What's on Your Banner? A Call to Be the Love

My church, my sweet little church, we are studying the word together this Fall through an amazing life changing study called Experiencing God.  Ya'll it's a doosey.  It's a turn you upside, hang you by your toe nails kind of study.  It has called me into great joy, praise and reflection today as I was reminded of how much God LOVES me.  Let's all strike the chord and sing the tune "Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes Jesus loves..." I mean we know the words right? We throw the word love around like it's yesterday's newspaper.  "What this old thing"  is the attitude of the use of the word love.  "I love that dress" "I love Justin Timberlake"  "I love my new chair" and so on and so on until the word just doesn't mean anything anymore.

I remember the first time my husband told me he loved me.  We were driving, just down a random road and randomly he said I love you.   No man outside my family, had ever said that to me.  It is a most cherished moment in my life.  I have let it be known that I am proud to be a boy mom.  When my boys each said I love you momma the first time and even today, I mean seriously, it just takes my breath away.  I have a fierce group of women who stand by me, beside me, in front of me. They love me spite my crazy self and when they hug me and say I love you friend, don't you know they meant it with every fiber of their being!

NEWSFLASH! God loves you like this. Yes you.  Even if you hate him, even if you spew hatred about him, he LOVES you.  He chooses you, he calls you to him. (Jeremiah 31:3)  No matter what you've done.  NO MATTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE!   Wake up friends!  It's not about you, or me or that other guy.  It's about him.  His LOVE, his sacrifice, eternity with him, his choice. He chooses you, you need only bow your knee today to his prompting.

If you already know this LOVE (agape) of God, if you already have the grace from the cross can I ask you what you are doing about it today?  Are you being a banner of LOVE today, were you a banner of LOVE yesterday?  That world out there, they hate us. You know why they hate us, because we don't LOVE them like we should.  We huddle over here in our sweet little churches and spew hatred right back at them.  We judge them, we talk out of both sides of our mouths, we only feed them and clothe them between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We only LOVE them when they first LOVE us.  Believers, this has to stop, if we believe in the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-38) then lets act that out.  If we LOVE God the way we say we do, then what's written on our banners? We need some more Hosea in our life.  That book is truth telling of who we are, who God is and who we should be.  Let's read it, study it, act it out.

In Hosea 11:4 it says: "I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them."

Let us lead with cords of human kindness as believers.  Let us step where God has already gone with us.  Know his LOVE (agape) then show his LOVE today and everyday after.  It is so good in his arms, don't we just want everyone to experience that?
I hope you know this is self-preaching, there is no perfection in my words. I am reminding myself today to do these things, to remember God LOVES me and my neighbor spite ourselves. That he has called me in and then whispered to me to go LOVE the people.  Because we are FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY MADE is his loving image.

Go be the LOVE, for the LOVE.

Much Love,
Chrystan

Growing Things

We built a house.  Oh my gosh, it's been a whole process.  We live in our new house and I am head over heels for Ferrell Farms.  I have so much to say about all this, but today it's GRASS!  Today I am working from home and Farmer Adam has put me on grass duty.  He is out working and I have strict instructions on grass watering.  Sounds easy right?  Guess what; it's hard work!  Every few hours I have to go out and move sprinklers to cover the areas not being watered and ya'll ITS MUDDY OUT THERE! I'm a mess, but I'm surprised at how much I am enjoying it. (don't tell Adam I said that!)

What are you watering this week?  In life sometimes we forget to "water" things. We forget to "grow" things.  The last few years I failed to "water and grow" myself.  I gained 50lbs, suffered from depression and was pretty much miserable.  I wasn't working out, I wasn't eating healthy, I wasn't reading the Bible or praying or seeking a relationship with God barely at all.  Yeah, I was attending Church but I wasn't growing or watering my relationship with God. Yeah I was eating fine and wasn't a couch potato but I wasn't being intentional with the body that God made for me.  Intentional, now there's a word.  Today I am in the dirt, caring for seeds that have not sprouted yet. I am being intentional in my actions to produce the desired outcome, GRASS!  I am sick of being surrounded by MUD. I want green, silky, grass!  Grass is pretty, grass is enjoyable, grass does not make my house full of dirt!  Grass will grow if I am intentional in my watering and care.  You will grow, if you are intentional in your self care.

When I realized I was sick and overweight I decided to do something about it.  I stopped eating stuff that made me fat and sick. I became more intentional about my physical fitness.  I began to eat the good stuff and drink the good stuff and move in all the right ways.  30 lbs down I feel like myself again.  Through this process I remembered who I was made to be.  I am made to be a fierce and passionate woman, following hard and fast after the God who made me and the Jesus who died for my salvation.  Once I reclaimed that, I remembered that I needed to water it and grow it.  I reconnected with women in my church who I pray with weekly now, who I am in the word together with, we are growing we are watering we are getting our lives re-aligned.  These are the good things, this is the place where the mud changes into life.

In a world where people celebrate their destruction of life by be-headings and shouting out-loud proudly about their abortions, it's good to be growing something.  To be growing life, watering and caring for myself and others and even my silly grass.  Did you know an ant lives for 50 days?  Only 50 days!  Do you know what it spends it's limited time doing, working to build it's kingdom.  What kind of kingdom are you building today? What grass are you watering?  Or are you even watering anything?  It may be time to take care of yourself, the grow and water yourself spiritually, mentally and physically.  It's time to take care of ourselves, to seek God and to water and grow ourselves those around us.  So Go get it girls, crack open that Bible, fold those hands in prayer, ask him to help you, pour into yourself so you can pour into others!

Matthew 13- These are the words of Jesus
" A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let he who has ears, let him hear."

Go with God girls, plant yourselves well, be fierce, be FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY made just as God intended! Grow grass grow!

Much Love,
Chrystan