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Stretch your Heart…

” For those of us who serve Christ, Freedom means being able to give and receive love. It means embracing and passing it on to others. It means following God’s path and purpose for our lives rather than being held captive by fear” – God’s heart for you

It doesn’t sound so hard, to submit to Gods love and the love of others, then in return, pay if forward. It is very tough, more so for some than others. We keep ourselves in bondage. We may be in a “hard time” but at least it is familiar and seems “oddly comfortable”. God did not create us to keep ourselves in bondage and he does not want our hearts to be restless. He wants us free to love and be loved.

“We move from prison camp to His house, where he gives us the hope, peace, and joy we need” – Gods heart for you

” God understands your fear. He doesn’t condemn you for it or tell you to snap out of it. Instead he takes you by the hand and speaks to your heart words of courage, love and grace. Lean in and listen to his voice until its louder than fear.” – Opening the door to your God- Sized dream

A heart warming little quote:
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With all your Heart…

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“With all your heart you must trust the Lord and not your own judgment.” Proverbs 3:5

I know that sometimes I get wrapped up in the things that I think make me happy and I think I know what is best for me. Then I realize what I want isn’t always what God wants for me. More than I care to admit sometimes, I struggle with “handing it over”…all of it.

When you finally get the point where your head and heart are in the right place, you may still not completely be there . It’s hard and scary. Trusting God can require that you to let go of all your “idols” that you think bring you happiness.

You have to accept the truth that God knows what’s best for you. You have to go from knowing to doing. Trusting him over ourselves and what the world is saying is best for us.

You have to understand that God knows you better than you will ever know yourself, he will give you what you need. It may not always be what you want. He is patient, he will let you take little steps. He will keep you from falling. He will rejoice with you when you surrender.

When you trust in God, The weight will be lifted off your shoulders and put on his…. and he can handle everything just perfect! God’s got this, but he needs you to trust in him.
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Loving the…”Quiet Ones” or are they..?

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Being that I am a “people person”, once I make eye contact with you, you are no longer a stranger. I have grown to be careful who I trust and feel like I am pretty good judge of character, but I still do not know many strangers.

You may mistake quiet, hard to “get to know” people for rude or even snobby. This is not usually the case. I tend to associate with people who “open up” easily. This is easy and comfortable right? Not much of a challenge, never seems “one-sided”. Things just happen and flow easily! Then, I found myself put in situations where I had to communicate with quiet and reserved people…ones I would never pick from a crowd and think ” we could be great friends”. I’m sure this was no accident ( a God thing). Once I got to know them, they are some of the nicest, biggest hearted, trust worthy people I know. I find that most of these “quiet ones” have had their hearts broken and for good reasons they keep their hearts guarded. They were not so reserved and quiet once I got to know them, It just took a much longer time to get to know them, and a longer time for them to build trust.

Being a person like me, who loves instant gratification, this can be a challenge. I want to dive right into the pool of friendship but I have to remember, Some people like to go in one toe at a time. I think this is why God has put the “quiet ones” in my life much more often. Not only to help them trust and open up , but to help me understand how to love and understand people who are wired so differently from me. They keep me balanced. They are as much of a blessing to me (maybe even more so) as I am to them, and quite honestly, most of these “quiet ones”, who I proudly call true friends are not so different from me after all…I just make a much bigger splash in the pool, I just can’t help myself!

If you are outgoing, take the challenge to get to know the quiet ones and if you are a quiet one…let people who are trying to get to know you into your heart, you will both be blessed!!

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When we fear love, we don’t give ourselves away, and we’re guaranteeing ourselves loneliness. We set ourselves up in a self-imposed prison of solitary confinement that is absolutely unnecessary. Give your life away! There are thousands of people in the world who need your love. Re-channel it. If you hold it in, it’s going to dry up and wither away. Use your talents and gifts to help other people. Give yourself away! -Rick Warren