I\u2019m revving my engine, mentally and physically, as I type this blog today. A lot has been on my plate for the last few days and even more the next days, weeks and even months. I was on the road again after a beautiful three days in Tulsa. Made it to Austin last night — safe and sound — on the road again! Lots to do, places to go and people to love, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I heard the David Dunn song, \u201cI Wanna Go Back\u201d again and this time it really resonated with me. The song describes how as we grow older and lose our childlike faith and belief that we can do or be anything. Instead of being grateful for all the abilities we have to drive a huge vehicle on crazy busy highways and byways, and even maintain our lives on our own, take on responsibility and conquer it, and be grateful we even made it through our childhood ups and downs, we digress to wanting to go back. David Dunn sings \u201cI wanna go back to \u201cJesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. I wanna go back to \u201cThis little light, gonna let it shine.\u201d
\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yUvxhGRUR3s<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This time when I heard the words of that song, I realized how much Jesus does loves me and I truly know it. I\u2019m not just singing words. I\u2019m singing from my very being. He loves ME! He sees me as a beloved daughter and though often I feel like a messed-up kid, He still loves me — this I know! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s the funny thing. As a kid, I thought God was out to get me when I slipped \u2013 maybe a little peek at a friend\u2019s paper to get the answer to a question, or the little fib I told my mom. I feared Him and His big stick. Today, I recognize my mistakes quickly, and do my best to make amends. I feel His arms around me, pulling me into Him and His gentle words: \u201cI forgive you. Do better next time!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, about that wanting to go back to \u201cThis little light, gonna let it shine\u201d \u2013 I\u2019m doing that too. I\u2019m not that little kid any more who thinks God is punishing me for something I did wrong. Once upon a time, I really did think that. I didn\u2019t really understand grace until I grew up and rationalized that the free-flowing grace of my Father is what proves Jesus loves me this know! Not just because the Bible tells me so. I know. God has proven His love and grace for me in abundance \u2013 far more than I deserve. So I purpose, first thing EVERY SINGLE DAY \u2013 to let my little light shine through my blogs and my \u201ccan\u2019t keep it to myself\u201d attitude. I know a good thing \u2013 er, a good Father \u2013 and I must share Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, I sing \u201cJesus loves me this I know\u201d with absolute certainty of that love. I notice that He keeps a watchful eye on me and delivers me safe from harm. I recognize the car that almost ran into me, the misstep that I took and didn\u2019t fall down, the sweet embrace of a friend and I know it\u2019s Him loving me through them. We\u2019re big kids and by now we should be fully aware of God\u2019s love. If we really understood His love, we\u2019d understand He\u2019s smiling at us with a gleam in His eyes — the same way I watch my kids and grandkids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If I see my own with the joy of a mother\u2019s heart, I know He sees me with a joy that surpasses my understanding. I know because the same God who created them, created me. He created you. I want to smile back at God with the confidence of a daughter. A daughter who knows \u201cJesus loves me. This I know, with absolute certainty!\u201d How about you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019m revving my engine, mentally and physically, as I type this blog today. A lot has been on my plate for the last few days and even more the next days, weeks and even months. I was on the road again after a beautiful three days in Tulsa. Made it to Austin last night —…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15454,15452,15453,15449,15451,15450],"tags":[4415,2777,837,1210,8905,15445,3677,15446,5112,15448,15443,6807,15447,5116,15444],"class_list":["post-11302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-david-dunn","category-go-back","category-i-wanna-go-back","category-jesus-loves-me","category-responsibility","category-this-little-light","tag-abilities","tag-belief","tag-blessings","tag-blog","tag-childlike-faith","tag-david-dunn","tag-forgive","tag-i-wanna-go-back","tag-jesus-loves-me","tag-little-light-shine","tag-lot-on-my-plate","tag-responsibilities","tag-revving-engine","tag-this-i-know","tag-want-to-go-back"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11302"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11302\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11307,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11302\/revisions\/11307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}