Birthdays Need to Be Celebrated

this was the view

I love birthdays!  It's not a secret I keep very well.  :)  Some of my favorite birthdays were ones celebrated during spring break when for 10 years we vacationed in Myrtle Beach, SC with our kids and friends.   I would rise early (I've never been a very good sleeper) and head out to the sand before sunrise to walk and talk with God. It was such an amazing experience.  I usually make it a habit of reading Psalm 139 every year on this day.  It helps me connect with the One who created me on this significant day in a powerfully huge way.  Have you ever done that?  The ocean is a place where you can't miss the vastness of God and His power as the waves come crashing in one after another. The response is always worship. Nothing else fits.  And also gratitude that God not only dreamed me up before my birth-day, but that He pursued me and invited me into His family - where abundant life is lived.

Its been too many years since I've spent a birthday on the ocean and I wish I could be on that beach today, but even here in Johnson City sitting at my desk, the passage is still powerful and I'm blessed by it.  Its too good not to share with you.  Maybe like me, you could benefit from a reminder of your Creator's commitment to you long before you knew Him. How about enjoying it with me?  It'll take a few minutes, so grab a cup of coffee, then come back and and read, but also "listen" to how God loves you and is as close to you as your next breath. And receive it no matter how you may feel about yourself or your life.

^1-6 God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.
   I'm an open book to you;
      even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking.
   You know when I leave and when I get back;
      I'm never out of your sight.
You know everything I'm going to say
      before I start the first sentence.
   I look behind me and you're there,
      then up ahead and you're there, too—
      your reassuring presence, coming and going.
   This is too much, too wonderful—
      I can't take it all in!

 ^7-12 Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit?
      to be out of your sight?
   If I climb to the sky, you're there!
      If I go underground, you're there!
   If I flew on morning's wings
      to the far western horizon,
   You'd find me in a minute—
      you're already there waiting!
   Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
      At night I'm immersed in the light!"
   It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you;
      night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you.

 ^13-16 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.

 ^17-20Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
      God, I'll never comprehend them!
   I couldn't even begin to count them—
      any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
   Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!
      And please, God, do away with wickedness for good...

 ^23-24 Investigate my life, O God,
      find out everything about me;
   Cross-examine and test me,
      get a clear picture of what I'm about;
   See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong—
      then guide me on the road to eternal life.

Psalm 139 The Message

See what I mean?  Doesn't that just knock your socks off?  It does me!  Imagine pondering these verses while walking across the ocean where you can't see the end from the beginning? I am forever grateful and overjoyed that the God of the Universe loves me so much.  And that He loves you so much.  He is close, friend. He knows our thoughts and has prepared all of our days.  He is light and in Him there is no darkness.We are never out of His sight.  I needed that today.  I hope you did too.

I read the following quote from Lysa Terkeurst this morning too:

"Decide today that you are worthy. Because you are. Worthy. You may not feel like it. But a quick glimpse at Psalm 139 assures me, you are. And I’d rather depend on the solid truth of God than the rollercoaster of fickle feelings. You are beautiful and captivating and attractive and smart and capable. But if you are in a relationship full of unmet expectations, unresolved issues, and frustrating communication, I suspect you feel a little less than all I’ve described. Broken down relationships can really break down a woman. So, today breathe. Steady yourself. Keep your eyes on the Master." (facebook)

I love when God does that. Same passage I was reading too. Coincidence?  I don't believe that. It's a sacred echo. Let it ring in your heart today.  Be loved.  By God and by me.

Wish we could share a piece of chocolate cake w/white frosting together :)