A Fragrance...

Have you ever been walking somewhere...when all of a sudden you smell something, the fragrance of lilacs; the aroma of sizzling bacon; the bouquet of a fine wine; the perfume of roses; the redolence of fresh coffee; the scent of newly mown hay...and it smells like...

home....
an old boyfriend/girlfriend...
a walk in the leaves...
a holiday that you love...

It's amazing what a simple smell can do to our senses...

I want to be a fragrance to God. I want Him to literally "smell" me as I walk around. That sounds funny doesn't it? It's truth though, I want to be so close to Him that every move I make...and everywhere that I go...HIS presence lingers...

I want HIS aroma, brought in by me physically...to fill a room without ever having to say a word. I want people to take a deep breath when their around me and FEEL refreshed from the purity of the air....

I'm not there yet. Actually...I think there is "air restoration" where I'm concerned...but I am trying. My heart is there, my soul is there...I just need to have my actions follow.

2Corinthians 2:15 says..."For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;"

I want to be a smell that draws people to Him.....without God...my stench will be lingering...with God...I will be a sweet aroma to those around me. I want the breaking of my alabaster box to be the richest perfume imaginable....help me Lord.

Finally.......victory!

It finally happened....

-I drew a line in the sand
-I said no to the past becoming the present
-I took out the "I think I can" and replaced it with "I will"
-I pulled the trigger on the decision

I did it....

If you've ever suffered through a portion of your life, only to come out on the other side...you know the LIBERTY that you can feel.

I put a flag on my piece of freedom....I will NOT let the enemy take it back...and I hang onto the truth that God poured out on my soul and my situation...

Deuteronomy 20:4(NIV)

^{4 "}For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

I will not let go, I will not give up, give in, or relent...it's go time, and I am ALL IN!

Thanks God for this victory...I owe it all to You!

He SINGS for me.....

LOVE...love the depth of this verse...so much to process through...

Zephaniah 3:17
"The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”

He is with me.
When I have felt ever so far away from Him...His heart and His grace...He has been wooing me into a warm embrace....

He IS my...yes MY Mighty Warrior.
He FIGHTS for me...not just fights...He SLAYS for me...the enemy that rushes in with hungry jaws wide open, is cut to the quick by His strong arm of battle...

He DELIGHTS in me.
Like when I held my babies...I looked at them and every move that they made...every noise that ushered from their lips, every facial expression...I DELIGHTED in it...so He does with me...His child....

He doesn't hold my screw-ups against me.
I will never be good enough. I will never be perfect. I will never get to that place where I stop sinning and hanging my head in shame...but there He sits. With a basin of "CLEAN" to pour all over me...He washes me, holds me close, and sends me back out into the world. He doesn't remember that which He has so graciously forgiven.....

He REJOICES over me...with SINGING.
Then, as if all that were not enough...He SINGS over me...not just sings...He sings with a SMILE...from ear to ear...from soul to soul...from heart to heart...he REJOICES over me, and sings.

Wow. I am amazed. Totally amazed at how good He is. He sings for me.



This makes my heart whole, this makes my heart happy...this seals my soul with goodness.

Get it Straight....

Have you ever noticed how crooked things look? Just walking past a shelf at my local grocery store is enough to drive me mad..I will admit, it's that type A personality coming through...and a longing for things to be "right".

I want my life to echo what my heart speaks...but many times what comes out is a poor reflection of how I feel...how I REALLY feel.
-when I yell at the kiddos...that's a far cry from my heart that wants to nurture them...
-when I get impatient with the car in front of me...that's a far cry from my heart that appreciates someone who takes their time...
-when I growl at my husband to do what I've asked...that's a far cry from my heart that wants him to feel appreciated....

I want to get it right...get it straight...but I seem to be taking crooked paths. I think I have it, and I gleefully have an AHA!! moment, only to find myself in the wilderness again. I get dizzy with fatigue...and I act like a vagrant with no sense of direction.

I don't want to be here for 40 years.
You've heard it before...the shortest path between two points is a straight line??
I want to get it straight.

God gave me some advice...I plan to take Him at His Word...if I can heed, then allow my heart to follow...this bent and twisted life will come out to meet HIM where He wants me to be....
.
'Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold I will do something new, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.'" Isaiah 43:18-19 (NAS)