Since my primary love-language falls in the category of "encouraging words", I cherish receiving love notes. As a matter of fact, I have kept Mac's first note he ever wrote me in my wallet(s) for the last 20 plus years. It is a keepsake of our new love then, and our continued love now.

I know on Valentine's Day, many love notes will be shared nation-wide. "I love you's" will be declared, promises will be penned, and if you're real lucky, chocolate will be delivered.

On this day set aside for proclaiming one's adoration, I wanted to remind you of some love notes that you have already received. I could pick many beautiful vows, but I will limit it to 3. As you read these words, cherish them as your very own, because they are. Read them again and hold on to them; believe them, and then hold onto them tighter.

1. "For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and my covenant of peace will not be shaken," says the Lord who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10

2. "And I will betroth you to Me forever; yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, in lovingkindness and in compassion, and I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the Lord." Hosea 2:19-20

3. The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you wih an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness." Jeremiah 31:3

I know that each of us can think of times when words in certain love notes simply were not kept, leaving us confused and broken. Some may still be in the process of healing from unmet promises. Let me encourage you to read these "love notes" above one more time. Maybe even tuck them in your wallet for the next 20 plus years. These words are written by a God who cannot lie, Who gives a love that will not fail.

As you think on this, and cherish these promises, have a Happy Valentine's Day.

My 13 year old daughter Emmy has a new love: an adorable little cairn terrier puppy named Juliet. Of course, with this love, comes responsibility and commitment, so Emmy's instinctive mothering skills have indeed been aroused. She wakes up with the puppy, feeds the puppy, bathes the puppy, walks the puppy, administers medicine to the puppy, puts the puppy down for a nap, and on and on. The sweet connection between the two of them is delightful to watch.

Most often, I (the grandmother?), join Emmy and Juliet for their country-morning walk. When we walk/trot/run with Juliet, she is attached to her bright red leash which is attached to Emmy's right hand. The puppy bounds with glee after our "big dogs" Sarge and Dixie. She loves to chase the labs, as well as pester Mariel the outdoor cat; however, one of the puppy's favorite stops is to say "hello" to the horses, April and Rooster. If it were up to Juliet, she would joyfully nip at the 800 pound animals' heals to say an emphatic "good morning." Now, I know persnickety April; therefore, I KNOW this would not end well for 4 1/2 pound Juliet. (I now understand why some not-so-sensitive people call small dogs "punt-dogs").

I also gained another insight in this moment. I shared it with Emmy then, and I will share it with you now...

While with the horses, I said, "Emmy, your leash to Juliet is just like the Shepherd's rod and staff to us. Juliet wants to go to the other side of the fence, and she doesn't understand why she can't join the horses. But you know what the outcome would be if she went over there; so, in love, you hold her back."

I think at times, we can be like little Juliet; I know I can. So often we see the "greener pastures" and want to be in them instead of where we are standing. And when we feel the hand of God holding us back, we feel deprived; because after all, others are "in that pasture enjoying life." We ask ourselves, "If they can have it (whatever "it" is to each of us), why can't I?". My prayer for myself, and for you is that we would always see God's rod and staff as an instrument of love, not punishment. Yes, in love, He holds us back from things that might potentially harm us or from things that might hinder our relationship with Him. Remember, we are His cherished possessions, and He is jealous for each of us. Because of this truth, He will not say "yes" to something that would threaten this intimate relationship.

As we stood on the other side of the fence from the horses, Emmy picked up her little puppy and held her close. Then she kissed her and snuggled her and squeezed her with deep affection. Taking this sweet picture in as well, I commented, "Always remember Emmy, God loves you just the way you love Juliet." She took a deep breath and kissed her little love one more time.

I pray you will understand and savor "the kiss of God" and His "puppy love" for you as you walk with Him each day.

I don't know about you, but January is a l...o...n...g month for me. The holiday festivities are over, the decorations come down (eventually), and it seems I am faced with not just one month in front of me, but twelve. At times I feel like I have just finished one marathon with a glorious bang, only to immediately start another one.

To be completely honest, I am FEELING discouraged, weak, and doubtful. I am discouraged because of the unending dailyness of life: the food in the fridge vanishes upon entry, and the laundry reproduces spontaneously. I am weak because I have a head cold...ugh...I will spare you of the details on this one. And I am doubtful because I see all those little squares on my calendar filling up with scribbled ink, wondering how in the world one person is going to be able to do everything it "says." (I have already mistakenly missed two orthodontist appointments and its just January 15th!).

To be completely honest again... I do not want to live underneath the FEELING of discouragement, weakness, and doubt. I actually refuse to.

Therefore, I will fight my feelings with faith:

When I am discouraged I will remember: My soul wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken (Psalm 62:5-6). And I will choose to believe this truth with all my heart.

When I am weak I will remember: The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped (Psalm 28:7). And again, I will hold onto this truth and not let it go.

When I am doubtful I will remember: Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10). Ah yes, without a shadow of a doubt, I will believe He is holding my hand.

Bottom line is, my circumstances are real, my feelings are real, BUT, so is my faith. Jesus asked over and over again to His disciples, "Where is your faith?". I know He asks you and me the same question. We must believe our God is greater than any of our diverse or even drastic circumstances, and that He is acutely aware of our real and raw feelings. But He asks us to live by faith. In fact, He waits to perform His great works through the doors of our simple faith. (Scripture says, And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. Matthew 13:58).

Over many years of trial and error, I have found out that when my faith in God wraps around my deepest feelings, these very feelings tend to, in His time, change: discouragement to encouragement, weakness to strength, doubtful to firmly planted.

Wow, to be completely honest one more time... I am feeling better already!!

Thanks, I needed y'all today. By writing this post, you have helped me remember what I believe with all my heart. Now I will go fold my laundry with steadfastness, blow my nose with joy, and call the orthodontist with hope of two new appointment days.

In turn, I will pray for you... that you too, will fight your feelings with faith.

Happy New Year to each of you! It seems that January 1st comes faster and faster. This day, more than any other day of the year, is a "stake in the ground", monumental, decision-making day. Our list of resolutions are made, and hopefully will be kept in the days/months ahead.

As I have thought about what I will resolve to do this year, I have heard the Lord speak two words to my heart, and I think these words go hand-in-hand: kneel and abide.

Psalm 95:6 says: Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

I think the physical act of kneeling portrays the spiritual condition of our heart. When we bow down, we are submitting in reverence, agreeing with our Creator that He is in control of each of our lives, not us. In kneeling, we relinquish our daily plans and humbly ask Him to direct our steps, each and every one. And in this place,we will find our strong and mighty King ready to act as the faithful and Good Shepherd... who abides.

The very next verse, Psalm 95:7 says: For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. What a beautiful truth: the same God that created me, also stays with me. Our God is an abiding God. We see this in the desert with the Israelites when God promises, My presence will go with you and I will give you rest. (Exodus 33:14). And we see this through Jesus when he says, Abide in Me, and I in you. (John 15:4). So the question of abiding is not about wether or not God is abiding with me; it really is, am I abiding with God? I hear Him calling me, "Breathe Me in Chris, trust Me, obey Me, each step, each thought, each response... each day."

So what are my resolutions for 2011? My hope is to start my day on my knees saying, "Lord, You are in control, please show me how to live today." And then when I rise, I hope to breathe in my abiding God, so I hear and obey His directive voice on January 1st, January 2nd, January 3rd... April 23rd... August 13th... October 14th... December 31st...

Would you like to join me in kneeling before our Maker, and abiding in His shepherding love? I can assure you, our God will not disappoint us.

In keeping with my last post entitled "Holding It All Together," here is another devotional prayer. Praise Him with me...

God, You are the One Who Restores. I need You, O God, please come. I am down on my knees, completely broken. I can’t make sense of the past, and I don’t know how to stand in the present. Again, I cry out to You, “Please come, Lord Jesus.” I ask You to put these shattered pieces back together—Your hands know how; and Your hands are gentle. I pray You will restore me to the joy of Your salvation, and sustain Me with a willing spirit… Yes, restore me to You, O Lord. I ask You to please set me back on my feet again. Have Your way with me, dear Savior. Rebuild me to mirror You. And as You wrap Your righteousness around me, I will recall this to mind: I am a new creature in Christ; old things have passed away, and new things have come. So, I will rejoice! For Your matchless mercy has moved into the midst of my mess. You have given me a new heart and a new spirit—now hear my heart beat for You, and see my spirit worship You. Indeed, O Lord, I praise You. Because of Your grace-working hands, I am now standing and proclaiming, "I love the One who restores my soul.”

Revelation 22:20; Psalm 51:12; Lamentations 5:21; II Corinthians 5:17; Ezekiel 36:26; Psalm 23:3

ps. I wanted to let you know of a new and beautiful website found at www.buzzfaith.com. On this site, Christians are encouraged to share how they came to know the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Our church has challenged us to write our story and then share it with "our world" via facebook. If you desire to read how my God captured my heart with His love, go to buzzfaith and click on "He let the redbirds fly." Also, I might add... do you have some Good News to share with your world?

Not too long ago, I was given a sweet Willow Tree figurine, called the "angel of hope." This little angel is standing straight and tall with her arms extended in front of her. And in her hands, she is holding a small glimmering candle. I love what this angel signifies, and even more so, I love the friend who gave it to me.

Because of where it sits on my counter, this angel accidently got knocked over, which caused the little hands and candle to break off. How upsetting! I immediately set out to put this cherished gift back together. Super glue to the rescue...

As I was holding the angel of hope in my hands, God gave me a sweet picture of His sincere love for His people. First of all, we too, are cherished gifts to Him. His word calls those who receive Christ as their Savior a people for God's own possession (I Peter 2:9). And secondly, we, like the angel, are fragile; and we too, will break (I tend to break often).

But just the way I held the angel of hope in my hands and pressed the pieces back together with the super glue, God also picks up our many fragments and holds each of us. He then presses His gentle yet firm hands around the broken places in our hearts and puts them back together. His tender love seeps in and, in time, we are restored.

If you are broken my friend, let Him come to you, and let Him hold you, and let Him pour His love into the painful places. Know this truth: In (Christ) all things hold together. (Colossians 1:17). No one else or nothing else can heal your hurts like Jesus. And you yourself cannot "hold it all together", so don't even try... just cry... to the One who can. Yes, Jesus Christ is the only "super glue."

Thankfully, the restored angel of hope is now back on my shelf holding her candle high. Likewise, when we let our Savior heal our hearts, you and I both have something to share with the rest of this broken world. Let us sing together (like angels?), "The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation." (Psalm 118:14)