Falling in Love

Have you ever fell in love before? It's amazing, right? You see an imperfect person as loved and cherished and you care for them. Love is CRAZY really. Love literally changes your life, whether you are the one loving someone or the one being loved by someone-love changes us!

Just recently I fell in love. My whole life changed and has continually changed since the moment I met the one I love. I started thinking about the one I love ALL the time! I started desiring to be with the one I love ALL the time. I longed to be there in the arms of the one I love and know that I am loved back-no matter what. There's nothing quite like it really! It's truly the greatest feeling and knowing in the whole world! To walk with the one I love, to talk with the one I love and to just know that no matter what-the one I love is never leaving, but staying faithful to me even when I fail over and over again. No matter what, the one I love loves who I am! It's that unconditional love that changes us.

The world throws this fake version of love in our faces and tells us that love is "here today and gone tomorrow, so love while you can!" The truth is-love NEVER leaves and we don't have to be someone we are not to be loved by anyone. Love is given freely and love is not a "if you are____ (fill in the blank) then I will love you..." Love is a choice. Love is sacrificial, love is faithful, love overlooks a multitude of wrongs and forgives. Love never fades, love is patient, love is kind, love does not envy, does not boast, is not self-seeking, love rejoices with the truth, love preservers. Love is so many things all in one! When you truly experience love yourself, you never want to go back!

Another exciting part of being in love is writing love letters! I LOVE writing (even though I haven't been on here in a long time, I'm sorry), and I especially love writing love letters! Love letters are the best-you can read them any time you want to remind you of the love a person has for you! Love letters are sentimental (or should be I hope), love letters are a way to freely express yourself to the one you love. Writing gets all of your thoughts out on paper and helps you release your feelings and emotions.

Love has literally changed my life. God is love..and that's the love I'm referring to at this moment. God has changed my life. Everything I've written about love is the things God has let me grow in in my relationship with Him! I am more in love with Jesus than I've EVER been! Yes, I do love in this way on earth, but nothing compares to the love I've experienced with Jesus! He loves me so much and has not ever stopped pursuing me and showing me HIS love, not my version of the kind of love He has for me-but His true, genuine love-the love HE HAS FOR ME! He desires to romance me! He wants my WHOLE HEART and my WHOLE LIFE! Something God has shown me recently is that He is jealous for me, meaning that He wants my whole attention! He wants to grow me and love me and show me amazing things in my relationship with Him. I have failed Him over and over and over SO SO SO SO SO much, but GOD STILL LOVES ME!

It's so incredibly difficult to be not literally in the arms of Jesus..because that's where I want to be! I know one day soon I will be with the one I love and that will be a beautiful day!

It's hard to be away from the ones I love on this earth..and I hope one day I can be with the ones I love-if I never get to, I know that they know down deep inside their hearts that I love them! God is taking good care of His children and I trust Him with my heart and my life! It's a growing process of trusting in God every day because it's hard to trust that He holds the future when I can't see it clearly.

I just want to encourage you to fall madly in love with your Father! God loves you tremendously and there's NOTHING YOU CAN EVER SAY OR DO or that ANYONE can EVER SAY OR DO to remove His never-ending, unconditional love for you! God loves you more than you love yourself or anyone else! I hope my love walk with Jesus just keeps growing!

Know that you are forgiven and loved and God is not mad at you at all! He has compassion on you and wants to hear EVERYTHING-the good, the bad and the ugly. He wants to talk to you about everything in your life. Read His love letter to you-The Bible and write love letters to Him! Go on walks with Jesus, sing to Him, talk to Him, listen to Him and never lose hope! Keep letting Him romance you and keep running to your Daddy God! He's got you! We are precious to Jesus. We are His. Don't stop! RUN AFTER GOD WITH ALL YOU HAVE AND ALL THAT IS INSIDE YOU. Know that HIS love compels you to Him, it is not of your own strength or ability that you can even love God outside of God because GOD IS LOVE!

I'm falling more in love with Jesus every day and I hope you are falling for Him too!

Love,
Traci

God's Changing Me-Journey

 (Here is an updated photo of me, btw)

Recently I have made a decision to do something that can be difficult and actually a couple of things are difficult in what I'm doing. I am just believing that through this decision that I will be what God wants me to be. I believe that God is asking me to do several things in my life, for my benefit, but for His ultimate glory! Those things are:
1) NO Facebook for at least a month, and then I will see what God desires and wants of me from there.
2) Read my Bible and Pray and spend time with God daily and make it a habit. He is my everything. He should and I always want Him to be number 1 in my life.
3) Think and say only positive things over me and my life as well as other people's lives. I am a child of God, an Heir to the throne of God, I am HIS!
4) Eat healthy. I want and think it's good to make my physical self line up with what I am doing spiritually. I don't eat TERRIBLE, but I don't eat the best way that I could be eating. My body is the temple of Jesus. He made me and I want to take care of the life He has given me and not fill it with things that are not of Him.

Now I want to explain in more detail each of these things I am doing and why. Through this what I call "Journey" I will be journaling every day to show and express my thoughts and how I am learning and growing in Him and to help me keep on track and see where I have come and express my feelings, thoughts and what I am learning more on paper!

The reason I chose to go without Facebook is not because I believe it's an "evil" thing or anything like that, but because I believe that for myself I have spent too much time on Facebook and am wanting to focus my attention on God. Also, I think that many people, including myself have consciously or unconsciously taken Facebook to a level it should have never been at. It has become people's relationships, instead of real life, person-to-person relationships. I think in my own life I unconsciously did it and didn't even realize it. Therefore I will be going without Facebook for a month. Facebook is a good tool, but can very easily be used in a wrong way.

The reason I want to read and study and spend time with God in His Word is because I have been lacking in that area. I haven't been reading it near enough and studying it as much as I should and desire to be. I have seen about 5 of my very dear friends fall away from God in the past 2-3 years. It really hurts and is hard for me to see. It actually makes me so sad to the point that I have become fearful of my own faith. I start asking questions like "am I rooted and grounded in God's Word enough? I hope I don't fall away from God...I wonder if I will be next..." I have been thinking those thoughts and it has scared me, so taking this "Journey" with God this month, I hope to cultivate a more deeper and personal relationship with God. I don't want to ever come away or pull away from Jesus. I ask God to create in me a pure heart and help me to always stay steadfast in Him and His Words! I never want to be away from Him or His presence. I always want to grow in Him and never leave Him or His plan for my life!

The reason I think I need to say and think positive thoughts is for several reasons. The first is that God has been showing me that I haven't been speaking positive things over my life. I say things that I know I shouldn't say about myself and it's because I've been believing the lies of Satan for so long and now I want to break myself from believing those lies. I often say "I'm not beautiful" or "No one will ever want to marry me...what am I? I am nothing..." BUT God has been recently showing me that even in these lies and other lies that I have believed for a long time that life and death is in the power of the tongue. I can speak right and positive things over my life or I can speak death and unhealthy things in my life. BUT whatever I speak and believe, it very well could and eventually will happen in my life. I know in my head the truth's, but I need to believe them in my heart. I desire to believe them and want to, therefore I am taking the steps I know how to start believing the truth's of God's Word. I am an Heir of Christ! I am His Princess, I am HIS forever and I love Him forever and unconditionally! I want my life to always show and be a reflection of Him, therefore I must believe God's truth's because God does not lie and His words are true and lovely!

The next thing I am doing on this Journey is eating healthier. I don't eat as healthy as I should and since my body is the body God gave me for this earth, I want to treat it well. I have to live with it my whole life and I am His child and am a reflection of Him, therefore my health and heart and spirit need to line up with each other. Everything needs to be where it should be in my body and if I don't treat my body right, I won't be able to honor God with my body. My body needs to reflect Him, just as much as my spirit and my attitude and heart! Everything needs and should come in alignment with God's Words in this. If I treat my body poorly and then say "God, why am I ugly, etc..?" It's not God's fault, it's MY fault. I want to make it a habit to eat right and think positively and not treat my body or mind or any part of me with disrespect for Jesus. I am HIS CHILD and HE MADE ME JUST THE WAY I AM! I need and should treat it well! :)

That is pretty much the idea of what I am doing this month! You are welcome to pray for me as I take this Journey in my walk with Jesus! Thanks!