, the words we may pick run the gamut of our emotions and they may change minute by minute depending on what our husband has said or done (or not said or done).  Sometimes it feels like a rollercoaster of a relationship…but that’s not the way God desires it.  So, today, I want to help you fill in that blank the right way and in permanent marker.

This blog will post on Phil’s and my 15th wedding anniversary.  This may seem like pocket change to many (including my parents and in-laws who will each be celebrating 49 years of marriage this year!). But, for Phil and me this feels fairly monumental. You see, we really didn't enjoy those first several years of marriage (nope, no honeymoon phase for us). We struggled.

So, to all you wives who would like to fill in that blank with some not-so-nice words, I’m here to tell you I’ve been there.  I still get caught there at times.  But there is a better way and it brings great hope.  Not just “suck-it-up-buttercup” type hope (though there is a good dose of that now and then); I’m talking about real hope for a marriage with joy, peace…and kind words.

Several years ago, Phil and I went to a Christian marriage retreat hoping to improve our relationship.  Before posing the fill-in-the-blank question above, they had us do this one: “My husband/wife is not _________.”  We were told to fill in the blank with "my enemy".  In my notes I wrote, "My husband is not my enemy." Phil enjoyed that little nugget for a few years. I would grumble at him for making some mess and he would throw up his arms and say, "Hey, I'm not the enemy here!" Thank you, Weekend to Remember.

After assuring us that our spouse was not on the opposite side of the battle lines (we have one true enemy and that is Satan), they continued on and told us to fill in the next blank with "gift from God".  So I wrote, "My husband is a gift from God."  I kind of gagged on that one.  All I could picture was Phil with a big bow on his head and a cheesy smile on his face.  Half of me wanted to laugh and the other half wanted to frantically look for a gift receipt.  

Don’t get me wrong, I agree with the point they were making.  But “gift” wasn’t doing it for me.  I do find many verses in the Bible that support wives as being gifts (Gen. 2:18-22, Prov. 12:4, 18:22, 31:10), but husbands are not spoken of in the same way. 

What I do find often is God assigning a portion to us (our lot) and being assured that it is for our good and his glory.  For example, Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:17, after talking about the principles of marriage says this, “Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.”  If you are married, your husband is part of the life that God has assigned to you.  This is a divine assignment and a calling from the Lord.  It is not something that should be shrugged off or taken casually, we are not to leave our husbands (Matt. 19:6, 1 Cor. 7:10). 

In addition, Psalm 16:5 states, “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.” Verse 2, same chapter reads, “I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”  In simple words, what we are given in life comes from God and everything that comes from God is good (for those who are his, see Rom. 8:28).  With God we have good, without God we have misery.  If God desires that we stay in our marriages (and he does), then that is where the “good” will be found for us.  It is that simple.

Wives, God chose your exact husband just for you.  He is precisely what you need to make you more like Christ.  He is one of the primary instruments in your life used for your sanctification.  This is a great blessing!  No, it doesn’t always feel like one.  The process of cutting away sin is never comfortable, but it is always worth it.  God uses your husband to teach you how to love other sinners and how to give grace to those who hurt you.  God uses him to teach you how to exercise patience and self-control. 

Your husband and you were put together in order that God’s glory would be multiplied through your relationship.  There is no greater honor than this.  Here is where your hope and purpose is found.  This is why peace, joy and kindness can be found between two sinners.
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So are you ready for what I like to write in that blank?  Here it is: “My husband is a divine assignment from God for my good and God’s glory alone.”  Okay, so it’s a little long, but it provides some clarity.  Is it just a fancy way of saying that my husband is a gift from God?  Maybe, but I still like it better (and it keeps the gag reflex in check). 
Ladies, I encourage you to live out your God-ordained destiny in your marriage.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.” – Isaiah 55:8.  If I had gotten my way, I would have gone a different direction in life.  I’m so glad God is in charge.

Ladies, I’m going to be vulnerable today and completely honest with you: I’ve never really liked women.  They’ve always annoyed me like no other creature on this planet.  Since the days of middle school pettiness to high school flakes to adult gossips and superficiality, women bother me.  So when God began pushing me to minister to and teach other women, I pushed back.  They were not the group I wanted to hang with.

Many of the women’s ministries I had been involved with in the past were mostly what I would call “huff and fluff”.  They huffed a little about God’s Word and then added in the fluff to appeal to their flesh.  They would look at a few verses and then hastily apply it to their lives.  Always trying to reassure the fragile female ego that they are beautiful, loved and “okay”.  This did nothing for me.  I knew the sin in my life was not beautiful, I didn’t understand what love was and I certainly did not feel “okay”.  I longed for something more.

I tried to avoid women’s groups most of my life.  Then God began to push.  He pushed me with his Word and by using persistent believers he placed in my life (if you don’t have pushy godly friends in your life, you need some).   The suggestions of others surprised me and I heard myself say more than once, loud and clear, “But, I don’t like women!”  I said it to others and I said it to God.  However, God always gets his way…this woman who did not like women’s groups found herself at the front of one. 

I have been ministering to women in one form or another for several years now.  The heart-journey God has taken me on in this area has been amazing, but one of the most important things he has shown me is this: I do not really dislike women.  What!?!  You may think this is silly, but this came as a great shock to me and I’ve only realized it in the last few years.  Here is the truth of the matter: it is easy to dislike someone until God calls you to love them. 

What I do dislike in women is the sin they display.  The attributes of pettiness, superficiality, gossiping, interest in material possessions and self-indulgence are all sins women fall prey to easily (myself included!).  These are what were turning me off of my own gender and what I was allowing to cloud my view of them.  I was not seeing them for what they were - women in desperate need of the qualities of Jesus Christ.  If they were saved, they didn’t know how to act like it.  If they were not saved, Jesus was their only hope.  How could I let my distaste for sins (that I often displayed myself) get in my way of showing them the truth found in God’s Word?  I repent of this attitude I held for so long.

Now the other side of this is vital!  It doesn’t end with simply not disliking women.  It goes further because it has to.  I can now honestly say that I love women and I love ministering to women.  Why?  For the treasure involved.  Little else in all of creation is more beautiful than a godly woman.  If you want to see something rare and spectacular, find a woman who fears the Lord above all else in her life.  Find a woman who is humble and eager to serve.  Who fills her marriage with grace, trains up her children in scripture and is an encourager to those around her.  Find a woman who is diligent in her work and whose mouth is full of wisdom and solid counsel.  A woman whose strength is found in her gentle nature and quiet spirit.  Find a woman called by God and devoted to following after her Savior, Jesus Christ. 

This is the woman God declares praise-worthy (wow!) in Proverbs 31: “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”  A woman like this is said to be “far more precious than jewels” (Proverbs 31:10), “the crown of her husband” (Proverbs 14:4) and possessing a beauty that is “precious to God” (1 Peter 3:4).  I agree, a godly woman is a treasure beyond measure and brings great glory to her God.  This is what I want to help women display more of in their lives.
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The women in the fluffy studies from years ago were in desperate need of understanding more about Jesus.  They needed deep biblical guidance, not craft time and pretty centerpieces.  Women of today are no different.  They need to be shown the riches that are found in Jesus alone.  It is in him we find our value…in ourselves…and in each other.  I will minister to women for the rest of my life, whether formally or informally.  God has taught me to love them and now I can do nothing else.

Women are amazing creatures.  Often they don’t even realize how truly awesome God has made them.  I was blessed to lead a prayer retreat for women last weekend, over 20 women gathered in a cabin to seek after God and to fellowship together.  It didn’t take us long to connect over food, laughs, tears and good fellowship.

Women are quick that way, especially Christian women who feel a special connection long before we begin sharing our hearts with one another.  Drop the pretenses, take off the masks, time to be real.  Skip the small talk, let’s get to what matters and take it to God together.

I often found myself listening and watching them interact with each other in small groups, at meals or during down time.  I was quietly in awe of how loving our Father must be to ordain this type of relationship.  Sweet sisterhood.  Nothing compares to it; bound by grace to be family forever.

Over and over I saw women discussing needs and opening up to one another, being real with what is going on in their lives - the struggles, the triumphs, how God is working, how they wished God would work.  I heard scripture used as encouragement, as teaching and to shed light into difficult areas.  Then they took their hearts to God in prayer.  Going to their King who loves them and desires good for their lives.  Trusting him together.

This is what beautiful women look like.  Sitting together, Bibles open, smiles, laughs, tears, rejoicing, hurting and praying together.  United by a common, perfect Savior.  It is the way God created us to function, as one body with the same Spirit.
“But God has so composed the body… that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” 1 Corinthians 12:24b-26

We women should embrace how God has made us.  No matter what the world tells us, we are vastly different than men and have been undoubtedly gifted in unique ways.  What the world often sees as weaknesses are powerful strengths in disguise –our intuition, understanding, empathy, our nurturing ability, perceiving needs, helping, listening, providing gentle instruction, industriousness, a desire for healing hurts, having a heart for those in need, a desire for relationships, a heart for the family, and the list goes on.  See Proverbs 31:10-31 for more insight into this list.

These gloriously potent feminine qualities are gifted to us by our Maker and aid us in living out a gospel saturated life.  Give me my sisters in a prayer circle any day over a shopping trip, pedis or any type of girly pampering. 
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“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.  For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!  And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12.

​This is the blog that I don’t want to write and you don’t want to read.  Can we just be honest about that right up front?  Like bad medicine you need to take but only want to spit out.  The sweetness can only be tasted when the healing comes… but, oh how sweet the healing is when it does come.  So, take a deep breath with me, ladies, it’s time to swallow.

Introverted, anti-social, hermit, reserved, don’t like crowds, being shy, a wallflower, a loner.  I have used each of these terms to describe myself many times in my life (heck, the past week).  They are a handy excuse for my behavior and serve as a warning for people to stay back.  Like saying, “Please carefully remove yourself from my precious personal bubble.  Um, one more step back…aaand one more.  There, now we are far enough apart that we can be pleasant friends but not have to get caught up in any messy personal issues.”

I enjoy using the above terms if I must be honest (and I must)…and I know I’m not the only one.  If this blog caught your attention you are probably in a similar boat as me (not the same boat hence the issue).  You may be offended already that I have called it a…SIN.  I don’t like it either, but I’m not the boss and I don’t make the rules. 

A verse that came up in a women’s Bible study recently, and that just keeps slapping me in the face, is Proverbs18:1 which reads, “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgement.”  Did you feel that smack like I did?  Hear that clear element of selfishness in “seeks his own desire” and foolishness in “breaks out against all sound judgement”?

How can isolation be selfish?  When we distance ourselves from others we are not able to connect and display Christ to them.  We are not there to speak God’s words of encouragement to them.   Paul in his ministries lived with the people and worked with the people in order to win them to salvation, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:22.  This is not possible if we are hidden away.

How is isolation foolish?  Our purpose for breathing is to glorify God through sharing the gospel and proclaiming his name to the nations. Hard to be effective in this calling when our noses are in a novel or we are “just not in the mood to deal with people”. Taking ourselves out of interaction with others is like taking ourselves out of the race and still expecting to win, pure foolishness.

So, ladies, let’s be big girls and call sin “sin” when the Bible calls it out.  No sense softening evil to make it comfy.  We don’t want it comfy.  We want sin as uncomfortable in our lives as putting on a wet swim suit covered in sand or like a mouth full of gravel (Proverbs 20:17).

Is taking time to be alone always sin?  My goodness no.  There are times of needed refueling and resting.  Time to get yourself away from the world to spend time alone with God (epic oxymoron when you think about it).  Jesus himself often moved away from the crowds that followed him, he also often got up early in the morning and found a solitary place to pray.  Time alone can be good, acceptable and beneficial when done for the proper reasons.

The motive is the crucial difference, the essence of whether the removing of yourself from others is a sin or a time of godly refueling.  Think carefully, what is causing you to want to shut the world out?  Is it fear of rejection, judgement, being socially inept, not wanting others to see the “real you”?  Is it laziness?  As painful as these can be, they are inadequate excuses.  We cannot hide behind our feelings.  Spend time studying who you are in Christ for your strength, looking at him not yourself.  “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7. 

So consider this a reminder to check your heart - is how you are living fulfilling what God has called you to?  If you are claimed by God, you contain a treasure beyond measure - step out and share it.  Multiply your joy in fellowship.  No more keeping others at arm’s length for fear of discomfort.  Decide not to be okay with selfish and foolish isolation, be disgusted by it; shed the suit and spit out the gravel.  Be bold and connect with others, dare to get messy and love people with the crazy love of Christ and… allow them to love you back. 
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Praise God and wage spiritual war with the incredible act of engaging with others.

“One-anothering” is a catchy phrase that I thought I had cleverly made up in my mind all by myself until I did an internet search just now to see what popped up.  Apparently I am not the first to think of these words, there are books, Bible studies, articles and sermons on this very phrase.  So even though I may not be as clever as I originally thought, I still love the term and what it means to the body of Christ. 

What is one anothering?  I want to answer this using God’s words; it will become clear very quickly:

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. – John 13:14

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. – John 13:34

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. – Ephesians 4:32

Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. – Ephesians 5:21

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom… – Colossians 3:16

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, - Hebrews 10:24

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. – James 5:16

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. – 1 Peter 4:9

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. – 1 John 4:11

Are you getting the picture?  This is just a small sampling of what the Bible contains.  One-anothering is us, as the body of Christ, being obedient and acting on God’s instructions on how to treat and care for other members of the body of Christ.

Jesus was faithful in giving us instruction on how to treat each other and being our perfect example in how to do this.  Jesus taught, healed, loved, rebuked, washed the feet of and prayed for those he loved.  We need to be busy doing these same things. 

God has blessed each of us with special spiritual gifts in order to use them to continue to build up the Body.  If you read the Bible it will be easy to see that there are to be no “loner” Christians in this world.  We were made to be dependent on each other and to be united together for the glory of God (see Philippians 2:1-4)

We are responsible for each other and must be active in caring for each other in order for us to continue to “hold fast our confession” (Hebrews 4:14).  Have you ever sat in a church service or Bible study and looked around at your brothers and sisters in Christ and thought, “I am accountable to God for these people.”?  I’m hoping now you will, because you are.

God has ordained this beautiful interdependence within the body of Christ, allowing us each to use our God-given abilities to help each other.  This is the means by which God has decided that his people be taken care of, by his people.   Yes, it is a mighty calling indeed.  This is one ministry that every believer needs to be active in.

I have the privilege of getting to do some serious one-anothering in Guatemala in just over a week.   The language and geographical location may be different, but God’s commands stay true and perfect.  I will be loving, encouraging, teaching, praying with and figuratively washing the feet of the body of Christ in Guatemala.  This will be done in homes with dirt floors, schools with hungry children and churches with joyful brothers and sisters.  I can’t wait.

We will also be doing much one-anothering within our own team.  We will get continual opportunities to practice encouragement, submission, forgiving, and the act of bearing each other’s burdens and joys.  This will be easy and enjoyable at times and at others terrifically difficult, but always done in love and with Christ in mind and heart.

Ladies, be found faithful in your ministry of one-anothering, enCOURAGE others in the body of Christ for the glory of God.  

This was the simple text a friend sent me several weeks ago.  I had been sitting reading my Bible and was struggling deeply with an issue concerning one of my children.  My heart was aching and the tears were flowing freely down my face.  When the text came my first reaction was, “How did she know? Could she hear me crying from across town?”  Silly, I know and totally illogical, but the perfect timing of her simple question was supernatural.  I burst into uncontrollable sobs.  This time because of the amazing ability of my Father God to comfort me using one of his other children.

This little message spoke volumes of love, concern and encouragement to my heart.  Does that seem strange?  It shouldn’t.  I knew the sender well and I knew the care behind these words.   She was and is a sister in Christ; therefore we share something very strong.  In 1 Corinthians 12:4, 5 it says, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord.”

The same Spirit resides in each of us who belong to Christ, so this shouldn’t be surprising at all.  This is the Holy Spirit given to us as a gift from Jesus Christ as our helper to be with us forever.  The world cannot receive him because it does not know him, only those redeemed by Jesus have the Holy Spirit. “You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:17.

The Holy Spirit is God (part of the trinity) and dwells in us.  Mind blowing?  Absolutely.  Allow the Spirit to nudge you toward good works and loving others, “especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:10.  We do these works for the glory of God and they result in thanksgiving toward God in us. 

If you are a believer, when someone crosses your mind, know that there is a reason for it.  Pray for that person then reach out to them if you feel led to. It could be a simple text, email, written note or phone call.  Maybe you need to go further and invite them out for coffee or lunch.  Any of these seemingly small acts could mean so much to them.  Be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit; it is truly obedience to God.

I have a friend who often takes pictures of the beautiful scenery around her.  Whenever I see something I know she would capture, I pray for her.  On my drive into Dubuque for work I turn off the radio and pray for those God places on my heart that day.  It may be for a known prayer request or a general prayer for God’s will to be done in their life.  If someone stays on my mind, I connect with them in some way through messages or meeting for a simple talk and prayer.

This is what family does for one another.  We pray, we encourage, and we spur one another on toward Christ always.  How can you do this for someone today? 

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. – Hebrews 3:13

 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. – 1 Thess. 5:11

In last week’s blog (on pursuing a closer relationship with God) I told you how I was not so good at reaching out to others, and if I had my own (selfish) way I would most likely keep to myself.  I have been thinking that I need to expand on that.  It may seem odd to hear those comments from a “Director of Women’s Ministries”.  After all isn’t that pretty much my job description?  Funny thing about blogging, it causes you to show some of what is in your head and sometimes those are very vulnerable thoughts.

You may call God mysterious, purposeful or even mean.  He seems to always somehow draw out and make known to you your weaknesses.  This could be a character deficiency, a failure at something, or even a physical limitation.  What I’m talking about today are not areas of sin like lust, addictions, or gluttony but more a poor personality bent.  Which, when left undisciplined, could turn into a sin of disobedience.

Now don’t think that this weakness is a flaw in how God designed you; as if he messed up or accidently dropped you in the creation process.  It is there for a purpose!  God made you exactly the way he intended to.  He has big plans for your specific weakness.  Take comfort and joy in that fact, but don’t become content with it.

The Bible has given us a great visual for why he created us with weaknesses.  If you have received Christ you have a great treasure inside of you, it is the light of Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).  Your body is the container for this light, fashioned from the dust of the earth.  You are an ordinary clay pot holding an awesome and powerful light.  2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” 

Now, God could have made us out of airtight Tupperware or strong steel.  We could hold in that light and not allow anyone else to see it.  Some live this way, pretending they are made of fine metal and have it all together.  They polish themselves and act as though they are strong and have no weakness.  What a load of bologna!  How could you be any good to those around you that way?

I rejoice in being a clay pot just like God designed me to be, with all of my flaws and deficiencies!   Each weakness in my clay, allows the light of God to shine through.  Paul often boasted in his weaknesses for this very reason, read 2 Corinthians chapter 12.  Here is verse 9, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

God isn’t mean, he is fully wise and he loves you.  He ultimately desires (and deserves) more glory for himself.  Therefore, he has given you an area of weakness in which he can demonstrate his perfect power and show his light to others.  Allow this to happen, expose your weak areas to be used by God.

Ladies, take a moment to think about a weakness you have.  You can probably name one fairly quickly.  It could be a fear of what others think, a tendency towards selfishness, a need to always have things orderly, a fear of leaving the house, or even laziness.  How can you turn this around on the Enemy and allow God to shine through you using this weakness?  Ideas may include becoming a radical giver, asking a friend for coffee, inviting others into your home, or investing your time in projects that bless God instead of watching another TV show.

My weakness is my desire to keep to myself and not interact with others.  However, God has placed a passion for his Word in my heart and has commanded me to teach and share what God has done in my life.  Therefore when I do speak, teach, or lead it is only through the power of God and not my own selfish desire for attention.

I plan to allow God to use my weakness in order to magnify himself more.  I will do this by doing the exact opposite of what my flesh is screaming for.  Instead of staying in my comfortable cocoon, I will step out and connect with others.  I will share what God has done in my life and what he offers to those who will receive him.  I want to pursue others like Christ pursued me.  Many of you ladies reading this will be on my list, so be warned… I may soon be pursuing YOU!

I’m not always a good friend.  If left to my own devices I would most likely live a solitary life with few others involved.  I have been told more than once that I am a hard person to get to know.  I often struggle socially and am awkward when it comes to connecting with someone on a personal level.  However, God has been gracious to me.  He knows me so well that he has sent others to pursue me.  Ladies who wanted a friendship with me and so did not give up on me.  They called and invited me places, talked to me when I wasn’t a great conversationalist, and decided to like me even after getting to know the “real me”.  I thank God for friends like that; this will include many of you reading this today.

To be truthful, all of us love to be pursued by someone.  If this wasn’t the case many of us would not be married to the man we are married to.  If your husband hadn’t shown interest and attempted to gain a relationship with you, you most likely would have lost interest and moved on.  The pursuit of a relationship is a strong force.  Never is this truer than in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. 

God loves us and desires an authentic relationship with us.  Don’t miss this fact.  God Almighty, Creator of supernovas and DNA, the All-Powerful Great I Am wants to know you AND you to know him.  Not in a textbook “you are interesting” kind of way, but in a personal “I love you like crazy and want to be close to you” kind of way. 

God said through the Prophet Jeremiah - Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” – Jeremiah 9:23-24

If there is anything at all in this world that we should feel pride about it is that we know God.  Nothing else matters; not worldly wisdom, not might or riches.  Only knowing God.  When was the last time you bragged on God and the fact that you belong to him?

Once we have been adopted into God’s family (by accepting the work of his Son on the cross) we immediately begin a new relationship with God as our Heavenly Father.  From that time forward we need to wholeheartedly pursue an ever increasing relationship with him.  The effort of this should consume our lives (read Romans 12).  The more you know God the more you love him. 

One of the most awesome facts that I will never fully understand is that God desires this relationship with me.  He wants me to get closer to him.  Yes, socially awkward, stand-offish and far from perfect me.   God wants to be close to you too.  Think on that for a few minutes… God wants you closer to him.  He wants you to know him on a personal level.  This should bring tears to your eyes.

The Bible is full of verses demonstrating God’s desire for a relationship with his people.  This is not for his benefit (we can add nothing to God) but for our own good and because he cares for us.  In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  Jesus also lamented over Jerusalem wishing he could gather the people under his wings as a hen gathers her brood (Luke 13:34).  There are cries throughout the Bible of God wanting people to turn to him and allow him to love them and heal them.  The story of the prodigal son is another great example of the joy of the Father at gaining a relationship with a son that had been lost. (Luke 15). 

One of my favorite verses is found in James 4:8, “Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.”  So simple and yet incredible; an awesome PROMISE of God.  Memorize it and live it.  Draw closer to God (pursue him) by reading his Word, talking to him in prayer (another mighty gift) and by fellowshipping with others who will spur you on in this joint mission.

I have heard from a few friends that have committed to reading the entire Bible this year.  I rejoice in those commitments!  What a wonderful way to get to know your Father; by reading the book he has written just for you and for this very reason!  

God loved us so much that he killed his son Jesus to allow a relationship with us to take place.  I guess you can say he takes this pretty seriously … and so should we.  Be intentional this year and pursue your God!