Thoughts from a Shepherd-Heart

One of my friends wrote these thoughts several years ago. It seems to me to be a beautiful portrait of a shepherd's heart, and I found that it well expressed my heart for the people God has given me to care for.

"Every now and then, when I reach out to one of my people, I get a surprised response, as though that one believed he or she had been forgotten. 

Such would not be possible, for my heart lives among my people. In the empty spaces of my life, my mind flies to one...or another...or another. And the full spaces of my life are ever filled by them. 

I revel in their triumphs. 

I ache for their setbacks. 

I strategize for their benefit. 

In the early morning, in the dead of night, and continuously in between, my energies, my resources, my talents, my thoughts, my plans, my dreams, and all my love is toward them."  - K. C. Giroux

Saying "Yes" to God

The following quotation is directed specifically to missionary work, but I would argue that the reality expressed actually applies to the Christian life/following God as a whole. Plainly stated, Christians are those who say "yes" to God.

"I believe the one thing that keeps young people from the mission field today is this reality of sacrifice. It seems harder and harder for young men and women to commit to being missionaries now unless they grow up in a family or a church where they are taught the importance of missions from an early age. Perhaps there needs to be more emphasis on the concept of sacrifice, not to scare people away, but to instill in our youth the importance of doing without the comforts of America in order to minister to those in need of Christ. A successful missionary need not live in the most uncomfortable of situations. What is most important is that the missionary makes the decision, before ever reaching the field, that he or she will never say no to God, no matter what He asks."
 - One Candle to Burn, Kay Washer, pg. 151

What do you treasure?

"Whatever we treasure in our hearts sets the cadence in our lives." - Drew Conley