Recently, I have been very blessed to meditate on the love of God. In this article, I hope to draw your attention to the unfathomable love that God has for us, His children, as well as the result that this love should produce in our lives. This is by no means exhaustive, and I encourage you to study this topic further.

​Last year when our family of ten was living in a camper volunteering at a ministry in Flagstaff, Arizona, after five months of living in the same camper on a horse ranch—Sermon on the Mount—in Oklahoma, I finally had this wonderful opportunity to use a full-sized kitchen which was located in the welcome center next to where we parked our camper. With more thankfulness than ever, I resumed the daily task of feeding my large crew.

​I always have an anxious excitement when I am about to buy a plane ticket. You are planning for a fun trip, but at the same time you are spending a lot of money on something you can’t return. As I was doing this a few weeks ago, I was meticulously going through my itinerary to make sure I had everything right. Finally I clicked to finalize the purchase, but it came up with an ‘ERROR’ screen. It appeared that it hadn’t gone through, but it wouldn’t let me purchase the tickets when I tried again. I was feeling a little frustrated, because I really wanted to get them finalized before prices went up. With no other option, I waited until the next morning to try again. And lo, and behold, it ended up that the tickets were cheaper! As I sat there thanking the Lord, I felt like the Lord saying, “If I can orchestrate your circumstances to save you a little money, how much more can I provide for you in the area of marriage?’ I was humbled. ‘Oh.  Yes,  Lord. You are able to work out my future in Your perfect timing and in Your perfect way.’ God used a small daily experience to remind me of His goodness and care.

It can be challenging to maintain a cheerful attitude and a vision for a future family when that future family seems so elusive. If you’re like me, the prospect of marriage may appear slim. Mr. Right isn’t around and he’s not even on the horizon or over the horizon. It’s easy to wonder if he died at birth and the possibility of becoming an old, grouchy spinster continues to loom bigger and bigger. While your friends get married and raise their children, you are still waiting and waiting, and waiting some more. Your overflowing Hope Chest becomes more of a Hopeless Chest and you wonder if life has passed you by. 

“Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12)
 
True words indeed! The shattered remains of once-beautiful hopes...the memories of things past...the crushing grief of an arrow that pierced our tenderest and dearest desire (Lamentations 3:12). The path seems so painful and narrow that we can barely breath (Lamentations 3:7). Will the pain of this dark night ever pass? 

​First of all, I would like to start by saying that I will be preaching to myself. If you happen to benefit from it, that’s great. I most certainly have not “arrived,” and my guess is that I will not be arriving anytime soon.
 
Ever since I was little, I have always wanted to be married and have a family. When I was around 10 years old, I figured I would be married by 20, so I just had to wait 10 more years!!! Well, I just had my 32nd birthday, and no Prince Farming…(Yes, I meant that. I’d rather have a farmer than a charmer.) Needless to say, singleness has been, and continues to be, one of the greatest struggles of my life. So I’m going to share with you a few thoughts that I hope will turn your eyes (and mine!) back to the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus Christ…

Jesus loves me!

Think of the worst kind of girl you can possibly imagine, walking in sin, poor, shameful, rejected, impure, ugly, needy and yet rejecting help, living on the streets in rags, acting out in rebellion, the lowest class possible.

​Now, let your mind imagine the most impressive, powerful, rich, loving, highly regarded, high-ranking, well known, prestigious, wealthy, happy, mighty, perfect, pure, handsome man. 

“Take my love, dear Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.”

​I have sung those lines time and time again. The words are beautiful, and I long for them to be more than just a sentiment; my prayer is that they would ring true in my life. In this article, I would like to share a few thoughts regarding keeping Christ as our “First Love” (see Revelation 2:1-5). We are most fulfilled  when Christ is our All (Psalm 107:9). I hope these things I am learning in my own journey can be an encouragement to you, dear sisters in Christ.

With fervor, the young lady scrubbed the dirty dinner pot. She was growing frustrated with the seemingly enormous stack of dishes that awaited her attention, for she wanted to finish a sewing project after kitchen duties were completed. Her siblings had vanished after the meal was over, leaving her alone to clean up. Sharon inwardly grumbled in self-pity, when her thoughts were shocked to silence when her mom walked in the kitchen with a sober face. Her announcement was startling.