You Look Marvelous!

Today is the day of Love...
Flowers and Candy...
Heart shaped trinkets...
Poems and Sonnets ....

We proclaim our love to our spouse..
Express our love to our children...
Let friends and family know that we care...

BUT..........

What about us...
I mean Me...
I mean that person that we see in that mirror...

Do you Love you??

How do you see yourself?

Now, I am not talking about loving yourself in the way that some people do...
Like, the ones who post 76589000 pics of themselves gazing in the mirror...

I am not talking about a conceited, I am better than you type of Love...
I mean a real "I am created in the image of Christ" Love.

Truth is, many of us do not like what we see in that mirror,
what we see usually causes self-loathing...

We see the extra pounds, the dimples in the thighs, the receding hairline,
Sometimes what we see goes deeper....past mistakes, regrets, pain.

Each of these things (and there are SO many more, I only named a few)
Eats away at our love for ourselves
Before we know it..
We begin to avert our eyes, never really looking at that person.

  We never really see who we are..
Worse yet, we can't see ourselves the way that Christ sees us.

We are each made in His image,
We are the works of His hands..


Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
    you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
    Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
    I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
    you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
    how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
    all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day...Psalm 139:13-16

This is from The Message Bible and I love  this translation

Do you see where it says ....Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
Then it goes on to say  I worship in adoration-what a creation!

Don't you find that refreshing and liberating?
I adore the fact that these two sentences end with an exclamation mark....
Real excitement!!!!!!!!!

Let me be honest, I am as guilty as the next person when it comes to self loathing...
I do the whole," when I lose a few pounds", "when the wrinkles disappear",
"When my hair finally grows", etc. etc.
The list can go on forever...

But Not Anymore!!!

I declare that this day
Valentine's Day 2013 is for me,
A day to celebrate loving myself...
To celebrate the marvelous way that I was created...
by the Master's hand..
In His image...

I will look at myself in that mirror.
I am talking about really looking, gazing
and I will say ......
I am marvelously made
and I will say it with an exclamation mark!!!!

Love yourself today,
You are beautiful and special and unique,
there is only one you!

Celebrate that today and everyday!!!!!

I am off to find a mirror.....
Let the Love Fest begin!


Be Marvelous,
Shelly

A Homegoing

Today is the day....

It's here....

My friend's Homegoing....

That's right,

I refuse to say "goodbye"

Goodbye is Final, and I know we will meet again......

I am celebrating today and I hope...

I pray... that all of you that have been touched by Theresa's kindness,

I pray that you celebrate, as well.

My heart is heavy,

it's because I am selfish...

I want to see her face...

I want to have conversations...

I want her grandchildren to feel her hugs....

her children, to hear her wisdom,

Her husband to rest in her embrace...

But that is not possible...

Theresa is Home..

What we can do, is celebrate her life....

celebrate who she is..

who she was, when she walked this earth..

She was special..

she loved people...

she loved all....

She loved the way that the Lord teaches us to love....

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 Love never fails.....I Cor 13:4-8

We celebrate Theresa today,

but let's not finish with today...

Let's celebrate her life, her love, 

Everyday...

Let's show kindness and compassion to one another...

Let's Love one another , the way that she loved....

The same way that the Lord loves.

Theresa's life had meaning, purpose...

and far beyond the costumes, the advice, the baby-sitting..

her purpose was to inspire each one of us...

She was here to teach us...

She knew the real meaning of love...

Celebrate today, by showing love...

The type of Love that is spoken of in Scripture....

Patient, kind, sacrificial, true, forgiving love.

Thank you Theresa...

You touched us all,

you taught us all,

you still inspire us all.

No Goodbyes....

Until We Meet Again.

A Fleeting Moment

It is with such a heavy heart that I write this post.

The Lord began stirring this thought in me, just a short time ago.

Life is Fleeting..... I mean it is really fragile and fleeting...
Here today...
Gone tomorrow.

It was 2 weeks ago, that I heard of a Local Volunteer Fireman losing his life in the line of duty.
That same week, my close friend's daughter, walked away from an accident, that could have very easily taken her home.
Again, that week, the husband of a family friend, intentionally jack-knifed his rig to spare the lives of others. He is struggling to survive in the hospital....

Every single one of these incidents happened in the "blink of an eye"
Every one of these people had their lives changed in a Fleeting Moment.

All of that made me think......
what happens when your world crashes down at a moment's notice?

I know that feeling.

It will be 3 yrs this June.
3yrs since we lost our Dad.

I'll never forget...
He woke up
Got ready for work
Called to my mom because he didn't feel well
 and by 10:30 am.....
He was Gone.

My life changed in a fleeting moment....
it was truly a moment....

A harsh reminder of the fraility of life...

A reminder that we never know...
our days are numbered and we have no idea what number we are on.

Yesterday.....
I was hit with that harsh reality once again....
A close family friend, an amazing, loving, non-judgemental, forgiving woman went home......
,,,In a Fleeting moment

She went in to take a bath....
and never came out...
She went home
....In a Fleeting moment

I know that the Lord provides comfort
and Strength....
He is everything we need.....
But the pain is real and it is raw....

and it is a harsh reminder....
How fragile life is...
how it can change in a Fleeting moment.

I know that God always has a plan..
and I place my trust in Him...
and I gain my strength from Him..
and my comfort....

But if I were to be honest....
sometimes I don't understand
sometimes I am angry
sometimes I am hurting

But His ways are better than My ways
so I keep trusting and believing .....
even when I am overwhelmed....

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.....Psalm 61:2

I WILL stand on the Rock...
I will make the most of my Fleeting moment here on this earth......

What will you do with the time you have been given?

We have no idea what number we are on....
I know it sounds cliche....

but live today for today....
give, forgive, show compassion, forget and most of all LOVE....

Life is but a Fleeting moment.........

With A Grieving Heart,
Shelly

Theresa Rundell.........Until We Meet Again