A Fountain of Cheese and Endless Chips Kinda Love

Scripture to Ponder:

John 15

Psalms 73:23-28

1 Chronicles 16

When we drive through the local donut shop, I'm not sure about you, but I don't normally ask for half of one glazed donut and a half-full cup of coffee. If you do, next time I will gladly ride along to have your extra half along with my whole - ya know, just to balance things out! We don't request our employer to only deposit half our paycheck, nor do we only want them to serve us a half-full order of cheese dip at our local favorite Mexican restaurant. No way, José, we want the whole thing. Preferably a fountain of cheese dip and endless chips. Maybe I shouldn't be writing while hungry, but hopefuly you're starting to understand the direction we're going here. When we love something, we want as much as we can get.

What about our relationships? What would happen if we gave an excuse each time we were supposed to spend time with a friend? We had intentions to spend time, but instead gave our time and attention to something else. I predict that the relationship would eventually fizzle out. We all have a deep desire to be liked, loved, and wanted. We were designed for relationships. We enjoy time with others and begin to miss our loved ones when we haven't been able to see them in some time. Now, I'm not saying you have to be a social butterfly. Goodness knows I'm not. I like to think of myself as more of a social dragonfly, per se. While I can socialize, I am certainly not proficient in this area and after a while I am ready to curl up on the couch with a good book - in solitude. Don't judge me, even Jesus needed some alone time and after all, I am just trying to be more like him.

We can reflect on some important truths here. Christ doesn't want just a small portion of ourselves and our time. In fact, he doesn't even want half. He is our Father and wants us to be all in. Our relationship is stronger when we're all in, fully committed, and wholly devoted. Relationships can't be sustained if they're only one sided. Truth is sisters, He's already done his part to have a relationship with us and the rest depends upon us.

A relationship with Christ, while we're gathering truths by comparing earthly relationships, can't even begin to compare to an earthly relationship. Numbers 23:19 reminds us that God is not man. He is honest and faithful in ALL of his ways. Even with the best of intentions, we will fail, dissappoint, and be dissappointed in our relationships with people, but not with Christ. His very character and being is love itself. He wants to be the ONE relationship that sustains us. He wants to be Lord of our life. He loves us and desires a close relationship. Pause and let that thought sink in. Christ wants a close relationship with YOU! WOW! How it must grieve his heart when we neglect the relationship he desires with us.

Sister, are you all in? Are you fully committed to Christ and to making your relationship with him a priority? No matter where we are in our walk, we can always gather truths and reminders to draw close and continually seek the Father. Growing in our relationship is a lifelong journey. Let's go all in. Let's make him Lord of our lives, where he rightfully belongs. Let's be daughters of the King, and sisters who are fully devoted and wholly committed to our Savior!

Questions to Consider:

1) What relationship consumes the majority of my time and attention?

2) Am I all in with Christ? Is he my whole life, or have I given him less than he deserves?

3) Am I daily investing in my relationship with Christ?

Look-alike Contest

Scripture to dive into: 
Colossians 1
Romans 8
Philippians 2


​    Have you ever seen someone who looks so identical to someone else you look multiple times just to be sure? You squint, put on your glasses, move closer for a second glimpse because the resemblance is uncanny and you're sure your mind must be playing a trick. Some call this having a doppelganger or a twin. They bear the image of someone else. Now, some get lucky with their twin and some of us may start to resemble Gollum from Lord of the Rings but don't worry friend, we're all precious in his sight! Bearing someone's image can have its pros and cons. You may have their kind eyes, giving heart, or maybe your noticing similarities to that one family member that's a little out there and now you're questioning everything you do. Don't worry though, if you're the latter there's still hope.

     Colossians poses a powerful question, who is the image of God? (Colossians 1:15) In this verse its talking about Christ being the image of God and in Romans 8:29 it tells us we are to be conformed to the image of his son! Wow, take a minute to ponder that. Can you imagine if others took a second glance at us just because we bear his image so well? Talk about life goals as a daughter of the king!

     I think that is one of the most powerful questions we can ask ourselves and the most difficult task to undertake. How do we get from point A to point B, from asking ourselves if we bear his image to actually bearing his image? JESUS. Sweet sisters, we could never do it on our own merit. We could try our hardest the rest of our days and we would still fail. In our humaness, we try to measure up, but because of his grace we don't have to. Hallelujah!  I don't know about you but that makes me sigh in relief. The closer we walk with him and the deeper our relationship grows, the more we will bear his image. We don't have to get ourselves together to come to Jesus, we come to Jesus so he can transform us into his image. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalms 139:23-24) We come to him and allow him to lead and change us. When we are in love with our Savior our desire to become like him only grows and through that relationship, if we lean in, he will begin to transform us so we can bear his image. I don't  know your heart sister, but my deepest desire is to walk so closely with the Father that I bear his image. That others can see Christ through me. That's my desire and prayer for you as well sister!

     We're sisters in Christ, but that doesn't mean the walk is easy. Are we bearing his image or is self getting in the way? It's a question we should ask ourselves daily. Im stepping on my own toes here. How would my daily life look different if I regularly asked myself am I bearing his image in this moment? When life doesn't go as planned, when we face hurt, when we experience grief, when we're rejected or left out, when we're dealing with the struggles of daily life, when the bank account has seen better days,  when a diagnosis knocks the breath out of you, when friends walk away, when life simply shatters on the ground around you, who's image do we bear? Sweet sisters, what we cling to on the good days will overflow and carry us through on the hard days. His love for you will sustain you each and every day no matter the circumstances surrounding you.  He's that good!

     We desperately need a sisterhood of his daughters joining together to lift one another up through encouragement and prayer because LIFE IS HARD!  May we be the women of that sisterhood. May we lift and encourage sisters, support them through life, and take them boldly to the throne of grace. May we be sisters who bear his image so that others can know him! 


Questions to consider-
1) Do I desire a deeper walk and am I actively working on my personal relationship?

2) Am I bearing the image of Christ? In what areas can I improve to be more Christlike?

3) Does everyone see Christ in me, even those who have hurt or rejected me?