Nothing Else Matters...

because Jesus loves me! And that's more than enough for me!

God has been working in my life alot here recently by way of blessings and with me as a person. One of the recent things that I have come upon is that nothing else really matters but His love. God is going to love me no matter what. He knows I am not perfect and that I make mistakes and yet He forgives me and loves me anyway. Alot has happened over the last few months that has really made me turn to Him more and more everyday and you know what...God has been there...He held me when I was down, He provided when we needed, He gave me comfort in everything, and He has guided my path to make me who I am today. I am not the same person I was this time last year. I am bettered because of God's infinite love. I have done alot of growing over the last year; Spiritually, emotionally, as a person...all because of Him...He has showed me who I need to be. I don't want to be a negative person (see below) and I know in the past I have hurt people and done things that I should not have done (who hasn't...we all make mistakes). I am ashamed of some things I have done in my life time...but God has showed me these things and I have used them as "lessons learned" to help me grow. And you know what else...He forgave me of those sins. I feel His love everyday and I can see Him in my life. He truly is amazing.

Here are a few of the other things I have realized and I want to share them with you...

Lesson Learned #1: I don't need "things"...while designer jeans or shoes would be nice, does that really make up the meaningful things in life? I may not have a top of the line car, or live in a mansion, or eat out everyday of the week, or have Ralph Lauren clothes hanging in my closet...but I have a car that runs, Hubby still has his job, my family and I have a roof over our heads and clothes to wear and we have food to eat and money to pay our bills. That's more than enough as some people don't even have that. God has blessed us immensely with what we have and we are so grateful.

Lesson Learned #2: Be happy and seek joy in all things. This one is rather easy when you think about it. Jesus created every thing and person around us. Why not see the good in everything? God put so much time and effort into creating our wonderful surroundings...why not rejoice in a flower blooming, or the rain falling, or a smile from a stranger, or waking up this morning? To me happiness is a choice...you can either choose to be "half-full" or "half-empty". I choose to be a "glass half-full" kind of girl.

Lesson Learned #3: I don't need for everyone to like me. (This one was hard for me to swallow because as humans we, by human nature, want to be liked and accepted, but when I thought about it, why would I want to surround myself or be affiliated with someone so hurtful or negative?) I know Jesus loves me and so does my family and friends...and nothing else matters. Say what you want and feel anyway you want about me...I am happy with my life and it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks or says. Yes, I have flaws and I am by no means perfect, but I am loved by those who are the most important to me...and that is ALL that matters. God loves me for who I am and always will.

Lesson Learned #4: Be thankful always. This one is hard for me. Sometimes I just have those "woe is me" days to where nothing seems to go right. It's easier sometimes to ask God "why me?" than to thank Him for what ever the situation may be. What's the old saying...that which doesn't kill us only makes us stronger...or something like that. I know for me it's hard to thank God sometimes in situations...Peanut not listening (thank You God for my child), a mistake I made (thank You God for helping me grow as a person and as a Christian), an argument with Hubby (thank You God for Hubby and for helping us make our marriage glorify You)...you get my point. Sometimes it is hard to thank Him but without Him...we wouldn't be here and we wouldn't have these blessings.

I have decided that with my new found knowledge, I will surround myself with positivity (is that a word?). Negative things, situations, and people bring you down and the only thing we can do for negativity is pray. Pray that the situation will change, pray that things will get better, pray for those who are negative. And I chose to do just that...and to not be affiliated with good ol' Mr. Negative. I will thank God for everything because He is a generous and loving God!

I am so blessed to have wonderful a wonderful Hubby, daughter, parents, in-laws, sisters, cousins, grandparents, and friends...I thank God for each of you. Thank you ALL for loving me for who I am and supporting me no matter what. And to all those reading my blog...I hope that something that God has laid on my heart to share with all of you may in turn help us all become better people. Tomorrow isn't promised...so we need to make our "todays" as glorifying to Him as possible.

Thank You Jesus for forgiving my sins. Thank You so much for blessing my family immensely and thank You for Your undying love. Thank You for showing me my flaws and helping me work on them and thank You for loving me no matter what I might say or do. Thank You God from the bottom of my heart! You truly are an awesome God! Amen!

I will leave you with the lyrics to one of my favorite songs...it is actually one of the songs at the bottom of my page.

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found;

He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all—

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save.

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied;

For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—

Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day,

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;

For I am His and He is mine—

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—

This is the pow'r of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home—

Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.