What Matters Most is Walking in Love

The Love Month is well underway, love is in the air, and today is my children's 22nd wedding anniversary (see my separate post that honors their love story). I'm on purpose to awaken our senses to not just "talk the talk" but "walk the walk of love".

God IS LOVE and the lesson He wants us to learn on earth is how to love. To say “I love you” can sound like a cliché if our actions don’t measure up to those words. We say “I love you” in the same sentence that we say “I love chocolate cake” and there are times when it seems the one saying those words loves chocolate cake more than us. We say “I love my neighbor” in the same thought as “I wish my neighbor would keep his kids off my lawn”. Rick Warren says: “Learning to love unselfishly is certainly not an easy task. It runs counter to our self-centered nature. That’s why we’re given a lifetime to learn it."

Of course, God wants us to love everyone, but He’s particularly concerned that we learn to love others in His family. Paul wrote: “When we have the opportunity to help anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:10) That’s why it’s so awesome to be in the Family of God. Not because we are a “click” or “club unto ourselves”. It’s because we resemble our Father. We act like Him, talk like Him, walk like Him, forgive like Him and LOVE like Him. That’s why our character, being in His likeness, should speak volumes over those who are outside the Family of God.

Rick Warren asks: "Why does God insist that we give special love and attention to other believers? Why do they get priority in loving? Because God wants His family to be known for its love more than anything else. Jesus said our love for each other – not our doctrinal beliefs – is our greatest witness to the world. He said, 'Your strong love for each other will PROVE TO THE WORLD that you are My disciples.” (John 13:35)

Love isn’t learned from hiding out. We must be around people, even those cranky, grumpy and even frustrating people around us because God's LIGHT of LOVE in us is what the world needs NOW. Walking in love is really what life is all about. It matters most. It takes top priority. So, let’s be LOVE show-offs and go spread some of God's love today.

I'm So Glad I'm a Part of the Family of God

Yesterday my post was about being a part of the Family of God and how our Father always has His arms open wide to His nice, and even sometimes naughty, kids. He's ready to invite them to sit at His royal table and feast with Him, along with so many other “royal” benefits. It's ours for the taking. We just accept His invitation to come into the family and then play by His rules which include integrity and honor and when we make mistakes and ask for His forgiveness, He always forgives. He especially asks us to hold to His number one requirement: to love Him and each other as we love ourselves. As one of His adopted kids, I assure you, there is nothing like being part of the Family of God.

Christmas and the New Year are drawing near. Many of us look forward to spending more time with family while others find this holiday season to be an especially painful reminder of people they miss, broken relationships and their deep longing to be surrounded by a loving family. The good news is, as children of God who have been adopted into His royal family, we have an unlimited supply of brothers and sisters! It’s like an old song written by Bill and Gloria Gaither:
“You will notice we say “brother” and “sister” around here;
It’s because we’re a family and these folks are so near.
When one has a heartache we all share the tears,
And rejoice in each victory in this family so dear.
I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God!
I’ve been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood.
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I’m part of the family, the family of God.

Let me tell you about this "family" from personal experience. I grew up in this family because my parents introduced me to the Father, God, and I invited Jesus, His Son, into my heart as a young child. That’s the “orientation” to coming into the family. John 3:16 explains it this way: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son and ALL who believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Wow! How’s that for benefits….believing equals eternal life with Him in this family forever and ever!

Growing up in this family, I was around folks that pursued God in their walk and talk and it left an “eternal” impression on me. I wanted to be just like them. I witnessed how this family sticks together. We’re brothers and sisters and when one hurts, everyone hurts and when one has a victory, we all celebrate with them. We met together at church, became part of groups that created fellowship, grew together in learning more about God and His Word, and we were forged together when we locked arms and arms in making it through joyful and tough times.

In this family, there were baby showers where “the sisters” lavished gifts and blessings on the hopeful new parents that would soon welcome their new baby. Then, those same sisters, bearing lots of food for the new parents, brought relief to them when they had added pressure with that new little bundle of joy and lots of sleepless nights. Then there were the brothers in the family who helped another brother out when he had lost his job and they shouldered up to him and gave him encouragement and even helped him find a new job. I witnessed those brothers and sisters caring for my mom and me when my dad passed away. They brought us food and I saw them hugging and loving on my mom and me which brought us so much comfort. Later, I knew that comfort when my brothers and sisters encouraged my husband and me when he became so sick, but our freezer was so full of food that I had to ask them to slow down. I know what it is to have brothers and sisters in the Family of God.

Most recently, I’ve witnessed how the brothers and sisters at my church have come to support and love a precious family going through a major crisis that has resulted in so many needs. Of course, fervent prayer was the first thing we did, then tangible things were done: their home was cleaned, a food chain started, groups got together to go and encourage and support them financially and spiritually, and there have been so many social media posts that offered encouragement and notes assuring continued prayer. And, for me, my brothers and sisters in Christ are my own personal cheerleading team when they follow me on social media and when I speak at ministry events. They keep “pushing” me to be the best “sister” in the family. I strive for that!

I am utterly convinced that the Family of God will stand by you in thousands of ways if you’ll get to know the family, hang out with them, serve with them and do life with them. None of us deserve it and haven’t earned it. We were just born into it. They’ll treat you like royalty, too, because you are! We are. We’re children of the King.

I’m All Grown Up, But I’m Still a Kid

I embraced every minute of precious family time during Thanksgiving week. My family is right up there at the top of my “gratitude” list. We are a diverse family with diverse interests and diverse ways of life. None of us were cut from the same mold, but we have this one thing in common – we are family. I came from a middle-class family. We didn't have much, but we had all we needed. We knew love, but by no means did we know royalty and wealth, or the social graces that went along with it.

But, then, one day, I came into a royal family -- the Family of God -- not as a result of merit or anything I earned or was born into, but I was adopted into this wonderful Family of God. It was simply because I asked to come in, and I believed the Father of this royal family has a very special Son Who paid a hefty price for me to be welcomed into the family. I didn't have to pay my way in -- I just had to believe in HIS royal family. And, guess what! You have been invited into the FAMILY, too! The invitation goes out to "Whoever believes in HIM....."

There are no adults in the Family of God. Father God only has children. Adults complicate things. They try to figure out what's next, how, why, where and when. Kids just say "Okay!" They just believe. I believed. Stuff happens. No problem. My Father has everything under control. And, He keeps telling us to "Be like children" who just believe.

While doing a lot of my holiday baking, I watched a sweet and tender Hallmark Christmas movie. I’ll admit it. I’m a “Hallmark” junkie – just knowing that the movie is going to end with a sappy, predictable ending, makes me happy. I saw one where two children whose Mom and Dad had died in an automobile accident. Their very wealthy grandfather (who they had never met) asked them to come to visit him at his royal mansion in England. Once they were there, they had all the privileges that their lineage provided -- sitting at the grandfather's table, eating the best of foods, wearing elaborate clothes provided by the grandfather, being served by the maids and butlers. They didn't even know their grandfather before, but all their lives, royalty was waiting for them. But, to live in the grandfather's home, they had to change some of their rough ways. And they did because they wanted to please the grandfather. And when they pleased him, he just kept pouring on the blessings to them.

Once we come into the royal Family of God, we should have a hard time being disobedient children. If we daily make a purpose to NOT disappoint our Heavenly Father, He'll keep pouring His blessings on us. If we abide in Him, and His Word abides in us, then we'll have a hard time messing up. We just don't want to take a chance on disappointing our Father. Still, I have disappointed Him. But when I did, His grace flowed out to me. His nature IS love and grace. It's going to be Christmas in just a few weeks, and if we gave our kids a gift, we would never want them to turn to us and say, "What do I owe you for this?" No, we would simply say to them, "I so love you and want to bless you."
The man in the movie had to discipline those grandkids from time to time for being naughty. And there's also a judgment side to God, but if we obey Him, we'll never see it. There's a judgment side to us, but if our kids obey us, they'll never see that judgment.

Today, our Heavenly Father has His arms open wide to His naughty or nice kids out there. He's ready to bless them. He's ready to invite them to sit at His royal table and feast and dine with Him. It's ours for the taking. Now let's throw our hands up in the air and shout out, "CHOOSE ME!"

1 John 3:1 "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him."

Appreciate Rather Than Discriminate

Sitting on the patio while writing this post was the fruit of my labors yesterday, after an early morning seeing after the chickens, donkeys, goats, and longhorn. I’m always amused to see the donkeys and goats all bedded down in close proximity to each other at night but when it comes to feeding time, they want their own space. The donkeys come into the stall and I close the door behind them so they can relax in their own space. They eat in comfort and peace – away from those over-excited goats.

What’s hilarious is when the donkeys are through eating their grain and hay, one of them always opens the latch and they go out the door with a sense of satisfaction. The goats, on the other hand, also want their own space. The three Nubian goats are much larger than the five smaller, horned goats – yet the horned goats can be quite aggressive at meal time and they show their muscle and horns, to assure their reservation. They have attitude-plus! But at some point in the night, all 11 of them come together as “family”. I’m singing that song “We are FA-Mi-LY !”

That "picture" of family came to mind when I was enjoying that cloudy, cooler morning on the patio. I checked my email and read Dr. Jim Denison’s email for yesterday. His column began with “Racial discrimination is in today's news after the shooting of a teenager in East Pittsburgh. Religious discrimination has been in the news with the recent Masterpiece Cake Shop Supreme Court ruling. Gender-based discrimination has been much-discussed with Saudi Arabia's recent decision to allow women to drive. Discrimination is a fact of life in many cultures around the world. Now there's a new kind of discrimination in the news. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has served as President Trump's press secretary since July 2017. She made headlines over the weekend when she was refused service by a restaurant in Lexington, Virginia. The issue was not her race, her religious commitments, her gender, or her social or economic status. It had to do with her political positions. In her job, she explains and defends the president's beliefs and actions on various issues. Sanders was asked to leave the Red Hen specifically because the owner and some of her employees disagreed with some of these political positions.”

Discrimination isn’t new to our world. I remember how awful it was in the 60s when my brothers and sisters of color were discriminated against and were refused to eat and drink in various restaurants and water fountains and even to use "white" restrooms. History is riddled with discrimination. Even our Lord experienced the worst discrimination possible that nailed him to a cross. But in the midst of discrimination, Jesus spoke these words: “Love your enemies.” (Matthew 5:44) Who is our enemy? It’s easy to adopt the familiar us-versus-them distinctions, especially if we spend most of our time with those who agree with our religious, political, cultural, and value beliefs.

Yes, we are all different but we are all equally loved and treasured by our Heavenly Father. Every encounter we have with someone should be seen as an opportunity to get to know another member of the family of God. There really is common ground to be found. All these farm animals have an innate desire for belonging. I see it manifested in their togetherness at nighttime. In the chicken pen, (pictured here) are three camps: the older, egg-laying hens and rooster; the younger brood and rooster, and the two ducks. In the daytime, outside the coop, they hang out together in their own little circle of friends, but at nighttime, all the chickens share the comfort and protection of the coop and the ducks inside the fenced area of the coop. Those animals found common ground.

Common ground starts within us. We are all created in the image and likeness of God. We are all His children. We all have the same basic needs for food, shelter, clothing, education, and love. Apart from those common features, we share many similarities with others.

Dear Lord, please help us to appreciate rather than discriminate; to love rather than hate; to reconcile instead of debate. If your animal kingdom can share common ground, surely you can help your children to find common ground that moves us closer to the answer of your Son’s prayer: “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one--as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” John 17:21

LOVE is Family

Day 27 in the Month of Love -- Love is Family

I'm just giving a shout out to God for His blessings to me -- especially, in this season of my life, when my time is more flexible and with that flexibility, I get to spend quality times with my sweet family. For two weeks, I'm here with my Washington family, and then next month, I head to Texas for a love fest there.

Here's some of the joys that awaited me in WA: Thursday night was Brennan's band concert. Of course this Nana was as proud as I could be and had to take before and after shots. Then, yesterday morning, as usual, there was a lot of energy at the Wuerch household. The boys were up and ready for school without even having to ask them. After all, it was "hot chocolate day" and they don't have to wait outside for the bell to ring. They can go right on in to the gymnasium and be with their friends early before school.

Before leaving for school, we had breakfast, they practiced spelling for their tests later in the day, and we talked about what our day would hold. I love taking the boys to school, and I don't miss the opportunity to pray with them on the way. I had just started praying "Dear Jesus, thank you so much for this day! Whoa -- look at that view!"

The boys both laughed at the interruption, but actually, it was a God interruption. It was a crystal clear morning and the grandeur of the Olympic Mountains in the West captured my attention. I stopped momentarily for Brennan to take this photo of the mountains. Brennan said, "Nana, it's okay for you to stop. You stopped to see God." Whoa -- He was right! I agreed and told the boys that God wanted to get our attention.....and He did. Yes, God let us see the beauty of His creation and be captivated by it. Awe-inspiring!

As precious as my family and yours may be, just think about the great privilege we have in being a part of the Family of God. When we place our faith in Christ, God becomes our Father, we become His children, and other believers become our brothers and sisters. God's great big wonderful family. "Jesus pointed to His disciples and said, These are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!" Matthew 12:49-50. And being in this royal family means we're a part of something so very wonderful. It means we will love and be loved for the rest of our lives....and beyond. It means we share each other's sorrows AND victories. We encourage and support each other. We're there for each other. I'd say that's a family to rejoice about. Welcome to God's great big wonderful family!

All Grown Up, But Still a Kid

Day 318 of Photo Inspirations -- All Grown Up, But Still a Kid
I came from a middle class family.  We didn't have much, but we had all we needed.  We knew love -- but by no means did we know royalty and wealth, or the social graces that went along with it.   But, then, one day, I came into a royal family.....the Family of God -- where now I'm UPPER class -- not as a result of merit or anything I earned, or was born into, but I was adopted into this marvelous Family of God.  It was simply because I asked to come in, and because I believed the Father of this royal family has a very special Son, Who paid a hefty price for me to be welcomed into the family.  I didn't have to pay my way in -- I just had to believe in HIS royal family.  And, guess what YOU'VE been invited into the FAMILY, too!  The invitation goes out to "Whoever believes in HIM....."

By the way, I'm all grown up now, but there are no adults in the family. Father God only has children. Adults complicate things.  They try to figure out what's next, how, why, where and when.  Kids just say "Okay!"  They just believe.  I believed.  Stuff happens.  No problem.  My Father has everything under control.  And, He keeps telling us to "Be like children" who just believe.

I was doing some holiday baking on Thursday and, like I do from time-to-time, while I'm cooking, I'll have the Hallmark Channel on and I watch one of their sweet and tender movies.  This one was about some children whose Mom and Dad had died in an automobile accident and the very wealthy grandfather (who they had never met) asked them to come see him at his royal mansion in England. Once they were there, they had all the privileges that their lineage provided -- sitting at the Grandfather's table, eating the best of foods, wearing the royal clothes provided by the grandfather, being served by the maids and butlers.  They didn't even know this Grandfather before, but all their lives, royalty was waiting for them.  But, to live in the Grandfather's home, they had to change some of their rough ways.  And they did, because they wanted to please the Grandfather.  And when they pleased him, he just kept pouring on the blessings to them.

Once we come into the royal Family of God, we should have a hard time being disobedient children. If we daily make a purpose to NOT disappoint our Heavenly Father, He'll keep pouring His blessings on us.  If we abide in Him, and His Word abides in us, then we'll have a hard time messing up.  We just don't want to take a chance on disappointing our Father.

Still, I have disappointed Him.  But when I did, His grace flowed out to me.  His nature IS love and grace. It's going to be Christmas in just a few weeks, and if we gave our kids a gift, we would never want them to turn to us and say, "What do I owe you for this?"   No, we would simply say to them, "I so love you and want to bless you."

The man in the movie had to discipline those grandkids from time to time for being naughty.  And there's also a judgment side to God, but if we obey Him, we'll never see it.  There's a judgment side to us, but if our kids obey us, they'll never see that judgment.

Today, our Heavenly Father has His arms open wide to His naughty or nice kids out there.  He's ready to bless them.  He's ready to invite them to sit at His royal table and feast and dine with Him.  It's ours for the taking.  Now let's throwt our hands up in the air and shout out, "CHOOSE ME!"

1 John 3:1  "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us, is that it did not know Him."

Cuddles from Heaven and on Earth

Day 280 of Photo Inspirations - Cuddles From Heaven & On Earth
Going to church was one of my favorite "date" places to go to with my Sweetheart.  It seemed that the presence of the Lord brought us even closer together when we were there.  He would hold and caress my hand, put his arm around me, and whisper "I love you".  And I don't think God was jealous one bit when we expressed our love to each other there.  In fact, He was probably applauding that affection and love -- after all, that precious love between a husband and wife is one of His most marvelous creations.

Genesis 2:21-24 "So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.”  That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh."  Talk about GENIUS and master-designed creations!!!!  God is the MASTER CREATOR!!

In the sweetness of God's love and our love, God blessed us with a friendship with a precious family. Howblessed we were when Owen, their 3rd-born, this adorable 10 year old pictured here, became our godson. We were so blessed to be there 10 years ago when he was baptized -- thus my photo inspirations for today.  We took being godparents very seriously -- praying for him, celebrating him and continuing to give him the reasons why he is so precious and beautiful and reminding him that God has so much potential in his future.  We always made it a big deal to celebrate his baptism every year.  After all, that's when he came into the "Family of God". And that's what I did yesterday -- I had been in Seattle on September 25th -- his actual baptism day.  I want to continue to influence this little guy in his relationship with Jesus.  If I can have a small hand in that, I say, "Here's my hand, Lord!"  His card said, "This little light of Owen's.....he's gonna' let it shine!"  And, I gave him a flashlight as a little reminder.  BIG smiles!

Yesterday was special, but as I said in the first paragraph here, my sweetheart and I made going to church a place where our love for each other increased.  So when he graduated to heaven (5 years next month), I could have only thought of how much I missed him when I went to church.  But I think, he AND God had something special in mind.  Owen took over where my sweetheart left off. To this day, since Ron's exit, Owen runs to sit by me in church.  He wraps his arms around me, holds my hand and kisses my cheek.  Oh, yes, I sense heaven with me when Owen is with me.  I am loved here and from up there.  Yes, his little light shines brightly in my life!

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Day 139 of Photo Inspirations -- Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
My granddaughter is a gifted TALKER.  She cracks me up.  There's never a dull moment with her.....and I love every minute of it!  She is so confident in who she is. Even though she's smaller than others her age, she still hangs with others who are much taller than her.  She knows she was created in God's image and she lives with that thought in mind.  She knows this scripture and lives it:  "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well."  Psalm 139:13

Since "competition" is not in her wheel house, last night, while the rest of us were playing a very competitive card game, she made a chocolate cake.  She's quite happy being who she is -- a creative, artistic, girly girl.  Back to the chocolate cake.   I took the first piece.  I didn't realize she'd made it for her brother's birthday.  Oops!  Thus, the orange in the vacant spot.  She said, "This is the ugliest cake I've ever made.  The is the prettiest cake I've ever made.  This is the worst cake I've ever made.  This is the best cake I've ever made.  This is the grossest cake I've ever made.  This is the tastiest cake I've ever made."  It was the FIRST and ONLY cake she's ever made.  "Such is life with Lexi"!  LOL!

There's a song out right now that I've really liked the tune to,  and it's been used a lot in reality talent shows.  But then I read the words and thought, "Whoever sings these words and believes them -- are in a personal identity crisis.  They are searching for their significance by another person."  These are the words:
"Say something, I'm giving up on you; I'll be the one, if you want me to,
Anywhere I would've followed you; Say something, I'm giving up on you.
And I am feeling so small; It was over my head;
I know nothing at all, and I will stumble & fall;
I'm still learning to love, just starting to crawl;
Say something, I'm giving up on you; I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you;
Anywhere I would've followed you, say something, I'm giving up on you."

Bless his or her heart.  Clearly, whoever wrote that song was in a deep pit of despair that day.  They don't get that God, a friend closer than a brother, sister, mother, father or any other significant other, created them perfect and in His image -- He doesn't make mistakes and He never leaves us alone.  He sees them in the light of His image -- which makes them beautiful.  When we believe that we are valuable in God’s sight – we act like it.  We will assert ourselves and set boundaries so people will treat us with the dignity, a person made in God’s image deserves.

If we look for our identity in the approval of others and/or in our performance and role at school, work or at home, now is the time for us to transition from finding out who we are in what we do — to finding out who we are in Christ!  And when we do that, we KNOW that we KNOW, He has the perfect plan for our lives.....as well as the people He wants in our lives -- then we'll never say "I'm feeling small; I know nothing at all!"  We'll say, "I'm a prince or princess and I'm royalty.  I'm a daughter or son in the royal family of God".
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