^{If I am the Master of your life, I will also be your First Love. Your serving Me is rooted and grounded in My vast, unconditional Love for you. The lower you bow down before Me, the higher I lift you up into intimate relationship with Me. The Joy of living in My Presence outshines all other pleasures. I want you to reflect My joyous Light by living in increasing intimacy with Me.}

And there is the point. We serve Jesus not out of coercion or duty. We serve because we are rooted and grounded in His love, His vast unconditional love for us. A man I knew years ago taught us much about the power and love of Christ. He often quoted this hymn form memory.

“I had a debt I could not pay,
He paid the debt He did not owe,
I needed someone,
To wash my sins away.
And now I sing a brand new song,
“Amazing grace” all day long,
Christ Jesus paid the debt,
That I could never pay.”

Recently the First 15 app said, “ The truth is that until we experience for ourselves both the goodness and power of our heavenly Father, the truth of his provision will only ever feel like a heady, theological principle. Until we experience firsthand the character and provision of our God, fear will remain.”

As Bob and I travel home from our vacation, I am reminded of Ephesians again. “We are rooted and grounded” in that vast, almost unimaginable love that Christ extends to us. Rooted deeply and strongly. When we think things are not going well, He can reframe our thoughts and give us joy.

Relax and ask God to open your eyes, as First 15 urges, that you, also, might experience both the goodness and power of our Heavenly Father on your behalf. Move out of the heady theological principle into the reality of His Presence.

Our quarters on vacation were just fine Outside, well, not so much. They are dredging sand out of the ocean to replenish he beach a mile or so down the way. A machine in the ocean makes such a racket 24/7 that we cannot hear the waves pound the beach from the deck on our unit. The monotony of the noise also makes me very sleepy…like the buzz of a bad fluorescent bulb. So reading on the deck is a challenge as my body just wants to sleep.

We love to pick up shells. the ships doing the dredging and the dredging process grins up the shells as they suck up the sand. Oops. Basically no shells on this beach. At best, tiny broken pieces. Good news! We have been to 2 beaches nearby that usually have great shelling. The challenge, getting there at the right time calculated by the tides.

Guess what! Father provided enough shells, even though some are very tiny, in enough variety to satisfy us. As the saying goes, “A bad day at the beach is better than a good day at home!”

We have had fun. We are grateful to get away from home and break up the routine. We serve because we are rooted in that vast, unconditional love and on these beaches I bow low before my God and Lord. He has kept us in all our ways. Our eyes are ever upon Him. And we say thank you.

The joy of living in His presence truly outshines the piles of shells we have explored over our lives. But yes, I was terribly spoiled by visiting Boca Grande, Florida. That, too, was indeed a gift.