We all Need.....

This past weekend was a good weekend as well as a draining weekend. Rick and I had the chance to hang out on Saturday morning and just talk and cuddle. We needed the down time together. We have been on the run for so many weeks that our batteries were going dead. So we drank coffee slowly, we talked, we went out to brunch. Sweet day.

This weekend I was honored to have a part in many conversations both face to face and online. As I woke up praying for these people and there situations one thing became very clear. They all needed one thing... Love. No matter what the issue was underneath it all they were all crying out for someone to love them and hug them and listen to them. Isn't that what we all need? Someone to hold us in their arms and say I am here, I care, tell me about your troubles.

God is there for us 24/7 but sometimes we also need a physical touch to connect us. God has put us here on earth to love one another. Isn't that what Jesus said the 2nd greatest commandment is ....love your neighbor as yourself....

I know that I need love and hugs and someone to say I am here for you. Whether it is a friend struggling with marriage issues, a teenager who is fighting against knowing God, a teenager worried about their life and family or a pastor who is learning how to fit into and serve a congregation; we all want to be loved.

I know that God has given be the gift of hugs and it is a honor to be able to share this with as many people as I can. Maybe you need a hug today?

God and the people in my life!

I have been thinking about life today and what God wants from me. My first love is my relationship with God. Nothing else is as important is that relationship. Nothing that happens is without God knowing and being my strength to hang on to. My trust is knowing that He is my rock. My next love is my best friend, my husband and partner, Rick. He is the gift that God brought into my life. We have fought, cried, loved, hurt, made up, had fun and grown closer over the years. We are never done learning more about each other and growing closer to each other as we grow closer to God. He is our center.

I have my wonderful son. I so love getting to know him and watching him grow and change and become a man of God. He is a gift in my life. I have a beautiful daughter waiting to welcome me into heaven. She is my girl who will welcome me home into eternity. I can't wait for that blessed day. In God's time not mine!

Then we have our friends and family.

How do you define family? I have almost 100 kids! I have so many sisters that I can reach out to and love. These are not family only by birth but by adoption. Some are family by being adopted into God's family, by birth and by marriage. But the "family" that I am talking about is also those relationships that have happened when we adopted each other into our hearts and lives. What would I do without these sweet relationships. They sustain me, lift me up and energize me. God has blessed me with a large family of my heart that I have always wanted.

We all need each other. We need to know we are loved, needed and missed. We all need to hear "you matter". We all need to pray for each other. God created a hole in our heart that only he can fill. He also created a need in our soul for relationships.

Thank you for being my family! I Love you!

hugs! (Happiness under God's smile)