Tag: Love

HE DIED SO THAT WE MAY FREELY LIVE

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in He Died So That We May Live Freely

Good Monday afternoon, my friends! How was your weekend? More importantly, how in the heck have you guys been? With all that has been going on in the Watson house since the start of June, I have managed to allow life to take over for a bit. Thankfully, with a great deal of planning the past 48 hours, I have taken it back by creating time in my daily schedule to do things that I enjoy most and that are important to me. Blogging and spending time with you all each week are 2 things that rank high on the lists of both. That said, lets get down to business!

Freedom… what is freedom? Wikipedia defines it as the ability to act or change without constraint. So what does freedom look like to you? Can you think of one day to day example of it? Having recently spent a few days in Florida on the beach with my family, hermit crabs come to my mind . Now I understand that hermit crabs are likely not the first thing that you think of when you think of freedom, but stay with me here.

While on vacation, my daughter, Morgan and I spent a few beautiful early mornings bayside watching these fascinating little creatures.  What amazed me the most about them was just how fast each of them were and how eager they were to get back into the water . As quickly as I would pull one from the ocean floor and place it on the shore for Morgan and I to observe, it would find its way back to the water leaving a little trail in the sand behind. The process of this had Morgan and I comparing the hermit crab that she had as a pet when she was a little girl to those before us.

What we noted was that the ones that were living freely in their natural habitats  appeared to be thriving, unlike her former pet crab. It was rare to see him moving, and if he did it was to grab onto the little wet sponge in his cage before returning fully to his shell. This had me thinking a lot about freedom and how the Lord gave his life for each of us to have it. Yes, he died so that we could be free in every area of our lives. My friends, I don’t know about you, but the depth of this left me over the top excited on that beautiful June morning in Destin, Florida!

With that said, for the next 3 days we will dive deeper into freedom and what that looks like for each one of us. I hope that you will join me. My prayer for you this week is that if there is anything in your life that is holding you back from living the life of freedom that he died for you to have, that you will begin to feel the weight lift until it is finally gone!

God bless you guys!

-Salina Watson

 

What My Son Has Taught Me (Part 2)

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in What My Son Has Taught Me (Part 1)

Is it just me or have you ever thought that you knew exactly what was best for you and your life? I mean, how could the Creator of The Universe possibly know better? After all, we are the ones walking this whole “life” thing out on our own each and every day, right? Wrong. As it turns out, he is walking along side us, and his plans for our lives are far greater than our own. This is one of the greatest lessons my son has inadvertently taught me. Or perhaps I should say, one of the greatest lessons the Lord has taught me through my sons life.

I remember the day that I found out that I was pregnant with Montana as though it was yesterday. I could hardly believe it. Although I am a bit ashamed to admit it, I would not necessarily say that I was excited as a result of the news. See, having gone through a miscarriage a few years prior, I was terrified that history would repeat itself. And the emotions that I experienced during that time were not ones that I wanted to revisit. Unfortunately, I knew that there was a high probability that I would.

After 5 months of walking on egg shells each day and having mixed emotions about what was taking place within my body, the day came for my first ultrasound. Although  I would say  I was breathing somewhat easier knowing that I had bypassed the most critical time in my pregnancy, worrisome thoughts about the child that I was carrying were always lurking in the back of my mind. Truth be told, reality of this found me a little depressed, at times.

But something shifted the moment I caught a glimpse of my sons little face for the first time. The worrisome thoughts that I had for the previous 5 months were instantly replaced with joy. To be honest, I cannot fully put into words what my heart felt in that moment, but my love for my son and my fathers love for me,  was never more evident as it was that day.

It was in that moment in time, as I laid there  looking at my son  with tears of joy streaming down my face, that I knew that the Lords plan for my life was much greater than my own. And that he knew exactly what I needed, when I needed it most. For the word says in Jeremiah 29:11- ” For I know the plans I have for you”, says the Lord. “They are plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”  Be encouraged my friends! For the plans that the Lord has for us all are good. Trust the process… TRUST THE PROCESS!

 

Warmest regards,

Salina Watson

Loving Yourself

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Well, here we are the final day of the blog week, and it is Valentine’s Day. I don’t know what it is about this day that I thoroughly enjoy, but I certainly do. I love the colors, the chocolates and even the flowers. I’m not much of a flower type girl, but there is something about flowers on Valentine’s Day that I kind of like. Perhaps it’s just the fact that people take on a childlike approach of expressing their love for one another openly that I love so much. I know that we don’t need a day like today to give us the green light to show love to one another, but it’s just fun to see.

On that note, let’s finish the week out by talking about love as it relates to ourselves. This is something that I have really struggled with since I was a young child. Although I grew up in a good home, I never felt like I quite measured up. It seemed like every time I turned around, I was being told things like… “Why are you wearing that?”  “Don’t talk that way.” “That doesn’t look good on you.” “You’ve gained weight.”  “You’ve lost weight.” For a young girl, these comments made a huge impression on me. And for many years, they kept me from loving myself. Not only did they keep me from loving myself, but they kept me from showing love to others. Honestly, this is something that I continue to struggle with; although, I have come along way. That said, I now know that the things that were said to me then, had nothing to do with me, yet everything to do with the ones who said it. Although, I know that they were not trying to hurt me in anyway. They only knew what they knew at the time.

See, we can’t show or give love to others, if we don’t have love for ourselves. We are a reflection of our own hearts. If we are inpatient , unkind, envious, proud, self-seeking, etc., than we need to look within. This takes work. At least, it did/does for me. There are some days when I cannot even look at myself in the mirror, because of what I see looking back at me. But, what I have begun doing is reminding myself of what the Lord says about me when I do. Yes, I talk to myself. And if someone overheard me, they may think that I have lost my mind. But, I assure you that I haven’t.  I just practice saying these things with the hope that I will someday believe what I am saying.

My point? We can’t give what we don’t have. If we are having a hard time giving love to others, than we need to look within ourselves. This is a signal that there is work to be done. Is this something that we should be ashamed of? Of course not! We are all a work in progress. Otherwise, there would not be a need for us to occupy this beautiful planet.

So, how do you feel like you are doing when it comes to self-love? Do you believe all of the beautiful things that the Lord says about you? If so, please share. I, personally, would like to know . I need as much help with this that I can get, and I am not afraid to admit it. Leave me a comment below, email me or PM at Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thefaithfilledtraveler/ . Otherwise, I will plan on seeing you there between now and Sunday, and right back here early Monday morning. Have a fabulous weekend, my friends!

Warmest regards,

Salina Watson

 

 

 

 

Sacrificial Love

by thefaithfilledtraveler, posted in Love

John 3:16- For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

Good morning, everyone! I hope this Monday morning finds all of you doing well. I, for one, certainly am. Starting a new week with all of you helps to put me in the right direction from the get go. I always look forward to sharing my thoughts and ideas with you guys, but I also look forward to hearing back from you. Listening to you as you share your perspective on things helps me to broaden my own. So, thank you for that!

This week we are going to talk about love.  Being that Valentine’s Day is on a Thursday, I thought it would be a good topic for the week.  But before we get started, I have a question for you. Did you know that Valentine’s Day is also referred to as the Feast of Saint Valentine or Saint Valentine’s Day, and that it originated from a Christian feast day? Its true! You should look it up. I mean, you couldn’t possibly have anything else to do with your time, right?!

Anyway, love…let’s focus our attention to love, shall we?  Merriam- Webster. com defines love as a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties. Is there someone in your life that fits that description? For me, there are quite a few, but my family definitely leads the list. In fact, I love them so much that I would do just about anything for them. That is, anything that is morally & ethically correct. Can you relate? I don’t know what it is about love that has this effect on us, but it certainly has the potential of causing us to do somethings that we likely would not do, otherwise.

I believe the Lord was/is the perfect example of this. In fact, by sacrificing his life for you & I on the cross so that our sins would be forgiven is the ultimate act of love. But not only did he die on the cross for us over 2000 years ago, he continues to show love to us today by extending grace & mercy to us, despite our faults. If this isn’t love, my friends, I just don’t know what love is.

With that, we are going to continue our talk on love each day through Thursday this week. I hope that you will stick around and contribute your thoughts & ideas. Perhaps you will even share this blog with your friends and family. At least, I hope you will. And, while you’re at it, please consider sharing your Valentine Day plans with me. Although John and I don’t really do anything on February 14th, I just love it and would equally love to hear what you guys will be doing. Until tomorrow, I’ll see you guys on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thefaithfilledtraveler/ . Take care!

Warmest regards,

Salina Watson