Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
“Rejoice
in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.
For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
Luke 6:20-23
Leap for joy
Happy Leap Day, Girlfriends!
Praise to God for the warm weather here in Chicagoland--He gave us an extra day in February AND cranked up the temperature to boot!
I am going to step outside for a long walk today, reading a book and enjoying the breeze. How will you spend your extra day? Whatever you choose, I pray God's presence will be felt.
Whether you are soaking in the sunshine or battling a personal time of darkness, my desire is that you LEAP for joy today. God is good, and His promises for a great reward in heaven stand. As Jesus states in the passage above from Luke, Blessed are you! How can our hearts not leap with joy when we consider His promises are for eternity, where days in a year do not matter?
Leap of faith
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1)
The book I am reading while walking today is I Still Believe, the autobiography of Christian singer/songwriter Jeremy Camp. Jeremy wrote the song "Walk By Faith" after losing his young bride to cancer after only a year of marriage. The raw and revealing lyrics to his songs show the leaps of faith he has taken in his life. His book also details God's faithfulness through Jeremy's journey.
I Still Believe stirs my heart. Now girlfriends, we are women who cry over great love stories, but what leaps off the pages and into my soul is more than a tale of love, loss, and longing. The members of Jeremy's family traveled rocky roads, eventually reaching out for God's grace. Once under His wings, their concentration and commitment to Him during even more challenging circumstances amazes me. Suffering did not cease once they were saved, but hopelessness did. Because they walk by faith and because they still believe, Jeremy and his family know "There will be a day with no more tears, No more pain, and no more fears. There will be a day when the burdens of this place will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face." (There Will Be A Day, Camp)
Girlfriends, that is more than enough reason for me to leap with joy--won't you jump with me? Whether your vertical is zero or thirty inches, it matters not: Truly, God sees your bounce. Let's make this a record-breaking Leap Day.
Love you all!
