these lyrics tell a story...

"He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath 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 all,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

He is our portion and we are His prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And the 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,
Yeah, He loves us"
- He Loves Us (abridged), by John Mark McMillan

These lyrics tell a story. As John 1 has been so fresh in my mind and my life these past two weeks, this song has captured my attention. It's the story of the mysterious creator of the universe loving us so much that he, himself became a part of creation to redeem us. No matter how far we may wander, his desire is for our returning. He continues to show his love for us. This song was introduced to me by my good friend Matt LeRoy, and performed at Southern Wesleyan's Spiritual Emphasis week by Dustin and Miriam Ah Kuoi.

Check it out on itunes if you have a chance!

A Favorite Thing

My feet like to be free! It's one of my favorite things, without a doubt. Flip-flops then are the logical footwear of choice...but sometimes even those have to go. In February it sometimes seems like flip-flops or bare-feet might just not be an option (and believe me I'll push the limits). I'm happy to say that this weekend 70's were reported all across the Carolinas and my sand loving feet caught some salty fresh air! Get your flip-flops off the ground cause spring is on the way (forget what the groundhog said)!

Geolocate this post.

Posted with LifeCast

stories...

Over the past few weeks our journey, our story, has had unexpected twists and turns. The experiences Jeanine and I have walked through together will continue to shape our lives, probably for the rest of our years. As our hearts and lives have gone through cycles of brokenness and healing, we've been reminded that pain is a universal experience. There's not one person immune from feeling the pain of loss, disappointment, or struggle. But, neither is there anyone who cannot receive healing.

As we've heard so many life stories over the past few weeks with pain as a consistent theme, we're reminded of a choice we have to make. In our places of feeling and being broken, we can try to control our lives and drive them our own way, seeking out what we think is a better way (definitely our natural inclination). Or, from our places of brokenness we can discover ourselves as part of a larger story, one where pain is exchanged for gladness, and sadness for joy. Each of us has a story that matters: it's the one of where we've come from. At this point, now, each of us gets to decide how the rest of our story will go. Fighting and struggling to make our own way, or loosening our grip to something, to someone beyond ourselves.

We choose the bigger story, the one bigger than us, the one with hope and mystery, the one whose founder is Love himself. It's the story that brought a random group of people around a common table last night to journey together for the next 15 weeks. It's the story of Jesus - God, showing His grace is available to every person, extending the invitation to be a part of the greatest love story on the planet. That's the story, check it out.