a heart of hope

Our message at church on Easter Sunday was centered on hope. Very moving and poignant. I came across this psalm yesterday and it has really settled in my heart....I love it!

Psalm 131 ~ The Message

God, I'm not trying to rule the roost,
I don't want to be king of the mountain.
I haven't meddled where I have no business
or fantasized grandiose plans.

I've kept my feet on the ground,
I've cultivated a quiet heart.
Like a baby content in its mother's arms,
my soul is a baby content.

Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope.
Hope now; hope always!

What is love?

A couple of days ago I started reading 1 Corinthians 13 to Parker and I'm working on memorizing part of it with him. We started with the first sentence. I love how much expression he uses to recite his first verse. He shakes his head with plenty of conviction and says...

"Love NEVER gives up."

This has been rolling through my head today. Love is so hard...but love is everything. Real love never gives up. Never. It will be good for me to memorize this passage in a new version (The Message). I need the reminder all of the time...every single minute, it seems.

I betcha Parker will have it memorized before me!

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

like grass

“People are like grass;
their beauty is like a flower in the field.
The grass withers and the flower fades.
But the word of the Lord remains forever.”

So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

1 Peter 1:24-2:3

Whenever I start to drift or even start to wonder again what in the heck I am doing in my life, I remind myself of this passage. I know we've all been there numerous times. Sometimes it seems strange to me that this specific part in scripture totally rocks me...but then again, it is the WORD of God. It is crucial to always return to the basics of my faith--be in the Word, love people, commune with God, and see sin for what it is. Get rid of it....be done with it! I must crave pure spiritual milk, cry out for this nourishment in order to grow into a full experience of salvation. Yes!