Crazy Love!

Props to my cousin Chris who gave me the book, "Crazy Love," by Francis Chan right before I left for Vietnam last summer.  Over the the break between semesters, I've finally read it and have been super challenged by it!  I have been thinking a lot about the Father's words- to love Him, and to love others.  Really, that's all life is about.  I get so mixed up in my priorities at times, and have to admit that I really stink at loving Him and others.  I am asking Him daily to teach me how to love and change my heart. . . because my heart is so selfish!  

On this day we celebrate LOVE, here are a few thoughts from the book to ponder:

"The love for equals is a human thing- of friend for friend, brother for brother.  It is to love what is loving and lovely.  The world smiles.  The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing- the love for those who suffer, for those who are poor, the sick, the failures, the unlovely.  This is compassion, and it touches the heart of the world.  The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing- to love those who succeed where we fail, to rejoice without envy with those who rejoice, the love of the poor for the rich, of the black man for the white man.  The world is always bewildered by its saints.  And then there is the love for the enemy- love for the one who does not love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain.  The tortured's love for the torturer.  This is G's love.  It conquers the world."

-Frederick Buechner

"The very fact that a holy, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, merciful, fair, and just G loves you and me is nothing short of astonishing.  

The wildest part is that J doesn't HAVE to love us.  His being is utterly complete and perfect, apart from humanity.  He doesn't need me or you.  Yet He wants us, chooses us, even considers us His inheritance (Eph. 1:18).  The greatest knowledge we can ever have is knowing G treasures us.

That really is amazing beyond description.  The holy Creator sees you as His "glorious inheritance."

The irony is that while G doesn't need us but still wants us, we desperately need G but don't really want Him most of the time.  He treasures us and anticipates our departure from this earth to be with Him- and we wonder, indifferently, how much we have to do for Him to get by."

-Francis Chan

Happy Valentine's Day!!

(pictures and updates to come soon :)