The other day I heard a catchy 80s tune on the radio and stopped channel-flipping. After only a few words filled my ears, my eyes were opened to the blatant difference between growing
up with pop music and the modern worship and Christian radio songs I now prefer today. If
you were like me, and spent an adolescence and young adulthood caught up in pop music or
the latest hit country song, these songs might ring a bell. Ponder these titles and even their
familiar lyrics for a moment:

We’ll start out with the song that stopped my radio flipping, and that was “Hungry Heart”,
which truly sums up mankind’s dilemma. Then there’s “Owner of a Lonely Heart” which we can all relate to at times, of course. Who hasn’t belted out “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, but again,
therein lies the issue within these lyrics. Country gets a nod in this list with “I Cross My Heart”,
but I beg to differ that in the all the world you WILL find a Love truer than his. And then we’ve got the ever-so-dangerous “Listen to Your Heart”, which, if you have followed that convoluted
compass, you likely experienced as much regret as I have through the years.

The difference I’m getting at with these songs is found in the object of our affection we’re
singing about. So much of mainstream music is focused on another person as the
be-all-and-end-all to our happiness. I know I was sucked into that lie for decades, until my
heart found the One it’d longed for since conception. As the author in Psalm 139:13-16 speaks
to our Heavenly Father, our Creator, he reminds us:

“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have
seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained
for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”

God made you… in great detail…and you are wonderfully made! He’s written all the days of
your life and He longs to relate closely with you now!

Another verse that excites me about the Lover of our Souls is Zephaniah 3:17:
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love;
He will exult over you with loud singing.”

Neither Valentine’s Day nor any day of the year with someone we love can make us feel
complete and fully loved as will the times we spend in close relationship with our Creator. God is the only One who can love us truly unconditionally and perfectly, and He has loved us with
an everlasting love. (Jer 31:3) 1 John 3:1 states, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God.”
A holy, perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing, creator of the universe loves us and call us His.

I encourage and I implore you to lay down the burden of chasing fleeting love, or in the words of Johnny Lee, to stop “Lookin’ for love in all the wrong places.” If you’ve got a great spouse
or companion, cherish that wonderful gift, but let them off the hook if you’ve set them up with the expectation of fulfilling your every desire. Find freedom in offering grace for their
imperfections, and seek out complete fulfillment in knowing the One who created you with that desire for Him alone.

In closing, let’s reflect on who we’re turning to and who we’re singing about as the object of
our affection and fulfillment. As Augustine spoke in the 1st Century to our Heavenly Father,
“You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in You.”

Well, this is my first ever blog, so I'll start with an introduction and give you a snapshot of the basic bio facts: Age 38 as of this writing (11.13.14). Wisconsin native from a small town north of Green Bay. Living in the Green Bay area now. Married since 2000.  Recipient of God's grace and forgiveness, navigating life with Him since 1998.  Proud aunt. Advocate for natural health. Instructor of yoga to the glory of God.  Peaceful.

My hope is that through this blog you are encouraged, brought comfort and hope, and led closer to your Creator who loves you indescribably.  

The fact that I am in a career that puts me in front of groups of people on a weekly basis, and gives me access to caring for others' hearts, is nothing short God's hand displayed in my life. When I reflect back on the first half of my life I cringe at the picture of a very self-centered and rather shy girl.  There was a dichotomy of rarely speaking up for myself outside the home, yet dominating to selfishly get almost anything I wanted inside the home, coupled with a disregard for others' hearts.  

I came into a saving relationship with Christ in 1998.  This was the beginning of a process of saving me from myself, my sin, my past, and all my future sin.  I've spent many years trying to fill that void with things and people in the world, and the fact is that nothing and no one can bring the joy, peace, and complete fulfillment that a dynamic relationship with the One who created you can.  We were made that way. In the wise words of C.S. Lewis, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” 

It's been an amazing journey of refinement for over 16 years, where God has used my sin and failures to sift out pride, fear, apathy, and to bring about a change that, as Ezekiel 36:26 describes as "removing the heart of stone from your flesh and giving you a heart of flesh." 

I plan to expand on stories and lessons from all these areas of life in future posts, so if you're interested in digging deeper, join me on the journey. :)