There is no such thing as a good gift at a bad time!

Well, with the Christmas presents unrapped, gifts have been on my mind!! 

What makes a gift a good gift? Well that it came at a good time!! I came home from the fall semester with these boots that were falling a part and to get new boots is so nice because they couldn't have come at a more perfect time!!

Also, when I was wanting to learn how to play the guitar I asked for a guitar for Christmas. My parents didn't get me a guitar because it wasn't the right time. They wanted me to learn on a borrowed guitar and if I really liked it then I could get a guitar of my own. So now I have a really nice guitar and I love it because I bought it myself and I'm so glad that I didn't get a guitar when I asked for it.

Last night, we had Christmas with my mom's side of the family. Now something you have to know about my families Christmas is opening presents is a long ordeal. We each have a stack of all our presents and each take a turn opening one present. The youngest opens a gift first then all the way around to the oldest!! It takes a while but it's tradition and we wouldn't have it any other way!!

 Somewhere through the evening my mom opened up the most gorgeous pearls! They were stunning, and I was truly happy about the gift for her!! 

But If you know me, you know that pearls would be a great addition to my jewelry box!! I love pearls!! 

Then, my grandpa Jim comes over to me and says patientce is a virtue. 

Next, my aunt Lara opens up a box and it has the same pearls in it!! Again, my grandpa says  Patience  is a virtue!!

Then, my aunt Gabby later in the night opens up her box of pearls!! Again in which my grandpa says Patience  is a virtue!!!

Finally, I had saved my present for last but i couldn't help it and opened it early!! I opened up my box of my pearls!! I couldn't have opened them at a better time!! Patience paid off. The anticipation and then the joy that came when my expectation was met and I finally opened my own pearls!!

Recently I've had a few heartbreaks and I asked God why. Why hasn't  the right guy come along. One who will take care of me and love me for who I am. 

God reminded me of the pearls. So maybe my pearl necklace (my guy) is
under the tree and waiting to be unrapped. I just need to be patient to unwrap it at the proper time. 

Love Isn't Safe

We have grown up in a culture of lovers rather than fighters.  Yet I ask is love really love without the fight?

We think that love is easy, that it is natural, and on some level it is.  There are days you find yourself falling, falling in love and you've never felt how falling could be so easy before this.

Yet, love,real love, Love that comes from God.  It isn't easy because it requires us to come face to face with who we are and quite frankly that is dangerous.

If we live our whole life, ignoring our sin and ignoring the filth that is dwelling in our heart.  Life is easy, it's like living on the Cloud 9 of grace.  Then, God calls you deeper, and out of love you wander but then you find yourself so deep in the arms of grace, so deep in his love that you heart has to be opened.

So I ask, are we guarding our hearts out of fear and using the phrase "Guard your heart" to rationalize it?

We are called to take on love, and love others.  Yet, love that is encased in fear, is it really love at all?

We may get hurt, yes.  We may get slandered, yes.  We may get our heart beaten and bruised, yes.

But where would we be if God didn't get beaten, bruised and slandered?  The Grace that got us here in the first place wouldn't exist.

Because if we are honest with ourselves, if love isn't dangerous, then Jesus wouldn't have died on the cross.

However, Jesus did die and in that one act he showed us what love is.

As Christians, our love should be the most risky, craziest love known to man.  As it says, they will know us by our love for one another.  Though, non-christians can find safe, guarded love in many other places.

If we have a God that holds our hearts, and protects us, that loves us no matter what and fills our heart with grace, why are we not brave?  We have nothing to lose!!!   For when our heart is safely his, and we are content with his love and grace there is really no risk is there?

Love that isn't safe is contagious and it could in fact take our world by storm, yet we have to confront our fear, our fear of vulnerability.

Loving others makes us better because we see ourselves for who we really are, and then get to see how wonderful God is.

So, why are we not loving till it hurts?  Why are we not loving with a crazy sense of knowing that we have nothing to lose.

Our love should be crazy, illogical, and dangerous because that is the love God shows us.