loved first

I remember the first time Brian told me that he loved me, and I remember my response. I said, "There is a part of me that loves you too." Gosh I was harsh! At that time in my life, I did not want to say something that I was not sure I meant. A couple days later, I thought about him walking around, loving me and thinking that he was not loved back. It killed me; and that is when I realized that I loved him too. I needed him, and it almost made me sick inside. The next time he said, "I love you," I said it back.

There is another man that loved me first--Jesus. It kills me to think that He, too, could be missing my love. He is crazy about us, and He thinks about us all the time. I want Him to know that I love Him too--it's not one-sided. To think that I could miss out on Him makes me sick inside. I need Him in my life. I'm so glad He pursues us and loves us first!

"We love Him because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

possessed!

When I was in college, I spent a summer working at a bank. I worked with a lady named Debbie. I remember her because every time our computers would mess up, Debbie would say, in the most southern accent, "It's possayessed!"

Movie writers seek to scare their viewers with stories of possession and demons that control people's actions. The victims are almost never in control of what they do, and unfortunately, they do some pretty scary things!

Do you know that when we accept Christ as our Savior, we become possessed? God actually comes to live and reside in us! He is called the Holy Spirit. In His sovereignty, and unlike demons that possess people, God gives us a free choice. He does not automatically control everything we do, but he offers rewards to those who give Him control. How cool of Him! He lets us choose, knowing that if we give Him control of us, He will make our life work out better than we ever could!

just a little at a time

Sometimes I can get overwhelmed with a big project! Do you ever feel that way? If I have a HUGE pile of laundry to fold I think "Oh my gosh, I just want to close the door and ignore it." Recently, I have been working on doing things in PIECES, a little at a time. For example, I can go in and face the overwhelming laundry pile and just fold the towels and jeans. (They take up a lot of space, so my pile quickly decreases and becomes manageable :) Later, I can go back and do the rest.

I am trying to help the boys with their rooms. You do not have to scrub and dust and organize each item alphabetically ALL the time. What if you blasted one of your favorite songs and picked up stuff just as long as the song played?! What a difference 3 kicking minutes could make in a messy room!

So try reading a few verses and thinking about them, rather than feeling bad that you are not reading the whole Bible! Try unloading your dishwasher and coming back later to fill it with dirty dishes. And for me, maybe I should just try to lose one pound rather than all that overwhelms me--just a little at a time. :)