14 Days of God's Love - Love God For Who He Is

Joyce Meyer has put out a new devotional book titled "Love Out Loud" (Check it out here).  The book is a 365 day devotional focusing on loving God, yourself, and others.  It looks fantastic and from the sample I got to read, I think its perfect for Valentine's Day! It will get you jump started on your 365 days of love that we are attempting here on Woman of Joy.  Valentine's Day should be every day for believers because we know the greatest love to exist!

Joyce Meyer attempts to answer the question "what is life really about" by helping you to focus on major commandments given to believers: 

1. LOVING GOD
(Greatest command given and foundation of the Christian belief)
2. LOVING YOURSELF
(to quote Joyce Meyer "you can't give away something you don't have", in order to love others you must love yourself)        

3. LOVING OTHERS
(expressing God's love means we cover others in love)

Loving God means we enjoy being in His presence.  Could you spend an entire day just enjoying God and all he has presented before you in His creation and not ask for ONE single thing from Him?  What about a week?  Joyce mentions in her book that God asked her at one point not to ask for any earthly things until He told her otherwise.  Can you imagine?  As Joyce did, you would have to retrain your thoughts to focus on who God is and not what He is doing or not doing in your life.  Joyce came out of that time spending more time praising, thanking, and loving God than she had before. 
God promises that He will give us all that we need, He knows before we ask.  And if we diligently seek Him, not what He can give or do for us, but seek Him and who He is, He will give us the desires of our hearts. 

As you continue in your day, week, month...ask God to remind you to seek His presence above all else.  Before you ask for earthly things, spend time worshipping and thanking God for who He is. 


                   

14 Days of God's Love - All Year Long Gift Idea

It gets harder and harder to find gifts for our Valentines.  I came across this idea several times and thought I would share with you.  You don't have to be married to share a Valentine's present with someone.  Maybe you want to make this family or kid friendly... or choose items that cater to a great friendship (think BFF), this is a great way to show someone you care and want to be intentional all year.  This would also make a great birthday gift, or cater it toward a certain couple and give to them as a wedding or anniversary gift. 

The idea is from several bloggers who have made their own "All Year Long" gift.  Shannon Brown and Desiring Virtue and Friday We're In Love,  have pictures and ideas you can use to add to your own. 

You will need a container to hold 12 envelopes. 
Shannon Brown used a simple basket....


Desiring Virtue used a wooden box she found at Hobby Lobby!

Next you will need to fill 12 envelopes with "date" ideas...or family night ideas...or girl's night ideas. Whomever you are gifting this to, you are committing to one night a month with them. 
Here are some ideas:
Date nights: Dinner and movie (include gift cert to restaurant and movie tickets)
Movie night in (include coupon for Redbox rental or buy a copy of their fav. movie)
Blizzards (gift card to Dairy Queen)
Bowling Date
Coffee Date (include Starbucks Gift Card)
Bike Riding
Relaxing Night at Home
Family Nights: Game night 
Bowling
Ice Cream (include recipe to make homemade ice-cream)
Movie Night (include tickets to movie theater)
Pizzarie Night (make homemade pizzas together)

Girl's Night Out  for your BFF :)
Manicure/Pedicures (include Spa gift card)
Dinner and movie (include gift cert to restaurant and movie tickets)
Coffee & People Watching (Include gift card to coffee shop)

You will create and envelope for each month.  Inside the envelope write a short letter with your date idea and any coupons or gift certificates you are including. 

Shannon Brown envelopes


Write the month on the outside of the envelope and place in container, in order of course. 

I suggest getting together at the beginning of each month with calendars in hand, and nail down a date to fulfill that month's idea.  Then you both have something to look forward to.  If you don't plan it, it probably won't happen.  And always be flexible if for some reason you can't do everything on your plan, some plans just go awry..... go with the flow.  Maybe the weather is not cooperating for the bike ride you planned, jump in the car instead and ride around a neighborhood you've never driven through before!

If you make your own "All Year Long Gift" we'd love to see it!  Send me a picture and few ideas you put in yours! 
1coreydaustin@gmail.com

14 Days of God's Love - Love Letters

We dream of romantic poems and love letters written by someone who loves us deeply.  God wrote us a love letter about His never ceasing, unfailing, unconditionally deep love for us.  Verse after verse, the Bible tells us how He loves us.  As we read and reread the tattered pages of the most magnificent piece of literature, we fall more and more in love with Him.  The more we read, the more we understand, the more we trust.

Below is my favorite song. Ever.  It brings me to my knees every time.  This is the version my husband sings in church.  It's almost impossible for me to hold it together when he sings this song.  I love my hubby.  And as much as I love my hubby, I know my Heavenly Father loves me so much more.  Imagine that kind of love as you watch this video...and, um, grab your Kleenex :)

How He Loves Us - David Crowder Band

14 Days of God's Love - The Eyes of Love

Via papercraftmemories.com

It's easy to fall short in life because we believe what the world would tell us about our dreams, our passions, our life. Satan would love nothing more than for us to believe there is no chance for us to fulfill the dreams in our hearts. He'd rather see us settle for being too weak, too poor, not ambitious enough, not a leader...etc etc etc. However, God sees us through the eyes of Love. He is Love and we posses the strength to face whatever in life we come against. We posses that strength because Jesus lives inside of us...we don't have to wait for the strength to be over comers, we've been given everything we will ever need.

Joyce Meyer states in a devotional I am reading of hers: "Seeing yourself the way God sees you leads to a life of overwhelming victory" (You can check our the reading plan from J.Meyer here). 

As believers of the Word, we know in our minds God loves us.  Do you believe it?  Do you trust that He loves you?

I heard a story recently with a Biblical analogy that really sparked something inside of me.  The story is about a tight rope walker who stretched a tight rope across Niagara Falls.  Many times he tight roped back and forth across Niagara Falls, never falling.  Each time he crossed he added a more daring obstacle, first a tricycle, then he pushed a wheelbarrow across.  Then he placed a flour sack the weight of a human in the wheelbarrow and pushed that across successfully.  The multitudes of people cheered him on, each time saying "he can do it, we believe he can do it!"  Then the tight rope walker announced he'd do one more act of strength, he'd place a man in the wheelbarrow and push it across the tight rope stretched across Niagara Falls.  The entire crowd cheered and said he could do it...but not a one volunteered to get in the wheelbarrow.  You see, there is a difference between believing God loves you and trusting God loves you.  The ones who trust get in the wheelbarrow. 
1 John 4:4 says "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the wold"   He has given you all you will ever need to succeed.  Jesus is all the courage, strength, ambition, and love we need.  We don't have to wait on Him to give any of it to us, He loved us enough to have gifted it all to us many years ago on the cross.  It's up to us to stand on our Faith and Trust that he Loves us that much. 

He loves you. He loves you.  He loves you.