Sincerly, I Love You...

Hmmm...sometimes we just want to be missed...cared for...we just want to feel loved. Without having to tell someone we want these things I might add haha...they should just come right? Sometimes we want someone to say I love you or I miss you or to do something spontaneous for us to show that they care just because they do.
We want to be loved and missed because we hold such a special place in someone's heart that they think about us without something or someone reminding them of us. We don't want to be told that we are loved just because someone feels sorry for us or because they feel that "everyone should be told that they are loved and missed." Because though these words are still good and can still be healing when truly coming from the heart...they just aren't as meaningful as when someone tells us they love us just simply because they do...because they think about us...our laugh, smile, personality, warm heart, or fun-loving spirit...but more than that because they've created a bond with us...their heart is tied to ours...and we simply mean something to them...because we are alive their life is that much better.
We should totally tell everyone we love them and show that love to everyone, but next time you tell someone you miss them or love them...think about why you're telling them before you tell them. Think about how much God loves us and how He loves each and every one of us individually for our own personalities, for our own ups and downs, for our own special qualities that make us uniquely us...and then tell someone you love them with your whole heart...think of all their traits and qualities that make you love them no matter what they may be. Because a sincere "I love you" means a lot more than a simple "I love you."

   A friend gave me a mug for graduation 2 years ago, and the mug reads, "Wherever you go, go with all your heart," and honestly I never really thought deeply enough about that until right now. I of course thought it was awesome when she gave it to me back then, but I'm not sure I really thought about that saying in a very deep context, more so of just a "give it all you've got" kinda deal...but as I'm reading it now...it seems like much more.    

  

   Our heart& soul are God's way of guiding us through life...when we become filled with His Holy Spirit, his love and joy and direction fill our hearts like never before, and from then on we rely not on our own wants and desires, but God's. The way I see it...our hearts or souls are God's gateway into our lives...and when God fills your heart, you better believe He's going to want to fill it fully! If you are listening to what God is telling you, and yet still clinging on to your own desires at many times...you aren't allowing Him to fill your heart COMPLETELY and FULLY...you aren't going at Him "with all your heart." 

   The thing is once we DO learn to go at God with all our hearts, we soon learn that going at everything else with all our hearts becomes a lot easier because like I said God isn't a halfway kinda guy...He's the whoooole enchilada kinda guy! 

   "Wherever you go, go with all your heart..." I don't think we realize how important it truly is to do this...to actually act this out. We are human, which means unless it's something we are totally all for, more than likely we will only do it halfway...do enough to get it done and be done, so usually going at something will all our heart is hard for us, or maybe it's just that we are so used to going at things halfway that we do it sub-consciously, but either way we don't do it. And honestly, what does life amount to if we go through it only  doing what we want to do all the time, and not giving it all we've got when we aren't doing exactly what we want? I want my life to amount to more than that! I want to go all in all the time living constantly according to God's will for my life! Because now I can see that not going with all my heart wherever I go...is only going halfway...and God is not a halfway kinda God...

   There are always going to be times in our lives where we don't want to do what we know God is calling us to do, or we don't want to go where He is calling us to go...but what if instead of disobeying or simply being obedient, we went where God wanted us to with all our hearts?...EXCITED, DETERMINED, STRONG-WILLED, and READY to pursue the life God has planned out for us? What kind of difference might we make then?

   Needless to say...that mug means a lot more to me now.

I wanna start a revolution...a JESUS REVOLUTION!!!!!...Who's with me??!

   So, I've been really discouraged lately...my best friend Kara moved back to Dallas for school this past weekend, and soon my other best friend Christine will be moving for good to Greenville, TN to follow God's mission for her life. I know I should be extremely happy they are both really going places and following God's lead in their lives...but I can't help it...what a I supposed to do when the two people I'm closest to in this world are moving away from me...sure, maybe just a phone call away...but none-the-less...hours and hours of driving distance away. I know I'll be able to call them if I want to talk to them, and I know that it's not that they just want to leave me...but still...it isn't going to be possible for me to just pick up and drive to see them every weekend if I want to from now on...I won't get to see them as much, hug them as much, hang out with them as much...or stay nights with them while watching glee or having long conversations as much...the truth is I'll probably only see them once or twice a year now...I hate growing up.
   But I've been praying about this a lot lately...because I'm not the type to just give in to my sadness...I WILL find a way to get through this...and God is always there to pull me up and dust me off. So it's gotten me thinking a lot about things to be thankful for and productive things to do when I feel the sadness coming on. I'm thankful for my family and friends who love me...no matter where they are in the world. I'm thankful for Christ's sacrafice for my salvation, and the second chance I receive every time I ask for forgiveness, or the fact that although I may feel pain one day...the next day always brings promise of joy and renewal. I have so much to be thankful for, and truly there are so many out there who are so much more worse off than me...and true, thinking about this doesn't always help me to feel any better about my circumstances, but getting out and helping others with their problems does. I find that when I focus on the good and helping others...it gets me through the day...and keeps me fighting that much longer.
   So I guess my challenge for you is to find out what you're thankful for...and if you don't know what you're thankful for, take some time helping out others in your church or school or town that need someone with a servant's heart, and more than likely, you'll soon find lots of things to be grateful for. God's blessings are sometimes small and sometimes very big...but either way, don't let the let downs in life convince you that there are no blessings in life...no gifts to be thankful for because every day is a blessing in itself. If you're going through a rough patch like me...the best thing you can do is remember to not give up on God because He never gives up on you... (:
   God Bless& Have A Wonderful Day!!
   Love,
     Haeli