Hey Friend,
My children have known me long enough to figure out that "words" and "spending time with me" are two of love's languages that speak to the depths of my heart. Perhaps that's why I was so excited that my daughter's Mother's Day gift to me was not a "tangible" gift I could open, but instead an "experience" that we would enjoy together.
My daughter and I, both, are/were dancers. As for the gift of artistry through paint, pencil, and watercolors...well, we came up a little short in that department. Fortunately, however, we both love to laugh at ourselves so when we arrived at "Wine & Design" for our adventure, we both chuckled in unison.
Nothing like a glass of wine to unleash your inner Picasso or Monet. The next three hours flew by. While attempting to follow the teacher's instruction, we chatted secretly like two giddy school girls whispering in class. Somehow they instinctively knew to put us toward the back where we wouldn't disturb anyone.
I helped her "smush" and "twirl" her hydrangea leaves. She helped me give my mason jar a 3D appearance. Sometimes we just sat quietly, side by side, working away. Then, as if on cue, we'd turn to each other, make a similar face, and laugh about the acrylic mess we were creating.
This was truly one of my most favorite gifts ever and my daughter was certainly a child after my heart.
After he (God) had removed him (Saul), he raised up David to be their king, concerning whom he also testified and said, "I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will." (Acts 13:22)
In reading God's word as to why He chose David to be king, I am drawn to the word "do". God chose David because He knew that David could be counted on to "do" His will.
I want to be a child after God's heart, so I try very hard to do His will. Sometimes I try too hard...as if "doing" is the only way to speak to God's heart.
What if God has more than one love language?
What if one of His love languages is having His children spend time with Him?
I so enjoyed being in my daughter's presence. I am made in God's image, so what if perhaps, God is a parent like me, who simply delights in being in His childrens' presence?
Since God and I can't just cruise on over to Wine & Design, what then? Where do I go and what do I do to be in His holy presence?
My first instinct is to "Go"...
"I have set the Lord continually before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh will dwell securely." (Psalm 16:8,9)
I love going to places that remind me of His majesty and power. The crashing waves and salty spray of the ocean remind me of His boundless and powerful love. I am the sand and His love never stops washing in over me...wave upon wave.
The purple-hued mountains remind me that His ways are higher than my ways. I am comforted to know that, like the mountains that have stood the test of time, God's strength and comfort can be counted on yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is the Rock on whom stand.
My next instinct is to "Come"...
"And without faith it is impossible to please him for he who comes to God must believe he is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
In order to "come" to God, I must believe that He IS the great "I Am". Secondly, I must believe that He rewards those who seek Him. I can come with my praise and my thanksgiving, but I can also come with my fear, my doubt, and my questions. He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
Jesus told us, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37)
Drink what? His word...living water...the only truth that quenches our soul. By His Word and through my prayers I come into His presence.
I don't know why, but my last instinct is "to be"...
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
When Jesus left to be with His Father in Heaven, he told his disciples that he would give them a comforter...a guide, to be with them always. Why is it, then, that my last instinct is to turn inward to the Holy Spirit (God's very spirit IN me)?
I believe that, paradoxically, the hardest route to come into His presence is perhaps the simplest...we come into His presence by "being still" and in being still we begin to "know" that He is God.
His Holy Spirit living within us ushers us into God's presence.
The Holy Spirit (if you are a believer) dwells constantly within you.
The Holy Spirit, constantly there, waiting to usher you into God's presence.
So, back to my original question, "Are you a child after God's heart?" David, he made many mistakes, but he loved the Lord with all his heart and sought to do God's will.
David, in the Psalms, also wrote the words, "Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere." He knew the closeness, the joy, the comfort of dwelling in God's presence.
Seek God...learn His love languages...spend time in His presence and let Him delight in being with you.
Be blessed...and please see the opportunity to sponsor a beautiful child below...
Dear Heavenly Father, O how I want to be a child after your heart. Help me to do your will, but even more so, enable me to be still and let the Holy Spirit who lives within me usher me into Your presence. Let me experience You in my coming and in my going, but especially in just being. Thank you for creating me for the sole purpose of being in relationship with You. Let that be my greatest desire. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Please read on...
Meet Adil: Thanks to your generosity, he is now a student at Redeemer Christian School!! Just $10/month can bring one child off the streets and into
at atmosphere of love and hope. Would you please consider sponsoring one of these precious children and let them experience the love of Jesus and the hope that an education brings?
Meet Nawaz and Muskan: They are brother and sister. Muskan's name means "smile" in Urdu. We would love to put a smile on her face. Though they are blessed to have both mother and father, their father cannot find work and they are destitute. Their family can barely put food on the table, and often they don't, let alone give their children the hope of an education.
For just $10/month you can sponsor one of these precious children. They truly are the "least of these". If you would like to sponsor Nawaz or Muskan and surround them with the love of Jesus and the hope found at RCS,
please contact me: bevduncan103@yahoo.com
or
Send contributions to: Bev Rihtarchik (put RCS in the memo line)
103 Silver Lining Lane
Cary, NC 27513
*Note: RCS is not yet, a registered 501c3 organization for tax purposes. Funds for legal fees to do so are not yet in our limited budget. I personally promise every penny goes directly to the school and to the children.
Thank you!
