Blessings of Love, Kindness and Encouragement

Advent day 3-

Today has been a blessing of a day. After yesterday it's as though God spent the day reminding me He is in control. My morning was quiet calm and collected returning patient calls and working on charts and interpreting labs and listening to the news.  My afternoon was busier with the challenges of seeing patients. The difficulty of trying to stay on time, the praying for patience and grace for the patient who takes out their frustration on you, and the challenge of managing a multitude of issues in a short amount of time. But it was perfectly manageable and I had help. God provided in each moment.

Even when I had a run in with the fax machine trying to use my lunch break to work out applications for loan repayment situations and my kind nurse shared with the secret to sending. On this particular machine don't press 9. That application is important and this was just the best help I could have gotten.

I get home to a box outside and a husband who has made dinner. A beautiful sight as dinner again sounded like a foreign word and I was willing to settle for a granola bar and go to bed. But dinner was great and the box had a surprise and my husband had good news and a skype date with a best friend with a great gift that traveled from canada to california to me. A gift I'd hoped for and so grateful.
Then a great gift of a phone date with another best friend.

Surrounded by love today and I needed it. I needed the sweet kindness and encouragement. I needed the gift. I needed the love.

and you know friends--  I don't just need love and encouragement today: I need it everyday. Just today I was aware of it and I am so thankful for it.

Even my dog has been extra sweet today.

Something amazing friends is that God is always there giving love and encouragement we only need to turn and notice. Take time to notice His encouragement to you in the form of someone else's kindness, or in a beautiful day, or in a special blessing. Don't be confused though--> God is loving you and encouraging you even when the day is ugly, you don't feel blessed and no one is kind.

Friends praying for love and encouragement for you. Praying for this advent season to touch your heart and grow you closer to Him. Use these days  as a jump start to your journey.

<3
Anita

New Lessons through Marriage

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us, oh,
Oh, how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us, oh,
Oh, how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves.

And we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don't have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about the way...

He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves.

This song- How He loves by David Crowder Band is one that I have heart in several churches. Its a beautiful song, but one that for a long time I had a hard time grasping. How could God be jealous for me? Isn't jealousy bad? These were the sorts of questions I had. 

My husband has been teaching me a lot about righteous anger and the type of jealousy this song talks about. He has been showing me what a heart that is completely full of love for me looks like and has shown me what sinking in grace might look like. Does he loves me as much as God? No. not possible. But he loves me more than anyone ever has and that love, that picture he draws for me each day, is one that continues to help me understand that if my husband can love me as much as he does, and that times a billion or more is how much God loves me and I have to say its that picture that has really grown me. We have been married a little over 6 months now and I'm amazed at what a picture marriage is and I am so thankful for God providing such an amazing man for me to see just a glimpse of His love for me. 

It's that love that I feel in His presence and its that love i'm pursuing. 

<3

Anita