Love Hard Enough to Bring Change

It's often I dream about walking through a place like this. I dream of the leaves rustling beneath my feet and the birds singing their last song of fall. I can just feel the cold crisp air wakening my senses to someone off in the distance burning leaves in an old burn barrel. It's never overwhelming, just a slight hint of October smoke in the air.

And high up above I hear the last call of the Canadian goose as they make their flight pattern across the Autumn sky. I wonder if it's selfish of me to want to be alone in this majestic place where Autumn's jewels change with the first twinge of the bitter frost.

Autumn brings change and change brings growth after all that's withered falls away. I miss Autumn's jewels........

I miss the change they brought......

And even though I don't see a dramatic change here I still know that God is at work taking all that's old and laying it down to be transformed into something new that I have never seen before. And sometimes this change, it hurts til I can't hardly stand it. But that's the price of love.....In order to love and love well we have to dig deep and go big or we might as well go home. Because through it all that's where the growing starts that's where the learning begins and when we are stretched beyond our limit He always brings reprieve from what has kept us imprisoned.

And it's at just the right time and just the right place. His ways are perfect. Only He can bring about change in a way that truly changes from with in.

To love so much that it hurts.......To love so much you think your heart will explode right out of your chest. Tell me would you love this much? Are you Loving this much?

Love Big or Go Home because nothing ever gets accomplished when your love doesn't change those around you.....When someone's LOVE doesn't change you........

Love hard enough to bring change!

So What Do You Do When You Want To Be Renewed?

It's been a little over 8 years and it was just 8 girls.......All from different walks of life. We came together because just one had asked us to share in the celebration of her half century. And so it goes with each and every Birthday, we celebrate each other every year, through out the year.

But I have to tell you this time seemed different.....Seemed so much deeper.

So what do you do when you want to be renewed, when you want to see revival? In all reality I'm not really sure any of us realized how badly we all needed this. How badly we all wanted more from each other than just the passing of some birthday gifts.

When you have a Whole weekend together there is bound to be some sharing. Bound to be some tears. Bound to be tears through laughter. Because that's what girlfriends do. 

WE talked about loyalty and trust. We talked about kids growing up and giving us grand babies.  We talked about the growing pains between parent and child......and that included elderly parents too. We talked about marriage and divorce. And as we walked through our lives one by one I saw a pattern, even though every walk was different they were all still oddly familiar. 

We opened His word and sat around the table. We drank every drop that was offered and loved each other with our words of healing and encouragement. Shared some of the deepest places of our hearts and felt the safety and loyalty of friendship. Something we knew we all had but, we never really used it like this before. That's revival of the heart my friend.

Renewal of the soul comes when you release all that is weighing you down. It's amazing how much lighter the burden, when we give it up to Him who is faithful. Renewal also comes through laughter. The kind of laughter that brings the tears and can even make you tinkle when you least expect it. That is true laughter. That is Renewal of the soul my friend. Good natural healing medicine.

We all have struggles and it really doesn't matter what kind of struggle you have. There is no need to compare. What truly matters is that we see no one goes through their struggle alone. 

And it's easy to get wrapped up in your own little world. So easy to stay focused on your inner circle.....It takes effort to look out side that circle. It takes effort to love with a Christ like love. And when we learn to love completely the blessing is found in a heart overflowing.

I truly love these girls! To be honest and real......I love them so much more because of this weekend's revival-renewal.....

At the end of our stay we had painted the picture in our minds out loud. We shared how much we have seen changes in all of us, from kids growing up, some getting married and having grand babies. We have even seen death together. And we admitted that change was still coming for all of us, it's inevitable. So a silent pact was made in each of our minds that we needed to stay together on this big green earth until God calls us home one by one......

I love you all and I thank my God upon every Remembrance of you.......