John 10:10 | itsawonderfilledlife

Posts Tagged ‘John 10:10’

Got a Dementor in Your Life?

Posted in WONDER, tagged dementor, Hope, John 10:10, john 16:22, joy, soul sucking on January 22, 2014| 2 Comments »

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I love having my son in my life.

He and I share some of the coolest debates about action heros (Marvel or DC comics?). He most strongly shares my love of the Narnia stories. We go to all of the action hero movies (Avengers is one of my favorite movies of all time). And, through him, I have experienced the Hobbit for the first time.

Thankfully hubby really isn’t into such frivolous modes of entertainment, so I do not have to share our son in this area.

Lately, my man-child has been enjoying Harry Potter.

I had only read the first book in the series with my eldest daughter when she was young (as a lover of Disney princesses, she had no time for the Harry Potter series).

Regularly I get updates on the storyline, the characters, and the excitement … I do a significant amount of SNA …

smile … nod … agree

I often feel the glazed look come over my face, and pray that I might be able to maintain enough interest to ask appropriate questions, so as to ensure that my precious child know that I love him enough to stay interested in his interests.

The other night the fog lifted and my attention was fully his as he described to me a dementor. According to my man-child a dementor is:

“a non-being that reaps the souls of the living, of happiness, creating much fear and terror and sadness in the minds of the livings bringing them to their darkest memories … they pretty much make you live in your darkest nightmares.”

It really pretty much describes the shortened days of winter for me.

For someone else the dementor might be the process of divorce.

For someone else the dementor might be their present job.

For someone else the dementor might be the mourning of a loved one.

For someone else the dementor might be a struggling relationship.

For someone else the dementor might be a time of illness.

For someone else the dementor might be financial difficulties.

For someone else the dementor might be depression.

For someone else the dementor might me ….. (fill in the blank).

Whatever it might be, at some point in the lives of all, we are faced with a dementor … one “that reaps the souls of the living, of happiness, creating much fear and terror and sadness.”

The dementor reminds me of what Jesus called the thief, in John 10:10, “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

That thief is the dementor of all dementors, the destroyer of all destroyers, the biggest soul-sucker of them all, the Prince of darkness. It is he who sucks the life from us.

Life … the most miraculous gift of all. Through living we uncover our passions, and put them to their best use. Through living we commune with our Creator. Through living we experience joy.

But, Jesus also encourages us, in John 16:22, “now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”

Hope for this day!

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As You Wish

Posted in WONDER, tagged Anniversary, as you wish, John 10:10, Marriage, Princess Bride, unconditional love on October 1, 2013| 6 Comments »

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“One day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying, “as you wish” what he meant was, “I love you.”

“… and even more amazing was the day she realized, she truly loved him back.”

I love The Princess Bride movie. I have never read the book, but I have viewed the movie record times. It is a story that truly has something for everyone … adventure, drama, violence, comedy and romance … all wrapped up at a SciFi format. I love every element of it! The actors who play each part have become those characters, and the lines get repeated in conversations, and even in wedding ceremonies (such as the “mawwiage” scene).

But it is the line, “as you wish” that holds my attention most, especially today, as hubby and I celebrate our twenty-forth wedding anniversary today.

Marriage, really, is so much like the struggles faced by Wesley and Buttercup.

Sometimes there are sword fights, but the swords are our tongues and the hits are with words … the scars are far slower to heal than any physical blow.

Sometimes there are poisons in our drinks in the forms of what we drink that the world keeps offering, such as dissatisfaction, selfishness, arrogance, and pride.

Sometimes there are giants in our way and they might be in the forms of illness, difficulties with conceiving, job problems, financial problems, and more.

Sometimes we push each other down a steep embankment, or would like to, when it seems that we no longer know that man or woman who we married.

Sometimes we are surrounded by the enemy, and it seems that our enemy is our spouse.

Sometimes we have been tortured by regrets … maybe even the regret of having said, ‘I do’ in the first place. But regrets can come in any form that leads our hearts to dissatisfaction.

Sometimes we are temporarily paralyzed … with fear.

Sometimes there really are ROUS (rodents of unusual size) that attack your loved one, but they might be found in the form of nasty neighbors, beastly bosses, sarcastic soccer moms, malicious church members or repulsive Canadian Revenue workers (or so I’ve heard).

Always, there is an evil king, who is out to destroy you and your love, in the form of Satan who is out to “steal and kill and destroy …” (John 10:10a)

But, like Wesley and Buttercup, we have the foundation of “as you wish” as the pervading theme of our marital lives.

Whenever Buttercup ordered her farm-boy, Wesley to do a task for her, his only response was “as you wish.” He did not whine and complain, he did not state his rights, he did not compare her to other girls … he simply fulfilled her request … selflessly. Eventually the meaning of “as you wish” (I love you) was understood in the heart of Buttercup, and her requests were no longer orders, by favors accompanied by ‘please’ (perhaps her own version of “as you wish”). In time, Wesley’s choice to love Buttercup unconditionally, and selflessly created an intense response of the same from she to him.

In twenty-four years of marriage, I have blown it over and over, and hubby and I have experienced many struggles … some brought on by the enemy, but many brought on by our inability to … serve each other, with an “as you wish” attitude.

To have an “as you wish” attitude is to serve without expectation of reciprocation.

To have an “as you wish” attitude is to never give up when it gets difficult.

To have an “as you wish” attitude is to always think the best of the intentions of our spouse.

To have an “as you wish” attitude is to say I love you in every little thing we do for the other.

After all:

“This is true love … you think this happens everyday?”

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Abundance

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged 2 Corinthians 8:8-15, abundance, abundant life, abundant living, equality, give, John 10:10, Poverty, Praying, sharing the wealth, wealth on July 10, 2012| 1 Comment »

We live in abundance!

The reality of North American life is that we live lives of abundance.

The way we often see it, abundance is about personal prosperity, wealth, and power, and we can credit where we live, resourcefulness, and opportunities.

We can, of course, also credit the God who breathed life into our lungs, and gave us our existence. In John 10:10, Jesus said, “I came that they (that means all people) may have life and have it abundantly.”

There is a dichotomy among Christians regarding abundance. There are those who pray for abundance, and there are those who pray for only their needs to be met.

I recently heard someone speak of abundance, and what he said was, “God calls us to abundant living, not just sufficient. Sufficient says we are expecting (praying) only enough for our needs, but not the abundance that allows us to be God’s hands and feet in providing blessing for others.”

I believe that 2 Corinthians 8:8-15 speaks clearly to God’s intent in proving for us abundantly:

“I am not commanding you to do this (God does not ever force himself, or his ways on us).
But I am testing how genuine your love is (God is always wanting our hearts to be in a place where we do make the best choices) by comparing it with the eagerness of the other churches.
You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,
so that by his poverty he could make you rich (God does not ever ask of us more than He has done, He is the example).
Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. Now you should finish what you started
(This speaks to those of us who start good things with great intentions but never fulfilling those intentions).
Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have
(He’s not saying give beyond your means, or to the point of having nothing left). Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly (that doesn’t mean to give out of guilt, or duty, but out of your open heart).
And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have (reinforcing what He already said).
Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves.
I only mean that there should be some equality (our God is the only god who speaks of equality). Right now you have plenty (“right now” … things can change … we can all go from plenty to want, there are no guarantees that what we have today will always be here for us) and can help those who are in need (share our abundance with those who have need). Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it (not if you need it, but when).
In this way, things will be equal. As the Scriptures say,
“Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over,
and those who gathered only a little had enough.”