Who has Kissed Your Hand?

   One day I was at school teaching. I brought my kids up to the car pick up area. My kids sit right behind the preschool kids and I get to interact with the preschool children. I sat with my kids and the preschool kids turned around. They started to tell me about their day how they played outside, why they were wearing what they were wearing, and what color they got on to show how they behaved that day.

   Suddenly one child looked at me and asked me for my hand. Now, if you have ever worked with children you know that even though most of the time they act innocent they can be sneaky. I refused to give him my hand for a while until most of the other children said that it was a good thing.

   Slowly I gave him my hand. He took my hand and kissed the palm of my hand. Then he said, “there, now whenever you are alone you will not feel lonely. You can take your hand and put my kiss on your face and know that I am with you.” My mouth dropped and then I laughed because I knew that he was alluding to the book called The Kissing Hand. Because I laughed, other children proceeded to kiss my hand as well until parents came to pick them up.

   The funny thing about that story is it is true, we are never alone. But we are not ever alone because we have kisses from those close to us, though it is nice to know we have people who care. We are not alone because Jesus is with us.

   Whenever we feel alone, Jesus is there. When we feel we cannot take another blow, Jesus is there. When we feel like giving up, Jesus is there. Sometimes we forget that Jesus is always with us. But, that’s the great thing about our God: he cares enough about all of us to be there for us. He wants to have a relationship with us. We just need to lean on him and trust him. It also does not hurt to remember that when we feel really alone, Jesus has already given us a kiss in our hands. All we have to do is put our hand to our cheek and remember what he did for us.

   So, do you remember that you are never alone? Do you have a relationship with God? What can you do to make your relationship with God stronger?

   Joshua 1:9, Isaiah 41:10, Romans 8:38-39

Leading by Example: A tribute to Deloris Carlson

   My family and I have been going to Family Camp at Camp YoliJwa for the last 9 years. We have met many friends by going there. One family we have met is the Carlson family. Del was the nurse at Family Camp for all of those years.

   If you know me, you know I can be stubborn when it comes to my health. I do not like to go to the doctor unless I have to. I did not have to go to Nurse Del that often but one year I did. I play soccer and before camp I was doing my fitness workout. While I was running, I twisted my ankle. That was about a month before camp. I had nursed my ankle for a while and stopped running, because ankles can be finicky. While at camp I was playing and my ankle started to swell up again. I decided I should probably go to the nurse.

   I found Nurse Del sitting on the rocking chair in the lobby with one of her grandchildren. I told her about my ankle and I said I probably just need an ice pack. Nurse Del did not argue she just showed me where the ice packs were at. I appreciated that she did not try to baby me. She was able to read people and she could tell I knew what I needed.

   But, Del was so much more than the camp nurse. She loved others in the way that they needed to be loved. She knew I was not touchy feely but she was able to give a kind word and sometimes a hug when you needed it. She impacted so many lives not just as a nurse but also through teaching middle schoolers at camp but she did not preach at them. She led by example, which is not easy to do.

   Nurse Del will truly be missed by her family, coworkers, church family, and those of us at family camp. She was able to impact so many people because she cared and loved others like Jesus did.

   What about you: do you follow Jesus’ example? Would people say that you loved others no matter what? 

   Philippians 2:3-4 and Philippians 4:13

   Thoughts and prayers to the Carlson family.

My Secret Valentine

Roses are red

Violets are blue

I have a secret Valentine

How about you?

I hate to admit it

But I have betrayed my love before

Even though I did that

He still loves me all the more

He gave me the greatest gift

Even though it is much more than I deserve

He paid the ultimate price

And is a great example of how to serve (others)

My secret Valentine doesn’t just love me

He loves everyone in the world too

The only question is

Do you know that he also loves you?

   For twenty three years now I have been on this earth. I still have a lot to learn but I have learned quite a few things during my time here. One thing I have learned is that if you are talking with other girls one specific topic is bound to come up: boys/men. This topic especially comes up when you are in middle school, go to a Bible college, or if you are a 20 some year old who has never had a boyfriend.

   I’ve heard countless sermons, read blogs, and had conversations with people about relationships. Everyone seems to have different ideas about love and relationships. And, most people are so focused on love and relationships that they forget the most important relationship. They forget who our first Valentine is: Jesus.

   Jesus gave all of us the greatest Valentine, Christmas, or Easter gift we could ever receive. Without this gift our lives would have no meaning. But, most people seem to forget the fact that Jesus should be our first love. And, in order to show our love to him our relationship needs to grow with him. This means we need to want to learn about him, spend time with him, and pray. Just like with any other relationship, we need to spend time with our loved one.

   So, are you focusing too much on the relationship you have/don’t have with a significant other? If you are, what can you do to remember the true Valentine you have? What can you do to show your love to Jesus?

   Luke 10:27, Deuteronomy 6:5, 1 John 4:19

The Adventure of Being Single

   What do all of these lovely ladies have in common? "I want adventure in the great wide somewhere I want it more than I can tell" (Belle). "Some day my prince will come" (Snow White). "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream" (Aurora). "I can't wait to meet everyone! [gasp] What if I meet... the one?" (Anna). If you haven't gotten it by now I'll clue you in: they all want to find their prince. Once they find their prince they live happily ever after (even if they are not married [Anna]).

   The funny thing is girls all over the world look up to these ladies. We all want adventure, want to find our prince, and want to live happily ever after. I mean, we have been fed that our whole lives in movies, books, and even from friends and family members. But, is that really how we should feel?
   In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul talks about marriage and singlehood. We've all heard the verses before. Paul states in verse 8: "Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do." Why would Paul tell us to stay single? Didn't God create us with a desire for the opposite sex?
   Paul goes on to say "...An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world-how she can please her husband" (34).  Think about the married couples you know. Do they have a lot of time to help others? Not really, they do not have time for it. I'm not saying it is wrong. Like Paul, I am saying that married people have other concerns. They have to care for their spouse, children, and think of other needs for their family.
   Single people only have to care for themselves. This frees them up to think about others and what God would want them to do. I know that I have more time to help out at the school I work at, at church, and help friends because I do not have any commitments. 

   But, that doesn't mean it is not difficult to not think about marriage. As stated before it is difficult in today's society to not think about marriage. We are constantly bombarded with people and movies saying "why are you still single?" Those of us who are single have to ask ourselves is it worth it?
   Is it worth feeling lonely at times? Is it worth the possibility of not having a family? Is it worth maybe having no one to come home to? I am 23 and I have never been on a date. I will tell you firsthand it is not easy feeling like something is wrong with you because you've never had a boyfriend. But, that is just the Devil lying to you.
   It is worth it. I cannot tell you how many opportunities I have had because I am single. I have been able to go on mission’s trips, play soccer on some amazing teams, meet with friends who are hurting and help them, help out more at church, coach many different teams in soccer, and so much more. I would not have had time to do all of those things if I had a boyfriend.
   I guess rather than looking at the world we should take a lesson from Paul, and more importantly God. We are to follow God's word. He did create us to be relational beings but not all are called to have that kind of Eros relationship. Rather than dwelling on it, we should be thankful for this time we have; because it could just be a passing season (Ecclesiastes 3). Ultimately we should not forget to have our own adventure during our seasons of singleness.
   So, will you choose to be thankful for the season you are in? Will you obey God's word and stop listening to the world? Will you choose to help others as much as you can?
   1 Corinthians 7, Ecclesiastes 3, Hebrews 13:16, Philippians 2:4

   This blog is part of the "Savoring Single" blog tour! Author Shelley Black has written a new book called "Savoring Single." Here are the links to her website and Amazon.

Official Website: www.savoringsingle.com

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Savoring-Single-Shelley-Black/dp/1973610590/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513614663&sr=8-1&keywords=savoring+single

Hosted by Livy Lynn Blog Tours! Are you a Christian author? Let me plan your next blog tour!

 https://www.livylynnblog.com/for-authors-marketing/

The Danger of Saying "Thank You"

   My family is definitely a dog family. It's not that we don't like other animals, but when it comes to pets we choose dogs. My first, official, dog is Yoyo. He is now 10 years old. When he was a puppy it was hard to train him.
   When training dogs we have a system. If the dog does whatever we want them to do, we give then a treat. This helps the dog realize that whatever the dog is doing is a good thing. We give a treat to the dog every time they sit, stay, come, or do a dance when we tell him to.
   Then, as time goes on, we don't give a treat to the dog every time he does what we want. Why is that? Well, you dog owners know that if you gave a treat to the dog every time then the dog would start to get fat, may get bored, or may just decide that he doesn't want to do what you want him to do.
   It's all a matter of training the dog. Believe it or not, humans are the same way. We want instant gratification in everything we do. Some of you may say, "can you blame us? We live in an age of social media where instant gratification is rampant." I'm not blaming, I'm just pointing out something important: if we get gratification every time we do something will it be as special if we continue to do it?

   Think about it: if you wash the dishes every day and someone makes a big deal about it every day, you know where they gush all over you, is it special? No, it would become common place and you may not want to wash the dishes as well or as much. It's just the way we are.
   What can we do about this problem? First we can stop expecting something in return when we do something. God doesn't want us to do good deeds in order to get something out of them. We don't give money to charity and expect to get money, or praise, back. If we do then we are as bad as the Pharisees! We need to do what we do without expecting anything in return.
   Next we can stop feeding into this problem by not giving instant gratification. Children nowadays always expect a reward. They wash the dishes to get money. They play a video game to win points to get something better. They behave around Christmas time so Santa will bring them the gifts they want. What do all of these rewards have in common? They are all temporary. That money will soon be gone, those points on that video game will not matter soon, and the presents will soon be obsolete. Instead we can give praise every once in a while. This will help children and others work harder in order to receive that praise.
   Finally, we can do whatever we do to reflect God's glory. If we focus on giving God the glory then we won't expect anything in return. When someone says thank you for giving we won't say "I know I'm awesome." Instead we will say, “thank God, he's the one who gave me the way to help you."
   So, will you stop expecting something in return when you do something? Will you stop giving instant gratification every time someone does something? Will you give God the glory when you do receive gratification?

   2 Corinthians 9:7, Matthew 6:1-34, 1 Corinthians 10:31