Prodigals. We all know one, maybe two, or maybe even three. Maybe we've been one. The more I ponder the story of the prodigal though the more I realize just how beautiful it is. God's love overcoming all the rebellion, wretchedness and filthy sin to cleanse, heal and restore is nothing short of amazing.

It's easy to overlook the story of the prodigal since many of us are used to hearing it. I know I have more than once. Sometimes reading the same story over and over can cause temporary spiritual deafness. We need something to shock our senses back into working mode and then allow God to open our hearts once again to this incredibly powerful story of redeeming love.

I'm grateful that my friend handed me a DVD to watch this past weekend called Grace Unplugged, it was just the thing that I needed! Grace Unplugged is a modern day prodigal story about a girl named Grace who strays from God in order to pursue her dreams in the music industry. The acting, plot and overall message was powerful. God cut me to the core and opened up my heart once again to the His boundless love which knows no limits.

What I loved about this film though was that it was applicable to our culture today. Watching it was like a breath of fresh air. I know God used it for me and I am convinced He will use it for you.

Please watch the trailer below and find a copy of Grace Unplugged to watch with your whole family! You may just end up reading the story of the prodigal son in a whole new light.

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I sat in the local cafe not wanting to eavesdrop while I waited for my friend to come and meet me for a smoothie. The conversation a young woman beside me was having on her phone broke my heart in more ways than one. She was angry, sad, confused and yes even hurt. I shouldn't have been listening, and tried not to as I checked my phone for emails and other social media updates. But I digress, it was more of a facade to appear as though I wasn't eavesdropping.

I don't know this sweet woman's story. I didn't even know who she was. I'm not here to judge and I'm not here to point out what she was doing wrong either. Like I said, I didn't know her at all. But I do know hurt, confusion and frustration when I see it. And this young woman was frustrated maybe even lost. My heart went out to her.

You see this young woman was talking about a relationship she had. I don't know what went on in this "relationship" or lack thereof, however whatever it was didn't sound like it was good. As she vented to her friend on the other line though it became clear to me that what was happening between them was something all too familiar for the young men and women of my own generation. Men and women who have been lied to about casual dating, hooking up, romance and love. I should know. I was one of those women who believed those lies at one point. A woman who compromised herself in the hope of finding love. It wasn't until I was born again did I realize the utter futility and deceptiveness of this world's system. So now when I see it happen my heart breaks.

I'm beginning to think though that more and more people of my generation are also realizing the futility of what is deemed as "romance" today. (Which really isn't even real romance at all.) Real romance is much more beautiful, stunning really, than anything we could have ever come up with ourselves.

1. Real Romance is first and foremost a Person named Jesus Christ. Anything that is considered genuinely romantic has it's roots deeply tied up in Him. Take a look at His life. Were not the things He did grounded in love? Were not the things He did genuine? Were not the things He spoke laced with truth and grace? Yes, yes, and yes!

2. Secondly real romance is love. The kind of love that is described in 1 Corinthians 13, aka the love chapter. Real romance is a love that is kind, gracious, patient, and always thinking of the other person first. This brings me to my next point...

3. Thirdly real romance is sacrificial. We only need to look to the Cross to see this. Do you ever wonder why most women swoon when they see men dying for the women they love? I used to wonder why, until I realized that it was because Jesus Christ, True Love personified, was the One who died for me and you. He was the One who went to battle for us and died to save our lives. But unlike mortal men, He went far above and beyond by rising again and gaining victory for us through His resurrection. Talk about romantic!!

The men and women of my generation are feeling the effects of the lies and false romance being touted as true love today. I believe more and more people are waking up and having their eyes opened.

I want to be someone who helps God win back this generation from the destructive lies that pervade our culture. People are hungry, thirsty for the real way. The woman in the coffee shop, the man on the college campus, your co-worker who broke up with her boyfriend and is devastated, your distant cousin who doesn't know Christ.... On and on the list goes. They are all hungering for true love and slowly learning the hard way that it's not found in hook-ups and casual dating.

Let's be salt and light for these people and share with them the True Love that will be the one to woo their hearts back to Himself and show them how to walk the right path.

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Sweet ladies,

Happy Valentines Day! If anyone knows how hard this day of the year is, it would be me. The thought of another V-Day without a special someone can be hard. Sometimes it's hard to put a smile on your face and pretend not to realize that it seems as if everyone else in the world is getting chocolate, roses (perhaps chocolate roses?) teddy bears or other sweet gifts. I'm not trying to sound desperate, I'm just telling the truth. V-Day can be hard.

But I have good news! It doesn't have to be all that hard anymore. God, the God the universe, is crazy about you! He loves you so very much and His love is infinitely greater than any man could ever give. He showers you not just with roses, chocolates, teddy bears and cards, rather He showers you with sunsets, snowflakes, Scripture and Salvation. He's the shoulder to lean on, the listening ear, our great Great Protector and the Ultimate Romancer. He is patient, gracious, kind and good. And oh, He knows how to treat you right! Does He ever! He's the One Who knows you even better than you do.

Valentines Day is a day of love for sure. But today, during this season of singleness, we need to turn our eyes away from the chocolates and candy hearts and look upward instead. I'm not saying we don't indulge in these treats, I mean come on, it's the one day we can buy sweets and not totally feel guilty. I am saying that instead, we don't focus our eyes on our relationship status.

Today sweet ladies, is the day we rejoice that our God is a God of True Love. Love that does more than anything we could possibly imagine. Love that has opened His arms wide, with nails in His hands, looked upon our sad state and said I love you.

Love that did not leave us as orphans but willingly took our shame to the grave and turned our lives around.

Love that gave us a brand new start and transformed us from the inside out.

Love that knows the desires of our hearts and will fulfill them in His own perfect way and time.

True, Genuine, Love.

This is the Love we celebrate today, everyday for the rest of eternity. Take time today to listen to God's beautiful whispers of love to you. Yes, you! Eat that piece of chocolate and thank God for His love. It's infinitely greater than anything we could every comprehend.

Happy Valentines Day sweet ladies. I mean that with all of my heart.

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Today's Prompt: Name a song that makes you cry every time you hear it and why

In Christ Alone.

That song gets me almost every time I hear it. Not in a bad way, but in a marvelous, beautiful, awe inspiring one! Have you ever listened to the lyrics? I mean really listened to them? They tell a story; and not just any story but the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Not too long ago I woke up with the tune to this song in my heart. I hadn't heard it sung in a while but I knew of it because my church's worship team would sing it every so often. I didn't know why I suddenly had this song on my brain. Of course I didn't think too much of it and went about my day nearly forgetting about it completely.

That same night though, as I lay in my bed after a somewhat difficult day, the song came back into my head. Something prompted me to look it up on Youtube. (Anyone else do that? I think I'm obsessed with Youtube a little too much.)

The message of Jesus' love washed over me afresh. I could feel His arms around me like I've never felt in my life. I could feel His love pour into my heart. The floodgates opened. I bawled like a baby. I hadn't cried like that in a long time. But this love that surpassed my own understanding filled me up to the brim and overflowed. I cannot describe the feeling I had.

It was powerful.

It was peaceful.

It was amazing.

The last stanza to the song blew me away. I've never felt so safe, loved, grateful and secure upon hearing these words:

"No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand."
-In Christ Alone

I listened to it once again before turning out the lights and falling asleep in Jesus' loving arms. I think that song was played over and over and over again within the next few months.

And you want to know something else? After that happened more than one person commented that I was glowing. People asked if I had done something different to my appearance. I smiled knowing it was nothing that I had done, but rather it was what He had done. He touched me with that song.

To this day whenever I listen to that song I tear up with joy. I nearly bawled my eyes out when everyone sang this song at my sister's wedding last year. Thankfully I kept it together for the most part.

If you haven't listened to this beautiful song I encourage you to click the video below and listen to the lyrics. Jesus' love is so beautiful, so powerful, so true. He loves you and me with a love so divine and perfect that it will bring us to tears.

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Dear Mom,

Thank you. From the bottom of my heart thank you. The work that you do is nothing short of miraculous. Day in and day out you love, sacrifice, give and sacrifice some more. In fact the calling of motherhood is a selfless, sacrificial one. I didn't always know this, but now that I'm older and see how hard you work I can't help but marvel at the love and sacrifice you give. It is truly a gift.

There were days when I know I tired you out; days when I brought you to the edge of breaking. I wasn't always easy Mom, yet you stuck with me through thick and thin. I realize now just what you were aiming for Mom. Your endurance, perseverance and discipline has shaped me to be the woman I am today. I am eternally grateful.

All those seeds you planted in my heart have come to bloom in God's perfect time. I know the planting, weeding, watering and more planting must have been tedious some of the time. It may seem like I didn't listen Mom, but trust me I heard you. Your words didn't fall on deaf ears. Sure I was completely resistant some of the time and even disregarded your advice out of foolishness and ignorance, nevertheless the seed was planted. Your watering, fertilizing and yes even weeding was not wasted. I can't thank you enough for this.

I don't think you'll ever fully realize the influence you've had on me Mom, at least not on this side of eternity. Frankly, I'm not even sure I'll ever completely comprehend how much you influence me... but you do. The way you talk, the way you dress, the tilt of your head, your work ethic, all have an influence on me Mom. Please don't let that scare you, but rather let it inspire you; inspire you to know that even during the cooking, cleaning, disciplining, teaching and loving you influence me. Everything you do matters because you matter Mom. You matter to me. More importantly you matter to God.

Thank you Mom for being faithful to His calling on your life. Motherhood is not easy but it is a glorious calling from the Lord. I am grateful you responded to that call Mom. More than you will ever know.

It is my hope and prayer that God will make me a Mom just like you someday and that I too can respond to the call just like you. He's given me a wonderful role model and a woman I've come to not only call mother but friend.

Love,
Your Daughter

To my mother and all the precious mothers out there. May you be inspired as you live out this miraculous calling.

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I sometimes had nightmares as a child. Waking up in the middle of the night with the dark shadows on my wall cast by the nightlight didn't help the fears either. With my heart in my throat I'd try to calm myself down and reassure my worried mind that it was only a dream.

A big, bad, awful, scary dream.

Sometimes I would be able to fall back to sleep and drift off into a sweet repose without any more "bad dreams"(as I used to call them). Other times though, I would jump out of bed and run to my parents room.

After rousing mom from her deep sleep she would invite me to climb into bed with her. There, tucked safe inside her loving arms my heartbeat would return to normal and I began to feel safe once more. The shadows seemed to flee and the bad dream became a distant memory. I was safe, loved and calm. With my mom by my side, her loving, reassuring words and soft breathing beside me I knew everything would be ok. Usually within 10 minutes or so I felt safe enough to return to my own bed. With a kiss and another reassuring word I returned back through the kitchen and down the hallway into my own bedroom.

It was just a dream. Not real. The shadows weren't scary anymore. It felt like I carried the presence of my mother back with me into my bedroom. I now realize it wasn't her actual presence but rather her love for me that was carried back into my bed. With that love came reassurance, security and calm.

It's been many, many years since I climbed into my parents bed. I remember fondly those touching moments between my mother and I. As I recently pondered over these memories I realized something even greater though and that is this: that my mother's love and reassurance was a reflection of my Heavenly Father's love.

I'm sure that if God has a big, heavenly King sized bed, He too would open His arms wide and let us climb in. But thankfully He gives us something even greater than our earthly parents ever could... His constant presence and infinite love. Not only do we get to carry His love around with us wherever we go but God goes with us to all places.

When the shadows of life seem too big and scary and your fears start to overwhelm don't forget that God is with you always. He has more than a thousand reassuring words to give, a love that never ends nor fails, strong arms to wrap you up in, and a big heavenly kiss to place right upon your forehead.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear
1 John 4:18a

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The people that know me best know that I have a real soft spot for animals. As a child I was drawn to all animals but mostly dogs. Before my parents got our dog when I was about two three years old it was my aunt and uncle's two dogs that I gravitated towards. The youngest one would lick my face till the cows came home and I LOVED it!

Being around animals was (and still is) so comfortable for me that mom would often have to remind me not to go up to just any random animal and play with it. She even joked that I would have put my head in the mouth of a lion if I had the chance; I was just that trusting towards all animals.

I did try and pursue a career in the animal field after taking classes towards my Animal Science degree. However at that point in my life I felt led to do something else. Animals are still one of my biggest passions in life and a career in the animal field isn't out of the question if it is God's will for me one day. Only the Lord knows though!

A few days ago I came across a video in my Facebook news feed and just had to share it with you all today. The story is truly inspirational and for me reflected the love and patience of our great, merciful and powerful God. Please take the time to watch this video of Mick the Boston Terrier puppy.

God cares for all of His creatures!

What an amazing story of love, compassion and perseverance. What amazes me even more though is that God's compassion, love, patience and mercy is infinitely greater than even this beautiful story. His love is truly never ending. He never gives up on us!

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Matthew 6:26

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 Click here and here to view the messages from Urbana 2012 (a part of Intervarsity, a Christian fellowship/missional organization for colleges). I watched them and felt Divinely inspired to write the poem above. I hope you enjoy these messages just as much as I did. Truly we serve a God Who Loves!

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