Loving Jesus More Than Anyone or Anything

Loving someone often happens naturally.

But maintaining loving another person is not that easy. In fact, it takes work.

Love.

A small and seemingly simple word. Yet it holds more power than we realize. 

And I’m not an expert on the subject of love. Instead, I held misconceptions about love as a child and young woman. Like my friend expressed, Hang-ups about love form from emotionally expensive experiences. ~ Jo Ann Fore

You see, my father abandoned me for a time, and I never remember the phrase “I love you!” by either of my parents until later in life. 

I was grown with my own children the first time my father uttered the words I love you. The conversation’s forever etched in my memory.

Still, as much as I wanted to hear my dad tell me he loved me, I needed to believe it. And I longed for the reassurance he meant it.

You know what? The same holds true today. My husband can never tell me or show me he loves me too many times. 

Because a continual and intentional assurance of love takes any relationship to a higher and deeper level. Pure and whole-hearted love, in the most powerful form, is a show-and-tell affection.

Loving Jesus 

Likewise, the words I love You, Jesus! rise in my heart and roll off my tongue more often these days. Why? 

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The Greatest Reward for Following Jesus Christ

Following Christ has great reward.

As Christians, we know there are costs for following Christ. Such as the call to deny our desires, plans and life to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. Still further, family and friends may disown us. Or, we suffer persecution and ridicule.

But let’s not forget the powerful rewards for followers of Jesus. And one greatest reward of all. I list ten rewards and save the best for last.

(1.)  Reward of Eternal and Abundant Life 

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:28)

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

(2.)  Reward of Righteousness

“If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.” (1 John 2:29)

We follow Jesus in a foreign culture of unrighteousness. And those who refuse to follow Him have destruction as their end. 

Because “enemies of the cross” make their belly a god and glory in shame. Since their minds are set on earthly things. “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (See Philippians 3:18-20)

Do we desire to follow Christ and His righteousness, Sunday through Saturday, 24/7?

True disciples not only want to follow Jesus, but also follow through by seeking to stay on the path of righteousness.

(3.)  Reward of a Good Shepherd

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20 Amazing Quotes for Friends in a Pandemic

Besties. BFF’s. Life-long friends. 

Friend is such a wonderful and endearing term.

The good Lord created us as relational beings, first with Him, then with others. So it makes sense to not only understand the importance of friends in our lives, but to also celebrate friendship.

But what does true friendship look like? How does it play a practical role in our lives? 

And how do we keep our friendships alive during this present pandemic? Because things have changed during COVID-19.

Such as those intimate, fun and face-to-face outings, chats, lunch dates, meetings at our favorite coffee shop, and a whole list of friend-things most of us are missing these days.

Or, we show up sporting a face mask and wonder if our get-togethers will ever look normal again.

So I put together a list of some pretty amazing quotes on friendship. While the way we spend time with friends may look different right now, the heart of friendship remains the same and keeps us connected.

As you read through these great quotes, think about creative ways to reach out to friends. Like texts, emails, calls, FaceTime, MarcoPolo App, cards, record an audio message to send by text (even a prayer), Snapchat a fun photo or video, or drop off their favorite sweet or a gift and leave on the porch giving them the heads up.

Amazing Friendship Quotes

(1.) “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.” ― C.S. Lewis

(2.) “Real spiritual friendship is eagerly helping one another know, serve, love, and resemble God in deeper and deeper ways.” ― Timothy Keller

(3.) “I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.” ― Helen Keller

(4.) “A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” ― Walter Winchell

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Positively Finding Your Joy by Yvette Walker

Welcome our guest writer, Yvette. I’m honored to have met this godly, beautiful lady online. We recently chatted when she invited me on her podcast, Positively Joy. And my episode goes live this morning. I know her words about joy will inspire you.

By Yvette Walker

During this unique season, I have been working from home instead of in my office at college. Every day I get up, make the bed, feed my four-footed kids (two cats, one dog) and come into the dining room.

And I don’t know why, but the dining table has been my makeshift desktop since March 16. Because I have a perfectly good study, but the dining room seems warmer, more inviting. I open my laptop, log on and begin the day. I’m a bit of a homebody, so I’m loving the arrangement, even though I’m an extrovert and miss the company of my coworkers and students. 

Something had been on my mind for a while, and that was to start a podcast. I wanted it to be about beauty standards, how we dress and style ourselves and how sometimes America does not approve. It was to be called Hair Goddess, after a book I’d published a a few years ago.

Positively Talk About Joy

But God said, “No, you are to talk about JOY.”

Uh, OK, Lord, I’m listening.

And so, Positively Joy was born. In the middle of a pandemic, at home, in my dining room. I knew just enough audio editing software to be dangerous, and I knew enough people who would talk to me. 

It has been a delight to my soul, and, I hope, a fun listening exercise to my followers.

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