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Radiance: Moses, a Groom and Joy

March 25, 2022 by Lauren 24 Comments

radiance“It came about when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he was coming down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him.”  Exodus 34:29 NASB

 

Last weekend, the daughter of one of my dearest friends got hitched.  She was a beautiful bride and the ceremony was lovely.  It put me in mind of my own wedding ceremony.

 

On the afternoon of January 16, 1999 I waited nervously at the back of the church with my father for my cue.  All the bridesmaids had processed down the aisle.  The music swelled, the doors opened, and there I was looking to the front of the sanctuary at the face of my soon-to-be-husband.

 

I will never forget that moment as long as I live.  It was so dramatic that I think I might have fallen and rolled down the aisle had my dad not been there to support me.

 

As I started my descent, my husband glowed.  His eyes danced and his smile beamed.  I felt like the most beautiful girl in the word as he mouthed the word “Wow” in admiration.  I smiled and cried all the way to the altar.

 

After the ceremony, a guest approached me with a mouth full of wedding cake.  He commented that my husband looked so nervous before I stepped into the room.  He said that my presence in the sanctuary immediately transformed Chuck’s face and gave him an expression of joy.  What a compliment!

 

The Radiance Connection

 

If a mere girl in a wedding dress can cause such a drastic transformation, I cannot  imagine what happened to Moses on Mount Sinai.  He came into the direct presence of God.  The NASB translation (the one quoted above) says “his face shone”.  The New International Version calls him “radiant” after this encounter.

 

Even though I like to think my husband still finds joy in me, his reaction on our wedding day was a temporary expression.

When you come into the presence of God, you are imbued with radiance.  Changed for life.  

Click To Tweet

 

Moses was unaware of his appearance as he came down the mountain, but others noticed the change in him immediately.  My prayer is that you will strive to wear your joy so that it can be seen by those around you.  Then those you minister to – in turn – will come into the presence of God.

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

Karen Girl Friday challenged me to rethink the way I journal and encouraged my soul by sharing some entries from hers!  Read 20 Encouraging Entries from My Journal.

 

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Now Let’s Link Up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.

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I Love You More

February 11, 2022 by Lauren 31 Comments

I love you more“When one loves, one does not calculate.”  St. Therese of Lisieux

“To ‘spend out’ is to give up keeping score, to give love without calculation.”  The Happiness Project One-Sentence Journal:  A Five-Year Record

 

I can almost remember when my husband and I started saying, “I love you more” to each other – but not quite.  If memory serves me (and it doesn’t always these days), I read a book the first year of our marriage in which the main characters had a similar exchange.  They created a word out of the first letters of each word and signed their cards this way.  For example, “I love you more” would become ILYM.

 

The book characters used a slightly different phrase, although I can’t now recall what that phrase was.  Nor the character’s names, or the title of the book.  But I digress.

 

I wanted to emulate this idea and landed on “I love you more” and ILYM. 

For 23 years we have attempted to one-up each other with this phrase. 

Click To Tweet
Sweet sentiments turned to fake arguments.  Both of us seeking to “best” each other in the love department.

 

The longer we have been together, the more I understand what it means to love someone more.  When the honeymoon period gives way to the “life-is-hard” period (which lasts a whole lot longer, btw); you not only learn what your love is made of, you learn to do it better.  Not perfect, but if you work at it, better.

 

The more I see this man of mine trust God through the trials, the deeper my love grows.  The more he handles with integrity and grace, the more I adore him.  It’s a love much deeper than the butterflies and romantic gestures now.  But to be honest, there is no way I love him better than he loves me.  He truly wins that contest hands down.

 

A Different Perspective on “I Love You More”

 

Recently I saw a sign in a store that finally made sense of our back and forth exchange.  And I bought it, of course.  I wanted to share the words here with you.

 

I love you more

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

P.S.  If you want to read about the greatest love that you can have, check out my friend Jessica Thompson’s new book How God Loves Us:  40 Days to Discovering His Character in the Fruit of the Sprit. 

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

I relate so completely with Lois Flowers’ post The Most Important Truth About Covid.  And she brings such hope in the midst of the nitty gritty.  Very timely and helpful.

 

1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LAUREN SPARKS
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

Now Let’s Link Up!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

To find some great places where I might share this post, click here.

Share this:

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About Me

I love Jesus, my husband and caffeine. The order of these can change depending on how tired I am. When my two daughters, stepson, and 4 grandchildren get to be too much, I practice yoga. God graciously allows me to share our adventures, victories and flub-ups from my laptop. May He be glorified here.
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