No More Mystery

There is something that I see,
In the way you look at me,
There's a smile there's a truth in your eyes.
What an unexpected way,
On this unexpected day,
Could it be, this is where I belong?
It is you I have loved all along.

There's no more mystery,
It is finally clear to me,
You're the home my heart searched for so long.
It is you I have loved all along.

There are times I've ran to hide,
Afraid to show the other side,
Alone in the night without you.
But now I know just who you are,
And I know you hold my heart,
Finally, this is where I belong,
It is you I have loved all along!

No more mystery,
It is finally clear to me,
You're the home my heart searched for so long.
And It is you I have loved all along.

Oh, over and over,
I'm filled with emotion,
Your love, it rushes through my veins.
And I am filled with the sweetest devotion,
As I look into your perfect face.

There's no more mystery,
It is finally clear to me,
You're the home my heart searched for so long.
It is you I have loved,
It is you I have loved,
It is you I have loved all along

Don’t get distracted by the fact that these song lyrics are from the soundtrack from the movie “Shrek”. Get the big, green ogre face out of your head.

Is your heart longing, searching for a home? A place where you know you are loved without strings, for who you are right now? Are you wanting to love with your whole heart an be loved that way back? We all long for that place. It is the human condition. God made us that way, and he knows that about us. Because we are like him. Loving and being loved is God’s idea.

I know where your heart will find the home it’s been searching for.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

It may seem a bit corny, but can you sing those lyrics to Jesus? I can, and do, with great emotion. I hope you can, too.

That You Should Be Mine

Reading the Old Testament can be challenging at times, but I have come to love it. When read with New Testament understanding, in the light of Jesus as its aim and fulfillment, it comes alive with the character of our God who really is the same today as he was all those very many years ago.

You have to admit that some of the Old Testament laws and regulations are a little weird. Some of them make you wonder what the Israelites were thinking in the first place if God had to tell them that such and such was a no-no. Really – don’t have sex with your father’s wife or your sister or your dog? I guess people, if left to themselves, and the influence of the ruler of this world, will do just about anything. In fact, that’s what the people of Canaan were known for – evil practices, abominations in the eyes of God, done in the name of worship to their pagan gods.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is like no other god. The God of Israel has a different way of doing life, different rules to make life work, different rules of worship so that his people would be like him and would not participate in the abominable practices of the surrounding nations.

I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statues. You shall follow my rules and my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 18:3-4

I am the Lord your God, who have separated you from the peoples. You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean…You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. Leviticus 20:24-26

That you should be mine. Listen to the heart of God in that statement.

That you should be mine.

That same God says to you today, “I am the Lord your God. I want you. I want you to be mine. Your acceptance of the sacrifice of my Son makes you holy to me, separated out from the others, mine.”

Oh Lord, I am yours! I belong to you. May I walk in the joyful confidence of knowing that I am wanted by the Most High God.

(a recycled post due to cramps and lack of foresight)

I have to be in a bathing suit around a whole bunch of people. I have been so stressed about finding the right shaver that would not leave me with any bikini rashes so I would feel more comfortable walking around in front of others. I have invested in several different shavers to try different techniques over the last couple weeks to prepare for this day. The other day I tried one that left my inner thighs absolutely raw and so sore that I could barely walk. Any clothing that touched my skin was excrutiating. It was awful!

I was lying in bed thinking about how this search for the "perfect" shaver has consumed me. I was praying and asking God to take the pain on my legs away so I could walk comfortably in my own home. I have been so consumed by this desire to not have a rash and wanted the "perfect" look in a bathing suit. I was quite convicted in my pursuit of Jesus. Just a couple weeks ago I talked about how we can take so much time as women preparing ourselves for the day and how much time do we take for Jesus in the morning? Now, here I am allowing myself to be consumed once again by my appearance in the quest for the perfect shaver.

Do I pursue Jesus and allow myself to be consumed by Him and how he walked? What is my life's testimony saying to others? How much time am I putting into my heart and making it as in tune with Jesus? This shaver situation has so distracted me.... all over the fact that I need to be seen in a bathing suit around other people.

Isn't it easy as a woman to do this? We do this so often, changing our clothing, asking our spouse or friends for an opinion. We want to know if it might make us look slightly bigger than we want to be perceived. We choose a favourite shirt that makes us feel better about ourselves and save it for when we need to go out so we look put together. There are so many quirky things us women do all in the name of appearance and perception.

Unfortunately we do live in a superficial world where people do judge on appearance. We would all love to say that we are not in the majority, and that we all look beyond what's on the outside, but virtually all of us are influenced by appearances.

It's important to keep our appearance in perspective. God tells us in the Bible that it is important to present ourselves as nicely as possible, but not to go to extremes. It is important that we remain aware of why we do the things we do to look good.

Colossians 3:17 - "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Proverbs 31:30 - "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting: but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

I asked myself and will ask you.... do I focus on my appearance, weight, clothing and makeup more than I do on God? Does my focus on my appearance take my eyes off of Jesus?

I've been convicted.... even though there's nothing wrong with wanting to find the "perfect" shaver, my priorities have been in the wrong order. I've allowed this to take my eyes off Jesus and consume me. As women (and men) we need to take a closer look at our heart and actions, rather than our appearance and presentation.

True Love

Though you have not seen him, you love him.

Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice

with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory

1 Peter 1:8

How precious is that. Read it again.

Oh...I love you Jesus.

Place your heart in his hands today...His love for you is like no other.

Come on in...but leave your shoes on, we're on the patio today

How are you?

I'm sitting outside on my patio....taking in the last bit of morning shade before the beautiful sun gets back here.  It's warm right now, but not hot, like it will be later....I have had a busy week and today is the first day I've been able to do this.  I've been talking to Jesus...pondering and meditating on all kinds of things I've been reading in the bible.  I imagine you joining me here.....sitting around the table....I'd pour us all a glass of sweet tea on ice....are you with me?

  We'd do what women do...talk and laugh...share in each other's life...and hopefully hear where our hearts are.  Some of us would be tired....life, the craziness of June, and the heat seeming to get the best of us.  Some of us would be refreshed, excited to just sit with girlfriends and spill life and all thats going on in it.  Some of us would be hurting inside....struggling through circumstances, old wounds that continue to haunt, difficult relationships, parenting worries or marriage hurts....those of us hurting, would most likely keep it to ourselves, afraid to lay that kind of stuff on the table.

But Why?  It's what sisters do...we love each other, we care for each other...we take our hurting sisters to Jesus.  He is the One that cares for our hearts like no other.    None of us are perfect.  We don't have all the answers.  But we can listen, help where we know we can and pray for each other.  Sisters have been doing it for thousands of years.  I can't help but think of Ruth and Naomi.  Related by marriage, sisters by choice and a beautiful blend of an inter-generational bond.

We are related through Christ Jesus, soul sisters because we bring our hearts to the table and seriously, a beautiful blend of inter-generational women growing together with one common purpose...Knowing Jesus and bringing glory to his precious heart.

We want you to know here at Soul Kitchen,that we want you at the table...if you need prayer...write to us at the bottom of the post.  If you are new to this sort of thing...just look for the word comment at the end of the post, click on it and it will take you to a page where you can write back to us.  Just follow the prompts. Save Soul Kitchen in your favorites and it won't be so much work to find us when you want to come on over.  We'd love to share life with you.

Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus said....

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Now...anyone ready for some more iced tea?

Belonging

For the majority of my life...I believed that I didn't fit in anywhere...that I just didn't belong.

Even though, I have been greatly loved in my life...by my parents, and others that God brought into our path. I made friends easily each time we moved. I felt uninhibited crossing cultural borders. But somewhere along the way...the evil one whispered a lie to me...."that I didn't belong." I'm not sure when I began to believe it, but at some point in my teenage years I agreed with the father of lies, and entered into womanhood believing and living with the insecurity that no matter where I went or what I did...I didn't really fit, I wasn't welcome, and I didn't belong.

Oh Precious Sisters.....How that one little lie has hindered me over the years!

It kept me from freedom. It kept me from walking in confidence to be the woman God sees in me. It kept me from serving to my fullest. It kept me from joy.

Jesus says...."You belong to me. You are my daughter. You are my princess. You are mine."

Your identity rests in the hands of your Saviour, the One who died to make you His own.

1 Corinthians 6:17
But he (or she) who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him. (italics mine.)

Do you get the significance of what that means?

Sister...if you have joined your heart to Christ...then not only do you belong to Him but you are part of Him, and are one spirit with Him.

Believe me...with that as your inheritance....You Belong!

I will leave you with this....a prayer close to my heart these days....

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:14-19

My husband's work has taken him away for a little while so we snuck a weekend together with just the two of us. After being apart for a while I struggled with my insecurites of body image. I saw the rolls, the cellulite, the extra weight on my thighs, tummy, etc. From the first time I knew I was going away with him, immediately I became obsessed with thoughts that I needed to hit the gym, lose some weight, exercise as much as possible to shed a few pounds so that he would be happy with me. I am in a season of my life where I cannot emotionally go to the gym every day or at all but my insecurities took presidence. I had a quiet moment where God hit me over the head with his truth: He made me in His image and is happy with me.

Does my husband expect perfection? My husband married me and loves me for who I am and that doesn't change. God made me and it doesn't matter what I look like because he made me in His image. God brought the perfect husband FOR ME, to love me and accept me for who I am, through all the roads we travel together in all the stages of life. I am human and my flesh sees the imperfections. After children I have extra weight everywhere and hate how I look without clothing on. I feel more comfortable hiding myself under layers so that others can only see the outward appearance and not see the rolls or cellulite.

I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend with my husband. We attended a church together over that weekend and the pastor said something that really struck a cord with me in regards to my insecurities.... he asked the congregation: "What was your God moment this week?"

Wow!

My God moment was realizing that no matter how I compare myself to the world's standards of what beautiful is or what the perfect body is according to what we see on television, that GOD LOVES ME!

Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; make and female he created them." (NIV)

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." ~ I Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

Satan had me right where he wanted me. He wanted me to be unhappy with myself and judge myself against fleshly standards. God doesn't want me to do that and I am so thankful that his truth is more powerful than what Satan wants us to hear and echo in our heads. It's easy to conform to the world and look at the outward appearances..... isn't that just awesome that God looks at our heart?

He loves ME! He made ME!

How do you see yourself? Do you feel loved and accepted?
What was your God moment this week?

God never changes

I am sitting at a coffee shop right now. The door is open and a slight breeze flows about the room. The cashier is a young girl with dark hair and olive skin. As I look around, I know that I will not be coming here again. I feel out of touch today and emotionally I feel sad. Though I feel sad, it does not change my relationship with God.

Yesterday, I was laughing and having a fun day with a friend. It did not make me love God more because I was having fun, as I do not love Him less today because I am feeling melancholy. My relationship with God does not depend on how I feel. Though I sometimes struggle with moods, God does not. He is the same today, yesterday, and forever. I know that He is constantly surrounding me with His love and guidance, no matter how I am feeling or what I am going through. What a blessing to be loved and cared for by such a wonderful loving Father.

God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
Numbers 23:19

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26

This post was written by Pilgrim's Heart while she is away from home.

Reading the Old Testament can be challenging at times, but I have come to love it. When read with New Testament understanding, in the light of Jesus as its aim and fulfillment, it comes alive with the character of our God who really is the same today as he was all those very many years ago.

You have to admit that some of the Old Testament laws and regulations are a little weird. Some of them make you wonder what the Israelites were thinking in the first place if God had to tell them that such and such was a no-no. Really – don’t have sex with your father’s wife or your sister or your dog? I guess people, if left to themselves, and the influence of the ruler of this world, will do just about anything. In fact, that’s what the people of Canaan were known for – evil practices, abominations in the eyes of God, done in the name of worship to their pagan gods.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is like no other god. The God of Israel has a different way of doing life, different rules to make life work, different rules of worship so that his people would be like him and would not participate in the abominable practices of the surrounding nations.

I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statues. You shall follow my rules and my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 18:3-4

I am the Lord your God, who have separated you from the peoples. You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean…You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. Leviticus 20:24-26

That you should be mine.

Listen to the heart of God in that statement. That you should be mine.

That same God says to you today, “I am the Lord your God. I want you. I want you to be mine. Your acceptance of the sacrifice of my Son makes you holy to me, separated out from the others, mine.”

Oh Lord, I am yours! I belong to you. May I walk in the joyful confidence of knowing that I am wanted by the Most High God.