Love, Tuesday...
Today’s “Love, Tuesday” is a reminder of Life & Love, and I hope it will encourage you today.
Life is so very precious.
This past week has been a reminder of that. A beautiful lady, that I know through our daughter’s being friends in High school, went in for a routine dental appointment and had heart attack in the middle of it. She was taken to the hospital, put on life support and was fighting for her life for over a week, but passed away on Sunday.
It’s heartbreaking, and I ask that you pray for her family as they deal with this sudden loss. I had conversations with her over the past year about how we are both excited for this next phase of life and we were both moving to different states and building homes and looking forward to so much more. So I couldn’t stop thinking about her this past week and praying for her. And as I learned the news that she had passed, it was also heart motivating... in a way.
It has touched a deep part of me that makes me think the hard questions that we don’t want to ask ourselves. Like...
what is my heart after each day?
What am I doing with this one precious life I’ve been given?
Do I truly see and value what God has put in my life to help bloom and grow?
You see I think we get so caught up in the “day-to-day” that it’s so easy to forget...
forget what a blessing LIFE is,
forget how quickly it can be over, forget to be grateful,
and forget to use our time wisely.
I saw this quote last night and it made me pause:
“A life without cause is a life without effect.”
It leads me to think… What is my WHY? And I’ll ask you… What is your WHY?
If we don’t know our why (or cause), our life won’t have much of an “effect” on the people who the Lord has placed in our lives. I know this is a bold statement, but going back to those hard questions above…
What are we doing with this ONE life we have been given?
Not connecting with our loved ones enough?
Spending too much time worrying about tomorrow?
Spiritually numb and just going through the motions?
Finding our fulfillment in entertainment or social media?
I know these are pointed questions and we don’t want to admit to them, but isn’t the hard stuff WORTH examining in our lives? Don’t we want to live a life with Purpose?
Let me take a minute and remind you what God’s Word says about you.
We are God’s masterpieces!
Isn’t that awesome! It says in Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
We have been given the gift of LIFE, we were CREATED and God is working in our lives!
Are we letting Him work in our lives?
“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Phil. 2:13
“And God is able to exceedingly and abundantly do more than we can ask or think!” Eph. 3:20
Are we asking Him what that should look like? Because it says BEFORE we were even born all that God has for us to do was prepared. Are we getting busy with what He’s prepared us to do? I’m not laying a guilt trip on you, I promise. It’s not about what we should or shouldn’t do.
God is FAITHFUL, even when we are FAITHLESS.
It’s about having faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. And with that gift of grace and life in Him comes an abundant life that I WANT to have. I want YOU to have. And, when we do, we will WANT to share and declare that to a hurting and searching world!
Jesus said in John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I came that they may have LIFE and have it abundantly.”
There is JOY, there is HOPE and there is PEACE in a life walking in the WHY God prepared for us before we were in our mothers womb. I know Tina Owens lived her life to the fullest in Jesus. Just looking at what people are saying about her now and knowing what she did in little ways in my own life, she lived her life with such love and joy in Him.
I hope this sparks a renewed purpose and focus in you today. I don’t know about you, but I feel that so much of my time is wasted on stupid stuff and I don’t want that. I want to live my life “on PURPOSE.”
My pastor said this a while ago and it stuck with me:
“We ALL have the same amount of time each day. It’s how we choose to use it, that matters.”
Life is such a blessing.
Let’s be grateful for TODAY, not knowing if we will be given TOMORROW, and live our lives for the PURPOSE He has called us to fulfill.
As I end this blog post, I am in awe of God yet again. The “one little word” He put on my heart at the beginning of the year just keeps popping up everywhere. I didn’t see that at the beginning of writing this, but He is so faithful to show me how He is working and revealing His will in my life.
Ask this question in your prayer time today:
What new and fresh thing does God have for you?
Have a beautiful day everyone!
Hugs,
Laura
