Everlasting Love

The Amazing Love of God • Free Download • Personal & Art Update

HELLO MY FRIENDS…

Some of you know what it’s like to have a father or a mother… or maybe even both… who loved you and adored you as a child. Of course, they loved you enough to discipline you when need be, but they never stopped loving you or being there for you… even when you failed them or their expectations. They may not have been the perfect parents but no matter what happened… in your heart… you always knew you were loved and they would forever be there for you… cheering you on. Oh what an incredible blessing God granted you, my friend. And what a beautiful portrait of the unconditional and everlasting love our heavenly Father has for us.

Did you know God loved you before you were even born? Try to imagine that. He knew you and He loved you before the beginning of time, the Bible tells us. He knew you and loved you while you were still in your mother’s womb. And He knows you and loves you now… today… right now. Doesn’t that just make your heart smile? And because His love for you is everlasting… that means He will never quit loving you. Ever. And you can’t make Him quit loving you. No matter what you do. He will never leave you or forsake you… abandon you or reject you. His love is forever and ever.

Oh, how my heart longed for that kind of love as a child. I remember playing at a neighbor girl’s house when her father was getting ready to leave on a trip. He called his three children, my friend and her two siblings, to the living room. One at a time, they excitedly took turns climbing up on his lap, snuggling in and giggling with such joy as he whispered secrets in their ear. I was standing across the room watching… in tears… wanting that for myself. Just longing to be loved. I was 10.

I shared earlier that my mother was a classic narcissist… which made her incapable of loving me the way I wanted and needed to be loved. I was also the target of her greatest abuse. And when I failed her… whether in reality or in her imagination… her choices of punishment were either degrading words or no words at all. And no words can be just as painful. Like the day she came in my room and saw that I was planning to run away. She didn’t say a word. She just went back downstairs and called the police. That day two uniformed officers came to our house and escorted me first to the police department, where I met with the juvenile officer, and then to the Adams County Youth Home. Three weeks later I sat in a courtroom where my mother legally disowned me and I became a ward of the state of Illinois. And she chose to not speak to me for the next seven years.

Rejected and abandoned. Forsaken and forgotten. Unloved and unlovable. I was 17 years old. Thus I began my search for true love. So many years of searching. And so many stories for another day.

So can you imagine my overwhelming joy when I first read Psalm 27:10 in the New Living Translation? It says, “even if my father and my mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.” It was like He was speaking right to my heart. In other places He tells us He will never leave us or forsake us. And here in Jeremiah 31, He declares, “I have loved you with an everlasting love!” This is the love I had been searching for all my life… God’s unconditional and everlasting love revealed to us in Jesus! Thank you Lord!!

Maybe you’ve been searching for the same thing, like I did. Or maybe you just needed a reminder today of how much God truly does love you! We all do! I know I do! And what’s amazing to me is that the Lord knows us inside and out… and He still loves us! With all our quirkiness and insecurities and failures… He still… and always will love us!

So my precious friend… if you are needing someone to love you today… if you are feeling abandoned or rejected or alone… please take a moment to turn your eyes toward Jesus. Look fully into His wonderful face and imagine Him smiling at you. Because He is. Because He loves you. He really does.

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19 NIV

Until next week…
I love you my friends! xoxo

FREE DOWNLOAD… “HE FIRST LOVED US” COLORING PAGE…

In case you missed it last week… you can simply click here or the image above to download and print your “HE FIRST LOVED US” Coloring Page either as a JPG or PDF. As you color… spend time talking to the Lord… thinking about how He loved you before you even knew Him… and give Him praise. Ask Him to make you more aware of His love and His blessings throughout each and every day!

If you have a friend who loves the Lord and enjoys coloring… please feel free to share!

FEBRUARY THEMED BIBLE BOOKMARKS AND JOURNALING TEMPLATES…

The “Everlasting Love” bookmark collection includes all the verses I’ll be focused on for February’s posts.

• You can find of the “Everlasting Love” color-your-own version is available here… great for your own quiet time or to color with the kids… for tracing templates in your journaling Bible… or cut up and used for scrapbooking or junk journals. (Full color is not available yet!)

• All the other Valentine themed cards and collections can be found here!

ON A PERSONAL NOTE…

Butterfly Necklace Update… I think these turned out to be quite lovely. What do you think? Even though I love them, I don’t think I’ll be making more. They were quite time consuming to make and I have other things that are calling my name. So what you see here is my one and only Hearts and Butterfly Clay Collection… at least for now. :-) I’ll finish them up with ribbons as ornaments and post them in my Etsy shop next Friday morning.

Garden Path Update… I tried to finish it but it didn’t take long to figure out I needed help. It’s always hard when you think you can do something, but can’t. I have had to learn to ask for help when I need it and it can be very humbling, can’t it?. So I am ever so thankful, in this case, that my masonry friend replied to my plea for help with, “Do not worry! I will come!” So maybe next week.

UNTIL NEXT TIME…

As always… thank you for walking with me on this crazy faith journey and I pray that… even if only in a small way… you are blessed and encouraged as we walk together! Thank you for your prayers, comments, support, and encouragement… they are a gift I do not take for granted.

Love you my friends. Lord bless you and keep you… in His love and for His glory…

Karla xoxo