True Love Stories Never Have Endings

Where do you get your worthiness? Or let me ask you this, where do you try to get your worthiness? Is it from your job? From your spouse? From how you parent your children? You know who sees us as worthy? God. No matter what I have done, God loves me and I am worthy. God is worthy of our trust, love, devotion, and worship. That is the topic of the devotional today. Sorry it took me so long to get back to it...it's been a little crazy and I am finally getting back to a good groove with Remy. To let you in on my world for a minute before we dive into the devotional: my sister, brother-in-law, and their two children moved 8 hours away from us. My sister and I spent a lot of time together before she left, which I am so thankful for. We are very close and we won't let distance stop us from that. I am excited about what God has in store for them.  I have to admit to you...I struggle with my worth. It's hard sometimes to view myself as worthy. But I am. To my ...

I am going to take a small break from the devotional to talk to you about expectations. Have you ever had high expectations of something? Did you plan something down to the last detail and expect it to turn out exactly like you planned? Does it ever meet those expectations? I am learning a lot about expectations with having a child. My sister and I recently adventured to our favorite city to shop at our favorite mall. It was the first time I took Remy on an hour and a half car ride and I figured it would be a good experiment. She has two children; a boy who is 6 and a little girl who is 2. I love those kids. Anyway, we got there and went to our favorite Christian bookstore and headed to the mall.  Well, we didn't get started actually shopping until an hour and a half after we got there! Both of our girls had to be changed, fed, and then changed again. Fun times!! It didn't go exactly like we planned, but honestly, it was a fun time. It taught me a lot about expectation...

" Therefore , as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord , walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, overflowing with gratitude."  Colossians 2:6-7 It's hard to accept sometimes that life isn't always easy. We want it to be; we want it to be smooth sailing. But the reality is...it's not. We will be tested and have trials and hang ups. I am learning that it's what we do in those hardships and how we lean on God that matters. The devotional today focuses on our transformation in Christ when we become a Christian. Our pastor preaches on this quite a bit. When you accept Jesus as your Savior, your life will change. The Holy Spirit in us will work in us to change old habits and characteristics from our old self. We will need to change and be transformed and the spirit will help us to become holy. We can view our marriage in the same way. When we become married and become one, we are transformed. "Marr...

I know this might be a harder post to read...but it is part of the devotional and something as a wife I feel needs to addressed. If you are a believer in Christ, one of the beliefs we stand by is that we are forgiven. What Jesus did on the cross was for our sins. His act of sacrificial love wiped our slates clean. As a wife and a believer, I am called to treat K the same way. Let me repeat that so it sinks in...I am to forgive K in all circumstances as Jesus forgives me. But...what if he does this? Or you don't know how bad he treated me and he doesn't deserve it. I want to stay mad. Have these thoughts crossed your mind? We have to hold it up to the truth of God. We are to be obedient and forgive no matter what because that's what God does for us. Even though we don't deserve it. And you know what else? He forgets it. God never brings it up again. By being a forgiving wife, I "restore harmony, peace, and agreement in my marriage" (Smith, 3...

" He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness, you have been healed by His wounds." 2 Peter 2:24 There is a lot of scripture today and I encourage you to read each one: Matthew 27:27-54, John 3:16, John 14:6, John 15:13 They all refer to what Jesus did for us on the cross. Let's camp there for a minute. Sometimes with all that goes on around me...raising Remy, taking care of our house, running errands, taking care of K, trying to find time to walk ...that I don't think about Jesus' sacrifice. It's not that I forget, but I just don't think about what he did for me. For you. "Jesus endured harsh treatment that led to death on the cross, providing people redemption from sin and the only way to be reconciled by God." (Smith, 31) This love that Jesus displayed for us-this unconditional, life changing, sacrificial  love- changes who you are. It doesn't mean our lives are a...

Sundays are always busy for us. To quote my nephew it is church and family day. But yesterday we kept our Sunday quiet. K has been working nonstop. He had to work Saturday, which is unusual for him so he asked me if we could just rest at home and spend some time together. So we did. We got in our pjs and enjoyed playing with Remy and watched Iron Man. We are rewatching the Marvel movies in anticipation of Avengers: Infinity War. Nerds, right? It was so nice to spend some quiet time together. In today's devotional reading, we will focus on our spouse being our special and precious gift. I don't know about you, but I don't always look at K like he is a special gift to me. But I need to. God has given him to me to take care of; to treasure like he deserves. He is special and I need to make sure he knows it. According to the author, our attitudes toward our spouse will reflect how we receive our gift. We can't forget and need to see ourselves as their gifts als...

Genesis 2: 18 Then the Lord God said, it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 Two are better than one for they have a good reward for their efforts. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. I love God with all my heart and try my best to obey Him...but I never really have given any thought until recently of how badly He wants a deep and intimate relationship with me. That He is pursuing me and waiting for me to seek Him. I am learning this more and more as I study His word through this devotional and another bible study I am doing. He wants to be my rock, my best friend. "To love God is a choice you must make because you have free will, which is the very thing that makes companionship so powerful...because you chose it." (Smith, 23) In this same way, we are to pursue our husbands to keep this companionship and bond strong. We can ...