Under attack. Fighting for air. Desperate for His strength. Full armor and ready. You know when your heart is heading in the right direction. Like any war, when the enemy feels a threat they increase their efforts. How easy to succumb to the mounting attacks against your desire to be faithful. To stumble and slide back to the darkness. Yet, your training has given you hope. You have seen His light. You have felt His grace. You have heard His word. Moved by the Holy Spirit to cleansing tears, a once bound soul is lifted to majestic heights. On His wings we are risen and welcomed to His kingdom. A soldier alone in a mine field can not help but feel fear and anxiety. But, a soldier merged with an army is unstoppable and determined. Battles are lost and wounds are inevitable, but the war is already won. We stand shoulder to shoulder and move with a force. Not leaving another to fall behind. While we may feel as if we are in a mine field, the reality is that, just behind us is a voice ... a hand ... a glance that says, you are not alone, I will not forsake you. His is my shelter and though I may be unsettled for an instance, His love builds up my strength, and I am able to fight this emerging battle for eternity. Blessed to be His child and forever more at peace within His hands.

We are ever and constantly changing. Physically, chemically, mentally, emotionally. With this constant change there is inevitable growth. But in what directions do we grow? We have choices in this. We can grow towards the world, or towards the word of God. When we sit idle in our faith we lose the ability to allow God to draw us near. It is when we search and question the word of God that we are able to see Truth. It is when we discuss and learn from one another that we grow closer to God.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17, NIV

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105, NIV

Praise God for allowing me to learn from others. Thank you for putting Godly people in my path and allowing me to get to know them and to learn from them.

I just woke up from a dream. I was walking along a path. It made no difference which way that I walked ... forward, backward, or to either side. With each step the path moved. My balance was tested and so was my footing. Somehow I remained standing.

When I woke up I went to the Word and found this passage by David in 2 Samuel 22:3-4
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior-from violent men you save me. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.

No matter what crosses our path in life, God is there to make sure that our footing remains strong. When we build our lives upon Him, the foundation is firm and strong. He is our stronghold. I continued to look and found this passage as well from Psalm 9:9.
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

We don't always cry out for Him in our times of trouble. We turn to our own strength. This is when our footing is unsure. To remain steady and balances we need to turn to God when we are weak, scared and in trouble. He will rescue us. He will protect us. There is a peace in knowing that He is our protector.

Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way. She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Hosea 2:6,7

Tonight I read chapter 7 in Captivating. It is about romance. How each woman longs to be romanced and passionately loved. The scriptures above were in that chapter. God will keep us from, better yet, He protects us from those things that try to separate us from Him. The main thing, yes, it is us. We often look for love, romance and passion from people and things that will never be able to fulfill us. There is a space in our hearts that can only be filled by God and His passionate love for us. " You are made for romance, and the only one who can offer it to you consistently and deeply is Jesus." (p.125) My heart was wounded as a young girl. This wound has never healed. This is what my wound has said to me: You are too needy. You are overwhelming. Because of your choices, you are less then others. Something else is always going to be more alluring than you. Search after search for someone to make that hurt go away has always ended making me feel worse than I started out. It is because I have looked to the wrong Lover. God holds all that can heal those wounds my heart has sustained. It is only when I run to Him and give my heart to Him, will I be able to find a love in another that I can truly enjoy for what it is and not what I need it to do for me. That is not how we heal our hearts. Others and their love can not heal those little girl wounds. I am a woman, and still feel like the little girl that is desperate for attention. I am ready to fall in love. I am ready to experience devotion and passion. To feel intimacy with my God. To begin healing my heart. To forgive and release anger for time lost.

God thank you for allowing me to see you. For giving me little glimpses of your heart towards me. For sunsets and the water. Stars and the music of birds singing in the morning. These are the most precious gifts that I could receive. May my heart longs for them and may it also give back to you. Thank you for aligning my heart with yours. Thank you for speaking to me and filling my soul with the Holy Spirit. Thank you for loving me with a passion that is just as desperate for me as I am for you. With out you I am lost. You are forever my true love. You have brought me to the desert to teach me of this kind of love. To show me how true love really lives within us. Thank you for being jealous and stealing me from those things that drew me farther from you. Thank you for continuing to teach me and for helping me grow in the relationships that mean the most to me. Thank you for allowing me to love more deeply than I ever have before.