Glad!!

Hey everyone!!  Hope you've had a great week, and are looking forward to another one!!

I REALLY want you to comment!!  PLEASE???  Many of you indicated to me that you really read the blog.  I want this to be a place that you come to learn from each other....  NO ONE likes to 'hear' me blab that much!!!! So, please participate, ok???  PLEASE????

First of all:  Just want you to know I miss you and I love you!  When ya'll spend all this time growing up and coming on Wednesdays/Sundays... seeing you at school..... going on trips..... it just sucks when you aren't here!!  BUT... I'm SO proud of you!  You are showing yourself each day that you CAN make it in this world.  Some days are better than others, and some days you feel more success than others... but you are doing GREAT!!!!  (And, as much as I'd love for you each one to be back in my life week in and week out, I'm so proud of you for having what it takes to grow up!!)

Now.  I want us to think about something for a few minutes.

(Hint:  This could be what you would comment on!!)
How do YOU define glad?
What makes you glad?
Do you feel it is a strong word?

Here are some ways that this tiny word is used:
~I sure am glad that test is over!!
~I'm glad I didn't run out of gas on the way to the gas station!
~Whew... I'm glad I got to hang out with ______ this weekend.
~OH MAN, I'm so glad that I didn't go to the _________.
~Oh, you got a new ______?  I'm so glad.  You needed one.

Those are some ways  that we often hear the word "glad" used.  Can you think of any more?

NOW.  I want to know what makes you just so excited you can't hardly stand it!  What is that makes your tummy do flips?  Is there something that absolutely you think you will explode if it doesn't just hurry up already?

For me, that is Christmas!!  When I was little, I thought Christmas Eve MUST be THE longest day in the history of the world!!!  It seemed the clock would tick forward one and back two!  Then, at bed time... goodness... the NIGHT was horribly long.  I would get so excited about getting up Christmas morning, my tummy really would tickle!!!

Another thing that makes me kind of giddy like that is knowing I'm getting a surprise.  The surprise doesn't even have to be huge... just that someone cares enough to think about doing something for me absolutely sends me over the edge at times!!

What is it for you?

How would you feel if:
~Some random person approached you with a check to cover your full tuition for the rest of your college career?
~You were able to accomplish the biggest goal or meet the biggest challenge you face right now?
~You were able to provide something for someone else that they have struggled with?

Now.  This is going to be a change of gears, but hang with me.  I'll tie it all together, ok??

On my wedding day, I felt like a princess!  My mama worked herself silly and made me the most beautiful dress.  She made it with such love (and frustration at times!!)~ It was beautiful!  I was so proud of it, I couldn't stand the thoughts of getting anything on it (and, she might have skinned me!!)  I wanted to look perfect for my man!!  I wanted my hair, my make up, my dress... everything to be so perfect!  Even though I know Chris loves me, and it wouldn't have mattered if I had a hair or two out of place... does a groom really want to meet his bride who is a mess?  Have you ever seen a bride who really just kind of threw herself together?  NO!!!  Brides spend HOURS getting ready....

Did you know that WE are the Bride of Christ?  That sounds weird, especially for your guys, but it is the truth!  All through the Bible, we are referred to as the Bride of Christ.

Now.  In Revelation 19:6-8; here is what John writes:
"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:  "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.  Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!  FOr the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.  Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear."

(Have you heard people speak of 'The Marriage Supper of the Lamb'?  This is it.  This will be the party of all parties!  Not a 'supper' like we in the South know it.  It will be a time of great celebration!  Jewish weddings are traditionally a time of great celebration; and it goes on for days in some cases.)

Did you notice the word "glad" in this passage??  Think about this:  If you are going somewhere that is THIS exciting, are you 'just' glad?  This is kind of how I think I can show you some emphasis.... Are these the same kind of glad?
~I"m glad I'm going to Walmart in a little while.
~I'm glad I'm going to Ecuador, or New Orleans.
Which is more?
Well, as we are clothed in our white linen that is all bright and clean.... don't you think we are going to be just a LITTLE bit excited???

Now, lets look at Isaiah 61:10: "I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.  For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, and as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels."

WOW.  This kind of tells us it is coming... WARNING... Kind of like someone tells you, "Hey... this weekend when you are home, we're gonna hang out at the park and ride (or wherever)."  So.. from that time until the time it actually happens, the excitement builds.  Just like my own wedding... from the time we decided on a date... much was to be done, but excitement was building!!

These words, "delight greatly" ~ hmmmm

Now.  Look at Matthew 5:12:  "Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

So, here is how all this ties together:
In the original language, glad means this:  To exult, to rejoice with exuberance, and very often literally to leap for joy.  When is the last time you were so full of joy you just could not contain yourself??  In both of these passages (Matthew and REvelation) this word glad means literally 'to leap very much'...

The word delight in the Isaiah passage means, "rejoices greatly" and means to spin... to be so happy you just spin.  Literally, I spin before the Lord.  As a Bride, I really did feel so beautiful that I wanted to just spin so my groom could see.  (Have you ever seen a little girl wear a 'dress up' dress and just kind of walk on air?? THAT is what we are talking about here)

This has absolutely challenged me to look at myself... am I glad??  Do I look at the my salvation and it make me so happy that I literally cannot contain myself?  Do I look around me and what the Lord has done for me and do the same thing?  I AM the Bride of Christ.
You may not understand this, I don't completely.  But, I do understand the bride part.  I am Chris' bride and I so wanted him to be pleased with me.  Guys, you don't want to wait at the end of the isle for your bride and her not look beautiful, right?  Girls, you want everything to be perfect (and it will be... when God sends your man... it will be!!)!!  So it is with my Bridegroom.... Christ.  WOW.

There is MUCH more to this and we might dig a little more in the next couple of weeks, but for this week, I want to challenge us to examine ourselves.

~Are you glad?

~Are you screwing up the look of the Bride of Christ?  (how you livin?  Are you TRYING to learn and grow in your walk with Christ? NO ONE is perfect, and NO ONE EVER stops growing... do NOT let yourself think that you will 'arrive' one of these days!! THere is always something you can learn)

~Do you let little things distract you from how much He really loves you? (Do you walk around like Eyeore because of the crap in life, or do you dance around like Snoopy being oblivious to the junk?)

So~ Let me hear from you!!

I love you.  Thanks for hangin' in with this today.... Wrestle with it... really, that is alright!!