Five Minute Friday - Beloved

As much as I wanted to stick around the #FMFParty last night, I had spent a large portion of time sitting in front of this screen this week and I was exhausted.  So I chatted it up a bit, admitted to never seeing Gone With The Wind (I know, right?), and yes... we even discussed Nutella - just a little bit. But then I called it a night... I woke up with a song running through my head and my heart and it comes as no surprise to find our word prompt this morning!  So here I am - while the coffee is brewing, I thought I would wake up with ya'll instead of falling asleep!

Five Minute Fridays are hosted by Lisa Jo Baker.  It is open to anyone, so to learn more about it - and to jump in yourself (the more the merrier!) or just to find a linky to see what everyone is writing about today - click HERE!  The idea is to simply write... for Five Minutes flat... no editing, no deep thinking - or at least REthinking, no spell check - just write! Let it flow! We all write using a prompt that Lisa posts at one minute past midnight Friday morning (EST.)  I'm loving the community of amazing bloggers and the creativity that flows from these magical Five Minutes!

So - here goes: Five Minute Friday - BELOVED

{GO}

The song that I woke up singing is an older Lincoln Brewster song I believe... but it has always called to the depths of my heart... I love the image - the Truth...

"You dance over me... while I am unaware.
You sing all around but I never hear the sound.
Lord, I'm amazed by You..."

Ah yes!  He IS Amazing!  He is so in love with us - that whether we see it... whether we hear Him and feel Him or even acknowledge Him - He dances over us... He sings to us... He is the Lover of our souls and He romances us with every breath!

Beloved... can you even believe that that is what He calls us! And not a collective 'us' - but YOU... and Me... individually - He romances us!

Beloved... I read once that it is mentioned, depending on your translation, up to 100 times in the Bible.  We are our Beloveds and He is ours!  I remember reading that if you have ever wondered what you are here on this earth for - this is your answer! Beloved... it's not just a term of endearment - that is our job description! To Be Loved.  This, of course, lends itself to the 'mandate' He gave me a few months back: Speak Life, Be Love, Shine On!

We must actually ALLOW ourselves to be loved.  For some, this may come easy... for others - that is a great risk.  One that can stir up old wounds, and cause you to pick away at old scars.  For some of us, we have spent years - decades maybe - building walls around our hearts in order to stay safe.  We've built fortresses for our hearts but in the end, we come to realize that if everyone else is locked out... we are locked IN!

Beloved... there is no where safer than in the midst of His love.  No one in whom you can place your trust but Him.  Can I encourage you to let down those walls?  Allow His Love to wash over you... cleanse you... redeem you.

I remember an earlier encounter with the Lord where He had been prompting me to read the book of Hosea.  I was not raised in the church and when I was a new Christian, I devoured the Word.  I had already read that... I knew all about it! I put Him off and pushed it aside... wanting something 'new'...  He had been asking me to read it for months when at a conference, I found myself laying on the ground at the alter, holding hands with the Lord.  He lovingly looked into my eyes, after simply loving on me for a bit and He said, "Beloved, NOW will you go and read the book of Hosea?"

{STOP}

Ah sweet friend... I did not want to rush off - but you KNOW I ran home to soak in the truth of that book! Hosea was told by God to marry a prostitute... He was called to love her despite (fill in the blank!)... many things shifted within me as I read those words and those truths. But Hosea 2:14-16 changed the direction of my relationship with the Lord!  I was on the verge of becoming religious... Oh, He was my Master, for that was certain! But His call to me... (to YOU)... is so much deeper... so much better!

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her.
I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the Valley of Achor (troubling) as a door of hope;
She shall sing there, as in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
"And it shall be, in that day," says the LORD<
"That you will call Me 'My Husband,'
And no longer call Me 'My Master'..."

~Karrilee~

Five Minute Fridays gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts!
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