My Jealous Lover

 I bet that blog post title caught your eye on a Monday!

I hope you'll forgive me for a little bit of prose today, but I had a lot of thoughts scrambling around in my head for the last twenty-four hours, and I just need to get them out.

It seems that everyone is talking about "the book" these days. It's all you see on Pinterest, and all they're discussing on message forums. Wherever two or more women are gathered, this book seems to be mentioned in a conversation.

I haven't read any of "the books", and I don't need to read it to know what it is about. But I do feel a little like an outsider who never fits in when women in my sphere of influence talk about the books and movies and songs that don't pertain to me and my life. It puts me in an awkward place. I'm not trying to be judgmental, but I'm choosy these days about what I read and see and listen to and eat. Just like I don't make a steady diet of fast food burgers and take out pizza, I'm also careful about how much I let this culture influence me.

Last night, I watched the movie "The Book of Eli" with Denzel Washington on television. There are some movies I'd rather see on TV because they've been edited, and that makes me happy. This movie, though violent, had a message that was so important. I'm not going to spoil the story for you, but suffice it to say that it tells the tale of what one man on a mission will do to protect the last Bible on earth.

It made me think of "the book" that everyone is talking about, and "The Book" that people only talk about when they're in church. Why are we more comfortable talking about books in public that will make us appear to "fit in", and we rarely talk in public about the most influential and powerful book of all time?

I'm a little counter-culture, I guess. And here's why:

I have a jealous lover. He pursues me with a relentless passion. He doesn't just want a little bit of me. He wants all of me. He wants my time. He wants my attention. He doesn't just want me for this life. He wants me for eternity. He bought me. He redeemed me. He owns me.

That, my friends, is passion.

I made today's card because it reminded me of the song from the David Crowder Band, "How He Loves Us".

"He is jealous for me.
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are
And how great Your affections are for me."

The greatest love story ever written, and it's about you and me. :)

"Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
Philippians 4:8