Tag Archives: God’s love

Five Minute Friday

What’s In A Name?

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This was written for the Five Minute Friday Community, where a number of writers gather for a weekly writing challenge around a single word prompt and write to our hearts content, but only for five minutes (or there about! I have marked where my five minutes stopped).

This weeks word prompt is ‘name’. Click here if you want to see what other people wrote. You can also have a go yourself. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘name’?

When I was growing up through school I was an easy target. With moving around a lot, I was always the new girl in class and I had very little self confidence. As a result, I was the class victim for everyone’s amusement. The problem though was I didn’t find it very funny. 

Continue reading What’s In A Name? →
Faith, Five Minute Friday, Write 31 Days Challenge 2018

Day 18 – Searching for Sheep

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I love the story about the lost sheep. You know where the sheep goes wandering off somewhere and ends up getting stuck?

The shepherd realises he is missing a sheep after counting them all. He should have 100, but instead has 99. So, he goes trundling off searching for him. He searches high and low, far and wide, leaving the other 99 behind. He doesn’t stop until the last sheep is found.

When he finds the lost sheep, he rejoices so much that he calls all his friends up and let’s them know the good news – He has found his lost sheep.

You may think this is an odd thing to do. After all, it’s only one sheep. Why risk the other 99? But that sheep was so important to the shepherd. He was willing to leave the others and risk his own life just for the sake of one.

Do you know who the shepherd and the sheep represents? Well, God is the shepherd and we are the sheep. And do you know what? When we lose our way in life and stray off, God will search high and low for us to bring us back. And when we do come back, he will be rejoicing until the cows come home (or sheep in this case)!

You can read the story in Luke 15:3-7. There is also a very powerful and uplifting song about how much God loves us and would do anything to bring us back into His fold. It’s called Reckless Love by Cory Asbury.

If you are searching for God’s love today, listen to the song and see how much God is searching for you.

You are reading day 18 of the Write 31 Days Challenge in conjunction with The Five Minute Friday Community. Today’s word prompt is ‘search’.

Faith, Five Minute Friday

We Were Intentionally Made

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For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:13-16

Our God is an intentional God. When He does things, it’s not by accident.  He intends to do them. This also applies to ourselves. I was not made by accident. I was not some random passing thought. God intentionally created me. He intentionally created you too.

I know what you might be thinking (coz I think this too sometimes)…

Hang on a minute. Me? He intended to create me? God created me on purpose?

Yes! You are not by accident.

I find this hard to grasp at times depending on what I am feeling and what situations I go through. On a good day I’ll accept He fearfully and wonderfully made me just the way I am. He will use me just as He intended to further the works for His Kingdom.

Continue reading We Were Intentionally Made →

Faith, Five Minute Friday

You Are Worth Your Weight In Gold

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IMG_8819.PNGApparently, we are made in God’s image…Did you know that? Also, there is not one person on this earth that is exactly like you? I guess that makes us a little unique then.

Me? Created in God’s image though? Seriously? With everything I have been through it must have been some image! And it’s a pretty good job that there is no-one else like me…I mean, can you imagine having two of me?

I’m guessing this is what some of you must be thinking when you read that you are made in God’s image, or that you are unique. I want to tell you something though, and I want you to listen very carefully. Come in closer.

You. Are. Worth. It.

Have I got your attention, or are you just shrugging your shoulders? I’ll let you in on a little secret…I use to shrug my shoulders too when someone would tell me that I am worth it.

Ok…I still do…a little.

Ok…hands up…maybe a lot!

This is a journey, right? And you don’t arrive at your destination at the click of your fingers, although that would be nice so that we can skip out all the bumpy rides. Life isn’t like that though, is it?

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be one of those “hey you, listen up” blogs and that I’m going to tell you how amazing you are…and then expect you to believe me…and change the way you think about yourself. I’m not going to expect you to do that as I don’t do it myself.

Do you know what made me realise that I was worth it though? It was hearing the story of Jesus giving His life on the cross. Yeah, I know, it’s the same old story…it never changes each year I hear it. But this year was different. It was me that changed.

It really hit me that God really does love me.  It didn’t matter to Him what I had been through in my past and how imperfect I was, and still am.

He.  Loved.  Me.

He loves me just the way that I am, even with my broken pieces.  Guess what?  He loves you too…just the way you are…warts an’ all!

Romans 5:8   But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Changing the way you think takes time. Knowing that truth in your head is one thing, but believing it in your heart is another and funnily enough, there isn’t a switch inside your heart that you can flick when you truly want to believe something.

I knew the story inside out about how Jesus came to this Earth to save us all from our sins. Knowing the story and truly believing it with all your heart are two different concepts though.

Isaiah 43:4   Because you are precious in my eyes, and honoured, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.

I have no firm answers, or a step by step plan to offer on how to believe that you are worth it. All I know is that we need to keep an open heart. The more your heart is open, the more it can be filled with the truth…The truth that you are loved…you are precious…you are valued…you are worth your weight in gold.

The more your heart is open, the more it can be filled with the truth...you are worth your weight in gold. Share on X

 

Something to think about

If you are struggling at the moment at knowing how worthy you are, try this…get a post-it note or a piece of paper and write down your qualities. It maybe that you are kind and generous, or that you are compassionate and caring. Whatever it is…write it down.

Everyone has worthy qualities. Ask a close friend if you are really struggling. Keep that note with you or pinned up somewhere you can see it. Next time you feel you are in a situation where you feel unworthy, look at it and remind yourself that you have worthy qualities.

Prayer

Lord, help me to have an open heart that can be filled with your Truth today. Help me to believe that I am loved. I am precious. I am valuable. And I am worth my weight in gold. Amen

 

You are reading a Five Minute Friday word prompt. This is hosted by Kate Motaung and is where a group of people write about a given word for that week. I am a little late to the party, so this was last weeks word prompt write, which was “worth”. (Everything before the line break shows what I wrote in five minutes.)  If you are interested in taking part or reading other people’s inspiring writes, then hop on over to the site.