Love, Love, Love :)

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. - 1 John 4:8

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:19-20

How rich and wonderful our God's love is. He is just incredible. As I grow and learn together with my wife, I just keep realizing how beautiful his heart is. It's like our story, no matter what twists and turns and bends there might be, is always very good. And it's because of Jesus. I know it. His heart toward all of us is love.

I've fallen so much deeper in love with Jesus the past couple weeks. His beauty, his heart, his touch, his embrace, everything about him is so perfect. He is like this warm inviting pool calling me to come and wade out deeper and deeper into. He is our Lover. He adores us. He wants to marry us and give us our heart's desires.

I really wanted to write some thoughts on loving Jesus and loving others. Here are a few :)

1) Go on a date with Jesus. Let him romance you and you get the time to worship him. Make it special. That's what my wife and I say when we are jonesin' for a date night. Go to a bookstore or a coffeehouse and just sit with him, cuddle up with him in some corner of a bookstore and read to him. Tell him you love him. Go for a romantic walk with him (even though it can be really cold this time of year). The only thing here is it's just you and him and it's something special. Share what is important to your heart with him. What are your heart's desires? Whatever they are, share that too. This is about pursuit. Pursuing his heart and letting him romance and woo yours. This is one of the ways a love relationship grows.

Try something new too. One night, stay home with him. Make dinner and enjoy him over a special meal. Try something you would not ever make, but would love to eat. Even get dressed up? It's just you and him. Date him.

And make sure to go less in this direction:



And more like this:



[I don't know. lol. I just wanted to somehow get that Wyoming pic in because it's hilarious.]

2) Worship him. Be intimate with him. Come alone, just you two. And worship him. Love him. Tell him everything. Adore him. It's how we kiss him with our soul. And let him love you. Enjoy his presence. Enjoy him :) Sometimes it can be really hard to do this since we flit and flutter about in our minds and hearts so much, but try this: Just lie somewhere, don't move, don't think, but just listen to him. And then tell him you surrender to him. Let him come to you and love you. "Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10). Let him love on you, enjoy you, be close and intimate to you. He wants to. He is crazy, madly, passionately in love with you. "My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens and to gather lilies." (Song of Songs 6:2). If you want to make it really special, you can light some candles (it's not so far off from oil burning in the temple in Israel, and we are his temple). Go down to Bath and Body Works or Hobby Lobby or Hallmark or somewhere and get some candles (tea lights are great too). Set the scene that this is your time to worship your Beloved, our Holy God. And invest in him. He is more important than anyone or anything else :)

3) Become one with him in heart. We must get intimacy with our Love Jesus in body, soul, mind and heart to enjoy him and to worship him with all we are. Intimacy of the heart with God is oh so important to our life story. Try this: go into your bedroom or living room alone with him and maybe a cup of tea or coffee (conversations are always better over tea or coffee, I always say) and spill everything to him. If it's a secret in your heart, tell him! Yes, this might take a while and some of it might bring some tears. But if we are never truly naked before him, both in intimacy and in every part of our heart (even the broken parts), we won't be able to fully enjoy him and worship him when we are intimate with our Beloved.

It's okay :) God will never, ever break your heart.

And after it's over, you'll be more madly in love with him than ever because his names of Savior and Rescuer and Lover will take on a new depth. You'll be even more crazy in love with our Beloved Jesus :)




But not only are we in love with God, we also have to fall in love with others. With the people in the world. When we love God and others we fulfill both the first and second great commandments. It doesn't have to be big. You don't have to do anything huge (although we all like to do things big if God let's us). Love all, but focus on those that God has given you to image him to specifically. Maybe this will take some thought. Maybe it won't. And also, where do you want to help and love others? Is it doing things in the background, serving without asking anything, helping in kids' ministry at church, spending some time at the homeless shelter, loving that one friend who is hard to love? Whatever it is, we are in a broken world and we are his light. You are his light. Don't let it flicker out. Be open and vulnerable to others and love them, while protecting your own heart. It's Christmastime and the opportunities to bring a little of the joy we've received from our relationship with God abound in number. Everywhere. Let his Spirit guide you :)

I'm a father. And I'm crazy about my little girl :) I have a 'bookmark' of sorts-it's actually a page I tore out from Meg Meeker's Strong Daughters, Strong Fathers and it reminds me of how important and cherished my relationship with my little girl is. I think the Daddy-Daughter relationship is one of the most important relationships. I remember when we found out we were having a girl, I felt so honored that God would give me of all people a little girl. A girl is so important, boys too, don't get me wrong, but girls are special. I remember talking one of the pastors at my old church who had a little girl also and we both agreed that we felt so special for God giving us and entrusting us with one of his girls :)



One of the biggest things I will ever do is love my daughter. To love her and teach her and show her how to grow up and be a Godly woman (although I don't want her to ever grow up!) It's hard to imagine sometimes that I have immense power in my love with her. To show her attention, to make her laugh (which is my absolute favorite), to make her smile-these are the things that a father has the power to do. It's a miracle. I only pray that my love for her will somehow show her our Heavenly Father's heart for her. My wife and I both want to adopt. A lot! There are many children out there who are hurt, broken and lonely. And that should not be. We badly want to bring them into our home and family so that they will never be hurt or alone again. We want them to grow up in a family of our God and not have to fend for themselves.

You don't have to have kids or adopt to show them they are special. My wife. who has the most beautiful heart in the world, says Hi everyday to a couple of kids walking home from school each day. She even made them cake pops (which are delicious if you've never had them) once. My wife is awesome :)

Whatever it is, wherever God has placed you, 1) Love Jesus ridiculously with everything you are and 2) Love others as your own self. Do these two things and you will, as our Love Jesus said, "not [be] far from the Kingdom of God." (Mark 12:34, NIV)