- Dwight L. Moody

The meaning of obvious is easily perceived or understood; clear, self-evident, or apparent.

The word obvious can be found in twenty-one places in the Bible. 

As I look back on my journey I found so many wonderful signs from God. Some were so obvious even a blind man could see them!!!! If this is true why did it take an encounter with the Holy Spirit to see them!!! Are we so busy that we miss the obvious signs, messages, and wonders of God??   

I must admit, I too am guilty!!! Until my encounter, I skipped through life missing all the important clues... I ask myself why? Why didn't anyone tell me of His undying love and affection? Why did I not know that you had a "personal relationship" with God?  Was it so personal you could not share Him?? Why didn't anyone share their personal story? Perhaps they did and I missed all the clues... It was my fault I was not listening with my soulful ears. I was blinded by our world!!! I was spiritually clueless?? I was not ready to open my heart to His spiritual presences? I was too busy... 

When we finally start to see Him do we become closet lovers of Christ?? Do we stay there afraid of what others may think?? Will we be labeled as strange, perhaps a little eccentric, or even crazy... 

Can people who do not understand our walk ever know that sharing God and His love is the greatest gift we can ever feel and share?  I think I would be safe in saying many shun believers for lack of knowledge? Or walk away from a soul on fire for Christ... Because of fearing the unknown!!

The best example I have heard, I heard from my mother. If I teach you about childbirth from a textbook and I tell you of my experience you would have a clinical understanding of the process. But until you feel that tiny life growing inside you. Until you feel the pain associated with the miracle of birth. Until you lay your eyes on this miracle's tiny face... You will not fully understand.  

When we have been touched by God’s love it should be obvious... 

It's not a label we wear on our clothes. It's not the act of carrying a Bible to church on Sunday mornings. It's not a bumper sticker on our car!! 

It should be obvious that He has written His name across our hearts.  Because His love is so sweet it is beyond our world and it's so difficult to contain. It should show on our faces... It is heard in the loving words spoken from our lips ...it should show in our kindness and compassionate actions... 

It should be so obvious that you have been set apart.  Chosen... Chosen to carry His name boldly!! Carry Him with pride!!! Valor!!! And Honor!!! Shout it from the mountain tops... For the world to witness. 

In our quest to seek approval from others do we miss God’s clues?? Do we hide our love? 

I believe when we come in contact with other souls they should walkway knowing without a doubt that we have been kissed by God... 

Be Bold. Be loved. Be obvious... Do not be a closet lover of Christ!!! Let Him set you Free!!! 

To go boldly where others before you have traveled...

It's Him. He is the one who frees our souls!!  ❤❤❤ and opens our fearful hearts!! And yes gives us the words and boldness to share His love. 

“Lord God, unlock my heart, unlock my lips, and I will overcome with my joyous praise! The fountain of your pleasure is found in the sacrifice of my shattered heart before you.... Psalms 51:15, 17 TPT

 Everyone who heard about it kept thinking about what had happened and asked, "What will this child become?" because it was obvious that the hand of the Lord was with him. Like 1:66

You show that you are a letter from Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

2 Corinthians 3:3

Look at what is obvious. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself of this: Just as he belongs to Christ, so do we. 2 Corinthians 10:7

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer 

Bible collaboration - Joann Turnbull 

Be A Light (Lyric Video)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=oaU5h9FTcfc&feature=share9

“Love is not love until love’s vulnerable.” - Theodore Roethke...

Meaning of mute refraining from speech or temporarily speechless. 

The word mute is referred to in approximately 28 instances. 

Hold that thought!! What the cat got your tongue??? I’m speechless!!! 

If I share my feelings or thoughts, some people will think I am not good enough! Or maybe they may think that I am losing my mind?? Feeding my doubts which may factor into negative thoughts?

I don’t know about you but when I look back on my life, I too have had many silent moments... Moments when I did not speak my mind or share my feelings. I retreated many wondered why I did not have anything to say??? I thought, did my opinion really matter? I would find myself gravitating to people who were conversationist so my being quiet became comfortable and that grew into who I had become. I had crafted the art of listening... Which isn't really a bad thing.

But I became aloof and only shared my inner thoughts with a chosen few... Trust and loyalty are traits I deeply value. However, like many of us, I fell into that snare.  And cared too much what others would think... 

So with time I bound my heart and kept my soul buried deep within... 

I indeed found myself dancing on the edge of being mute...... 

But one day everything changed... I can only say I was chosen to be loved far beyond my own understanding... I still do not understand why things happened the way they did...

However, I will admit in the beginning, I felt a burning desire to share this amazing love. To be honest it was a struggle to contain it and spilled out many times. Many people did not understand. This was not my normal, it seemed that my behavior was changing.

What they did not realize is, I had been mute for so long, That I learned to fly under the radar... You could say I became invisible. I now was like a fish out of water? I had lost the ability to openly share without fear of judgment? 

Such a dilemma, I had been given this great love but my insecurities were raging. I felt bewildered and confused ... and I cried many tears... The struggle was real... What would others think?? But this LOVE was intensely beautiful and much greater than any fear...  

And my Savior did exactly what His name described. He saved me from me and He delivered such a beautiful life lesson for me to experience and to share. 

He loved me through my doubts and sang a beautiful love song to my soul... He opened my heart and freed my soul... 

This newfound love and freedom loosened my tongue... 

He gave me this message for a reason... This message is about greater love. He sings His love song to all mankind... Listen with your soulful ears...and hear His voice...

He has asked us to love beyond boundaries... We are all not so different... We all bleed the same... We will struggle with things in our lives. 

But in the end, we all crave to be accepted and loved by our Creator... It’s a love not of this world!!!! It’s a LOVE that surpasses all human understanding... 

I am no longer mute ... because to share Him and His Love is the greatest adventure we can share in this lifetime... The only time now that I am speechless is when I can feel His loving presence... I can only close my eyes and breathe Him in ... and bask in the moment... and my heart whispers I love you, thank you for the gift of you! 

He WOWs me #speechless 

It's Him. It's always HIM... But now it's you and me... He gave us a voice ...share Him... your life will never be the same. 

And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. Luke 1:64 

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer 

Inspiring Music by (youtube)

Naomi Scott - Speechless Lyrics (From Aladdin 2019)

Christmas is one of the most celebrated  Christian holidays of the year, but what is the true meaning of Christmas? It is the celebration of the beautiful birth of Jesus Christ our Savior .. but is there more? 

 Christmas appears zero times in the Bible. But in the New International Version of the Bible, “Christ” appears 453 times! 

In order to understand the word CHRISTmas I decided to look at the two syllables that make up this word we have grown to celebrate annually...

The word is a shortened form of "Christ's mass", or "Cristes Maesse" as it was first recorded in 1038. 

Christ was the title given to Jesus. It was not His given name. It actually comes from the Greek word Christos which means "anointed one" or "chosen one.". 

The second syllable “mass”  comes from The English word “Mass” which comes from the Latin word missa, which means to be “sent.” This Latin word has been used since the 6th or 7th century. The mass is the gathering of people to celebrate the life of Jesus. This practice is the ritual we know as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper.

So to summarize the word CHRISTmas: it is a word that was given to a Christian event that has celebrated the birth of Jesus since  Dec. 25, 336 AD.  

It is the annual celebration of “anointed” one. The style of this celebration is the drinking of wine and eating of bread to remember our beautiful Savoir. 

So how and when did this monumental day become so commercialized? When did we decide to give this “gift“ an annual birthday celebration? Do we even celebrate its true significance?  Or do we get caught up in all the materialistic trappings? 

This tiny newborn life that we celebrate on Christmas, comes from the very essence of God our Creator. We know Him as the son of God.  This beautiful soul came to earth to live and taste life. He wanted to understand first-hand man's journey and how to live life as a human. He wanted to teach us a value system that would bless our lives... He is our living example of how to conduct ourselves with others... He allowed men to take His life in order to offer us a way home and to clean our transgressions before our Heavenly Father... He came to us as a gift with a mission... 

So as we break bread, and pour the wine in celebration ... Take a few moments.. and put those shiny new gifts aside.. and let’s bow our heads ... and truly thank Him for being the reason we are blessed to gather today... He is the reason we celebrate life... It’s because of Him that we have been able to share in God's human anointing...  We can further discover in 1 Samuel 16:13; Matthew 25:1-13 that the act of anointing symbolizes the Holy Spirit. 

So are we to understand CHRISTmas... Is Jesus Christ the anointed one.. He is God, the man, that has been sent to us as the deliverer and He reigns as promised under the title of Messiah.. the expected king. 

Mass is the gathering of the masses.. To share in the beautiful gift of life. I can only bow my head and thank Him ... The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit for His abundant love. His abundant grace and His patience as I unravel the many clues He has given us. 

It makes me smile when I see how He has woven every celebration, every word, every gift... to Him... Because He knows that our lives are much like a butterfly ... We come to earth and stay in the dormant state of our cocoon... Until the day, His love breaks our spirit free and we become alive... This transformation begins our migration home to Our Creator. 

Today I celebrate His life, His Love. His gift of the anointed one Jesus Christ...  He is my masterpiece of splendid wonder... I appreciate Him beyond this life... He WOWs me... 

It’s Him, It’s always Him 

Merry CHRISTmas 

Hmm, 🤔 More clues to this amazing heavenly puzzle?  ...are we ready?? 

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; Revelations 19:7 ESV 

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). Matthew 1:23

“Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.” Revelation 3:21-22 NLT

Photography & Written by Lori Garner 

Bible Verses from KJV, ESV / Sinner's Prayer

Inspiring music from YouTube 

You're Here Francesca Battistelli - Mary & Jesus Christmas Music Video

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us.” (1 John 4:10)

The meaning of personal - of or concerning one's private life, relationships, and emotions rather than matters connected with one's public or professional career:

The word personal is referred to 121 times in the Bible.  

But what does it mean? Many of us have been taught that each man, woman, and child has their own space. And unless you are invited in, you must stay out or be ready to defend your position. 

(It could prove to be a painful experience) 

Like me, many of you have heard over the years we must have a “personal relationship with Jesus” to reap the benefits of His gift of life and love.  So, my question becomes ... How? Why? Where? And when? 

1. How - Just how deep do you want to feel His LOVE? 

2. Why - Because we will never be complete without Him.

3. Where - We think of a physical location! But it is a spiritual walk of the heart and soul. 

4. When - I feel the sooner, the better. Like many, I have had a late start but now feel I am in the race. 

I believe there are degrees of a “personal relationship” with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  

I can only speak of my experience. And how my walk went from head knowledge to feeling Him stirring in my heart to a love I carry deep within my soul. I will simplify them into Personal Phases. 

Phase 1

Over my many non-religious years, I knew the story of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; it was a clinical understanding derived from Hollywood Movies and the very occasional visit to some church for reasons other than learning about the Trinity. 

I knew of Him on a superficial level. 

Phase II 

I had a Holy Spirit encounter that planted a desire in my heart to know more about Him, and the chase began. He became an important player in my daily activities. I began including Him more and more each day. I spoke to Him like a friend I have had all my life, and a trusting relationship began to grow as I discovered deeper details about Him. 

My heart and mind began to open to the possibilities of a greater love.  It's a love greater than I have ever known. I began to appreciate His beauty, grace, and unconditional love. As I study Him daily, I find He is teaching me more about who I truly am. He has freed my bound heart and given me wings to fly.  I say I am a work in progress. And He is not finished with me yet. Isn't it a beautiful thought that our growing knowledge of Him will never end? 

Phase III 

Like any relationship, the more you invest in yourself, the more vulnerable you become and the deeper you let them penetrate your heart.  At that very moment, you realize you are free to surrender your heart and fall in love. It's no different with God, but His love is not of this world. It's a love greater than you have ever known. It's HIM! 

It’s a spiritual love greater than we have ever experienced. It’s a deep love from our soul. It’s when God becomes as important as the air we breathe.  We will find that place of intimacy in our soul.  We may be moved to tears of joy. We will feel this indescribable love, consume your soul. And life will burst into a beautiful rainbow of brilliant colors. 

You will find that this intimate place is reserved for a party of two you and your Creator. He knew that one day we would find Him waiting there to love us on such an amazing spiritual level. He has instilled a hunger within us from birth. To crave an intimate communion with Him that only He can satisfy. 

A friend asked me today who in the Bible had an intimate relationship with God and how we know that they did. 

I will turn to a favorite quote by Nicholas Sparks. 

The best love is the kind that awakens the soul and makes us reach for more, that plants a fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. And that's what you've given me. That's what I'd hoped to give you forever. 

I believe that the ones we have grown to know in the Bible and in our lives have had or are in an intimate relationship with God. Are the ones that show it in their daily lives. With His strength, they forge the way for others. They openly speak of His greater love. They realize they are not perfect but walk in His mercy and grace. Even with doubts, they listen and act on His direction. They are a witness to Him by their actions, and they, above all, share His amazing love with anyone who will listen. 

I found this quote spoke to my soul many months ago. 

To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him is the greatest human achievement. St. Augustine of Hippo

It’s Him; it’s always Him. 

The question becomes just how deep you want your 

"Personal Relationship" with Him to be???

Design & Written by Lori Garner

Photo by nappy from Pexels

Bible Verses From KJV, Easy  /  Sinners prayer 

Inspiring Music: Beckah Shae - Overflow - Lyrics

I can't make people fall in love withJesus, but I can arrange dates…Andy Stanley....

Meaning of dedicated (of a person) devoted to a task or purpose; having single-minded loyalty or integrity.

The word dedicated can be found 25 times in the Bible.

How does He orchestrate happenings in our lives that draw us to clues of discovering more?  

This week I stumbled across a movie called Mary Magdalene. I watched the movie and the next day I discovered that March is woman’s month … hmm 

Many would say that it is just a coincidence. But I have discovered that I love how He works.

Women have played such a significant role in the Bible. But when looking back with the exception of Mary the Mother of Jesus they seem to be overshadowed by the men… 

Do we try to understand the roles and the significance they played in such a male-dominated world?? 

When I began my discovery of Mary Magdalene I knew very little about her. But I soon discovered these facts. 

1. Jesus cast out 7 demons from her. Is it a coincidence that there are 7 deadly sins? (pride, envy, wrath, gluttony, lust, sloth, and greed) hmm

2.She boldly left her family to follow Jesus

3. She was a witness of the crucifixion 
4. She was the first witness of the empty tomb

5. She was mentioned in all four of the Gospels

6. Her amazing story was one of darkness and torment until Jesus freed her from the bondage that raged within her soul… 

I do not want to take away from the important facts, but what impressed me the most, was not only her loyalty to her Savior … But beyond that was her deep love for Him… 

I believe she felt she owed Him her renewed life…

She must have felt spiritual, emotional, and physical death when He was taken from our world.… Losing the one who freed her.. the one who brought light into her dark world… It must have crushed her heart and made her soul bleed… 

But the “good news” was she was the first one to lay eyes on Him at His resurrection. She was the first witness… She was set apart. She was chosen. 

It was a woman that He appeared to first. It was a woman that He trusted with such monumental news. It was a woman that He trusted to share His amazing legacy of love and life beyond death to the world. 

She had such an unwavering trust, deep love, and gratitude for Him. She did not just love Him. But I believe she indeed fell in love with Him… It has been written that there may have been a physical attraction to Jesus. 

But a physical attraction is not necessary to fall in love with our Creator…It’s a much deeper love, it comes from a deep place within our soul... 

As I traveled on this journey I have been blessed to discover a few souls that carry this type of love for Him.  It transcends time, space, and human understanding … It’s a spiritual gift from Him… and Him alone.

I believe we get confused when we try to dissect this love… The hows and whys, the “scientific” result from testing.  

When speaking of the possibilities of Heaven, eternity, and the spiritual realms we will never fully understand. It contains such vastness and depth, just how do we wrap our human mind around it? 

That is why we must open our hearts and trust Him and love Him with the innocence of a child…. 

It’s Him… He WOWs me. 

I urge you… 

Love Him like Mary… love Him with that type of dedication… with that type of depth… fall in love with His soul… take your love to the next level… Don’t keep your love for Him restrained to what our world has deemed as acceptable…  Set your love free… Just as He freed Mary… 

I have discovered when dealing with Him there is always MORE!!! 

Jesus replied: “ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Matthew 22:37 

“Learn this well: Unless you dramatically change your way of thinking and become teachable like a little child, you will never be able to enter in Matthew 18:3 TPT

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 1Peter 1:3 

Photography & Written by Lori Garner

Sinners Prayer

Bible collaboration - Joann Turnbull

inspiring Music by (youtube)

Falling In Love - Phil Wickham (Lyrics)