101 Reasons Why I Love You

101 Reasons Why I Love YouJennifer Good
A very large number of romantic ideas that have been added to this site involve writing down reasons why you love your partner. This, when it comes to a large number of ideas, can be extremely time consuming and sometimes difficult to be creative with. Use this list to help spark your loving imagination and create an "ultimate" romantic gift for your love! Please note: Not all of the items on this list will apply to your relationship. When you see one that doesn't, just substitute it with your own reason.
I love the way we finish each other's sentences.
I love the way I know you'll never give up on me.
I love the fact that I wouldn't ever give up on you.
I love the way you look at me.
I love how beautiful your eyes are.
I love the way I can't imagine a day without you in my life.
I love the way if we were ever separated I wouldn't know how to go on.
I love the way we cuddle and watch sunsets together.
I love the way we sometimes stay up all night and just talk, then watch the sunrise together.
I love how I know you'll always be there when I need you to be.
I love the fact that I will always be there for you too.
I love how when I dream of my life partner, the only person that I can see is you.
I love how complete I feel when I am with you.
I love how our bodies just fit together.
I love the way you make me laugh.
I love the way you laugh.
I love the way you won't compromise yourself when we are together.
I love the way you won't let me compromise myself.
I love your thoughtfulness.
I love your tenderness.
I love your ability to speak without saying a single word.
I love the way we glance at each other across the room and know what each other is thinking.
I love the way, how even though we may be miles apart I still feel like you're right here with me.
I love the way you surprise me with the perfect gifts that show you pay attention to me.
I love the way you'll watch a sporting game with me even though you may not be interested in it.
I love the way you treat my friends.
I love your love for the things that interest me.
I love the way you let me live my life freely without jealousy.
I love how you demand respect but are not controlling.
I love how I would do anything in this world to make you happy.
I love how you would do anything in this world to make me happy.
I love the way your voice sounds over the phone.
I love the way your voice sounds when you whisper sweet nothings in my ear.
I love the completeness and oneness I feel when we make love.
I love your sensuality.
I love how our romance feels like the perfect romance movie.
I love how you are my soul mate.
I love the way you handle troubled times.
I love the way you respect me.
I love the way you protect and defend me.
I love how you feel when we cuddle.
I love the softness of your lips against mine.
I love the softness of you lips against my body.
I love the feeling of your hair brushing against me when we make love.
I love laying in bed at night talking about nothing.
I love waking up to find we've been cuddling together all night.
I love the surprises you leave for me.
I love your intelligence.
I love your ingenuity.
I love your ability to make friends where ever we go.
I love your love for life.
I love your passion for your hobbies and interests.
I love how every time I look at you, you take my breath away.
I love how I thank God everyday for bringing someone as wonderful as you into my life.
I love the fact you gave me the gift of our children.
I love the special moments that we shared that will remain my fondest memories of you and I.
I love spending the holidays with the one person I love the most.
I love how my heart skips a beat whenever you walk into the room.
I love how you love me.
I love how I love you.
I love the ways you choose to show your affection for me.
I love the way you inspire me to be more than I am.
I love the way you spark my creativity and imagination.
I love the way you make me feel like anything is possible as long as I'm with you.
I love your sense of humor.
I love the way you make me feel like royalty.
I love the way you dress.
I love your understated elegance.
I love you just the way you are.
I love your spontaneity.
I love our life together.
I love how if I died right now I would be the happiest person alive knowing I found my one true love.
I love the fact that we will grow old together.
I love your way with words.
I love the way you look when your sleeping.
I love the way you think you look awful when you first wake up when it is actually then I find you the most beautiful.
I love your willingness to share everything and most especially your heart with me.
I love your strength of character.
I love taking showers together.
I love the way you leave me love notes to find whenever you're gone.
I love the way you treat me.
I love the way you take care of us.
I love your cooking.
I love the way you take the time to thank me for doing every day things.
I love the way you show your affection when we are around friends and/or family.
I love the way you are not scared to show your affection when we are in public.
I love your confidence.
I love your ability to make me feel better when times are tough.
I love the way we make up after a fight.
I love how you treat our children.
I love the way you support me when I'm off track.
I love the way you take the time to show me how much you love me.
I love your beautiful hair.
I love your body.
I love your openness to try new things.
I love your ability to talk things through.
I love your courage to be you.
I love your greatness.
I love the fact that you want to be with me and only me.
I love how I am and feel when I am with you!
I love you for you!

http://www.lovingyou.com/content/ideas/everyday/content.php?ART=101reasons

my elementary days!!!

isa ko sa mga estudyante sa maragusan central elementary school!! located ni sya sa comval valley philippines!! in which my first teacter was Ma'am compoc!!! hehehehe.. la maxyadong maalala dito na time eh!!! basta lam ko naglalaro lang ako nito!!!, grade 2 teacter was my nanay(a relatives of mine) si Ma'am salamilao!!!, TAPOS, DITO KO NAKLASMA8 ANG AKONG OLDER BROTHER!! LAGOT GANI KEU NEH NGA YEAR PARA SA ako kay ako ya pa dal.on sa iya bag if mauna ko og uli!!!.. okay lang feel bright man pud ko ani nga garde kay apil ko sa top 5 sa amo room!!heheheh!!!, pag ka grade 3 nako na first section ko in which si ma'am banag ang among teacher... nakahinumdom ko ani nga time na gi pa memorize me ani og miltiplication buh 1 to 100, tapos ang dili maka memorize kay makaluhod sa asin or mongos!! hahaha, as far as i remember la man pud ko naka luhod!!!.. pag ka grade for nako.. didto na sige na og absent taga hapon para lang mudola!! murag la gani ko atoy natun.an sa among klase kay absennot man ko!! hahahaha!!!, pag ka grade 5 napud nako.. si ma'am onod ako na teacher, ay pag grade 4 pala m si ma'am raquiza ako teacher!!!, balik sa grade 5, kani nga time pag mag quiz me sa hekasi.. a history subject, pag dili ka kapasa maka pas.an ka sa imong bangko!!! hehehehe.. murag ka alsa man guro ko ato!!! buing keu!!!!, pag ka grade 6, second section ko, wer si ma'am aldiano is our tetser, kani dula lang, tapos istorya istorya og hadlok!! tapos garden2 sa likod sa among room,, tapos palimpisa-on pa gyud me sa among agriculture na subject sa maisan, og mag abono!! hahaha,, lu-oy keu me ato!! tapos sigeg adto sa mga bukid para lang manguha og prutas para kaonon!! hay nako.. this is my experience back in my primary days!!!!!

Struggling Alone
with Pornography

A female student talks about her addiction to pornography.

by Jennifer M.

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I am 18 years old, with an independent nature and sometimes shy persona. I grew up all my life in the church. When the newly formed contemporary worship team invited me to play the drums, I finally found my place in the church. Life was pretty good, but I felt empty.

Later in high school the emptiness grew and my curiosity grew to find something, anything to satisfy me. First I turned to petty things, like stealing cigarettes from my abusive uncle. But that wasn't strong enough to distract me from life and fill that emptiness. I wouldn't give up that easily. I'm Jennifer, as strong as steel and I will get what I want. As a computer geek, I could access a lot of things that the average person would have no clue about how to do. I found what I wanted, and I got what I wanted. Pornography.

Before you knew it, I was addicted. This disease was not a replacement for sex in my life... in fact, I was a virgin and still am. It was simply something to fill up the emptiness I felt in my life. When I was sad, when I had a bad day, I could simply go into my room, shut the doors, and feel better again. And it was free. It was harmless. No one would know. Every time I turned to the internet, what I lusted after would eventually not be enough. Like drug addicts going after harder and harder drugs, I had to go after harder sources of fulfillment. It never ended until God stepped in.

I don't really know when, or why, or how (besides the much-needed intervention of God), but one day I came to the sudden realization about how screwed up my life was. My father used to smoke, and he quite smoking COLD. No patches, no gradual cut down. That's what I knew I had to do. I discovered that God was the only thing that could heal my emptiness. I deleted EVERYTHING off my computer. All the web pages, all the videos, all the passwords, everything that would lead me back down the path that had labeled me a disgusting person. Harmless curiosity so easily turned to addiction.

Soon after, I went on a Christian retreat. I was excited, but I didn't expect the life changing effect it would have on me. That weekend I rededicated my life to Jesus Christ. This means that I said to God once again: I want to live for you, totally and completely. I want to be a new creation (2Cor. 5:17), transformed by the love you have shown me. I know that I have done many wrong things, and even the righteous things that I do are not worthy of you (Isaiah 64:6). But I also know that God saved us because of His mercy, not because of things we had done (Titus 3:4-5). So from that day on, I make a commitment to God saying that what He thinks would be more important than what the world thinks or I think, and that all that I do will be for His glory, things that He wants me to do.

The love that I experienced at the retreat was the thing that won me over. I knew that God loved me... but this much?! I was surrounded by people I didn't know that were serving me left and right, praying for me, giving me advice, and expressing the love they had for me. But why did they love me, complete strangers? The Bible says that "we love because He first loved us" (I John 4:19). They loved me because they felt God's love for them. And now that I feel God's love for me, I want to share it with the world as well! In addition to the love, I experienced worship music in a way I never have before. I grew closer to old Christian friends and made new ones. After that weekend, Jesus was shining in face and in my actions. Every day I have found reason to praise God... there was no emptiness left in me. No anger. No loneliness. No sadness. No fear. In Psalms 119:62 it says, "At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws."

That's how I feel right now. I feel like rising in the middle of the night, just to praise God and worship Him for the change that He's brought in me and my friends. You can never be too young or too old to change because of God. "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity" (1Tim. 4:12).

Today. Today give yourself up to God -- fully and completely. You have nothing to lose, and eternal life to gain. Paul says, "For the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Take that offer and run. Run to God because you are His and always will be. When the whole world has turned away from you, He will be there, because He is, was, and is to come. And He loves you.

Does God Answer Our Prayers?

What does it take for God to answer our prayer?

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How to Pray: Prayers That Get Answered

Have you ever known someone who really trusts God? When I was an atheist, I had a good friend who prayed often. She would tell me every week about something she was trusting God to take care of. And every week I would see God do something unusual to answer her prayer. Do you know how difficult it is for an atheist to observe this week after week? After a while, "coincidence" begins to sound like a very weak argument.

So why would God answer my friend's prayers? The biggest reason is that she had a relationship with God. She wanted to follow God. And she actually listened to what he said. In her mind, God had the right to direct her in life, and she welcomed him doing just that! When she prayed for things, it was a natural part of her relationship with God. She felt very comfortable coming to God with her needs, her concerns, and whatever issues were current in her life. Furthermore, she was convinced, from what she read in the Bible, that God wanted her to rely on him like that.

She pretty much exhibited what this statement from the Bible says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."¹ "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer..."²

So, Why Doesn't God Answer Everyone's Prayers?

It may be because they don't have a relationship with God. They may know that God exists, and they might even worship God from time to time. But those who never seem to have their prayers answered probably don't have a relationship with him. Further, they have never received from God complete forgiveness for their sin. What does that have to do with it you ask? Here is an explanation. "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."³

It's pretty natural to feel that separation from God. When people begin to ask God for something, what usually takes place? They begin with, "God, I really need your help with this problem..." And then there's a pause, followed by a restart... "I realize that I'm not a perfect person, that I actually have no right to ask you for this..." There's an awareness of personal sin and failure. And the person knows that it's not just them; that God is aware of it too. There's a feeling of, "Who am I kidding?" What they may not know is how they can receive God's forgiveness for all their sin. They might not know that they can come into a relationship with God so that God will hear them. This is the foundation for God answering your prayer.

How to Pray: The Foundation

You must first begin a relationship with God. Imagine some guy named Mike decides to ask the president of Princeton University (whom Mike doesn't even know) to co-sign a car loan for him. Mike would have zero chance of that happening. (We're assuming that the president of Princeton is not an idiot.) However, if that same president's daughter asked her dad to co-sign a car loan for her, it would be no problem. Relationship matters.

With God, when the person is actually a child of God, when the person belongs to God, he knows them and hears their prayers. Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me...my sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."⁴

When it comes to God then, do you really know him and does he know you? Do you have a relationship with him that warrants God answering your prayers? Or is God pretty distant, pretty much just a concept in your life? If God is distant, or you're not sure that you know God, here is how you can begin a relationship with him right now: Getting Connected.

Will God Definitely Answer Your Prayer?

For those who do know him and rely on him, Jesus seems to be wildly generous in his offer: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you."⁵ To "remain" in him and have his words remain in them means they conduct their lives aware of him, relying on him, listening to what he says. Then they're able to ask him whatever they want. Here is another qualifier: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him."⁶ God answers our prayers according to his will (and according to his wisdom, his love for us, his holiness, etc.).

Where we trip up is assuming we know God's will, because a certain thing makes sense to us! We assume that there is only one right "answer" to a specific prayer, assuming certainly THAT would be God's will. And this is where it gets tough. We live within the limits of time and limits of knowledge. We have only limited information about a situation and the implications of future action on that situation. God's understanding is unlimited. How an event plays out in the course of life or history is only something he knows. And he may have purposes far beyond what we could even imagine. So, God is not going to do something simply because we determine that it must be his will.

What Does It Take? What is God Inclined to Do?

Pages and pages could be filled about God's intentions toward us. The entire Bible is a description of the kind of relationship God wants us to experience with him and the kind of life he wants to give us. Here are just a few examples:

"...the Lord longs to be gracious to you. He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for [trust] him!"⁷ Did you catch that? Like someone rising out of his chair to come to your help, "He rises to show you compassion." "As for God, his way is perfect...He is a shield for all who take refuge in him."⁸ "The Lord delights in those who fear [reverence] him, who put their hope in his unfailing love."⁹

However, God's greatest display of his love and commitment to you is this: Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,"¹⁰ which is what Jesus did for us. And so, "If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?"¹¹

What about "Unanswered" Prayer?

Certainly people get sick, even die; financial problems are real, and all sorts of very difficult situations can come up. What then?

God tells us to give our concerns to him. Even as the situation remains dismal, "Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you."¹² The circumstances may look out of control, but they aren't. When the whole world seems to be falling apart, God can keep us together. This is when a person can be very grateful that they know God. "The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."¹³ God may provide solutions, resolutions to the problem WAY beyond what you imagined possible. Probably any Christian could list examples like this in their own lives. But if the circumstances do not improve, God can still give us his peace in the midst of it. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."¹⁴

It is at this point (when circumstances are still tough) that God asks us to continue to trust him--to "walk by faith, not by sight" the Bible says. But it's not blind faith. It is based on the very character of God. A car traveling on the Golden Gate Bridge is fully supported by the integrity of the bridge. It doesn't matter what the driver may be feeling, or thinking about, or discussing with someone in the passenger seat. What gets the car safely to the other side is the integrity of the bridge, which the driver was willing to trust.

In the same way, God asks us to trust his integrity, his character...his compassion, love, wisdom, righteousness on our behalf. He says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."¹⁵ "Trust in him at all times, O people. Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge for us."¹⁶

LIVING WITH HOPE

A student living with HIV and hemophilia lived with hope...for a reason. How you can have hope no matter what life throws at you.

By Steve Sawyer

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A personal, true story... In grade school, Steve Sawyer, with hemophilia, contracted the HIV virus and hepatitis C from unscreened blood supplies. Years later, at 19 years old, knowing his death was imminent, Steve used his remaining years traveling to hundreds of college campuses, sharing with students what he learned about living with hope and peace in the midst of terrible circumstances. Thousands of the students who heard Steve would tell you that his true story about hope and God's love changed their lives forever. The following edited talk is one Steve gave at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Off the coast of Maine, there was a Navy ship sailing in a very dense fog. This night, the midshipman saw a fixed light in the distance and immediately contacted his captain. "There's a light in the distance heading straight for us, what do you want me to do?" The captain told him to flash a signal to the vessel, directing it to change course. The vessel signaled back, "No, you change your course." Again the captain instructed the midshipman to command the oncoming vessel to change its course immediately. Again the reply was, "No, you change your course." With one last attempt, the midshipman signaled the vessel saying, "This is the Captain of a U.S. Navy battleship and you are to change your course immediately." The reply was, "No, you change your course. This is a lighthouse."

That story illustrates how we as humans tend to deal with pain and suffering. We always want the circumstances around us to change course, rather than changing ourselves to meet those circumstances. My life has been a perfect example of this.

Living with HIV: Early Stages

I was born with hemophilia, a blood disorder which makes my bones and joints swell for no reason. Hemophilia is treated with a protein gathered from pools of donated blood. Well, somewhere between 1980 and 1983, one of the donors to my particular donor pool was infected with the HIV virus. As a result, all the medications I received from that particular pool (possibly hundreds) were infected with HIV. I also later contracted hepatitis C the same way.

I actually wasn't told I was HIV positive until years later in my sophomore year of high school. When I was told, my initial reaction was a fairly common one when we're dealt with something we can't handle. I simply denied that I was HIV positive and tried to pretend it wasn't there. HIV didn't hurt like hemophilia did. With hemophilia, when your joints and muscles swell, it is very, very painful. But HIV had no outward symptoms. You couldn't really notice it, so it was easy to just pretend it wasn't there. That's the way my parents dealt with it, too. "You look good, you look okay, so you must be okay," they said.

Living with HIV: Denial

A great example of this kind of denial is in the movie, Monty Python's In Search of the Holy Grail. In one scene, King Arthur is trotting through the forest and comes across a knight wearing beat-up, black armor. The knight is blocking his path, and King Arthur realizes that he's not going to get by unless he defeats the knight in battle. A battle ensues and King Arthur manages to sever the arm of the black knight. King Arthur sheathes his sword, bows and begins to walk by, but the knight says, "No!" And King Arthur says, "I cut off your arm!" The knight looks at it and says, "No you didn't!" So King Arthur looks at the ground and says, "There's your arm right there!" And the knight says, "It's just a flesh wound." King Arthur realizes that he's going to have to severely maim this guy in order to get by him. So the battle continues and Arthur severs all the limbs from the knight's body until all that's left of the knight is just a stump on the ground with a head. As King Arthur trots by, you can hear the knight in the background yelling, "Come back you coward, I'll bite your knees off!"

Well, needless to say, that knight was in denial. He couldn't face the fact that he had lost the fight. And although that's a humorous example of denial, the dangers of denial are very, very real. If I had continued to deny the fact that I was HIV positive, I might not have taken the right precautions with little cuts on my fingers or things like that, and I could have severely hurt or even killed someone. But the dangers to yourself when you deny something like that are also very dangerous and very painful. When you push something down for that long, and you try to pretend it's not there, it builds up. And eventually it explodes.

Living with HIV: The Futility of Denial

I was able to deny that I was HIV positive for about three years. My senior year of high school, however, I got very sick. I started showing symptoms of the disease. T-cells are the white blood cells that fight infection, and the number of T-cells you have in your body tells whether you are HIV positive and whether you have AIDS. When your T-cells drop below 200, you are considered to have full-blown AIDS. Well, my T-cell count was at 213 and dropping. I was very, very sick and very pale, and I couldn't hold down food. I could no longer pretend my AIDS/HIV wasn't real--it was very, very real.

Denial was no longer an option, so I had to find a new way to deal with everything I was going through. The first thing I tried to do was blame someone. I thought I would feel better if someone would walk up to me and say, "Steven, this is my fault, man. I'm sorry." So initially I decided to blame the entire homosexual community. Easy cop-out. But after I thought about it, I realized it's kind of stupid to blame an entire group of people for my problem. I then decided to blame God. Now, I didn't really believe in God at the time, but I figured if anyone has control of the situation, it's got to be God. So I blamed God.

Living with HIV: Anger

When you have someplace to focus all of your built-up pain, it turns into anger. And eventually it turns into rage. Now I began to deal with everything that I encountered by getting mad. Anytime someone said something that just kind of annoyed me, I'd explode at them. Punching walls. Destroying my room. Things like that.

But I found that anger has the ability to cloud your mind, and it keeps you from acting rationally. Worse, in the process it hurts those you love. A much better way to deal with pain is to cry, because it doesn't hurt anyone and it feels really, really good.

Well, on one occasion I was in my room and had reached bottom. I was very sick and had lost a tremendous amount of weight. I was screaming, swearing at God, punching the walls in my room, and then my dad walked in. He closed the door behind him. My father is a recovering alcoholic. Through AA he learned about a Higher Power, he learned about God. My dad looked at me and said, "You know Steve, I can't help you. Your doctors can't help you. Your mom can't help you. You can't help you. The only one who can help you right now is God." And he walked out of the room and closed the door.

Living with HIV: Looking for Relief

Now, I had just finished swearing at God, so I didn't think I was quite in the right position to be asking God for help. But, there I was, with no other choice. I dropped down on my knees, and through my tears I said, "Alright God, if you're there, you help me and I'll help you." Well, in an extremely short amount of time, I gained all of my weight back. My T-cell count jumped up to about 365, which is pretty good. And I felt great. I felt great...just like that. And I thought, "Okay, thank you God. Bye. That was nice. Goodbye."

I graduated and went off to college to take my placement test the summer before my freshman year. This was when I met my roommate. I got there and finished the test, and there was this tall, skinny blonde kid standing there. He said, "Hey, you look normal. Want to be my roommate?" And I thought, Well, okay, you don't, but..."Sure." We became roommates, and actually we became best friends. I found out that my roommate was a Christian. At the time I had this picture of what a Christian was. To me a Christian was a hypocritical, condescending, condemning person. That's all a Christian would ever be to me, I thought. But my roommate was different.

He had a dyslexia problem. I noticed that when he would study and get to a point of frustration--the point where I would be punching walls and destroying things--he would just stop, close his eyes, say a prayer, take a breath and go back to work. That blew me away. I thought, "How can you not break something? You have to break something!" It really amazed me that he was able to do this.

My roommate invited me to go to spring break with him to Daytona Beach. While there, my friend started talking to the guy next to us on the beach. At first we started talking about common things, normal stuff. Then my friend decided to get into some deep, heavy issues. I didn't want to get into that. I had been struggling with a lot. It's tough to know you're dying at such a young age. And I really didn't want to talk about that stuff with some stranger on the beach, so I kind of faded out of the conversation. They kept talking, and eventually it got around to the point where my friend tried to explain what he believed as a Christian. I always had a picture of what a Christian was, but I never actually knew what they believed or thought. So I kind of listened in on what he was saying.

Living with HIV: What God Offers

I don't know if I can explain it quite as well as he did, but he said something like this: "I believe in God, obviously. And I believe that God created us to be in relationship with him. But we don't want to be in that relationship with him, so we push him away. That pushing God away, that rebellion--whether it's actively rebelling against him or just passive indifference--the Bible calls sin. I don't like the word "sin," so I think of it as just pushing God away. And because we did that, and because we were created to be in a relationship with him, there's a penalty. The penalty for our rebellion is death, we die. And there's a spiritual death, we're separated from him." I thought, Oh, that's happy.

So I said, "But God loves us." And he said, "But God is also just. Love without justice means nothing." That didn't really make sense to me. So he said, "Well, picture the person you care about most in the world, the person you would immediately give your life for. Then picture yourself pushing that person away and not seeing him again for a long time. Then one day you see that person fifty yards away, and you go running to him and throw your arms open, but they stop you and say: 'No, you pushed me away, remember?' Now picture pushing away God, the greatest love in the universe."

And I thought, "Wow. That's not good." And he said, "Well, it doesn't end there, fortunately. Because God loves us so much and cares about us so much, he decided to pay the penalty for us. He sent his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross in our place. And because Jesus (being God in the flesh) lived a sinless life, he could pay the penalty for someone else. He paid it for us."

And he said, "Then Jesus rose from the dead three days later. He conquered that spiritual death and offers us eternal life. Now we wouldn't just die, but would then go on to spend eternity with the greatest love in the universe."

And I said, "Wow." "But," he said, "the catch is, even though he offered this and paid the penalty, if you don't accept his offer...well, it's up to you." I still wasn't really clear on this, and fortunately neither was the other guy. So my friend said, "Okay, imagine yourself driving down the road out here. You're going 90 and the speed limit is 35. You're flying down the road and a cop pulls you over and writes you a ticket. To pay the ticket, you have to go to court the next day. As you walk in the courtroom and look up, you see the judge is your dad. And you think, Hey, that's my dad. Your dad looks at you and goes, 'Steve, did you break the law?' And you say, 'Yeah.' So he says, 'Okay, $500 fine or two days in jail.' He hammers down the gavel and that's it.

"Now, because he's just and fair, he had to pass sentence. But then he steps off the judge's bench, takes off his robe, reaches into his back pocket and hands you $500. Because he loves you, he's going to pay that penalty for you. But you have to accept the payment. He's standing there with 500 bucks, saying 'Here you go.' Likewise, with God you can just say, 'No, I'll just spend an eternity separated from you.' It's a choice you have to make."

My friend said the way we accept the payment is through prayer. He said, "You simply accept God's payment. It's by God's grace. There is nothing you have to do to earn this. It's just a gift from God." This was the first time I ever heard about grace. He said, "It's a gift that you accept by faith through prayer." And my friend offered to pray with this guy. And while he prayed out loud, I prayed too, but silently.

Living with HIV: Coping with Fear

From that second on, my life took on a whole new perspective. I no longer had to go to bed every single night worrying about whether I was going to be alive the next day. I no longer had a fear of dying, because dying wouldn't just end in a blackness, a darkness. Now when I die I would spend an eternity, forever, with the greatest love in the universe. It was so freeing.

My parents accepted the payment as well. They prayed to God as I had done. And their lives, too, have taken on a totally new perspective. It's amazing to think that they would let me travel away from them, knowing I would probably have only six months to live. And you can imagine how difficult it's been for them to just stand there with their hands by their side and just watch as their son dies in front of them. There's nothing they can do. But now the only reason they can deal with that, and the only reason I can handle it, is that we each have Christ in our lives.

Living with HIV: Knowing God

Can I give you the chance to accept God's payment for you? If you had the cure for AIDS, I'm sure you would offer it to me. I know how to get to eternity, that it's a gift from God. So I'm trying to offer it to you. If you are going through something that you just can't handle on your own, and you would like someone there who will stand by you and pick you up when the whole world is kicking you and stabbing you in the back, then I ask you to please pray a prayer with me right now. This won't be some magic phrase or incantation. And it's not a big emotional trip or thought. Rather, it's beginning a relationship with God. And just like any relationship, it takes time. It takes effort. But I urge you: if you really feel like you need this, don't pass up the opportunity. It's free.

So I'm going to pray a prayer. Prayer has nothing to do with closing your eyes or bowing your head or folding your hands or shouting "Alleluia!" Nothing like that. It's an attitude of your heart. It is saying to God, "God, I've broken the law. I've pushed You away. And I want to come back by accepting Your payment." If you feel like you need that, please pray this prayer right now. "Lord Jesus, I need You. I thank You for dying on the cross for me. I ask that You come into my life and make me the kind of person I've always wanted to be. Amen."

Now, if you just sincerely prayed that prayer, you've begun the greatest relationship you can ever have--a relationship with God. And it doesn't stop with a prayer. A relationship with God is a process. It means daily trusting God, trying to do not necessarily what you want or what feels good, but what you think God wants you to do. I've had people say to me, "Christianity works for you and that's great. Couldn't other religions work for other people?" That's a good question. I believe God gave us one way to come to Him--through Jesus' death on the cross--even though there's an element of truth in other religions. They are largely moral codes--"Do this seven times a day and this will bring you closer to God." But if you're trying to work toward God, how much work is enough? How do you know when you've reached that point?

I think that's where Christianity finds its truth: in the grace of God. Knowing we can never reach God's perfection, we can rely on God's forgiveness. The goal is to walk in His path, even though we will screw up a lot. You make mistakes, but you keep going, you keep working at it, trusting in God's grace. You pray. You read the Bible. You find out what God wants from you. Someday you'll reach peace. It may not be until you reach heaven, but then it's forever.

All He Had To Offer

Here is a story, reported to be true, about a nine-year-old boy who lived in a rural town in Tennessee.

His house was in a poor area of the community. A church there had a bus Ministry that came knocking on his door one Saturday afternoon.

The child came to answer the door and greeted the bus Pastor. The bus Pastor asked if his parents were home and the small boy told him that his parents take off every weekend and leave him at home to take care of his little brother.

The bus Pastor could not believe what the child said and asked him to repeat it.

The youngster gave the same answer and the bus Pastor asked to come in and talk with him. They went into the living room and sat down on an old couch with the foam and springs exposed. The bus Pastor asked the child, "Where do you go to church?"

The young boy surprised the visitor by replying, "I've never been to church in my whole life." The bus Pastor thought to himself about the fact that his church was less than three miles from the child's house.

"Are you sure you have never been to church?" he asked again. "I'm sure I haven't, " came his answer.

Then the bus Pastor said, "Well, son, more important than going to church, have you ever heard the greatest love story ever told?" and then he proceeded to share the Gospel with this little nine-year-old boy.

The young lad's heart began to be tenderized and at the end of the bus pastor's story, the bus Pastor asked if the boy wanted to receive this free gift from God.

The youngster exclaimed, "OF COURSE!" The child and the bus Pastor got on their knees and the lad invited Jesus into his little heart and received the free gift of salvation.

They both stood up and the bus Pastor asked if he could pick the child up for church the next morning. "Sure," the nine year old replied.

The bus Pastor got to the house early the next morning and found the lights off.

He let himself in, snaked his way through the house, and found the little boy asleep in his bed. He woke up the little boy and his brother and helped get them dressed. They got on the bus and ate a doughnut for breakfast on their way to church.

Keep in mind that this boy had never been to church before. The church was a real big one. The little child just sat there, clueless of what was going on. A few minutes into the service, these tall unhappy guys walked down to the front and picked up some wooden plates.

One of the men prayed and the child, with utter fascination, watched them walk up and down the aisles. He still did not know what was going on. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, it hit the child what was taking place.

These people must be giving money to Jesus. He then reflected on the free gift of life he had received just twenty-four hours earlier. He immediately searched his pockets, front and back, and could not find a thing to give Jesus.

By this time the offering plate was being passed down his aisle and, with a broken heart, he just grabbed the plate and held on to it. He finally let go and watched it pass on down the aisle. He turned around to see it passed down the aisle behind him. And then his eyes remained glued on

the plate as it was passed back and forth, back and forth all the way to the rear of the sanctuary.

Then he had an idea. This little nine-year-old boy, in front of God and everybody, got up out of his seat. He walked about eight rows back, grabbed the usher by the coat, and asked to hold the plate one more time.

Then he did the most astounding thing I have ever heard of.

He took the plate, sat it on the carpeted church floor, and stepped into the center of it. As he stood there, he lifted his little head up and said, "Jesus, I don't have anything to give you today, but just me.

I give you me!"

Going to Heaven!

At the age of ten, I did not know a thing about the Lord and all of his glory. The year of my fifth grad I had gotten the worst news ever, my mother had cancer. I remember when my brother asked the question that made my heart jump, he asked "Mom, can you die from this?" In her answer she replied that it could kill her, but God will be with her every step of the way.

My mother ended up passing away only months after. I was so scared to be a girl without a motherly figure around. I told my father that I wanted to attend a church whenever we got settled into our new house that we had moved into, just after my mothers death. He agreed, but it was so hard adjusting, that all we had time to do was worry.

My father started to date, and soon after I had a step-mother. She attended the First Church of God, in which now I attend. I started to attend there once in a while, whenever I had time. Now, I can't miss a chance to be in the house of God whenever I can.

This past summer, one of the boys who was a former member of the youth group i attend, was killed in a car accident. That was the big slap in the face from God. Jason had told his mother, just weeks before his death, that if he were to die tomorrow, he knew he was goin to heaven.

I have been shown so much heartbreak through my Mother's and Jason's death.....but now all I see that has come out of it, is rejoicing. I am now aware that I am a child of God, and I am now a very active member in my church at the age of 14.

I didn't know how to go on without my mother around....but what has gotten me through it, is knowing that I will get to be with her for eternity some day!

Don't Rush...Just Trust

When our day is filled with plans...we must remember to stay in his hands.
We must remember that only he can know...how our day will really go.
We must not yield to our own way...but abandon our will to him and pray.
He alone is who we must trust when we feel the urge to rush.
When we're tired and feel alone...we must take refuge at his throne.
So often things tell us to rush...while there's a gentle voice saying..."just trust"
His love in us yet abounds...through all our ups and all our downs.
So when you leave your house today remember to ask yourself "Did I pray?"
Remember when life presses you to rush...Take a coin from your pocket and read the words that say "In God We Trust"

Be Satisfied With Me

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone
To have a deep soul relationship with another
To be loved thoroughly and exclusively

But, God, to a Christian says: No, not until you are satisfied, filled and content with being loved by Me alone with giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me alone discovering that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found will you be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you.

You will never be united with one another until you are united with Me. Exclusively for anyone or anything else Exclusively for any other desires or longings I want you to stop wishing and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing

One that you cannot imagine I want you to have the best. Please allow Me to bring it to you.
You must keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things. Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I am, keep learning the things that I want to tell you. You just wait, wait. That’s all.

Don’t be anxious.
Don’t worry
Don’t look around at the things that others have gotten or that I have given them
Don’t look at the things you think you want

You just keep looking off and away to Me, or you’ll miss what I want to show you , and when you are ready I will surprise you with a love more beautiful than you could dream of. You see, until you are ready and until the one I have for you is ready, You will never be able to experience the great love that is waiting for you (I am working even at this very moment to have both of you ready at the same time)

Until you are both satisfied with Me and the life I’ve prepared for you, you won’t be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me, and this is the perfect love.
And dear one, I want you to have the most wonderful love. I want you to see in the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me and enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty, and perfection and love that I offer you with Myself.

Know that I love you utterly
I am God ………
Believe it and be satisfied.

"Be Still and know that I am God" - Psalm 46:10

Love

My grandmother passed away on Christmas day 2002. She was 68 years old and had multiple health problems. A few days after her funeral, I was at her home with my grandfather. We were looking at a wall of pictures they have in the den. He picked up a picture of him and his wife on their wedding day. They were both young, slim, beautiful, happy people. He looked at that picture and then he looked at me and said, "This is how I saw her every day of my life." At that moment, I understood what love is.

Evermore

by Hillsong United
.Lost for words with all to say
Lord you take my breath away
Still my soul, my soul cries out
forYou are holy
II.And as I look upon Your name
Circumstances fade away
Now Your glory steals my heart
You are holy
You are holy
You are holy Lord
We say!
Chorus:Evermore my heart,
my heart will say
Above all, I live for Your glory
And even if my world falls I will say
Above all, I live for Your glory(I live for Your glory)
(Repeat I, II and Chorus)
With all my heart I'll say
I'm living for Your name
With all to give You praise
We're living for Your glory Lord
And evermore my heart, my heart will sayAbove all, I live for Your glory
And even if my world falls I will say
Above all, I live for Your glory(Repeat Chorus)
Open up the heavens, let Your glory fall
Open up by heart, we would know You (Repeat)
Open up by heart..Open up by heart..Oh, Jesus..Open up the heavens, let Your glory fall
Open up by heart, we would know You
Open up by heart..Open up by heart..Jesus..Jesus..Jesus..

To The Ends Of The Earth

Hillsong United
Love unfailing
Overtaking my heart
You take me in
Finding peace again
Fear is lost
In all you are
And I would give the world to tell Your story
Cause I know that You've called me
I know that You've called me
I've lost myself for good within Your promise
I won't hide it
I won't hide it
Jesus, I believe in You
And I would go to the ends of the earth
To the ends of the earth
For You alone are the Son of God
And all the world will see
That You are God
You are God

Now That You're Near

Hillsong United
(verse 1)
I stand before You, Lord
And give You all my praise
Your love is all I need
Jesus, You're all I need
(verse 2)
My life belongs to You
You gave Your life for me
Your grace is all I need
Jesus, You're all I need
(pre chorus)
Hold me in Your arms
Never let me go
I wanna spend eternity with You
(chorus)
And now that You're near
Everything is different
Everything's so different, Lord
And I know I'm not the same
My life You've changed
And I wanna be with You
I wanna be with You
(bridge)
And I will sing for You always
'Cause in Your presence God is where I wanna stay