Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness and
justice for all who are oppressed,
he made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in
steadfast love. (vs. 1-8)

He does not deal with us according to
our sins,
nor repay us according to our
iniquities. (v. 10)

So all that is within me, may it be used to worship Christ.
All of our hope is in Him who is just and righteous.

For eternity, I’ll dwell with Him.

Honestly, we’re all in love with God. Every inch of our hearts, every part of our souls, every bit of our lungs, and every thought of our minds long to be filled with the breath of God.

I really like what Pastor Tim said today:
2 Timothy 3:16
“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of  God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” He talked about how Adam’s name meant “dirt.” For man was made out of what at first was dirt, and it was nothing but dirt until God breathed life into him. So Pastor Tim compared the raw characteristic of man as dirt to the real characteristics of a true Godly man. He said, “Men are dirt until they have the breath of God.” He then suggested to all the sisters, if and when we need to decide whether a guy is right for us, we should make sure they are God-breathed men.

So, how does this all connect with the complete fact that we are all in love with God? For so many of us, all that we love in our friends, family, fellow brothers and sisters is what we love in our God. When we love our God wholeheartedly we begin to see amazing and captivating things in people, because God has breathed life into them. This “life” that God has breathed into us isn’t just the pumping of blood through our heart and veins, or the neural connection between our brain and body, and it certainly isn’t just the oxygen that we breathe in. God-breathed life is a full empowerment of this body made of dirt to bear the heavenly greatness and love of God.

So, I’m so in love with God right now. After encountering the mighty and extreme love of God nothing of this world looks, feels, or tastes the same anymore. Surely our Creator and Lover of our souls knows exactly how we’re feeling every moment. For only he who has breathed life into us can satisfy and complete us.

Quickly, almost too quickly I greeted you with a smile.
Without hesitation I welcomed you in through my front door.
I say to you, “Welcome to my humble abode.”
You answered with a sweet smile, “You’re too kind, thank you.”
As I held the door open, you wiped your wet shoes on the door mat before you entered.

It was not just an ordinary day. In fact, it was a very special day.
All my most precious china were laid neatly on top of the dining room table.
The silverware were rinsed, wiped, and polished, and placed right next to the plates.

I had gone out to farmer’s market 2 days before to pick out the freshest fruits and vegetables.
I went to the butcher shop and asked for only the best of all meats.
As I drove back from my grocery outing, I thought, “What a wonderful day it will be.”

One by one I brought out the food, salad topped with grated cheese and all the fresh vegetables chopped into perfect pieces, french bread smothered with butter, and filet mignon with a sweet and salty glaze and a side of sauteed mushroom and steamed asparagus.

You looked at the food with astonishment and politely volunteered to say grace.
With grateful hearts, we said “Amen.”

We ate and ate until all the food was gone.
I smiled and said, “We still have dessert.”
Your eyes lit up with excitement, and maybe even a little bit of exhaustion from all the food we ate.
I came back with a slice of raspberry topped cheesecake and a cup of coffee.

I remembered I felt warm and just pure goodness.
I remembered that it was in those moments of giving that I was the most satisfied.

It was time for you to leave, for it had gotten late.
You smiled at me and said, “Thanks, everything was so good.”
You opened the door and walked out into the dark, and waved good bye.

I stood in the doorway as I saw you drive away. You were gone before I realized…
It was February 8th, my own birthday.

Not once did you ask to what special occasion I owed this huge celebration to.
But instead of calling you back and letting you have the worst of me,
I bid you farewell with the absolute best of me.