God’s Song to You
One of my favorite passages is Zephaniah 3:17.
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
Although the entire verse shows us how much God loves us, lately I’ve been thinking about that last part: “He rejoices over you with singing.” Depending on your Bible translation, the verse could say any of the following:
- He will make a song of joy over you as in the time of a holy feast.
- He will celebrate over you with shouts of joy.
- He will sing and be joyful over you.
- He will delight in you with shouts of joy.
- He will joy over thee with singing.
- He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
- He will sing and be joyful about you.
- He will exult over you by singing a happy song.
- He will exult over you with loud singing.
- He’ll delight you with his songs.
- He will joy over thee with singing.
- He will have joy over you with loud singing.
Regardless of the translation, the message is still the same:
God digs you!
He celebrates you!
He serenades you with His songs!
Did you hear that, dear one? God sings to you. He serenades and celebrates you. Yes, you! Y’know, He takes great delight in you. Are you listening to His song? Can you hear it? What is He singing?
I hear Him telling me He loves me. He doesn’t want me to push myself so hard–I don’t need to prove myself to Him or others. I hear Him reassuring me I’m not the person I used to be and not to let anyone tell me differently. He’s encouraging me to enjoy life–Him, my family, and my friends. He’s speaking peace to my mind and to my heart. He says, “Laugh.”
Come alongside… What is He singing to you?
Ever watch a flower bloom?
Today it is my pleasure and honor to have my husband, Luis Tarango, as guest blogger. Luis is a talented writer with a wonderful imagination–I’m jealous! Luis also has a unique ability to see things in a different way. As Luis observed flowers in our living room just a few days ago, he remembered our word for the year, “Growth.” He told me about his observations and sat down to write, “Ever watched a flower bloom?” Enjoy and be blessed!
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Ever watch a flower bloom?
By Luis B. Tarango
Ever watch a flower bloom?
Why would I ask such a thing? What is so special about a flower blooming–other than flowers are pretty and sometimes smell good?
Seriously, ever watch a flower bloom?
It takes just a few days. Progressively, the plant begins to bud. Slowly, ever so slowly, the bud opens. The bud blooms into something…well, something spectacular.
Have you ever watched a flower bloom?
God in all His infinite wisdom, the Great Artist, has given the flower one shot at putting forth its best effort, one shot at showing the world what it is capable of.
Never to bloom again, the single bud opens to reveal the wonderful abundance of beauty it contains inside.
Knowing that it has only one chance at stardom, the young bud doesn’t waste time worrying about its past. It does not ever say…
- “I can’t do this; it’s too hard.”
- “I don’t like this vase I’m in.”
- “Maybe if He had planted me right in the first place.”
- “This garden does not suit me.”
- “I’m just going to die when I am done–why bother?”
With only one chance, the bud releases perfection upon the earth. It comes forth with such stunning beauty–never once with the worry of what tomorrow is going to bring. In this brief moment, it gives maximum effort!
From the palette of a genius, the colors leap out exalting praise and perfuming the air with such sweet aromas. It’s as if the rest of creation pauses to take notice of this magnificent symphony of eye-pleasing splendor. Without complaints, worries, doubts, fears or excuses… the transformation from bud to flower is complete.
Slowly the stem curves, and the dry petals begin to take their place one by one on the ground. With every trace of life gone from its body, nothing more left to give, it rests peacefully. Given only one chance to shine, it did so with the utmost exertion.
Have you ever seen a flower bloom?
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Come alongside…Are you taking advantage of your one chance to bloom? How? If not, what can you do to change that? What first step can you take? How can you share this post with someone who is not blooming?
(Remember… January is book giveaway month. The more you comment below, the more chances you have to win a copy of my new book, Women of the Secret Place.)
God Gave Us The Works
It’s every little girl’s dream–a princess party. We took it one step further: We made it a princess spa party.
- Eight little girls.
- Giggling.
- Primping.
- Getting royal treatment.
A hostess took their name, asked what spa services they desired–hair, nails, makeup, or the works. Of course, each little girl asked for the works. While they waited for their names to be called, they enjoyed mini scones with various jams, jellies, and preserves.
We took them back into the spa room three at a time.
- Two hair stations.
- A makeup station.
- And a manicure station.
My station? Hair!
“So, what is the occasion?”
“We’re going to a princess party. We want to look beautiful.”
“Look beautiful?”
“Yes.”
Look beautiful.
I don’t know about you, but I’m 35, and I want to look beautiful. Every little girl wants to look beautiful.
As I combed each girl’s long locks, it occurred to me: These girls don’t need to look beautiful. They are beautiful.
Even before I started working on them, they were beautiful.
- No makeup.
- No manicured nails.
- No fancy hairdos.
I looked each of them in their eyes when they came to my station. “You are beautiful.”
Dear one, you too are beautiful. I am beautiful. We are all beautiful in our Father’s eyes. We are His most precious possession (Zechariah 2:8), His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10). He alone created our inner beings and knit us together in our mothers’ wombs. We are amazingly and miraculously made (Psalm 139: 13-18).
We don’t need a lot of makeup, perfectly manicured nails, and fancy hairdos to be beautiful–although those things are nice from time to time–even for little girls.
Our beauty comes from within. It comes from Him.
God gave us the works!
Come alongside…What have you used to make you look beautiful? Do you believe you are beautiful? Who needs to hear that they, too, are beautiful? Will you share this with them today?
