Finding What Matters...

Hi Friends,

So, I just got done with my yearly mammogram and got an email from a friend who's just been diagnosed with breast cancer and will be having surgery tomorrow morning.  This weekend I taught at a writers seminar where the original keynote speaker (wonderful writer, friend, and woman-of-God Ethel Herr) wasn't able to speak because she'd graduated to heaven from cancer this year.

And so I've been thinking about what really matters in life, what is worth spending our precious time on, where I need (and want) to focus my limited life and energies.

Here's my conclusion:  LOVE.

--Loving God will all my heart, all my soul, all my strength in whatever circumstances come my way.  I want to bask in His love and love Him in return.  I want to live my life out of the center of knowing in my deepest soul that I His beloved and He is mine.  I want to rejoice in Him, worship Him, live every moment in Him, aware of Love.

--Loving others in all their quirkiness, faults, and beauty.  I want to love like God does.  I want to see others as He sees them.  I want to enjoy the wonder that God has placed in my kids, my husband, my friends, my family, and even those who are strangers.

I want less worry and more worship.
I want less frustration and more laughter.
I want less frantic hurrying and more moments of wonder.
I want less irritation and more grace.
I want less me and more God.

I want to sing:  "Lord, we stand amazed in your presence, astounded by your mercy and love ... your grace for me is always enough."  (for the full song see:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECwIPkF3HYo)

So, may you live in the fullness of His love today, remembering what matters, and basking in His wonder ... no matter the circumstances!