Just Love.

I get married in 47 days. The reality of that hasn't hit yet....even with all this money we are spending. :/  I'm excited and nervous and anxious all in one! Big bottle of mixed emotions! I'm just ready for it to be here already.  I feel I have waited a long time for the guy God has for me.  Most of my friends got married right out of college and I was left here in the working field to fend for myself.  But was I really?  I mean, God was with me the whole time. He guided my paths and never left my side. 

Now the time comes to marry this guy. The guy God has picked out just for me.  God loves me so much that He had this one guy selected for me before I was even born.  He molded me and Shaun both for our marriage and our relationship to ultimately bring more glory to Himself.  I pray every day for Shaun and I pray our marriage will be one that is God honoring and glorifying.  I'm excited to start this new adventure!....if it will ever get here for Pete's sake! :)

Also, this guy God appointed for me is such a great man of God.  I don't think I acknowledge this enough.  Yesterday, he was given the opportunity to preach at our church and both sermons were so great. God used him and spoke through him yesterday.  First, he preached on Daniel 3....Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego. I'm a HUGE Shane & Shane fan, so here is a song of theirs about this story that I just love. Great story and great lessons and parallels to bring out of that event in history.  Sometimes it's hard for me to remember that it IS history, not just a story I heard growing up in Sunday School.  One of the amazing things you can take from this story is the obvious....just like God saved them from the fiery furnace, Jesus saves us from the fiery pits of Hell. Love love that.  It's like we almost get a visual of what Jesus saves us from by looking at that story.  Not to mention the three guy's dedication to God and how they were so willing to go in the fire not knowing for sure if God would save them from it or not.  One simple question to you.....are you will to go into the fire for God?  You can contemplate that to mean whatever you like....just as long as you take time to contemplate it.

Last night's sermon was really really hard for me.  It might have been difficult for everyone listening since I know, as humans, it's hard to love the unlovable.  And that's just what the sermon was about.  The people who have hurt you the most. The ones who have said hateful things about you, either to your face or behind your back (yet you always find out about it somehow).  The ones who are mean to your children, your siblings, your spouse or your closest friends.  We ALL know of people who are hard to love.  Yet, somehow we have to do it, we are called to love. Jesus, in the New Testament, never put conditions on it.....love only if, or don't love the mean ones or so on.  He called us to love.  That's it. Nothing fancy or hard to understand. Just love.

If only it were that easy, huh?

I want to challenge you as I was challenged....who are your "unloveables" and consciously chose to love them, no matter how hard it is.

Just love.