smitten

we are smitten with God's love. 

God is smitten with our love. 

God is love. love never fails. 

love, love. love. love. love... i love love. you can love love, right? 

i do. love love, that is. 

smitten: a heavy blow, affect sharply with great feeling. 

i was struck by His love so powerfully that it knocked me right off my feet. i have been swept off my feet.

He's a God like that... a sweep you off your feet kind of loving God. 

sacrificial love 

the Roman empire ruled the world that Jesus was born into. a world without love... 

-infanticides (newborn killings) were a norm (because of poverty, human sacrifice, burdensome) 

-children abandonment (wild packs of children would roam the streets... not uncommon. These were the children most likely that Jesus said... let the little children come to me. they were outcasts, unwanted and unloved. that was normal) 

-sick & elderly were left in the elements to die (normal and very common) 

- none of the Roman gods or goddess were portrayed as having compassion or sympathy. 

-entertainment was watching people kill each other in the coliseums

this was the world that Jesus lived in. this was the world the early church had to live in. 

the love that the early church displayed completely revolutionized the world (literally) 

love isn't always convenient and some times it's not even comfortable. 

Jesus said to His disciples.... "by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (john 13:35)  

it's our heritage. it's who we are. the birth of christianity.

if we want to change the world... it starts with us. one sacrificial act of love at a time!!! 

Acquire the Fire was amazing. I took Madison & we had a great time. It's a youth conference. Madison loved it & I got a lot from it too. It got snowed out half way through. bad news. the good news is that we get free admission into 2 other upcoming conferences. we're excited. 

my parents had to come in Big Red (my dad's big ol' truck) to get us. It was quite the adventure. i forgot to get gas on the way down so we couldn't keep the car on for very long. we ended up sitting in the cold for about an hour. when my parents got there I had them follow me to my schools parking deck (right around the corner) because the deck I was in was pay per hour.... just to get around the corner & realize my school deck was closed. no way I was making it onto the interstate or off that particular road for that matter. Hercules (my dad) some how parallel parked my car in a cozy little spot downtown. He was slipping and sliding all over the placed. He finally had enough, got out & physically pushed the rear end into place... hence the nickname Hercules. 

SO my car is currently in the city, with no gas. poor little thing... & no doubt completely piled with snow from all of the street plowers. 

Thankfully school is closed tomorrow (for me & the girls). I will head down there some time this week with my shovel & gas can.... good times.

Acquire the Fire... fantastic times. 

This was a shot I took on the way home in big red. this was the interstate. i lost count of how many vehicles were in the ditch. we don't get much snow so when we do... this is what happens.