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Life is a beautiful thing… and for good reason, God created it. In all His majesty and splendor, He created life – all that is around us – and even us. The Creator of the Universe – He created it all.

Have you ever stopped to think about just how beautiful life can be? I hate to admit it, but I don't think about it much. When you watch the news or read the paper it's easy to see why it would be easy to forget – most of it is bad news. The stories usually appeal to the gross and ugly side of life – like murder, rape, kidnappings, death, fires, destruction – devastation.

But regardless of whether I think about it much – it doesn't change the fact that life is still a beautiful thing. Have you ever watched a momma bird build her nest and seek out food for her babies? Have you ever seen the joy in a dad's face the first moment he holds his newborn baby? Beauty is there… but sometimes you have to look for it.

In the past couple of weeks I've seen so many different things happen in the world around me… from marriage, birth, death, pain, sickness, joy – all of it – life. Each event having its own set of emotions - some good… some not so good. Some days it is overwhelming. I've felt as though I was on an emotional rollercoaster with too many ups and downs and twists. But instead of numbing myself to these emotions (which is something I find myself doing out of fear), I've chosen to feel each one – deliberately and intently.

As I think about all I have experienced in the past few weeks I find myself recalling the song "Blessed Be the Name." It's a beautiful worship song I've sung many times in church. Today, this song has new meaning to me – it's more than just a song. Essentially the song is says that regardless of what life experiences I face, I will always praise God. It's easy to sing it. But living it is much harder when you are faced with difficulties and challenges – pretty much regular occurrences for most of us.

I realize how I look at life depends on me and what I set my mind on. In fact, Paul makes it very clear we must take captive every thought we have and make it obedient to Christ.

So, how do we do that? We do it by getting to know what God says in His Word – the Bible. A friend of mine who is battling a serious illness sees self-pity as something from Satan – not from God. Whenever she is tempted to feel sorry for herself, she cuts off that line of thinking and instead finds reason to praise God. She has learned what it means to take every thought captive in Christ.
I believe life is what we make it. I had a roommate who shared a theory she had about the two types of people in this world… the life-givers and the life-takers. They are pretty self-explanatory – but to put it in perspective… are you someone who gives love and joy to others or are you the type of person who takes the wind out of the sails of others. I'd like to think I'm a life-giver. I believe I am most of the time, but I'm sure there are times when I am a life-taker. I guess it just depends on the circumstance.

Now I often find myself asking the question… am I a life-giver or a life-taker? I have been blessed with so much in my life. I want for nothing really – nothing that is a necessity. I want to give my life away to others out of my life for Jesus.

If the song "Blessed Be the Name" is an indication, God could be described as both – as the song says "He gives and takes away." We see it time and time again throughout the Bible – where God gives someone something, but then usually through some bad choice or decision that person made, God takes something away.

However, there is one thing we can always count on. His love. His pure, perfect, unconditional love. He gives it away - but He will never take it back.

There are no guarantees in this world. However, I do believe that in order to get love, you have to first give it away. I ask myself this question almost daily – how can I be a blessing to others? I want to share the hope that is within me. I want to let my little light shine so that others will see what joy I have and want to know more about it. I want to see others the way Jesus sees them and to love them the way Jesus loves them. This is my prayer.

Life truly is a beautiful thing. The world may be ugly at times, but the love that we hold in our hearts can overcome the world.

"God's Words For US" from Cecelia Lester

Prayer and God's Will